Article By: John Fontana

There are few foods that truly deserve to be designated “All-stars” for nutritional, abundance and economic reasons. Of that all-star team, cabbage may very well deserve to play the role of captain. In baseball, a player that can hit for average, hit for power, run, catch and throw is called a “5-tool player.” In the world of food, cabbage may be one of the only 5-tool players in the game, consistently over-performing, while being under-appreciated.

The saying “never judge a book by its cover” has never held more truth than with cabbage. From looking at it, you would never expect cabbage to be so healthy. When you break into the heart of green cabbage the dominant color is white, which is not exactly the typical color we look for when hunting for healthy foods. Even if you look at the nutritional breakdown, checking into the vitamins and minerals, cabbage doesn’t seem to be all that amazing. Sure it is high in vitamin K and vitamin C, but other than that, it doesn’t seem to be all that amazing. But look deep into the chemical makeup of cabbage and you will find some health properties that can’t and shouldn’t be avoided.

Why So Good?

Fight The Enemy

As with many of the foods featured on Shadow Fit, cabbage does a great job protecting and fighting against cancer-causing free radicals. Cabbage holds certain phytochemicals that can increase the rate at which specific enzymes help to kill off free radicals, while also fighting against carcinogens.

The metabolism of estrogen plays a key role in women’s health and certain phytonutrients found in cabbage called indoles help the body metabolize estrogen in a positive manner, reducing the risk of cancer.

Special Veggies

Cabbage belongs to the Cruciferae family which is made up of broccoli, chard, sprouts and bok choy. Multiple studies have shown that cruciferous vegetables are in a league of their own when it comes to protecting the body from cancer. In these studies, people who ate less overall vegetables, but more crucifer veggies still had a lower risk of cancer (especially prostate). Cabbage can have a positive impact, helping protect against lung, colon, breast, bladder, prostate and ovarian cancers.

Calm The Fire

Inflammatory reactions that our bodies have to free radicals are the building blocks for many health issues such as cardiovascular disease, asthma, ulcers and allergies. The antioxidants found in cabbage can help reduce inflammation in the body, which will help prevent many of the aforementioned diseases. Anthocyanins, one type of antioxidant found in cabbage, can help keep keep blood vessels and connective tissue healthy and operating optimally.

What’cha Got?

As stated earlier, cabbage is host to high levels of vitamin K and vitamin C but also contains manganese, folate, calcium and potassium. Raw cabbage will hold about 2 grams of fiber per cup compared to 4 grams of fiber for cooked cabbage.

How To Eat?

Cabbage has a wide variety of uses but my guess is that it is most commonly used in coleslaw. Both raw and cooked cabbage show different health properties, so an effort should be made to incorporate both types. Even when cooking cabbage, you should only sauté or steam it for around 5 minutes or less on low-medium temperature. If you cook cabbage for too long on too high a heat, sulfur will be released giving you a nasty rotten egg smell, which I doubt you are looking for.

My favorite way to eat cabbage is by making cultured vegetables, which essentially turns cabbage into real sauerkraut. Cultured veggies are some of the healthiest and easiest foods to prepare in the world. To give you a quick rundown, all you have to do is chop up a variety of veggies, mix them in with a culture started, throw them into an air sealed container and let them sit at room temperature for about a week. When the week is through, you will have a food that is truly amazing for you and does wonders for your gut.  Just a heads up, the taste will be sour and the smell during the culturing process isn’t the greatest. I recommend storing the cultured veggies out of the way while they are “culturing” and then putting them in the fridge (which will subside the smell) after the week is through.

real sauerkraut

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I encourage any questions or comments, please:

Leave a response at the bottom of the article,

E-mail me personally at jfontana@shadowfit.com

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Article By: John Fontana

Besides chocolate, strawberries are perhaps the one food most commonly associated with sex. Pop culture has done a great job of placing strawberries in the hands of beautiful and seductive women for years, making it just about the sexiest food there is. Personally, strawberries have always been my favorite fruit, and that’s even before I could register their correlation with sex. There is something about a ripe, perfectly red strawberry that is extremely appetizing.

But the appeal of strawberries shouldn’t just be about aesthetics. They boast a very real heath appeal as well. Most people know strawberries are healthy, but the amount of health benefits is not widely recognized. For example, did you realize they had Omega-3 fatty acids in them? Didn’t think so. Keep reading and get ready to be awed.

Why So Healthy?

Fight Cancer

So you’re aware that strawberries are filled with antioxidants, but do you know how powerful those antioxidants are? Strawberry extracts have been shown to fight against both cervical and breast cancer. Studies have also shown that strawberries reduce the likelihood of tumors forming.

Prevent Arthritis

Phenols are a type of phytonutrient found in strawberries that help promote this amazing antioxidant activity. These phenols help fight the free radicals in our bodies that can sometimes develop into illness or disease. Cyclooxygenase (COX) is an enzyme found in the body that has been linked to arthritis and other types of inflammation. The phenols in strawberries can block COX and work as a pain reliever.

Get Your Vitamins

Vitamin C is also found in abundance in Strawberries (130+ % of daily value), in addition to manganese and potassium. One cup only yields 43 calories and contains valuable fiber and fatty acids.

Perhaps all the imagery of gorgeous women eating strawberries isn’t just about selling sex. Maybe the media’s actually known about strawberries’ major health impacts all along. If their taste alone wasn’t enough reason for you to start consistently eating them, their health benefits should.

How To Eat?

Go Organic

After all the positives, there is only one major drawback to strawberries. They have been recognized as one of the most contaminated fruits when it comes to pesticides and other chemicals. Conventional store-bought strawberries are loaded with sprays that make them look big and perfectly red. Unfortunately those sprays also make them full of chemicals that you should definitely avoid.

Since conventional strawberries are loaded with sprays, I highly recommend buying organic. Once you make the switch to organic, I guarantee you will taste the difference in flavor – you’ll actually start to notice the taste of chemicals in the conventional brand. It may be about a dollar more expensive to buy the organic type and they may not look quite as appetizing, but the decision will make a big difference. Buy from a local farm at a farmers market or pick them up at a health food store.
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I encourage any questions or comments, please:

Leave a response at the bottom of the article,

E-mail me personally at jfontana@shadowfit.com

or Tweet me @johnnyfontana on Twitter

Oranges get all the credit for being such a good source of vitamin C.  Sure they have a little over 100% the recommended daily value of C, but they don’t compete with Red Bell Peppers.   Red peppers have almost 300% the recommended daily value of vitamim C along with a few other fantastic nutrients.  On top of that red bell peppers are one of the most nutrient dense and versatile foods you can eat.  The good this is that when chopped up, you can throw them in many meals without even knowing they’re in there.

Why So Good?

Bell peppers have beta-carotene, which helps to reduce free radicals in your body.  Free radicals are your enemy, floating through your body causing damage to your cells.  Free radicals play a role in raised cholesterol in the arteries, nerve damage and the formation of cancer causing cells.

Red bell peppers also have lycopene, which has been proven to defend against prostate cancer.  The fiber that the peppers have can improve your colon health and also defend against colon cancer.

Red bell peppers also have vitamin A, B6, manganese, potassium and folate while only clocking in 24 calories per cup.  Talk about nutrient dense foods and red bell peppers are at the start of that conversation.

How To Eat?

Peppers can be eaten many different ways, whether it is raw, boiled, sautéed or roasted.  Cut out the middle stem and seeds before you start to cook with the peppers for best taste.

Peppers can be used in salads, with scrambled eggs or used as a bowl when making stuffed peppers.  They are a very versatile food that is good to eat because you are getting a wider array of colors in your meals when eating them.  A good rule of thumb is to get as much color as possible when it comes for fruits and vegetables.

One of the most powerful vegetables you can possibly eat is a rough textured leafy green that goes by the name of Kale.  Kale comes from the cabbage family and is not widely known or used in America.

Why So Good?

Kale has been ranked atop the list of vegetables for ORAC rating.  Oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) is a number that is given to fruits and vegetables that can fight free radicals, which damage your cells.  The USDA measured kale in at a 1770 ORAC rating which is about 500 points higher than the next vegetable (#2 spinach) on the list.

Kale is also host to powerful cancer fighting properties, which have been shown to protect from breast, cervical and colon cancer.  The veggie is packed with calcium, iron and vitamins A, C and K. As if everything already listed wasn’t enough, around two cups holds 4 grams of protein and 3 grams of fiber.

How To Eat?

Kale is not exactly the most appealing looking food right off the bat.  The leaves are rough in texture and thick, with thick hard stems.  It can be eaten war, but unless you are a raw-foodist or really into the raw taste and texture of kale, some other techniques are suggested.  It can also be steamed (which will soften the leaves and stems up), or roasted in the oven.

Attached is a recipe for cooking kale with orzo.  http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Orzo-with-Kale/Detail.aspx