|
AARP Magazine April
2006
spoke of 9 Healing Foods
By Gabriele deGroot Redford, March & April 2006
"They are all
natural.
They have no side effects.
They just might keep you well."
Nearly 2,500 years ago Hippocrates is purported to have said, "Let food
be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food." Granted, there weren't many
drugs around in 400 b.c.e., so the Father of Medicine might just have been
covering his bases. Still, science has since proven that Hippocrates was indeed
onto something—namely, that the food we eat can prevent and in some cases
fight disease.
"There are a tremendous variety of foods and components in foods that
our bodies are programmed to use to keep us healthy, and if we're sick, to make
us well again," says Steven G. Pratt, M.D., author of SuperFoods Rx
(HarperCollins, 2004). "If we want to stay healthy, we have to eat these
whole, nutritious foods."
We've identified nine of the most powerful disease-fighting foods and have
designed a menu featuring all of them (see links at right). Of course, this list
isn't meant to supplant conventional medicine, but adding these foods to your
diet might just mean you spend less time in the doctor's office reading about
these superfoods and more time at home enjoying them.
Whole grains: The new broccoli
We've heard for years that eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables can
protect against heart disease, diabetes, and some forms of cancer. But did you
know that whole grains are now believed to provide just as many benefits?
"Whole grains have this whole army of different phytonutrients that are
doing just as much as fruits and veggies," says Susan Moores, a Minneapolis
nutritionist and a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. (A
phytonutrient is the name given to the parts of plants that have health
benefits.) According to researchers at the University of Minnesota, eating three
daily servings of whole grains can reduce the risk of heart disease by 25 to 36
percent, stroke by 37 percent, and type 2 diabetes by 21 to 27 percent. Whole
grains include oats, whole wheat, brown rice, bulgur, and bran, among others.
"Pick foods whose first ingredient contains the word whole instead of
enriched," Moores says.
Cherries: All-natural pain reliever
Scientists studying the link between diet and disease often look for a marker in
the blood called C-reactive protein (CRP). CRP is produced by the body in
response to acute inflammation, like that experienced by arthritis sufferers.
Researchers at the Western Human Nutrition Research Center in Davis, California,
asked volunteers to eat a bowl of 45 fresh Bing cherries and then measured their
levels of CRP.  After three hours the level of CRP in the volunteers' blood
decreased. That came as no surprise to Joseph Pizzorno, a doctor of naturopathic
medicine and coauthor of The Encyclopedia of Healing Foods (Simon &
Schuster, 2005). "One of the old-time therapies for gout [a very painful
form of arthritis] was black cherries," says Pizzorno. "Until
recently, nobody really knew why it worked; they just knew that it did." Of
course, nobody's going to eat 45 cherries in one sitting, but if you suffer from
arthritis, you should incorporate this antioxidant-rich fruit into your diet a
couple of times a week.
Yogurt: Immunity booster
For several years now, nutritionists have touted the benefits of probiotics, the
"friendly" bacteria that, when eaten, help fight illness or disease.
Yogurt is the most popular food containing probiotics and may, in fact, be the
most beneficial as well. Two recent studies found that eating yogurt
significantly improved a person's ability to fight off pneumonia. "Your
first communication with the outside world is through your GI tract," says
Pratt. "That's where you absorb all the nutrients you need to keep your
body healthy in the first place. And it's also the body's biggest immune system
fighter." Pratt recommends eating yogurt every day—just make sure the
brand you buy contains "live," or "active," cultures, as the
bacteria (or, rather, the probiotics) can't do any good if they're dead before
you ingest them.
Salmon: Bone strengthener 
Any list of healing foods would be remiss not to include salmon, with its
heart-healthy dose of omega-3 fatty acids. Study after study has shown that
incorporating salmon into your diet reduces blood pressure, lowers cholesterol,
and helps prevent heart disease. Now researchers at the University of
California, San Diego, have reported that a higher intake of omega-3s
additionally appears to preserve bone density, keeping your bones stronger and
protecting against falls and fractures. Not crazy about salmon (or just sick of
it by now)? Try upping your intake of other cold-water fish, such as sardines,
tuna, and mackerel. "All of these fish are high in omega-3s, and people who
consume them regularly have a lower risk of heart attack, hypertension, and
stroke," says Jennifer Sacheck, Ph.D., assistant professor at the Friedman
School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University.
Cabbage: Breast-cancer defense
You've likely heard about the anticancer properties of cruciferous vegetables
like broccoli and Brussels sprouts, but several recent studies suggest that
cabbage may be in a class by itself. A study presented at the November 2005
meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research found that Polish women
who ate cabbage and sauerkraut (fermented cabbage) four or more times a week
were 74 percent less likely to develop breast cancer.  Other studies have found
that cabbage may also protect against lung, stomach, and colon cancers. The
superingredient seems to be sulforaphane, a phytochemical in cabbage that works
by stimulating cells to eliminate cancerous substances. Granted, eating cabbage
four times a week might be a little much, but adding it to soups and salads once
or twice a week is a great idea, says Moores.
Walnuts: Good for the ticker
For many years nutritionists warned their clients away from nuts, fearing that a
carte blanche prescription to indulge in this fatty food might lead to excessive
weight gain. Recently, though, as scientists have learned more about the various
types of fats and their impact on health, nuts have come back into favor.
Walnuts, in particular, are unique among nuts because they're full of omega-3
fatty acids, the same substance that has been shown in salmon to reduce the risk
of heart disease and hypertension. Japanese men and women who ate a one-fourth
to one-third cup of walnuts a day lowered their "bad" LDL cholesterol
levels by up to 10 percent. Walnuts (as well as almonds and pistachios) are high
in arginine, an amino acid that increases blood flow to the heart.
Blueberries: Keep the mind sharp
When researchers at the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts
University analyzed 40 fruits and vegetables for their disease-fighting
antioxidant activity, blueberries came out on top. And not just by a
little—the study showed that the benefits of eating one serving of wild
blueberries are equivalent to those of eating two to three servings of some
other fruits and vegetables, including apples, broccoli, and even spinach. 
Studies published in the past year also show that eating plenty of blueberries
may help lessen brain damage from strokes and may reduce the effects of
Alzheimer's disease or dementia. "Blueberries really show promise in
helping us with our mental acuity—keeping our brain sharp," says Moores.
"The antioxidants in blueberries protect cells from damage, but now we're
finding that other components in blueberries might restore cells to be more
healthy." She recommends eating blueberries a couple of times a week.
Beans: Ward off colon cancer
One of the most underrated nutritional powerhouses on the market today is beans,
says Moores. Not only are beans a great source of protein and antioxidants but
they're full of fiber, which has been shown in some studies to help prevent
colon cancer. "To stay healthy you really need to keep your GI tract
moving," says Pratt, "and eating beans is a good way to do that."
Furthermore, in a study published in November 2005 in The Journal of the
American Medical Association, a healthy diet rich in lean protein—about
half from plant sources such as beans—was found to lower blood pressure and
"bad" LDL cholesterol, and to cut the risk of heart disease by 21
percent. It doesn't matter which bean you choose—"pick a bean, any
bean," Moores says—but aim for two to four servings a week.
Tomatoes: Protect the prostate
Scientists have known for years that regularly eating tomato-based foods can
reduce a man's risk of prostate cancer by up to 35 percent. More recently,
studies have shown that men who already have prostate cancer may benefit as
well. When researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago fed one serving
of pasta with tomato sauce every day for three weeks to 32 men who were
scheduled for prostate surgery, the levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in
the patients' blood dropped by nearly 20 percent. (PSA is a measure of
prostate-cancer-cell activity, so the lower the level, the less active the
cancer cells.) The likely active ingredient in tomatoes is lycopene, a powerful
antioxidant that is thought to also be protective against lung and stomach
cancers. In an interesting twist, fresh tomatoes don't appear to be as
protective as cooked tomatoes. Men with prostate cancer should try to eat cooked
tomatoes daily, in soups, chilies, marinara and spaghetti sauces, or other
dishes. Those trying to prevent the disease should indulge twice a week.
Return to top
|
