Eat Super Foods to Prevent Disease & For Maximum Nutrition

I’m big on simple things:  simple foods that I can pronounce, find in the store, and use in regular old recipes. Simple fun with my family. Simply enjoying dinner. Most of the time I complicate things unnecessarily, but I do appreciate the simple.  I appreciate having a simple list of foods that are able to help my body stay healthy in a variety of different ways. The Super Foods at Kitchen Stewardship fit the bill just right.

Super Foods For Disease Prevention

Scan the list below for the health issues you’re most interested in. The link for each food will take you to information about the health benefits and sometimes shares recipes and/or preparation and storage tips. Also, check out the Super Foods list, and make a concerted effort to include more of them in your weekly routine.

Remember that Super Foods are given that title because they belong to more than one category. When you choose these foods on your plate, you’re getting a two-for-one deal (or three- or four- or more-for-one deal) on the ways it will help you stay healthy.

This is a sad list of diseases I never want to deal with…so you can help reduce your risk by eating the following Super Foods:

May prevent Alzheimers

• cabbage

Reduces high cholesterol

• yogurt
• oats
• sunflower seeds
• wild salmon, walnuts and flax

Lowers LDL

• beans
• yogurt
• tomatoes
• olive oil, peanut butter, avocado
• cinnamon
  

Raises HDL

• yogurt
• honey
• Note:  my husband struggles with low HDL and I KNOW there are more foods that are supposed to help raise HDL. What do you know?

Lowers high triglycerides

• garlic
• onions

Reduces risk of heart disease

• beans
• eggs
• sweet potato, pumpkin, carrots
• oats
• wild salmon, walnuts and flax
• spinach
  
• tomatoes
  
• broccoli, cauliflower, kale, cabbage
• garlic
• onions
• turkey
• oranges

Good for diabetics

• beans
• tomatoes
• oats
  
• garlic
• olive oil, peanut butter, avocado
• wild salmon, walnuts and flax
• turkey
• cinnamon, honey (somewhat debatable)
  
• spinach

Reduces risk of cancer (full of antioxidants)

• beans
• yogurt (colorectal)
• eggs (breast)
• tomatoes
  
• broccoli, cauliflower, kale, cabbage
• garlic
• onions
• hot peppers (recipe no longer available)
• walnuts and almonds
• blueberries
• turkey
• all Super Fruits
• sweet potato, pumpkin, carrots
• spinach
  
• oranges
• wild salmon, walnuts and flax (colon, prostate and breast)
• olive oil, peanut butter, avocado
• honey, dark chocolate

Osteoporosis

• yogurt
• eggs 
  
• tomatoes 
  
• onions
• wild salmon, walnuts and flax
• spinach

Inflammatory bowel disease

• yogurt
• wild salmon, walnuts and flax

Reduces high blood pressure

• yogurt
• eggs
• wild salmon, walnuts and flax
  
• garlic
• onions
• spinach
• oats
• dark chocolate (chocolate always lowers my stress!)  😉

Improves thyroid health

• eggs

Eczema

• yogurt
• spinach (even preventing skin cancer)

Allergies

• yogurt
• raw honey, local only

Asthma

• hot peppers (recipe no longer available)
• oats
• wild salmon and flax

Anti-inflammatory (generally good for arthritis sufferers)

• tomatoes
• olive oil, peanut butter, avocado
• sweet potato
• sunflower seeds
• garlic
• onions
• wild salmon, walnuts and flax
• cinnamon, dark chocolate
  
• spinach

Lowers risk for depression, ADHD

• wild salmon and flax

Helps with menstrual pain and menopause

• wild salmon and flax

Fights yeast

• cinnamon
• yogurt
  

Protects against age-related memory loss

• spinach
• blueberries

Of course, the disclaimer for all this is that I’m just a mom, not a doctor or even a nutritionist. The Internet told me this, and it can tell you, too. Make sure you don’t make any medical decisions based on the information here, just ask medical questions of your doctor.

Eat Super Foods for WHAT?

I’ve realized that rather than a list of vitamins and such in a given food, it would be even more helpful for folks who are seeking to prevent/heal/improve certain conditions to have a list of the super foods organized by how they will help. I know when my mother-in-law had a sudden double bypass, we all wanted as much nutrition information as we could…but only about heart health and diabetes.

First, here are some of the top nutrients you might be looking for in your dinner:

Protein

• beans
• yogurt
• eggs
• oats
• sunflower seeds
• wild salmon
• turkey
• spinach

Fiber

• beans
• sweet potato, pumpkin, carrots
• oats
• sunflower seeds
• flax

Iron

• beans
• eggs
• spinach
  

Folic acid (remember ladies, important in pregnancy!)

• beans
• eggs 
  
• broccoli
• sunflower seeds
• spinach

Calcium

• yogurt
• spinach (but not very bioavailable)

Some helpful Super Food functions for your health:

Eye health

• eggs
• broccoli, cauliflower, kale, cabbage
• sweet potato, pumpkin, carrots
• wild salmon, walnuts and flax
• spinach

Improves digestion

• beans
• yogurt
• onions
• olive oil, peanut butter, avocado
• oats
• spinach
• cinnamon

Feel full longer (good for dieters)

• beans
• yogurt
• eggs 
  

Builds immune system

• yogurt
• broccoli, cauliflower, kale, cabbage
• garlic
• oranges
• sweet potato, pumpkin, carrots
• flax
• cinnamon (fights colds)
• honey
  

Anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal

• garlic
• onions
• cinnamon
• honey