When it comes to diet and health, what matters most is the full spectrum of foods you consume.

In an evaluation from Sweden’s Lund University, scientists documented the awesome, collective health-boosting power multiple great-for-you foods can provide vs. individual ones.

For this evaluation, 44 healthy but overweight study subjects were put on a dietary regime that included a variety of highly nutritious whole foods. The foods were chosen because of their powerful anti-inflammatory capacity. They included oily fish, barley, berries, almonds, cinnamon, vinegar, whole grain bread and soy.

In just four weeks, the following benefits were documented:

• 33% reduction in bad cholesterol.
• 8% reduction in blood pressure.
• 36% reduction in a marker for blood clots.
• improvement in memory and cognitive function.
• a marked decrease in inflammatory markers (Science Daily News, Oct 17, 2010).

(For more, check out my comprehensive Anti-Inflammatory Grocery List.)

This study speaks to something I never want you to forget: There is no other single strategy available in all of modern-day health and biomedical science that comes close to providing the depth and breadth of dazzling health benefits that eating the right foods can provide.

Dr. Ann Kulze is founder and CEO of Just Wellness and has a knack for breaking down the science of healthy eating and living into simple and easily digestible messages. She has been featured on “Dr. Oz,” “Oprah and Friends,” WebMD and U.S. News & World Report. Alabama NewsCenter is publishing advice from Dr. Ann.