Healthiest Foods To Eat

Funny how the media organizes stories. I just read the 20 Saltiest Foods Exposed and less than a inch away was the link to The 10 Best Foods You Aren't Eating.

Small recap:
Beets
These grungy-looking roots are naturally sweeter than any other vegetable, which means they pack tons of flavor under-neath their rugged exterior (best sources of both folate and betaine). Lower blood levels of homocysteine, an inflammatory compound that can damage your arteries and increase your risk of heart disease.

Cabbage
Mostly used in Asian cuisine. Loaded with sulforaphane, a chemical that increases your body's production of enzymes that disarm cell-damaging free radicals and reduce your risk of cancer.

Guava
Has concentration of lycopene -- an antioxidant that fights prostate cancer -- than any other plant food, including tomatoes and watermelon. And guavas are high-fiber food: There's almost 9 grams (g) of fiber in every cup.

Swiss chard
Mediterranean leafy-greens. A half cup of cooked Swiss chard provides lutein and zeaxanthin (increase your internal eye protection). Plant chemicals (carotenoids) protect your retinas from the damage of aging.

Cinnamon
Helps control your blood sugar, which influences your risk of heart disease. Spice's active ingredients, methylhydroxychalcone polymers, which increase your cells' ability to metabolize sugar by up to 20 times.

Purslane (never heard of it)
A broad-leaved weed, it's a popular vegetable and herb in many other countries, (China, Mexico, & Greece.)
Highest amount of heart-healthy omega-3 fats of any edible plant - has 10 to 20 times more melatonin -- an antioxidant that may inhibit cancer growth -- than any other fruit or vegetable.

Pomegranate juice
Decrease systolic (top number) blood pressure & significantly improved bloodflow to their hearts. What's more, 4 ounces provides 50 percent of your daily vitamin C needs.

Goji berries
These raisin-size fruits are chewy and taste like a cross between a cranberry and a cherry. Tibetian's use them for medicinal purposes for over 1,700 years.
Highest ORAC ratings -- a method of gauging antioxidant power.

Dried plums
"Prunes," contain high amounts of neochlorogenic and chlorogenic acids, antioxidants that are particularly effective at combating the "superoxide anion radical."

Pumpkin seeds
Eating them is the easiest way to consume more magnesium.

See link for further information: http://www.menshealth.com/cda/article.do?site=MensHealth&channel=nutrition&category=food.for.fitness&conitem=d4a15165ef624110VgnVCM20000012281eac____&cm_mmc=Today%20Show-_-20%20Foods%20Your%20Cardiologist%20Wont%20Eat-_-Article-_-The%2010%20Best%20Foods%20You%20Arent%20Eating#