superfood

The ABC of Superfoods

The term superfoods entered the language in the 1990s to denote foods packed with nutrients that supposedly have health-giving properties. Some are exotic, such as alfalfa, spirulina and wheatgrass, and some prosaic such as broccoli, beans and beetroot.
Superfoods soon became the new health craze. Dr. Steven Pratt's book SuperFoods: Fourteen Foods That Will Change Your Life, for example, became an instant bestseller. By making the fourteen superfoods highlighted in Dr. Pratt's book part of your regular eating habits, you can apparently change the course of your biochemistry and stop the incremental changes in your body that lead to diseases such as type II diabetes, hypertension, certain cancers, obesity, and Alzheimer's.
The fourteen superfoods that will change your life, according to Dr. Pratt, are:

• Beans — reduce obesity
• Blueberries — lower risk for cardiovascular disease
• Broccoli — lowers the incidence of cataracts and fights birth defects
• Oats — reduce the risk of type II diabetes
• Oranges — prevent strokes
• Pumpkin — lowers the risk of various cancers
• Soy — lowers cholesterol
• Spinach — decreases the chance of cardiovascular disease and age-related macular degeneration
• Tea (green or black) — helps prevent osteoporosis
• Tomatoes — raise the skin's sun protection factor
• Turkey — helps build a strong immune system
• Walnuts — reduce the risk of developing coronary heart disease, diabetes, and cancer
• Wild salmon — lowers the risk of heart disease
• Yogurt — promotes strong bones and a healthy heart.

In a later book Dr. Pratt added dark chocolate, honey, and kiwi to his superfood list:

• Dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa) — high in phytonutrients that make it a natural anti-inflammatory and blood thinner; it also helps raise good cholesterol levels
• Honey — boosts the antioxidant ability of the blood, heightening its resistance to free radical attack
• Kiwi fruit — helps thin the blood; great source of vitamin C, folate, vitamin E, potassium, fiber, carotenoids, polyphenols, chlorophyll, glutathione, and pectin, yet are relatively low in sugars.

There are many other superfoods on our planet that are continuously being discovered and rediscovered.