Benefits of Eating Superfoods

My most recent exposure to the superfoods idea came about a year ago when a couple of intense health experts and writers, Drs. Steve Pratt and Nick Perricone rambled on the Oprah show about the wonderful benefits of confining the diet to just 14 so-called superfoods. These guys seemed legit and honest, because unlike the infomercial miracle drugs, hair goo, sex and diet plans, they weren't peddling any products.

If I was waiting for the pitch to induce me to buy a $19.99 get-thin-healthy-sexy product, plus $7 shipping and handling, it never came. They seemed like just ordinary sawbones who sincerely believed in sane eating. So, I investigated further. It was easy to check up on the magic 14. They included citrus fruits, eggs, green and orange-hued veggies, beans, nuts, certain fish products, turkey, cereal grains, yogurt, tomatoes, olives and their oils, soy products, teas and kefir. After seeing their list, I realized I had been a superfood freak for at least the past 20 years.

Oh, great. I was already eating all of those, except I had one question. What the hell is kefir? As soon as I found out, I forgot about it. It is sort of a home-made yogurt, made usually with milk. I am extremely allergic to milk, so goodbye kefir and good riddance. But there are many, many other great foods on the list.The good doctors claimed that by eating super-healthy superfoods, and totally eliminating all those fatty, doughy, greasy, fried yuk, you can live longer, have more energy, be more immune to illnesses such as frequent colds, and cancer. When their promises included the claim that superfooods also prevented the early onset of Alzeheimer's Disease, they made a total believer out of me.

For more than ten years, I was an every Sunday volunteer for from four to eight hours at a major city hospital's living facilities for the aged. The principal reason why most of the patients were confined there was that they were afflicted with Alzheimer's and other dementia-related mental disabilities.

While the majority of the patients were in the 70s and 80s, about a quarter of them were younger, some as young as in their 40s. I'm not a medical expert, but I came away from that experience with one conclusion that has affected my dietary plans ever since. Almost every one of the younger Alzheimer's patients was significantly overweight, and some of them were just plain grossly fat.

I'm 83 years old, and I hope the reader can tell from this essay that my mental facilities are relatively intact. In fact, since retirement nearly 20 years ago, I have led a full working life. For the first five years after age 65, because I still had kids in college, I worked for pay. For the next five, I volunteered at a full-time schedule. For the past ten years, I've continued as a freelance writer and graphic designer, primarily selling my work online.

How did I manage to make it this far without my body and mind crapping out? Superdiet, or something very similar, has been my practice since that day when I took my retirement papers, and my mirror told me I was 40 pounds overweight. I immediately went on a self-imposed diet regimen that is exactly the same as the one recommended as the superdiet plan. Along with it, I maintain a daily schedule of at least one hour of vigorous exercise, either hiking in the desert or swimming laps in my community's Olympic-sized pool. And, did I tell you I knocked off that 40 pounds within two years, and have kept it off ever since?

Hey, with all this bragging, I may wake up tomorrow mentally and physically ready for the wheelchair in the nursing home. But until that day happens, I'll continue my healthy superdiet and exercise routines.

For instance, the superdiet list includes fish and turkey. I rarely eat red meat these days, but have fresh wild salmon steaks at least twice a week. I love dark turkey meat, and frequently make turkey thigh veggie soup or bake a thigh stuffed with olives and corn kernels. I use little or no salt in all of my cooking.

For breakfast, I regularly ... which keeps me regular ... have a bowl of unsweetened dry grain cereal, topped with sliced peaches or half a banana. Over that I pour a spoonful of pure honey, and add half a cup of soy milk. I substitute fruits, depending on the season and prices, with blueberries, strawberries or prunes. On colder mornings, the cereal is cooked oatmeal.Lunch is always a modest repast. I like to slice up raw veggies and arrange them around a plate. They include carrots, celery, cucumber, red and green sweet peppers, radishes, raw broccoli florets and hearts of romaine lettuce. I indulge myself by making a low-cal yogurt dip to go with them. At least once a day, I reward my good behavior with a half-cup of non-dairy soy ice cream or fruit sorbet.

Hey, fatso. Yeah, I mean you, the one scarfing down all that unhealthy fried and creamed stuff at the buffet. And what's with the four helpings of pie and cake? Yeah, I know you can eat all you can for one price. But if you want to get rid of that super butt and belly you'll be dragging around until your heart gives out, try switching to superfoods.