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TITLE: Top Superfood Picks for Asia in 2015
Superfoods Definition:
A non-medical term popularized in the media
Refers to foods that can have health-promoting properties such as reducing one's risk of disease or improving any aspect of physical or emotional health.
May have an unusually high content of antioxidants, vitamins, or other nutrients.
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Functional Foods Definition:
A concept originally conceived in Japan, FF is used to describe a food that:
Beneficially affects one or more target functions in the body beyond adequate nutritional effects
Improves state of health and well-being and/or reduces risk of disease.
Consumed as part of a normal food pattern.
NOT a pill, capsule or any form of dietary supplement.
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Yet, the words plant and enjoyment are hardly the first words that pop into your mind when you hear the word medicine.
Instead, you are likely to think of the words drugs and illness.
How far we have strayed from this original Oriental concept and how far we have strayed from the wise and famous words of Hippocrates who said, "Let food be thy medicine."
We’d all agree that using a proper diet loaded with adaptogenic functional foods and whole foods to maintain good health would be much more enjoyable than spending billions of dollars on prescription and over-the-counter drugs.
What you need to do is "adapt" your way of thinking and recognize Nature’s alternatives you have at your disposal in your search for health and longevity.
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Adaptogens:
Nature has provided us with certain functional foods, which stimulate the adaptive mechanisms of your body.
Such functional foods are called adaptogens.
These whole food supplements contain a special complex chemistry of nutrients, which your body easily identifies and absorbs.
Adaptogens provide an integrated structure of nutrients, which aid in regaining and maintaining a balanced body system.
You just can't get this kind of balanced nutritional support from mere vitamin and mineral supplements even if they are chelated and standardized.
Your body digests, absorbs and utilizes the nutrients from vitamin and mineral supplements far less than from functional food whole food adaptogens.
It is my opinion that you would be wasting your money on vitamin and mineral supplements, because more than a half of what you would be taking would simply be flushed right out of your body.
Worse, some of these vitamin and mineral supplement's isolated nutrients could accumulate in your body burdening your liver and kidneys.
Your body simply has a hard time recognizing isolated nutrients in vitamin / mineral supplements. Your body does, however, recognize and utilize, to the fullest, the complex nutritional values from functional foods and whole food adaptogens. Unlike vitamin / mineral supplements, adaptogens give you the advantage of all the protoplasmic elements that aid in the growth and development of your cells. In fact, no vitamin or mineral supplement can ever replace the value of whole food adaptogens.
The Chinese have a saying that "The whole is only as strong as the sum of its parts." Therefore, it is counterproductive to treat only the illness or its symptoms; you should treat the body as a whole. This is what adaptogens do.
An important point to note about adaptogens is that the actions of the individual nutrients they contain are different if they are not combined in nature's own harmonious functional food relationships. If just one of the nutrients in an adaptogen is isolated and used for its suspected known effects in your body, it will not have the same overall tonic effect as it will in its natural complete whole food form.
This is known as synergism - the total natural combination of nutrients in a whole functional food has a different and more enhanced effect than an individual nutrient's effect would have.
It has been one of the great pitfalls of the attempts by the pharmaceutical and health food industries to try to duplicate the effects of naturally occurring compounds found in functional whole foods. In many cases, the "suspected active ingredient(s)" of a plant have been isolated or synthetically reproduced and prepared as a vitamin / mineral or a "standardized" supplement, or prepared synthetically for use in drug therapy. The net result has been that the isolated substance may produce a limited desired effect, but in a way which, instead of being gently supported and enhanced by the other substances in the total plant composition, has produced undesired results as well. Side-effects are a fact of life with all pharmaceutical drugs, some vitamin / mineral supplements and some isolated standardized supplements sold in the health food market-place, whereas functional adaptogens' side-effects are virtually unheard of.
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TOP PICKS
MEDICINAL MUSHROOMS
Mushrooms used in medicine or medical research.
Reishi (Ganoderma Lucidum)
· Medicinal mushroom with longest recorded use – more than 4,000 years
· Most researched medicinal mushroom
· Nature’s ultimate anti-stress antidote.
· Helps balance a stressed hormone system and improve sleep quality.
· Helps body fight against stress caused by our demanding modern society.
Chaga (Inonotus obliquus)
· King of Mushrooms
· Vital part of fortifying your immune system
· contains one of the nature’s highest amount of SOD (superoxide dismutase), the most potent antioxidant in the human body.
· Antioxidants prevent oxidations from happening in the body and thus protects the DNA and keeps the body young.
· Studies have shown that chaga use is an effective way to fight against unwanted bacteria, viruses, and inflammation.
· Very strong anti-tumor properties.
BILBERRIES a.k.a Wild Blueberries
· Also called the “Vision fruit” by Japanese
· Numerous studies conducted in Europe have documented that bilberry extracts can improve night time visual acuity, reduce eyestrain, and promote quicker adjustment to darkness. These beneficial effects on eye health appear to be linked to the high concentration of anthocyanin present in bilberries. Other studies suggest that blueberries may also prevent — and even reverse — macular degeneration, the primary cause of vision loss and blindness in the elderly. Hard to come by. Not cultivated blueberries.
· Antioxidant properties of bilberries were shown to be even stronger than those of cranberries, raspberries, strawberries, plums, or cultivated blueberries.
· Antioxidants contribute to the health of the collagen matrix by neutralizing enzymes that destroy connective tissue, and by scavenging free radicals. As a consequence, bilberries are great for people who want to prevent wrinkles and pre-mature aging of the skin.
CACAO
Cacao is medicinal food - it has been used since Ancient Mayan times to treat diseases. In contemporary science, raw cacao has been receiving increasing usage as a medicinal food by medical professionals and nutritionists.
(1) Cacao is rich in antioxidants - 3x more than green tea!
(2) Cacao is rich in minerals and nutrients:
Protein = an essential macronutrient
Magnesium = good for heart
Copper = central to building strong tissue, maintaining blood volume, and producing energy in your cells
Manganese = aids bone production and regulates blood sugar levels
Zinc = important for a healthy immune system, properly synthesizing DNA, promoting healthy growth during childhood, and healing wounds
Sulphur = essential for metabolic processes in our bodies
Complex B vitamins, like niacin
Complex C vitamins
(3) Cacao contains psychoactive neurochemical substances:
Tryptophan – a serotonin precursor = raises serotonin levels thus producing a calming effect on people
Anandamide (a.k.a the “bliss chemical”) = a natural cannabinoid our brain produces naturally when we feel happy
PEA (phenyl-ethylamine) (a.k.a the love molecule) = a natural brain secretion when we are in love.
In other words, consuming cacao/chocolate helps reduce stress and anxiety, and increases feelings of happiness. --> Ladies, now you know why you crave chocolates during PMS!
BAOBAB
· Contains 3x as much vitamin C as an orange,
· 2x as much calcium as milk
· Tastes like a cross between a pineapple and melon.
· Grown in 32 African countries and in some parts of Australia, the baobab fruit is high in calcium, potassium, thiamin and vitamin B6 - all nutrients important for general health.
· The flesh of the fruit is also high in protein and carbohydrates and in many poorer countries it is considered to be a valuable food source, whilst oil extracted the fruit is noted for its moisturising and healing properties. It is also traditionally used to treat many ailments ranging from diarrhoea to fever.
· It dries naturally on the branch before harvesting, the seeds are then removed and ground into a powder.
Prized in Africa for centuries for its health-boosting properties, the fruit from the ancient baobab tree is an extremely rich source of polyphenals, known to be beneficial in reducing the glycaemic response - the rate at which sugar is released into the bloodstream.
Scientists from the Oxford Brookes University have established that this benefit can be transferred into foodstuffs, raising the possibility of creating a range of "functional foods" produced specifically to reduce the effects of Type two diabetes.
Using healthy human volunteers, the research team measured the rate of starch and sugar breakdown in their blood supply after they had eaten the baobab extract contained in either white bread or dissolved in water.
They found that baobab fruit extract added to white bread significantly reduced the rate at which sugar was released into the blood supply post digestion and likewise when added to water. There was no effect on satiety.
The research suggests that there is potential for baobab to be added to the food and drinks of Type two diabetes patients to help them to control their symptoms but note that further human studies on glycaemic response would be essential for determining the optimal dose of baobab fruit extract in reducing post-prandial glycaemia.
Rich in iron, high in potassium and containing vital blood clotting ingredients it can even help support the circulatory system whilst the high-fibre content benefits the digestive system.
GREENS
Spirulina
· 65% bioavailable protein and essential fatty acid gamma linoleic acid (GLA)
· High concentration of bioavailable iron – great during preganancy and great for those with anemia; will not cause constipation
· High chlorophyll content - Draws heavy metals and toxins from the body – detoxifying
· Extremely alkalising
Chlorella
· Most widely used supplement in Japan. About 10 million Japanese
· is a "green food," a single-celled, micro-algae
· about two to ten microns in size. It's very small.
· It is this small size combined with its unique properties that make it such a useful detoxification tool. Its molecular structure, allows it to bond to metals, chemicals and some pesticides.
· When chlorella is taken into your body, its natural action will bind it to lingering heavy metals, chemicals and pesticides found in your digestive tract, which is your body's pathway to your bloodstream where these harmful toxins are delivered and deposited into your body's cells.
· Chlorella is uniquely designed to not bind to the minerals your body naturally needs to function optimally. It does not bind to beneficial minerals like calcium, magnesium, or zinc. It's almost as if chlorella knows which metals belong in your body and which chemicals need to be removed. Supplementing with chlorella is like unleashing a tiny army inside your body to fight the battle of removing toxins from your tissues and ushering them back outside your body where they belong.
Moringa
- Usually consumed as moringa leaf powder
- Taste is somewhat bitter
- Are rich in Vitamin A. Good for eyes.
- A rich source of calcium way higher than in milk, naturally combined with magnesium to ensure absorption by the body.
- Along with potassium, zinc is also found in large quantities in moringa which supports uptake of the high iron content.
- Moringa helps in balancing thecholesterol levels in the body.
- All Essential Amino acids are also found in moringa and 12 others.
- Moringa is also said to balance sugar levels, hence it is helpful in the fight against diabetes.
- An immunity-stimulant, it is prescribed for HIV afflicted patients.
- Moringa leaves can be consumed to stimulate metabolism.
- Supports digestion and is a natural laxative when taken on an empty stomach.
- Nutrition booster and a non-sugar based energizer.
- Can also help in the weight loss process as food when cutting down.
- Increase the quantity of breast milk.
- It is also famous for its anti-bacterial properties.
- The paste of the moringa leaves is a goodskin tonic.
- It protects the liver and kidneys.
- Helps you feel better!
Moringa has been studied extensively throughout the globe and found to be supportive of coping with and healing from a variety of conditions, diseases and illnesses. These include Cancer, diabetes, HIV/Aids, hormone conditions, skin conditions, even weight-loss (Moringa really feeds the body so it acts as a natural appetite suppressant).
Moringa leaf powder is not intended to be used as a medicine, it is a food, and should be taken regularly. While parts of the Moringa plant do have medicinal uses, this is the province of traditional and Ayurvedic medicine. When the body is well fed, and kept clean, it copes better.
Wheatgrass
Two ounces of wheatgrass juice has the nutritional equivalent of five pounds of the best raw organic vegetables
Contains the full spectrum of B vitamins, as well as calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sodium and potassium in a balanced ratio.
Wheatgrass is a complete source of protein, supplying all of the essential amino acids, and more. It has about 20% of total calories coming from protein.
This protein is in the form of poly peptides, simpler and shorter chains of amino acids that the body uses more efficiently in the blood stream and tissues.
Powerful detoxifier, especially of the liver and blood.
It helps neutralize toxins and environmental pollutants in the body. This is because wheatgrass contains beneficial enzymes that help protect us from carcinogens, including Superoxide Disumates (SOD), that lessens the effects of radiation and digest toxins in the body.
It cleanses the body from head to toe of any heavy metals, pollutants and other toxins that may be stored in the body's tissues and organs.
