So, I thought to compliment a post earlier this week on the 5 power fruits we should eat everyday, I would give a little love to the vegetable world. Here are my top 5 veggies I try to always have in my refrigerator. Vegetables are like free food. They don’t cost you anything, and you have so much to gain in health. The more you eat them the more your body craves them. I have removed much of my grain/starchy foods and replaced them with vegetables. It has made a huge difference in my health.

• Broccoli. Bean-O anyone? There may be a couple side effects to eating too much broccoli, but it’s worth it. To keep this short, I won’t try to list all of vitamins and minerals that it’s packed with, but it provides a ton of good stuff, including more than your daily requirement of Vitamins C, K and A in just one serving. In addition, the calcium provided by broccoli can be absorbed easily by your body (up to 50%), so it’s an efficient calcium provider as well. Broccoli contains the phytonutrients sulforaphane and the indoles, which have significant anti-cancer effects. These phytonutrients have been shown to fight several different types of cancer, suppress tumor growth, and these compounds actually signal our genes to increase production of enzymes involved in detoxification.
• Asparagus. In addition to providing more than your daily requirement of Vitamin K, this baby packs a Folate punch, delivering over 65% of your daily requirement. Folate is essential for a healthy cardiovascular system. Folate is involved in the methylation cycle. Asparagus is also loaded with B vitamins and minerals. Asparagus is a very good source of potassium (288 mg per cup) and low in sodium (19.8 mg per cup). Its mineral profile, combined with an active amino acid, asparagine, gives asparagus a diuretic effect. It has also been used to treat problems involving swelling, such as arthritis and rheumatism.
• Bell Peppers. Most of us know that you can get a green, red or yellow bell pepper. But did you know they also come in orange, purple, brown and black? Different colors indicate different vitamins and minerals. Red bell peppers are loaded with lycopene and beta-carotene for example… this is what gives them their red color. The red’s also have three times more vitamin C per weight than any citrus fruit (green’s have twice as much)! Loaded with antioxidants, bell peppers help to neutralize free radicals, which can travel through the body causing huge amounts of damage to cells. Free radicals are major players in the build up of cholesterol in the arteries that lead to heart disease, the nerve and blood vessel damage seen in diabetes, the cloudy lenses of cataracts, the joint pain and damage seen in osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, and the wheezing and airway tightening of asthma.
• Spinach. So, I’ll have to admit, I can’t eat the stuff cooked. I absolutely refuse to eat something that is squishy, slimy, warm and green. But, I do eat tons of fresh baby spinach. It’s good stuff. As far as density is concerned, dark leafy vegetables such as spinach deliver more nutrients per ounce of weight than any other food. Here’s a site dedicated to spinach so you can read up on all that it has to offer you. Researchers have identified at least 13 different flavonoid compounds in spinach that function as antioxidants and as anti-cancer agents. The vitamin K provided by spinach is almost 200% of the Daily Value in one cup of fresh spinach leaves (vitamin K can help maintain bone health). It’s also loaded with antioxidants and anti-inflammatory nutrients. Talk about a power food!
• Carrots. Easy to find, easy to eat, and they’re a great snack when you’re craving something crunchy and sweet. Carrots are an excellent source of antioxidant compounds, and the richest vegetable source of beta-carotene. Carrots’ antioxidant compounds help protect against cardiovascular disease and cancer and also promote good vision.
• Avocado (my honorary favorite “vegetable”). It used to be that buying an avocado was an excuse to make guacamole; now, making guac is my excuse to eat the avocado. I love them! I love putting them in my salads, on a sandwich with turkey and bacon… yummmmm. And yes, it is actually a fruit but like tomatoes… I’m going to assume you’ve always thought of it as a veggie. One of the most nutrient-dense foods, avocados are high in fiber and, ounce for ounce, top the charts among all fruits for folate, potassium, vitamin E, and magnesium. The delicious healthy monounsaturated fat in the avocado is one of its biggest health claims. The monounsaturated fat in avocados is oleic acid, which may help lower cholesterol. One study found that after seven days on a diet that included avocados, there were significant decreases in both total and LDL cholesterol as well as an 11 percent increase in the “good” HDL cholesterol.

When buying veggies, organic is best (especially bell peppers and broccoli) and make sure to lightly steam your vegetables rather than boil them. All the good stuff tends to leach out into the water when they’re boiled. If you’re on a budget (and lets face it, who isn’t) frozen veggies is good alternative to fresh. Definitely go with frozen over canned. These are my favorites, but I also eat tons of cucumber, artichokes and other leafy greens. I hate tomatoes (another veggie imposter), but I know that they’re good for us. Adding a healthy amount of vegetable servings can only be a good thing, and when you consider that almost no vegetables “cost” any calories, they’re even better! So, here’s to happier, healthier eating. And on that note, We the change has a great article on how to get the most out of your food, regardless of what it is! I recommend checking it out.

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Fruit is underused by so many people. It’s also misused. Some claim the sugar content is to high; others mistakenly believe that they’re getting all the benefits of fruit from the juice they drink. Wrong! There are so many great things about fruit that are lost when it is juiced. My son loves fruit. He’ll eat any kind of fruit I put in front of him. In fact, each night before he goes to bed he asks, “Mom? If I stay in bed can I have strawberries (or an apple, banana, etc) for breakfast?” 80% of the time he’ll choose fruit over fruit gummies or other sugary treats. It got me thinking that he could teach us all about how much we can get out of adding a few servings of fruit to our diet. Here is my list of the top 5 healthiest fruits and why.

• Berries. If I took the time to break them down, they would take up all five slots on my list. Blueberries top this “sublist” in that they contain 14 mg of Vitamin C in one cup and are filled with antioxidants. Then there’s strawberries, blackberries, cranberries, and the list goes on. Berries are extremely nutrient-dense. A one cup serving has less than 50 calories and packs a serious punch. Berries should always be purchased organic. Pesticides are not only very heavily used on berries to increase yield, but also have an ability to retain the chemicals which are used. Check out my article on buying organic if you’re interested in learning more.
• Cantaloupe. Cantaloupes have significant amounts of Vitamins A and C and are a good source of potassium and other minerals. In fact, a one cup serving will provide you with more than 100% of your daily requirement of Vitamins A and C, as well as good amounts of Vitamin B6, Folate and Dietary Fiber. It packs an extra bonus in that it is very sweet and juicy. When you’re fighting a big time sugar craving, this is the fruit to go to (and at roughly 60 calories per serving, you can’t go wrong)! It is primarily in season from June to August, but these days you can typically find it year-round at your local grocery store. Since we don’t eat the rind of this fruit, it is generally safe to buy non-organic.
• Grapes. Grapes are low calorie, sweet and wonderful in texture. Aside from providing a good amount of manganese, these gems are packed with flavonoids. Flavonoids have been found to protect blood vessels, enhance Vitamin C uptake, and even control inflammation. Generally, the more purple/red the grape is, the more flavonoids they contain. A one cup serving is just 60 calories… beat that snickers. Add this fruit to your must-eat-organic list.
• Apples. So yeah, there’s really something to “An apple an day keeps the Doctor away“. Besides being rich in antioxidants and Vitamin C, a group of chemicals in apples could protect the brain from the type of damage that triggers neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Studies done at Cornell University found that the apple phenolics, which are naturally occurring antioxidants found in fresh apples, can protect nerve cells from neurotoxicity induced by oxidative stress. Apples are another good sugar-buster, and studies have found that organic apples actually contain higher levels of phenolics than pesticide-laden alternatives. Why? The apples that have to defend pests on their own create more phenolics to defend themselves.
• Tropical Fruits. This might not have been the expected 5th choice for the list, but I think there are so many great benefits to nearly all fruit in this category not to mention how absolutely divine they taste. If you’re an athlete then you already know what a banana can do for you! While bananas are probably the most common tropical fruit there are many others to take advantage of. Here’s an article which boasts the benefits of pineapples, bananas, papayas, coconuts and more. While these fruits are generally higher in calorie content and fat, they make up for it in flavor and nutrients.

Here’s how you can make fruit work for you (besides all the healthy benefits they provide). For the next week, instead of your typical sugar fix… candy, soda, cookies, etc… eat a piece of fruit instead. Overtime, you body adjusts to crave what it has been given. If you replace your sugar craving with fruit instead of sweets, eventually you’ll find that what you crave is that piece of watermelon or pineapple… not the m&m’s. Experiment in your produce isle and find your own top 5 favorites. No matter what you choose you can’t go wrong.

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This post refers specifically to the United States, and I don’t really have any idea how other country’s education systems work but I would love to hear from those of you not in the U.S. about how your country tackle’s these issues.

There are some huge problems in the education system here, and I am not going to touch on all of them because I don’t have time to write a novel! If you look around online, even just in the blogosphere, what are the two main things you see people interested in? Money and Diet. I’ll tell you that those are my two primary topics of interest most of the time. It seems that no one really knows how to manage their money or their health, and here in America those are the two subjects that no one ever teaches you about in school. I suppose the education system expects that families will teach these things to their kids, but that only works if the families are already well educated in finance and health. Based on our debt problems and obesity rates in this country, I’d say we’re not.

Finance

I never took a finance class, nor was there any class about managing money and the expenses of living as an adult offered at my high school (or any others that I know of). Children should be taught how to manage their own money and the responsibility that you have when you become an adult. How did I learn about money? The hard way. I learned the way most people learn- trial and error. Our financial system in this country is a scam and it feeds on the fiscally uneducated. After many mistakes and eventually winding up in the hole, I’ve joined the millions of people who are online reading and learning about how to be financially independent instead of at the mercy of credit card companies. Sadly, I don’t see any hope for primary and secondary education in this country realizing the need for kids to have access to financial knowledge. So, I’m gonna do the best I can to educate my children myself. I’ve certainly made enough mistakes to be able to tell what NOT to do! I’ve also learned along the way some ways to save money that have helped me. Women and especially and young girls should learn to be their own financial advisor because all too often there is this idea that managing money is a man’s job.

Since I realize I live in only one of 50 states, you should look into your education system and find out if your child’s school offers a class in finance. If they do, explain to you child how important it is to know how to avoid the pitfalls of the American financial system. Even if the classes viewpoint differs from yours, there is still much to be gained from learning these things from a teacher instead of just the parent.

Nutrition

I don’t have to explain why I think we need to be teaching nutrition in school. Look at our country. I saw in the news that Mississippi has now surpassed the 30% mark for obesity. More than 1 in 3 people in Mississippi are considered obese. Nation-wide it’s an epidemic and we hear about it all the time. Colorado is the thinnest state, where I live, and we’re still holding steady with a 17% obesity rate. It’s not about fitting some standard or looking like a model. It’s a serious health concern, and what bothers me most is the number of kids I see that are already fighting with weight issues. Parent’s should be diligent about what goes into their child’s mouth, but if the parent’s are struggling to make healthy food choices then they’re certainly not going to be making smart choices for their kids.

America goes on these fads; something will suddenly become “in” or “out”… right now whole grains are the new thing. If the newest trend towards nutrition has convinced people to stop eating refined grains like white bread, that’s great! Still, there’s so much more to nutrition than the latest fad. Everything from the types of meat we’re eating (and how much) to choosing whether or not to buy organic. How about Fast Food? Most people have no idea the levels of chemicals, hormones and pesticides that they’re eating on a daily basis.

As far as obesity is concerned, nutrition doesn’t just have to do with what you’re putting into your body. It also matters greatly what you do with your body, and let’s face it- watching TV for two hours every night is not a good choice when combined with our choices of diet.

We have teenage girls who are starving themselves to be thin and maybe if they had been educated on how to eat healthy, they would be in a place where they were actually healthy and the desire to starve would not be as intense. A simple nutrition class on healthy foods, healthy activities, and the basic idea of the body as an energy machine (i.e. your weight is a result of what you put in vs. what you put out) would go a long way towards teaching children about their health. I have taught my kids a lot about healthy food choices, and while they’re not perfect and still chow down on candy once in a while, they’re leaps and bounds above most kids their age. I was in the produce isle the other day with them and they were fighting over whether we should get asparagus, artichokes or broccoli. They were nearly begging me for asparagus but I had just made it the other day and wanted to get broccoli. You should have seen the other parents nearby looking at my boys like they were mutants! They’re not…. the only difference in them is that I’ve had them eating healthy fruits and vegetables for so long now that they actually like them.

Nutrition is something that is offered more commonly in schools, but usually is an elective. If your child’s school does have such a class, convince your child the class is valuable. Even if they don’t use what they’ve learned initially, it will come back eventually and the acquired skills will be important for getting on a healthy track.

I realize that adding two subjects to school’s here in this country is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to our flawed education system, but it would be the first thing I would change if I had the power to do it on my own. It will take parents to realize the importance of these things to convince schools to add such subjects, and most parents are still struggling from the lack of financial and health information they received. Our kids deserve to have the necessary skills to become successful adults, and if the school system supported these two subjects I think this next generation would be far more prepared than my generation was.

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Now days it’s a whole lot easier to find organic foods. I remember when I used to have to go to my local natural food store to get anything, but now my local chain grocery store typically has a good assortment of organic foods. To maximize my grocery budget, I have learned to be selective about what I buy organic and what I feel I can slide on. Certain foods require more pesticides to enable growers to produce more consumable (and sellable) product while others are fairly resistant to insects and disease on their own. In my mind, there is no doubt that we consume WAY too many chemicals when we eat, so I think buying organic is something we should all being doing for ourselves and our long-term health.

WebMD has a great article debating the benefits of organic food vs. the cost for buying them. It lists foods that are worth the extra expense of organic and foods that aren’t. This article is great in that it points out why informing yourself can save you a lot of money in the long run. Their list is pretty good, but I would add that when you buy produce, think about how you eat that particular item. When you consume the whole fruit, such as a strawberry, you’re eating all the pesticides that came with it to the store (and strawberries along with the rest on the WebMD list require LOTS of pesticides to keep them from being eaten which is why they’re so much worse than others). But think about a watermelon. You don’t eat the exterior of the fruit, which is going to be primarily where all the pesticides are located. For that reason, buying things like melons, bananas, and citrus fruits in non-organic form isn’t so bad. Another good tip that I would reiterate here is to remove outer layers of leafy greens and to peel vegetables before you eat them (such as carrots). I typically try to always buy organic meet, but not just because of pesticide chemicals. I am seriously turned off by the thought of eating a chicken that has been pumped full of hormones so that he would be “ready” to eat in half the time. Yuck!

As always, I think the underlying message here is educate yourself. Decide what foods you eat that are worth paying extra for to get them organic. This comes into play if you think about what things your family eats in large quantities. Got a bunch of milk-guzzling kids living at home? Consider the hormones and other chemicals in regular milk and look at other options at your local grocery store. Chances are they have an assortment of hormone-free organic milk, soy milk and other things available to choose from. My family has just recently made the switch from Soy to Almond Milk. YUM!!!

Still want to save yourself some extra money? Pay attention to prices. I find that while I may be able to buy the same things at my local grocery store, the local whole foods store is much cheaper. Then the only question is whether it’s worth shopping at two different stores to save money. Most the time for me it is.

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I happen to be a highly caffeinated individual. I love my [caffeinated] lattes, and there’s no one who’s gonna take them away from me! That said, I also know several people who swear caffeine is the devil and won’t touch the stuff. Still, I know that I am not in the minority- it’s quite the opposite! Around 90 percent of Americans consume caffeine in one form or another every single day. More than half of all American adults consume more than 300 milligrams (mg) of caffeine every day, making it America’s most popular drug by far.

So, how does it work you ask? Caffeine actually blocks the effects of a neurotransmitter in the brain (adenosine) that otherwise makes us feel tired. This is why it works so well to keep us awake. It also encourages the release of another brain chemical, dopamine (as well as adrenaline). Dopamine contributes to a feeling of well being. Historically, small amounts of caffeine have been used to help control weight, alleviate pain, open up airways for improved breathing, and overcome chronic fatigue. Studies have shown caffeine to boost memory, improve concentration and perhaps lower the risks of diseases such as Alzheimer’s and liver cancer.

A daily dose of caffeine may help older women without dementia protect their memory, according to a study published in the Aug. 7 issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology (article link below). The researchers theorize that caffeine’s adenosine blocking ability in turn may prevent damage caused by beta-amyloid - a toxic substance that accumulates in the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease. The study found this to be unique to women, however. Finding did not indicate why caffeine didn’t have the same effects in men.

There is such a thing as too much of anything, and too much caffeine can cause an array of problems including: restlessness, irritability, anxiety, heartburn, headaches (sometimes severe), high blood pressure, sleeplessness, rapid heartbeat, nausea. I think there are several factors which determine how your body reacts to caffeine. One is the type of caffeine you’re using. If an espresso give you the jitters and you experience some of the side effects listed above, then you may want to try using a different source, such as green tea, a soda, or even regular drip coffee.

The other factor is timing and dosage. Many people must plan ahead for their caffeine intake to be effective. For instance, eat a nice big breakfast with your caffeine in the morning to slow down it’s absorption into the body, and limit your amounts of caffeine late in the afternoon and evening.

In the end, every person is different and some bodies are just too sensitive to caffeine’s effects- making it seem (I’m sure) like the devil! If you find yourself fairly reactive to caffeine, but would like to enjoy some of it’s effects, try some smaller doses. If you’re not sure where to start, try the Caffeine Database, which lists all sorts of food and their caffeine contents.

W ant to learn More? Here are some great places to start.

• Pros and Cons of the Caffeine Craze
• How Caffeine Works
• Coffee: The New Health Food?
• Caffeine May Slow Women’s Memory Loss

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