14 Foods your doctors eat
Food can save your life. That’s no exaggeration. But if you’re saying “yes” to the wrong diet—one crammed with sugar, industrial fat, salt, excess meat, and refined flour—you could be headed for a health disaster. Put the right foods on your plate, though, and you’re making a choice that could ward off weight gain, diabetes, heart disease, and even cancer. We turned to integrative medicine expert Tasneem Bhatia, MD, author of What Doctors Eat, to see which foods the nation’s top docs pile on their plates.
Beans
Powerhouse Profile: Packed with antioxidants, protein, and fiber, beans help lower your risk of diabetes, heart disease, and even obesity. This high-fiber food also serves as a natural detoxifying agent, pulling toxins, cholesterol, and estrogen from your body.
Bonus Tip: To avoid dangerous bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical found in most canned-food liners, and save money in the process, choose dried organic beans, soak for several hours, and rinse before cooking.
Green Tea
Powerhouse Profile: Green tea is loaded with potent antioxidant polyphenols called catechins, most notably one called EGCG, or epigallocatechin gallate. Study after study shows green tea can lower your risk of colon, breast, gastric, lung, and prostate cancers.
Bonus Tip: Enjoy it cold, too. Iced green tea is just as potent as a hot cup. Just hold the milk. The jury’s out on whether adding dairy can erase green tea’s health benefits.
Pomegranates
Powerhouse Profile: Pomegranates top many superfood lists, and with good reason. Their antioxidant-rich seeds are also crammed with important amino acids and immune-supporting minerals like zinc and copper and other compounds that could lower cholesterol and protect your skin from sunburn.
Bonus Tip: Look for 100 percent pure pomegranate juice; skip versions with added sugar…that will actually damage your body.
Green Veggies
Powerhouse Profile: Broccoli is packed with sulforaphane, a compound that can protect against cancer or recurrences of certain cancers. Turn to dark, leafy greens like kale for anti-inflammatory vitamin K and lutein, a carotenoid that helps lower your risk of macular degeneration. Eat green for your heart, too.
Just one serving of raw greens a day (or ½ cup cooked) lowers your risk of heart attack by 23 percent, according to the Harvard Nurses’ Health Study.
Bonus Tip: Steam broccoli until it becomes bright green; overcooking increases bitterness and zaps nutrients. Serve with whole grains, nuts, red peppers, or carrots if you don’t like broccoli’s natural flavor.
Blueberries
Powerhouse Profile: Of all the berries, blueberries pack the biggest dose of anthocyanin compounds, potent cancer antioxidants that give the fruit its blue color. Another sweet benefit? Eating just one cup of blueberries a week can cut your diabetes risk by 23 percent.
Bonus Tip: Buy organic berries in bulk while they’re in season and freeze them for a year-round healthy treat.
Eggs
Powerhouse Profile: Your brain wants you to eat eggs. The popular breakfast food helps produce the neurotransmitters dopamine, norepinephrine, and epinephrine, bolstering your alertness, energy, and mood. Eggs are also rich in choline, a B vitamin mandatory for proper cell functioning.
Bonus Tip: Look for pastured eggs. Hens raised outside on pasture produce eggs with 1/3 less cholesterol and up to six times the amount of immune-boosting vitamin D. Pastured eggs are also two times richer in brain- and heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids than eggs from caged hens.
Kefir
Powerhouse Profile: Similar to yogurt, kefir is high in protein and calcium, boasting higher levels of healthy bacteria and lower levels of lactose. These fermented beverages help populate your gut with immune-boosting healthy bacteria and aid weight loss.
Bonus Tip: Whether you’re reaching for yogurt or kefir, be sure to look for plain options with low or no added sugars.
Source: ABC News
Published: 29 Jan 2014
Category: Features, Wellness and Complementary Therapies
