Vegan Fitness with Brendan Brazier – Superfoods Nutritional Over-Achievers and How to Harness Them Part 2

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White Chia

Packed with trace minerals, vitamins and essential fats, white chia is an ancient South American plant belonging to the mint family. Its seeds are small and round (similar to poppy seeds) and are a sound addition to any diet.

Because of its EFA profile, white chia seeds are most often compared with flaxseed. Both are rich in Omega-3—but white chia can be eaten whole and doesn’t need to be ground like flax does to make it digestible. White Chia tops the charts when it comes to fiber—it boasts more beneficial soluble and insoluble fiber than any other natural source. In fact, for every 12g (2 flat tablespoons) serving, top brands of white chia provide more than 5,000mg of fiber.

What gives white chia its superfood status? Its 20 percent high-quality protein and antioxidant content are a good place to start, but its real value is the specific combination of minerals it contains. White chia is high in magnesium, potassium, calcium and iron—nutrients particularly well-suited to supporting post-training recovery because of their use in muscle contractions and the rate they’re lost through sweat.

Dark Leafy Greens

Really, dark leafy greens count among the true staple foods when eating to thrive—they’re stellar examples of the fiber-rich carbohydrates I’ve stressed in nearly every lesson I’ve shared so far. So why include them in this section on superfoods, too? The nutritional value of dark leafy greens warrants special mention in the superfood pantheon, not only because dark leafy greens are an excellent source of calcium and are vitamin and mineral rich, but also because they’re alkaline-forming and full of active enzymes.

Want an even more compelling reason to count dark leafy greens as a superfood? Variety! With so many readily available sources to be had, you’re bound to discover a few favorites—and their ubiquitous nature means you’ll be able to include them on your menu wherever you go.

Pseudograins

These earned a whole column in our lesson on alkaline forming foods, though I didn’t cover them in much detail. What exactly are pseudograins? They’re actually seeds—and not grains in the classic sense. Pseudograins are often referred to as grains, in part because of their talent for graceful substitution in place of common grains.

Unlike the common grains in the standard North American diet (wheat, rye and oats) pseudograins don’t contain gluten. This lack of gluten makes them easily digestible and suitable for celiacs, who are gluten-intolerant, or those just sensitive to gluten.

I count pseudograins as a superfood group—while many pseudograins can stand on their own as superfoods in their own right, as a group the nutritional value of pseudograins stands head and shoulders above most other foods.

All alkaline-forming, here are the best examples—along with some of their individual superfood qualities:

• Buckwheat: rich in essential amino acid tryptophan—the critical component in serotonin production—buckwheat is a good choice for enhancing mood and mental clarity. High in protein, buckwheat’s particular protein structure is being studied for its unusually strong ability to bind to cholesterol. Also a good source of manganese and vitamins B and E, buckwheat contains compounds that are being studied for the treatment of type-2 diabetes, high blood pressure and elevated cholesterol.
• Amaranth: with two times the calcium of milk, three times the fiber and five times the iron of wheat flour, amaranth is also quite high in potassium, phosphorous and vitamins A, E and C. Particularly rich in lysine—an essential amino acid very difficult to find in plant-based sources—amaranth is a calcium-delivery powerhouse (lysine helps your body absorb calcium in the digestive tract, so in addition to being calcium-rich as a food, amaranth’s super-power is making sure its calcium is highly bio-available). It’s also 90% digestible, giving amaranth star-status as a high net-gain food.
• Quinoa: packed with B-vitamins and 20 percent protein—the highest of any pseudograin—quinoa is another good source of iron and potassium. Nutritionally similar to amaranth, quinoa is also quite high in lysine.
• Wild rice: another source of lysine and high in B-vitamins, this original North American aquatic grass thrives in the wild (native to the northern regions of Canadian Prairie provinces), so it’s seldom treated with pesticides.

Sprouts

You learned all about sprouts in your last lesson, so you already know that enzymatically alive and nutrient packed sprouts are one of the most complete and nutritional foods available. Sprouts deliver high net-gain nutrition with minimal energy cost through their pre-digested proteins and bio-available amino acids.

Coconut

Not just for macaroons, coconut is like getting two distinct superfoods in one: coconut oil and coconut water.

Coconut oil is rich in medium-chain triglycerides, or MCTs. Medium-chain triglycerides are unique—they’re a form of saturated fat—yet have several health benefits. Your body utilizes MCTs differently from other fats: digesting medium-chain triglycerides is nearly effortless and unlike saturated fats that do not contain MCTs (which become stored in your cells), MCTs are utilized in your liver. Within moments of being consumed, medium-chain triglycerides are converted by your liver to providing immediate energy.

Solid at room temperature, coconut oil is the only fat you’ll want to use for frying—that’s because it’s one of the only oils that can be heated to high temperatures without being converted into trans fats.

Coconut water is packed with electrolytes, making it ideal for keeping your body naturally hydrated. Where many athletes turn to sport drinks that are full of processed sugars, artificial flavors and additives, I choose coconut water to keep me hydrated.

Take Action:

• Make meals using some of the superfoods listed in this lesson and find creative ways to incorporate them into your routine. By now you’re probably already including dark leafy greens, sprouts and possibly pseudograins-continue to do so! If you’re not, start!

• Of the less-common superfoods you learned about today, the two with the biggest potential to make an impact on your health and wellness are maca and chlorella. 

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Brendan Brazier (born March 1, 1975, in Vancouver, British Columbia) is a Canadian endurance athlete, author, advocate of a plant-based diet for personal and environmental health, and creator of the Vega line of whole food nutritional products. Brazier is a former professional Ironman triathlete (1998–2004) and author of The Thrive Diet (Penguin, 2007) and Thrive Fitness (Penguin, 2009).

 
Brendan Brazier 纯素健身 – 营养丰富的“超级食物”及如何利用它们 第二部分

翻译：Song
审核：Scarlette

鼠尾草

富含微量矿物元素、维他命及必需的脂肪的鼠尾草是一种古南美属于薄荷家族的一种植物。它的种子小且圆润（类似于罂粟的种子）,可以添加到任何饮食当中

由于该物种自身的必需脂肪酸含量，鼠尾草常常和亚麻籽做比较。但是两种都富含Omega-3.但是鼠尾草可以直接食用，而不需要像亚麻籽那样研磨之后才容易消化。鼠尾草在纤维排行榜上常常位列靠前-它含有比其它天然来源更多有益的可溶性和不可溶的纤维。实际上，每12克鼠尾草中（两汤匙），顶级品牌的鼠尾草可提供超过5000毫克的纤维。

是什么赋予了鼠尾草活力食物的地位呢？它自身含有的20%左右的高质蛋白质和抗氧化物就能让我们窥斑见豹。但是它真正的价值在于特殊的微量元素。鼠尾草富含镁、钾、钙和铁等营养成分，由于他们用于在肌肉的收缩以及从汗液中排出，所以特别适合于训练后的恢复。

深色绿叶植物

真的，当吃主食的时候，几乎都是由深色的绿叶蔬菜占主导，在迄今为止我每一节课中分享的内容中，它们几乎是富含纤维碳水化合物的不变的例子。所以为什么把它们放在了活力食物这个版块？深色绿叶蔬菜的含有的营养价值在活力食物中的排行中也常常被提及，不仅仅是因为深色绿叶蔬菜是钙、维生素和多种矿物元素的丰富来源，而且也因为它们可以帮你塑造碱性体质且富含活性酶。

还需要更具有说服力的原因去把深色绿叶蔬菜列为活力食物吗？太多了！有太多的可用的资源了，你一定会找到你最喜欢的，以及众所周知的一些天然的方法，今后你不管去哪里，你都可以将它们都纳入你的菜谱中。

伪谷物

这些都将会成为我们在碱性食物课程当中的重要部分，即使我没多过多地讲述到细节部分。所以，伪谷物到底是什么？事实上它们是种子，但在传统意义上还算不上是谷物，伪谷物就常常被简称为谷物，部分原因是因为它们有与生俱来能够代替常见谷物的优点。

有别于在常见谷物在北美的饮食标准（小麦、黑麦和燕麦），伪谷物不含有麸质。正因为缺乏麸质而使得它们容易被消化和适用于那些不能食用含麸质食物的人，或者那些对麸质过敏的人。

我把伪谷物归于活力食物的一类，但许多伪谷物早将自己贴上了活力食物的标签，作为食物的一类，伪谷物的营养价值远远要高于很多其它种类的食物。

所有成碱性的食物，这里有最好的例子-连同一些个别活力食物的质量：

荞麦：富含人体所需的氨基酸色氨酸-在血清素的生成过程中有非常大的作用,荞麦对改善精神状况和思路有重要的作用。它富含的高蛋白质，对于结合胆固醇有非常大的作用，目前其蛋白质的结构组成也正在研究中。 荞麦也是锰和维生素B和维生素E很好的来源。荞麦含有的化合物正被研究以用作治疗高血压和胆固醇过高的药物。

苋菜：含钙量是牛奶的两倍，纤维量和和含铁量分别是小麦粉的3倍和5倍，苋菜也同样含有丰富的钾、磷和维生素A、E及C。尤其蕴含一种人体必需的氨基酸-赖氨酸，这是很难在其它植物上找到的物质。可以说苋菜是钙质的仓库（赖氨酸在食物消化的时候帮助吸收钙质，除了那些丰富如主食的钙质，苋菜蕴含的能量能够确保它富含的钙质有充分的生物利用性）由于苋菜90%都是可消化的，所以给苋菜一个这样与高纯度食物相媲美的地位。

藜麦：富含B族维生素和大约20%的蛋白质，在为谷物中的含量是最高的。藜麦含有铁和钾元素。从营养构成上来讲和苋菜很相似，藜麦也富含赖氨酸。

豆芽：在上节课我们了解了关于豆芽的一切，所以你能了解到活性酶和豆芽中所含的营养物质是最全面的营养食物之一。豆芽能够带来高纯度的营养以及在消化过程中最少的能量消耗和生物活性氨基酸

椰子：不仅是用于做杏仁饼，椰子可以做成两种明显不同的活力食物：椰子油和椰子汁
椰子油富含中链甘油三脂，也叫MCT。这是很独特的一种物质，它们是饱和脂肪的形态，但却对健康有好处。你的身体利用中链甘油三酯和利用其他脂肪的方式不同：消化中链甘油三酯几乎不费身体吹灰之力，而且不像不含中链甘油三酯的饱和脂肪那样难消化（这部分中链甘油三酯是存储在你的细胞里的），中链甘油三酯能在你的肝脏里发挥作用。在消耗的过程当中，中链甘油三酯将被你的肝脏直接转化成能量。
在常温下是成固态，椰子油是你唯一将会想要用来油炸的油，因为它是唯一的能在油炸的高温过程中不会产生反式脂肪的油。

注意
• 在你的日常饮食中选择这些列出的食物，也可以发挥想象力食用它们以符合你的饮食习惯。现在你有可能在喝一些深色绿叶植物、豆芽或者伪谷物的饮品，如果没有，那现在开始吧！
• 这是今天有关活力食物的介绍，对你健康影响最关键的两点是玛卡和小球藻。

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Brendan Brazier（1975年3月1日出生于英属哥伦比亚温哥华市）是一个加拿大耐力运动员，作家，倡导以植物为主的饮食习惯，也是Vega系列营养食品的创立者。Brazier也曾是一位铁人三项运动员（1998-2004）以及《The Thrive Diet》（企鹅出版社，2007年）和《Thrive Fitness》（企鹅出版社，2009年）的作者。