Superfoods - are they real?
Eating the rainbow with colourful fruits and vegetables is great for our health and wellness
A superfood is a particular food or ingredient that is considered highly nutritious or nutrient dense. This can be because of a particularly high level of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants or other properties that support overall health and wellbeing.
We all know that eating more fruits and vegetables is good for us but do we know which ones address certain things better? Just like calories, not every vegetable has the same effect on our bodies so here are some I love to include every week, some I have every day.
CELERY has anti inflammatory properties, Vitamin K, C and folate. It contains compounds called phthalides that can help relax blood vessels and reduce blood pressure.My green juices always contain celery and also use them chopped finely in salads.
BEETROOT is one of my favourite foods … because it is pink!
Also beetroot is rich in a natural chemical called nitrates. Plants take nitrogen from the soil and convert it into nitrates, which are vital for healing and reducing inflammation in the human body. Which is why approximately 80% of human dietary intake of valuable and the most absorbable nitrates are derived from plants. Organic preferably.
Beetroot juice has been studied for it’s performance enhancing potential and is now added to all sorts of sports and exercise supplements. This is because when muscles are in the resting state, the nitrates in beetroot juice help to relax and dilate blood vessels, which means more oxygen gets into the area. This aids recovery after exercise.
I juice them, eat pickled in salads, roast them with sweet potatoes - all delicious.
CARROTS are high in chlorogenic acid, which helps relax blood vessels and reduce inflammation. I grate for salad, use in juices, steam or roast.
BERRIES contain anthocyanin which have been shown to increase nitric oxide levels in the blood, helping reduce blood pressure. I use frozen berries in smoothies and fresh for other times. Wild blueberries contain much more nutrition and frozen ones can be found in the health food shop.
BROCOLLI, brussel sprouts, cabbage and cauliflower are all cruciferous vegetables and contain indole-3-carbinol, a compound that supports liver detoxification, inflammation and oestrogen metabolism. Love broccoli in stirfries.
APPLES are high in the soluble fibre pectin, which can lower cholesterol levels and promote bowel health. “An apple a day” really could keep the doctor away.
PARSLEY is great for liver cleansing - a fatty liver can affect our sleep amongst other things, and a diet high in sugar and/or fat (not just alcohol) can cause a fatty liver. The good news is that the liver can regenerate itself if we eat a variety of natural foods, focusing on vegetables, especially the dark green ones, and some fruits.
KIWI fruit contains an enzyme that helps the body digest proteins.
TUMERIC has long been used for it’s healing properties - there’s a reason it is in curries. The bioactive substance is curcumin - a powerful polyphenol with the ability to increase the amount of antioxidants our body produces which is why it can be used to help the fight against cancer and other diseases.
GINGER is something I love to use in fresh juices and stir fries and I have learnt that when I use organic ginger from the health food shop, I need much less than regular ginger - I only learnt this when I made a juice that nearly blew my head off! Gingerol is the active constituent found in fresh ginger. It has antioxidant effects, is antibacterial, anti viral so helps the immune system.
The other benefit of eating all these superfoods is the gut friendly fibre that helps build our microbiota, a necessity for good immunity, moods and so much more.
The Mediterranean diet is high in foods that contain polyphenols which help us fight disease.
Also consider that greens like spinach contain calcium - in fact a cup of milk contains less calcium than a cup of spinach which contains 245 milligrams.
There is a bio flavonoid called Quercitin found in onions, apples, broccoli and leafy greens that is essential for good gut health.
We can also benefit from better hydration when we eat vegetables and fruits as many contain a large amount of water - just think cucumber (which is 95% water) and watermelon.
Colourful plate of food on my day retreat
If we think more about food as medicine then our choices may vary which will ultimately give us the health, energy and good mental state that we all deserve.
I consider all plants as superfoods and for great gut health we should be aiming for 30 different varieties a week which is actually quite achievable if you think it includes:
Vegetables
Plants
Herbs & Spices
Nuts & seeds
Beans, pulses & legumes
Rice, oats, quinoa etc
So why not set your self a goal over the next 7 days of logging how many different varieties of plants you consume and see if you can get to 30.
An example of breakfast could be oats, hemp seeds, chia seeds, cinnamon, chopped apple, & blueberries and raspberries - that’s 7 in 1 meal.
If you had a big green salad with beetroot, tomatoes, olives, raw sauerkraut chickpeas and brown rice and toasted pumpkin seeds - that would be at least 10 different plants.
So hopefully you see how it is something we can all do with a little bit of thought and effort.
I appreciate that some people find it hard to know what to eat or maybe have got out of good habits so I’m excited to be running a 28 day healthy eating challenge that starts on 9th May.
It is run online (and doesn’t involve exercise) so anyone, anywhere can join and there is an early bird price of just £37 for the 4 weeks so why not join us.
So if you are feeling sluggish, bloated and your clothes are a bit tighter than you’d like, click here to find out more and register your spot.
And if you’d like some free inspiration there is always our free Facebook Group - click here to join the “Zest for Life Community”
Finally for anyone who read the whole of this blog - well done! It shows you care about your health and wellbeing so I have a free gift.
If you live in the Bath/Bristol/Somerset area you can get a free bottle of the power juice (as I call it) that helps boost your joint health, gut health and so much more. Welljuiced are offering a free bottle worth £10 to anyone who subscribes using this code WKZITA. The fresh, hand made juice is packed with quality ingredients that you can read about on the website here
Lots of “food for thought” excuse the pun so if you found this useful please share with others as my passion is to inspire more people to eat well.
If you read my back story you’ll have seen that I used to be an overweight, unhealthy, non-exercising asthmatic so I really do understand what it’s like to feel bloated, sluggish and unhealthy.
I now realise that drinking diet coke, eating biscuits and chocolate in the office as well as big bowls of cereal because I was too tired to prepare a meal with vegetables etc in it is one of the reasons I was heavy, had bad psoriasis, sore joints and generally not in a good way, despite the fact I was in my 20s!
So please let me help you in my 28 day healthy eating programme or any of the other ways I help people.
I’m off to eat some colourful food now :0)
Zita x
ps As a woman over 50 I know how diet is even more important as we head through peri-menopause, menopause and beyon, so although I encourage exercise, health starts with what we eat and drink.