What is a FoodTrient?

The inspiration for my empowering FoodTrients program—this website, the cookbook, my board of advisors—really came from my father.  He was a physician and he had a way of looking at food as though it could heal us.  He understood the value of the vitamins and minerals found in fresh foods and how those elements could influence our health.  Foods like organic fruits and vegetables, wild fish, and humanely raised animals have so many good things in it: antioxidants, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, anti-inflammatory agents, fiber, and anti-bacterial compounds.  I needed to come up with a term to encompass the anti-aging properties of food.  So I call them FoodTrients.  Think of them as the nutrients in our food that lead to our overall wellness and help us age gracefully. I focus on these FoodTrients in my cooking.  I start creating a recipe only after I find a fruit or grain or spice that has something beneficial to offer my body.  For instance, I know that the spice turmeric has powerful antioxidant and  anti-inflammatory properties. Turmeric can therefore reduce swelling in the arteries.  Arterial inflammation leads to things like blood clots and strokes.  I don’t want that! So I reach for turmeric.

So I know I want to get turmeric in my diet.  But how?  Unless I eat Indian food every night, I don’t normally come across this spice.  Here’s where I get to work.  I taste, I experiment, I make meal after meal until I hit upon a delicious recipe or two that incorporates this beneficial food.  To see what I came up with for this spice, look at my Turkey in Turmeric Saucerecipe.

Throughout this website and in my cookbooks, you’ll find that I focus on over 90 FoodTrients like fiber, isoflavones, curcumin, Omega-3s, and more. I’ll show you the benefits of these incredible anti-aging nutrients and how they lend themselves to 9 powerful, age-defying categories:

Anti-inflammatory

Reduces problematic, chronic inflammation throughout the body, helping the body age gracefully while lowering the risk of diseases and infections.

Antioxidant

Prevents and repairs oxidative damage to cells caused by free radicals.

Detox

Supports the body’s natural detoxification systems including liver function and health.

Disease prevention

Reduces risk factors for common degenerative and age-related diseases (like cancer and diabetes).

Gut health

Encourages healthy digestion and a vibrant community of microbes in the gut.

Immunity booster

Supports the body’s resistance to infection and strengthens immune vigilance and response. Includes anti-bacterials.

Mind

Improves mood, memory, and focus.

Strength

Protects bone density and joints, and helps repair and build tissue in muscles.

And I’ll also introduce you to some of the lesser known FoodTrients such as anthocyanins and anthocyanidins.  (For the sake of simplicity, I’ll use the term anthocyanins.)  These disease-fighting flavonoids are found in red, purple, and blue plants, especially berries, grapes and eggplant.  They have been shown to improve capillary function and inhibit the growth of cancer cells.  So if I need more anthocyanins in my diet, I come up with a recipe for blueberries like my Blueberry Hemp-Milk Smoothie.

On this website I’ll go into more detail about the FoodTrients I focus on in my cookbook and offer some delicious recipes for aging gracefully.