It’s important what you put in your body. Controlling carbohydrate and sugar intake, cultivating good gut bacteria and eating low-processed foods across the board help prevent disease or keep it in check.
And while research has actually connected certain foods — such as leafy greens, berries and vegetables — with potentially helping these diseases, it’s important to realize diet and disease is complicated, and can vary greatly depending on the individual, said Anne Lauterjung, registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator at Presence St. Mary’s Hospital.
“I’m always of the opinion, if a food makes you feel bad, mentally, spiritually, physically, don’t eat it,” said Lauterjung. “We don’t know everyone’s fine tuning and there are many foods to choose from.”
And it’s also important to remember that healthy eating is a lifestyle, said Dr. Mario Massullo, cardiologist with Presence St. Mary’s Hospital. “It’s OK to splurge once in a while. It’s the everyday meals you should be strict on.”
So if you want to take care of your mind, body and spirit, look to these foods — some of which just could be growing in your own garden.
For heart disease: Tomatoes
You’ve heard the old-school advice: low sodium, low carbohydrates, low fat. But it’s more about eating what’s right: good fats, fruits and vegetables as carbs and lean proteins. Sodium still is very important to watch, Massullo said, when it comes to patients with potential heart failure or hypertension, because high sodium diets make it difficult to control blood pressure.
“You want to have things that are low in fat and high in fiber that fill you up so you’re not overeating,” Massullo said. “This helps keep weight down as well.”
STATS: About 2,150 Americans die each day from heart diseases, one every 40 seconds, according to the American Heart Association.
STUDY: A 2005 study by the Cardiovascular Research Center in Connecticut gave tomato juice to rats and studied its affect on heart function. Tomato juice was shown to possess “cardioprotective ability,” according to the study: It improved ventricular function and reduced other heart disease risk factors.
EAT IT: Lycopene found in tomatoes also has actually been found to reduce stroke, heart disease and even cholesterol in several studies. Lycopene also is found watermelons, pink grapefruits, apricots and pink guavas.
For mental health: Leafy greens
A 2015 report by the Health and Human Services and Agriculture suggested that diet has actually a critical role in mental health treatment programs, pointing to the importance of keeping sugar stabilized when it comes to mood and anxiety. Foods with high-processed carbs and sugars make your blood sugar spike, then fall quickly, which can lead to behavior changes, according to mentalhealth.org. A diet filled with whole grains, pulses — the protein-packed seeds of dry peas, lentils and chickpeas — fruits and leafy green vegetables are less likely to cause these drastic changes.
STATS: About 40 million adults in the United States are affected by an anxiety disorder, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America. About 14.8 million American adults experience a depression disorder.
STUDY: A 2015 study through Porto University tried to determine whether undernutrition remains linked to depressive symptoms and other mental health illnesses. Undernutrition, particularly vitamin B, folate and selenium, is associated with higher risks for depression, anxiety, fatigue and even insomnia.
EAT IT: Folate, found in spinach, romaine lettuce, turnip and mustard greens and broccoli, can reduce mood swings. Selenium is found in broccoli, as well as chicken, onions, seafood, walnuts, Brazil nuts and whole-grain products.
“Our patients that are actively undergoing chemotherapy, we tension nutrition continuously,” said Dr. Patrick McGinnis, hematologist oncologist at Presence St. Mary’s Cancer Center. Those nutrition plans include low-fat proteins, such as fish, cottage cheese, nuts, lentils and soy; unsaturated fats; many healthy carbs, such as fruits and vegetables; and an emphasis on fiber. Nutrition can be hard because chemotherapy can cause patients to not want to eat, but McGinnis recommends four to six small meals per day, many protein and many fluids. “On the whole, if we keep their nutritional state up to as normal as possible, patients do a lot better,” McGinnis said.
STATS: More than 1 million Americans are expected to be diagnosed with some form of cancer in 2016, reports the American Cancer Society.
STUDY: Researchers at the American Cancer Society in 2007 studied the relationship between compounds that naturally occur in garlic and brain tumors. It found these compounds can inhibit tumor growth.
EAT IT: Dr. Swapan Ray, one of the researchers with the study, suggests peeling fresh garlic and letting it sit for 15 minutes before eating it, to allow for the release of the enzyme that produces the anti-cancer compounds.
For digestive health: Chocolate
Healthy bacteria known as probiotics might be the key to healthy digestion. These little organisms can reduce inflammation, a risk factor involved everything from cramps to cancer to cognitive decline.
STATS: There are 15.3 million people in America with irritable bowl syndrome, and as much as 20 percent of the population experience Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease symptoms at least weekly.
STUDY: A 2010 study in the International Journal of Food Microbiology evaluated chocolate as a delivery system for healthy bacteria. Researchers added probiotics to chocolate and found there was a 80 to 91 percent survival rate for the healthy bacteria, which delivers them straight to the colon.
EAT IT: Attune Probiotic Chocolate Bars can be found at Whole Foods. Other friendly bacteria foods include sourdough bread, fermented veggies, fermented soybeans and yogurt (look for “live active cultures” on the label).
The key to a diabetic diet is controlling the intake of carbohydrates, the macronutrient found in everything from pasta to dairy to vegetables, Lauterjung said. That means keeping to regular meal times and eating similar amounts of good carbohydrates (whole grains, fruits and vegetables) at each meal. But it’s also important to eat protein and healthy fats with the meal, too, Lauterjung added, because these keep the sugar from processing too quickly.
STATS: More than 29 million people have diabetes in America, and as numerous as 1 in 4 don’t know they have it, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The same 2014 report stated 86 million Americans are prediabetic and 9 out of 10 aren’t aware.
STUDY: A 2016 study in Nutrition & Dietetics explored the relationship between whole-grain foods and diabetes. Participants who ate brown rice and other whole-grain foods improved their “postprandial glycaemic response,” or how their bodies processed food into glucose after a meal.
EAT IT: Brown rice still has actually the adverse hull and bran, rich in proteins, thiamine, calcium, magnesium, fiber and potassium, which are processed out in white rice.
For dementia: Blueberries
A 2015 study by researchers at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago followed older adults for five years, evaluating their diet and dementia status. The researchers found those who strictly adhered to the MIND diet (similar to a Mediterranean diet, emphasizing fruits, vegetables, seafood, olive oil and hearty grains) had a 50 percent reduction in Alzheimer’s disease. Even those who moderately followed the diet still had a 35 percent reduction.
STATS: More than 5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia, and it’s estimated by 2050, that number may triple, according to the 2016 Alzheimer’s Association report.
STUDY: A 1999 study through the United States Department of Agriculture and the Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging looked at the connection between compounds found in blueberries, strawberries and spinach and the ability to reverse cognitive decline associated with aging. It found the compounds found in blueberries were able to reverse signs of aging in rats, as well as affect how they behaved.
EAT IT: Blueberries are rich in polyphenol compounds, which are linked to antioxidant properties and anti inflammation. The MIND diet recommends eating twice per week.
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