First published by
Jane Curry Publishing 2013
[Wentworth Concepts Pty Ltd]
PO Box 780 Edgecliff NSW 2027 Australia
www.janecurrypublishing.com.au
Copyright Seana Smith, 2013
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any other information storage retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.
National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry
Author: Smith, Seana.
Title: Superfoods index: Top 50 foods to boost health and vitality/Seana Smith.
ISBN: 978-0-9872275-8-4 (print edition)
ISBN: 978-1-922190-12-3 (Epdf edition)
ISBN: 978-1-922190-13-0 (Epub edition)
ISBN: 978-1-922190-14-7 (Kindle edition)
Subjects: Natural foods.
Nutrition.
AntioxidantsNutritional aspects.
Detoxification (Health).
Dewey Number: 641.302
Cover images: Getty Images, shutterstock
Cover and internal design: Deborah Parry
Production: Karen Young
Printed in Australia by McPhersons Printing Group
Are you ready to supercharge your diet?
Superfoods are the best foods we can eat as they are supercharged with antioxidants, vitamins and all the essential nutrients we need for a life of good health and vitality.
Superfoods make you healthier because our bodies absolutely need protein, minerals, vitamins, good carbohydrates and fats, antioxidants and much much more to function optimally. They make you happier because the brain needs all that good stuff too, especially the good fats and vitamins and wealthier because after reading Superfoods Index you wont spend all your hard earned cash on takeaways and junk food.
So heres the who, what, where and why of the top 50 Superfoods: including nuts, berries, avocado, barley, chia, lean meat, broccoli and thankfully chocolate. With tips on buying, storing and cooking, this supercharged book contains all you need to make your life zing with health and vitality.
About the Author: Seana Smith was born in Edinburgh and studied at Oxford University. Her first book was published in 2001 and she has since then had a successful series of books, including the unsurpassed Australian Autism Handbook.
Are you ready to supercharge your diet? Ready to cast aside the foods that are not doing your body and brain any favours? Ready to choose widely from this list of the top 50 superfoods and ramp up the nutrition in your food and drink choices?
Its easy!
So what is a superfood?
Some foods are simply more nutritious, better for you, more packed with the good stuff. These are the superfoods. And if we all ate more of those foods, wed be healthier, happier and, very probably, wealthier and wiser too.
Healthier because our bodies absolutely need protein, minerals, vitamins, good carbohydrates and fats, antioxidants and much, much more to function optimally.
Happier because the brain needs all that good stuff too, especially the good fats and vitamins.
Wealthier because we wont be spending heaps of money on either:
- Bulk junk food that leaves you literally starving for vitamins and minerals, locked into a cycle of overeating to try to give your body what it craves and needs.
- Bottles of expensive supplements; its well known that generally our bodies absorb far more nutrients from real, whole foods than from anything in a capsule.
Wiser because of that better functioning brain and because we all know for sure that over-processed foods and junk foods dull the mind, as well as the body!
Its about quality AND quantity
Its all very well knowing that cloves have the highest amount of excellent polyphenolic antioxidants, and by a huge margin. But unless you are going to eat 100 grams at a time, are they really that useful? Have you ever tried to eat 100 grams of cloves??!!
Its better to know that drinking four to five cups of tea a day is also going to deliver a great antioxidant boost. Or perhaps to know that a daily diet featuring an abundance of the fruit and vegetables listed in this book will give you SO much more nutrition than the odd expensive handful of the next trendy so-called superfood to come along.
Its also important to understand that some fruits and vegetables are better than others, as are some meats, some nuts and even some drinks and sweet treats.
Isnt superfood a term just used and abused by marketers?
Well, the term does get abused a bit these days. If you see the word superfood used in the same sentence as multi-level marketing, its probably a good idea to run away screaming.
But seriously, in every food group there are simply some foods that are SO much more nutritious, SO much better for you. Very often these have been used both as powerful foods and also medicines for thousands of years. Modern medical research has at last been catching up with the wisdom of the ages to explain why these foods really are superfoods.
For example, when you think of fruits, which ones stand out as the best for you? Believe me its not an apple a day that will keep the doctor away.
Think blueberries and raspberries or the mighty blackcurrant or elderberry instead. And dont just sprinkle them on your porridge! Get into the habit of eating 100 grams a day, or make it even more. Thats the way to really pump up your diet. Find the good stuff in every food group and set it squarely in the middle of your plate, bowl or cup.
Superfoods for weight loss
Theres a move afoot to concentrate less on what foods we shouldnt eat, and to look more at foods we can happily eat more of. Good plan! Eating nutrient rich foods fills the body up, lets the body know that there is plenty of what it needs and helps stop cravings for unhealthy junk.
Too many people are overweight yet undernourished. There are serious concerns in the medical community about the levels of fibre, vitamins D, A, C and E as well as calcium and potassium in the average diet.
Eat nutrient rich foods and you wont have to worry about being undernourished. Eat whole nutrient rich foods and youll find that they can give you everything your body and brain require and for FAR LESS CALORIES than nutrient-poor foods.
Dont just count calories, make your calories count more!
PS Dont forget to move that body too, wiggle, jiggle, dance, hop, skip, jump or jog. Your heart deserves it and your brain will thank you for a bit of movement too!
Variety is the spice of life
Dont forget its really vital to eat a wide variety of superfoods as well as a wide variety of foods in general. Thats why Ive included more information than just the top 50. Read through the Best of the Rest sections and eat plenty of these foods too.
Your body and brain will benefit from diversity, from indulging in the thousands of nutrients that foods contain. So eat lots and lots of different fruits, vegetables, nuts, meat, fish, lentils, beans, spices, herbs and drinks.
Different foods contain different amounts of vitamins and minerals as well as the thousands of phytochemicals and antioxidants that we know are vital for optimum health. Its a simple equation: eating a wide variety of foods will give you a wide variety of nutrients. Your body needs them!