Top Healthiest Foods 2011 Edition

Recently, the World Health Organization has updated their health food charts. In the year 2011, the lists are divided into various categories, to show which is the champion food.

Best Meat: Goose

Healthiest Meat List: goose, duck, chicken

Six years ago, the Healthiest Meat types only contain: Chicken, Beef, Kangaroo and three others. This year, the only meats on the list are Goose, Duck and Chicken. Because Goose meat has a similar chemical structure to olive oil, therefore it’s particularly good for the heart. Chicken is recognised as one of the best sources of protein, with a moderate amount of unsaturated fat.

Best Fruit: Papaya (paw paw)

Healthiest Fruit List: Papaya, orange, mandarins, strawberries, kiwi, mango, apple, apricot, persimmon, watermelon

This is the first time that a papaya has taken the place of apples as number one, thanks to the discovery of papain enzyme, which helps the body break down meat protein. Department of Gastroenterology experts say that after eating meat, you should eat a small amount of papaya to help the digestive system absorb the meat protein. However, this enzyme is also effective for preventing gastric ulcers and indigestion. In addition, papaya enzymes help break down and remove the cells of the outermost layer of the skin, which is increasingly used in skincare products.

Orange with his fellow sister, mandarin has topped the list for second and third places respectively. Western nutritionists believe that the vitamin content of oranges and mandarins are are far more than of papaya. However, Chinese nutritionists believe that having both fruit at the same time would destroy the body’s yin and yang balance, resulting in imbalance of the blood and qi, which will make a person become inflamed.

The anti-cancerous, sweet juice of strawberries is ranked fourth. Recent studies have discovered that strawberries also aid in gum health, fresh breath and moistened throat.

Apple has dropped to seventh because of the variety of changes in the apple breeding methods, which has lead to sugar contents soaring, as well as decreased amount of vitamins in the apple.

In addition, kiwi, mango, apricot, persimmon, watermelon sweet and juicy fruit is also among the list of healthy fruit.

Healthiest Vegetable List: Sweet Potatoes

Healthiest Vegetable List: Corn, asparagus, broccoli, eggplant, beets, shepherd’s purse, kohlrabi, potatoes, mushroom, potherb mustard, nappa cabbage

In the first couple of years, sweet potatoes has been wandering astray on the edge of the charts. Finally, it has made its way to the first! This is because the level of chemicals have lowered and fibre content improved a lot in recent years. Sweet potatoes are particularly rich in lysine, which means you can increase satiety very fast. The Stanford University Nutrition Research Institute also pointed out that sweet potatoes contain a substance similar to estrogen, which helps to protect the skin and has anti-aging effects.

In addition to sweet potatoes, there’s also the 11 kinds of other vegetables that are viewed as particularly healthy. The reason why potatoes went further down the list was because there were signs of premature aging, which may be due to the excessive use of pesticides.

Best Snacks: Walnuts

Healthy Snacks List: Peanuts, pistachios, cashews, pine nuts, almonds, soybeans.

Walnuts are rich in energy and nutrients. There’s a plethora of minerals such as manganese, copper, potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium, zinc and selenium. Antioxidants are also particularly high, such as melatonin, ellagic acid, vitamin E, carotenoids, and poly-phenolic compounds which have anti cancer, aging and inflammation effects. Vitamins include Vitamin E, and B group. There are also a rich amount of omega-3 essential fatty acids which can lower LDL, also known as “bad cholesterol”.

Best Oil: Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Healthy Oil List: Corn oil, rice bran oil

Olive oil, corn oil and rice bran oil all contains large amounts of unsaturated fatty acids, which can help lowering LDL, as well as prevent high cholesterol, atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease.