Antonis Achilleos; Props styled by Deborah Williams; Food styled by Susan Ottaviano
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Healing Foods
By Gabriele deGroot Redford, March & April 2006
They’re all natural. They have no side effects. And they just might keep you well
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Nearly 2,500 years ago Hippocrates is purported to have said, "Let food
be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food." Granted, there weren't
many drugs around in 400 b.c.e., so the Father of Medicine might just have been
covering his bases. Still, science has since proven that Hippocrates was indeed
onto something—namely, that the food we eat can prevent and in some cases
fight disease.
"There are a tremendous variety of foods and components in foods that
our bodies are programmed to use to keep us healthy, and if we're sick, to
make us well again," says Steven G. Pratt, M.D., author of SuperFoods Rx
(HarperCollins, 2004). "If we want to stay healthy, we have to eat these
whole, nutritious foods."
We've identified nine of the most powerful disease-fighting foods and
have designed a menu featuring all of them (see links at right). Of course,
this list isn't meant to supplant conventional medicine, but adding these
foods to your diet might just mean you spend less time in the doctor's
office reading about these superfoods and more time at home enjoying them.
Whole grains: The new broccoli
We've heard for years that eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables can
protect against heart disease, diabetes, and some forms of cancer. But did you
know that whole grains are now believed to provide just as many benefits?
"Whole grains have this whole army of different phytonutrients that are
doing just as much as fruits and veggies," says Susan Moores, a
Minneapolis nutritionist and a spokesperson for the American Dietetic
Association. (A phytonutrient is the name given to the parts of plants that
have health benefits.) According to researchers at the University of Minnesota,
eating three daily servings of whole grains can reduce the risk of heart
disease by 25 to 36 percent, stroke by 37 percent, and type 2 diabetes by 21 to
27 percent. Whole grains include oats, whole wheat, brown rice, bulgur, and
bran, among others. "Pick foods whose first ingredient contains the word
whole instead of enriched," Moores says.
Cherries: All-natural pain reliever
Scientists studying the link between diet and disease often look for a marker
in the blood called C-reactive protein (CRP). CRP is produced by the body in
response to acute inflammation, like that experienced by arthritis sufferers.
Researchers at the Western Human Nutrition Research Center in Davis,
California, asked volunteers to eat a bowl of 45 fresh Bing cherries and then
measured their levels of CRP. After three hours the level of CRP in the
volunteers' blood decreased. That came as no surprise to Joseph Pizzorno, a
doctor of naturopathic medicine and coauthor of The Encyclopedia of Healing
Foods (Simon & Schuster, 2005). "One of the old-time therapies for
gout [a very painful form of arthritis] was black cherries," says
Pizzorno. "Until recently, nobody really knew why it worked; they just
knew that it did." Of course, nobody's going to eat 45 cherries in one
sitting, but if you suffer from arthritis, you should incorporate this
antioxidant-rich fruit into your diet a couple of times a week.
Yogurt: Immunity booster
For several years now, nutritionists have touted the benefits of probiotics,
the "friendly" bacteria that, when eaten, help fight illness or
disease. Yogurt is the most popular food containing probiotics and may, in
fact, be the most beneficial as well. Two recent studies found that eating
yogurt significantly improved a person's ability to fight off pneumonia.
"Your first communication with the outside world is through your GI
tract," says Pratt. "That's where you absorb all the nutrients
you need to keep your body healthy in the first place. And it's also the
body's biggest immune system fighter." Pratt recommends eating yogurt
every day—just make sure the brand you buy contains "live," or
"active," cultures, as the bacteria (or, rather, the probiotics)
can't do any good if they're dead before you ingest them.
Salmon: Bone strengthener
Any list of healing foods would be remiss not to include salmon, with its
heart-healthy dose of omega-3 fatty acids. Study after study has shown that
incorporating salmon into your diet reduces blood pressure, lowers cholesterol,
and helps prevent heart disease. Now researchers at the University of
California, San Diego, have reported that a higher intake of omega-3s
additionally appears to preserve bone density, keeping your bones stronger and
protecting against falls and fractures. Not crazy about salmon (or just sick of
it by now)? Try upping your intake of other cold-water fish, such as sardines,
tuna, and mackerel. "All of these fish are high in omega-3s, and people
who consume them regularly have a lower risk of heart attack, hypertension, and
stroke," says Jennifer Sacheck, Ph.D., assistant professor at the Friedman
School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University.
Cabbage: Breast-cancer defense
You've likely heard about the anticancer properties of cruciferous
vegetables like broccoli and Brussels sprouts, but several recent studies
suggest that cabbage may be in a class by itself. A study presented at the
November 2005 meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research found
that Polish women who ate cabbage and sauerkraut (fermented cabbage) four or
more times a week were 74 percent less likely to develop breast cancer. Other
studies have found that cabbage may also protect against lung, stomach, and
colon cancers. The superingredient seems to be sulforaphane, a phytochemical in
cabbage that works by stimulating cells to eliminate cancerous substances.
Granted, eating cabbage four times a week might be a little much, but adding it
to soups and salads once or twice a week is a great idea, says Moores.
Walnuts: Good for the ticker
For many years nutritionists warned their clients away from nuts, fearing that
a carte blanche prescription to indulge in this fatty food might lead to
excessive weight gain. Recently, though, as scientists have learned more about
the various types of fats and their impact on health, nuts have come back into
favor. Walnuts, in particular, are unique among nuts because they're full
of omega-3 fatty acids, the same substance that has been shown in salmon to
reduce the risk of heart disease and hypertension. Japanese men and women who
ate a one-fourth to one-third cup of walnuts a day lowered their
"bad" LDL cholesterol levels by up to 10 percent. Walnuts (as well as
almonds and pistachios) are high in arginine, an amino acid that increases
blood flow to the heart.
Blueberries: Keep the mind sharp
When researchers at the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts
University analyzed 40 fruits and vegetables for their disease-fighting
antioxidant activity, blueberries came out on top. And not just by a
little—the study showed that the benefits of eating one serving of wild
blueberries are equivalent to those of eating two to three servings of some
other fruits and vegetables, including apples, broccoli, and even spinach.
Studies published in the past year also show that eating plenty of blueberries
may help lessen brain damage from strokes and may reduce the effects of
Alzheimer's disease or dementia. "Blueberries really show promise in
helping us with our mental acuity—keeping our brain sharp," says
Moores. "The antioxidants in blueberries protect cells from damage, but
now we're finding that other components in blueberries might restore cells
to be more healthy." She recommends eating blueberries a couple of times a
week.
Beans: Ward off colon cancer
One of the most underrated nutritional powerhouses on the market today is
beans, says Moores. Not only are beans a great source of protein and
antioxidants but they're full of fiber, which has been shown in some
studies to help prevent colon cancer. "To stay healthy you really need to
keep your GI tract moving," says Pratt, "and eating beans is a good
way to do that." Furthermore, in a study published in November 2005 in The
Journal of the American Medical Association, a healthy diet rich in lean
protein—about half from plant sources such as beans—was found to
lower blood pressure and "bad" LDL cholesterol, and to cut the risk
of heart disease by 21 percent. It doesn't matter which bean you
choose—"pick a bean, any bean," Moores says—but aim for
two to four servings a week.
Tomatoes: Protect the prostate
Scientists have known for years that regularly eating tomato-based foods can
reduce a man's risk of prostate cancer by up to 35 percent. More recently,
studies have shown that men who already have prostate cancer may benefit as
well. When researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago fed one serving
of pasta with tomato sauce every day for three weeks to 32 men who were
scheduled for prostate surgery, the levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA)
in the patients' blood dropped by nearly 20 percent. (PSA is a measure of
prostate-cancer-cell activity, so the lower the level, the less active the
cancer cells.) The likely active ingredient in tomatoes is lycopene, a powerful
antioxidant that is thought to also be protective against lung and stomach
cancers. In an interesting twist, fresh tomatoes don't appear to be as
protective as cooked tomatoes. Men with prostate cancer should try to eat
cooked tomatoes daily, in soups, chilies, marinara and spaghetti sauces, or
other dishes. Those trying to prevent the disease should indulge twice a
week.
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