The Healthiest Foods

Heart health is very important because cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death. My Mother died from an atherosclerotic stroke in the brain. Her brain arteries were clogged with cholesterol.

High Blood Pressure

Potassium is considered heart healthy, whereas sodium is the opposite. Potassium is in whole grains, green, leafy vegetables, and fruits such as bananas and oranges. A more complete list is shown below:

Almonds, apricots, avocados, bananas, beef, bran, Brazil nuts, brewer's yeast, broccoli, brown rice, cabbage herb, cashews, celery herb, chard, citrus fruit, dairy foods, dates, figs, fish, fruit, garlic, grapefruit juice, green leafy vegetables, guava, legumes, lentils, meat, milk, molasses, nectarine, nuts, oranges, parsley, parsnips, peanuts, peaches, pork, potatoes, poultry, raisins, rice bran, sardines, seaweed, seeds, soybeans, spinach (fresh), squash, sunflower seeds, tomato juice, veal, walnuts, wheat bran, whole grains, yams.

Unfortunately sardines also contain sodium. Potassium is considered "antihypertensive" according to orthomolecular.org.

Sodium, the bad guy, is in the following foods:

Anchovies, bacon, beef, bologna, bran, butter, Canadian bacon, clams, corned beef, dulse, green beans, green olives, ham, Irish moss, kelp, margarine, meat, milk, poultry, rose hips, salt, sardines, seafood, tomatoes.

Butter is also bad because it contains a lot of cholesterol and saturated fats. On the plus side it contains beta-carotene.

Fiber

Fiber is considered good. Eat oatmeal, beans, and fruit. The fiber is the reason beans can give you gas. You can't digest it, but bacteria can. Fiber has no calories and therefore fights obesity.

Unsaturated Fats Are Good

Use vegetable oils such as canola, olive, sunflower, and safflower oil. Avoid butter and lard. Use only soft or liquid margarine. Avoid stick margarine. Lose weight if you are overweight.

Hypertension

Normal systolic pressure is from 90 to 129 according to a Harvard Vanguard handout. I have check this handout with other sources and all information appears to be valid. High normal is from 130 to 139. Mildly high is from 140-159. Age contributes to high blood pressure. It is more common in people over 65.

Ornish

Dr. Dean Ornish favors low-fat recipes. Dr. Andrew Weil, who I favor, feels that there are some good fats. He favors fish oil for the omega-3-fatty acids.

Unhealthy Foods

Avoid candy, which is fattening, chips, and nuts. Chips have salt and fat. Nuts have fat. Low-fat snacks include pretzels and air-popped popcorn, but these can have salt.

Avoid whole milk. Cheeses can have bad fats. Egg yolks are bad because of the cholesterol. Bacon is bad.

Mental Health

I have proposed a diet for mental health in my previous publications. These can be seen in the references. Also cancer is affected by diet. There are diets to prevent cancer. Pauling favored high doses of vitamin C. Flavonoids, which are found in berries, fruits, and vegetables, are thought to fight cancer. I have a photo album on Gather.com which depicts foods high in flavonoids. I also have a photo album on Gather which depicts foods high in protein.

Conclusions

Many diseases including diabetes, obesity, cancer, pruritis ani (anal itching), celiac disease, PKU, gout, etc. are treated by nutrition. Starvation and anorexia are treated by nutrition, although anorexia is also treated by psychotherapy. Anorexia is a mental health impairment which is classified as an eating disorder. Bulima, the opposite of anorexia, is compulsive eating. Hypoglycemia is treated by a diet.

There are probably diseases not yet understood that will be treated by diets in the future. An example of this is schizophrenia. There may be vitamins that we have not yet discovered. There may be food allergies that we have not yet discovered.

Some drugs can make some problems worse. Read labels on non-prescription items. Decongestants and diet pills can make high blood pressure worse, unfortunately. One in five Americans have hypertension.

There are also over-the-counter medicines that can make prostate problems worse. These medicines state this on their labels.

References

1. www.associatedcontent.com/article/1371783/a_history_of_psychiatric_theory.html

2. www.associatedcontent.com/article/1366198/why_psychodietetics.html

3. www.associatedcontent.com/article/1360443/amino_acids_and_health.html

4. www.associatedcontent.com/article/1355565/advances_in_medical_science.html

5. www.associatedcontent.com/article/1340193/advances_in_affective_disorder_research.html