List of Superfoods

On the Superfoods List are those foods that are so nutrient-rich that they can help fight aging and illness. 

They have high amounts of flavonoids and micro and macro nutrients while being low in calories.

These are the foods that will boost a person's immune system and help him or her fight everything from the to aging. Superfoods given this title are usually based on solid research and should be considered seriously for almost anyone's diet. On top of the superfood list are the green, bright colored fruits and vegetables and raw nuts.

Superfood List includes:

• Wheat Grass
• Barley Grass
• Wild Blue Algae
• Spirulina
• Chlorella
• Green Leaf vegetables
• Fruits
• Raw Nuts
• Seeds

On top of the superfoods list are the greens. Greens are good, Green superfoods have the highest concentrations of easily digestible nutrients, fat burning compounds, vitamins and minerals to protect and heal the body. They contain a wide array of beneficial substances including proteins, protective photo-chemicals and healthy bacteria helping you to build cleaner muscles and tissues, aid your digestive system function and more effectively protect you against disease and illness.

The greens are extremely rich in chlorophyll - the pigment that gives plants their green color. The molecular structure of chlorophyll is very similar to that of human blood and studies show that when this is consumed, the production of hemoglobin in blood is increased. Higher amounts of hemoglobin in the bloodstream means more oxygen-rich blood, the first and most important element that cells need to thrive

Benefits of the greens on the superfoods list

Wheat grass is super alkalizing and is excellent for promoting healthy blood. It normalizes the thyroid gland to stimulate metabolism thus assisting digestion and promoting weight loss due also to its high enzyme content and cleansing effect.

Barley Grass is green juice concentrates made from the leaves of young barley plants. BarleyLife is loaded with vitamins and minerals and can help you achieve a proper body chemistry.

Wild blue-green algae was the first form of life on Earth and its power is immense. Wild blue-green algae is a phyto-plankton and contains virtually every nutrient. With a 60% protein content and a more complete amino acid profile than beef or soy beans. It contains one of the best known food sources of beta carotene, B vitamins and chlorophyll. It has been shown to improve brain function and memory, strengthen the immune system and help with viruses, colds and flu.

Spirulina is one of the highest known protein sources on Earth and contains 70% complete protein, towering over steak which consists of only 25% protein once cooked. Studies have shown that spirulina can help control blood sugar levels and cravings thus making it a key food for diabetics, and can be used to assist in weight loss and as a general nutritional supplement.

Chlorella is a fresh water algae and like its other algae cousins contains a complete protein profile, all the B vitamins, vitamin C and E and many minerals.

The green leaf vegetables have more than 100% of vitamins K and A for starters, and it contains more than half the daily requirements for folate and manganese. Spinach has a special concoction of flavonoids, 13 to be exact, that all work together to help slow a number of cancers, including breast cancer. If that wasn't enough to make it a super food, spinach does more. It's been associated with improved brain function, eyesight, energy, and gastrointestinal function.

Fruit, Raw nut and Seeds are also on the superfood list and are high in anti-oxidants that fight free radicals in the body. When enough of these free radicals invade our immune system problems occurs.

This is when you need antioxidants to build up the immune system and fight off the free radicals in the form of superfoods or supplements.

All About Superfoods For Health

Superfoods are "nutritionally dense" foods, and also have extra health benefits which come from "Antioxidants" and "Phytochemicals".

Next we'll go into what these statements actually mean in real terms.

When a food is "nutritionally dense", it means that the food has high concentrations of vitamins and dietary minerals that we recognise as being good for us.

That includes all the vitamins we know so well such as vitamins A, B, C, D, E, K, and also dietary minerals such as Calcium, Iron, Potassium, Magnesium, Zinc and others. But these things are found in many different foods already.

All foods contain at least some of the vitamins and minerals in varying quantities, so what's this all about?

They big difference is that superfoods have an unusually high concentration of nutrients for their size, when looked at alongside normal foods. For example, the humble cucumber is mostly - 90% or thereabouts - water, so to get any significant levels of nutrients from a cucumber you'd have to eat a whole one. Or two!

With superfoods you can eat a mouthful and it will provide a large dose of nutrients, occasionally providing as much as you need in a single day, in a single bite. Now that's super! Not many foods show such high levels of nutrients in such small quantities, and that's why superfoods are so exciting. They can provide nutrition like you've never felt before.

OK next up, antioxidants and phytochemicals. These are some big words, so let's discuss them both.
Let's start with antioxidants. These are naturally occurring chemicals which prevent oxidation inside the body. Oxidation is basically damage caused to cells when they react with oxygen. It is this damage which is linked to all sorts of nasties including premature ageing, degenerative diseases and some cancers.

Antioxidants prevent the damage from oxidation by interfering with the chemical reaction and stopping it from happening at all, and therefore in theory cut down any unwanted effects. A common antioxidant you will be aware of is vitamin C (otherwise known as ascorbic acid).

Phytochemicals are naturally occurring compounds found in animals and plants, which are not yet recognised as being an essential vitamin or dietary mineral. As humans we require some vitamins and dietary minerals for the various chemical processes inside our bodies to work properly - that's why they're called "essential", whereas we're only just starting to fully comprehend the uses and benefits of phytochemicals.

A large part of the suggested power of superfoods (such as anti-cancer, anti-heart disease, anti-ageing and so on) is down to the various phytochemicals found inside them. So, not only do superfoods contain astronomical levels of essential vitamins and dietary minerals, they also have all the extra antioxidants and phytochemicals which come with astonishing possible benefits!

To summarise: We are human, and so we require various essential vitamins and minerals to live. Without these essential nutrients, our bodies break down and we become ill. Now we're uncovering powerful new nutrients which can help to further boost our health and protect us from old age and disease.

Superfoods are foods which mix of all this goodness at once, and they taste great too - even more reason to start including superfoods as part of a healthy diet.