Selene Yeager - The Doctors Book of Food Remedies: The Latest Findings on the Power of Food to Treat and Prevent Health Problems—From Aging and Diabetes to Ulcers and Yeast Infections

The Latest Findings on the Power of Food to Treat and Prevent Health ProblemsFrom Aging and Diabetes to Ulcers and Yeast Infections

Selene Yeager and the Editors of Prevention.

N early every day, researchers announce more exciting discoveries that show how the foods we eat help fight disease. There is now no doubt that Mother Natures most delicious foodsfrom apples and broccoli to yogurt and zucchinican be your best medicine for cutting cholesterol, losing weight, preventing cancer, beating allergies, reversing heart disease, and managing scores of other conditions.

Thats why the editors of Prevention are so pleased to bring you this revised and updated version of our best-selling Doctors Book of Food Remedies, which features the latest science-based, doctor-approved information on the healing power of foods.

Thanks to the constant deluge of new studies, we now know that its the remarkable microscopic substances in plants called phytonutrients that act in any number of ways to help us prevent illness and achieve optimal health. Quercetin, lycopene, resveratrol, ellagic acid, sulforaphane, alpha- and beta-carotene... these are just a few of the powerful phytonutrients youll read about in this book. Some stimulate your bodys immune cells and infection-fighting enzymes, preventing colds and flu, and combating environmental toxins. Others help to balance hormone levels, thus reducing the risk of hormone-related conditions, such as symptoms of menopause, and breast and prostate cancer. And still other phytonutrients function as antioxidants, neutralizing the harmful free radicals (unstable oxygen molecules) that are believed to play a role in the onset of so many degenerative diseases.

Today more than 9,000 phytonutrients have been documented, and this is just the tip of the iceberg. These discoveries have changed everything we thought we knew about foods! Oats, for example, have long been known to lower cholesterol because of the dietary fiber they contain. But thats not the only reason they protect the heart. Scientists now know that oats contain natural chemicals called tocotrienols that are 50 percent more powerful than even vitamin E in reducing the risk of heart disease.

Apples are another food that will surprise you. Theyve always been thought to be healthy, mostly because they are so chock-full of vitamins and fiber. But it turns out that its the phytonutrients in apples (found mainly in the skin) that are the powerhouses. In fact, theyre so strong that one study of 40,000 women associated the quercetin and other phytonutrients in apples with a 13 to 22 percent lower risk of cardiovascular disease. In addition, the quercetin in apples (and pears) has been found to help improve lung function, reducing the risk of asthma and obstructive pulmonary disease.

Or take red wine. We all know a glass with dinner can be a great relaxer, but who could have predicted that the resveratrol present in red wine could help make bad low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol less likely to stick to artery walls. Or that wine might even play a role in preventing diabetes.

One of the most exciting discoveries is that some foods can literally stop the chemical changes that can lead to cancer. Watercress, for example, has been found to block some of the harmful effects of cigarette smoke. And strawberries, and other berries that contain ellagic acid, have been shown to block the harmful effects of cancer-causing chemicals in the body.

And as if all this isnt enough to make you head for the produce aisle... scientists have also discovered ways to make the foods that we eat even more powerful. You may know, for instance, that beta-carotene (found in carrots, broccoli, mangoes, and other dark orange and dark green vegetables and fruits) is good for your heart. But scientists have learned that your body cant readily absorb beta-carotene unless you eat it with a little fat. Thats why a drizzle of olive oil on cooked carrots or broccoli or a dab of yogurt on fresh fruit can vastly increase their healing powers.

Garlic also benefits from a little help. Chop whole cloves fine and suddenly the protective compound allicin is released. It quickly breaks down into a cascade of other healthful compounds, which can help lower triglycerides and cholesterol, reduce the risk of stomach and colon cancers, and much more.

And the list of foods and their seemingly magical healing powers goes on and on.

At Prevention, weve always believed that good health comes first from the farm, then the pharmacy. Thats why weve spent so much time reviewing the latest scientific journals and talking with hundreds of the countrys top doctors and food experts to bring you this important reference. We want to be sure you are armed with the best and most recent advice and information on how to take advantage of something we all love to do (eat) and avoid something we all fear (disease). The new science weve tapped into amazes usand surely it will amaze you, too.

So grab an apple, or a glass of wine if you like, and start readingand eatingto your healths content!

The Editors of Prevention

N ever heard of acerola? Thats no surprise. In America, this small, red, cherrylike fruit and the foods made from it are hard to find. Its far more commonly available in the Caribbean and South America.

Although the acerola is a small fruit, it packs a huge disease-fighting punch. One little acerola fruit, measuring an inch or less across, contains a whopping 81 milligrams of vitamin C! Thats well above the Daily Value for C, which is a mere 60 milligrams. A single acerola contains more vitamin C than youll find in an orange or a cup of broccoli, cantaloupe, or pineapple. The high vitamin C content means that acerola can help your body in a variety of ways, from fortifying your immune system to helping prevent age-related conditions, such as heart disease and cancer.

Decades ago, you could find about 100 acres of acerola plants in Florida, which were grown as a source of vitamin C (the plants, also called Barbados cherry, look like a shrub or a small tree). Nowadays, Brazil is the main commercial grower of acerola, although homeowners in Florida still grow them as ornamentals, says Carlos Balerdi, PhD, an extension agent with the University of Florida/Miami-Dade County Extension Service who specializes in tropical fruits.

When Dr. Balerdi was a boy growing up in Cuba, his mother would make a sweet syrup from the fruit, and wed finish the glass or whatever container she stored it in in no time! he says. The fruit is also used in jellies, jams, and preserves, and people also eat acerola raw.