Foods to put on your plate in 2020
By Marcey Klein BS, CNC
Here we are, another year is upon us, and it’s time to really get excited about our health, and to get enthusiastic about the food we put on our plates. The first food group I want to talk about is the powerfully healing carotene rich foods. Carotenes are fat soluble plant pigments that protect the body against cancer, cardiovascular disease, and help improve our vision. Beta Carotene is the most well-known carotene, but there are over 600 that have been identified. Carotenes are in all plant foods, but as a rule of thumb, the brighter the color, the higher the level of carotenes. High carotene intake has been shown to decrease cancer rates, up to a 50% decrease in the incidence of bladder, cervix, prostate, colon, larynx, and esophageal (Murray 2005) They are also very protectant for our skin, and mucus membranes. Now that we see we cannot live without these guys, here’s a list of vegetables that are the highest in carotenes: sweet potatoes, carrots and other dark orange and yellow veggies, squash, spinach, apricots, mangoes, dark leafy greens, corn, cherries, persimmons, and oranges. As a tip, when cooking our beta carotene rich vegetables like squash, yams, and carrots, adding an oil or organic butter will help us absorb the beta carotene better since it is a fat soluble nutrient.
The second super food I would like to talk about is my personal favorite: beets! Beets help to build our blood since they are high in folic acid and vitamin C. Their high fiber content helps to stimulate the liver and, along with the powerful anticancer properties from its deep red pigment, has been shown to improve bowel function and be protective against colon cancer. This fiber is like magic in that it increases the most powerful antioxidant in the body, glutathione, and also protects the body against nitrosamines (cancer causing compounds created from nitrates in cured meats) I love them boiled, peeled, and sliced in apple cider vinegar, sea salt, and a drizzle of honey, delicious!
Another food group worthy of mentioning is the cruciferous family, and what a powerful and detoxing group it is. This vegetable group consists of kale, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, arugula, cabbage, Bok Choy, Swiss chard, radishes, turnips, parsnips, and watercress. These vegetables contain powerful compounds that should not be underestimated in its value in cancer prevention. The compound sulforaphane, from the sulfur molecules in the plant and indole-3-carbinol greatly aid the body in detoxifying and excreting the aggressive form of estrogen (2-hydroxyestrone) strongly linked to cancers, especially breast, and ovarian. I personally make sure that I eat cruciferous vegetables every day. A simple way is to steam broccoli, add bok Choy to soups, and eat salads with arugula. If someone is battling cancer, then this is especially important to do, and sprouting broccoli increases the potency exponentially.
Another powerhouse food worthy of mentioning are eggs. These contain concentrated nutrition, they give us several B vitamins including choline which is important in brain health and memory. They also contain biotin, thiamin, vitamin B12, selenium, some D, and are a good source of protein. The yolks give us this concentrated nutrition, so do not throw those out or be afraid of them! Studies have shown, specifically a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, that people eating 4 eggs per week actually had a significantly lower mean serum cholesterol than those who reported eating one egg per week. (Murray, 2005) The reason being studies are now proving that dietary cholesterol has little to do with raising our own cholesterol, it’s damaged fats from processed foods and oils, and triglycerides from refined sugary foods that raise our cholesterol. Eggs are also rich in several nutrients that promote heart health and if the chicken has been fed a diet rich in omega 3’s then the eggs will be high in this anti- inflammatory, heart friendly nutrient. It’s important to eat organic, and free range if possible, as these will have the highest nutrient profile. Also the less scrambled the egg yolk the more intact those healthy fats will be. So serve some of these up today and enjoy the health benefits.
I hope that this gives you some inspiration for reaching for those healthy foods and for being mindful of what you put in your body; may your 2020 be filled with love, joy, blessings, and good healthy food!
