Four Must Have Super Foods

The title represents an all-around "trick question."

Firstly, the "Dash Diet" is neither "Dash" -- spelled title case -- nor a "diet," per se.

Secondly, categorizing four specific super foods as "must have" superfoods in the context of DASH -- or Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension -- involves another level of 'trick' question -- that of defining the super foods to serve as a foundation for a personalized DASH Action Plan dietary program.

Very brief research indicates that far more than four superfoods exist.  As an example, my personalized DASH action plan would include three forms of vegetable and one protein as super-food selections. 

Carrots.  This comes first for two reasons.  One, it is the only one with no alternative or similar superfood listed.  Second, I love carrots and have no issues with incorporating cooked carrots into meals several times a week.  For a change from regular boiled-and-sliced carrots, consider mashing your carrots and adding, as per your overall DASH allowances for fat or dairy, something like butter or sour cream or even yogurt.  Health benefits of carrot consumption include vision enhancement and retardation of risk of heart disease and some forms of cancer.

Dark, leafy vegetables.  Most super foods will list spinach as the premiere choice in this class, but dash diet participants can consider other options.  Green cabbage also qualifies in this category as do other choices in the cabbage family.  Mustard greens, collard greens, kale, and swiss chard also qualify in this category.  Health benefits include reduced risk of diabetes, osteoporosis and artheriosclerosis.

Salmon.  Okay, well, sort of.  This comes next-to-last because it exemplifies the trick question element of the title.  What list authors typically refer to is dark-fleshed, usually cold-water, fish that contains a good concentration of Omega oil.   Besides salmon, this includes mackeral, herring, and other fish in the herring family such as sardines and sprats.  Anchovies, trout, and even bluefin tuna also have moderately high to high Omega 3 fatty acid content. A Ladies’ Home Journal article also identifies snapper as a fish high not only in anti-inflammatory fats but also in the mineral selenium.  With salmon, specifically, the experts specify that you want wild-caught salmon rather than domestically farm-raised salmon.  Health benefits of salmon as a miracle food include improvements in cognitive function, cancer preventative action, and improved cardiovascular health.

Cabbage.  When experts list cabbage as a super-food, it takes only a quick skimming to determine that what the experts mean is "vegetables in the cabbage family."  In addition to several kinds of green cabbage as well as red cabbage, you can also include in this list brocolli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and even radishes and turnips.  This and the first category somewhat overlap, but not in entirety, and cabbage family vegetables also offer considerable versatility in preparation.  For example, you might combine a serving of cabbage-family greens in a cold luncheon salad plate with your allocated servings of cooked-and-cooled salmon or sardines for an enjoyable Lenten lunch-time meal.  Or, you might prepare a delicate salad by slicing radishes and serving them in a base of cottage cheese [perhaps also garnished with a leaf-form cabbage selection; or a few leaves of raw spinach.]  You can add some sparkle and interest to your DASH participation by adding such dishes, often found in regular traditional cookbooks, to your collection of DASH diet recipes.  Red cabbage, indeed, also contains the same pigment that gives blueberries their blue coloration:  blueberries and strawberries being the superfoods I would next include had the title referred to '5', rather than '4', superfoods.  Health benefits of consuming cabbage family foods include retardation of rheumatism, arthritis and gout; and retardation of skin disorders, heart disease, and even Alzheimer’s.

Any DASH diet participant should take his own preferred foods into account in planning around superfoods to customize DASH participation in such a way as to emphasize four [or any other number selected] particularly favorite super foods within the context of DASH.