Your mother always told you that you needed to eat right in order to grow tall and strong - and she was right. Just as you wouldn't put water into your car's gas tank, you shouldn't be putting inferior fuel into your body's gas tank. But perhaps some of us have been swayed by food manufacturers' promises of fortified goodness in everything from sugary cereals to prepackaged processed foods. They have vitamins in them, so they must be healthy, right? Eating healthy is about more than just vitamins and minerals - here's what you stand to gain by eating right.
More Money in Your Wallet
What most people won't tell you is that eating right is actually more economically smart. When you choose fruits and vegetables over processed foods, you will reduce your overall spending on groceries. While it is true that fruits and vegetables can be more expensive in the short run, you can use them for more meals, while makes them less expensive to use per meal. For example, if you make a box of macaroni and cheese for dinner, that's going to cost about $3.00 for the package and $0.50 for the milk and butter you add. But if you were to make a salad for dinner, it will cost about $1.00 altogether, including some salad dressing.
But it's not just the actual costs of healthy foods that will help you boost your financial health. By taking the time to spend money on healthy foods, you will reduce the health care costs you need to spend. Since your body will be healthier, you won't need to spend money on additional supplements or extra doctor's visits. This all adds up to a healthier life and a healthier bank account.
You won't have to spend money on additional medications to help you maintain your blood sugars or your cholesterol levels. And studies have shown that those who take fewer medications tend to live longer lives. While you don't want to stop any current medications you are on, you might be able to reduce the list of medications you may have to take - and you already know how expensive they can be.
Controlling Your Weight
When you choose healthier foods, you will also be able to more easily control your weight. Instead of focusing your diet on foods that can spike your blood sugar, causing you to feel hungrier and thus eat more than you should, you can eat wholesome foods which have fiber and nutrients in them. The added fiber will help you to feel fuller for longer, while also keeping your blood sugars even.
Fruits and vegetables also naturally have fewer calories in them, which helps you to have a lower caloric intake, leading to weight loss or weight maintenance. In addition, eating healthy exposes you to more tastes - vegetables, fruits, low fat dairy, low fat meats, and whole grains. The more tastes you have on your plate, the easier it will be for you to eat only what you need, rather than filling up on sugars and high salt processed choices - which tend to make you feel hungrier.
Increased Immune System Function
The better your body is functioning, the more likely it is that you won't get sick. Going back to the car example, when you fill it with premium foods, you won't have the buildup and the grime in your engines - the same idea applies to your body. By supplying your body with nutrients, you will enhance the body's response to illness. Your immune system will be strong and ready to defend itself against all sorts of attacks. And thus means that you will be able to fight off not just colds and flus, but also more serious diseases you might pick up. Even if you do get sick, it will be easier for you to get over that illness and get back to health.
Reduced Chances of Chronic Illnesses
Cancers and heart diseases are also much less likely when you eat healthy foods. When your cells are getting the highest levels of nutrition, they aren't susceptible to cellular damage, which can lead to cancers. And if you focus your diet on non-animal sources of nutrition, your cholesterol levels will be far lower, reducing your risk of heart attacks, plaque buildup and even strokes. This is especially the case as you get older. Since your body begins to slow down, you need to make sure you are only giving your body foods that are healthy as anything else can be difficult for your body to process, which can then lead to illness.
Eating healthy isn't just something that you should do, it's something that you must do. With each bite of unhealthy food, you are damaging your body. While medicine is able to fix many age related problems, it's up to you to prevent these problems from happening in the first place. A long healthy life is something that's completely in your control, so why not do what works? Eat right.
In 1992 a researcher at Johns Hopkins University announced the discovery of a compound found in broccoli that not only prevented the development of tumors by 60 percent in the studied group, but it also reduced the size of tumors that did develop by 75 percent. Broccoli is now one of the best-selling vegetables in North America. And, as a bonus, there are only 30 calories in one cup of broccoli.
Indeed, broccoli and its cruciferous sidekicks are among the most powerful weapons in our dietary arsenal against cancer. This alone is enough to elevate it to the status of a Superfood. But, additionally, broccoli also boosts the immune system, lowers the incidence of cataracts, supports cardiovascular health, builds bones, and fights birth defects.
Broccoli is one of the most nutrient-dense foods known at this time; it offers an incredibly high level of nutrition for a very low caloric cost. Of the ten most common vegetables eaten in the North America, broccoli is a clear winner in terms of total polyphenol content; it's got more polyphenols than all other popular choices; only beets and red onions have more polyphenols per serving.
The development of cancer in the human body is a progressive illness that begins at the cellular level with an abnormality that typically only ten to twenty years later is diagnosed as cancer. While research continues at a furious pace to find ways to cure this deadly invader-after heart disease the greatest killer of Americans-most scientists have come to recognize that cancer might well be more easily prevented than cured.
Diet is the best tool we all have at hand to protect ourselves from developing cancer. We know that a typical Western diet plays a major role in the development of cancers and we know that at least 30 percent of all cancers are believed to have a dietary component. And this is good news.
Population studies first pointed to the role that broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables might play in cancer prevention. One ten-year study, published by the Harvard School of Public Health, of 47,909 men showed an inverse relationship between the consumption of cruciferous vegetables and the development of bladder cancer. Broccoli and cabbage seemed to provide the greatest protection. Countless studies have confirmed these findings. As long ago as 1982, the National Research Council on Diet, Nutrition, and Cancer found that "there is sufficient epidemiological evidence to suggest that consumption of cruciferous vegetables is associated with a reduction in cancer."
A very recent meta-analysis, which reviewed the results of eighty-seven studies, confirmed once again that broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables lower the risk of cancer. As little as 10 grams a day (less than 1/8 cup of chopped raw cabbage or chopped raw broccoli) can have a significant effect on your risk for developing cancer. Indeed, eating broccoli or its relatives is like getting a natural dose of chemoprevention.
One study showed that eating about two servings a day of leafy green vegetables may result in as much as a 50 percent reduction in the risk for certain types of cancers. While all crucifers seem to be effective in fighting cancer, cabbage, broccoli, and brussels sprouts seem to be the most powerful. Just 1/2 a cup of broccoli a day will protect you from a number of cancers, particularly cancers of the lung, stomach, colon, and rectum. No wonder broccoli is number one on the National Cancer Institute's list of nutrition superstars.
The particular compounds in broccoli that are so effective include the phytochemicals, sulforaphane, and the indoles. Sulforaphane is a remarkably potent compound that fights cancer on a number of levels. It increases the enzymes that help rid the body of carcinogens, and actually kills abnormal cells. It helps the body limit oxidation-the process that initiates many chronic diseases-at the cellular level. Indoles work to combat cancer through their effect on estrogen. They block estrogen receptors in breast cancer cells, inhibiting the growth of estrogen-sensitive breast cancers. The most important indole in broccoli-indole-3-carbinol, or I3C-is thought to be an especially effective breast cancer prevention agent.
Researchers estimate that broccoli sprouts provide ten to one hundred times the power of mature broccoli to neutralize carcinogens. A sprinkling of broccoli sprouts in your salad or on your sandwich can do more than even a couple of broccoli spears. This is especially good news for those few people-particularly children-who refuse to eat broccoli. Check www.broccosprouts.com to learn more about this nutrition-packed veggie.
If broccoli did nothing but protect us from cancer, that would be enough, but this mighty vegetable works on other fronts as well.
Broccoli and its related crucifers are rich in folate, the B vitamin that is essential to preventing birth defects. Neural tube defects such as spina bifida have been linked to folic acid deficiency in pregnancy. A single cup of raw, chopped broccoli provides more than 50 milligrams of folate (the plant form of folic acid). Folate also is active in helping to remove homocysteine from the circulatory system; high levels of homocysteine are associated with cardiovascular disease. Folate also plays a role in cancer prevention. Interestingly, folic-acid deficiency may be the most common vitamin deficiency in the world.
We all know how common cataracts are in our aging population. Broccoli can help here too! Broccoli is rich in the powerful phytochemical carotenoid antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin (as well as vitamin C). Both of these carotenoids are concentrated in the lens and retina of the eye. One study found that people who ate broccoli more than twice weekly had a 23 percent lower risk of cataracts when compared to those who ate broccoli less than once a month. Lutein/zeaxanthin and vitamin C also serve to protect the eyes from the free-radical damage done to the eyes by ultraviolet light.
Broccoli and cruciferous vegetables are also bone builders. One cup of raw broccoli provides 41 milligrams of calcium along with 79 milligrams of vitamin C, which promotes the absorption of calcium. Whole milk and other full-fat dairy products, long touted as the main sources of calcium, contain no vitamin C and are often loaded with saturated fat and many more calories than the 25 in 1 cup of raw, chopped broccoli. Broccoli also supplies a significant portion of vitamin K, which is important for blood clotting, and also contributes to bone health.
Broccoli is a great source of the flavonoids, carotenoids, vitamin C, folate, and potassium that help prevent heart disease. It also provides generous amounts of fibre, vitamin E, and vitamin B6, which promote cardiovascular health. Broccoli is one of the few vegetables, along with spinach, that are relatively high in coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), a fat-soluble antioxidant that is a major contributor to the production of energy in our bodies. At least in people with diagnosed heart disease, CoQ10 may play a cardio-protective role.
About 25 percent of the population inherit an aversion to the bitter taste of cruciferous vegetables. If this describes you, add salt, it makes them taste sweeter. Use them in a stir-fry with low-sodium soy sauce or add them to casseroles and lasagnes.
Both Richard Adams & Jill Sabato are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.