Turns out, most of those beneficial bio-nutrients taste sour, astringent, or bitter. “In our quest to produce better-tasting fruits and vegetables, we’ve bred the ‘medicine’ right out of our foods—and only now do we have the technology to understand what we’ve done,” Robinson says. Most ancient native food plants were also higher in protein and fiber and much lower in sugar than the ones we’ve devised. The progenitor of modern corn contained around 30% protein and 2% sugar, compared with today’s sweet corn at 4% protein and 10% sugar. Some of the newest varieties of supersweet corn, such as Super Sweet Jubilee and Showcase, are as much as 40% sugar. Eating corn this sweet can have the same impact on your blood sugar as eating a Snickers candy bar or a cake doughnut. (It’s no wonder we’re after the caveman’s secret to healthy teeth.) Phytonutrients protect plants—and humansSince plants can’t fight their enemies or hide from them, they shield themselves by producing chemicals that protect them from insects, disease, damaging ultraviolet light, inclement weather, and browsing animals. More than 8,000 different phytonutrients—many are antioxidants—have been identified to date. They include the resveratrol in red wine, the lycopene in tomatoes, and the anthocyanins in blueberries. Now we know that many of these compounds protect us just as they protected the plants. When we eat antioxidant-rich plants, we’re shielded against the free radicals that can inflame our artery linings, turn normal cells cancerous, damage our eyesight, increase our risks of becoming obese and diabetic, and intensify the visible signs of aging. And that’s just for starters. Here’s how to make sure you’re getting the most from the fruits and vegetables you buy. (In addition to avoiding the dirty dozen, of course.) [pagebreak] Gravitate to gaudy greensThe most nutritious lettuces are deeply colored and form loose, leafy heads. Red looseleaf lettuce has more antioxidants than green varieties; pale lettuces that form tight heads, like iceberg, have the least. The popular “triple washed” salad mixes make it easy to serve healthy greens in a hurry, so don’t overlook them. These blends can contain spicy greens (arugula, radicchio, mustard greens, and Asian greens), mild lettuces (Bibb lettuce, baby spinach, and oak leaf lettuce), or a combination. Some contain as many as 15 different vegetables, including less familiar greens such as chervil, mache (corn salad), beet greens, and cilantro. All bags of mixed greens, no matter their exact composition, have more phytonutrients than salads made with iceberg or romaine lettuce alone. For maximum health benefits, choose the mix with the most red, dark green, or purple-tinged leaves. (Then, blend ’em for a delicious detox drink.) Pick the freshest greens by examining bags carefully. The cut edges of the leaves discolor first. Limp or yellow leaves also signal long storage. Garlic’s secret weaponOne milligram of allicin, the active compound in garlic, equals about 15 IU of penicillin. Three cloves contain the same antibacterial activity as a standard dose of penicillin. Though eating garlic doesn’t produce the same results as being injected with penicillin, garlic has the edge on penicillin in at least one respect: Common bacteria are 1,000 times more likely to become resistant to modern antibiotics than to garlic. In medieval times, people wore garlic around their necks to ward off werewolves. Cancer is our modern werewolf—lethal, frightening, and seemingly uncontrollable. Eating more garlic may be one of the best natural remedies for the disease. In a test-tube study measuring the anticancer properties of a number of vegetables, including brussels sprouts, kale, broccoli, and cabbage, garlic was the most effective. The Canadian investigators who conducted the study reported that it blocked 100% of the growth of human cancers of the stomach, pancreas, breast, prostate, lungs, kidneys, and brain. Because of all its proven and promising “anti” properties—antioxidant, antibacterial, antiviral, anticlotting, and anticancer—garlic has been dubbed the Allicin Wonderland drug. But getting all of garlic’s health benefits depends on how you prepare and cook it. Allicin is created when two substances in garlic come in contact with each other. One is called alliin, and the other is a heatsensitive enzyme called alliinase. In an intact clove of garlic, these compounds are isolated in separate compartments. They do not commingle until you slice, press, or chew the garlic and rupture the barriers between them. Then the combustion begins. Israeli food scientists discovered that heating garlic immediately after crushing or slicing it destroys the heat-sensitive enzyme that triggers the reaction—so no allicin is created. Two minutes in a frying pan reduces garlic to little more than a flavoring ingredient. Microwaving freshly chopped garlic for just 30 seconds nullifies 90% of its cancer-fighting ability. Heat also compromises garlic’s ability to thin the blood, one of its significant heart-healthy benefits. This simple change in the way you prepare garlic will preserve its potency: Chop, mince, slice, or mash the garlic, and then keep it away from the heat for 10 minutes. During this time, the maximum amount of allicin is created, so the heat-sensitive enzyme is no longer needed. You can then sautée, bake, or fry the garlic and still get all its medicinal benefits. Garlic has so many healing properties that waiting those critical 10 minutes could help reduce your risk of a number of worrisome diseases. More from Prevention: Which Is Healthier: Raw or Powdered Garlic? [pagebreak] More healthy alliums:OnionsThe more pungent, the better. Bold-tasting red and yellow onions offer the most health benefits. Cooking tames their fire, brings out their sweetness, and increases their nutritional content. Small onions have more nutrients per weight than larger onions. ShallotsThese are mild but nutritionally more potent than most onions. Use in egg dishes, creamy soups, and sauces.LeeksUse the bulbs and green leaves when you cook with them. The green portions have more bionutrients than the white portions. Slit in half, and then rinse each layer carefully to remove grit. (Get to work on these 5 Recipes For Leeks You’ll Love.) ScallionsAlso called green onions, these are the most nutritious of all alliums. The green parts are more nutrient rich than the white bulbs. ChivesOnion chives have thin, tubelike leaves and are mostly used raw; garlic chives have flatter leaves and are sauteed, often in Asian cuisine. Go heavy on both chive varieties—they’re antioxidant bonanzas. Traditional Chinese medicine practitioners use garlic chives to treat a variety of ills, including fatigue. Pick these powerhouse fruits:Extra-sweet pineappleMore beta-carotene and vitamin C than less-sweet varieties Red-fleshed papayaMore nutritious than golden fleshed MangoFive times more vitamin C than oranges; five times more fiber than pineapple Golden raisinsThree times more antioxidant activity than dark raisins Blue, black, and red plumsHigher in antioxidants than yellow or green varieties White peaches and nectarinesSix times more antioxidants than yellow ones Spare the waterThe most common way to cook corn on the cob is to rip off the husks, strip off the silk, and plunge the naked ears into a big pot of boiling water. This brutality has got to stop! Boiling corn dissolves most of the water-soluble nutrients into the cooking water. The less contact corn has with water, the more nutrients stay in the kernels. (Have you tried our five fiber-filled corn recipes yet?) And corn’s nutrients are more impressive than you might think. Deep yellow varieties have up to 58 times more beta-carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin than white corn. Lutein and zeaxanthin reduce the risks of two common eye diseases, macular degeneration and cataracts. Microwaving corn in its husk helps retain all those nutrients. First, cut off the silks that extend outside the husks. Don’t slit or cut the husks—leave them whole. Arrange the corn evenly in the microwave and cook on high. Microwaves have different wattages, so cooking times will vary. Allow 3 to 4 minutes for one ear, and a bit longer for more. More from Prevention: Trick Your Family Into Better Eating Excerpted from the book Eating on the Wild Side, by Jo Robinson. Copyright © 2013 by Jo Robinson. Reprinted with permission of Little, Brown and Company.
