SuperFoods And
Healthy Kitchen Tips (PART 12of 17)
by Susan Smith Jones

Let food be your medicine and medicine
be your food.

Hippocrates

• Apricots. The apricot’s unique mix of healing compounds makes this food a powerful ally in protecting the eyes and preventing heart disease. Along with beta-carotene, apricots provide lycopene and both compounds have been shown in studies to fight the process by which the dangerous low-density lipoprotein (LDL) form of cholesterol turns rancid in the bloodstream. This is important because when LDL goes bad, it’s more likely to stick to artery walls. “Lycopene is currently considered one of the strongest antioxidants we know about,” says Frederick Khachik, PhD, research chemist at the Food Composition Laboratory at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Beltsville, Maryland.

A 13-year study found that those with the highest intakes of carotenoids had a one-third lower risk of heart disease than those with the lowest intakes. In an 8-year study of 90,000 nurses, those with diets richest in carotenoids had a one-quarter lower risk. Other compounds in this velvety fruit, according to research, have been found to fight infections and blindness. A study of more than 50,000 nurses found that women who got the most vitamin A in their diets reduced their risk of getting cataracts by more than one-third. Three apricots provide 2,769 IU of vitamin A, 55 percent of the RDA.

Apricots are also a good source of vitamin C and beta-carotene, with three apricots containing 2 mg, about 30 percent of the RDA for beta-carotene and only 50 calories (in 3 apricots and 85 calories in 10 dried halves). Much of the vitamin C is lost, however, when apricots are canned or dried in high heat. In all forms, apricots are high in iron as well as potassium, a mineral essential for proper nerve and muscle function that also helps maintain normal blood pressure and balance of body fluids.

I purchase pounds of organic apricots, when in season and dry them in my dehydrator (below 110 degrees to retain nutrients and enzymes) to enjoy year-round. If you purchase dried apricots, the best ones come from Turkey. Keep a container of these dried delights in your desk drawer for mid-afternoon munchies. Avoid apricots that are treated with sulfur dioxide before they are dried to preserve their color and certain nutrients. This sulfite treatment may trigger an asthma attack or allergic reaction in susceptible people. Unless dried apricots are labeled as sulfite-free, anyone with asthma should avoid them.

• Cauliflower. Mark Twain once called cauliflower “a cabbage with a college education” – a bit more refined, perhaps, but essentially the same plain-Jane vegetable. What Twain didn’t know is just how valuable cauliflower is in one’s quest for vibrant health. Like other members of the cruciferous family, cauliflower is loaded with nutrients that seem to wage war against a host of diseases, including cancer. It’s also an excellent source of vitamins and minerals that are essential for keeping the immune system strong.

Although cauliflower’s darker-colored brother, broccoli, has gotten most of the attention for its healing potential, cauliflower is also generously endowed with cancer-preventing powers. In fact, this filling, high-fiber and low-calorie vegetable (only 25 in a cup of florets) is one of the most powerful healing foods you can eat. This same cup has more than the RDA of vitamin C, one-third of the RDA for folate (the plant source of folic acid) and reasonable amounts of potassium and vitamin B-6; it also has bioflavonoids and other chemicals that protect against cancer.

Researchers have found two potent munitions in cauliflower’s cancer-fighting arsenal: the phytonutrients sulforaphane and indole-3-carbinol or 13C. These compounds, which are found in all cruciferous vegetables, may be the reason that studies consistently show that people who make a habit of crunching crucifers are less likely to get cancer.

To keep cauliflower’s cancer-fighting indoles intact, keep it out of the heat. Your best bet is either eating it raw or cooking it quickly in a steamer, wok or microwave. Boiling is the worst way to cook this crucifer. Submerging cauliflower in the hot, roiling water will cause it to lose about half of its valuable indoles. I always include cauliflower as one of the key ingredients in my fresh vegetable juices.

• Collards. A mild-tasting kale variety, collards are blue-green with large, smooth, non-heading paddle-like leaves. Collard greens, a favorite soul food of the American South, are available all year. A cruciferous vegetable with anti-cancer potential, collards are among the oldest members of the cabbage family to be cultivated. They are one of the milder greens; its flavor is somewhere between cabbage and kale. Collards provides potassium and contains nearly the same amount of calcium as milk with approximately 226 mg of calcium in 3 1/2 ounces raw (that’s 2 to 3 cups). This amount also provides 23 mg of vitamin C, 0.6 mg of iron and only a minuscule 19 calories.

It’s not surprising that collards would be a powerful anti-cancer food given the high level of nutrients/phyto-nutrients it contains. Glutathione and alpha lipoic acid are two antioxidants that researchers believe are the most important in the body. Normally these life-preserving nutrients are manufactured in the body itself, but our ability to produce them seems to diminish as we age. However, collards contain a ready-made supply of both. Glutathione is the primary antioxidant in all cells where its critically important job is to protect our DNA. It repairs damaged DNA, promotes healthy cell replication, boosts the immune system, detoxifies pollutants and reduces chronic inflammation.

Alpha lipoic acid boosts glutathione levels by helping cells absorb a critical amino acid that is needed to make it. But there’s more to this amazing phytonutrient. Alpha lipoic acid is what I refer to as a “super-antioxidant.” Most other antioxidants are soluble in either watery portions of the body (such as the blood) or fatty tissues (such as cell membranes.) Alpha lipoic acid is soluble in both, meaning that it can help defend every type of substance in the body against oxidative assaults. It helps the body break down sugar for energy production; it guards against stroke, health attacks and cataracts; it strengthens memory and it turns off genes that can accelerate aging and cause cancer. That makes alpha lipoic acid a powerful nutrient for skin health – from healing all types of skin damage, to preventing skin cancer, to restoring youthful vitality in the skin on your face, neck and hands, to beautifying and “youthifying” skin all over the body. For this reason, I use and highly recommend the Alpha Lipoic Acid skin care products by Reviva Labs. (They combine Alpha Lipoic Acid with Vitamin C Ester and DMAE. Call (800) 257-7774 or visit www.revivalabs.com.)

• Millet. The smallest of our familiar grains, millet is an ancient grain of Asia and North Africa and is gluten-free (so it cannot be used for raised breads). It is made into tasty flat breads and can also be used in pilaf or as a stuffing for vegetables. In the United States, millet is known principally as feed for birds and poultry. However, pearl millet, which is the major type grown for human consumption, can be found in health food stores and some supermarkets, always hulled and usually in whole-grain form. The tiny, pale yellow or reddish orange beads of millet can be cooked like any other grain. It is usually tolerated by people who are allergic to wheat.

Of all the true cereal grains, millet has the richest amino-acid protein profile and the highest iron content. It is very rich in phosphorus and the B vitamins. Due to its high alkaline ash content, millet is the easiest grain to digest. This unusual makeup allows millet to be cooked without salt and yet be alkaline rather than acidic.

A cup of cooked millet contains nearly 110 mg of magnesium. According to research, eating magnesium-rich foods like millet (other foods include tofu, avocados, spinach, bananas and peanut butter) may help ease the irritability, sadness and other emotional ups-and-downs that some women experience every month because of premenstrual discomfort. Research has shown that women with premenstrual syndrome (PMS) often have low levels of magnesium. “A marginal magnesium deficiency could make certain women more susceptible to PMS,” says Donald L. Rosenstein, MD, chief of the psychiatry consultation service at the National Institutes of Health.

Unlike brown rice, millet doesn’t take forever to go from pot to plate. And it’s very easy to make. In a saucepan, mix 1 cup of whole millet with 2 1/2 cups of water, bring to a boil, then simmer and cook, covered, until the grains are tender, usually about 20-25 minutes. Fluff the millet with a fork and serve immediately. Cooking millet in apple juice instead of water will add a bit of sweetness to the dish. For a creamier texture, stir millet frequently while it cooks, which causes the grains to absorb more of the liquid.

You can also make your own freshly-milled, nutritious flour from millet in the Kitchen Mill. (Visit www.blendtec.com or call (800) 253-6383.) I make my own millet flour in this grain mill often because it lends a dry, delicate, cake-like crumb and a pale yellow color to baked goods. Fresh millet flour has a distinctive sweet flavor. When old, it is bitter and should be discarded. Millet flour is sold in natural food stores, but since it turns quite rapidly, it is best to grind it as needed. And because millet has no gluten, the flour is best combined with wheat flour for cookies, cakes and bread. For sauces and some cookies and flatbreads, it may be used alone.

Next month find out about plums and dried plums, strawberries and yellow split peas.

Susan Smith Jones, MS, PhD is an internationally renowned motivational speaker, frequent radio/TV talk show guest, culinary instructor, author of hundreds of magazine articles and 15 books, including her latest, Unleash the Power of NATUREFOODS: 50 Revitalizing Food s that Heal Your Body, Promote Radiant Health & Rejuvenate Your Life. In the past 35 years, Susan has assisted thousands of people in becoming more aware of how their food and lifestyle choices affect their physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being. To order autographed copies of NATUREFOODS, please call (800) 253-6383 (MT) or visit www.susansmithjones.com