Sarah Ballantyne, PhD

The top 5 food sources of polyphenols per serving?

1. 1 cup fiddlehead ferns 387% DV
2. 1 cup quinces 387%
3. ⅙ cup adzuki beans 368%
4. ⅕ cup lentils 327%
5. 1 cup sliced plums 289%

Ferns, fruits, and legumes pack a polyphenol punch. Have you ever tried fiddleheads or quinces?

Their unique compounds, glucosinolates, help your body detox harmful substances, fight inflammation, and even protect your DNA. Regular cruciferous veggie eaters enjoy lower cholesterol, better blood sugar, and less risk of multiple cancers.

Just one serving a day of broccoli, kale, Brussels sprouts, or other cruciferous veggies can dramatically lower your risk of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.

Aim for at least 1 serving per day: 1 cup raw or ½ cup cooked.

Nutrients for Type 2 Diabetes Learn what Type 2 diabetes is and what contributes to it, including causes, risk factors, and ways to reduce risk, plus the nutrients and everyday foods that support blood sugar control, insulin sensi...

These will be helpful.

Watch: Blood Sugar, Carbs & Insulin: What You Need to Know (It's Not About Cutting Carbs!)
youtu.be/jAfrJFrTto8

Read: nutrivore.com/health-goals...

Opps! The top 5 food sources of phytosterols per serving.

Low vitamin D is linked with higher stroke incidence and severity; adequate levels may support vascular function and blood-pressure regulation, both important for reducing stroke risk.

Good sources include fatty fish, fish eggs, liver, red meat, egg yolks, and UV-exposed mushrooms or yeast.

Lettuce can make you sleepy? Lactucarium, lettuce soup, and how to focus food choice after a bad night's sleep.

Read about a phytonutrient called lactucarium and its sedating properties.
www.nutrivorenewsletter.com/p/lettuce-ca...

per serving?

1. 1 cup strawberries 55% of target
2. 1 cup kumquats 31%
3. 1 tbsp corn oil 10%
4. 1 tbsp canola oil 10%
5. ½ cup cooked soybeans 9%

Fruits lead the way here, not just oils. Were you expecting strawberries to top the list?

Low B12 status increases homocysteine levels and is linked with higher risk of ischemic stroke; combined folate + B12 supplementation reduces stroke incidence more effectively than folate alone.

Good sources include seafood, offal, beef, eggs, poultry, dairy, tempeh, fortified cereals & plant milks

Can thirst can be mistaken for hunger? The science is mixed.

What we do know is that dehydration can leave you tired, which makes intentional eating a lot harder.

Drinking water about 30 minutes before meals may temporarily reduce appetite, but its long-term impact on weight is still unclear.

Research shows that higher dietary diversity is linked to lower risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and even early death. The more unique foods you regularly eat, across all food families, the stronger your protection.

How many different foods do you eat per week on average?

The top 5 food sources of CoQ10 per serving?

1. 3.5 oz deer 263% of target
2. 3.5 oz liver 139%
3. 4 oz Atlantic mackerel 130%
4. 1 cup grapes 128%
5. 3.5 oz giblets 84%

A mix of wild game, seafood, and even fruit. Did you expect grapes to make the list?

Why are dried apricots way higher in potassium than fresh? Potassium for stroke prevention, dried apricots, shifting focus away from weight loss, and my recipe for Shaved Brussels Salad

Read about how getting enough potassium lower risk of stroke and why dried apricots have so much more potassium per serving than fresh.

www.nutrivorenewsletter.com/p/why-are-dr...

Embrace whole-food starches!

Root vegetables (sweet potatoes, parsnips, beets)
Legumes (beans, lentils, chickpeas)
Whole grains (brown rice, quinoa, oats)

These aren’t foods to avoid, they’re foods that help you feel good, stay energized, and build long-term health.

Higher vitamin B6 status is associated with reduced stroke risk, potentially due to its role in homocysteine regulation and vascular health.

Good sources include Fish, leafy greens, root vegetables, bananas, chickpeas, red meat, poultry, seeds, and fortified cereals.

YouTube video by Dr. Sarah Ballantyne Why These are the 5 Foods to Add to Your Diet!

5 best foods to add to your diet:
1. Vegetables
2. Fruits
3. Seafood
4. Legumes
5.Nuts and Seeds

Watch to learn the 'why' behind adding these foods and how much.

youtu.be/kIQGPts8cfk

The top 5 food sources of linoleic acid per serving?

1. 1 oz walnuts 63% DV
2. 1 tbsp safflower oil 60% DV
3. 1 tbsp grapeseed oil 56% DV
4. 1 oz pine nuts 55% DV
5. ½ cup cooked soybeans 54% DV

Nuts, seeds, and oils are key players here. Which of these healthy fats do you use most often?

Some days include more vegetables, fiber, and micronutrients. Other days include more celebration foods, traditions, and desserts. Both belong. When you step back and look at the full picture, these variations don’t compete with health, they coexist with it.

A healthy diet is not built in a single meal. Instead, what matters is the overall pattern of how you eat on average. A holiday meal doesn’t define your diet any more than one salad does.

Good sources include red meat, poultry, seafood like salmon and tuna, yeast, organ meat, shellfish, mushrooms, leafy greens, nuts, seeds, legumes, and fortified grains.

Higher vitamin B3 (niacin) intake is associated with lower stroke mortality, and supplementation reduces inflammation and improves lipid metabolism, both important for lowering stroke risk.

Sore after a workout? You can’t beat beets. Betalains for muscle recovery, New Year's resolutions, and why my recipe Balsamic Roasted Beets is great for people who don’t like beets!

Read about how the betalains in beets improve muscle recovery and exercise performance.

www.nutrivorenewsletter.com/p/sore-after...

The top 5 food sources of manganese per serving?

1. ⅕ cup chickpeas 371% DV
2. ¼ cup teff 194% DV
3. 1 cup muscadine grapes 192% DV
4. 4 oz blue mussels 170% DV
5. 1 tbsp ground cloves 170% DV

From legumes to spices to seafood, manganese is everywhere. Which of these is in your kitchen right now?

Fat is not the enemy, in fact, the right fats in the right amounts are a key part of lifelong health. The science supports aiming for 20% to 35% of your daily calories from fat, mostly coming from nutrient-rich whole food sources.

Your body needs fat!

Fats are essential for building hormones, supporting your brain and nervous system, absorbing vitamins A, D, E, and K, and keeping every cell in your body functioning properly.

Low riboflavin intake is linked to increased stroke risk, particularly in people with the MTHFR C677T genetic variant due to impaired homocysteine metabolism; adequate intake may help reduce this risk.

Organ meats, mushrooms, leafy greens, eggs, dairy, almonds, yeast, legumes, and squash.

The top 5 food sources of vitamin B7 per serving?

1. 3.5 oz liver 522% DV
2. 3.5 oz kidney 299% DV
3. 3.5 oz giblets 170% DV
4. 4 oz flounder or sole 170% DV
5. 4 oz oysters 157% DV

Organ meats and seafood top the chart. Do you include any of these in your meals?

Nutrivore Newsletter | Sarah Ballantyne, PhD | Substack Learn how to eat a nutrient-dense diet or anti-diet with positive information about how nutrients support our health and the foods that supply them. Click to read Nutrivore Newsletter, by Sarah Ballan...

…all this information formatted as an e-book to download as well (with 18 additional nutrients that impact risk of cardiovascular disease through mechanisms other than blood pressure)!

If you’d like to subscribe, you can do so at NutrivoreNewsletter.com

What does it mean if a post is too long? Well, this is a Substack first for me, but my understanding is that means you’ll receive an email with a preview and a link to read it online or in the app.

And the super cool perk for paid subscribers this week will be…

I did it! “Post too long for email.” What an accomplishment, LOL!

This Thursday’s Nutrivore Newsletter will be a super deep dive into all 16 nutrients that affect blood pressure (14 that lower it, and two that increase it).