Superfoods: The Food and Medicine of the Future. / David Wolfe. Published by North Atlantic Books, 2009. 344 p., color illustrations, glossary, appendices, index, etc.
If you’re looking for a definition of superfoods, begin with David Wolfe’s book published in 2009. Several sources of this knowledge, or what constitutes a “superfood”, were published earlier than this work, yet Wolfe’s compendium set a new standard at the time, defining the essence of those foods and their capacities for strengthening the body.
Superfoods have the potential to initiate quantum healing. As Wolfe says, superfoods are taken in addition to a really clean (mostly raw) diet because they can supplement bodily functions that may need support. His personal opinion about food stems from years of experience living a raw food diet. Data in the book is substantiated by nutritional fact, making Superfoods an excellent reference for 17 (10 superfoods and 7 “honorable mentions”) in his list: fruits, berries, sea vegetables, green plants, and seeds. The 10 superfoods provided in great detail are:
Raw chocolate : (Cacao, a nut of the trpoical tree Theombroma cacao)
Goji berries : (also known as Wolfberry and Desert Thorn)(Lycium barbarum, L. chinensis, and others in North America), a berry, often sold as dried fruit
Maca : (Lepidium meyenii, L. peruvianum), a root, often sold as a powder
Bee products: honey, pollen, propolis, royal jelly
Spirulina : (Spirulina pacifica, etc.), an algae often sold in powder, flake or cake form
AFA Blue-Green Algae : (Aphanizomenon flos-aquae), a green algae often sold as powder, liquid or probiotic mixtures
Marine phytoplankton : varieties such as Nannochloropsis; a greenphytoplankton often sold as powder, liquid or paste
Aloe vera : (Aloe barbadensis), often sold as gel, powder, tincture or lotion (depending on application), Wolfe suggests fresh leaves for the highest concentration of mannose (p. 173)
Hempseed : (Cannabis sativa, C. indica), hempseed or hempnut is often sold whole, shelled, and in many product types.
Coconut and coconut products: (Cocos nucifera), a palm tree that produces large nuts containing coconut water and meat, excellent by themselves and from which are made several products including coconut milk and cream
Amazing facts: about Goji berries
Each superfood is presented in its own chapter, consisting of the food’s history, benefits and nutritional components explained in detail. Wolfe’s recipes highlighting the food follow, giving insight into more foods that are possible to emphasize the taste or effect. It’s interesting to know that, for example, Goji berries’ components include two anti-oxidants that improve your eyes: zeaxanthin and lutein. And he claims goji berries have the highest amounts of these components for eye health of any food. Wolfe recounts that the berries are known in Chinese traditional medicine as improving eyesight because “they help heal the eye’s membranes” (page 23).
More amazing facts: about cacao (raw chocolate)
Wolfe concludes that cacao is packaged with a total of more antioxidants, magnesium, iron, chromium, manganese, and zinc (plus 12 more nutrients) than any other foods.
More amazing facts: about coconuts
Coconuts are believed to be the best source of milk, meat and water for raw foodists (and surely for vegans). Coconut oil is composed of medium-chain fatty-acids, a highly respected source of healthful fats. There is much more about coconuts and their healthful qualities.
Amazing facts about bee products: bee pollen, propolis, royal jelly, and raw honey.
Produced by bees in their everyday working life, these substances are consistently held in the highest regard throughout human history as healing foods. One of the facts given on page 93 about bee pollen is that for weight management it helps reduce food in-take by 15-20%. Honeys vary in taste according to the food (flowers, nectar) the bees enjoy. Some of the highest quality honeys come from Hawaii and New Zealand.
Amazing facts about kelp:
Its iodine relates to human thyroid function and helps to keep weight in proportion. Spirulina is a blue-green algae grown in lakes. Its protein content is 60-70% (Superfoods, page 109). Including even small amounts of these superfoods in your diet will expose you to a high degree of health and energy.
Clearly the number of fruits outnumber other foods
in Wolfe’s Superfoods and this is good news if you love sweets. Of the fruits–Goji berries, Acai, Camu camu, Incan (Golden) berries, and Noni berries—most are berries, native to this hemisphere (found growing in North and South America). Goji berries are also grown in China and Mongolia; they are native to Tibet. Noni berries are grown on Hawaii, and other Southseas Islands.
Recipes for sweet confections, drinks, salad dressings, and smoothies follow the description of each superfood. And the book contains appendices detailing nutritional facts and “Scientific Studies” for most entries. The book is a fascinating account of these foods, a great resource for quick study, and companion to David Wolfe’s books on the raw food diet.
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