Discussion Board

I have to admit I'm a little surprised at the hostility toward the ANDI scores at Whole Foods. It's just an extension of the ORAC scores that have been around for years. I've been studying the so-called 'superfoods' over the ten or so years and have made a conscious effort to include as many as possible in my diet. So I thought it might be fun to do a little survey. Here is the list of 'superfoods' I have posted on my fridge to remind myself to make the healthiest possible food choices. The survey is - How many of these foods to you regularly include in your diet? I've left out all meat and dairy products.

Almonds (or wheat germ for vitamin E)
Apples
Beans/legumes
Blueberries (and other berries)
Broccoli (and brussel sprouts)
Carrots
Cherries
Chocolate (>85% dark)
Cranberries
Flax (ground for omega-3s)
Garlic
Grapes (or occasional raisins)
Honey (raw)
Kale (collards, turnip and other hard greens)
Kiwi Fruit
Oats (whole groats or steel cut)
Onions
Oranges (and other citrus fruits)
Peppermint
Pomegranates (or their juice)
Potatoes (red-skinned or yellow)
Pumpkin (and other hard squashes)
Red (and orange) bell peppers
Soy (edamame, miso, tofu but not processed soy meats)
spices (cayenne, cinnamon, curry powder, turmeric)
Spinach (and dark green and red lettuces)
Sweet potatoes
Tea (green)
Tomatoes
Walnuts (omega-3s)
Whole grains (brown rice, quinoa)
Yogurt (non-dairy or soy kefir, miso, raw apple cider vinegar - some form of probiotic)

I'm not saying I eat all of these foods every day, but in the course of a week I manage to hit most of them. I helps that I have a menu I designed around them and keep posted next to them on the fridge.

I eat all of those things, except:
--no walnuts (husband is allergic and I don't really like them; I do eat almonds though)
--no soy yogurt (I do make my own kimchi and that is a fermented food)

I don't keep a list of these on my fridge, though I am always interested in reading about 'healthy foods'. For example, I read somewhere that papaya is the most nutritious of all the fruits (????). Odd, because I very rarely eat papaya--almost never. Well, it doesn't grow in Nebraska, so that might be why I don't think to get it.

For a long time I did keep a list of calcium and mineral-rich foods on my fridge, to remind myself to eat more leafy greens! Now it's automatic and I don't really need reminding any more.

On my fridge is a cute little vegan food chart that shows what vitamins and minerals are found most abundantly in which foods. It makes a good reminder and is also good when someone asks "where do you get your.....?"

Since I came to McDougall, nearly everything I eat is on that superfood list, automatically.

I'm like that too. I like fresh papaya and mangos and they're both super nutritious, but the quality here in Michigan is awful. But, I sometime do buy a mix of frozen pineapple, papaya and mango to use in smoothies.

There is a company I sometimes order from, NutsOnline.com, that has dried mango and papaya that are "natural", not soaked in sugar syrup. The papaya they sell is especially nice; after soaking it is just like fresh. And because the fruits are dried where they are produced, they are much sweeter and riper than the fruits that have to be shipped.

No financial ties to the company, but they are good people to do business with and have great products.

The only items on the list we do not keep in stock in our home are pomegranates and soy yogurt. We bought a pomegranate a few weeks ago but it went bad before we got around to eating it. How do you prepare/work pomegranate into your meals?

I'm surprised that you don't have bok choy and ginger on the list. My wife and I are pretty adventuresome cooks and maintain a wide variety of vegetables, starches, legumes and fruit on hand all of the time.

I guess I'm more a believer in variety than individual superfoods - variety in the types of plant foods and in the meals being prepared. For example, in Indian, Thai and Mideastern foods you use a lot of spices that you don't find in other types of cooking. Having a wide variety of potatoes (red, white, yellow, purple, Russet, fingerling's) on hand provides a lot of flexibility in the meals we make.

Sorry to be a Debbie Downer, but I don't know why you feel that you need a list of superfoods? Who decided these were superfoods? What is their criteria? Who paid for their research and stands to gain financially if their consumption increases?

I just follow the MWL diet and don't consume some of these foods (nuts, tofu etc.) and I'm thriving.

Thanks for the suggestion! I might try dried papaya, that's a good idea.

It's odd, but recently we have been getting very good fresh mangos here! (Imported from Mexico; I think Florida too?) Perhaps the dearth of papaya is because many people, like me, are not yet familiar with it so it's not a big seller. Yet.

One advantage to the "Superfoods" concept, as I see it, is that it makes certain foods like blueberries for example, fashionable and they get promoted a lot. People start eating more of them, and the price comes down, more widely available, etc. I suppose this doesn't hurt anything really. We could have new 'superfoods' each year, like the award-winning fruits and vegetables of 2010! I think this just helps SAD people focus a little more on natural foods than they would otherwise.

ORAC is a flawed measure of a foods value and any system based on ORAC is equally flawed.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... 26610.html

In Health
Jeff

The whole superfoods thing just seems very "Dr. Oz" to me. Just eat a variety of leafy greens, starchy vegs, fruits, and grains, without adding fats, and you'll be healthy! I eat most of the foods on the list (with the exception of nuts, chocolate, yogurt, honey, tea, soy stuff, or pomegranates) pretty regularly, but I don't focus on them. If you want to do that, I think it's fine--those foods are (mostly) good for you--but it's not necessary.

No yogurt, peppermint, or tea -besides those I think we get everything else some time during the week (although a few are more seasonal) and many every day.

Pomegranate seeds are great additions to salads! My kids love to just snack on them.

Same for me. I eat all foods listed plus Papaya and Mango and I love both of them, we just do not get the super quality, sometimes we get good quality and it is very delicious.

I really like papaya but stopped consuming Hawaiian papaya because most of it is genetically modified:

http://www.hawaiiseed.org/issues/papaya ... tamination