Roman Espejo - Superfoods

Judy Galens, Manager, Frontlist Acquisitions

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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

Superfoods / Roman Espejo, book editor. pages cm. -- (At issue)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-7377-7412-2 (hardcover) -- ISBN 978-0-7377-7413-9 (pbk.)

1. Nutrition. 2. Health--Nutritional aspects. I. Espejo, Roman, 1977- editor. RA784.S858 2016 613.2--dc23

2015025548

Printed in the United States of America 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 19 18 17 16 15

1. Superfoods Have Significant Health Benefits
Josh Axe

2. Superfoods That Dont Have Publicists
Ian Marber

3. The Research on Superfoods Is Exaggeratedby the Media
National Health Service

4. The Superfood Revolution
Nigel Huddleston

5. More Restaurants Are Adding Superfoodsto Their Menus
Bret Thorn

6. The Food Issue: A Superfood ScientistWalks Into a Farmers Market
Mandy Oaklander

7. Kale Is a Superfood
Sayer Ji

8. Increasing Quinoa Production Has HarmfulEnvironmental Impacts
Mark Hawthorne

9. Edible Insects Are the Next Superfood
Jahred Liddie

10. Juicing Can Benefit Health
Lisa Sussman

11. Juicing Can Be Harmful to Health
Diane Wedner

I ts hard to keep up with whats being hailed as the next big superfood. Take, for instance, a sampling of headlines found at the beginning of 2015: 9 New Superfoods Youll Be Eating in 2015, New Celebrity Superfood Faves of 2015, The Hot New Superfoods and Fads for 2015, Over Kale? Here Are the New Superfoods of 2015, and Forecast: Seeds, Nuts Top Superfoods for 2015. Its just as hard to keep up with those foods that may be already passe. 2014s favorites were chia seeds, quinoa, sweet potatoes, salmon, kale and goji berries among others, writes Racha Adib, a dietitian based in Beirut, Lebanon. While you should keep these superfoods handy, lets take a look at what 2015 has in store for us.1

Amaranth is one of the foods that Adib shortlists as the next superfood superstar. Its an ancient grain that was domesticated up to eight thousand years ago by the Aztecs. Why [is it] trending? Its packed with protein of unusually high quality and its gluten-freea great option for people with celiac disease and gluten intolerances,2 she says. In fact, its protein content hovers around 13 percent, much higher than other grains. You may hear the protein in amaranth referred to as complete because it contains lysine, an amino acid missing or negligible in many grains,3 states the Whole Grains Council. Another touted benefit is that its healthful for the heart. Amaranth has shown potential as a cholesterol-lowing whole grain in several studies, adds the council.

Coconut palm sugar is another superfood that Adib says may start trending. Derived from the sap of flower buds of coconut palms, it has been used as a sweetener in Indonesia and the Philippines for millennia. According to the Philippine Coconut Authority, coconut sugar has a lower Glycemic Index (35) compared to table sugar (60), making it a healthier alternative especially for Diabetics, but more studies are needed before making any conclusions,4 she observes. Plus, coconut palm sugar is reported to be healthier than cane sugar. [C]o-conut sugar is 70 to 79 percent sucrose and only three percent to nine percent each of fructose and glucose. This is an advantage, because you want to keep your consumption of fructose as low as possible, and cane sugar is 50 percent fruc-tose,5 maintains Andrew Weil, founder, professor, and director of the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona.

As for greens, Adib forecasts that dandelion may trump kale as the leafy superfood du jour. Like other greens, theyre a great source of antioxidants and a wide array of vitaminsa great way to support your diet as opposed to vitamin supplements. They also contain a lot of iron and fiber,6 she says. Dandelion greens are eaten as a salad and added as a key ingredient to juice cleanses. The herb stimulates the flow of bile from the liver into the gall bladder, making dandelion a key ingredient in liver cleanse formulas. It helps to break down liver fats and is an effective diuretic,7 states Donna Earnest Pravel for the website Natural News. Furthermore, it may even have powerful cancer-fighting properties. The scientific community has been frenetically studying dandelion recently, due to encouraging evidence that dandelion suppresses the growth and invasive behavior in several types of cancer, Pravel continues.

And how about the next superfruit? Adib nominates baobab, a tangy, gourd-like fruit that grows from the baobab tree in Africa and is valued for its medicinal properties. Baobab contains six times as much vitamin C as oranges, twice as much calcium as milk, and its also high in magnesium, iron, fiber, and antioxidants, she says. Moreover, it has prebiotic qualities that can stimulate the good bacteria in your gut and helps you maintain a healthy digestive system.8 Everywhere else in the world, its available as a jam and in powder form. Baobab powder is... considered to be a great rehydration agent due to the high electrolyte profile, namely potassium and magnesium,9 writes Amy Crawford, founder of the Holistic Ingredient blog in Australia. In addition these electrolytes and iron are all important alkalising minerals to promote correct body pH.