#4: The 150 Healthiest Foods On Earth

00Angela00

SORRY THIS IS SO LATE! HERE GOES #4 -

This is day four of our education of the 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth. Woo Hoo! Some of these you won't be surprised by, some you will. I'll take one out of each food group each day to mix it up a bit.

All information is from the book by jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S. "The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth".

Day 4: Apples (another obvious one, but I promised all 150 )

"An apple a day keeps the doctor away" is a good example of one of those old cliches that actually turns out to be right. According to Dr. Dharma Singh Khalsa, men who eat one apple a day lower their risk of heart attack by 32%.

Apples have certainly rehabilitated their image since first becoming known as the little fruit that brought down the Garden of Eden. Their resume of health benefits could easily fill a book. Epidemiological sutdies have linked the sunsumption of apples with reduced risk of some cancers, cardiovascular disease, asthma, and diabetes. And that's just for openers

* Apples contain quercetin, a flavonoid that, in a 2001 Mayo Clinic study, healthed prevent the growth of prostate cancer cells
* The skin of an apple inhibits the reporduction of colon cancer cells by 43%
* May reduce the risk of lung cancer by as much as 50%
* Very strong antioxidant power
* significant reduction in teh risk of developing colorectal adenomas (benign tumors)
* The more apples, the less asthma
* associated with lower risk for diabetes
* in Brazil a study showed an association of apples with weight loss (woo hoo!)
* contains a valuable source of coluble fiber that can lower bad cholesterol
* help regulate blood sugar (yes they do have some sugar - fructose - but not to be worried unless you are diabetic or have serious blood sugar challenges
* 5g of fiber
* contains Boron whch has real bone-building properties and is important part of an osteoporosis prevention program
- Boron also seems to be energizing

WORTH KNOWING:
unfortunately, the environmental working group, a consumer advocate and protection nonprofit research organization, put apples on its 2003 list of twelve foods most contaminated with pesticides. The organization suggests you buy organic. I agree.

WHAT ABOUT APPLE JUICE?
nope. Sorry. Doesn't even come close to making the list of healthiest foods. So how can I still be such a fan of home juicing? Simple. Homemade juice isn't even close to the stuff you get in the supermarket. home juicing gives you all those amazing vitamins, phytochemicals, live enzymes, and all the other good stuff in the apple (except, of course, the fiber). Plus, most juice recipes call for a mix of veggies and other fruits to go with the apples (for example, spinach). Sure homemade juice is still a little high in sugar, but I'm okday with that because of all the benefits you get. not so with commercial apple juice in teh bottle, which is nothing more thank sugar water and apple flavoring. Sure, it may have a tiny amount of vitamins, but the sugar cost is way too high for a beverage that gives us few, in any, of the benefits of real apples. Apple juice may be marginally better than soday, but not by much. I'm pretty convinced that a lot of the behavioral prblems we see in kids would be modulated noticable if we didn't stuff them with sugar water all day long.

PedalHound

Noteworthy is also Bowden's book 'Healthiest Meals on Earth' - there are some fabulous recipes in there!!! Particularly a healthy raw chocolate fondue which we've taken to SEVERAL gatherings and receive rave reviews by even the anti-health-food activists...

00Angela00

Noteworthy is also Bowden's book 'Healthiest Meals on Earth' - there are some fabulous recipes in there!!! Particularly a healthy raw chocolate fondue which we've taken to SEVERAL gatherings and receive rave reviews by even the anti-health-food activists...

oooo good to know. I think I'll check it out!

dunhammj

Apples are great! I always have some on hand for a healthy snack.

PureAndHealthy

...with PB & Co's Dark Chocolate Dreams...