Monthly Archives: June 2012

Are Vinegar Cures Old Wives’ Tales, or Do They Hold Weight?

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Would you believe that an ordinary substance that you can find in every supermarket and most homes across the country possesses the power to soothe arthritis, relieve allergy symptoms, and give you healthier, shinier hair? Sounds pretty good, right?

Folk wisdom has been extolling the merits of vinegar cures for decades. The Farmer’s Almanac alone cites vinegar as the main ingredient in tonics to relive stiff joints, rehydrate your cells, harden up your chicken’s eggs, and promote calcium and iron absorption. So is vinegar really a miracle cure-all? Not exactly. Even though it is not a magical tonic, WebMD says that apple cider vinegar does have some medicinal worth.

Vinegar Cures: Fact

The most thoroughly researched aspect of apple cider vinegar’s health benefit is its effect on diabetes. Some studies suggested that it could help lower blood glucose levels. Most of the other studies that showed benefits were done on rats, like a study that showed vinegar might help lower cholesterol and another that suggested vinegar could lower high blood pressure. Finally, though results have been mixed, one study showed that people who took vinegar while eating bread felt more satiated than those who ate the bread without the vinegar. This could be a helpful tool for people who are trying to eat less. Gargling with vinegar may also may also be helpful for sore throat and strep throat, due to vinegar’s antibacterial properties.

Vinegar Cures: Fiction

Even though vinegar might help some people feel more feel, there is no proof that apple cider vinegar can facilitate weight management. Plus, there is some risk of stomach irritation. Also, people who have osteoporosis should be careful – long term use of apple cider vinegar can cause low bone density. Claims of vinegar’s use for lice, warts, aging, digestion, and cleansing toxins have been exaggerated or are simply old wive’s tales.

While vinegar cures may not be as amazing as we’ve been led to believe, vinegar does still have many helpful uses. Like with all home remedies, just remember to be practical and realistic.

Sources:

  • “Apple Cider Vinegar”, WebMD
  • “Natural Cures With Apple Cider Vinegar”, Farmer’s Almanac
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Healthy Food For Cells That Supports Balanced Health

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In terms of health, we usually think about the big picture. We strive to lose weight, or eat foods that are healthy for our hearts, or participate in cardiovascular exercise to build stronger lungs. But we often forget that there is a lot going on in the body on a smaller scale.

If you think of the human body as a series of building blocks, cells are down on the ground floor. Cells make up tissues like muscles, organs, and skin, so good cell health is the foundation for good tissue health. This means choosing healthy food for cells sets the stage for overall wellness. WebMD reports that food does more than just provide energy and nutrients. Some foods go so far as to support cell health and minimize cell damage from free radicals.

Healthy Food For Cells

Eating a variety of different healthy food for cells is key. Good cell health is just like good overall health. It usually just comes down to the right optimum nutrition:

  • Getting enough protein is a huge factor in keeping cells healthy and working efficiently. Protein repairs damaged cells and helps cell growth, so a protein deficiency can manifest in hair, nails, blood, and organ problems. Animal products like poultry, beef, fish, eggs, and milk are great sources of protein, while vegetarians can get their daily needs from seeds, beans, and nuts.
  • One nutrient that helps build healthy red blood cells is iron. An iron deficiency is known as anemia, which manifests in weakness and fatigue. Iron rich foods to add to your diet are whole grains, spinach, beans, beef, poultry, dried fruit, and tomato juice.
  • Many nutrients that help cell growth can be found in both animal and vegetable sources, but that isn’t the case with important red blood cell-boosting nutrient vitamin B-12. This vitamin is only found in animal products, but is very important for health. Vegetarians should consider taking a B-12 supplement.
  • Antioxidants are well known for their role in protecting cell health by fighting against cell-damaging free radicals. This means antioxidants can protect against heart disease and cancer. Fruits, vegetables, dark chocolate, fish, whole grains, and red wine are all good sources.

By incorporating healthy food for cells into your diet, you are building a strong body at the most basic level. Antioxidants, vitamin B-12, iron, and protein will keep your cells healthy and functioning for optimum health.

Source:

  • “How Antioxidants Work”, WebMD
  • “Healthy diet: End the guesswork with these nutrition guidelines”, Mayo Clinic

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Fresh Fruit Juice Myth: A Healthy Substitute for Fruit

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Eating more fruit is almost universally recommended for anyone who is trying to get healthy. Fruit is packed with vitamins, antioxidants, and healthy fiber. And eating fruit on the go is a great way to easily get in a nutritious snack without a lot of hassle.

Lately, the juicing trend has been getting a lot of attention, with fresh fruit juice stands and smoothie bars popping up all over the health food scene. The promise of these establishments is enticing: all the nutrition of fruit in a delicious juice or smoothie that tastes great and is easy to drink. But while fresh fruit juice is indeed delicious and does have some redeeming nutritional qualities, it is not a good substitute for the real thing. CBS News reports that juice does not have all the same health benefits of eating fruit because fresh fruit has four times the amount of fiber that fruit juice does.

Fresh Fruit Juice Nutrition

It’s easy to be confused about the actual nutritional benefit of fresh fruit juice. It came from fruit, so it makes sense that it must be just as healthy. However, that isn’t always the case. The problem is that fruit juice has just as much sugar as fruit but without all the healthy fiber. In some cases, whole fruit has almost four times as much fiber as fruit juice. Plus, you often consume the juice of more than one fruit, which means you are drinking all of the natural sugar (called fructose) from these multiple fruits with none of the fiber to fill you up. This means that some fruit juice has as much sugar as a can of soda.

The antioxidants in fruits and vegetables will of course still be present in 100% juice, so it can be incorporated into your diet in a healthy way. Just make sure that you aren’t replacing whole fruit with fruit juice, and are staying mindful about sugar content.

Source:

  • “Squeezing Truth Out of Juice Myths”, CBS News

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Cacao Tree Facts That Might Surprise You

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Chocolate is one food that is almost universally loved. It is rich, deep, and deliciously satisfying, whether it is eaten alone, as a dessert topping, or heated and drank as hot chocolate.
This food favorite starts as the fruit of a cacao tree. These cacao fruit pods are filled with about thirty to fifty seeds, which are eventually dried and fermented to transform into the cacao beans that are the basis for chocolate, cocoa powder, and cocoa butter. When you consider these beginnings (what other delicious food can claim it is the made from fruit, and from the amazing cacao tree no less?), it’s easy to understand why chocolate is such an amazing source of antioxidants. Not to mention that WebMD reports that eating cocoa may even help decrease blood pressure and cholesterol.
Cacao Tree Health Benefits
Cacao beans are rich in flavanols, antioxidants that may have benefits for cardiovascular health. These benefits are most pronounced in raw cacao beans because the flavonols degrade a little when heated, though the benefits do carry over somewhat to dark chocolate. One study of Kuna Indians found that a group that eats high amounts of cacao versus a group who typically does not eat cacao were found to have less incidence of cancer and heart disease.
Additionally, The American Chemical Society reports that has many other benefits. Cacao has anti-inflammatory properties, which can help soothe a host of problems, including helping to inhibit inflammatory secretions in the small intestine. It may also help strengthen mitochondria, important cells in the body, in people with type 2 diabetes, and prevent harmful cell change and precancerous lesions in the colon. And finally, the American Chemical Society reports that chocolate’s reputation as a comfort food may be based on science. One study found that eating an ounce and a half of cacao per day lowered stress hormones and emotional anxiety.
These incredible findings suggest that when it comes to the delicious byproducts of the cacao tree, you can have your chocolate and eat it, too!
Sources:
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Regular Milk Myth: Skim Milk Is Healthier

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It seems like common sense: if you’re trying to get healthy and lose weight but you love milk and dairy benefits like strong bones are important to you, you should choose skim over reduced fat or whole regular milk. But could there be more to this issue than meets the eye?

MSNBC reports that one study in 2005 studied the correlation between milk and weight and found some remarkable results. Researchers expected to find that consumption of dairy fat was correlated to weight gain, so they were surprised to  find that in a study of almost 13,000 kids aged 9 to 14, skim and 1% milk were related to weight gain, while whole milk was not.

Regular Milk vs. Skim Milk

MSNBC goes on to posit that when it comes to losing weight, cutting fat might not be the real solution. When someone eats a food that is rich in fat, a hormone called cholecystokinin is released. This chemical signals to your body that you are becoming full. Using this evidence, it is possible that full fat regular milk can actually curb the appetite. Even when it comes to heart health, the evidence is on the side of milk fat. While dairy fat has been shown to raise cholesterol, it is not the harmful LDL type, but rather the benign LDL cholesterol that is impacted.

The Benefits of Drinking Milk

Drinking milk is healthy no matter if you are drinking regular milk or skim. WebMD even reports that one study showed that women who drank milk after a workout lost more fat and gained more muscle than women who drank energy drinks. And of course milk is also packed with essential nutrients like calcium, protein, and Vitamin D.

When it comes to choosing the right milk to drink, remember that the choice is not always so simple. It just might be that regular milk is the superior option.

Source:

  • “Is Skim Milk Making You Fat?”, MSNBC

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Coconut Drinks Are The Tropical Way to Boost Electrolytes

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Everywhere you go, people are talking about coconut water. This popular drink is the juice from young coconuts that aren’t mature enough to produce coconut milk, and is being touted as an energy drink and a cure for dehydration and even hangovers.
So what is behind this coconut craze? Slate Magazine proposes that these coconut drinks have come into vogue as a byproduct of the nation’s current fascination with yoga, wellness, and natural foods. Highly processed concoctions that would be at home in a laboratory like soda and sports drinks are becoming increasingly vilified for their artificial flavors and chemical additives. And the LA Times reports that coconut water has up to fifteen times more potassium than the average sports drink.
Coconut Drinks For Hydration
Coconut water is naturally rich in amino acids, sodium, magnesium, potassium, phosphate, and calcium, and combination that suggests recovery potential. The LA Times goes to cite one study about coconut drinks that found coconut water has superior hydration powers to water. In the study, men were asked to exercise for 90 minutes in the heat, then either drank coconut water, a sports drink, or water. The study found that the men who drank the coconut water and the men who drank the sports drink regained more body weight, indicating that those men were a little bit more hydrated then the men who simply drank water.   This happened because the sports drink and the coconut drinks both have electrolytes, which help the body replenish water levels.
However, coconut water is very low in protein, carbohydrates, and sodium. This means that while coconut water may be appropriate for an average work out, more intensive training should be followed with a drink that has “true recovery” potential, ie high amounts of sodium, carbs, and protein.
When it comes down to it, coconut water does have health benefits and is useful for rehydration. But be wary of claims that it is the next magical super food. Coconut water is better enjoyed as a refreshing treat.
Source:
  • “Coconut water: A health drink that’s all it’s cracked up to be?”, LA Times
  • “‘Gatorade Is The Antichrist’”, Slate Magazine
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Nutrition in Seafood Myth: Fish Oil and Mercury Poisoning?

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Fish is health food favorite, and is often recommended as a great source of lean protein. But there have been some concerns surrounding the safety of fish and fish oil. Nearly every fish contains some level of mercury, a naturally occurring element that can be dangerous in high doses.

So are you risking mercury poisoning by taking fish oil daily? Probably not. According to The Arch Pathol Lab, fish oil may be a safer way to get all the health benefits of fish. Because fish oil is made from fish that don’t contain much mercury like herring, tuna, halibut, salmon, mackerel, and cod liver, these supplements contain much less mercury than high risk fish like shark and swordfish.

The Safe Way To Benefit From The Nutrition In Seafood

One study conducted by the Environmental Defense Fund found that all of the different fish oil companies they were able to reach reported that they followed strict purification methods. These methods include steam deodorization and molecular distillation to remove pollutants from the healthy omega-3 fatty acids that compose healthy fish oil. When oils goes through this stringent purification processes, the FDA says that 3 grams of fish oil per day is generally regarded as safe.

The Benefits of Seafood

When it comes to the nutrition in seafood, most of the benefits come from the high amounts of omega-3 fatty acids. These acids reduce swelling, pain, and prevent the blood from clotting too easily. Fish oil is often used to lower blood pressure and has been linked to the prevention of stroke and heart disease when taken correctly. Fish oil has also been linked to brain health, and is often taken for conditions like Alzheimer’s, depression, psychosis, and attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Every health supplement will have side effects to consider. If you are interested in incorporating the nutrition from seafood into your healthy eating plan using fish oil, the best course of action is to talk to your doctor first.

Sources:

  • “Measurement of mercury levels in concentrated over-thecounter fish oil preparations: is fish oil healthier than fish?”, Arch Pathol Lab Med
  • “Fish oil”, U.S. National Library of Medicine
  • “Fish Oil”, WebMD

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Craving For Salt Myth: Wanting Salt Only Means Sodium Deficiency

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Our bodies have strange ways of telling us what we need. If we lack for a certain vitamin, we may became irritable, fatigued, or pale. If we are dehydrated and need some water, it often manifests in nausea and headaches. So what does a strange persistent craving for salt mean?

The Health Alliance Plan of Michigan says that craving salt usually does not indicate a sodium deficiency, especially in light of the fact that most Americans eat twice the recommended amount of sodium. In fact, a food craving rarely means much of anything except for a desire for a certain food. However, there are a few cases where a craving for salt in particular can have a greater meaning.

The Science Behind Salt Cravings And What They Mean

The first thing to understand about salt cravings is that they are evolutionarily based. Salt is an essential nutrient. Our bodies need it to promote fluid retention and stay hydrated. Salt used to be hard to find, so our taste buds became hard-wired to enjoy the taste of it. Because humans enjoy salt so much, it has become an extremely popular ingredient in many foods, and we in turn crave salt much like we would crave sugar, ice cream, or pizza. Basically, it tastes good, so we want to eat it.

Medical Conditions And A Craving For Salt

There are instances when a craving for salt transcends mere desire and may indicate a hormonal imbalance. Addison’s Disease, a serious condition that results from an overstressed adrenal gland, often manifests as an excessive salt craving that won’t be satisfied. Salt cravings are not the only symptom of this condition, however. Sufferers will also exhibit fatigue, muscle weakness, and weight loss which may progress to vomiting, diarrhea, low back pain, and eventually unconsciousness. Bartter syndrome is another possible cause of salt craving, though it is rare. And of course, sometimes a craving for salt does indicate low sodium levels. This is less common for most people following a standard Western diet, as most of us are in a state of chronic sodium overload. As salt is an electrolyte, it’s also possible that a salt craving indicates dehydration. In this case, opt for a electrolyte boosting sports drink over a salty snack.

Unless your craving for salt seems excessive, persistent, troubling, or as the byproduct of intense exercise or sweating, then you are likely craving salt simply because it tastes good.

Sources:

  • “Salt craving: A symptom of Addison’s disease?”, Mayo Clinic
  • “Salt craving: the psychobiology of pathogenic sodium intake”, Physiol Behav
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Peruvian Food Dishes From Coast to Coast

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The bold colors and complex flavors of Peruvian food dishes are making a splash on the fine dining food scene. Traditional Peruvian foods like ceviche, tiradito, anticucho, and adrezo are popping up on menus across America and beyond, partly due to an influx of talented Peruvian chefs.

PBS says that Peruvian food draws from various cultures and has been influenced by Incan, Chinese, Italian, Japanese, Jewish, and Spanish cooking styles. This broad background means that many people can ease into Peruvian food dishes more easily than other exotic foods, as they are likely to be similar to foods they have already experienced. This accessibility combined with an emphasis on creating food that is both beautiful and delicious gives Peruvian food a lot of potential for popularity.

Peruvian Flavors 

Peruvian food dishes often feature aijes, a kind of Peruvian hot pepper. Aji amarillo especially incorporates the twin Peruvian values of flavor and aesthetic beauty. The flavor is bright and reminiscent of citrus, and the pepper is a vivid yellow. Peruvian cuisine is also heavily reliant on corn and potatoes, as well as traditional foods like kaniwa and quinoa, which is also currently experiencing a huge popularity.

Peruvian Food Dishes At Home

Ceviche is perhaps the most well-known and loved of the Peruvian recipes, and is often the first Peruvian seafood that people experience. Here is a simple, healthy way to make this marinated raw fish meal that the whole family will enjoy. Always use fresh fish for this recipe. In fact, you should prepare your ceviche the same day that you buy the fish.

2 lbs of firm, fresh, completely deboned red snapper fillets, cut into 1/2 inch pieces (you can also use a different firm-fleshed fish)
1/2 cup fresh squeezed lime juice
1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/2 finely diced red onion
1 cup chopped fresh seeded tomatoes
1 seeded and finely diced serrano chili
2 teaspoons salt
Dash of ground oregano
Light pinch of cayenne pepper or dash of Tabasco
Cilantro
Avocado
Tortillas or tortilla chips

Place fish, onion, chili, tomatoes, Tabasco, salt, and oregano in a ceramic or Pyrex non-reactive casserole dish. Cover with fresh squeezed lemon and lime juice. Cover, then place in the refrigerator for one hour, stir, then cover and let sit for 2-3 more hours. Serve with tortilla chips or on warmed tortillas with chopped cilantro and avocado slices.

The next time you are looking for a new meal to add to your healthy family recipes, consider this lovely ceviche. Preparing Peruvian food is a fresh, healthy, and beautiful way to spice up your daily routine.

Source:

  • “Peruvian Cuisine: 2012′s Latest Food Trend”, PBS Food

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Brown Rice Flour Is A Healthy Substitute For Gluten Flours

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Have you been trying to find the best flour for baking? Are you interested in gluten free cooking, or are you just seeking to expand your repertoire? Either way, one flour that is getting a lot of attention for its health benefits, delicious results, and gluten free nutritional profile is brown rice flour. One Purdue study found that when used in baking, brown rice flour yields a crunchier texture and darker color than wheat flour.

Brown Rice Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies

This delicious recipe for chocolate chip cookies made from brown rice flour uses xanthan gum to improve the texture. When it comes to baking without gluten, xanthan gum is commonly used to mimic the binding action of gluten, giving gluten free recipes better structure.

Beat 1 cup butter, 1 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, and 1 teaspoon salt until fluffy. Beat in two eggs, one at a time, taking care to ensure that everything is well combined. Next whisk together 2 1/3 cups brown rice flour, 1 teaspoon xanthan gum, 1 teaspoon baking powder, and 1 teaspoon baking soda. Beat this dry mixture into the butter mixture, then blend in 2 cups chocolate chips and 1 1/2 cups of nuts (if desired). Cover the mixture and refrigerate for 1 hour, then scoop tablespoon sized mounds of dough onto baking sheet. Bake the cookies in a preheated oven at 350 degrees. Let rest for 5 minutes, then enjoy!

You will find that using healthy brown rice flour will result in some really interesting changes to your baked good recipes. Why not keep experimenting? Once you understand how different flours behave, you will be that much more competent in the kitchen.

Sources:

  • “The Effect of Replacing White Flour with Brown Rice Flour in Chocolate Chip Cookies”, Purdue University

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