The term ‘superfood’ is fancy these days, usually referring to micronutrient-rich, natural foods, and is being used to describe a lot of things. In this article, I present 3 simple and great natural superfoods!
I. Seafood
From an evolutionary and quantum biological point of view, nothing beats seafood in the human diet. Our current brain size could not have come into existence without our ancestors eating fish, shellfish, crustaceans and other seafood for a long period of time during evolution.
These foods contain the highest levels of the important brain building blocks, omega-3 fatty acid DHA and iodine, all in one package in the most absorbable form.
DHA is one of the most important molecules in the development of advanced life, without it humans would not have reached their current level of development. It has existed in unaltered form in nature for 600 million years.
DHA is able to capture light (photons) and convert it into direct electric currents (electrons) and back again, in the brain, in our sensory organs and in our nervous system (Crawford, 2013).
Iodine, in the form of the iodide ion, is a great antioxidant in the brain and synapses. Among other things, various forms of iodine protect the double bonds of arachidonic acid (AA) and DHA from oxidation.
If you look at iodine and fluorine in the periodic table, you can see that both have seven valence electrons (electrons on the outer electron shells of the atoms that participate in chemical reactions and bonds), but because fluorine has far fewer components and a smaller volume, its positively charged nucleus of protons is much more attracted to its negative outer electrons.
Fluorine is the element with the highest electronegativity. The value of electronegativity determines the strength with which an atom attracts electrons in a bond compared to another atom. The periodic table increases diagonally from francium in the lower left corner to fluorine in the upper right corner.
In contrast, the iodine atom contains many particles and is large, so the attraction of the nucleus to the outer valence electrons is less strong and they are more free. In its ionic iodide form, it can more easily donate its extra electrons.
Evolution has chosen iodide as the “mate” of DHA because it can easily donate electrons to it, protecting the electron cloud of DHA from oxidation.
DHA accumulates mainly in synapses between nerve cells. It is here that the cell membrane is the most unsaturated, where it is most needed, because this is where chemical and electrical signaling takes place. The stability of cell membranes would be important in the prevention of neurodegenerative diseases.
It is likely that we lost our ability to synthesize vitamin C during evolution because it could not adequately protect our increasingly evolved nervous system, and iodine has proved to be much better suited to this task because it is a more powerful antioxidant.
Why is there a worldwide shortage of iodine today, why don’t we store it in large quantities if it is so important? Again, the answer lies at the seaside, where there was an abundant supply of iodine-rich food, so there was no need to stockpile large quantities.
Another major effect from the modern era is that other halogen elements (fluorine, chlorine, bromine) interfere with the action of iodine because they are incorporated in place of iodine through their similar structure, but they cannot perform the same function, they are toxic. Fluoride may be familiar from toothpastes (and drinking water in the USA). Chlorine is found in our drinking water, plastics and swimming pool water, and bromide is found as an additive, in plastics and in pharmaceuticals (Brownstein, 2009).
Iodine is also found in our thyroid hormones. Why is thyroid hormone T3 so important? It is required for the production of virtually all steroid hormones because it catalyses the conversion of cholesterol pregnenolone, along with vitamin A. Pregnenolone is then converted in several steps into testosterone, estrogen and other hormones.
A recurring concern is that seafood is full of mercury and plastics, etc., so many people avoid it. There is a basis for this, as we pollute the seas, unfortunately these toxins accumulate in the marine food chain.
However, it is not that simple, they have a linear biological toxicity! Seafood also contains in one package the best detoxifying micronutrients such as selenium, zinc, C, D, B12 and other B vitamins.
Furthermore, if you sleep well, have a good circadian rhythm (let your liver work in the evening, good energy production in the mitochondria, good leptin sensitivity, good redox potential), you will excrete toxins without any problems. I’m not talking about extreme amounts, of course, just as much as is found in seafood.
What you can do to avoid harm is to choose smaller, younger fish and mollusks. As you move up the food chain and the fish get older, the toxins build up in the higher up the food chain, so an old apex predator will be the most contaminated. So swordfish, tuna, shark, king mackerel can all be more dangerous in this respect. If you are healthy, you can easily cope with these.
Overall, eat seafood rather than skip it, because the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks, just choose smaller animals from the cleanest possible sources.
I recommend eating them on a daily basis, but at least 1-2 times a week. Especially for those who are exposed to a lot of artificial light in their daily lives, staying awake overnight. Blue light slowly degrades the DHA molecules and interferes with the DHA regeneration cycle (see Bazan effect). They should therefore be replaced somehow.
The king of seafood is oysters, but this is not an easy and cheap food to obtain. Any kind of fresh or frozen fish, other shellfish, crabs, octopus are good. And for the occasional fast food, a good can of sardines. Of course, instead of the sunflower oil version, you might prefer a version swimming in brine or olive oil. Also, occasionally a little smoked or dried fish, raw herring in vinegar (if very pickled, it is recommended to rinse thoroughly).
Most fresh seafood can be eaten raw, but it is good to have a little heat treatment to be on the safe side. Most frozen seafood is in a pre-cooked state, so it is actually enough to wash them and give them a gentle heat treatment for 1-2 minutes.
II. Liver
The best natural land-based multivitamin. When looking at predators habits, prey is often eaten whole, with bones, but often only the more nutrient-dense parts (liver, brain) are eaten. The muscle meat – which everyone now identifies with meat-eating – playing a secondary role.
Eskimos and other northern people eat meat raw, often eating the blood, brain and liver of the prey with some meat. There is a reason why they also eat meat or blood raw, they instinctively realized that this was the only way to meet their vitamin C needs in this region. Polar bear liver, on the other hand, is avoided, even by dogs, because of its high vitamin A content, which can lead to fatal poisoning.
The liver is an excellent source of vitamins A, B, C, iron, copper, calcium, magnesium, folic acid, choline, coenzyme Q10, etc.
The liver is indeed a detoxifying organ, but its job is not to store the toxins that the animal has consumed throughout its life – like a stamp collection – but to transform and filter them, sending them to the circulation and excretory organs. Of course, what the animal has eaten, its natural diet or a grain-based feed that is not good for its fatty acid and other nutrient composition, also matters here.
I recommend a normal ration of 1-3 times a week. Or a nice tactic is to cut it into small cubes and put it in the freezer, so you can eat a smaller amount multivitamin each day. Calf’s liver, beef liver, pork liver, duck liver, goose liver, chicken liver… They can all be used, in that order or so. Other offal such as marrow, bone marrow, blood, heart, kidney, spleen are also super vitamin bombs.
My favorite is veal liver steak, it’s ready in 1-2 minutes. It can be eaten raw if you get it from a safe source.
III. Meat soup, jelly and therapeutic bone broth
There is a good reason why there is a long tradition of meat soup at Sunday lunch (at least in Hungary). Fortunately, our ancestors also instinctively realized what a nutrient-rich meal could be made from meaty bones, water and some vegetables.
Traditional broth is also an excellent food, but so called therapeutic bone broth cooked for a long time (12-24-48 hours) is even better. Try to include as many bones, cartilage-skin-joint parts as possible. And spiced up with a marrowy bone, it’s a real treat!
Bones of beef or game are probably the best, but poultry is fine too. Gourmets can even try using leftovers from seafood (mussel shells, crab shells, fish backbones and spines), with other seasonings such as turmeric and pepper.
Meat and bone broth, jelly are all good for the digestive system, intestinal flora, cartilage, joints, skin, hair, nails and even have a general anti-inflammatory effect.
Why are meat soup, bone broth and jelly good for you? They are full of collagen, which can form structured water in the neighborhood. In addition to collagen, it contains glutamine, glycine, calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, etc..
Collagen is the most abundant protein in our body, accounting for 60-70% of connective tissue. Interestingly, quantum biology explains that humans also use semiconductors similar to computer chips. This was already stated by Albert Szent-Györgyi in the 1940s and later experimentally confirmed by Robert O. Becker. Collagen is a P-type semiconductor and water is an N-type semiconductor.
The main constituent of human semiconductors is collagen and the structured, ordered layer of water that forms in its vicinity. And in mitochondria, we produce ATP because this molecule is needed to change the structure of the space when it is attached to collagen, so that water can be ordered next to it. This is how we get ’human battery’, the charge separated water. So it doesn’t hurt to have a good supply of collagen, it helps the inside electronics to function well.
I recommend at least 1x a week, but you can eat also every day. Also, a handy idea is to freeze small portions and drink a glass of it warmed up daily.
Are your basics OK? The 3 superfoods listed are all excellent sources of protein and fat, plus they contain all the important vitamins and minerals and micronutrients. Tenths of a second off the top 3 podium, but also nutrient-dense, are meats from game and grazing animals. It’s worth eating the above 3 food categories regularly before looking for any other exotic, fancy superfoods. And they’re super delicious too!
Check the PART 2. of the article: 10 hunter-gatherer superfood
References
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23206328
- Dr. David Brownstein: Iodine: Why You Need It, Why You Can’t Live Without It. Medical Alternatives Press, 2009
- Jack Kruse: Epi-paleo RX
- Robert O. Becker: The body electric
- Gerald Pollack: The fourth phase of water
- Sáfrán Mihály: A paleón túl (Beyond paleo – currently only in Hungarian)
- Mezei Elmira, Sáfrán Mihály: Vad paleo (Wild paleo – currently only in Hungarian)
- Sáfrán Mihály: Napfény diéta (Sunlight diet – currently only in Hungarian)