The Healthiest Foods on Earth

I recently read this article and thought it was a good summary of a lot of my thoughts on food:

Forbes 7/7/09 magazine article by Jonny Bowden Ph.D.; CNS; a board-certified nutritionist (summarized below):

This interesting article says there is no perfect diet for human beings. Folks have thrived on a variety of diets without the ravages of degenerative diseases that are so epidemic in modern life. The common thread in these diets is that they're all based on whole foods with minimum processing... such as nuts, berries, beans, raw milk, and grass-fed meat. Whole, real, unprocessed food is almost always healthy, regardless of how many grams of carbs, protein or fat it contains.

These healthy foods do not have bar codes and they are extremely low in sugar. (The number of modern or ancient societies known for health and longevity that have consumed a diet high in sugar would be...let's see... zero.)

Real food (whole food with minimal processing) contains a virtual pharmacy of nutrients, phytochemicals, enzymes, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, anti-inflammatories and healthful fats, and can easily keep you alive and thriving.

Berries

Berries are low in calories, high in fiber and loaded with plant compounds that improve memory and help fight cancer.

Nuts

Nut-eaters have lower rates of heart disease.

Beans

Beans are notorious for their high fiber content and are a part of the diet of people-from almost every corner of the globe-who live long and well.

Protein

Protein is a feature of every healthy diet ever studied. The word "protein" comes from a Greek word meaning "of prime importance."

Meat

Meat can be a health food if the meat comes from animals that have been raised on pasture land, have never seen the inside of a feedlot farm and have never been shot full of antibiotics and hormones.

Raw Milk

Countless devotees believe raw milk to be one of the healthiest beverages on the planet.

Wild Salmon

Wild salmon, whose omega-3 content is consistently higher than its less-fortunate farm-raised brethren, gets its red color from a powerful antioxidant called astaxathin. The combination of protein, omega-3s and antioxidants makes wild salmon a contender for anyone's list of great foods.

Eggs

Another great food: eggs-one of nature's most perfect creations, especially if you don't throw out the all-important yolk. (Remember "whole" foods means exactly that-foods in their original form. Our robust ancestors did not eat "low-fat" caribou; we don't need to eat "egg-white" omelets.)

Vegetables

There are no "bad" vegetables, but some of them are superstars. Any vegetable from the Brassica genus-broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, kale-is loaded with plant chemicals called indoles, which help reduce the risk of cancer.

Fruits

Apples deserve their reputation as doctor-repellants: they're loaded with fiber, minerals (like bone-building boron) and phytochemicals (like quercetin, which is known to be a powerful anti-inflammatory and to have anti-cancer properties). Some exciting new research suggests that pomegranate juice slows the progression of certain cancers. Other research shows it lowers blood pressure.

Tea

Jonny Bowden said tea deserves special mention. It is the second most widely consumed beverage in the world (after water). All forms of tea are loaded with antioxidants and anti-inflammatories.

Onions, Garlic and Shallots

Garlic has been used for thousands of years for its medicinal properties; hundreds of published studies support its antimicrobial effects as well as its ability to lower the risk of heart disease. A number of studies have shown an inverse relationship between onion consumption and certain types of cancer.

CONCLUSION

A healthy diet doesn't have to contain every one of the "healthiest foods on earth," but you can't go wrong putting as many of the above mentioned foods in heavy rotation on your personal eating plan.