Audrey Priscilla, a young traveller and writer, discusses six foods that you should implement into your diet that will make your body healthy and reduce your risk of cancer.
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“I simply want to educate and motivate people to achieve superior health, whether they want to feel great, lose weight or reverse chronic disease.” – Dr. Joel Fuhrman
So much of the vocabulary around diet is about restriction but where’s the fun in that? I can’t lie, there are plenty of toxic foods out there that you should avoid, but instead of focusing on the lack, let’s focus on the gain. Pick Up Limes reinforces that plant-based eating is “not a deprivation diet, it’s an eat in abundance lifestyle.” Dr. Joel Fuhrman is a researcher and board-certified physician who has devoted over 20 years to the study of nutritional science within the realm of our current health crisis. Let’s unpack his findings to learn how we can all implement healthier foods, including G-BOMBS, in our diet…
Dr. Fuhrman was exposed to plant-based eating from a young age after his father fell ill and turned to food to cure him. Fuhrman saw first-hand the miraculous results of using nutrition as medicine and became increasingly fascinated with the power of healthy eating. In medical school, he was taught the reductionist framework of our healthcare system and continuously debated with professors and students. What do I mean by reductionist? In Fuhrman’s own words, he used an analogy alikening the modern American diet to a hammer. Each day more than 88% of the American population hit themselves with this hammer and then waltz on over to the doctor to get medication for it. The real issue is that the doctor will prescribe this medication rather than trying to change the patient from hitting themself with a hammer. They use a top-down approach rather than a bottom-up approach to treat the effect rather than addressing the cause.
After graduating medical school, Dr. Joel Fuhrman began putting his own opinions into scientific and empirical research. The data he found supported his hypothesis so he decided to share his findings. He has written seven New York Times best-selling novels, including ‘Eat to Live’, ‘Eat for Life’ and ‘Super Immunity’. He has also ran workshops and 12 week-long retreats, delivered Ted Talks and been involved in many podcasts, talk shows and interviews.
Fuhrman advocates for what he has called the Nutritarian diet. This diet maximises the amount of nutrients per caloric intake. It is a diet rich in minerals, vitamins, antioxidants and phytochemicals which are the beneficial compounds to the human body. They help prevent disease and prolong life expectancy by keeping the body’s mechanisms healthy. The diet is low in hormones and processed calories that are essentially useless in what they can offer the body, that is why white bread is often referred to as ‘an empty carb’. Hormones and processed sugars negatively affect the body’s natural eating patterns and can give feelings of hunger more often. The nutritarian diet, however, is substantial and rich despite much fewer calories which helps to stop food cravings, normalise appetite and prevent excessive fat storage on the body.
The Nutritarian diet is similar to diets of centenarians from blue zones of regions around the world. From his correlational analysis on Blue Zones and other sample groups, Dr. Fuhrman has created an acronym: G-BOMBS, which he believes are the top 6 immune system special-force foods to prevent disease and promote longevity.
Greens
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“The whiter the bread, the sooner you’re dead…The more you eat green, the more you get lean.” – Dr. Joel Fuhrman
G stands for Greens, referring to green vegetables: broccoli, kale, green beans, cabbage among many more. Greens contain plant protein packaged with phytochemicals as well as beneficial substances that protect blood vessels. They are also the “most nutrient-dense of all foods”, rich in folate, calcium and antioxidants. The cruciferous family (broccoli, bok choy, brussels sprouts) contain a special chemical which converts to isothiocyanates when they are chewed – a compound that has many anti-cancer effects.
Beans
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Beans, as in legumes, are a highly nutrient-dense source of protein and carbohydrates. This is because they digest slowly in the body, helping to stabilise blood sugar and prolong satiety. They also contain soluble fibre and resistant starch which is broken down by enzymes into healthy fatty acids. This lowers cholesterol levels and can decrease colon cancer by up to 50%.
Onions
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Although the ‘o’ stands for onion, it encompasses the entire allium family (onions, leeks, garlic, chives, shallots, scallions). These foods have organosulfur compounds which have been proven by epidemiological studies to lower risk of cancer. Red onion, in particular, contains high concentrations of an antioxidant, quercetin, which slows tumour development by suppressing growth of cancer cells.
Mushrooms
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Mushrooms’ strongest anti-cancer effects are seen in studies on breast cancer. This is because they contain aromatase inhibitors that block the production of oestrogen. Note, that mushrooms should only be consumed after being cooked since raw mushrooms contain carcinogenic substances.
Berries
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