Can Superfoods Extend Life Expectancy?

 

 

I adhere to the health philosophy that gradually improving lifestyle habits can lead to a better, healthier body. My goal for my own life was to eat more living, raw foods each day and to reduce my intake of sugar. However, if I had gone 100% raw and 100% sugar-free overnight, I never would have stood a chance. It would have felt like an extreme diet to me and then I would have fallen off the wagon!

However, over the last 6 years, I have been slowly making better nutritional choices, and because I’ve done this one small step at a time, I’ve stuck with it!

A recent Dr Oz episode show was particularly insightful, and covered topics ranging from cancer-fighting superfoods to quick and easy frozen dinners that are healthier. Here are some highlights that you might find helpful:

Dr Oz Reveals Cancer-Fighting Superfoods

We all know that there are several factors that contribute to different types of cancers. Many of them — like genetics and other environmental factors — may be out of our control. However, one thing we can control is our own diets. Here are some unexpected superfoods revealed on the Dr Oz show:

• ⊙ Lima Beans: 1 cup/day = 25% reduction in breast cancer!

 

• ⊙ Parsley: 1 cup chopped parsley each day starves ovarian cancer (use it as a garnish on rice, etc.)

 

• ⊙ Limes: squeeze 1/2 cup per day. You can mix with water and make limeade, or, you can even use lime as a salt substitute. Lime seems to stop lung cancer growth in its tracks!

 

• ⊙ Apricots: 7 a day reduces risk of stomach cancer by 47%! 7 sounds like a lot, but get the sun-dried, organic ones. They’re just as good.

 

Monday through Friday: Ideas for Easy and Healthy Frozen Dinners

Today, Dr Oz had a segment that was so practical, I’m sure it will resonate with people. We all know that modern society often leaves us very little time and energy for meal preparation. Well, Dr Oz suggested a few items to make your life a bit easier:

• Monday: Kashi Thin Crust Basil Pesto Pizza
• Tuesday: Seapack Salmon Burger
• Wednesday: Evol Teriyaki Chicken Bowl
• Thursday: Organic Bistro Chicken Parmesan Bake
• Friday: Amy’s Light Sodiu Bean & Rice Burrito

These choices are so reasonable in price and calories that it was almost hard to believe. He’s not endorsed by any of these companies, and you can feel free to choose others. However, he has checked these out thoroughly, so make sure to compare ingredients.

Two women in the Dr. Oz audience were on this particular program for 5 days. One lost two pounds, and the other lost five! Most importantly, neither were left feeling hungry.

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A recent episode also included 99 healthy items for your shopping list.

Not all diet foods are going to help you lose weight. Often times, they’re actually making you fatter. Dr Oz has a list of 99 foods that he believes will help you lose weight.

Here are the desserts:

• ▸ Breyer’s Pure Fruit Berry Sweet Bars
• ▸ Back to Nature Cookies
• ▸ Almond Dream Lil’ Dreamers (ice cream sandwiches, believe it or not)
• ▸ Vitalicious Chocolate Vitabrownies

He also went over some healthy cooking oils. Olive and Canola were the obvious ones, but he mentioned a few others:

• ⊙ macadamia Nut Oil for baking
• ⊙ toasted Sesame Oil for stir fry
• ⊙ walnut Oil as a butter substitute (do not heat or use for cooking)

 

Best Lines on Dr Oz

The funniest, or at least most unexpected, line of the episode was:
“If it doesn’t taste good, it doesn’t matter that it’s good for ya.”

And, perhaps the most surprising:
“A lot of young women get half of their calories from salad dressing.”

The Big Takeaway

It’s good to sometimes challenge your tastebuds. Doctor Oz points out that you can give your tastebuds variety without giving them tons of fat!

And, for some people, they can’t lose weight if they can’t have dessert because they won’t stick to the program. If you’re one of those people (like I am!) then it’s important to find a program that won’t leave you hungry and won’t leave you feeling deprived. I really do agree with this, which is why on instantDane.tv, we emphasize good habits and lifestyle changes, as opposed to “diets.”

2013 Update: The Healing Power of Limes

Since first learning about how fresh limes can help to heal lung tissue, I’ve been experimenting more with this cancer-fighting superfruit! It turns out, limes are actually pretty easy to slip into your weekly diet. They taste refreshing and delicious.

I’ve been squeezing half a lime into a glass of water in the morning (if that’s too intense for you, start with just 7 drops). If you drink a lot of tea and coffee in the mornings, you might enjoy lime’s alkalinizing effect (some times I feel a bit acidic after having tea of coffee in the morning, and lime water seems to help).

Also, lime juice taste great in your breakfast smoothie!

Finally, I add a lot of fresh lime juice to my Key Lime Frozen Dessert — a dessert that has actually helped me to lose fat since it’s free of dairy and grains, and also low in calories.