Posted on 07/06/2008 7:48:45 PM PDT by neverdem
Nutritionist and author Jonny Bowden has created several lists of healthful foods people should be eating but arent. But some of his favorites, like purslane, guava and goji berries, arent always available at regular grocery stores. I asked Dr. Bowden, author of The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth, to update his list with some favorite foods that are easy to find but dont always find their way into our shopping carts. Heres his advice.
Beets: Think of beets as red spinach, Dr. Bowden said, because they are a rich source of folate as well as natural red pigments that may be cancer fighters. How to eat: Fresh, raw and grated to make a salad. Heating decreases the antioxidant power.
Cabbage: Loaded with nutrients like sulforaphane, a chemical said to boost cancer-fighting enzymes. How to eat: Asian-style slaw or as a crunchy topping on burgers and sandwiches. Swiss chard: A leafy green vegetable packed with carotenoids that protect aging eyes. How to eat it: Chop and saute in olive oil.
Cinnamon: May help control blood sugar and cholesterol. How to eat it: Sprinkle on coffee or oatmeal. Pomegranate juice: Appears to lower blood pressure and loaded with antioxidants. How to eat: Just drink it.
Dried plums: Okay, so they are really prunes, but they are packed with antioxidants. How to eat: Wrapped in prosciutto and baked.
Pumpkin seeds: The most nutritious part of the pumpkin and packed with magnesium; high levels of the mineral are associated with lower risk for early death. How to eat: Roasted as a snack, or sprinkled on salad.
Sardines: Dr. Bowden calls them health food in a can.' They are high in omega-3s, contain virtually no mercury and are loaded with calcium. They also contain iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper and manganese as well as...
(Excerpt) Read more at well.blogs.nytimes.com ...
So the flippin' NYTimes is spying on me???
We eat all of the eleven listed foods, except only the hubby eats beets ... I can’t stand those.
A pretty good list.
I’ve never thought of trying raw beets in my salads. That’s an interesting idea.

Cabbage and Sardines....well there goes the deep knee squats at the gym
Basic rule #1 of nutritional science: If the kid or the cat can’t or won’t eat it, the sum total nutritional value is ZERO.
Spinach, beets, sardines, chard ... it would end up on my kids’ clothes, my clothes, the floor, in the trash, in the roomba robot ... you’re right. Those foods might make it in the mouth once before being violently expelled. The image of my son trying a lemon piece before spitting it out and wildly waiving both arms in all directions to make sure it was absolutely, positively GONE come to mind when I read this list.
The pumpkin pie with low sugar, the pumpkin seeds, maybe the plums, those are maybes.
Haven’t tried pomegranate juice.
I’ve got to show this to Mrs. Vigilanteman. She runs me out of the house if she catches me eating sardines. I have to eat them when she’s not at home, wrap the empty can in a plastic bag and make sure it is outside before she gets home. I also have to brush my teeth well or she smells it on my breath. Especially my favorite kind— sardines packed in chili sauce.
When I tell my wife to just pick anything for dinner, she jokingly suggests beets because I avoid them like the plague. I’ve even tried them smothered in ketchup on bread when forced to eat them by my parents. It didn’t help.
Yuk..
Here’s my top 11:
1. Steak w/baked potato
2. Tacos
3. Cajun Fish w/Kale & Rice
4. Chile
5. Red beans and Rice
6. Pizza
7. Pork chops & steamed broccoli
8. Spaghetti
9. Beef stew
10. Ham & scalloped potatoes
11. Vegetable soupe with cornbread
Daggone, I’m hungry now. BTW, one can live a long healthy life using this list I’ve posted.
I eat 'em raw.
Totally agree with the list EXCEPT
I would add spinach and walnuts to ANY list dealing with nutrition.
Didn’t think beets were that healthy. The tops are, but didn’t think the red portion had much in the way of vitamins.
Cheese enchaladas—with extra cheese
Lasagna—with extra cheese
Cheesecake
No beets for me. I have tried. I’ve been adventurous and even developed a taste for sushi but hold the beets and kimchi please.
Beets, though - I don't think I've ever gotten close enough to one to taste it.
Yeah and it doesn’t help with cold just out of the can spam either. That had to be the most horrible dish my country grandma ever tried to feed me. Geesh I can still remember the greasy taste of the stuff and ketchup did not help at all.
I hate cinnamon
Never ate a sardine in my life until a couple weeks ago when I got curious and bought a tin. They are surprisingly good. I still don’t understand how they can be good — there they are, little fish with the skin still on them, at room temperature, reeking to high heaven — and yet I ate the whole tin.
Beets - no way. Sardines mixed with Mayo on crackers tastes great.
Have you tried sardines in Louisiana hot sauce? They’re great!
You probably had a nutrional deficiency of some kind. At least that's the explanation I give my wife....
Beets picked the size of a golf ball, and pickled are good (grow your own, they don’t take long). Some of the rest isn’t too bad, but generally speaking, green leafy things are what food eats.
Meat.
More meat.
Meat of fish.
Meat of chicken.
Turkey, too. Year round.
Add some meat.
Pork chops.
Add the rest of the pig.
With a bit more meat.
And a dash of garlic. Meat-flavored, of course.
Straight up, it’s not what it’s cracked up to be.
Don’t the nutritionists say the darker the more nutrient-dense?
Most of the items are on our menu. We gotta have 1 or 2 veggies with every meal. Chard and beets are easy to grow in the garden. I got to admit that sardines were one of my guilty pleasures (that is I thought they were bad for me). Get the ones in olive oil and eat with saltine crackers. Ranks right up there with pickled pigs feet (which I am sure isn’t good for me).
Beets are the only honest vegetable!
They grow in dirt!
They taste like dirt!
What more could ya ask for?
Actually, I plant some beets every year - but not for the beets, for the greens that I use in salads or fried up with scrambled eggs or steaks.
I love eating beets. Be careful, though...they'll turn your urine red, you think you're peeing blood.
And about those asparagus...
I’ve never tried ‘em. What do they taste like?
Beets? Regular (not pickled) beets have a slightly sweet taste to them, don’t know how to explain them otherwise.
Iron rich foods like spinach and beets are poison to adult males. We need to get iron out of our blood not into it. This is a well known fact.
Hmm. I’ll have to hit the store tomorrow. I like experimenting..
Thanks.
Dedicating hours each day to acquiring, preparing, consuming, and cleaning up for the sake of the latest “good nutrition” fad is not my idea of intelligent behavior.
If “nutritionists” want to be of any use, they need to identify "good" tasty foods which real people can readily acquire and quickly consume with little to no preparation & cleanup time.
If "nutritionists" cannot identify such foods from what is currently available, then they need to work with and pressure the food industry to produce such foods. In other words, accept the reality that normal people live in a real world of limited time and deal with it.
Otherwise we're back to the same old routine of; “If it tastes good, spit it out.”
http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/iron.asp
Who should be cautious about taking iron supplements?
Iron deficiency is uncommon among adult men and postmenopausal women. These individuals should only take iron supplements when prescribed by a physician because of their greater risk of iron overload. Iron overload is a condition in which excess iron is found in the blood and stored in organs such as the liver and heart. Iron overload is associated with several genetic diseases including hemochromatosis, which affects approximately 1 in 250 individuals of northern European descent [67]. Individuals with hemochromatosis absorb iron very efficiently, which can result in a build up of excess iron and can cause organ damage such as cirrhosis of the liver and heart failure [1,3,67-69]. Hemochromatosis is often not diagnosed until excess iron stores have damaged an organ. Iron supplementation may accelerate the effects of hemochromatosis, an important reason why adult men and postmenopausal women who are not iron deficient should avoid iron supplements. Individuals with blood disorders that require frequent blood transfusions are also at risk of iron overload and are usually advised to avoid iron supplements.
What are some current issues and controversies about iron?
Iron and heart disease:
Because known risk factors cannot explain all cases of heart disease, researchers continue to look for new causes. Some evidence suggests that iron can stimulate the activity of free radicals. Free radicals are natural by-products of oxygen metabolism that are associated with chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease. Free radicals may inflame and damage coronary arteries, the blood vessels that supply the heart muscle. This inflammation may contribute to the development of atherosclerosis, a condition characterized by partial or complete blockage of one or more coronary arteries. Other researchers suggest that iron may contribute to the oxidation of LDL (”bad”) cholesterol, changing it to a form that is more damaging to coronary arteries.
Italy is full of happy overweight old people in their eighties and nineties. The ones in the country that is. They have low stress cause they are happy and part of an extended family and they drink red wine. It’s not difficult to figure out.
When McDonalds first came to Australia they tried to sell hamburgers without beetroot. It didn’t take them long to realise their error. Beetroot is one of my favourite things. It makes a wonderful side dish for meat and potatoes, etc.
I actually love most of the things on this list, apart from sardines which I don’t mind.
What’s so special about walnuts? Spinach I know is great.
If iron rich food is poison for men then you should stop eating meat. You’d have to eat about a kilo of spinach to get as much iron as from a small serving of meat. I don’t know about beetroot but I would guess its a similar situation.
pinging for later.
One of those things that taste better than they look. Try the exotic ones packed in hot sauce or mustard. They also have just the fillets but cost a little more.
I find they taste a little like the baby corn cobs in Chinese Cooking. They can turn your urine red and have been known to cause some doctors to order pointless tests because they assumed it was blood in the urine.
Thanks for posting this!
The sound of a whoopee cushion going off in a bucket of water comes to mind here.
That is scary to read.
bttt
Grate them into a slaw with carrots. Dress w/a sweet sour dressing like honey and vinegar or lemon juice. It also looks beautiful.
Rally delicious, easy beet stew recipe:
Slowly cook a whole chicken in a pot of water (save the broth). When done, remove the meat from the bones, put meat back into pot with the broth.
Wash, peel and chop up a bunch of beets (cut into matchsticks), including the leaves. Cook until tender with the chicken and broth. Add some chicken bouillion to season, if desired.
Serve with a dollop of sour cream.
Good stuff!
Bingo!
Beets? Never happen, but spinach is good.
Cinnamon? Tried it but it did nothing to lower my blood sugar.
Sardines? I hate most fish so taking fish oil capsules and belching fish will have to do.
Cabbage? You bet, raw, fried, cooked, kimshe, it’s all good. Brussels sprouts are are also great.
Prunes? Only on occasion.
Everything in moderation to include beef, pork, butter, potatos and gravy, barbeque of any type.
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