Hall of Fame Ingredients

Healthy Oils

There are many healthy oils, such as olive oil, sesame seed oil, flax seed oil, grape seed oil and canola oil. To maximize their health benefits good oils need to be used properly. Keep it in a dark bottle or in your refrigerator-that's how to keep it healthy so it doesn't go rancid. Healthy oils are delicate, you have to treat them delicately.

Overheating good oils during cooking can damage them. Don't cook the oil, cook the food, which means put a tiny bit of oil in the pan, put the food in the oil and then put the food with the oil on it in the pan-that way the oil is preserved. It doesn't heat up and it doesn't get damaged by the heat.

Garlic

Garlic is great for our bodies. It actually helps the bacteria in your intestines and it also relaxes the arteries and it has a benefit with cancer. It's a great thing to add to your diet. It's present in a lot of cultures-we've forgotten it in America.

Salad dressing made with fresh garlic, lemon and olive oil is one of Oprah's favorites. It's a perfect dressing, It's the best way to have olive oil because you haven't heated it and you haven't damaged it.

Tomato Sauce

Eating 10 tablespoons of tomato sauce per week. Inside the tomato is a chemical called lycopene. This chemical has a wonderful effect-it's an antioxidant.

There are added benefits from eating tomato sauce or paste as opposed to plain tomatoes. A raw tomato is fine, too, but if you get a little fat with it-either with some nuts or a little olive oil and dressing-then it's perfect. It helps you absorb it better into your intestinal system.

Spinach

Jam-packed with nutrients, spinach is out-of-sight. This is the best thing for your eyes, It's better than carrots, and a lot of macular degeneration-which is a tragic ailment that affects vision-can actually be avoided by eating these kinds of foods that are rich in carotenoids and also have folic acids and a lot of other benefits. Sauté spinach with a little garlic and olive oil for a perfect side dish.

Raw Nuts

To maximize the benefits of the healthy oils found in nuts such as almonds, hazelnuts or walnuts they should be eaten raw and stored in the refrigerator. When you roast a nut, the healthy oils that are in there become damaged. The oils aren't supposed to be heated and damaged-they're supposed to be taken in their natural form.

Pomegranates

Research on the health benefits of pomegranates has shown promising results. We've done studies on them showing how they actually can change the way your arteries age-it's a very potent antioxidant, It also probably affects cancer rates, especially prostate cancer, but those studies haven't been finished yet.

Not only do pomegranates have extraordinary health benefits-they taste good, too.