MAKE THESE SIX FOODS A PART OF YOUR MEALS IN 2011, AND…

From watermelon to red cabbage, a study published in the January 2011 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association highlights reasons why these foods should be part of your diet and eating patterns that could lead to early death in adults
Some foods are so healthy they star on every nutrition expert’s super food list. But often missing on those lists are some nutritional gems or underrated foods that don’t get the attention they deserve.
Sorting out the best foods to eat is not always easy because the choices can be daunting. Adding to the confusion are overrated foods like salads that are perceived to be good for you but can be health horrors.
Here are six foods not typically thought of as nutritional powerhouses that can definitely upgrade your diet. Getting to know them — and understanding more about the nutritional goodness of foods in general — will help you to make more informed choices that can impact your health, weight, and wallet.
Criteria for the Best Foods
In order to make our best list, foods had to be whole foods that are familiar, widely available, affordable, nutrient-rich — and most importantly, taste great. After all, what good is a super food if it isn’t a culinary delight?
Beyond the obvious ‘health halo’ super foods like blueberries, nuts, and salmon, WebMD asked nutrition experts for their opinion of the best underrated foods that belong on your menus. Here are their top six picks:
Beans and Lentils
Make no beans about it, beans and lentils are among the most overlooked items in the grocery store. Beans really are nutrition superstars rich in protein, fiber, complex carbs, iron, magnesium, potassium, and zinc.
New York-based nutrition consultant and author of Read It Before You Eat It, Bonnie Taub-Dix, MA, RD says healthy foods like beans and lentils defy the recommendation to only shop the perimeter of the grocery store. “There are hundreds of essential foods like beans and lentils lining the shelves in the center aisles that should not be overlooked.”
Versatile and easy on your wallet, Taub-Dix suggests lowering the sodium in canned beans by approximately 40% by thoroughly rinsing the beans in water.
Elisa Zied, MS, RD, author of Nutrition at Your Fingertips, says we don’t come close to eating the three cups a week recommended by the U.S. government’s 2005 Dietary Guidelines. “Eating a diet rich in legumes can help promote weight loss and has been shown to lower LDL [low-density “bad” cholesterol] and raise HDL [high-density “good” cholesterol],” she says. 
Toss these nuggets into soups, stews, salads, grain medleys, or greens or create a veggie dip by pureeing beans and adding your favorite seasoning, like hummus made from chickpeas.
Watermelon
Watermelon is everyone’s favorite summertime fruit. But because it is so naturally sweet, some people avoid it because they think it is high in sugar.
Elizabeth Ward, MS, RD and author of Expect the Best, says watermelon should be a staple in everyone’s diet. “It is fun to eat, sweet, juicy, low in calories, and chock full of vitamins C, A, potassium, and lycopene. Because it is so high in water, it helps meet fluid needs.”
A bonus is that the thick peel keeps pesticides far from the flesh, earning it a spot on the Environmental Working Groups ‘clean 15’ produce with least pesticide residue.
Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes are often thought of as high in calories and carbs because they are so naturally sweet. But don’t let that fool you.
American Dietetic Association spokeswoman Heather Mangieri, MS, RD says “sweet potatoes are nutritional all-stars and one of the best vegetables you can eat. Not only are they a great source of beta carotene, vitamin C, fiber, and potassium, but this highly underrated vegetable is so versatile it can be enjoyed with very few extra calories or embellishment.”
She suggests topping a slow-baked sweet potato with a sprinkle of cinnamon, applesauce, and crushed pineapple — or black beans and salsa. Other options: Mash it or slice into fries and oven bake until golden brown.
Red Cabbage
Sarasota, Fla., physician and registered dietitian Christine Gerbstadt MD, RD, votes for the cruciferous vegetable, red cabbage.
“A great source of fiber, vitamins A, D, and K; folate; and lots of trace minerals with only 22 calories in one cup chopped,” Gerbstadt says. “ Rich in antioxidants, this veggie can boost cancer-fighting enzymes. You can eat it raw, cooked, sweet, savory, stand-alone in a dish like coleslaw, or add it to almost anything from soups, salads, casseroles, sandwiches, burgers, and more.”
She suggests keeping a head of red cabbage in your crisper to inspire creative ways to add more color and nutrition to your meals.
Canned Tomatoes
Fire-roasted petite diced tomatoes are a staple in the pantry of Georgia State University professor emeritus Chris Rosenbloom, PhD, RD. “Everyone thinks fresh is best but cooking tomatoes helps release some of the disease-fighting lycopene so it is better absorbed,” Rosenbloom says.
A study in the 2009 Journal of Clinical Oncology shows that a diet rich in tomatoes may help prevent prostate cancer and that lycopene, a strong antioxidant, may also help prevent other types of cancer. Of course, many other lifestyle and genetic factors also affect cancer risk.
Stock your pantry with canned tomatoes for pizza, spaghetti sauce, and home-made salsa or toss a can into soups, stews, casseroles, greens, or pasta dishes. And if your power goes out, “canned foods are a lifesaver,” Rosenbloom says.
If canned tomatoes are not your favorite, how about low-sodium vegetable juice? Miami registered dietitian Sheah Rarback, MS, RD, nominates the vegetable juice that has been around for a long time with only 140 mg sodium and an excellent source of vitamin C and potassium.
Plain, Nonfat Greek Yogurt
There are many yogurts on the market, and plain, nonfat Greek yogurt is a standout.
All yogurts are excellent sources of calcium, potassium, protein, zinc, and vitamins B6 and B12. What distinguishes Greek yogurt is its thicker, creamier texture because the liquid whey is strained out. Also, it contains probiotic cultures and is lower in lactose and has twice the protein content of regular yogurts.
“Skip the extra sugar calories found in most yogurts and pump up the protein by choosing Greek yogurt that contains twice as much protein, which is great for weight control because it keeps you feeling full longer,” says Judith Rodriguez, PhD, RD, president of the American Dietetic Association and nutrition professor at University of North Florida.
Rodriguez suggests pairing the tart yogurt with the natural sweetness of fresh fruit or your favorite whole grain cereal.
Eating Patterns That Make Older Adults Die Sooner
Two specific eating patterns increase the risk of death for older adults, a 10-year study finds.
Compared to people who ate healthy foods, men and women in their 70s had a 40 per cent higher risk of death if they got most of their calories from high-fat dairy foods or from sweets and desserts.
University of Maryland researcher Amy L. Anderson, PhD, and colleagues monitored the eating patterns of 2,582 adults aged 70 to 79. They found that these diets fell into six patterns or clusters.
After adjusting for risk factors such as sex, age, race, education, physical activity, smoking, and total calories, “the High-Fat Dairy Products cluster and the Sweets and Desserts cluster still showed significantly higher risk of mortality than the Healthy Foods cluster,” Anderson and colleagues found.
The six dietary patterns were:
Healthy Foods: Higher intake of low-fat dairy products, fruit, whole grains, poultry, fish, and vegetables. Lower intake of meat, fried foods, sweets, high-energy drinks, and added fat.
High-Fat Dairy Products: Higher intake of ice cream, cheese, and two per cent and whole milk and yogurt. Lower intake of poultry, low-fat dairy products, rice, and pasta.
Sweets and Desserts: Higher intake of doughnuts, cake, cookies, pudding, chocolate, and candy. Lower intake of fruit, fish and other seafood, and dark green vegetables.
Meat, Fried Foods, and Alcohol: Higher intake of beer, liquor, fried chicken, mayonnaise/salad dressings, high-energy density drinks, nuts, snacks, rice/pasta dishes, and added fat. Lower intake of low-fat dairy products, fiber/bran breakfast cereal, and other breakfast cereal.
Breakfast Cereal: Higher intake of fiber/bran and other breakfast cereals (especially the latter). Low intake of nuts, refined grains, dark yellow vegetables, and dark green vegetables.
Refined Grains: Higher intake of refined grains (such as pancakes, waffles, breads, muffins, and cooked cereals such as oatmeal) and processed meat (such as bacon, sausage, ham, and other lunchmeats). Lower intake of liquor, breakfast cereals, and whole grains.
Several of the groups got an unusually large amount of their total calories from just one food group:
*The sweets and desserts cluster got 25.8 per cent of its total energy from sweets.
*The refined grains cluster got 24.6 per cent of its total energy from refined grains.
*The breakfast cereal group got 19.3 per cent of its total energy from cold cereals other than those full of fiber and bran.
*The high-fat dairy products group got 17.1 per cent of its total energy from higher-fat dairy foods. 
Healthy Eaters Live Longest
Overall, people in the healthy foods cluster had more years of healthy life and a lower death rate than all other groups. Moreover, their blood tests came back with significantly more indicators of health than the other groups.
But not all of the study findings were so predictable. “Unexpectedly, in this and in several other studies, a (dietary) pattern higher in red meat was not significantly associated with increased risk of mortality,” Anderson and colleagues note.
It’s also not entirely clear why the Meat, Fried Food, and Alcohol cluster didn’t have a significantly higher death risk, as most diets warn people to limit or avoid such foods.
“In our study, the Meat, Fried Food, and Alcohol cluster did have a slightly higher percentage of total energy from vegetables, fruit, and whole grains than both the High-Fat Dairy Products and Sweets and Desserts clusters, which showed higher risk of mortality,” Anderson and colleagues suggest.
This was by far the most common eating pattern seen in the study: 27 per cent of participants were in the meat, fried food, and alcohol cluster. But Anderson and colleagues do not recommend such a diet.
Instead, they point to the fact that 14.5 per cent of study participants were in the healthy foods cluster.
“Adherence to such a diet appears a feasible and realistic recommendation for potentially improved survival and quality of life in the growing older adult population,” Anderson and colleagues conclude.
The study appears in the January 2011 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

Source: www.webmd