I just read an interesting article about all the so-called "Super Foods" that are supposed to help keep you healthy. And I don't disagree. It makes sense that these great foods provide vitamins, antioxidants and other important nutrients.

If you are unfamiliar with these foods, they include blueberries, wild salmon, broccoli, spinach, tomatoes, beans, sweet potatoes, soy, oats, walnuts.

They’ve added some recent foods to the tally: indigo berry, goji berry, cocoa (hence the latest dark chocolate craze), acai berry and I’m sure there are plenty of others.

As I was reading through this tally of 12 super foods you should eat every day, I decided to get out my pen and write down precisely what “they” thought I should eat everyday. Here’s the tally:

Remember - this is EVERY DAY

2 1/2 cups of beans (by the way, I hear black beans have the superior nutrition, with chickpeas following a close second)

1/2 c. fresh blueberries

1 cup cooked broccoli (or 1/2 cup raw)

3 servings of whole grain

1 serving soy

1 cup cooked spinach

1/2 c. beta-carotene product (sweet potatoes, carrots, pumpkin)

1 whole tomato

1 1/2 oz. nuts

1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1 oz dark chocolate (okay, that shouldn’t be too hard)

Wild salmon - 4 times a week

Wouldn’t it be great if I could actually EAT like that everyday? If I didn’t have to worry about feeding anyone else in my family? Kudos to those of you that do.

Has anyone else been reading about the fruits and vegetables NOT providing the source of nutrients they once did? With all the pesticides and processing problems going on, it sometimes gets a little scary. I’m not sure going all organic will cure that, but not all of us live near markets that supply healthy sources of fresh produce and not all of us can afford that.

Don’t get me wrong - I’m all for healthy eating. I rate my diet pretty healthy and I do eat all of the foods on that tally on a fairly regular basis -maybe not in those quantities and not every day.

There have also been several compounds researched lately that have shown to have anti-aging attributes. Ginko, DMAE, resveratrol to name a few. In order to get the amount needed to promote beneficial health, we would have to overeat even if it was all "super" food - and that's definitely not healthy.

So I think I’ll continue taking my nutritional supplements and KNOW that I’m getting the proper amount of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, greens and what not.

Remember: no amount of supplementation can substitute a healthy lifestyle: proper diet and plenty of exercise.

I’ve done some research - there’s no reason to spend a small fortune on nutritional supplements. You can still get good quality for a reasonable price. See the website below for sources.

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