Sunday, March 30, 2008

Super Foods

My workplace has an awesome Wellness Committee. It seems that almost every week we have someone coming in to give us a presentation on something concerning wellness. This month alone, we have had a speaker come and give a Yoga Demonstration, a dance teacher come to speak about the Advantages of Dance, and a nutritionist come to talk to us about Super Foods.

It was this last speaker that got me realizing that I have had to change the way that I eat to be successful. If she would have come and given the same presentation one year ago, I wouldn't have known what any of the foods on her list were. This year, after reading several blogs, articles, books, etc., I have a much better understanding of what I am eating. There were still many foods on her list of "Super Foods" that I have not tried, but more that I have incorporated. So here's the list given to me on Thursday:

"Kale"

"Flax Seeds"

"Broccoli"

"Blue Foods"

"Orange Foods"

"Calcium"

"Nonfat Yogurt"

"Curry and Spice"

"Beans"

The one that stuck out to me, since I work in a Nursing Home, was Curry and Spices. The handouts that we received stated that curry and other spices contain powerful antioxidants that fight inflammation. A recent study from UCLA shows that turmeric might have potent anti-plaque forming effects that could slow, stop, and maybe even reverse Alzheimer's disease. Turmeric in curry powder is also associated with improvements with ulcerative colitis, colon cancer, pancreatic cancer, breast cancer, and arthritis. Of the 50 foods highest in antioxidants, 13 were herbs and spices.

Another thing that I have found interesting is that I am not at all bothered by spices and spicy foods any more. I actually prefer a little spice, where previously, I would have eaten most things more bland.

Eat your super foods. I still haven't gotten around to reading 101 Foods That Could Save Your Life, but all the super foods on this list are also in the book.

7 comments:

Jodie said...

hmm.. Cheetos are orange...do they count! LOL! I had never heard that about curry. I'll have to look into that more. I love broccoli, but it gives me too much gas!

noelle said...

I love that spices are so great for you. They are a pretty inexpensive way to add nutrition to the foods we are already eating.

A few years ago, gerber had a thing about making sure that baby had lots of different colors in their diet. I was making my own baby food then, but I do think about how "colorful" our daily diet is around here. Thankfully my kids like to eat their colors. :o)

Andrew is getting fit said...

Luckily for me I've got most of those in my daily diet already! ;)

Dinahsoar said...

A good way to get tumeric is to make a hot milk drink. Heat milk, a rounded one fourth teaspoon of tumeric, and some sweetner. Then add some vanilla and sprinkle with cinnamon. This is a nice bedtime drink and the tumeric lends a gingery taste minus the heat of ginger...plus it makes the milk buttery looking...an Indian friend shared this with me....I make/eat a lot of Indian food and get a lot of tumeric in my diet...I've been planning to try kale...I noticed Krogers has it in bags prewashed and ready to use....

kborn said...

I hope you shared the curry information with your dietary director. :) I needed to be reminded of these things when I was the one making the menus! :)
I LOVE SUPER FOODS! (and cheetos=orange...it's a good theory some days!!) :)

Anonymous said...

I've got a big ol' bag of flax seed so don't buy it- I'll give you some since I will never eat them all. I haven't gotten into the habit of eating them daily like I intended, but I have put them on oatmeal, yogurt, in smoothies and muffins on occasion. If you want to try something curry, go to Singha Thai on Hwy 100 & Lincoln and order the Singha Noodle. One of my all time favorites and they don't overdo the curry so it is a good way to try it. Plus, I'll eat it if you don't like it. Maybe you should join our next Cha Cha Slide dance session!

Anonymous said...

Oh, but don't spill the curry/tumeric! It will stain whatever yellow. It is actually used as a yellow dye, my white sweater learned the hard way...