14 best Superfoods

Recently, I have been working on trends in modern diet. Diets are fascinating because they show, that we are not afraid to experiment and we look for health in many wonderful places. It got me thinking about what the ideal diet should look like. Not many of us think about composing our menus based on recommended daily intake of vitamins and minerals and as a result, in my opinion, we have problems with health. There are more and more evidence showing association between poor health and mineral and/or vitamin deficiencies. I think, that it is quite a hot topic. So, I did my own analysis and came up with the list of 14 super foods, which we all should include in our diet.

Do you want to supercharge your life and know which super foods to include in your diet? On my list there are the following: fish, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, almonds, walnuts, brazil nuts, yogurt, eggs, quinoa, lentils, dark chocolate, olive oil, fruit and vegetables.

It will surprise you but according to my own calculations we do not need to eat meat. Fish is another story. While meat is only a good source of protein, vitamin B and selenium, fish, however, are also a good source of other nutrients like for example calcium, vitamin B12, folate and others. This means, that if we resort only to fish, we will make automatically more room for fruit and vegetables in our diet and this is healthy.

Seeds are powerful and some are more powerful than others. However, they are also a source of phytic acid, so they should be fermented before eating. We do not have to eat them a lot, 100 g of sunflower seeds and 100 g of pumpkin seeds is enough. They are excellent source of many vitamins and minerals. My analysis has shown, that if we do not include sunflower seeds, almonds, or olive oil in our diet, then we will have deficiencies in vitamin E. Other products like avocado or broccoli, which are also good source of this vitamin, will not remedy the scarcity, unfortunately.

Almonds and nuts are the same story. Almonds are selected because of vitamin E and calcium. If you rely on them in your diet, because you need calcium, you should keep in mind, that they are also a source of phytic acid and you should ferment them before eating, otherwise you will not benefit from this nutrient-dense food. Walnuts are famous, because they are excellent source of omega 3 and those not eating fish should regularly consume walnuts. The most impressive and important health benefits of brazil nuts are, that they are the best source of selenium. This is especially significant for vegetarians and vegans and 100g should take care of our needs. Selenium is usually found in meat produce, so every plant eater may have deficiencies in this mineral.

Legumes are also on my list. Personally I find that a mini version of a bean, lentils, is the best. If you are not consuming them already, maybe it is time to re-think the strategy. It is worth it. They are low in calories, but high in fiber and many nutrients.

Grains can also be powerful. The most powerful of them all is quinoa and some call it the best new food superstar. Quinoa is packed with vitamins and minerals, and because it contains all essential amino acids, it is also a good source of protein. So why not switch from rice to quinoa? We will definitely benefit from the switch, providing we remember to ferment it before eating, due to the presence of phytic acid.

Many people say, that dairy is not good for you. I find that eggs and yogurt are excellent and that we should think about them while shopping. Natural yogurt is a great source of probiotics as well as vitamin B12 and calcium. Vegetarians from India rely on legumes in their diet and they consume a lot of yogurt. I believe, that they developed this habit to increase fiber consumption found in high levels in all legumes. The health benefits of probiotics cannot be overstressed. We all should make sure, that we provide enough of them every day.

Potassium, which is good for our heart, can be found in fruit and vegetables. Eating them on regular basis should take care of our daily recommended intake. A good tip to know: 100g of tomato paste contains 30% of our daily recommended intake of potassium so why not prepare a tomato juice?

Lastly, dark chocolate. I just love it and lately it has been my major source of sugar. It is packed with vitamins and minerals and it takes care of sugar cravings, which we all have.

Some say, that superfood is just the marketing term used to describe foods with supposed health benefits. I am not sure why people say this, because obviously superfoods have extra large doses of vitamins and minerals and nutrients, like antioxidants. If you take a look again at my microelement table list, you will no longer doubt, that certain food can only be described as superfood and that without them, we will have hard times to stay healthy.

Reflection on traditional diet

Traditional diet is messed up because it is based on compulsive eating of meat. It is as if we are paralyzed and fear got the best of us. No one can argue, that traditional diet is very effective and energetic. It can provide most of the energy we need and require little effort on our part. So why we should dismiss something, which requires little sacrifice on our part?

The first sign we are in trouble is when our common sense flies out the window. It is when we start accepting side effects of wrong diet, such as bloating, gas, heartburn, as something normal, because it affects so many. So later other symptoms appear and then again we think that all is OK. We start having problems with gluten, we develop IBS (irritable bowel syndrome), allergies, diabetes, obesity and others. But we do nothing and our paralysis gets the better of us, because we cannot resolve the messages of certainty and doubt. Everyday we come across new information and there is no consistency to what is healthy and nutritious anymore. So why change? Why not stick to something, that we know and grew up to trust it?

Why not look for evidence? The best way to do so, in my mind, is to examine personal diet from vitamin and mineral standpoint. Even though it seems reasonable, it was only recently, when I realized, that this should be the first thing we do, if we want to be healthy. If you are like me, then you also took for granted, that adding healthy food to your diet will automatically transform your life and improve your health. However, what nutrition analysis showed me was that few extra things, which are in fact very nutritious and delicious, do not magically make it right, but in order to get proper nutrition, we should follow a well-balanced diet. Selecting food based only on amount of carbs, protein, fat and sugar is not longer a viable option. In my mind we should switch to vitamin- and mineral-rich produce and by doing so we will incidentally take care of other nutritive aspect of diet.

So let's analyze diet based on daily allowances for each nutrient. To give you an example of such exercise, I have prepared a list of produce used in a traditional diet and let's analyze them together. Let's assume, that our weekly traditional diet consists of the following:

800g meet, 200g fish, 300g cottage cheese, 4 eggs, 400g cheese, 200g yogurt. 100g tomato paste, 7 tomatoes, 200g carrots, 200g beets, 300 g broccoli, 400g green-leaf vegetables, 14 slices of wholewheat bread, 300g rice, 200g quinoa, 800 g potatoes, 200g oats, 300g dark chocolate. I did not include fat, sugar and processed food into calculation.

RESULTS:

By regularly consuming above mentioned produce we become deficient in vitamin E, B2, B5, B6, B12, as well as Ca, Fe, K, Zn and omega 3 (you can get your own results by using the tables listed here). The extent of those deficiencies also depends on health status of our gut. So imagine, if we have regular problems with intestines, ... we miss out even more.

TIPS:

1. To avoid those deficiencies we should incorporate the following food products:

100g nuts, 100g peanuts, 100g sunflower seeds, 100g pumpkin seeds, increase amount of yogurt to 700g, decrease meat and increase the amount of fish to 400g, 200g legumes (the best would be lentils) and 7 servings of fruit (eg., banana, apples, avocado, tomato, watermelon). It is also highly recommended that we consume as much olive oil as possible, since it is one of the best sources of vitamin E.

2. To enhance absorption of vitamins and minerals we should practice the proper combining of food every day. It may be hard at the beginning, but it will become better, as days progress.

3. Always think about fermenting legumes, nuts, and grain not to lose unnecessarily any minerals, due to the presence of phytic acid (see here).

Are you still confused? I hope not. Making few adjustments to eating habits may seem daunting at first, but I believe, that in time we will find ways, and ideas to create new routines. Changes are not easy, but they teach us to slow down a little and with that we find a new appreciation for the power of food.