Quotations by Frances Sheridan Goulart

The twenty-five foods that do the most to support immunity are apples, berries, broccoli family vegetables, carrots, citrus fruits, dark leafy greens, green food powders (chlorella, barley grass, wheatgrass), figs, dates, garlic, flaxseed, legumes, oats, olives, herbs and spices, mushrooms, potatoes, sea vegetables, squash, tomatoes, soy foods, nuts, seeds, whole grains, and yogurt. [2009] - Frances Sheridan Goulart

The older you get, the less heart-essential coenzyme Q10 you have. Not so good, since 95% of the energy produced by the body depends on this electron transport chemical, making it important to eat more energy-producing greens, grains, and beans. [2009] - Frances Sheridan Goulart

A cup of the ancient grain quinoa supplies as much as protein as a glass of milk - and more calcium. [2009] - Frances Sheridan Goulart

Want a scientific immunity test? You can get your C-reactive protein (CRP) tested. This protein in the blood becomes elevated when one or more of the immune systems is overactive. Overactivity is a marker for disease. High levels of CRP can signal pending high blood pressure or stroke, Alzheimer's macular degeneration, or colon, prostate, or other cancers. Even better, ask your doctor for a high-sensitivity CRP (hs-CRP) test to determine your true immunity level. [2009] - Frances Sheridan Goulart

Eating an apple a day is the same as taking a megadose of natural vitamin C in terms of antioxidants and flavonoids. Apples are even more "fruitful" if you eat the peel, which contains triterpenoids - compounds that have anticancer activity. Buy organic whenever possible (if it's not organic, it could be lowering, not raising, your immunity). Most apples will keep two weeks refrigerated (Fujis and Granny Smiths have a longer life). [2009] - Frances Sheridan Goulart

Vegetables such as broccoli, carrots, and zucchini reserve or even boost their antioxidant power when cooked. Cooked carrots give you more antioxidants than do raw carrots. Steam for 5 minutes produces the most vitamin A and beta-carotene. Never microwave your cruciferous vegetables, including broccoli. Zapping broccoli caused a 97% loss of nutrients. Steaming (5 minutes or less) trumps all other cooking methods. [2009] - Frances Sheridan Goulart

Romaine lettuce has eight times the beta-carotene of iceberg lettuce and five times the vitamin C (as well as most other nutrients). [2009] - Frances Sheridan Goulart

Always crush the garlic and let it sit for a few minutes to allow the release of healing enzymes. Never microwave garlic. If used in cooking, add garlic near the end of the process. [2009] - Frances Sheridan Goulart

Tomatoes offer more lycopene for lowering heart disease risk than any other food source. You can also get your daily dose of that tomato antioxidant lycopene from watermelon and red grapefruit. Stick with the reds for lycopene; green and yellow tomatoes are lycopene-poor. Cooked and canned tomato sauce and paste (yes, even ketchup) appear to offer more lycopene than a tomato out of the hand. The protective dose of lycopene is 35 milligrams, which is the amount in 2 cups of tomato juice or cooked tomato products. While cooking increases the lycopene fourfold, eating your tomato raw gives you 40% of what the government considers your RDA for vitamin C. Have your tomatoes both ways. [2009] - Frances Sheridan Goulart

While the gateway nut for many of us may be the peanut, the best choice for immunity is the walnut, followed by the almond and the pistachio. Among the seeds, sunflower and pumpkin seeds outscore sesame, chia, and all the rest, with the exception of flaxseed, in a category by itself. Pop a big brazil nut, and you get a small helping of selenium, a mineral that lowers the rates of several types of cancer. Stir those nuts into some steamed whole grains and you double your dose. Walnuts and pecans contain ellagic acid that can inactivate cancer cells and also has antiviral and antibacterial properties. [2009] - Frances Sheridan Goulart

Peanuts, especially when processed into peanut butter, can be contaminated with a mold that produces a highly carcinogenic substance called aflatoxin. Eat peanut butter in moderation, and buy organic to reduce the risk. Buy cold-pressed organic nut and seed oils for safety and to get the best quality. [2009] - Frances Sheridan Goulart

Only two grains-amaranth and quinoa (pronounced "keen-wa")-are complete proteins, providing all sixteen amino acids just like dairy and meat. [2009] - Frances Sheridan Goulart

Most grains can be prepared like rice. Rinse first, cover with water, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook until soft. Use a two-to-one ratio for quinoa, amaranth, millet, and buckwheat; use a three-to-one ratio for oats and barley. Use too much water rather than too little. You can always pour off any excess. Get organic when you can. The toxic chemical sulfuryl fluoride is used as a pesticide when storing conventional grains, fruit, and nuts. [2009] - Frances Sheridan Goulart

Try the new specialty yogurts such as Activia and DanActive, which guarantee they contain the number of organisms listed on the label (the well-researched B. animalis and L. casei). Eat your yogurt with some prebiotic fiber for maximum benefits. Prebiotics are soluble dietary fibers that stimulate the growth of good bacteria. Look for FOS, XOS, GOS, or inulin among the ingredients. Aged cheeses like cheddar and blue are also rich in good bacteria--usually 3 to 10 million, depending on the length of aging. [2009] - Frances Sheridan Goulart

Bitter melon (aka balsam pear) contains a polypeptide that helps regulate blood sugar. [2009] - Frances Sheridan Goulart

According to the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, 95% of cancers are caused by diet and environment, not by genes. In the case of radiation, no exposure is too small to initiate cellular damage, according to Dr. John W. Gofman, M.D., professor emeritus of molecular and cell biology at the University of California at Berkeley. Whole body scans, heart scans, PET scans, and virtual colonoscopies emit tremendous amounts of radiation and should not be used for routine screening. Even magnetic resonance imaging scan (MRIs) and magnetic resonance angiograms (MRAs) emit electromagnetic radiations. Ultrasounds are completely safe. The cumulative effect from various sources of cancer causing substances may take from five to thirty years to develop into actual tumors. [2009] - Frances Sheridan Goulart

In countries where large amounts of garlic and onion are consumed daily, stomach cancer risk is 90% lower than in countries where it is a sometimes thing. [2009] - Frances Sheridan Goulart

Unless meat, poultry or fish are organic, these foods come with the burden of unhealthy saturated fats, growth hormones, chemical residues (meat and poultry), toxins like PCBs, and heavy metals (in many types of fish). [2009] - Frances Sheridan Goulart