Superfoods are known for their health benefits due to their phytonutrient content—plant compounds that have health-protecting and enhancing qualities. Superfoods are backed by research for their nutritious value, their ability to fight disease and even reverse the aging process.
Superfoods are nutrient powerhouses that pack large doses of antioxidants, polyphenols, vitamins, and minerals. Eating them may reduce the risk of chronic disease, and prolong life, and people who eat more of them are healthier and thinner than those who don’t. Read about several foods that are considered super, what health benefits they offer, and how to fit them into your diet.
Cacao- the energy supplier
To the Aztecs, cacao was so precious and believed that it nourished strength. Cacao beans are the whole bean straight from the cacao fruit, where wild varieties still grow from the tropical areas of South and 
Central America. Cacao can improve your memory, increase your bliss, reduce heart disease, shed fat, boost immunity, and create loads of energy.
Raw Organic Cacao is also one of the highest plant-based sources of magnesium, the most deficient mineral in the Western world. Magnesium is important for a healthy heart, and helps turn glucose into energy enabling your brain to work with laser-sharp clarity and focus.
Cacao is a great source of four scientifically proven bliss chemicals – serotonin, dopamine, anandamide and phenylethylamine. These neurotransmitters are associated with cozy feelings of wellbeing, happiness, and can even alleviate depression.
Cacao can do more: Doctors recommend taking 29 grams of cacao a day as its components, notably the polyphenols, have shown to stop proliferation of breast, prostate and colon cancer cells, while sparing normal cells.
Chili- boosts your metabolism
Chili peppers provide a host of antioxidant compounds such as vitamin C, vitamin A, flavonoids like beta-carotene, alpha-carotene, and lutein. These antioxidant substances in chilli protect the body from harmful effects of free radicals that are produced during stress and induce various diseases.
Chillies deliver healing nutrients; promote blood circulation, thereby helping to control the pain. At the same time it fights the capsaicin inflammation, supports decongestion, which can be alleviated especially joint pain. By the regular consumption of chilies can thus taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), which can lead to stomach ulcers, damage to the liver, kidney, and even cancer, are significantly reduced. The capsaicin is often used in muscle relaxing creams. It promotes increased blood flow helps carry away inflammation and thereby alleviate the pain.
Capsaicin is an active ingredient in many of the most popular “fat burning” supplements on the market. A thermogenic agent, capsaicin helps to increase overall metabolic activity, thus helping the body burn calories and fat.
Wheatgrass- for inner cleansing
It’s the start of wheatgrass’s life that gives it such nutritional power. Through the sprouting process, the grass is packed with energy, high levels of nutrients, and live enzymes that help humans digest the grass
when consumed, allowing nutrients to enter the bloodstream quickly.
Wheatgrass contains all nine essential amino acids and is loaded, offering a host of health benefits. Studies suggest one such benefit is improved digestion and alleviation from stomach conditions like colitis by controlling bad bacteria from overwhelming the digestive tract and causing inflammation and discomfort.
Some research also suggests the chlorophyll in wheatgrass makes it effective at fighting off cancer-causing compounds in the body. When chlorophyll hits the bloodstream, it boosts hemoglobin(because their structures are so similar), enriching the body’s cells with oxygen and cleaning them out of potentially harmful substances like BPA and a variety of carcinogens that can enter the body through food, polluted air, or impure drinking water.
Green Summer Soup with Wheatgrass Recipe:
Ingredients for 2-4 persons
- 6 cups diced small cucumbers
- 1 celery stalk
- 2 cups water
- 2 tbsp. freshly pressed lime juice
- 1 ½ cups watercress plus ½ cup for garnish
- ¾ tsp sea salt
- 1 Avocado
- 1 tsp wheatgrass powder
- Black pepper
In a large bowl, add the cucumber, diced celery, water, lime juice, 1 ½ cups of watercress, and sea salt and mash it all together. Put this mixture in a large finely woven strainer and sift it until a light green juice has been generated. Add the avocado to the mixture and mash it until smooth, followed by the wheatgrass and leave to cool for 30 minutes. Serve and garnish with the remainder of watercress and fresh ground black pepper.
This summery cold soup is full of chlorophyll, vitamin C, vitamin E, silicon, and zinc.
Cherries- for age vitality
There are two primary varieties of cherries you should know about: sweet and tart (also known as sour cherries). Sweet cherries, such as Bing cherries, are best eaten fresh (and raw), while sour cherries develop a fuller flavor when they’re used in cooking (which is why they’re often used for baking).
Tart cherries are also used to make juice concentrates that may offer some unique health benefits.
Cherries contain two important flavonoids: quercetin and iso-quercetin. Both help to eliminate oxidative stress and help to repair cell damage. The antioxidants found in cherries are said to boost memory and may help prevent Alzheimer’s disease. Antioxidants also help slow aging in many other ways, including appearance.
The anthocyanins in cherries help regulate genes that are involved with fat and glucose metabolism, which should help reduce the risk for such health issues as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes. Cherries are also very high in potassium, which is known to help regulate heart rate and lower blood pressure.
Cherries contain natural melatonin, which is a powerful antioxidant and free radical scavenger that helps “cool down” excess inflammation and associated oxidative stress. It also plays a vital role in sleep and bodily regeneration. New research finds drinking tart cherry juice twice a day can help you sleep nearly 90 more minutes a night.
1st of 3 Articles on Super foods- to be continued…
I hope that you found these hints helpful and wish you a great rest of the summer. If you have any questions or comments about this article, homeopathy, or any other of our offered services and products, please contact us at (519) 603-0505 and we will be happy to talk to you. Or, to book an appointment, please call us or go online to www.kwhomeopathicmedicine.com
Irene Schwens, C.Tran., DHMHS
Owner /
Expertise and training in Classical Homeopathy
and Live Cell Microscopy
