30 foods that will save your life (December 2008) by Veronika Ruff
30 foods that will save your life
Heart attacks, cancer, obesity and poor immunity can put your life at risk. Thankfully, preventative medicine is on your local supermarket shelf
1 Parmesan
Grate hard, strong cheeses, like Parmesan, on your salad for added protein. “The key here is to add protein to all of your meals, which fills you up faster and helps you burn more kilojoules throughout the day,” says registered dietician Milton Stokes.
2 Buttermilk
The University of Surrey has confirmed that if food looks good it tastes good, too. dietician Ellie Krieger, author of The Food You Crave suggests “making mashed potatoes with buttermilk, which is comparable in kilojoules to low-fat milk,” but then putting a small knob of butter on top as food for the eyes.
3 Soba noodles
Substitute in Japanese soba noodles for traditional pasta. Made from buckwheat, soba noodles take more time to digest, so keep you feeling satisfied longer. Plus, one serving of soba will give you twice as much fibre, protein and iron as normal spaghetti.
4 Sweet potatoes
Bake sweet potatoes next time you braai and you’ll feel fuller for longer. Sweet potatoes have a lower glycaemic index than normal potatoes. They are also the richest low-fat source of vitamin E.
5 Cornflour
Stir a small handful of cornflour into your soups and the starch will instantly thicken watery affairs into hearty, healthy broths. As a bonus, cornflour contains an antioxidant called zeaxanthin, which helps preserve good vision.
6 Capers
When scientists at the University of Palermo, Italy, added capers to meat and simulated digestion they helped prevent compounds forming that damage DNA.
7 Avocado
Replace mayo with a spread of ripe avocado to moisten dry sandwiches. Not only do avocados contain hearthealthy monounsaturated fats but researchers discovered that their phytochemicals help prevent mouth cancer.
Belly busters
If you want to save your life, losing weight should be among your top priorities. These foods will fill you up for longer on smaller portions. In case you didn’t know, being too heavy increases the chances of cancer and strokes, and is a major cause of liver disease, impotence and infertility, not to mention snoring.
8 Breadcrumbs
Cut the fat of the topping on your macaroni cheese by replacing half the cheese with wholemeal breadcrumbs,” suggests nutritionist Carina Norris. “This mimics the crispy texture of baked cheese, and adds fibre, which reduces your risk of a variety of cancers.”
Cancer killers
According to the latest available statistics from the National Cancer Registry, one in four South Africans will contract cancer in their lifetime. Work the numbers in your favour and start in the kitchen. Simply adding an extra portion of vegetables to your diet every day has been found to lower your chances of death from any kind of cancer by 20 percent. Put these in your cupboard to flick the Vs at the Big C.
9 Tofu
Use tofu to make mousse. Studies in Japan found its plant hormones can guard men against prostate cancer. “Purée the silken variety until it’s smooth, and add melted chocolate,” says Krieger.
10 Lemon
Its zest contains D-limonene, which can guard against skin tumours. Arizona University says a weekly tablespoon of the stuff can reduce your risk of skin cancer by up to 30 percent.
Hard hearted
Reducing the fat in your favourite dishes can lower your cholesterol by 29 percent according to research from the University of Toronto. And upping your intake of fruit and veg was found by the Harvard School of Public Health to cut the chance of a heart attack by nearly a third. Cut your salt as well and you can enjoy artery-aiding cuisine every day.
11 Garlic
The smelly stuff is also an enemy of cancer. But don’t throw it straight in the pan. “The cancer-fighting enzyme – allinase – develops more fully if it’s allowed to sit for 10 minutes after chopping,” says nutritionist Rita Fonseca Silva.
12 Extra virgin olive oil
“Light olive oils have less flavour and fewer cancer-fighting antioxidants,” says Elena Paravantes of the Hellenic Dietetic Association. “Extra virgin has a peppery, slightly bitter taste.”
13 Ricotta cheese and honey
Make a healthy cream for desserts by mixing ricotta and honey. Ricotta is made of whey and contains cysteine, which helps produce cancer-fighting antioxidants.
14 Tomato Sauce (Organic)
The Agricultural Research Service in California found organic tomato sauces have twice as much cancer-fighting lycopene than the normal sauce. Ensure you get your fill of tomatoey goodness by spending a few extra rand on organic tomato sauce, available from Woolworths or www.choosehealth.co.za.
15 Low-sodium soy sauce
Sushi is a good, low-fat source of lean protein, but the soy sauce it begs to be dunked in is packed with salt. Go for low-sodium soy sauce and cut out 790mg of the artery-clogging compound for every tablespoon.
16 Filo pastry
“For huge fat and kilojoule savings, use filo pastry on your pies instead of short crust or puff pastry,” says Norris. Switching to filo saves you 460kJ and 10g of fat per serving, reducing its effect on your cholesterol levels and blood pressure.
System check
If your body is an engine then vitamins are the oil it needs to keep running smoothly. A study in Internal Medicine states getting your RDA of vitamins means you live, on average, seven percent longer, while the Journal of the American Medical Association found you catch 20 percent less colds with good nutrition. Scoff these foods to stay disease free, stronger, faster and fitter.
17 Low-fat yoghurt
Replace the coconut milk in your curries with low-fat yoghurt. You get the taste without the fat from the coconut. Add the yoghurt towards the end of cooking time as excessive heat may cause it to separate.
18 Home-made burger
“Pack your home-made burgers with olives, mushrooms or any vegetables you like,” says Krieger. This makes a small serving of meat look and feel like a proper slab of flesh. “The vegetable stuffing adds healthy nutrients,” says Krieger, “while cutting down on the amount of animal fat involved in a satisfying home-burger.”
19 Chilli peppers
You can lose weight with chillis. Heat-mongering chemical capsaicin helps the liver clear insulin – the hormone that tells your body to store fat – from the bloodstream.
20 Brown pitas
Add extra vegetables to your lunchbox by packing in a wholemeal pita rather than bread. Pitas let you stuff in more nutritious fillings and a Harvard University study found that for every serving of vegetables you add to your daily diet, you decrease your risk of heart disease by four percent.
21 Red Lentils
To make a low-fat lasagne, use half the amount of mince and make up the difference with red lentils. “They’re fat-free and high in fibre, which makes them more filling,” explains Norris. Red lentils will also soak up the meaty flavours.
22 Feta cheese
Use softer cheeses, like feta, on sandwiches because they’re about a third lower in fat than the harder kinds. When you decide you definitely need the full-fat fellas, go for stronger stinkers – you’ll get the same taste from less.
23 Kidney beans
Beans such as cannellini and kidney are an easy, quick way to get protein and fibre, but the canned kind can also spike your daily salt intake. Rinsing them for three minutes will shed about 30 percent of the sodium.
24 Dark chocolate
Give your cooking a decadent touch by shaving dark chocolate into savoury dishes like chilli. It creates a rich flavour and adds flavonoids and polyphenols, both of which lower your risk of heart disease and keep your cholesterol under wraps.
25 Oregano
One tablespoon of fresh oregano has more antioxidants than an apple, according to researchers at the US Department of Agriculture. Mexican oregano has the highest count, but the Italian and Greek versions are good too. Chuck into Bolognese or salad dressings.
26 Button mushrooms
White button mushrooms ward off viruses by boosting your immune system, says Tufts University in Boston. Their potent antioxidants also combat cancer, and you can fight the battle of the bulge by replacing one cup of rice or pasta with the same amount of mushrooms, which saves up to 836kJ per serving.
27 Fresh mint
Next time you’re making your standard sandwich to take to work with you, add some mint leaves to the mix. “Mint packs a huge punch of taste that will pep up basic, bland foods,” says Krieger “plus it significantly boosts your daily vitamin A intake.”
28 Baby spinach
When you’re re-heating some curry or pasta sauce, stir in a couple of handfuls of baby spinach or other leafy greens just before serving, suggests Norris. The heat will wilt the leaves but they’ll retain their nutrients. “This is a great use for those greens in your fridge that are just past their sell-by date.”
29 Low-fat milk
You’ve admirably resisted the chocolate muffin in favour of a cereal with nutrients, but that doesn’t mean you’re actually getting the good stuff. Up to 40 percent of the vitamins in cereal dissolve into that milk. So drink it’s closing time.
30 Parsley
Add a handful of fresh parsley to almost any dish you’re cooking. It goes well with most savoury foods, and half a cup is packed with nearly 70 percent of the vitamin C, 50 percent of the vitamin A and 10 percent of the iron you need every day. Plus, it naturally freshens your breath.
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