Power foods

Health benefits of almonds, broccoli, and red wine

After almonds, broccoli, and red wine appeared on the list of "power foods" dieters started asking us questions about their health benefits. Our readers' questions about nutrition values of almonds, broccoli, and red wine are answered by Tanya Zilberter, PhD

Almonds help reducing cholesterol better than oats and soy, the two recognized champions. Eating a handful of almonds with skins a day reduce risk of heart disease.

A study published in the May 2005 issue of the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that almonds can reduce artery-damaging inflammation.

Another study involving overweight and obese people showed that an almond-enriched low calorie diet can help shed pounds more effectively than a low calorie diet alone. Dieters eating almonds had a 62% greater fat and inches loss(International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders, January 2, 2004)

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Recent dieting trend turned to the benefits of red wine. The Mediterranean group of traditional diets have red wine on their staple food list, along with olive oil and fish. Research showed that having a glass of red wine daily can prevent heart disease.

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Broccoli is considered a power food because of its exceptional nutritional value. As an article published in September 2004 issue of the Journal of Nutrition revealed, it contains plant chemicals with significant cancer-preventive effects.

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Broccoli is one of the small number of vegetables and fruits that significantly reduced the risk of heart disease, as showed research reported in May 4, 2004 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Here's an almost full list of nutrients in 1 cup of broccoli (first figure is amount; % is for Daily Values):

Calories 24.64
Calories from Fat 2.77
Total Fat 0.308g 0%
Saturated Fat 0.0475g 0%
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.147g
Monounsaturated Fat 0.0211g
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 23.76mg 1%
Potassium 286mg 8%
Total Carbohydrate 4.61g 2%
Dietary Fiber 2.64g 11%
Protein 2.62g 5%