Collins - An A-Z Guide to Healing Foods: A Shoppers Companion

A Super Guide to Super Foods! Let food be thy medicine, and let Elise Marie Collins be the Hippocrates of healing food guides.

Kenneth D. Fine, MD, founder and director of The Intestinal Health Institute and the EnteroLab.com Reference Laboratory

The encyclopedic information about the nutritional, medical, and holistic benefits of foods in An AZ Guide to Healing Foods is so fascinating that every time I look something up, I just keep reading. Thanks to Elise Collins, who has made this the easiest shopper's guide ever. I now shop smarter and eat better.

Dana Jacobi, author of 12 Best Foods Cookbook and The Essential Best Foods Cookbook

As a nutrition doctor, I have dedicated my career to the idea of food as medicine. This book is a wonderful tool for people who also believe in this concept and want to make the best possible and most enjoyable eating choices for optimal health.

Melina B. Jampolis, MD, author of The No-Time-to-Lose Diet

This useful guide reminds us that an amazing array of edibles, from the mundane to the exotic, deserve to be labeled superfoods.

Daphne Miller, MD, author of The Jungle Effect

This easy-to-use companion belongs in the kitchen for everyday use. Health expert Elise Collins has distilled an enormous amount of information into a compact, concise resource on the nutritional properties and healing benefits of foods. This book brings to your kitchen the practical knowledge of using food as your medicine for healing yourself and your family.

Kami McBride, herbalist

Straightforward, clear, and organized simply, An AZ Guide to Healing Foods contains lots of information about what is in a wide variety of foods, as well as where to shop for them. I especially like the suggestions for how to use food to spur healing of many common illnesses and problems. Elise Collins has helped simplify the confusion about what to eat by making finding and understanding nutritional facts both fascinating and accessible. Highly recommended for foodies and emerging foodies.

Judith Hanson Lasater, PhD, yoga teacher since 1971 and author of 8 books including Yogabody: Anatomy, Kinesiology and Asana

First published in 2009 by

Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC

With offices at:

500 Third Street, Suite 230

San Francisco, CA 94107

www.redwheelweiser.com

Copyright 2009 by Elise Marie Collins

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC. Reviewers may quote brief passages.

ISBN: 978-1-57863-419-0

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST.

Cover design by Maija Tollefson

Text design by Maxine Ressler

Typeset in Fournier and Super Grotesk A

Cover photographs: Blueberries kone/iStockphoto.com; cranberries pederk/iStockphoto.com; pomegranate Anna Sedneva/iStockphoto.com; sugar peas Alisdair James/iStockphoto.com

Printed in Canada

TCP

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials Z39.48-1992 (R1997).

This book is not meant to treat, diagnose, or prescribe. The information contained herein is in no way a substitute for medical advice. For any medical condition or symptoms, always consult with a qualified physician or appropriate health care professional. Neither the author nor the publisher accepts any responsibility for your health or how you choose to use the information in this book.

Thank you to the spirit in each of us that seeks peace, love, and greater good for all. Thank you to Ragi and Krishna for your encouragement, support, and down-to-earth sensibility. Thanks to my parents for their support, especially my mom who always made fresh peas. Thank you to Amber Guetebier, Ali McArt, Jordan Overby, and Jan Johnson of Red Wheel/Weiser and Conari Press. Thank you Yunah Kim and Brenda Knight.

Throughout history, cultures have relied on the plants and edibles around them for cures. Before Viagra, the Aztecs believed avocados were potent aphrodisiacs. Ancient Greeks used carrots instead of Zantac to soothe their stomach ailments. Native Americans administered chocolate instead of Tylenol to break a fever. Long before calorie counting, double-blind studies, laboratory studies of edible plant extracts, and other scientific investigations, humans used food to alleviate symptoms, acquire energy, create stamina, uplift the spirit, mend wounds, increase fertility, and much more. Food has always been used as medicine.

Biology and nutritional science have logically explained the process of eating, digesting, and assimilating our diet. Just in the last century, vitamins were discovered and a scientific model of food was born. Food was divided into macronutrients such as proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. Micronutrients like vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients were studied and categorized. Much has been learned in the era of nutritional labels, but it's important to remember that there is so much more to the healing properties of food and diet. An attitude of reverence for the miraculous alchemy of the human body reminds us to be humble in our present knowledge and to acknowledge that our views of the medicinal value of foods are ever evolving.

Surrounded by processed, junk, and fast foods in grocery stores, on the job, and at the corner caf, we are challenged to choose vital, minimally processed, healing foods. This guide strives to inspire through scientific research, ancient wisdom, common sense, and an increasing base of knowledge of therapeutic foods. A few years ago a powerful healing fruit called acai was relatively unknown outside of Brazil, where it's been used medicinally for centuries. Now millions see the health benefits of acai touted everywherefrom The Oprah Winfrey Show to the Internet. Let this guide serve to inspire you to explore, prepare, procure, grow, taste, savor, and enjoy healing foods that suit your individual needs. Get ready to fight inflammation with string beans, prevent cancer with broccoli sprouts, and build immunity with shitake mushrooms!

Acai (ah-SAH-ee): Grown mainly in South America, fresh acai berries may be hard to find in Europe or North America. Yet even when consumed frozen, powdered, in a paste, or as a juice, acai has more antioxidants than almost any other food. Acai is an excellent source of potassium, B vitamins, vitamins C and E as well as magnesium, copper, zinc, and phosphorus. Beta-sitosterol, a phytosterol found in acai, has been shown to lower unhealthy LDL cholesterol. Acai juice or smoothies have anti-inflamatory properties and can help reduce symptoms of arthritis. Scientific interest is growing on acai's ability to prevent or help reverse cancer. Lab tests showed that acai berry extract exposed to human leukemia cells killed between 45 and 86 percent of the cancerous cells. Research on this turbocharged antioxidant berry is continuing, but its reputation as an Amazonian superfood precedes it. Preparation tip: Avoid acai processed with high heat.