According to Robert and Shelly Young co-authors of The pH Miracle, the average person is exposed to 500 chemicals a day. That is without what we knowingly put in our bodies as a result of a poor diet! Our produce is harvested early, sprayed with copious quantities of pesticides, shipped long distances and are generally nutritionally deficient, jet lagged foods. The extreme opposite of this produce, on the lips of all nutritionists at the moment is; Superfoods. These are foods with maximum bio availability and phytonutrient content, in other words foods that enter your blood stream quickly and efficiently, giving a profound effect on energy levels and cellular regeneration. 

The philosophy behind Superfoods is that food should be your medicine and the great thing is you don’t have to restrict your diet too drastically to gain all the heath benefits from this wide range of produce. For example just adding a few tablespoons of fresh raspberries or blueberries to your cereals in the morning, or adding fresh spinach or avocado to your sandwich at lunch, and then having grilled mackerel or salmon at night is basically covering 5 or 6 of the essential Superfood groups in one day.

My family are from Switzerland and local farmers encourage you to come to the fields and cut your own lettuce, herbs etc, grown with the compost that the local community have themselves’ collected. This ensures maximum nutritional content and is as organic produce gets. The huge benefits of eating organic produce far out weights the risk of ingesting herbicides and pesticides which destroy the DNA of foods. Recently here in the United Kingdom a royal commission condemned the indiscriminate use of pesticides on apple groves, stating that one apple orchard had been sprayed no less than 12 times. Local neighbourhoods were complaining of poor health and chronic bronchitis from being so close, inhaling those toxins. The link to auto intoxification resulting from pesticide ingestion is all too well documented.

Food specialists are suggesting eating small amounts, regular meals and snacks that include good quality proteins such as tofu, beans, pulses, lentils, white meat, nuts, eggs and seeds. Also complex carbohydrates that ensure long lasting and even energy levels throughout the day. These would include oats, brown basmati or Japanese rice, whole grain breads, and whole grain pastas. Nuts and seeds are the ideal way to increase your fibre intake, which will sweep out the large intestines, removing excess bacteria from the intestinal lining. Also increasing spring water intake is essential, we refer to this as the cheapest medicine available to human kind.

Let’s talk briefly of phytonutrients, what are they? Also called phytochemicals, they give vegetables and plants their colour, as in peppers and squash for example. Phytonutrients help to prevent cancer, lower cholesterol, relieve arthritis and osteoporosis. Some nutritionists believe they have the secret to eliminate harmful micro-organisms and toxins from the body, others say that they counter free radicals which destroy healthy cells. Most nutritionists agree that phytonutrients bind to acids and neutralise them, helping to create a more alkaline system, reducing inflammatory processes. Chronic over acidity corrodes body tissue interrupting all cellular activities and functions. Personally I have been drinking one teaspoon of barley grass with water for the past several months. It is rich in chlorophyll which helps to regenerate our body at the molecular and cellular levels. Barley grass has 4 times the vitamin B1 as whole wheat flower, 30 times more than milk, and has 7 times the amount of vitamin C as oranges. On the alkalinity scale it is 28 times more than water itself. You can see why the grasses (wheat, oat, barley etc) are also referred to as Superfoods.

Now we can take a closer look at some of my favourite Superfoods;
1. Almonds – they in fact a fruit not a nut, belonging to the prunus family. They contain 20% protein and have apart from sesame seeds, the most amount of calcium. They’re also rich in vitamin E which keeps the skin elastic and toned.
2. Bananas – each banana contains 600 milligrams of potassium, we need this mineral to move other nutrients into our cells, and to remove waste products. It also contains B5 which is an immune booster. A perfect snack from premenstrual women as it contains B6 which helps the symptoms of PMT.
3. Chickpeas – one of the best sources of vegetable protein, full of energy boosting carbohydrates and low in fat. They contain phytoestrogens which help to prevent heart disease, while being a good source of folic acid and vitamin C.
4. Chocolate – as long as it is dark and 70% or more of cocoa solids the chemical theobromine releases the happy hormone serotonin and the endorphins that combat depression. It has loads of cancer fighting antioxidants; 50 grams of dark chocolate containing more antioxidants than 28 glasses of white wine, 6 apples, and 17 glasses of orange juice. Just don’t eat too much of it as it is packed with calories.
5. Eggs – your body can utilise 90% of the protein contained in eggs. The WHO (World Health Organisation) recommends eating 10 eggs a weeks. Lecithin is one of the most important nutrients they contain, it helps to metabolise and disperse dangerous fat deposits and cholesterol. It also helps prevent the development of heart disease and gall stones. Lecithin additionally helps with memory, concentration, and good mental and emotional status. Always opt for free range or organic eggs as farmed eggs may contain salmonella.
6. Olive oil – this is the easiest to digest of all the oils and helps to stimulate the gall bladder which aids in fat digestion and helps to protect the all important liver. It is a good source of vitamin E and has essential fatty acids to protect your heart, and help to remove the artery clogging low density lipoproteins, or bad cholesterol from the blood.
7. Red wine – a daily glass of red wine will increase good cholesterol by 16% and reduce the bad cholesterol by 15%. Due to the antioxidants it may be beneficial to the heart. An ingredient that has an effect on human cells making them more resilient to radiation can also increase the life span of baker yeast by up to 80%, that molecule is called resveratrol, a polyphenol which can help to protect against cancer and other degenerative diseases.
8. Natural yogurt – full of healthy bacteria essential for a good digestive system. Lactobacillus and bifida should be lining our intestines, fending off the bad bacteria so prevalent in modern day living. Live yogurts help one to fight off infections, especially stomach complaints including irritable bowel syndrome. These healthy bacteria help to stimulate and produce antiviral agents to fightt off infection and boost your immune system.

Another author friend of mine Dr Mitra Ray from her book From Here to Longevity states clearly “since you are going to spend money on your health no matter what, the real question is whether you want to spend it on sick care or health care. Redirect your spending away from treating symptoms and towards the possibility of prevention”, and I say amen to that. Surely we would all prefer to not get sick and have to deal with the nasty symptoms that implies. As you can see from reading this article adding Superfoods to your diet is so simple, while the benefits in terms of energy levels and good health are extraordinary. So why not try it for yourself, at your very next meal add a Superfood to your dish.