By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness

December 20, 2019

Want a treat? Here’s one of my favorite things to eat in the morning…

Take a whole cup of organic blueberries and combine it with plant-based yogurt. Then, mix in two tablespoons of chia seeds, a few drops of vanilla, and let it sit overnight.

The next day, you’ll have a delicious and healthy chia seed pudding. My mouth is watering right now just thinking about it.

One of the main reasons this meal is so good has to do with the blueberries. They fall into a category we call “superfoods.”

Superfoods contain a high amount of vitamins, minerals and nutrients that prevent almost every disease known to man.

Now, you might think these foods are expensive and hard to come by. That’s simply not true.

And they don’t have to be exotic discoveries from the Amazon rainforests or African jungles. In fact, you probably have plenty of superfoods right in your own kitchen.

So when folks ask me about these foods, they’re often surprised at how easy it is to add more of them to their daily meals.

Here are some of my favorite superfoods. They’re so common you can eat them every single day.

Two Super-Fruits for Super Health

Organic pomegranate should be at the top of your must-eat-daily list. That’s because these nutrient-dense fruits have about 20% more antioxidant power than açaí, cranberries, blueberries and green tea.

The list of health benefits is practically endless. Pomegranates reduce your chances of breast and colon cancer. They lower blood pressure, blood sugar and inflammation.

In addition, this delicious fruit helps boost levels nitric oxide in your body. Nitric oxide relaxes your arteries and decreases plaque build-up in them, as well as improving blood flow. It even boosts erectile function in men.

Now, I love pomegranates. But it can be a real pain to get the juice out of those little seeds. But if you’ve never tried pomegranate before, give it a try!

Pick one up the next time you’re at the market – just make sure it’s organic. You can also try a pure, all-natural pomegranate juice, but stay away from the popular brands full of sugar.

Organic blueberries are one of my favorite treats. I try to eat them every single day.

They’re good for your heart. They’re good for your brain. They’re good for your skin. They’re good for your blood sugar and insulin. They’re just great!

These little berries contain anthocyanins, which help reduce plaque in your arteries and lower blood pressure. They can even help slash your risk of heart attack by as much as 33%.

They also help boost brain signaling. This can keep your brain younger and smarter as you age. In fact, people who eat the most blueberries are able to keep their minds sharper for longer.

Blueberries also contain pterostilbene, an antioxidant similar to resveratrol. But it’s about four times easier for your body to absorb.

In animal models it lowers blood sugar and improves insulin response. And it appears to be much better than resveratrol when it comes to brain function and Alzheimer’s disease. It may also offer protection against cancer of the lungs, breast and pancreas.

Three More Foods that Fight Aging and Disease

Extra virgin olive oil is a staple in my kitchen. I use it on almost everything I cook… and even some foods that aren’t cooked. In fact, one of my favorite ways to enjoy olive oil is mixed with lemon juice as a salad dressing.

And, of course, extra virgin olive oil is a star player for the Mediterranean diet.

It’s loaded with natural antioxidants called polyphenols. These compounds can actually “turn off” bad genes which cause heart disease, obesity and type 2 diabetes. In effect, they shut down inflammation – which is at the root of most disease.

When you add olive oil to a Mediterranean way of eating, it offsets all of the risk factors for stroke and heart attack. It also counters obesity and helps keep your mind sharp. So it makes good sense to add it to all of your meals.

Just be careful to find a high-quality olive oil and avoid heating over very high heat. I usually search online for the “best olive oil” from a current year and order it there rather than relying on grocery store varieties.

Cruciferous vegetables are an absolute must in any diet. They contain powerful phytonutrients called sulfuraphane and indoles that have anti-cancer properties.

These compounds work together to block cancer and protect cells from DNA damage. They also help kill off damaged cells and prevent the formation of tumors.

Eating this type of vegetable can cut your risk of many different kinds of cancer, including breast, prostate, colon and lung cancer.

Veggies that fall into this category include arugula, bok choy, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, collard greens, kale, mustard greens, radishes, rutabaga, turnips and watercress.

Green tea is another winner in my book. Green tea works at the genetic level. In fact, it can reduce damage to your genes by about 20%. This is a big plus when it comes to stopping age-related diseases.

Plus, people who drink about three cups of green tea each day have longer telomeres than people who don’t. (Telomeres, which are the protective caps on ends of your chromosomes, are a marker of age.)

And they aren’t just a little bit longer… they’re a lot longer!

Green tea drinkers have telomeres that are about five years younger than people who don’t drink it.

Green tea is also linked with reduced risk of three different causes of death: Heart disease, stroke and respiratory disease.

Simply invest in a good matcha, longjing or other green tea of your choice and enjoy several cups (hot or cold) each day.

These foods aren’t the only superfoods available to you. There are plenty of other foods – like turmeric, avocados, garlic, tomatoes and nuts – that also provide a range of health and anti-aging benefits. Remember: If it came out of a factory it was probably made for taste and convenience, if it came out of the ground it was probably made for you.

SOURCES:

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Wang L, et al. Specific pomegranate juice components as potential inhibitors of prostate cancer metastasis. Transl Oncol. 2012 Oct;5(5):344-55.

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Antonio Camargo, et al. Gene expression changes in mononuclear cells from patients with metabolic syndrome after acute intake of phenol-rich virgin olive oil. BMC Genomics, 2010.

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Nancy Babio, et al. Mediterranean diets and metabolic syndrome status in the PREDIMED randomized trial. CMAJ, October 2014.

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