Superfoods: Honorable Mentions Part III

If you missed my previous posts on Superfoods, check out Superfoods: Eating for Optimal Health Part I and Superfoods: David Wolfe's Top 10 List Part II This post I'll discuss some of the foods David Wolfe listed as Honorable Mentions.

1. Acai. Acai has one of the highest antioxidant content in the world, neutralizes free radicals, contains high level of essential fatty acids, helps regenerate stem cells, very low glycemic level, and fights cancer. "A recent University of Florida Study...showed extracts from acai berries triggered a self-destruct response in up to 86 percent of leukemia cells tested."

2. Camu Camu Berry. This berry is know as the Vitamin C Sun King. It contains the world's highest vitamin C content. It also supports immune function, improves eyesight, creates beautiful skin, supports strong collagen, decreases inflammation, reduces stress, and improves lung health.

3. Chlorella. This algae contains more chlorophyll per gram than any other plant. Chlorophyll rejuvenates the blood, cleanses out the bowels, and detoxes the liver. Chlorella restores white blood cells, increases resistance to viral infections and is an excellent treatment for those suffering from Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Disease. It also aids in digestion, is one of the highest sources of protein on the planet and is extremely rich in vitamins and minerals.

4. Incan Berries. This delicious berry actually exceeds the goji berry in protein. It's also an excellent source of beta-carotene, vitamin c, and bioflavonoids. The combination of bioflavonoids and pectin in this berry makes is a great detox tool. They also have a mild laxative effect.

5. Kelp. This sea vegetable is mineral rich, helps restore thyroid functioning, improve metabolism, contains iodine which allows our organs to function more effectively, prevents cancer of the digestive system and aids in eliminating other forms of cancer. It is also a great memory tool and aids in speedy healing.

6. Noni. This fruit is most often found as a fermented beverage or in powder form. It is full of antioxidants and aids in skin elasticity, cell regeneration, defense against free radicals, anti-inflammatory, and detoxes the body.

7. Yacon Root.  This plant is an excellent substitute for traditional sweeteners. It's a great blood sugar balancer and ideal for diabetics. It is great for colon health, creates healthy flora in the body and promotes the growth of probiotics.

I realize this is a lot of information and can be overwhelming. I suggest starting small. Pick a few Superfoods that you feel would benefit you and start adding them to your smoothies. A couple of other foods that I would label "superfoods" are wheatgrass, fermented foods, spinach, sprouts and avocado. If you are just starting out, these simple foods are easily accessible and will greatly aid you in your health journey.  Wheatgrass can be purchased fresh or frozen; frozen wheatgrass is great in smoothies. Fermented foods, such as sauerkraut, kimichi, and miso aid in digestion. Spinach, while not as high as Spirulina, is also a great source of Iron and Protein and available in any supermarket. Avocado's contain essential fatty acids that aid in eyesight and skin health. Be brave! Get out there and start experimenting. Let me know how you are doing and any recipes that you've created.

Superfoods: Eating For Optimal Health Part I

This past week I've been a bit sluggish. I've been sleeping alot (like, until 2pm), have less energy when I'm up, zero creativity, and more or less have been planted on the sofa watching early episodes of Stargate SG-1 and Scarecrow and Mrs. King. I wondered what could be causing this shift and I realized that I've slacked a bit, not intentionally in a few departments. With the heat, Triton and I haven't been walking as regularly, and unfortunately I haven't replaced our walks with another form of exercise.  Instead of doing my energy routine twice a day, it's been more like once a day or every other day recently.  And although I eat pretty well, I haven't been eating optimally for my health.  Meaning, while carrots are superfantastic, Spirulina kicks some carrot booty, plus some.  Generally I get the "goods" in my daily smoothie, but this past month the laziness bug has kicked in and I've swapped my Superfood Smoothies for processed Naked/Botthouse Farm beverages. Monday I started back up on my smoothies, and in just two days I've noticed a huge difference. I started getting up earlier day by day, I've been writing again, I have more energy, and even took Trition for a very sweaty sticky walk this evening.  I decided I need to kick things up a notch, and checked out David Wolfe's book "Superfoods: The Food and Medicine of the Future" from the library. He's an incredible resource of information, and inspired me to really get gung ho in regards to my diet.  Since the beginning of the cancer parade, I've had a few items that consistently show up in a bad way on my blood tests.

1. Low levels of Hydrochloric Acid.  What does this mean?  Essentially hydrochloric acid is the stuff that breaks down your food in a digestible format that your body can use and distribute for all it's various functions. So all those pills, veggies, etc. have had very little effect because my body is unable to absorb most of it.
2. Anemia.  I have an extremely low iron count, in fact generally I'm only a point away from a blood transfusion. This tends to freak the doctors out. My Naturopath literally cannot understand how I get up each day based on the results of my blood test.
3. Hypoglycemia. My blood sugar is all over the place, and I've always bounced between being at risk for hypoglycemia and diabetes. Neither one screams fun times.
4. Hormonal Imbalance. Now this one has been on and off over the years. I've had long periods of time where everything is perfect, my cycle is regular and life is good. However, I've been wacky since about Thanksgiving, I think I've had maybe three menstrual cycles, which is not good. It freaks me out just a bit because I only have half an ovary, due to some benign tumors they cut out in my early twenties, so my understanding of this part of my body is really weak. Note to self: See a gynecologist.

Everything else is awesome! When I first starting going in for blood tests five years ago, EVERYTHING was off the chart's bad. Hemoglobin levels, kidney enzymes, you name it, the results sucked. For the past year everything has been in balance except for those four items, plus my inflammation levels.  The level of inflammation in my body has always been off the charts bad, which is the cancer, however, slowly by surely it's edging towards happier levels. However, I think the other issues are making the process much slowly.  If my body didn't have to put all it's effort on getting me to function on a basic level each day, the cancer would probably dissolve quickly.  Hence the interest in Superfoods. 

David came up with a list of his "Top 10 Superfoods" and "Honorable Mentions." Each item on his list has everything I need to eliminate anemia, hypoglycemia, hormonal imbalance, cancer, and my digestive issues. 

David's Top 10 Superfoods:
Goji Berries, Cacao, Maca, Bee Products (Honey, Bee Pollen, Royal Jelly, Propolis), Spirulina, AFA Blue-Green Algae, Marine Phytoplankton, Aloe Vera, Hempseed, Coconut.

Honorable Mentions:
Acai, Camu Camu Berry, Chlorella, Incan Berries, Kelp, Noni, Yacon

I feel this is an extremely important and eye opening subject, so I'm splitting this into a three-part blog.  For now, check out this video of David Wolfe discussing various Superfoods.  Check back on Friday for Part II, where I'll break down the Top 10 Superfoods and share why they are so "super"!