Whole foods play an important role in our health and well-being. While there are literally hundreds of nutritious whole foods to consume, the foods listed below actually assist the body to help you heal.
Emerging research demonstrates that whether it is fighting cancer, lowering your cholesterol, decreasing inflammation, preventing heart disease plus many other maladies, these super-healing foods will help you get back your health – naturally.
Kiwis
This tiny, nutrient-dense fruit packs an amazing amount of vitamin C (double the amount found in oranges), has more fiber than apples, and beats bananas as a high-potassium food.
The unique blend of phytonutrients, vitamins, and minerals found in kiwifruit helps protect against heart disease, stroke, cancer, and respiratory disease.
In the world of phytonutrient research, kiwifruit has fascinated researchers for its ability to protect DNA in the nucleus of human cells from oxygen-related damage
Kiwifruit’s natural blood-thinning properties work without the side effects of aspirin and support vascular health by reducing the formation of spontaneous blood clots, lowering LDL cholesterol, and reducing blood pressure.
Multiple studies have shown that kiwifruit not only reduces oxidative stress and damage to DNA but also prompts damaged cells to repair themselves.
Kiwifruit is often recommended as part of an anti-cancer and heart-healthy diet, and in Chinese medicine it’s used to accelerate the healing of wounds and sores.
Cherries
Cherries contain high levels of antioxidants and anthocyanins, nutrients known to relieve pain, inflammation and stiffness. Cherries belong to an esteemed group of super fruits including blueberries, acai, pomegranate, yumberries, cranberries and goji berries – all providing exceptionally high amounts of these pain-killing compounds.
Cherries are rich in poly nutrients and anthocyanins, which give the fruit its rich, reddish-purple color — the deeper the color, the higher the level of antioxidants.
Cherries can lower levels of inflammation in the body drastically enough to actually alleviate arthritis symptoms and reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. It doesn’t even take a super-powerful extract to feel the effect; powdered cherries alone have produced dramatic results. In at least one study, powdered cherry consumption actually led to a change in the functioning of inflammation-regulating genes in mice.
Cherries are also well known to help reverse gout — a condition caused by too much uric acid circulating in the blood.
An added bonus for those on a low-carb diet or dealing with diabetes – Cherries, with a glycemic index of 22, rank lower than almost any other fruit. This suggests that fresh cherries are an ideal fruit for diabetics and dieters that want to avoid raising their blood sugar and insulin levels.
Broccoli
When considering the least favorite food of former President George HW Bush, you would be hard pressed to find another single food source with as much naturally occurring health-promoting properties as broccoli.
A single cup of steamed broccoli provides more than 200 percent of the RDA for vitamin C (more than oranges), nearly as much of vitamin K, and about half of the daily allowance for vitamin A, along with plentiful folate, fiber, sulfur, iron, B vitamins, and a whole host of other important nutrients.
Calorie for calorie, broccoli contains an equivalent amount of protein as steak — and a lot more protective phytonutrients.
Broccoli’s phytochemicals fight cancer by neutralizing carcinogens and accelerating their elimination from the body, in addition to inhibiting tumors caused by chemical carcinogens. Studies show evidence that these substances help prevent lung and esophageal cancers and may play a role in lowering the risk of other cancers, including gastrointestinal cancer.
Broccoli has a strong, positive impact on our body’s detoxification system, and researchers have recently identified one of the key reasons for this detox benefit. Glucoraphanin, gluconasturtiin, and glucobrassicin are 3 glucosinolate phytonutrients found in a special combination in broccoli. This dynamic trio is able to support all steps in body’s detox process, including activation, neutralization, and elimination of unwanted contaminants.
Phytonutrients called indoles found in broccoli help protect against prostate, gastric, skin, breast, and cervical cancers. Some research suggests that indoles also protect the structure of DNA and may reduce the risk of prostate cancer. Extensive studies have linked broccoli to a 20 percent reduction in heart disease risk.
Make sure to be on the look out for Part 2 of Six Whole Foods With Super-Healing Powers later this week!
