The World's Healthiest Foods

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100 foods that can serve as the basis of your Healthiest Way of Eating. Links to the articles about these foods can be found below. In addition to questions about our foods, we often get asked about beverages and sweeteners. In the beverage category, water and green tea have been especially popular topics, and in the sweetener category, so have blackstrap molasses, honey and maple syrup.

Of course, there are many other nutritious foods other than those that we have included on our list that we feel are wonderful, health-promoting foods; if there are other whole foods - such as fruits, vegetables, nuts/seeds, whole grains, etc - that you like, by all means enjoy them. Just because a food is not on our list doesn't mean that we don't think that it can be included in a diet geared towards the Healthiest Way of Eating as long as it is a whole, natural, nutrient-rich food.

To find out why some of your favorite nutritious foods are not included in our list, read The Criteria Used to Select the World's Healthiest Foods.

Vegetables

Asparagus                    Garlic                                     Squash, summer

Avocados                    Green beans                            Squash, winter

Beets                           Green Peas                             Sweet potatoes 

Bell peppers                 Kale                                       Swiss chard

Broccoli                       Leeks                                     Tomatoes

Brussels sprouts           Mushrooms, crimini                 Turnip greens

Cabbage                      Mushrooms, shiitake

Carrots                        Mustard greens

Cauliflower                  Olive oil, extra virgin  

Celery                         Olives

Collard greens             Onions

Corn                            Potatoes

Cucumbers                  Romaine lettuce

Eggplant                      Sea vegetables

Fennel                         Spinach

Fruits

Apples                        Oranges

Apricots                      Papaya   

Bananas                      Pears

Blueberries                  Pineapple

Cantaloupe                 Plums

Cranberries                 Prunes

Figs                            Raspberries

Grapefruit                   Strawberries

Grapes                       Watermelon

Kiwifruit

Lemon/Limes

Seafood

Salmon

Sardines

Tuna

Nuts & Seeds

Almonds

Cashews

Flaxseeds

Peanuts

Pumpkin seeds

Sesame seeds

Sunflower seeds

Walnuts

Beans & Legumes

Black beans

Dried peas

Garbanzo beans (chickpeas)

Kidney beans

Lentils

Lima beans

Miso

Navy beans

Pinto beans

Soy sauce

Soybeans

Tempeh

Tofu

Poultry & Meats

Beef, grass-fed

Chicken, pasture-raised

Lamb, grass-fed

Turkey, pasture-raised

Eggs & Dairy

Cheese, grass-fed

Cow's milk, grass-fed

Eggs, pasture-raised

Yogurt, grass-fed

Grains

Barley

Brown rice

Buckwheat

Millet

Oats

Quinoa

Rye

Whole wheat

World's Healthiest Herbs & Spices

Basil

Black pepper

Cayenne pepper

Chili pepper, dried

Cilantro & Coriander seeds

Cinnamon, ground

Cloves

Cumin seeds

Dill

Ginger

Mustard seeds

Oregano

Parsley

Peppermint

Rosemary

Sage

Thyme

Turmeric

FAQs about the World's Healthiest Foods

Criteria for The World's Healthiest Foods

Among the thousands of different foods our world provides, the majority contain at least several of the nutrients our bodies need but to be included as one of the World's Healthiest Foods they had to meet the criteria listed below.

The criteria we used will also help you understand why some of your favorite (and also nutritious) foods may not be included on our list. For example, Readers have asked why pomegranate, a very nutritious food, is not included on our website. While pomegranates taste great and are rich in vitamins and flavonoid phytonutrients, they are still rather expensive which makes them not as widely available to many people.

1. The World's Healthiest Foods are the Most Nutrient Dense

The World's Healthiest Foods have been selected because they are among the richest sources of many of the essential nutrients needed for optimal health. We used a concept called nutrient density to determine which foods have the highest nutritional value.

Nutrient density is a measure of the amount of nutrients a food contains in comparison to the number of calories. A food is more nutrient dense when the level of nutrients is high in relationship to the number of calories the food contains. By eating the World's Healthiest Foods, you'll get all the essential nutrients that you need for excellent health, including vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, essential fatty acids, fiber and more for the least number of calories. Read more about Our Food and Recipe Rating System.

2. The World's Healthiest Foods are Whole Foods

The World's Healthiest Foods are also whole foods complete with all their rich natural endowment of nutrients. They have not been highly processed nor do they contain synthetic, artificial or irradiated ingredients. And whenever possible, The Healthier Way of Eating recommends purchasing "Organically Grown" foods, since they not only promote your health, but also the health of our planet.

3. The World's Healthiest Foods are Familiar Foods

The World's Healthiest Foods are common "everyday" foods. These include the fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds, lean meats, fish, olive oil, herbs and spices that are familiar to most people.

4. The World's Healthiest Foods are Readily Available

Although there are many foods that are exceptionally nutritious, many of them are not readily available in different areas of the country. The World's Healthiest Foods are foods that the majority people can easily find at their local market.

5. The World's Healthiest Foods are Affordable

We have selected foods that are not only familiar and available, but also affordable, especially if you purchase them locally and in season. This is also the time when they are the freshest and of the best quality.

6. The World's Healthiest Foods Taste Good

The World's Healthiest Foods are also some of the world's best tasting foods. We have created recipes using the World's Healthiest Foods that do not overpower, but enhance, the unique flavor of each food. Each recipe provides a flavor adventure so you can discover new ways to experience and enjoy the great natural tastes of these foods.

SOURCE: http://www.whfoods.com/foodstoc.php

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THE 5 WORST FOODS TO CONSUME

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By Dr. Mercola

There are no "bad" foods, right? Only food you should eat in moderation? Well, not really. The following foods are so bad for your body that I cannot see any reason to eat them. Not only do they have zero nutritional value, but they also give your body an unhealthy dose of toxins, which should make the idea of eating them really hard to swallow.

Doughnuts

Doughnuts are fried, full of sugar and white flour, and most all varieties contain trans fat. Store-bought doughnuts are made up of about 35 percent to 40 percent trans fat, and an average doughnut contains about 200 to 300 calories, mostly from sugar, and few other nutrients.

Trans fats, found largely in commercially prepared baked and fried foods, have become notorious in recent years because they not only raise "bad" LDL cholesterol, but also lower levels of heart-healthy HDL cholesterol. High trans-fat intake has been linked to coronary heart disease, in which fatty plaques build up in the heart arteries, sometimes leading to a heart attack.

Furthermore, when foods are cooked at high temperatures, carcinogenic substances like acrylamide can form.

It's too bad that Americans view doughnuts as a breakfast food as, nutritionally speaking, eating a doughnut is one of the worst ways to start off your day. It will throw off your blood sugar and doesn’t provide any real nutrients, which means you'll soon be hungry again. You are better off eating no breakfast at all, or better yet grabbing a quick glass of whey protein.

Soda

One can of soda has about 10 teaspoons of sugar (typically in the form of high fructose corn syrup), 150 calories, 30 to 55 mg of caffeine, and is loaded with artificial food colors and sulphites. I can't think of any good reason to ever drink it. The diet varieties are even worse, as they are filled with harmful artificial sweeteners like aspartame and/or sucralose.

Studies have linked soda to osteoporosis, obesity, tooth decay, and heart disease, yet the average American drinks an estimated 50 gallons of soft drinks each year. Plus, drinking all that sugar will likely suppress your appetite for healthy foods, which pave the way for nutrient deficiencies.

A 20-ounce glass of cola contains the equivalent of 16 teaspoons of sugar in the form of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). This is nearly three times the maximum daily sugar intake recommended by the American Heart Association. HFCS typically contains a mixture of 45 percent glucose and 55 percent fructose (although recent investigations have found that many brand-name sodas actually contain 65 percent fructose!). Once ingested, your pancreas rapidly begins to create insulin in response to the sugar. The rise in blood sugar is quite rapid.

Here’s a play-by-play of what happens in your body upon drinking a can of soda:

Within 20 minutes, your blood sugar spikes, and your liver responds to the resulting insulin burst by turning massive amounts of sugar into fat.

Within 40 minutes, caffeine absorption is complete; your pupils dilate, your blood pressure rises, and your liver dumps more sugar into your bloodstream. As you could see in this report above, Yunji DeNies’ blood glucose level was 79 at the outset of the experiment, and after 40 minutes it had risen to 111!

Around 45 minutes, your body increases dopamine production, which stimulates the pleasure centers of your brain – a physically identical response to that of heroin, by the way.

After 60 minutes, you’ll start to have a blood sugar crash, and you may be tempted to reach for another sweet snack or beverage.

Chronically elevated insulin levels (which you would definitely have if you regularly drink soda) and the subsequent insulin resistance is a foundational factor of most chronic disease, from diabetes to cancer.

Lately, the media has finally begun reporting on the science of fructose, which clearly shows it is far worse than other sugars. Fructose is processed in your liver, and unlike other sugars, most of it gets shuttled into fat storage. This is why fructose is a primary culprit behind obesity—far more so than other sugars. According to the news report above, drinking two bottles of soda per day can make you gain a pound of fat per week! If you routinely drink soda--regular or diet--eliminating it from your diet is one of the simplest and most profound health improvements you can make.

French Fries (and Nearly All Commercially Fried Foods)

Potatoes are bad enough when consumed in their raw state, as their simple sugars are rapidly converted to glucose that raises insulin levels and can devastate your health. But when they are cooked in trans fat at high temperatures, all sorts of interesting and very unpleasant things occur.

Anything that is fried, even vegetables, has the issue of trans fat and the potent cancer-causing substance acrylamide. Animal studies have shown that exposure to acrylamide increases the risk of several types of cancer, and the International Agency for Research on Cancer considers acrylamide a "probable human carcinogen." It has also been linked to nerve damage and other neurotoxic effects, including neurological problems in workers handling the substance. While this chemical can be formed in many foods when they're heated to a temperature above 120 degrees Celsius (248 degrees Fahrenheit), French fries and potato chips are the biggest offenders.

Foods that are fried in vegetable oils like canola, soybean, safflower, corn, and other seed and nut oils are particularly problematic. These polyunsaturated fats easily become rancid when exposed to oxygen and produce large amounts of damaging free radicals in the body. They are also very susceptible to heat-induced damage from cooking. What is not commonly known is that these oils can actually cause aging, clotting, inflammation, cancer, and weight gain.

Furthermore, in the US, canola, soybean, and corn oils are made primarily from genetically engineered crops, which come with their own set of health risks.

It is theoretically possible to create a more "healthy" French fry if you cook it in a healthy fat like virgin coconut oil. Due to its high saturated fat content, coconut oil is extremely stable and is not damaged by the high temperatures of cooking. This is why coconut oil should be the only oil you use to cook with.

I am fond of telling patients that one French fry is worse for your health than one cigarette, so you may want to consider this before you order your next "Biggie."

Chips

Most commercial chips, and this includes corn chips, potato chips, tortilla chips, you name it, are high in trans fat. Many also contain genetically engineered ingredients. Fortunately, some companies have caught on to the recent media blitz about the dangers of trans fat and have started to produce chips without trans fat. However, the high temperatures used to cook them can still cause the formation of carcinogenic substances like acrylamide, and this risk remains even if the trans fat is removed.

“Natural” chips are increasingly popular, but it’s important to realize that this means very little in terms of its health impact. A fried, genetically engineered corn chip is still going to wreak havoc in your body—even if it’s low in trans fat.

Fried Non-Fish Seafood

This category represents the culmination of non-healthy aspects of food. Fried shrimp, clams, oysters, lobsters, and so on have all the issues of trans fat and acrylamide mentioned above, plus an added risk of mercury.

Seafood is loaded with toxic mercury and shellfish like shrimp and lobsters can be contaminated with parasites and resistant viruses that may not even be killed with high heat. These creatures, considered scavenger animals, consume foods that may be harmful for you. Farmed seafood may be even worse than wild-caught, as they’re fed concoctions of antibiotics and other synthetic chemicals.

Eating these foods gives you a quadruple dose of toxins--trans fat, acrylamide, mercury, and possibly parasites or viruses--with every bite. The only fish I now eat is wild red Alaskan salmon that has been proven through independent lab testing to be virtually free of harmful levels of mercury and other contaminants.

SOURCE: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2003/10/18/worst-foods.aspx

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FRIDAY'S SMILE

ONLY Maxine could come up with this!!!!!!

Rest Your Mind I know you have been lying awake at night wondering why baby diapers have brand names such as "Luvs", "Huggies," and "Pampers', while undergarments for old people are called"Depends". Well, here is the low down on the whole thing. When babies crap in their pants, people are still gonna Luv'em, Hug'em, and Pamper' em. But when old people crap in their pants, it "Depends" on who's in the will! Glad I got that straightened out so you can rest your mind.

The Top Three Dietary Ingredients That Promote Early Death

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By Dr. Mercola

Personally, I believe far more than one-third of these deaths are preventable, provided you factor in the most obvious root causes, which CNN fails to do in its report.

For example, while smoking and lack of exercise are certainly health hazards, a fargreater concern that affects far more people is diet-related factors that have become the norm.

I also believe that smoking is a relatively minor factor when you compare it to the misinformation and reliance on a medical system that consistently fails to address the cause of disease but mainly relies on expensive drugs riddled with side effects—many times terminal—that in no way treat the cause.

The root cause of most health problems lies in the food they chose to eat. Recognize that Americans spend about 95 percent of their food dollars on processed foods, most of which contain one or more of the three ingredients that promote the most chronic disease. These are:

• Corn, which is turned into highly processed high fructose corn syrup (HFCS)
• Soy, which is one of the main sources of trans fat-containing vegetable oils
• Sugar beets, which is turned into refined sugar

These three dietary factors, all of which are heavily subsidized by the US government, promote obesity, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and cancer. For example, one recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)4 found that consuming 17-21 percent of your daily calories from added sugar increases your risk of death from cardiovascular disease by 38 percent. Another equally recent study5 concluded that:

 “The new paradigm hypothesizes that sugar has adverse health effects above any purported role as ‘empty calories’ promoting obesity. Too much sugar does not just make us fat; it can also make us sick.”

Making matters worse, the vast majority of all three of these crops are genetically engineered (GE), which means they’re also primary sources of glyphosate contamination (the active ingredient in the herbicide Roundup).

Glyphosate, in turn appears to be a driving force for chronic disease in and of itself, both by enhancing the damaging effects of other food-borne chemical residues and environmental toxins, and by disrupting normal body functions. It’s particularly harsh on the beneficial bacteria in your gut, which are critical for optimal immune function.  

Clearly, getting people to exercise more isn’t going to make a major dent in mortality statistics until or unless we as a society start addressing our disease-promoting food system.

SOURCE: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/05/14/preventable-us-deaths.aspx?e_cid=20140514Z1_DNL_art_1&utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art1&utm_campaign=20140514Z1&et_cid=DM44639&et_rid=521125183 

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TOP 10: TOXIC FOODS / DETOXIFYING FOODS

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HEALTH BENEFITS of OKRA

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