A healthy diet improves overall health, but can foods really fight disease? Researchers say the answer is a resounding yes! Among your many healthy choices, include these five foods that fight disease: pomegranates, garlic, olive oil, fish containing omega 3 fatty acids, and nuts.
Pomegranates
Pomegranates are rich in disease-fighting anti-oxidants. This unusual red fruit with the “seedy” reputation may fight cancer, osteoarthritis, and heart disease. Puns aside, the pomegranate has been renowned as a healthy food since ancient times, but some are put off by its many seeds.
Experts caution that their studies have been made with pure pomegranate juice and/or fruit, not pomegranate added to other foods. In one study, people with cardiac ischemia (insufficient blood flow to the heart) showed less ischemia after drinking slightly over eight ounces of pomegranate juice daily for three months. Pomegranates’ antioxidants may help keep LDL cholesterol from forming plague in the arteries. Add this super food to your diet by eating the fruit or drinking pure pomegranate juice.
Garlic
Garlic, also renowned from ancient times for its healing powers, has antibiotic properties and recent studies have shown that it may improve blood flow. The human body turns chemicals from garlic into hydrogen sulfide, a cell messenger which triggers the relaxation of blood vessels, improving circulation.
Garlic is one of the few plant foods which supply the building blocks for hydrogen sulfide. In addition, garlic is simply delicious. Try mixing garlic in ground meat patties before cooking or sneak some extra garlic into your pasta or pizza sauce and let the whole family reap the pungent herb’s health benefits.
Olive Oil
A staple of the heart-healthy Mediterranean diet, olive oil has been used to improve health for millennium. Olive oil contains phenols, nutrients with anti-clotting, anti-oxidant, and anti-inflammatory products. Diets rich in olive oil may help prevent hardening of the arteries. New studies have also shown that olive oil may help heal ulcers.
Experts caution that highly processed olive oil has been stripped of most phenols. Virgin olive oils provide the most health benefits. So discover the delicious benefits of a salad dressed in balsamic vinegar and virgin olive oil and use olive oil for sautéing.
Heart health fish with Omega-3 fatty acids
Fish has long been touted as “brain food.” The omega-3 fatty acids found in some fish can improve blood flood and act as anti-oxidants, thus enhancing the brain’s performance. Researchers believe that eating foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids can significantly improve your heart’s health by improving blood flow and fighting hardening of the arteries.
Cold-water oily fish such as herring, salmon and trout contain the most omega 3 fatty acids. Experts recommend eating fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids once or twice a week. Fish can be prepared in a variety of different ways, but try to avoid deep-frying when possible.
Nuts
Nuts are also disease fighting foods. Nuts contain the same omega-3 fatty acids that heart healthy fish do. In addition, nuts contain vitamin E, protein, fiber, copper, magnesium, and folic acid. The Nurses’ Health Study, which documented the health of thousands of nurses during fourteen years, discovered that those who ate five ounces or better of nuts per week decreased their chances of dying from heart disease by over-a- third compared to those who did not eat this amount.
Nuts can be an effective part of a weight-loss plan because they help keep your blood sugar level and satisfy hunger, so that you won’t be tempted by sweets and other diet no-noes. Nuts are high in calories; for example, thirty regular dry-roasted peanuts contain 170 calories. To fight disease, eat a handful of nuts as a daily snack, but don’t eat them by the bowlful.
Sources
Magee, Elaine, MPH, RD. “Pomegranate Power” WebMD. http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/pomegranate-power
“Olive oil’s Heart-Healthy Secret” WebMD. http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/news/20051111/olive-oils-heart-healthy-secret
Parker, Hilary. “Antioxidants and Omega-3 fatty acids” http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/features/antioxidants-and-omega-3-fats-functional-foods-to-boost-health?page=2
Warner, Jennifer. “Why Garlic is Good for You” http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/news/20071015/why-garlic-is-good-for-you
Zelman, Kathleen M., MPH, RD, LD. “Go Nuts on Your Diet” http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/go-nuts-on-your-diet
Zelman, Kathleen M., MPH. “Sneak ‘Superfoods’ into Your Diet” WebMD. http://www.webmd.com/diet/guide/sneak-superfoods-into-your-diet
Zelman, Kathleen M., MPH. “With Fruits and Veggies, More Matters” WebMD. http://www.webmd.com/diet/guide/fruits-veggies-more-matters
