“Super foods”
• Soy
• Beans
• Spinach
• Berries
• Sweet Potatoes
• Cruciferous vegetables
• Tea
• Chocolate
• Tomatoes
• Citrus fruits
• Nuts
• Pumpkin
• Whole grains
• Fish
• Yogurt
2006
Beans
An Overview
• The United States is by far the world
leader in dry bean production.
• Each year, U.S. farmers plant 1.5 to 1.7
million acres of edible dry beans.
• Although US is the chief consumer of these
beans, around 40% of these beans are
shipped to international markets in more than
100 different countries.
CDC
2006
Beans
Nutritional Value
• Dry beans or legumes are an inexpensive and healthy
way to include additional servings of vegetables
Introduce beans into your
into your diet. diet gradually.
Beans count as a
• Cooked beans are low in calories, loaded with
substitute for meat.
complex carbohydrates, and contain little fat.
A good tip would be to
replace meat with a bean
• In addition, beans are good sources of B vitamins, entrée twice a week.
potassium, and fiber, which promotes digestive health
and relieves constipation.
2006
CDC
Beans
• The demand for bean products is growing because of the
presence of several health-promoting compounds in edible
bean products known as saponins, which are naturally occurring
compounds widely distributed in all cells of legume plants.
• Clinical studies have suggested that saponins have the ability to:
– Help protect the human body against cancers
– Lower cholesterol
– Lower blood glucose responses
In epidemiological studies,
saponins have been shown to
have an inverse
relationship
with the incidence of kidney stones.
2006
J Med Food. 2004; 7(1): 67-78.
Berries
An Overview
• Berries are one of the nation’s most
well liked fruits.
• Berries are believed to have been first
incorporated into the diets and lifestyles
of Native Americans.
• Traditionally, when we think of berries,
we think of things like blueberries,
strawberries, raspberries, and
blackberries, but there are also other
varieties such as cranberries,
boysenberries and gooseberries .
CDC
2006
Berries
Nutritional Value
• Many berries are suitable to eat raw after
rinsing and most types of berries vary
from 50 to 100 calories per serving when
eaten raw.
• Berries are loaded with:
vitamin C, potassium, and fiber.
• All berries with strong red and blue colors
have phytochemicals that can potentially
reduce cancer rates and other chronic
diseases.
• Oxygen radical absorptive capacity (ORAC),
is a way to measure the antioxidant capacity of fruits and
vegetables.
• Berries have some of the highest antioxidant levels of any fresh fruits!
CDC
2006
Berries
Strawberries
• Because of the antioxidant power found in strawberries, regular
consumption of this fruit has been shown to have the potential to lower
one’s risk of heart disease.
• In addition, studies have shown that
strawberries are involved in inhibiting
inflammatory enzymes. This reduces the
inflammatory response that is involved in
the etiology of many diseases.
2006
Cr Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2004; 44:1-17.
Strawberries
Recent Findings
• Studies on two antioxidant compounds in strawberries
(ellagic acid and quercetin) have demonstrated that these substances:
– Have anticancer activity
– Work to block the initiation of carcinogenesis
– Suppress progression and proliferation of tumors
2006
Cr Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2004; 44:1-17.