Dean L. Jones, C.P.M.

Sometimes you may find yourself craving sugary tastes that you regretfully eat when consuming some non-nutritional items like sodas, candies or pastries.  On the other hand, there are quite a number of great foods that work to eliminate those sugar cravings by rounding out your complete nutritional needs.  I am talking about black foods, which have more antioxidants than light-colored foods because of their higher pigment content.

You have got to love pigmentation and plant pigments even work to lower the risk for health problems like diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.  My most popular black food is black beans and I am working on increasing the consumption of black garlic.  Secondly, I enjoy eating lentils, which have high levels of soluble fiber that helps with lowering my cholesterol and improving the immune system.

Black foods have some tremendous effects with reducing sugar cravings, because the darker the color of natural foods the more packed they are with anthocyanins, which are pigments that lower the risk of cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.  I understand black garlic can be used like traditional garlic with delicious results because it more sweet and reminiscent of molasses.

Black pasta contains squid ink that has been shown to stop the growth of new blood vessels which is believed to slow the growth of cancer.  Black sesame seeds are surprisingly high in calcium and black rice has been found to contain more anthocyanin antioxidants than a spoonful of blueberries, but I always eat more than a spoonful because I just love blueberries.

If you have some dollars to spend the mushroom family has a whole lot of nutrient rich items, including shiitake, black trumpet, wild morels, lion’s mane and other types of black forest mushrooms.  It is said that a compound contained inside these black mushrooms will stimulate the immune system and they contain an antioxidant that can help prevent premature aging and cancer.

Whenever I reminisce about my south Los Angeles roots and how getting fruit from trees growing freely around your house and neighbor’s yard was common.  Before the dreaded Med-Fly era, many of the residents had fig trees and little did I known then that figs are very high in fiber, potassium, manganese, and a rare fruit source of calcium.

Blackberries are a fiber-rich food because they contain polyphenols that help reduce cognitive decline in older age by cleaning up cells that impair brain function.  Likewise, black tea contains theaflavins, which is an antioxidant that scientific studies reveal where it may improve recovery from muscle soreness after intense exercise.  In addition, drinking black tea may also lower your risk of having a heart attack.

Overall, eating black food can be considered the fresh black power.  Accordingly, spread this sugar alert and give more power to your people.

www.SugarAlert.com
Mr. Jones, is a marketing strategist with the Southland Partnership Corporation (a public benefit organization), sharing his view on mismanagement practices of packaged foods & beverages.