On October 7, 2016, I visited Fresh Living on Salt Lake City’s KUTV (CBS channel 2) to talk about, “What foods help you lose weight and reduce your risk for heart disease, depression, and erectile dysfunction.”
Sounds like a miracle food, right? Maybe even too good to be true?
There have been several very interesting new research studies published this year, including a couple published just last month, that show how eating more fruits and vegetables that are high in FLAVONOIDS can help you lose weight and also reduce your risk of many diseases – including heart disease, depression, and erectile dysfunction.
What are flavonoids? (brightly colored natural compounds that make blueberries blue). They’re also antioxidants (directly and indirectly, activating cellular protection pathways such as Nrf2), and they help improve blood flow, strengthen blood vessels, protect brain neurons, help balance neurotransmitters in the brain, help balance blood sugar levels, help protect skin…the list goes on and on…
Researchers from Harvard have published several research studies with hundreds of thousands of people, showing how…
More flavonoids = fewer heart attacks and strokes (~15-20%) – Sept 2016
More flavonoids = less depression (~10%) – Sept 2016
More flavonoids = less Erectile Dysfunction (~10-15%) – Feb 2016
More flavonoids = less weight gain – Jan 2016
OK, so what does “more” mean when it comes to actually eating “enough” flavonoids to get these benefits? About a half cup of blueberries/day = enough flavonoids to improve blood flow, brain function, and cardiovascular health – and enough to “counteract” the 1-2 pounds of excess body weight that most people gain each year…
Top Foods:
Blueberries
Strawberries
Grapes (wine, grape juice)
Pears
Prunes
Apples
Oranges / OJ
Tea (coffee / cocoa / dark chocolate)
Onions
Peppers
Celery
New Zealand pine bark extract (anthocyanins)
Most American eat less than one cup of fruit and less than 2 cups of veggies every day…(and most of the fruits are bananas/apples and most veggies are potatoes as french fries and tomatoes as pizza).
We’re supposed to be eating 2 cups of fruit and 2.5 cups of veggies every day – so get to it!
Thanks for reading…
Shawn