THE  BENEFITS  OF  WHOLE  FOODS 

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The World's Healthiest Food List

The following information 

is for educational purposes only.  

This information is not of 

Young Living™.

For the first 5000 years of civilization, humans relied on foods and herbs for medicine. Only in the past 50 years have we forgotten our medicinal "roots" in favor of patent medicines. While pharmaceuticals have their value, we should not forget the well-documented, non-toxic and inexpensive healing properties of whole foods. The following list is but a sampling of the health benefits from whole foods.

OATS  Can depress cholesterol 10 percent or more, depending on individual responses. Oats help stabilize blood sugar, have estrogenic and antioxidant activity. They also contain psychoactive compounds that may combat nicotine cravings and have anti-depressant powers. High doses can cause gas, abdominal bloating and pain in some.

OLIVE OIL  Lowers bad LDL cholesterol without lowering good HDL cholesterol. Helps keep bad cholesterol from being converted to a toxic or "oxidized" form. Thus, helps protect arteries from plaque. Reduces blood pressure, helps regulate blood sugar. Has potent antioxidant activity. Best oil for kitchen cooking and salads.

ONION (including chives, shallots, scallions, leeks). Reputed in ancient Mesopotamia to cure virtually everything. An exceptionally strong antioxidant. Full of numerous anti-cancer agents. Blocks cancer dramatcally in animals. The onion is the richest dietary source of quercetin, a potent antioxidant (in shallots, yellow and red onions only-not white onions). Specifically linked to inhibiting human stomach cancer. Thins the blood, lowers cholesterol, raises good-type HDL cholesterol (preferred dose: half a raw onion a day), wards off blood clots, fights asthma, chronic bronchitis, hay fever, diabetes, atherosclerosis and infections. Anti-inflammatory, antibiotic, antiviral, thought to have diverse anti-cancer powers. Quercetin is also a sedative. Onions aggravate heartburn, may promote gas.

ORANGE. Natural cancer-inhibitor, includes carotenoids, terpenes and flavonoids. Also rich in antioxidant vitamin C and beta-carotene. Specifically tied to lower rates of pancreatic cancer. Orange juice protected mice sperm from radiation damage. Because of its high vitamin C, oranges may help ward off asthma attacks, bronchitis, breast cancer, stomach cancer, atherosclerosis, gum disease, and boost fertility and healthy sperm in some men. May aggravate heartburn.

PARSLEY Anti-cancer because of its high concentrations of antioxidants, such as monoterpenes, phthalides, polyacetylenes. Can help detoxify carcinogens and neutralize certain carcinogens in tobacco smoke. Also, has diuretic activity.

PINEAPPLE  Suppresses inflammation. A main constituent, an antibacterial enzyme called bromelain, is anti-inflammatory. Pineapple aids digestion, helps dissolve blood clots and is good for preventing osteoporosis and bone fractures because of its very high manganese content. It is also antibacterial and anti-viral and mildly estrogenic.

PLUM  Antibacterial. Anti-viral. Laxative.

POTATO (white). Contains anticancer protease inhibitors. High in potassium, thus may help prevent high blood -pressure and strokes. Some estrogenic activity.

PRUNE. A well known laxative. High in fiber, sorbitol and natural aspirin.

PUMPKIN  Extremely high in beta carotene, the antioxidant reputed to help ward off numerous health problems, including heart attacks, cancer, cataracts.

THE  BENEFITS  OF  WHOLE  FOODS 

SOYBEAN Rich in hormones, it boosts estrogen levels in post-menopausal women. Has anti-cancer activity and is thought to be especially antagonistic to breast cancer, possibly one reason rates of breast and prostate cancers are low among the Japanese. Soybeans are the richest source of potent protease inhibitors which are anti-cancer, anti-viral agents. Soybeans lower blood cholesterol substantially. In animals, soybeans seem to deter and help dissolve kidney stones.

SPINACH Tops the list, along with other green leafy vegetables, as a food most eaten by people who don't get cancer. A super source of antioxidants and cancer antagonists, containing about four times more beta-carotene and three times more lutein than broccoli, for example. Rich in fiber that helps lower blood cholesterol. Some of it's antioxidants are destroyed by cooking. Eat raw or lightly cooked.

STRAWBERRY  Anti-viral, anti-cancer activity. Often eaten by people less likely to develop all types of cancer. Only eat organically grown. Strawberries have the highest amount of pesticide contaminates.

SUGAR  Helps heal wounds when applied externally. Like other carbohydrates, sugar helps induce cavities. Also may be related to Crohn's disease. Triggers rise in blood sugar and stimulates insulin production. One teaspoon of sugar is said to set the immune system back 3 ½ hours. Causes fatigue and adrenal weakness.

SWEET POTATO (yams). A source of the antioxidant beta carotene, linked to preventing heart disease, cataracts strokes and numerous cancers. One half cup of mashed sweet potatoes contains about milligrams of beta carotene, or about 23,000 international units (lUs), according to Department of Agriculture figures.

TEA (including black, oolong and green tea, not herbal teas). Amazing and diverse pharmacological activity, mainly due to catechins. Tea acts as an anticoagulant, artery protector, antibiotic, anti-ulcer agent, cavity-fighter, anti-diarrheal agent, anti-viral agent, diuretic (caffeine), analgesic (caffeine), mild sedative (decaffeinated). In animals tea and tea compounds are potent blockers of various cancers. Tea drinkers appear to have less atherosclerosis (damaged, clogged arteries) and fewer strokes. Excessive tea drinking because of its caffeine could aggravate anxiety, insomnia and symptoms of PMS. Tea may also promote kidney stone because of its high oxalate content. Green tea, popular in Asian countries, is highest in catechins, followed by oolong and ordinary black tea, common in the United States. Green tea is considered most potent. One human study, however, found no difference in benefits to arteries from green or black tea.

TOMATO  A major source of lycopene, an antioxidant and anti-cancer agent that intervenes in devastating chain reactions of oxygen free radical molecules. Tomatoes are linked in particular to lower rates of pancreatic cancer and cervical cancer.

TUMERIC  Truly one of the marvelous medicinal spices of the world. Its main active ingredient is curcumin which gives turmeric its intense cadmium yellow color. Curcumin, studies show, is an anti-inflammatory agent on a par with cortisone, and has reduced inflammation in animals and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis in humans. In other tests, it lowered cholesterol, hindered platelet aggregation (blood clotting), protected the liver from toxins, boosted stomach defenses against acid, lowered blood sugar in diabetics, and was a powerful antagonist of numerous cancer-causing agents. Anti-cancer activity.

WATERMELON  High amounts of lycopene and glutathione, antioxidant and anti-cancer compounds. Also mild anti-bacterial, anti-coagulant activity.

WHEAT High-fiber whole wheat, and particularly wheat bran, ranks as the world's greatest preventives of constipation. The bran is potently anti-cancer. Remarkably, in humans, wheat bran can suppress that which can develop into colon cancer. Anti-parasitic. Ranks exceedingly high as a trigger of food intolerances and allergies, resulting in symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, irritable bowel syndrome and neurological illnesses.

YOGURT  An ancient wonder food, strongly antibacterial and anti-cancer. A cup or two of yogurt a day boosts immune functioning by stimulating production of gamma interferon. Also spurs activity of natural killer cells that attack viruses and tumors. A daily cup of yogurt reduced colds and other upper respiratory infections in humans. Helps prevent and cure diarrhea. A daily cup of yogurt with acidophilus cultures prevents vaginitis (yeast infections) in women. Helps fight bone problems, such as osteoporosis, because of high available calcium content. Acidophilus yogurt cultures neutralize cancer-causing agents in the intestinal tract. Plain old yogurt with L bulgaricus and S. thermophilus cultures, both live and dead, blocked lung cancers in animals. Yogurt with live cultures is safe for people with lactose intolerance. Be sure to buy organic produce and range free meats whenever possible!