Top 10 Superfoods

More Power To You and Your Friends . 

Try these Top 10 Superfoods :

1. Goji Berries: Fountain.of.Youth.

2. Cacao: Raw Chocolate.

3. Maca : Andes Aphrodisiac.

4. Bee Products: The Original Superfoods...Honey...Bee Pollen...Royal Jelly...Propolis.

5. Spirulina : Protein Queen.

6. AFA Blue-Green Algae : Primordial Food from Klamath Lake, Oregon, USA.

7. Marine Phytoplankton: The Basis of All Life.

8. Aloe Vera: Essene and Egyptian Secret of Immortality

9. Hempseed: Superfood of the Future.

10. Coconut: Symbol of Paradise.

*11. Chia Seeds : Yes I searched and I agree this chia seeds (tiny black seeds from salvia Hispanics plant) were important food for Aztecs and Mayans. Highly prized for ability to provide sustainable ENERGY . "Chia" is the ancient Maya word for "strength". Now consumed by health conscious people all over the world. What do you do these days,

1.1 What Are Goji Berries? 

A raw goji berry is about the size of the tip of your pinky finger, if not smaller. However, these size berries are difficult to find in North America and are native to parts of Asia (usually in China) and Europe.

The Health Claims 
Goji berries have been used in traditional Chinese medicine for thousands of years, says health and nutrition expert Rosanna Lee. 
Some even claim these berries are natural remedies for diabetes, hypertension, malaria or even fever. However, Lee says a lot of these claims may not be true. "At present, there is still inconclusive evidence from research for such claims to be made."

They Have Other Names
Sometimes goji berries are called wolf berries. They have also been referred to Chinese wolfberries and Tibetan goji.

Where Can I Buy Them? 
Typically, goji berries are found in dried packages or sold by weight at bulk food stores, specialty food stores, herbal stores or at markets in Chinatown, for example.

What Do They Taste Like?
Goji berries have a natural tinge of sweetness with a very slight herb-like aftertaste. They also contain tiny seeds (which contain fibre) that add a nice texture to your meals.

How Do You Eat Them?
You can eat them raw or soak them in hot water before munching. Others prefer adding goji berries to trail mixes, smoothies or as a garnish on cereals, salads or yogurts. Basically, goji berries can be baked, cooked, steamed, and processed in any way after they are washed.

But They Can Be Expensive 
A 500-gram bag of dried goji berries costs about $15 to $20 at most natural food stores and online. However, prices may vary depending on claims of whether they are organic, naturally sourced, or combined with other ingredients to make a unique trail mix, for example. Organic goji berries have been known to sell for $30 to $40, but you can buy the cheapest bags at local Asian stores.

Healthy, Glowing Skin?
Similar to the benefits you get from eating other berries, goji berries are loaded with beta-carotene (a pigment found in plants and fruits) which helps promote healthy skin.

Protect Your Health ... All Over Your Body 
Goji berries have also been known to help boost the immune system and protect the eyes — talk about a super fruit. And like other berries, goji berries are also an excellent source of vitamin C and can reduce tough cold symptoms.

Packed With Antioxidants 
Goji berries are an excellent source of antioxidants because of their oxygen radical absorbance cpacity (ORAC) value. An ORAC value indicates a food's antioxidant power on a relative scale, Lee says.

Yes, They Are Healthy 
As a plus, goji berries are low in calories, fat-free and are packed with fibre — which also helps you manage weight and go the bathroom on a regular basis.

2.1 Nutritional Value and Reputed Benefits of Raw Chocolate in Raw Culture

The much touted nutritional benefits or raw cacao range from reducing cataracts to improving heart function to alleviating stress. The theobromine naturally found in raw cacao is a mild, non-addictive stimulant that some believe can treat depression. It may cause the brain to produce more of a neurotransmitter called anandamide which would account for the euphoric sensation some feel when indulging in chocolate. Not much is known about how the ancient civilizations of the Americas used chocolate, but it was certainly treasured by them for medicinal purposes. Nowadays we know that raw cacao is certainly very high in antioxidant flavanoids, sulfur and magnesium. The essential fatty acids found in chocolate may help the body to raise good cholesterol and lower bad cholesterol.

Amongst the loftiest claims in raw food culture is that raw cacao (without added sugar or dairy products) will reduce your risk of cancer as the high levels of antioxidants reduce the amount of free radicals in the body.

Can You Trust the Hype About Raw Cacao?

Raw cacao is just like most things in the world of health and nutrition- the information changes fast. You need to keep on top of the news. There are many that believe that chocolate, even in it's purest form of raw cacao, is still not very good for you, perhaps even toxic. The stimulant quality may agitate kidney and liver functioning. Some tests find it to be addictive, leading to mood swings and other withdrawal symptoms when not consumed regularly. Sexual dysfunction has also been listed as a possible side effect of chocolate intake- yikes! Certainly you must never blindly trust the information given to you by someone who is selling the product. Conduct your own research and see what the experts are saying.

Though chocolate may not be the knight in shining armor that so many of us wish it was, when eaten in moderation, it doesn't seem to be causing too much harm either. To play it safe, consume chocolate on special occasions and look for your magnesium and antioxidants elsewhere.

3.1 Maca is the common name for Lepidium meyenii, a plant in the broccoli family. ‘Maca root’ refers to the root of the plant, which resembles a turnip. Maca is divided into categories based on the color of the root, which can be red, black, pink or yellow. Maca has historically been grown in Peru.

Maca has traditionally been used as an aphrodisiac. It has been used all over the world and affects both genders. It does not work through hormones, and does not increase testosterone or estrogen. Men supplementing maca have been known to experience an increase in sperm production.

Maca also appears to be a potent suppressor of prostate hypertrophy, with potency similar to finasteride, a synthetic drug for the treatment of enlarged prostates. Preliminary research also suggests maca can protect the brain from damage, improve bone health, and even improve cognitive ability in healthy people.

Further research is needed to determine the main mechanism of maca.

Since the majority of research on maca comes from Peru, replicated research from other regions would go a long way toward confirming maca’s effects. Maca exports are important to Peru’s economy. Sometimes, new evidence regarding exports can be manipulated, as was the case with Policosanol. There is, however, no evidence to suggest tampering with studies on maca.

How to Take

Recommended dosage, active amounts, other details

The standard dose for maca is 1,500-3,000mg.

Maca can be supplemented by eating maca root, or through a maca extract. Extracts should be water or ethyl acetate-based.

Maca should be taken daily, alongside food.

Traditionally, maca is treated as a food product, rather than a dietary supplement. Animal studies use 1,000-2,200mg/kg bodyweight doses of maca, which translates into:

• 10.9-24g of the maca vegetable for a 150lb person
• 14.5-32g of the maca vegetable for a 200lb person
• 18.1-40g of the maca vegetable for a 250lb person

Pregnancy

Currently, the only evidence investigating a link between Maca consumption and Pregnancy is one conducted in mice where 1g/kg lyophilized (2.16g/kg dry weight) Maca, correlating to traditional usage amounts and consumed prior to and shortly after fertilization, noted increased litter size without any influence on gender ratios and not associated with any adverse pup morphology or viability.[60] This was independent of any increases in implantation rates, the fertility index, or pup survival; all of which were similar between groups. No human evidence on safety nor adverse reports appear to exist. 

Currently not known if it is safe for pregnancy or not, but appears to be somewhat promising to enhance female fertility based on animal studies

Top 10 Proven Spirulina Benefits 

Not everyone can get their hands on the Hawaiian variety, but fortunately spirulina that’s regularly produced also includes some pretty unbelievable health benefits for people who regularly consume it.

1. Detoxes Heavy Metals (especially Arsenic)

Affecting people all over the globe, chronic arsenic toxicity is a problem. According to the World Health Organization, the United States is one of the countries affected by inorganic arsenic that is naturally present at high levels.

Arsenic toxicity is an even bigger problem in the Far East. In the words of Bangladeshi researchers, “Millions of people in Bangladesh, India, Taiwan and Chile are consuming high concentration of arsenic through drinking water, and thousands of them have already developed chronic arsenic poisoning.” 

In fact, up to 3% of the entire nation of Bangladesh showed clinical signs of arsenic poisoning alone! As Bangladeshi researchers pointed out, “there is no specific treatment” for arsenic poisoning, which is why they evaluated alternatives like blue-green algae.

After giving 24 patients affected by chronic arsenic poisoning spirulina extract (250 mg) plus zinc (2 mg) twice daily, they compared the results with 17 patients who took a placebo and found that the spirulina-zinc combination worked wonderfully. Ultimately, the participants experienced a 47% decrease of arsenic in their body!

2. Eliminates Candida

According to researchers, “Candida species belong to the normal microbiota of an individual’s mucosal oral cavity, gastrointestinal tract and vagina.” (What does that mean?! Well, without a healthy microflora balance in our body, we are simply much more susceptible to sickness and disease.

In fact, leaky gut syndrome and improper digestion are directly connected to microfloral imbalance. Not only is invasive candidiasis the leading cause of mycosis-related death in the United States, candida overgrowth has become the hallmark sign for most autoimmune diseases today. 

Because of our shift toward a diet rich in sugar and unnatural ingredients, antimicrobial resistance and ineffective antifungal drugs, we have seen a significant rise in yeast infections since the 1980s.

Thankfully, spirulina can help. Several animal studies have shown that it’s an effective anti-microbial agent, particularly for candida. 

Specifically, spirulina benefits have been shown to promote the growth of healthy bacterial flora in the intestines, which in turn inhibits Candida from thriving. Additionally, the immune-strengthening properties of spirulina will help the body eliminate Candida cells. 

3. Improves HIV/AIDS

Up until recently, epidemiologists have been puzzled trying to understand why people in Japan, Korea and Chad have relatively low HIV/AIDS rates. One possible explanation, revealed in a 2012 study published in the Journal of Applied Phycology, may be the amount of algae people in these areas regularly consume!

When researchers took 11 HIV patients who have never taken antiretrovirals, they split the participants into three groups: one that was assigned to eat 5 g of brown seaweed every day, one that was to eat 5 g of spirulina, and one that ate a combination of both.  After the three-month trial period was complete, two key findings were discovered:

1. Absolutely no adverse effects were experienced from both seaweed varieties and the combination.
2. CD4 cells (T-helper white blood cells that fight infection and are used to stage HIV) and HIV-1 viral load (another HIV biomarker) remained stable.

The results were so promising that one participant volunteered to continue the study for an additional 10 months, and this participant actually benefited from “clinically significant improvement in CD4 and decreased HIV viral load”!

4. Helps Prevent Cancer

According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, “A number of animal and test tube studies suggest that spirulina increases production of antibodies, infection-fighting proteins, and other cells that improve immunity and help ward off infection and chronic illnesses such as cancer.” 

This doesn’t come as a surprise as more than 70 peer-reviewed articles have been published in the scientific literature evaluating spirulina’s ability to effect cancer cells! 

In an article published this past April, Czech Republic scientists pointed out that, in addition to its ability to control blood cholesterol levels, “Spirulina is also rich in tetrapyrrolic compounds closely related to bilirubin molecule, a potent antioxidant and anti-proliferative agent.” 

When tested on human pancreatic cells, these researchers discovered that, “Compared to untreated cells, experimental therapeutics significantly decreased proliferation of human pancreatic cancer cell lines in vitro in a dose-dependent manner.” Essentially, this proves that consuming spirulina can help prevent developing various cancers!

5. Lowers Blood Pressure 

Phycocyanin is a pigment found in the spirulina that scientists have discovered possesses antihypertensive effects (it lowers blood pressure).  Japanese researchers claim that this is because consuming the blue-green algae reverses endothelial dysfunction in metabolic syndrome.

I find this extremely promising for Americans because metabolic syndrome has rapidly become one of the main causes of preventable disease today, as it raises one’s risk of developing heart disease, diabetes and stroke. 

6. Reduces Cholesterol

Along those same lines, spirulina benefits have also been shown to prevent atherosclerosis and reduce elevated blood cholesterol levels.

A recent animal study published in The Journal of Nutritional Science and Vitaminology took rabbits, fed them a high cholesterol diet (HCD) containing 0.5% cholesterol for four weeks, and then fed them a HCD with 1% or 5% spirulina for an additional eight weeks. 

After the eight-week trial was complete, LDL levels decreased by 26% in the group eating 1% of spirulina and 41% in the group eating 5% spirulina, which heavily suggests that the more we eat the more benefits we will receive! Serum triglycerides and total cholesterol were also significantly reduced.

7. Lowers Chance of Stroke

In the study above, researchers also discovered that the spirulina supplementation lowered intimal aorta surface by 33% to 48%, which suggests that it can prevent atherosclerosis and subsequent stroke. 

It’s important to remember that this clinical trial was conducted on animals that were still eating a HCD, and it highlights that regular spirulina consumption can literally reverse the damage done by eating a poor diet. You can only imagine the heart health benefits that would be experienced in those individuals who have a balanced diet!

8. Boosts Energy

When you look at the chemical composition of spirulina, it’s no wonder that people who regularly consume it have an abundance of energy. Dr. Oz recommends combining 1 tsp spirulina powder with 12 oz lime juice and freezing the mixture in ice cube trays for a healthy boost.

According to Dr. Oz, spirulina and lime enhance energy performance because they unlock sugar from our cells and, when frozen, the cold from the ice boosts metabolic energy while giving our bodies a “wake-up call.” 

9. Speeds Up Weight Loss

Diets high in nutrient-dense protein-rich foods like spirulina promote weight loss and low-fat stores through a variety of mechanisms. Because it takes more energy to metabolize, for example, eating protein helps maintain lean tissue and contributes to fat burning.

It can also curb hunger and overweight people seem to benefit the most.  To maximize this benefit, try eating your high protein spirulina in the morning or during midday instead of at night.

10. Alleviates Sinus Issues

Known as allergic rhinitis, spirulina benefits the body by reducing the inflammation that causes people to experience sinus problems, according to numerous studies.  Compared to placebo trials, spirulina is effective at reducing itching, nasal discharge, nasal congestion and sneezing.