Top 15 health foods

American comedian Bill Cosby couldn’t have been more serious when he said that he noticed customers in health food stores looked pale, skinny, and half-dead. On the other hand, in a steak house, he added, “you see robust, ruddy people who look terrific, but they’re dying, of course.”

Oldies, said US comedy writer Robert Orben, shouldn’t be eating health foods because they need all the preservatives they can get.

For his part, American actor Robert Redford declared, “Health food may be good for the conscience, but Oreos taste a hell of a lot better.”

One passionate carnivore swore that more people would probably be eating more green vegetables if they smelled like bacon.

Of course, if you’re aiming for optimal health, this list of top 15 health foods, as can be gleaned from mercola.com (which tells you why they are healthy), can help steer you towards that direction:

1) Sunflower and other sprouted seeds.Adding sprouted seeds (like sunflower seeds) to your vegetable juice and/or salad is probably the easiest way to optimize your nutrition. Here comes the sunflower — its protein, vitamin, and mineral contents typically provide 30 times the nutrient contents of organic vegetables. In general, sprouts contain valuable enzymes, up to 100 times more than raw fruits and vegetables, allowing the body to absorb and use the nutrients of other foods we eat.

Even in this no-space age, you can easily grow sprouts in your own kitchen. The beauty of sprouts is that you can grow them year-round.

2) Organic pastured eggs. Protein (so essential in building, maintaining, and repairing body tissues) is found in many types of food, but only foods from animal sources (like meat and eggs) contain complete proteins, meaning they contain all of the essential amino acids. Eggs also contain lutein and zeaxanthin for eye health, choline for the brain, nervous and cardiovascular systems, and naturally occurring B12.

Fact is, eggs are a powerhouse of healthy nutrition, that is, provided they’re harvested from organically raised, free-range, pastured chickens.

How do you know the egg is free range? You can tell by the color of the egg yolk. Free-range hens (or those allowed to roam and forage for their natural diet) produce eggs with bright orange yolks. On the other hand, you get dull, pale yellow yolks from caged hens.

Locally, you can get organic eggs in organic markets  or some of the health stores like Healthy Options.

3) Butter. What could be better than good old-fashioned butter from grass-fed cows? It’s loaded with conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), which is known to help in the fight vs. cancer and diabetes, as well as in the battle against the bulge.

Butter is an excellent source of easily absorbed vitamin A (for good vision and to keep the endocrine system in tip-top shape) and all the other fat-soluble vitamins (D, E, and K2), which are often lacking in the modern industrial diet. It is also a rich source of trace minerals — manganese, chromium, zinc, copper, and selenium, which is a powerful antioxidant.

4) Fermented vegetables. Take note that your gastrointestinal tract is home to some 100 trillion bacteria, which actually outnumber your cells 10 to 1. When your GI tract is not working well, you could suffer from a lot of health problems, including allergies and autoimmune diseases. To maintain a healthy gut (and a strong immune system), fermented foods are a must.

5) Avocado. It’s low in fructose and rich in healthy monounsaturated fat, which is easily burned for energy. Research confirms tavocado’s ability to help in vascular function and heart health. It is also very high in potassium (in fact, more than twice the amount found in a banana) and will help balance your vitally important potassium to sodium ratio. Avocados also provide close to 20 essential health-boosting nutrients, including fiber, vitamin E, B-vitamins, and folic acid. Besides eating them raw, avocados make a great fat substitute in recipes calling for butter or other oils.

6) Macadamia nuts and pecans. A mounting body of evidence suggests that nuts may actually help you live longer and, take double note, even help you lose weight. Because, contrary to popular belief, tree nuts are high in healthy fats which the body needs for optimal function. Among the top nuts are macadamia and pecan, which provide the highest amount of healthy fat while being on the lower end in terms of carbs and protein. The main fatty acid in macadamia nuts is the monounsaturated fat oleic acid (about 60 percent — about the level found in olives, which are known for their health benefits).

7) Organic coconut oil. Besides being excellent for your thyroid and metabolism, coconut oil is rich in lauric acid, which converts in your body to monolaurin, a monoglyceride capable of destroying lipid-coated viruses such as HIV and herpes, influenza, measles, gram-negative bacteria, and protozoa such as Giardia lamblia.

Coconut oil’s medium chain fatty acids (MCTs) also boast  a  number of health benefits, including raising your body’s metabolism and fighting off pathogens. And then there’s this recent exciting finding: Coconut oil may help treat Alzheimer’s disease, as MCTs serve as an alternate source of brain fuel to help prevent the brain atrophy associated with dementia.

What’s more, coconut oil is easy on your digestive system and does not produce an insulin spike in the bloodstream. Thus, for a quick energy boost, you can simply eat a spoonful of coconut oil, or add a drizzle to your food. But make sure it’s organic coconut oil that is unrefined, unbleached, made without heat processing or chemicals, and does not contain genetically engineered ingredients.

8) Fresh herbs. Herbs not only add spice to meals, they are also key to the nutritional density in the foods we eat. Herbs can protect against diseases, flush out toxins from the body, and provide vitamins and minerals. Turmeric is one example of a spice with potent and scientifically proven medicinal benefits against cancer no less.

9) Raw garlic. Raw garlic (although it costs an arm and a leg these days) is so good for the body as it boosts its natural abilities to protect against hypertension and osteoporosis, and decreases one’s risk for various forms of cancer. It is also a natural antibiotic, antifungal, antiviral, and antiparasitic agent. Fresh is best, of course — simply crush or chop a fresh clove to stimulate the release of an enzyme called alliinase, which in turn catalyzes the formation of allicin (which produces sulfenic acid, a compound that reacts with dangerous free radicals faster than any other known compound).

10) Homemade broth. Homemade bone broth helps “heal and seal” your gut, which is great for speeding healing and recuperation from an illness. It contains healthy fat, as well as important minerals like calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, silicon, sulfur, and trace minerals.

11) Himalayan salt. Salt is essential for life, your body needs it for optimal function. Salt is not always a sin. But know that there are distinct differences between the refined and highly processed salt found in processed foods and regular table salt (which we know only too well), and unrefined natural salt, like sea salt or Himalayan salt. The former will promote damaging health effects, while the latter is important to many biological processes. For instance, Himalayan salt contains about 85-percent sodium chloride and 15-percent naturally-occurring trace minerals — about 84 of them in all, including silicon, phosphorus, and vanadium. On a sweltering day or after sweating profusely, you can whip up a drink to replenish lost electrolytes and minerals by mixing a dash of fresh lemon juice in a glass of water with a pinch of Himalayan salt (available in health stores and leading supermarkets like Rustan’s Fresh).

12) Canned Alaskan salmon. Choose fish that’s high in healthy omega-3 fats, and low in hazardous contaminants, like the wild-caught Alaskan salmon. Fish will certainly stay fresh longer if frozen, but another option is to stock up on canned salmon — just make sure it’s labeled “Alaskan Salmon,” as Alaskan salmon is not allowed to be farmed. Other canned fish that are safe (with lower contamination risk and higher nutritional value) are sardines, anchovies, and pickled herring.

13) Raw milk from organic, grass-fed cows. Contrary to popular belief, pasteurized milk is not safer than raw milk from a healthy, grass-fed cow raised according to organic standards. Data show that even illnesses linked to raw milk are minimal, and far lower than those from pasteurized milk. Grass is, of course, a cow’s natural food — not corn and other grains. When cows eat grains — which are standard fare in confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) — their body composition is altered, including the balance of essential fats. As a result of the animals’ diet, high-quality raw milk has many health benefits that pasteurized milk lacks, such as healthy bacteria that are good for the gastrointestinal tract, beneficial raw fats, amino acids, proteins, vitamins, and a balanced blend of minerals.

14) Whey protein. If you have no access to raw milk, you can use a high-quality, minimally processed whey protein derived from the milk of organically-raised grass-fed cows to receive many of the same health benefits. Whey protein contains beta-glucans and immunoglobulins, which protect the immune system and support the body’s natural detoxification processes.

Often referred to as the golden standard of protein, whey protein, when consumed 30 minutes before and/or after a workout, can help increase both fat burning and muscle building.

15) Yogurt and kefir from organic, grass-fed milk. Cultured dairy products, such as yogurt and kefir made from organic, grass-fed milk, are other powerhouses of nutrition. Both kefir and yogurt are cultured milk products, with different types of beneficial bacteria (probiotics).

Yogurt has transient beneficial bacteria to keep the digestive system clean and provide food for the friendly bacteria that are already present. Kefir helps to colonize the intestinal tract, a feat that yogurt cannot match. Kefir also contains several major strains of friendly bacteria and beneficial yeasts not commonly found in yogurt. It also contains vitamins, minerals, and essential amino acids to help the body with its natural healing powers and maintenance functions.