12 Steps to Whole Foods

Reaping a Gardener’s Rewards
red, yellow, and orange varieties are usually rather expensive to buy. When you grow them yourself, you can
rest assured you have inexpensive, organic produce.
For recipes, see “Bell Pepper Recipes” on page 143.
Why Should I Grow and Eat Chard?
I find rainbow, swiss, and red chard to be the longest-lasting, most prolific
green in my garden: I harvest several varieties from spring until well past the
first frost. The stalks grow to be as much as 2’ long, providing a great deal of
food—both the leaves and stalks are highly nutritious and full of fiber. You
can cut stalks from the perennial plant, and they will regrow. It’s one of the
mildest-flavored greens for making green smoothies and, unlike spinach,
chard doesn’t bolt easily in hot weather.
Swiss chard is particularly high in vitamins K, A, and C as well as potassium,
manganese, and magnesium. Chard and other greens like it have been
documented to contain phytonutrients called anthocyanins, which prevent
digestive tract cancers. Including chard in your diet can protect the kidneys of
diabetics, and its high fiber content can prevent high blood pressure and
atherosclerosis. Vitamin K is necessary for bone mineralization and has been
documented to dramatically lower the risk of cataracts.
Chard is also high in beta-carotene, which lowers the risk of skin cancers, and
a study shows that eating it may lower emphysema risk in those who are exposed to smoking.
For recipes, see “Chard Recipes” on page 146.
Why Should I Grow and Eat Carrots?
Everyone knows that eating carrots preserves your eyesight because of beta-carotene, which improves night
vision and prevents macular degeneration and cataracts. But other lesser known nutrients in carrots called
alpha-carotene and falcarinol also dramatically decrease the risk of cancers of the bladder, colon, esophagus,
larynx, prostate, and cervix. And at least half a dozen studies link carotenoid-rich foods like carrots to reduced
risk of heart attacks.
Eating even one carrot daily can cut lung cancer rates in half. Carrots are high in fiber and an excellent source
of vitamins A, K, and C as well as potassium. They keep well in cold storage and sustain indigenous peoples
through the winter along with other root vegetables such as onions, potatoes, and beets. Beta-carotene is not
destroyed by cooking, and their sugars become more bioavailable when carrots are steamed or lightly sautéed.
Carrots got a bad rap as being high in sugars during the anti-carb craze, but eating them actually is beneficial to
blood sugar regulation and is inversely associated with insulin resistance, possibly because of their high fiber
content. No evidence links them to diabetes, despite the hype and conjecture of the high-protein diet doctors.
For recipes, see “Carrot Recipes” on page 144.
© Copyright Robyn Openshaw 12 Steps to Whole Foods 125