Save the rainforest and enhance your health, all in one bite!

Imagine having more energy every day, feeling more satisfied with less food, and supporting the growth of the rain forest with every bite. David “Avocado” Wolfe, raw food superhero and author of numerous books including The Sunfood Diet Success System and Naked Chocolate, is well known for celebrating every day as his “best day ever!” David’s raw food diet keeps him feeling energetic around the clock, and he suggests adding a handful of organic, unprocessed superfoods to your diet as a step toward a healthier you and a healthier planet.

Why are superfoods so super? Wolfe explains that superfoods “have grit.” After eating them, you feel sustained and lose the urge to eat other things. Compared to most foods, “they’re richer in minerals, enzymes, vitamins, polysaccharides, overall nutrient content, and flavor.”

As founder and chairman of the green business Sunfood Nutrition,™ Wolfe has brought raw and organic products (cacao beans and nibs, goji berries, Incan berries, cacao butter, jungle peanuts, powdered mangosteen, maca extract, and cold-pressed coconut oil) into general distribution in North America. He advocates superfoods for dancers, athletes, and anyone looking for high-energy, low-calorie nutrition to sustain the body over long periods of time.

Along with their nutritional perks, Wolfe praises the environmental rewards linked to superfoods. Raw cacao, for

example, the seeds used to make chocolate, offers a rich source of magnesium, calcium, tryptophan (vital for relaxation), and the nutrient anandamide—a non-addictive antidepressive and aphrodisiac. Best of all for the planet, cacao must be grown in an intact rain forest, where it thrives on symbiotic relationships with other jungle plants. And strengthening rain forests in turn aids indigenous farmers. “ What we’re doing now,” Wolfe notes, “especially throughout South America, is encouraging all farmers to grow cacao because it creates an economically viable crop and their topical ecosystem keeps them there, so they’re not being forced out by the loggers or the cattle industry.”

Grown in Ecuador, raw jungle peanuts also promote physical health while supporting the environment. These peanuts, harvested by the Shuar Indians, are jam packed with protein, amino acids, and Vitamin B3 for healthy brain function. According to Sunfoods, purchasing these peanuts also helps the Shuar in their resistance against oil exploration on their land.

Wolfe observes that many superfoods travel well and are environmentally adaptable. He describes growing a goji berry transported from the Arizona desert to lush Hawaiian soil. “This [Hawaii] is the exact opposite of the desert,” he says, “and that same goji berry that grows in the Arizona desert will grow just fine here. Superfoods can do that.”

Which other superfoods might you want to add to your diet? Acai is a black-purple fruit harvested in Brazil that contains up to thirty times the amount of anthocyanins (the antioxidant that combats free radicals, cancer, and cholesterol) found in red wine. Maca is a cruciferous vegetable harvested in Peru at extremely high elevations that promotes healthy growth and optimizes hormonal function. Bees pollinate flowers and almonds, and products such as honey and royal jelly support longevity, respiratory, and digestive systems, as well as cleansing the skin and offering anti-allergen properties.

Wolfe reminds us that “you are what you eat” and enthusiastically encourages everyone to be a part of the superhero superfood revolution. He recommends adding raw food, especially fresh vegetable juices and superfood smoothies, to your diet.

The guiltless pleasure I’m craving as I write this? Sharing a delectable smoothie made with organic fruits, soaked goji berries, acai, maca, spirulina, black mission figs, raw honey, and topping it off with a sprinkle of freshly shaven nutmeg, cinnamon, and cacao nibs. “Have fun and add in more of the good

stuff,” David says. Your body and Mother Nature will thank you.