Top 7 Superfoods

Top 7 Superfoods

After I was diagnosed with lupus, I started studying nutrition because our diet can directly affect the symptoms of an autoimmune disease. I learned more about inflammation and which foods can prevent it – or at least not make it worse – a lot of new and healthy recipes and some Ayurveda ancestral knowledge.

 

One article that gained my attention recently was Dr. Murray’s Top 7 Superfoods. He claims that one of the keys to eating a diet that promotes health and longevity is focusing on flavonoids, a type of plant pigment and a member of the larger polyphenol family. As a class of compounds, flavonoids are often called “nature’s biological response modifiers” because of their anti-inflammatory, antiallergic, antiviral, and anticancer properties.

 

Many superfoods owe their benefits to their flavonoid content. While different flavonoids have different effects on the body, the key factor may not be a high intake of any one particular flavonoid, but rather a high total flavonoid intake that also provides a wide variety of flavonoids rather than one specific flavonoid class.

 

The research shows that it does not seem to matter whether the flavonoids come from dietary sources or through supplements containing flavonoid-rich extracts. The caveat is that the dosage must be sufficient, and the total intake must come from various sources. Based upon his interpretation of all of this data, Dr. Murray believes that the total flavonoid intake for general health should be at least 500 mg from a wide variety of sources. Some of them are:

 

Dietary sources/ Daily dosage/ Flavonoid content:

 

Berries/ 1 cup/ 205 mg

 

Raw cacao powder/ 3 tablespoons/ 85 mg

 

Tea (green or herbal)/ 12 ounces/ 400 mg

 

Decaffeinated coffee/ 12 ounces/ 400 mg

 

Nuts/ 1/2 cup/ 85 mg

 

 

In general, smaller, more dense fruit will provide a higher content of flavonoids than larger, more woody fruit. For example, a smaller, denser blueberry or apple will have a higher content of flavonoids than a larger, higher water content blueberry or apple. The key is to try to hit that 500 mg per day target and remember that these foods have numerous other beneficial compounds besides flavonoids.

 

Other foods rich in flavonoids are:

 

Fruits:

Apples

Apricots

Blackberries

Blueberries

Cherries, sweet

Cranberries

Currants, black

Grapefruit

Grapes, black

Grapes, green

Grapes, red

Lemons, without peel

Oranges, all commercial types

Peaches

Pears

Plums, black

Raspberries

Strawberries

 

Vegetables:

Cabbage, red (raw)

Kale, raw

Onions, red (raw)

Parsley

Radishes, raw

 

Nuts and Seeds:

Almonds

Chia seeds

Hazelnuts

Pecans

 

Miscellaneous:

Cacao powder

Cocoa powder, unsweetened

Chocolate, dark semisweet

Tea, black brewed

Tea, green brewed

Wine, red

 

Dr. Murray´s top 7 are:

 

Apples

Black currant

Blueberry

Cranberry

Grape

Strawberry

Pomegranate

 

Do you often eat them? I am adjusting my diet to do so. Let me know if you try it as well?! Good luck!

 

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