Foods You Probably Aren't Eating -- But Should

Many of my clients submit food logs to me regularly, and the one common theme I see on these logs is repetition. While their eating habits significantly improve over time, their actual food choices rarely vary. We can all get stuck in a food rut, but doing so may mean that we are missing out on certain essential vitamins and minerals, and consequently, we are missing out on a variety of ways to live longer and better. I advise my clients to throw a food curveball in every once in a while and explore the world beyond their typical pantry and refrigerator. Here are five foods you may want to add to your menu!

1 of 5

Kimchi

1 of 6

First Slide

Previous Slide

@

A staple in Korean cuisine, Kimchi is made by fermenting cabbage or other vegetables, and can be used as a side dish or mixed with other foods as a main dish. Fermented foods can offer a variety of gastrointestinal benefits through their formation of probiotics (healthy bacteria) in the gastrointestinal tract. Kimchi's superstar bacteria, Lactobacillus, has been found to help reduce gas, indigestion and bloating -- it may even reduce the number of yeast infections and aid in weight loss.

Syria Bombing 3/6 (CLONED)

Archival Photographs From World War II

Bruce Beresford-Redman

Limbaugh Advertisers

marisa

A staple in Korean cuisine, Kimchi is made by fermenting cabbage or other vegetables, and can be used as a side dish or mixed with other foods as a main dish.

Fermented foods can offer a variety of gastrointestinal benefits through their formation of probiotics (healthy bacteria) in the gastrointestinal tract. Kimchi's superstar bacteria, Lactobacillus, has been found to help reduce gas, indigestion and bloating -- it may even reduce the number of yeast infections and aid in weight loss.

comments(180)

Total comments: 180 | Post a Comment

1 of 6

This Food

Rank #2  |  Average: 4

Not my taste Delicious!

• 
  1
• 
  2
• 
  3
• 
  4
• 
  5
• 
  6
• 
  7
• 
  8
• 
  9
• 
  10

Top 5 Foods

loading...

Top 5 Foods

UserName

 | Become a fan

Picked These as the Top 5 Slides in the Slideshow

loading...

Top User Slides

← Prev|Next →

 | Become a fan

Picked These as the Top 5 Slides in the Slideshow

loading...

Users who voted on this slide

← Prev|Next →

loading...

 

Follow Kristin Kirkpatrick, M.S., R.D., L.D. on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ClevelandClinic

Comments

[JacobPoscholann]

04:51 AM on 05/12/2011

Okay I wonder how we can conclude that vitamines are even important? I never eat any fruit at all. Only junkfood and meat kinda. Even so I have max in all vitamines in my blood. Please just tell people the truth, that fruit isn't important - that vitamine pills reduce your age and that vitamines is just a theory still...

[WarriorLemming]

07:56 AM on 05/10/2011

I would love to try Kimchi I heard the guys who had been stationed in Korea tell how great tasting it was.

[Candy Rall]

09:08 AM on 05/20/2011

I lived in Hawaii for nine years and we ate a lot of Asian food. Kimchee is really good they have all kinds of varieties it's basically just pickled and spiced. Cabbage, zucchini, etc all the veggies-cucumber kimchee is my fav. My daughter was born there and she loves her some kimchee.

[JennZ]

02:56 AM on 05/10/2011

All of these foods are truly good for you and amazing. I am a vegetarian that became so 5 years ago. I went totally natural and organic and stopped eating meat. I do not ingest HFCS or anything artificial. I am healthier than ever! Also, I lost 40 pounds (baby weight) from going veg. Healthy just is healthy no matter if it's the MSM reporting. What is good for you simply is good for you and the more natural and unprocessed the better. Period. Also, it is possible to bargain shop and save money while buying organic. Many natural food store shop brands are very affordable. Coupons are available and sales are often. Whole Foods does a comparison in their newsletter of organic/natural vs conventional and most of the time the discrepancy is cents, not dollars (as do many websites not associated with a corp shop). It's a myth that organic food is more expensive, a myth perpetuated by large corporations making money off of our love of junk food and ignorance about health. Of course, certain stores are typically more expensive, but if you simply put a bit of effort into shopping, you can live on a modest budget and afford the good stuff!

[jeb29615]

11:40 AM on 05/09/2011

Besides the kiwi I would rather STARVE to death than eat any of this NASTY food...fermented cabbage...gimme a break...
Rather that incorporate these foods into a diet how about just un-incorporating foods like fast food, chips, cake, pie, cookies, candy, etc...

[jon girodes]

10:52 AM on 05/09/2011

Good article. I am always seeking new information to assit me with improving my diet.

Jon Girodes

[yappnmutt]

10:49 PM on 05/08/2011

nice to see kimchi getting a nod. 40 years ago i introduced my college roommates to it and they tried to ban it ban it from the apartment. i like the recipes with the strong fish paste(rotten fish) and garlic components. i doubt that is what most of you non koreans are tasting. it is usually too strong for the western palate.

[rainkitty]

06:20 PM on 05/08/2011

"Some researchers believe turmeric may prevent and slow the growth of a number of types of cancer."
http://tinyurl.com/4jgehjr

Turmeric 'Kills Cancer Cells'
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/28/turmeric-kills-cancer-cel_n_336850.html

[JennZ]

02:50 AM on 05/10/2011

This is very true! :)

[lady2soothe]

04:43 PM on 05/08/2011

For those of you skipping Kimchi, you are missing a wonderful pickled treat....Kimch also comes fresh (ok, maybe not as nutritious) in mild, medium & hot. Don't let the old buried in the ground, rotting cabbage concept deter you from trying an amazing delicacy.

[ranchero42]

07:38 PM on 05/08/2011

Tom Robbins likes his with lots of mayo and tuna on white bread - find his favorite restaurant in Anacortes (La Conner?) and they'll gladly serve it to you.

Wait a minute - you didn't marry that guy, did you?

[BlueOnBlue]

03:47 PM on 05/08/2011

Kimchi? Curcumin?

I'm getting really tired of all the wonder foods I'm supposed to incorporate in my diet.

I'm the cook and shopper around here, but my wife watches Dr. Oz every morning and nearly every darned day there's another wonder food I'm supposed to go and find. The latest was black pasta, made with squid ink? Oh, yeah, I'll run right down to the supermarket and get some of that.

Besides the scarcity of these things, there's the cost. Elderberry juice costs 12 bucks for 16 ounces!

I've been willing to go organic. I've been willing to cut meat down until it's just an occasional ingredient. I've been willing, even, to use whole wheat pasta (thank god my Italian grandmother is dead and won't know). But, I'm drawing the line at squid ink. Maybe I'll draw the line with squid ink.

[incredulousnyc]

06:41 PM on 05/08/2011

Your post gave me a good chuckle. You have to remember that these are just suggestions. I like to try this stuff if I can get it and it's not too expensive and perhaps incorporate it into my rotating menu at home. You sound like you're concerned about the quality of food you eat, so perhaps you can find a few good, new ideas to freshen up your routine menu. Sure, some will be too expensive and some not available in your area.. but good to know about none-the-less. Now, if your wife is sending you all over earth to find this stuff, that's another issue all together! Anyway... good luck to you.

[BlackRabbit]

08:35 PM on 05/08/2011

I'm with you.

Keep your diet varied, with lots of fruits and vegetables, don't overdo the rich or processed foods, and, well, that's about it really.

Most of the claims for miracle foods don't hold up under proper clinical studies.

[seedoubleyou]

02:25 PM on 05/08/2011

Kiwis can usually be peeled easily (unless they are very unripe) by cutting them in half, them slipping a spoon under the skin. The fruit will slide right out.

[BlackRabbit]

08:27 PM on 05/08/2011

Why bother? It's easy enough to avoid the skin while eating, just like an orange.

But the peel has a nice sour taste to it, if a bit furry.

[Caitlin Witte]

04:53 PM on 05/09/2011

Glad to see i'm not the only one who eats kiwi with the peel on. i love the sour taste it adds!

[seedoubleyou]

11:05 PM on 05/08/2011

You sir, have a stronger -- and probably better-- palate than me.

[trish333]

11:57 AM on 05/08/2011

No kimchi. EVER.

[texlib2112]

09:37 AM on 05/08/2011

I love to eat kiwifruit in the morning - That is some good stuff -

[LAguy]

06:35 AM on 05/08/2011

Elderberries -- I'm sorry I haven't been able to take elderberries seriously since Monty Python "Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries . . . Now go away or I shall taunt you a second time."

[texlib2112]

09:35 AM on 05/08/2011

That was the first thing that came to my mind when I saw Elderberries.

[H P]

09:28 PM on 05/09/2011

LOL... " I shall taunt you a second time' too bad I can't type that british accent... :)

[ABACADABRA RABBIT]

04:48 AM on 05/08/2011

What about pomegranates?

[undrgrndgirl]

11:36 AM on 05/09/2011

oh, they're sooo yesterday...

[ABACADABRA RABBIT]

04:14 PM on 05/09/2011

Seriously?

There are peer-reviewed studies coming out weekly about how Punica granatum stops certain types of cancers! But ok, call me behind the times; I eat pomegranates and I love them.

[H P]

09:29 PM on 05/09/2011

this is just showing more food with color.. any food with reds and/or purples and dark green is good for you..

[ABACADABRA RABBIT]

09:38 PM on 05/09/2011

Ah. God bless those anthocyannins.

Does purple urkle Count?

:D

[canuck4barack]

01:51 AM on 05/08/2011

Though not spicy like kimchi, doesn't sauerkraut have the same benefits?

[incredulousnyc]

06:42 PM on 05/08/2011

Maybe. Sauerkraut is cooked for a long time so, perhaps it loses some nutritional value there.

[Karen Raczewski Monger]

09:16 PM on 05/08/2011

My husband ferments raw saurkraut regularly. It really stinks, and I think it just tastes bad, but he's European and what tastes good to him usually tastes spoiled to an American. The saurkraut you buy at the store is usually cooked, but may be vat cured and pasturized.