Top tips for choosing healthy foods
Donald Trafton, 81, strolled into his 80th year feeling as alive and vital as ever. It wasn’t a fluke, nor the luck of having good genes. He planned for it, developing a very healthy lifestyle that he’s always fine-tuning. He shares his tips for healthy and happy ageing at Being 80.
You’d think it would be relatively easy to do an internet search for the 10 healthiest foods. Problem is, there’s little agreement amongst the diet experts. Here’s the results from four expert sources:
- Medical News Today’s Top 10 Healthy Foods: 1. Apples, 2. Almonds, 3. Broccoli, 4. Blueberries, 5. Oily fish, 6. Green leafy vegetables, 7. Sweet Potatoes, 8. Wheat germ, 9. Avocados, 10. Oatmeal.
- Best Health magazine’s 10 Foods You Should Eat Every Day (Best Health Magazine): 1. Blueberries, 2. Garlic 3. Olive oil, 4. Broccoli, 5. Yogurt, 6. Oats, 7. Flaxseeds, 8. Cinnamon, 9. Tea, 10. Beans.
- Mayo Clinic’s 10 great Health Foods: 1. Apples, 2. Blueberries, 3. Broccoli, 4 Beans, 5. Salmon, 6. Spinach, 7. Sweet potatoes, 8. Vegetables Juice (tomatoes), 9. Wheat germ, 10. Almonds.
- Fitness magazine’s The 10 Healthiest Foods on the Planet: 1. Lemons, 2. Broccoli, 3. Dark Chocolate, 4. Potatoes, 5. Salmon, 6. Walnuts, 7. Avocados, 8. Garlic, 9. Spinach, 10. Beans.
What are the “takeaways” for me?
- The Medical News Today list had the most agreement (all ten foods mentioned on at least one of the other lists), so I would judge that as the strongest list.
- Broccoli is the one and only food that is listed on all four lists. We eat organic broccoli a couple of times per week.
- Any of the foods appearing on any of the lists that we’re not currently eating, are probably worth checking out.
- We eat a lot of raw almonds (appearing on two lists), but I soak them over night and remove the brown peel as the peel contains tannin which inhibits nutrient absorption.
- If we’re eating foods that aren’t on any of the four lists, it’s probably a good idea to check out these foods for their value to us. For example, kale is not specifically on any of the lists, yet an internet search shows it to be “one of the most nutrient dense vegetables you can eat, with large amounts of vitamins, minerals and cancer-fighting compounds.” We eat organic baby kale nearly every day.
We don’t eat some of these foods and here’s why:
- Oily fish (salmon) – recommended for the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA. It’s probably the best natural source, but it’s expensive… and even if eaten twice per week, salmon doesn’t provide enough EPA and DHA for our needs. Instead, we take high quality omega-3 supplements (660 mg DHA, 270 mg EPA) every day.
- Beans – are one of the foods on Victoria’s food sensitivity list, so we look to other foods for fibre and protein.
I learned some very useful things from this exercise and I hope you did too. What do you think? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.
Find more from Donald at his website, www.being80.com.