13 foods the fuel and heal

Food is fuel. And medicine too. Prevention magazine's Cynthia Sass illustrates this with the following list of healthy food.

• Apples
• Blueberries
• Broccoli
• Cactus pear
• Capers
• Cherries
• Citrus fruits
• Cranberries
• Dark green leafy veggies
• Raspberries
• Red grapes
• Red onions
• Tea (black, oolong, green)
  
  

No doubt, these items are powerful components of a nutritious diet. They also have the power to heal with the antioxidant quercetin (a relative of resveratrol found in grapes). Noteworthy at this time of year is the fact that this natural bodyguard may be a flu-fighter. Seems it's antiviral and if you opt out of your flu shot this year, you might still be A-OK.

Don't take a quercetin supplement, though, says Sass -- we just don't know enough about how much to take, how long to take it, or how side effects might occur. Just harness its power through foods and if you're starting to feel run down, try three per day and aim for three different colors -- green tea, cherries and red onion is one good mix.