Preview

Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Audible Plus auto-renews for $7.95/mo after 30 days. Upgrade or cancel anytime.

How Superfoods Work

By: Julia Nordgren, The Great Courses
Narrated by: Julia Nordgren
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $16.00

Buy for $16.00

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

They’re not faster than a speeding bullet or able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. But that doesn’t mean steel-cut oats, blackberries, ginger, and other foods can’t swoop in to save the day - or at least our diets.

Fiber, protein, micronutrients, and disease-fighting phytochemicals, superfoods like these have it all. And when combined with other healthy foods, they can improve blood sugar, cholesterol levels, and body mass index. And the best part about superfoods: They’re not trendy, eccentric, or impossible to find. They’re all tried-and-true, everyday ingredients that offer real nutritional benefits for any sort of diet imaginable.

In How Superfoods Work, reevaluate the superfoods you are (or aren’t) eating and discover ways to make your life healthier - and more delicious. Delivered by chef and practicing physician Dr. Julia Nordgren, these 12 lessons reveal the nutrition science behind readily available superfoods, including dark chocolate (an indulgent way to eat healthy), miso (whose fermented nature promotes good gut health), and cashews (the perfect replacement for creamy elements in a recipe). Using her medical expertise, Dr. Nordgren explains how these and other superfoods work for our bodies; using her culinary expertise, she reveals quick and easy recipes to get more of these superfoods on your table.

Want a more efficient metabolism? Looking to strengthen your body? Want a more rewarding relationship with mealtime? Chia seeds to the rescue! Or avocado! Or green tea! Or kale!

©2020 Audible Originals, LLC (P)2020 Audible Originals, LLC.
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

About the Creator and Performer

Dr. Julia Nordgren practices medicine at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation as a Pediatric Lipid and Weight Management Specialist. In 2019, she was voted one of Silicon Valley’s 100 most influential women. Dr. Nordgren received her degree from Dartmouth Medical School and completed her pediatrics training at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, where she was elected chief resident. A graduate of The Culinary Institute of America, Dr. Nordgren is co-founder of the Culinary Medicine Elective at Stanford Medical School and author of The New Family Table: Cooking More, Eating Together, and Staying (Relatively) Sane.

What listeners say about How Superfoods Work

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    255
  • 4 Stars
    75
  • 3 Stars
    28
  • 2 Stars
    6
  • 1 Stars
    5
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    237
  • 4 Stars
    65
  • 3 Stars
    14
  • 2 Stars
    6
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    217
  • 4 Stars
    69
  • 3 Stars
    22
  • 2 Stars
    5
  • 1 Stars
    3

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great. quick primer on Superfoods!

Author and narrator were compelling and thoughtful. Will recommend as a reference to others interested in learning more about how diet can make a profound difference in health.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

very informative

great podcast!
very informative!
I learned so much.
I highly recommend.
great recipes ideas included.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

yum

great info for all diets.my only complaint is that the course could be longer.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

healthy doesn't mean boring

I like how each chair focused on one food. This have enough time to discuss health, preparation, and variety.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent...

This is a very informative audio book by a very knowledgeable physician which also includes recipes for many superfoods to improve our health. There are also tips & tricks to alternatives for dairy, gluten or egg free recipes. There are also actual medical reasons and interactions discussed between medications with superfoods. Many of the foods discussed can be alternatives to prescription medications for reducing blood pressure and cholesterol for example. There are also kid friendly recipes & tips. This is one book I'd want to keep. She also has a cookbook.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Great information, needs text

As an audiobook, this is extremely short. It was still highly interesting though. I think "How Superfoods Work" is a little misleading. Perhaps something like "12 Foods You Should Be Eating More Of", although I suppose that sounds less scientific and more like a listicle.Also, it's really 14, as Ginger, Garlic and Scallions are all covered in one chapter.

The auther, a doctor and chef, talks about these foods:
1. Steel-Cut Oats
2. Blackberries
3. Chia seeds
4. Eggs
5. Avocado
6. Turmeric
7. Miso
8. Ginger, Garlic and Scallion (the "trinity of Asian cuisine" - discussed together in one chapter although they are three separate foods)
9. Green Tea
10. Cashews
11. Kale
12. Dark Chocolate

The author shares information about what makes each food so useful as part of your diet, personal stories, and recipes.

The problem is, recipes don't work super great in an audio format. If a digital handout was included with the audiobook, I haven't found it. The author does list some recipes on her website, although I don't believe the recipes in the audiobook are included there. She also has a cookbook for sale (it's possible this audiobook's main purpose is to promote sales of the cookbook) - unfortunately, the cookbook only appears to be available as a physical cook, with no digital format.

Still, there are some good suggestions here. I've purchase some sencha green leaf tea to make fridge tea with, I might try making a blackberry smoothie with fruit and almond milk, and I looked up a alfredo sauce recipe made from cashews online and tried it out. I might try out other ideas based on some of her suggestions as well.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Specific and Variable

I'm a type one diabetic with sleep apnea. I listened to this in search of foods that could give me energy without spiking my blood sugar. I found all that and more with these lectures.

Each lecture covers one super food. The foods picked aren't obscure, so they should prove easy enough to find in grocery stores or online. Lectures always open with a list of health benefits associated with the chosen super food. These benefits are mostly the same across each food, with a focus on gut health and fighting cancer. This means if you hate some of the chosen foods, you can fill up on other ones. Lectures then close with several ways you can cook with the food, offering specific recipes.

I found these lectures helpful because this format is so all encompassing. I now believe there's a super food dish out there for anyone, and these lectures may introduce you to it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Science plus culinary

How Superfood Works by Julia Norden, The Great Courses on Audible, narrated by Julia Norden, a medical physician and chef and an author of great lessons. Each lesson is elementary understandable and knowledgeable. Any technical or specific language, terms explained very suitably to the layperson. Having listened to the lesson, you will better understand how to eat to benefit yourself, your health in the long term, your energy levels, your looks.
Small changes matter!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Very useful.

Easy listening, informative. Upbeat reader. Title a bit misleading— Introducing Superfoods might have described it better.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Good book with nutritional information

I enjoyed the book. I will definitely benefit from the reading and listening as it pertains to my health.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!