Superfood List: 100 Essential Ingredients for Health

▌Daily vegetable basket (32 types)

Green leafy vegetables: spinach, kale, mustard greens, amaranth, water spinach, leeks, rapeseed, celery leaves, chrysanthemum, romaine lettuce, lettuce, Wutai, bitter chrysanthemum, rocket, toon

Eggplant/cruciferous vegetables: broccoli, cauliflower, purple cabbage, asparagus, okra, bell peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, baby squash, zucchini, cucumbers

Mushrooms: shiitake mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, mushrooms, fungus, white fungus, hericium

▌Grain, potato and mixed beans (20 types)

Whole grains: whole oats, quinoa, buckwheat, brown rice, black rice, millet, barley, sorghum, gorgon seeds

Potatoes: yam, red sweet potato, purple potato, taro, yellow potato

Miscellaneous beans: chickpeas, red beans, black beans, soybeans, white lentils, mung beans

▌Meat, eggs, milk and aquatic products (25 types)

Egg milk: regular eggs, quail eggs, whole milk, sugar-free Greek yogurt, original cheese

Poultry meat: lean beef, beef tendon, chicken breast, skinless chicken leg, pork tenderloin, lean pork, duck, goose

Aquatic products: salmon, cod, mackerel, shrimp, scallops, oysters, oysters, squid, kelp, seaweed, wakame, jellyfish

▌Fruits and nuts (18 types)

Fresh fruits: winter dates, kiwis, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, oranges, grapefruits, lemons, peeled apples, pears, low-ripe bananas, avocados

Nuts/seeds: almonds, walnuts, macadamia nuts, pumpkin seeds, domestic chia seeds, flax seeds

▌Food and medicinal condiments (5 types)

Ginger, garlic, sulfur-free wolfberry, astragalus, dried rose flowers

There must be people who see this and want to complain, "Aren't super foods now all IQ taxes?" ”It’s really not necessarily true, which is why three of us from different fields came together to compile this list – the views of the three schools are quite different to begin with.

Friends who practice evidence-based nutrition do not recognize the concept of "superfoods" at all. In his view, no single ingredient can match the role of a balanced diet. However, he must also admit that the NRF (nutrient density score) of the ingredients in this list is more than twice that of the same kind. For example, the iron content of spinach is 4 times that of Chinese cabbage, and the vitamin C content of colored peppers is 3 times that of ordinary green peppers. The price-performance ratio is indeed high.

Teachers who engage in traditional Chinese medicine nutrition pay more attention to the compatibility of nature and taste. He believes that most of these ingredients are mild in nature and have no particularly severe bias. Most people's body types can eat them without problems. For example, sweet potatoes strengthen the spleen and white fungus moisturizes the lungs. They are much more suitable than buying imported super food powders.

Friends who are on a low-carb diet are more direct. He basically does not recommend the cereals, potatoes and beans in the list to his customers, but the remaining vegetables, meat, and nuts are all the regular ingredients he lists for users who control sugar and lose fat. They have low glycemic load, sufficient nutrition, and are very filling.

I have been making my own diet plan for so long, and my biggest feeling is that there is really no need to pay IQ tax for the word "super". Last week, I went to the market with my mother. She couldn't walk while staring at the packaged organic broccoli that cost 20 yuan per kilogram, so I took her away directly. Ordinary broccoli costs 5 yuan per kilogram. If you soak it in light salt water for 15 minutes at home, more than 80% of the pesticide residues will be removed. The carotene and dietary fiber content is less than 5% different from organic broccoli, so you can't afford to waste the money. There was also a customer who bought a can of imported Camu Camu powder for more than 300 yuan. He said that it was effective in supplementing vitamin C. I calculated it for him and found that the vitamin C content of Dongzao, which cost 10 yuan per pound, was higher than that of the whole can of powder. He said on the spot that he was taken advantage of.

By the way, there is one more thing to remind you, don’t just follow this list. I have met many little girls who ate kale salad every day in order to lose weight, and their faces turned green after eating. After eating for three days, they ate two hot pot meals and gained two pounds. It's really unnecessary. If you can't stand the bitter taste of kale, eating a few more bites of spinach or amaranth can also supplement enough iron and dietary fiber. Eating is a happy thing, and what suits you is the best.

If you are on a vegan diet, just skip meat, eggs, and milk. Choose from the remaining three categories and supplement with extra B12 on a daily basis to fully meet your nutritional needs.； If you are doing ketosis or controlling sugar, just eat less cereals, potatoes, beans, and high-sugar fruits. You can choose the remaining ingredients at will. The nutritional density is sufficient and it will not affect blood sugar too much.

Oh, and don’t think that you have to eat all 100 kinds to be healthy. I usually only eat about 20 kinds. If I cook them in different ways, the nutrition is enough. After all, healthy eating is never a clock-in game of gathering together various ingredients, but a long-term, comfortable living habit.