As I stated in my post title, I love blueberries. I love to eat them as a snack unto themselves and especially as a topping on a variety of foods, like some of the cereals I eat for example (and deserts ; ). Of course I love the fact that they are so good for you. Many people would say that blueberries are a superfood (or superfruit), and I totally agree.

So what makes blueberries a superfood? Well probably more than anything else, blueberries are known for their high amounts antioxidant phytonutrients. Antioxidants are super important to good health in that they help to protect the body against free radicals which cause cell damage as well as against inflammation which is a common factor in various chronic diseases associated with the aging process. Anti-aging is a hot topic these days as more people (especially baby boomers) want to live not only longer, but healthier and with a better quality of life.

So while we humans have still not found the fountain of youth, there is a lot we can do to slow down the aging process and age gracefully. This is where antioxidants come into play. Free radicals are the unstable oxygen molecules that are associated with speeding up the aging process as well as a host of other degenerative diseases. Free radicals are neutralized by antioxidants to great degree. Prevention of cell damage, heart disease and cancer can be attributed to the power of blueberries.

Also researchers are finding that blueberries promote brain health, urinary tract health and increased night vision. According to a test called ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity), researchers have shown that blueberries have some of the highest known levels of antioxidant activity among fruits and vegetables. Blueberries also have a very diverse range of micronutrients as well. These micronutrients include the mineral manganese, vitamin B6, vitamin C, vitamin K and dietary fiber.

Another great thing about blueberries is that they are easy to come by. If you live in America, they will be almost always fresh as they are native to North America. I have actually picked wild blueberries myself here in NJ, and if you get the chance to do so yourself I highly recommend it. It is recommended to consume 1 – 2 cups of blueberries daily to reap the full health benefits. This is easy to do as you can eat them on the road, at work or wherever. No cooking or preparing involved, just pick and enjoy.

Out of all the SuperFoods that I take, I can say that green foods are my probably my favorite. Why? For several reasons, for starters I can actually feel the energy that they imbue in my body when I take them. Secondly, since I am a big fan of detoxifying my body on a continual basis, they do a great job of cleansing the lymph system and removing toxic chemicals from the body’s cells. Another reason that I love green foods so much is because I simply love the taste.

I normally drink my ‘greens’ by mixing them in with fresh organic juices that I mix together. The taste is amazing, I like to say that it tastes like you are drinking the blood of the earth. In fact, green foods like barley grass, wheat grass, spirulina and blue-green algae have super high concentrations of the phytochemical chlorophyll which is the equivalent of hemoglobin that is found in red blood cells. Chlorophyll is the natural plant pigment that gives grass, plants and vegetables their color.

You can actually taste the cleansing effect that these high concentrations of chlorophyll have on eliminating bad breadth and foul internal odors, which the therapeutic effects of chlorophyll is known for. Wheat grass is one of the best sources of living chlorophyll. Since chlorophyll is also known for it’s immense potential to prevent many types of cancers, you can see why consuming wheat grass is so highly recommended.

Other great health benefits that come with taking green foods (aka young cereal grasses) are the wide variety of essential vitamins and minerals that have tremendous healing and preventative capabilities. For example wheat grass has been used as an alternative therapy for chronic diseases for decades.

Barley grass has been commonly recommended by persons who study natural healing techniques. Green foods are also known for their blood building and blood regeneration factors, as well as for their nourishing and purifying of the liver and kidneys due to their high chlorophyll, antioxidant and phytochemical properties.

I buy my green foods in dried powdered form (which is the common form they are sold in) so it easy to mix them with fresh organic vegetable and fruit juices. Green foods like barley grass and wheat grass are young cereal grasses that are known for their rich green color. It’s interesting to note that barley and wheat grass in their early stages are closer to vegetables than grains in composition. The nutrient profile of these young cereal grasses is similar to those of the most nutritious dark green leafy vegetables.

There are obviously so many reasons that you should be adding ‘Green Foods’ into your diet if you haven’t already. Green foods have been an essential part of human beings diet for thousands of years, and I am sure they will be as long as we continue to inhabit the earth. Maybe the reason why I love green foods so much and that they are the earth’s true SuperFoods is because it’s built into my DNA, who knows? Oh yeah Green Foods are known for their ability to inhibit certain DNA damaging chemicals, as they say listen to your body.

There is a lot of debate as to what the greatest vitamin actually is. Each vitamin has its own essential functions that contribute to a person’s general health and well-being.  It is impossible to actually state that one of these is the greatest vitamin. However there are a number of foods that provide the greatest vitamin quantities.  Some of these you will notice I have on my list of Superfoods.

The greatest vitamin sources vary for each vitamin. It is important to have a balanced diet to ensure that the required amounts of each vitamin are obtained. However, it may be useful to list the greatest vitamin sources for each vitamin to be used as a guide, so here you go:

* Greatest  vitamin A sources are milk, eggs, butter, yellow fruits & vegetables, acai, dark green fruits & vegetables, liver

* Greatest  vitamin B1 sources are brewer’s yeast, whole grains, blackstrap molasses,  acai, brown rice, organ meats, egg yolk

* Greatest  vitamin B2 sources are brewer’s yeast, whole grains, legumes, nuts, acai, organ meats, blackstrap molasses

* Greatest  vitamin B3 sources are lean meats, poultry & fish, brewer’s yeast, peanuts, milk, rice bran, potatoes

* Greatest  vitamin B4 sources are egg yolks, organ meats, brewer’s yeast, wheat germ, soybeans, fish, legumes

* Greatest  vitamin B5 sources are organ meats, egg yolks, legumes, whole grains, wheat germ, salmon, brewer’s yeast

* Greatest  vitamin B6 sources are meats, whole grains, organ meats brewer’s yeast, blackstrap molasses, wheat germ

* Greatest  vitamin B7 sources are egg yolks, liver, unpolished rice, brewer’s yeast, sardines, legumes, whole grains

* Greatest  vitamin B8 sources are who1e grains, citrus fruits, molasses, meat, milk, nuts, vegetables, brewer’s yeast

* Greatest  vitamin B9 sources are dark-green leafy vegetables, organ meats, root vegetables, oysters, salmon, milk

* Greatest  vitamin B12 sources are organ meats, fish, pork, eggs, cheese, milk, lamb, bananas, kelp, peanuts

* Greatest  vitamin B13 sources are root vegetables, liquid whey

* Greatest  vitamin B15 sources are brewer’s yeast, rare steaks, brown rice, sunflower, pumpkin & sesame seeds

* Greatest  vitamin B17 sources are whole kernels of apricots, apples, cherries, peaches, plums

* Greatest  vitamin C sources are citrus, cabbage family, chilli peppers, berries, (acai) melons, asparagus, rose hips

* Greatest  vitamin D sources are salmon, sardines, herring, milk, egg yolk, organ meats, sprouted seeds, sunflower seeds

* Greatest  vitamin E sources are cold-pressed oils, eggs, wheat germ, acai, organ meats, molasses, sweet potatoes, nuts

* Greatest  vitamin F sources are vegetable oils, butter, sunflower seeds

* Greatest  vitamin K sources are green leafy vegetables, egg yolks, safflower oil, blackstrap molasses, cauliflower

* Greatest  vitamin Q sources are pinto beans, legumes, soybeans

* Greatest  vitamin T sources are sesame seeds, raw seeds, butter, egg yolk

* Greatest  vitamin V sources are raw cabbage, sauerkraut, leafy vegetables