The Enhanced Nourishment Found In Superfoods
Written by Alice E Stewart on July 5th, 2009It is a truth that some foods are healthier than others. Few would squabble that an apple is more nourishing than a potato chip and you will be healthier if you munch broccoli rather than gummy bears, but there is a class of foods that are so superior in dietetic value that they have been dubbed "superfoods". These are foods that can help us to live longer and healthier lives.
The superfoods are foods that have a high concentration of very important nutrients for the sum of calories that they have. Enduring study into these nutrients shows that they are successful in preventing illness as well as reversing the predictable effects of aging. Consuming a diet that is abundant in these vital nutrients can help avert cardiovascular disease, certain types of cancers, type II Diabetes, hypertension and even Alzheimer's disease.
These foods feature a great variety of antioxidants, phytonutrients, polyphenols, omega fatty acids and more. Most of them are whole foods found in nature. They are complex foods that include hundreds of yet to be recognized compounds and nutrients.
Most of the long-term research suggests that these nutrients function best in synergy with each other. It is best to eat a healthy and balanced mixture of foods rather than focusing on just a couple. The advanced nutrition from a extensive range of foods is the best resolution for promoting excellent health and preventing the ailments of aging.
The ORAC scale or the Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity measures the antioxidant power of a food; this is a measurement of how well the antioxidants contained within the food were able to alleviate oxygen free radicals in a test tube. The higher the ORAC number the higher the antioxidant faculty of the food.
There are many foods that count high on the ORAC, though, the food that boasts the highest scores is the acai berry from Brazil. This little berry is overloaded with antioxidants, polyphenols, essential omega fatty acids and a full range of 19 amino acids, which are the building blocks of protein.
Other superfoods include but are not limited to all the other berries, specially blueberries, cranberries and pomegranates, spinach and other greens, cabbage, cauliflower and other cruciferous vegetables, wild salmon, walnuts and other nuts and even tea and dark chocolate.
Eating a good for your health and balanced food intake that includes the first-class nourishment of the most nutritious foods on earth is most likely the very greatest tactic in the world to stay fit and strong, and to ward off illness as we grow old.
Tags: acai berry, Diet, fitness, Health, nutrition, Weight Loss
