Fibrous Carbs
by John Meadows on April 18, 2014Kale
When I think of the most healthy foods, Kale comes to mind. I must thank author Jonny Bowden for turning me onto the massive benefits of this cruciferous vegetable. In his book, “The World’s 150 Healthiest Foods” he mentions Kale as having a compound called sulforaphane in it. It is a class of phytonutrient that fights off cancer cells by causing them to self-destruct. There is much more to this story in terms of cancer prevention. You also get a real good dose of Vitamin K, A, and C! If I were to name all of the other nutrients in Kale it would literally take pages.
One more thing, if you are familiar with the ORAC scale, a scale that measure the potency of a food to act as an antioxidant in your body, you will find that Kale is an awesome antioxidant. This is a food that is hard to beat in term of nutrient volume and quality.
Spinach
Researchers have found at least 13 different compounds in Spinach that fight cancer and act as potent antioxidants. If you look at the nutrient quality of Spinach, it’s a lot like Kale in terms of having a great dose of Vitamin A, K, Manganese and many other nutrients. If you want to look up something very interesting, look up Vitamin K and Spinach. Long story short, the K in Spinach is eventually tuned into something that helps anchor calcium inside of bones to strengthen them.
Asparagus
It is very common amongst physique competitors to chow down on Asparagus the week leading up to the contest. It is a natural, healthy, diuretic due to the combination of asparagines and minerals in it. It also has a fiber called inulin in it that is quite unique. We can’t digest it, but our good bacteria in our guts can. It helps to increase the number of good bacteria. Like the veggies previously mentioned, Asparagus also contains a good dose of Vitamin K, and is also well-known as having a good dose of Folic Acid.