Diet-101: Foods you need in your life!

In my apartment I do use most of these items — listed below -- they are less about diets, more about packing extra power (or Power Foods).

I have written about them before on here -- and they have made many top power food lists -- (such those compiled by Nutritionist Jonny Bowden)-- However, it's a new year

so let's get 'em out there again

and

into your life:

• 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.
• Cinnamon: May help control blood sugar and cholesterol.

  How to eat it: Sprinkle on coffee or oatmeal.

• 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.
• Turmeric: The “superstar of spices,” it may have anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties.
  How to eat: Mix with scrambled eggs or in any vegetable dish.
• Frozen blueberries: Even though freezing can degrade some of the nutrients in fruits and vegetables, frozen blueberries are available year-round and don’t spoil; associated with better memory in animal studies.
  How to eat: Blended with yogurt or chocolate soy milk and sprinkled with crushed almonds.
• Canned pumpkin: A low-calorie vegetable that is high in fiber and immune-stimulating vitamin A; fills you up on very few calories.
  How to eat: Mix with a little butter, cinnamon and nutmeg.

And here's yet another list of other power foods (all packed with the key, anti-oxidants) that are guaranteed to get your body set on the course for healthy and long living.

• 1. Dark Green Leafy Vegetable: Think green (and we're not talking environment here). Dark greens deter cognitive decline, heart disease and Alzheimer's - all associated with high levels of Homocysteines (typically associated with healthy protein metabolism). In order to break them down one must have adequate amounts of Folate, B12 or B6, found in dark leafy vegetable such as swiss chard and collard greens.
• 2. Tomatoes: Good news for Pizza. Tomatoes are a massive source of Lycopene which has been shown to reduce risks of heart disease, improve mental functioning in old age, and most impressive reduce cancer by over 40% (highest success in prostate, lung and stomach cancers). Lycopene not only helps reduce risk of cancers but actually has shown increase in rates of survival. Concentrated forms of these good red stuff especially in the form of pasta sauces and canned tomatoes are actually more potent, by much as three times.
• 3. Garlic: You might need a breath mint, but you'll live longer to need one. Packed with anti-oxidants, Garlic has also been linked to reducing cancer risk, reduce blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
• 4. Spinach: Mom and Popeye were right - eat this stuff, and lots of it. This good green is so chock full of anti-oxidants that it is only second to Garlic.
• 5. Think Red - Red Grapes, Red Grape Juice, and Yes Red WINE: Another miracle anti-oxidant, red grapes pack a punch of up to four time that of orange or tomato juice. Red Wine (in moderation, up to 2 glasses a day) is equal to drinking grape juice or tea.
• 6. Tea: The English and the Chinese were on to something. Black tea or Green tea is a powerful anti-oxidant. In fact one cup of black tea a day has shown to cut heart disease risk in half.
• 7. Olive Oil: Fat can be good for you. This miracle oil explains the healthy stats of Mediterranean living. The oil, high in anti-oxidants, reduces death from cancer and heart disease. Folks regularly using the oil have HALF the death rate of folks on ordinary low fat diets.
• 8. Salmon and Other Fatty Fish: Embrace the word fat folks, cause here it is again. Just like Olive oil, the fat in Salmon and other fatty fish (herring, tuna, sardines and mackerel)contains Omega 3 oils that fight virtually every known disease. Add to that increase in brain function, joint function, improvement in mood disorders and you have no reason not to make friends with your local fish store. P.S. - Two servings of week is all you need to do the trick.
• 9. Go Nuts: Most varieties are full of (yet again) good FATS...those monounsaturated kinds. 5 ounces of nuts a week reduce heart attacks in women by 40%. In addition Almonds and Walnuts have shown to reduce cholesterol.
• Add to the list, a diet full of whole grains (that stabilize blood sugar and insulin), a good amount of water, a moderate daily dose of exercise and most importantly an optimistic and creative attitude that wards of stress, and you have the recipe for a body worth inhabiting...and the map to the illusive fountain of youth.

Sources: NY Times, The Lohasian