Debora Yost - The Complete Guide to Natural Cures: Effective Holistic Treatments for Everything from Allergies to Wrinkles

EVERY TIME YOU put food in your mouth, you are making a choice that your body has to live with. A healthy dietthat is, one devoid of processed foods and as low as you can go in saturated fatis essential to your overall health and well-being. In the last several decades, however, scientists have found that there is an abundance of nutrients with the ability to do more than support good healththey also have the power to help prevent and, even in some instances, help cure disease. This book offers many recommendations for taking nutritional supplements for more than 85 common health conditions. In some instances, specific foods are recommended. If your body is deficient or in need of extra stores of a certain nutrient, get familiar will the nutrients best food choices and incorporate them into your diet. Following you will find healthy food choices for the nutrients listed in this book.

CALCIUM

Dairy products are best known as excellent calcium choices but heres a fact that may surprise you: low-fat versions contain more calcium than full-fat versions. Foods to go for include these.

Buttermilk

Carob

Cocoa

Gruyre cheese

Low-fat and nonfat yogurt

Low-fat and skim milk

Monterey Jack cheese

Part-skim ricotta cheese

Spinach

Swiss cheese

CAROTENES

More than 500 kinds of carotenes have been discovered, the most common being beta-carotene. Dark green and orange pigments in fruits and vegetables indicate the presence of carotene. These are among the best.

Bell peppers

Carrots

Collards

Kale

Papaya

Pumpkin

Spinach

Sweet potatoes

Tomatoes

Winter squash

COPPER

Copper is found in organ meats, which you want to avoid because of their super-high cholesterol count. Instead, go for these.

Chicken breast

Collard greens

Eggs

Endive

Kale

Legumes

Nuts

Peas

FIBER

You want to incorporate both soluble and insoluble fiber into your diet. Soluble fiber, meaning it dissolves in water, helps regulate blood sugar and also helps lower cholesterol. Insoluble fiber is the indigestible variety that helps support good digestive and bowel health. You should get 25 grams of total fiber a day.

Soluble fiber

Apples

Articokes

Beans

Blackberries

Blueberries

Lentils

Oat bran

Raisins

Insoluble Fiber

Apples

Artichokes

Banana

Blackberries

Broccoli

Brussels sprouts

Nuts

Peaches

Peas

Wheat bran

FOLATE

Organ meats are among the best source of folate but their sky-high cholesterol count does not make them a good choice for obvious reason. The smart solution is to go for the best source in the plant world. A serving of most types of beans will give you close to 50 percent of the DV.

Asparagus

Beans (adzuki, black, kidney, navy, etc.)

Chickpeas

Chicory

Cowpeas

Lima beans

Spinach

String beans

Turnip greens

Wheat

IRON

There are two types of iron, heme and non-heme. Heme iron, the kind found in animal products, is the easiest for the body to absorb. While there are many vegetables high in iron, they are all non-heme, which the body does not fully absorb. You can enhance your bodys ability to absorb the non-heme iron found in legumes and iron-fortified cereals by combining them with meat or foods containing vitamin C. Here are some of the richest sources of iron.

Clams

Cream of wheat

Dry cereal (iron-enriched)

Mussels

Oysters

Poultry

Pumpkin seeds

Red meat

Soybeans

Tofu

MANGANESE

Virtually all whole grains, nuts, and seeds contain manganese. Other top choices of this mineral include these.

Halibut

Pumpkin seeds

Quinoa

Rice bran

Spinach

Sunflower seeds

Tofu

Wheat germ

NIACIN

Any type of poultry and many varieties of fish are good sources of niacin. These are among the best.

Capon

Chicken breast

Halibut

Quail

Rainbow trout

Squab

Swordfish

Tuna

Turkey breast

Veal loin

OMEGA-3 FATTY ACIDS

Fatty cold-water fish are the best sources of omega-3 fatty acids. Poach, bake, or saut the fish. Deep-fat frying, in addition to adding unnecessary fat, destroys the fatty acids. Top picks include the following.

Anchovies

Atlantic herring

Atlantic mackerel

Atlantic sardines

Bluefin tuna

Pink salmon

Rainbow trout

Sockeye salmon

Swordfish

Tilefish

POTASSIUM

Any kind of fruit or vegetable offers potassium. Among the best sources are these.

Apricots

Avocado

Baked potatoes

Bananas

Beet greens

Clams

Orange juice

Prune juice

Raisins

Yams

PHYTONUTRIENTS

Plant foods contain an abundance of these special nutrients, many of which possess special healing powers. Classes of phytonutrients found in this book and their major food sources include the following.

Ellagic acid

Apples

Berries

Grapes

Green tea

Indoles

Broccoli

Brussels sprouts

Cabbage

Cauliflower

Kale

Isoflavones

Everything soy

Lignans

Flaxseed

Walnuts

Limonoids

Lemons

Limes

Peels of these citrus fruits

Lycopene

Red grapefruit

Tomatoes

Phenols

Blueberries

Broccoli

Cabbage

Tomatoes

Whole grains

VITAMIN A

Beef liver is the richest source of vitamin A (one serving contains 901% of the DV), but its high cholesterol content is off the charts as well. If you dont have a cholesterol problem, an occasional indulgence is okay. These are better choices.

Beet greens

Butternut squash

Cantaloupe

Carrots

Dandelion greens

Eel

Lamb

Mango

Spinach

Tuna

VITAMIN B6

Some sources of B6 tend to be high in fat, such as goose liver and sausage. Here are healthier choices.

Bananas

Carrot juice

Chicken breast

Chickpeas

Potatoes

Prune juice

Rice bran

Squab

Tuna

Turkey breast

VITAMIN B12

Animal and fish products are loaded with vitamin B12. The healthiest choices are these.

Alaskan king crab