Summary

The article presents a personal journey towards a healthier diet, emphasizing the importance of nutrition as we age, and ranks the top five healthiest foods based on research from various credible sources.

Abstract

The author, facing weight gain and upcoming middle age, reflects on the need to improve dietary habits alongside exercise. Drawing inspiration from the diets of chimpanzees and the advice of fit celebrities like Rob Lowe and Bruce Springsteen, the author conducts a research project to identify the world's healthiest foods. By aggregating data from ten reputable articles, the author creates a power ranking of these foods, with dark green leaves topping the list, followed by nuts, berries, sweet potatoes, and a tie between avocados and oats/oatmeal. The article also mentions honorable mentions and notes the absence of dairy and meat from the top rankings, aligning with an evolutionary-based diet approach.

Opinions

The author believes that diet is crucial for maintaining fitness, especially as one ages, and cannot be compensated for by exercise alone.
There is a strong opinion that the most nutritious foods are plant-based, with a particular emphasis on dark green leaves, nuts, and berries.
The author suggests that humans are not evolutionarily adapted to consume dairy and certain meats, implying that these should not be staples in our diet.
The article conveys the idea that a diet focused on the healthiest foods leads to better overall well-being compared to consuming processed or high-fat foods.
The author values data-driven approaches to diet, as evidenced by the research methodology used to create the power ranking.

Eat these top 5 healthiest foods in the world and you’ll feel amazing

Earlier this week, I wrote about how I was rejigging my diet following a particularly offensive nutritional performance at my son’s hockey tournament.

I recently noticed I was putting on weight as my entrepreneurial ambitions take up more and more of my time and push my gym activities to the side.

Although I know I need to be more diligent about carving out time for the gym and other exercises, I’ve also come to realize I need to tighten up my diet as well.

I turn 42 this week, and I’m getting close to the age where, as they say, “you can’t run away from your diet.”

At some point, exercise alone cannot compensate for eating like trash.

I recently wrote two stories about this very thing:

These two guys are in peak physical condition for their ages, so I am heeding their advice and accepting that the most important factor in looking and feeling strong as you age is, as The Boss put it, “diet, diet, diet”.

I created a “Healthiest Food in the World Power Ranking”. Do oranges make the list? Keep reading to find out! (Photo by Diana Polekhina on Unsplash)

Health, inside and out

For me, it’s not even about looks so much as what my looks are saying about what’s going inside. I have skinny guy genetics, so I have weight to give.

What I don’t want are clogged arteries and a heart attack, the latter of which felled my grandfather at age 66.

That said, being the skinny guy with a gut is really not a path I want to explore either.

So I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about diet this week.

Earlier, I wrote about how I’d done some research on how our evolutionary cousins, the chimpanzees, eat. You can read more about that and how I’ve adjusted my diet accordingly here.

After deciding to go Chimp Mode, I also wanted to dig deeper and figure out what the actual healthiest foods in the world were.

It was time, I thought, to come up with a power ranking.

The process

When I was a sports reporter, my writing was very analytics focused.

The reason being, if I was going to write about a topic, I wanted to have data to back it up.

Sports opinions are a dime a dozen. I think health ones are too.

So I wondered, “How can we, without getting too technical and boring, come up with a little power ranking?

“Is it possible to quantify what the healthiest foods in the world are?”

So I did a simple little research project for fun. Your mileage will vary.

I aggregated info from 10 highly searched, well-sourced articles from credible publishers about “the healthiest foods in the world” and created my own little healthy foods power ranking!

The number you’ll see next to the food below denotes how many times they were mentioned in the 10 articles I used for this exercise.

The Healthiest Foods in the World Power Ranking

So, without further ado, in first place…

Dark green leaves (10): Each and every article I read about “the healthiest foods in the world” mentioned dark green leaves of some kind, and they all mentioned at least one of the following: Kale, Spinach, Broccoli. This makes a lot of sense — all of these options are jam-packed with vitamins, nutrients, and fiber in a low-calorie package.
Nuts (8): In particular, one of almonds or walnuts was mentioned in each piece. Brazil nuts had the third-highest number of mentions. Vitamins, key minerals, and key amino acids … what’s not to like?
Berries (7): My personal favorite, blueberries, are the key contributor here. I eat blueberries every single day for their brain-boosting reputation, antioxidants, and other nutritious benefits. This is a base ingredient for every smoothie I make.
Sweet potato (6): These tasty root veggies are filled with key vitamins and are pretty filling despite being relatively low-cal.
Avocado (5 — tie): Avocados are another filling, healthy treat that is packed with fiber and healthy fats. Oats/Oatmeal (5 — tie): Antioxidant-rich oats have a great rep for supporting heart health.

The honorable mentions

These foods couldn’t crack the top 5, but they get an honorable mention for being in the mix…

7. Pumpkin Seeds, beans (T-4)

9. Garlic, dark chocolate, wheat germ (T-3)

Common sense

Well, that was fun!

One thing really jumped out at me: The only meat that would have cracked the top 10 was salmon, but I decided to exclude it because it’s not something that we would have eaten from an evolutionary perspective.

There was no mention of milk, cheese, or any other dairy.

The rest of them line up almost exactly with the Chimp Mode diet I mentioned up top — one focused primarily on nuts, seeds, fruit, and leaves.

The more I listen to people who are older than me talk about how important dietary choices are as we age, the more I want to build around the foods listed above.

As much as we love our bacon and cheese and milk, we really aren’t built for it.

Think of how much better you feel after a healthy, nutrient-packed meal versus a greasy burger and fries, chased with ice cream.

Yeah, there’s pleasure in consuming it, but at the end of the day, common sense suggests those kinds of foods should be the rarest of treats, not daily staples.

Is there a food missing from here you think should be on the list?

Do you think it’s self-punishment and downright insane to try and eat this healthy?

Let me know in the comments!

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