It’s official, ginger really can ease nausea associated with the side-effects of chemotherapy. A recent study has shown that a mere half teaspoon of ginger reduced nausea by 40%. Although they used ground ginger, I’d recommend two tablets of 100% ginger. There are some on the local market that are cheap, Australian made and sold for travel sickness. Unless someone has trouble swallowing, it would be a more palatable way to take it and it still works fast.
Also on an aromatic note, New York chef extraordinaire Mark Bittman has a great recipe for a Mexican Chocolate Mousse – made with tofu. I have made tofu-based desserts before and they work extremely well, fooling even hardened tofu-haters. The video on the site takes a couple of minutes to watch and shows just how easy it is to make.
Walnuts may prevent breast cancer. This new research is promising but it is still at the ‘rats and stats’ stage, with no testing on actual women as yet. Walnuts contain omega-3 fatty acids but they are also a great source of fibre and trace nutrients. Part of the so called “French Paradox” regarding lower incidence of heart disease despite a high intake of cigarettes and alcohol, involved walnuts being a regular part of the diet. My walnut tips are –eat them raw and keep them in a cool place to stop them from going rancid. There are some great new season Tasmanian walnuts available at the moment – so add them to your cereal, have them as a snack or add a handful to a small bowl of sheep’s milk yoghurt with a drizzle of honey for dessert.
More Bittman love – how to set up a no frills-kitchen. A great little video backed up by a more detailed article, the down-to-earth Mr Bittman takes a novice cook by the hand and shows them what they need to set up a kitchen on the cheap. Though the costs are in US dollars, the generic catering supply stores are the same and you can find them dotted all over Melbourne. I use my local one for cheap but sturdy glasses, stainless steel bowls for mixing and prep work (doubling as salad bowls), graters, colanders and the like. Though I’m not a fan of aluminium cookware and I love my wok (though admit that a good fry pan on high heat does a passable job), Bittman’s guide is a great place to start.
Showing posts with label recipes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recipes. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Monday, November 10, 2008
food as medicine
The cornerstone of naturopathy is “treating the individual, not the disease”. Just as one medicine cannot cure all ailments, no single diet is going to work for everyone, or even the same person all of the time.
On the most basic level the type of foods we need in order to feel well can be dictated by how active we are, the climate, our racial/genetic background, age and state of health. In the middle of winter, while doing lots of physical work lean, read meat cooked slowly on the bone in a casserole with vegetables may be appropriate medicine, yet even at the same time of year for another member of a household, who is overweight and riddled with arthritis, it could make their body
With so much conflicting information about eating, how do we know what food is medicine for our body? Food is a contentious issue at the best of times but when we are sick it seems everyone, expert, family or friend has an opinion of what they think our body needs.
On top of this there are cultural myths and customs around food that can be confusing and counter intuitive. For example, the trip to hospital to welcome a newborn is often loaded with champagne and chocolates for the mother. In another culture she would be fed organic soups rich with nutritious meats and vegetables. But here in the West we feed them sugar, caffeine and alcohol. Food-wise these could be considered “uppers” and “downers” for the baby and its mother, coupled with an immune system depressant from the sugar – just what a newborn doesn’t need when it first enters the world, nor the exhausted mother after her birthing marathon.
While giving birth is not an illness, we persistently tend to treat ill health with offerings of sugar such ice cream for a sore throat or a tonsillectomy and gift shop boxes of chocolates when people are in hospital. These foods do the opposite of what we need at such times when the body craves real, unadulterated foods.
We are becoming increasingly disconnected from listening to what our body needs to help us feel well. Unlike an animal that will fast or purge itself with grasses when it feels sick, we will often eat when our body needs rest to heal. Often sleep and inactivity, with water of food as fluid rather than solids is what the body craves when fighting an illness. But for convenience or the pressure to keep going even when our body screams at us to stop, we tempt ourselves with a “treat”, we are being slowly reprogrammed to choose processed foods like bread (“just have a bit of toast, put something in your stomach”) or sweetened drinks believing they will give us “energy”.
At an everyday level, what we eat is more likely dictated by what we think we should eat rather than what our instincts tell us we need to eat. Sometimes advertising may influence our thought process. Take breakfast for example, processed cereals and their modern counterparts a cereal milkshake in a box or a dry compacted bar are advertised as the ideal way to start the day. The ads may be mixed with patriotism (“Aussie kids are…”), sporting prowess, messages about good parenting or simple convenience (food to eat on the run). But fruit growers, don’t tend to have the marketing funds to ‘educate’ the public that for a third of us at least, just eating a couple of pieces of fruit may be what our body really needs, nor does the carrot industry inform us of the wonders of juicing their vegetable. Nuts might work well to break the fast for someone but they’ll think of them baked and denatured in a bar packed with hidden sugars, instead of raw and unadulterated.
How to listen to what you need to eat
Learning to listen just takes a little time and practice. If you already have some kind of routine or ritual in your life that gives you some time out for reflection, such a meditation it can be helpful. But even the mini-meditation before contemplating what food your body needs can be helpful. Put out of your mind what is going on around you, close your eyes and breathe deeply for ten slow, regular breaths. Letting go of all your preconceived notions, just ask your body what it really wants. Even if your body says “salad” and you can’t access raw vegetables in that space and time, acknowledge what you know your needs and make the next best choice, remembering to try to include the desired food at your next meal. Each time you practice this, it gets easier.
Maybe consider a food diary of what you acknowledge your body wants, what you end up eating and noting how it makes you feel. When you are able to source what you know you really need to consume, rather than what you think you want, how does it feel? What is your energy like? How do you feel emotionally?
My friend Lucy has described this process beautifully in her aptly titled blog “Nourish Me”. Recently she wrote of craving chicken soup, she rarely eats meat but after an arduous time moving house, that was what she craved.
Instinct and science
The confusing thing about science is that for every new discovery, there is another piece of research that is likely to contradict it. A bit like the law of physics that states ‘for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction’. In naturopathy we have traditionally talked of food as medicine in terms of nourishment, demulcent (soothing), replenishing, revitalising or even the pseudo-scientific terminology of acid and alkaline food. But now this has been hijacked by talk of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory foods. My show a few months ago on superfoods discusses this the phenomena and unravels some of the contradictions. But I’d go further to say that although there is some great information at the heart of all this, often it is just advertising baffling us with science.
So that is why today I am talking about getting in touch with what your body needs. It’s called instinct. We are all born with it. The first time we are fed a new food (through breast milk, formula or solid foods) that our body does not like or is unsuitable, we spit it out. Babies vomit (though there can be other reasons for this as well), children shake their heads to avoid the spoon or if we’ve by-passed the first point of negation, the digestive system shoots it out the other end with haste. But over time, if our instincts are constantly over-ridden and we are forced to keep eating the food, we may possibly develop different reactions to it (such as eczema, asthma, allergic rhinitis, digestive problems etc).
For adults, using food as medicine is sometimes about unlearning, while we try to clear away the consequences of year of eating inappropriately for our individual body. Sometimes we need to uncouple using food as a treat or reward, learn to cook food differently but most of all just listen and respond instinctively.
Traditions, foods and healing
I love learning about food traditions from other cultures. Some traditional ways of eating are based on the energetics of food, considering them to be heating or cooling, stimulating or relaxing and connecting diet in these terms, with what your body needs in different states of health. Pregnancy, for example, often heralds a lot of superstitions or assertions of what women should and shouldn’t eat, such as avoiding watermelon or being told to drink lots of milk. For some cultures the watermelon is “too cooling” for the growing baby, in the West milk is recommended in the belief (that some consider misguided) it is to provide extra calcium for growing bones. Neither really considers what the individual may actually need at that time.
But the cultural or family associations we have with food can be very powerful. The soup or special dish your mother made for special occasions or when you were ill, may have greater powers than the ingredients themselves – provoking feelings of being cared for, loved and connected. This is powerful medicine, even at times when it contradicts the science of what is ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ for our body at that time.
Some foods that heal me
Keep in mind that we are all a different. Being a rather small, only moderately physically active woman, the foods the make my body feel nurtured may be the opposite of you.
Oats slowly cooked rolled oats in winter for a warming and satisfying breakfast or in summer a room temperature mix of oats soaked in rice milk with raw pistachio nuts and fresh fruit. This breakfast gets me through to a later lunchtime on a busy day in the clinic.
Stewed apples in winter, cooked with cinnamon and eaten warm.
Mango in summer, on hot days (it doesn’t taste right to me in cold weather). The taste and texture is luxurious, it’s like eating sweet sunshine.
Root vegetables for their sweetness -a fresh carrot juice in the warmer weather, baked pumpkins and beetroot, parsnips with spicy kidney beans.
Fish raw, steamed, baked, grilled – you name it, I love it. An easy to assimilate protein, energy without weighing me down.
Cherries every Christmas morning we’d wake to find a bowl of cherries beside the bed (sure there were sweets and a couple of small presents as well). Apart from their delicious flavour, they are my festive fruit reminding me of happy times in my family.
Water I used to be a camel, especially when travelling I could go most the day without fluid passing my lips. I thought I didn’t need it. Then when I bought an reverse osmosis water filter, water tasted “clean” and untainted again and I got my thirst reflex back.
What foods make you feel well?
Learning more
Language, emotion and food: the words we use to talk about food gives us clues as to the emotions behind how we choose to eat.
Annemarie Colbin’s, Food and Healing: a holistic philosophy about food as medicine, a site with some interesting articles and resources.
Nourish Me: lots of good eating ideas.
Confessions of a food nazi: simple, healthy food, recipes and thoughts about cooking.
On the most basic level the type of foods we need in order to feel well can be dictated by how active we are, the climate, our racial/genetic background, age and state of health. In the middle of winter, while doing lots of physical work lean, read meat cooked slowly on the bone in a casserole with vegetables may be appropriate medicine, yet even at the same time of year for another member of a household, who is overweight and riddled with arthritis, it could make their body
With so much conflicting information about eating, how do we know what food is medicine for our body? Food is a contentious issue at the best of times but when we are sick it seems everyone, expert, family or friend has an opinion of what they think our body needs.
On top of this there are cultural myths and customs around food that can be confusing and counter intuitive. For example, the trip to hospital to welcome a newborn is often loaded with champagne and chocolates for the mother. In another culture she would be fed organic soups rich with nutritious meats and vegetables. But here in the West we feed them sugar, caffeine and alcohol. Food-wise these could be considered “uppers” and “downers” for the baby and its mother, coupled with an immune system depressant from the sugar – just what a newborn doesn’t need when it first enters the world, nor the exhausted mother after her birthing marathon.
While giving birth is not an illness, we persistently tend to treat ill health with offerings of sugar such ice cream for a sore throat or a tonsillectomy and gift shop boxes of chocolates when people are in hospital. These foods do the opposite of what we need at such times when the body craves real, unadulterated foods.
We are becoming increasingly disconnected from listening to what our body needs to help us feel well. Unlike an animal that will fast or purge itself with grasses when it feels sick, we will often eat when our body needs rest to heal. Often sleep and inactivity, with water of food as fluid rather than solids is what the body craves when fighting an illness. But for convenience or the pressure to keep going even when our body screams at us to stop, we tempt ourselves with a “treat”, we are being slowly reprogrammed to choose processed foods like bread (“just have a bit of toast, put something in your stomach”) or sweetened drinks believing they will give us “energy”.
At an everyday level, what we eat is more likely dictated by what we think we should eat rather than what our instincts tell us we need to eat. Sometimes advertising may influence our thought process. Take breakfast for example, processed cereals and their modern counterparts a cereal milkshake in a box or a dry compacted bar are advertised as the ideal way to start the day. The ads may be mixed with patriotism (“Aussie kids are…”), sporting prowess, messages about good parenting or simple convenience (food to eat on the run). But fruit growers, don’t tend to have the marketing funds to ‘educate’ the public that for a third of us at least, just eating a couple of pieces of fruit may be what our body really needs, nor does the carrot industry inform us of the wonders of juicing their vegetable. Nuts might work well to break the fast for someone but they’ll think of them baked and denatured in a bar packed with hidden sugars, instead of raw and unadulterated.
How to listen to what you need to eat
Learning to listen just takes a little time and practice. If you already have some kind of routine or ritual in your life that gives you some time out for reflection, such a meditation it can be helpful. But even the mini-meditation before contemplating what food your body needs can be helpful. Put out of your mind what is going on around you, close your eyes and breathe deeply for ten slow, regular breaths. Letting go of all your preconceived notions, just ask your body what it really wants. Even if your body says “salad” and you can’t access raw vegetables in that space and time, acknowledge what you know your needs and make the next best choice, remembering to try to include the desired food at your next meal. Each time you practice this, it gets easier.
Maybe consider a food diary of what you acknowledge your body wants, what you end up eating and noting how it makes you feel. When you are able to source what you know you really need to consume, rather than what you think you want, how does it feel? What is your energy like? How do you feel emotionally?
My friend Lucy has described this process beautifully in her aptly titled blog “Nourish Me”. Recently she wrote of craving chicken soup, she rarely eats meat but after an arduous time moving house, that was what she craved.
For two weeks straight I dreamed of a rich, golden broth, beaded with tiny, shiny globules (such a descriptive word) of delicious, health-giving fat shimmering across the surface of a deep, never-ending, fragrant bowl. Chicken soup.Check out her wonderful writing, photos and recipe forchicken stock, with a South East Asian bent
Instinct and science
The confusing thing about science is that for every new discovery, there is another piece of research that is likely to contradict it. A bit like the law of physics that states ‘for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction’. In naturopathy we have traditionally talked of food as medicine in terms of nourishment, demulcent (soothing), replenishing, revitalising or even the pseudo-scientific terminology of acid and alkaline food. But now this has been hijacked by talk of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory foods. My show a few months ago on superfoods discusses this the phenomena and unravels some of the contradictions. But I’d go further to say that although there is some great information at the heart of all this, often it is just advertising baffling us with science.
So that is why today I am talking about getting in touch with what your body needs. It’s called instinct. We are all born with it. The first time we are fed a new food (through breast milk, formula or solid foods) that our body does not like or is unsuitable, we spit it out. Babies vomit (though there can be other reasons for this as well), children shake their heads to avoid the spoon or if we’ve by-passed the first point of negation, the digestive system shoots it out the other end with haste. But over time, if our instincts are constantly over-ridden and we are forced to keep eating the food, we may possibly develop different reactions to it (such as eczema, asthma, allergic rhinitis, digestive problems etc).
For adults, using food as medicine is sometimes about unlearning, while we try to clear away the consequences of year of eating inappropriately for our individual body. Sometimes we need to uncouple using food as a treat or reward, learn to cook food differently but most of all just listen and respond instinctively.
Traditions, foods and healing
I love learning about food traditions from other cultures. Some traditional ways of eating are based on the energetics of food, considering them to be heating or cooling, stimulating or relaxing and connecting diet in these terms, with what your body needs in different states of health. Pregnancy, for example, often heralds a lot of superstitions or assertions of what women should and shouldn’t eat, such as avoiding watermelon or being told to drink lots of milk. For some cultures the watermelon is “too cooling” for the growing baby, in the West milk is recommended in the belief (that some consider misguided) it is to provide extra calcium for growing bones. Neither really considers what the individual may actually need at that time.
But the cultural or family associations we have with food can be very powerful. The soup or special dish your mother made for special occasions or when you were ill, may have greater powers than the ingredients themselves – provoking feelings of being cared for, loved and connected. This is powerful medicine, even at times when it contradicts the science of what is ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ for our body at that time.
Some foods that heal me
Keep in mind that we are all a different. Being a rather small, only moderately physically active woman, the foods the make my body feel nurtured may be the opposite of you.
Oats slowly cooked rolled oats in winter for a warming and satisfying breakfast or in summer a room temperature mix of oats soaked in rice milk with raw pistachio nuts and fresh fruit. This breakfast gets me through to a later lunchtime on a busy day in the clinic.
Stewed apples in winter, cooked with cinnamon and eaten warm.
Mango in summer, on hot days (it doesn’t taste right to me in cold weather). The taste and texture is luxurious, it’s like eating sweet sunshine.
Root vegetables for their sweetness -a fresh carrot juice in the warmer weather, baked pumpkins and beetroot, parsnips with spicy kidney beans.
Fish raw, steamed, baked, grilled – you name it, I love it. An easy to assimilate protein, energy without weighing me down.
Cherries every Christmas morning we’d wake to find a bowl of cherries beside the bed (sure there were sweets and a couple of small presents as well). Apart from their delicious flavour, they are my festive fruit reminding me of happy times in my family.
Water I used to be a camel, especially when travelling I could go most the day without fluid passing my lips. I thought I didn’t need it. Then when I bought an reverse osmosis water filter, water tasted “clean” and untainted again and I got my thirst reflex back.
What foods make you feel well?
Learning more
Language, emotion and food: the words we use to talk about food gives us clues as to the emotions behind how we choose to eat.
Annemarie Colbin’s, Food and Healing: a holistic philosophy about food as medicine, a site with some interesting articles and resources.
Nourish Me: lots of good eating ideas.
Confessions of a food nazi: simple, healthy food, recipes and thoughts about cooking.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Gorgeous grains and what to do with them
Don’t know your quinoa from your amaranth? No idea what grains are safe to serve your friend who’s been diagnosed as a coeliac? I’ve found a great primer in grains – from American food site Culinate. This article goes through twenty different type of grains, shows you what they look like and suggests how you can cook with them. Many of the featured grains are also gluten-free.
What to do with grains once you've bought them
Need some inspiration about what to do with some of these grains? Here’s a few recipes that have caught my eye.
Wild Rice and Celeriac Soup from Nourish Me. While you are there take a look at the whole swag of great recipes that Lucy has devised.
Grandma’s Grains a whole heap of grains cooked together. This simple dish is enchanting and enticing, as are many of the other delights at 101 cookbooks.
Millet, Almonds and Pumpkin Pilaf another one dish, vegan wonder.
Farro with Mushrooms and Thyme is on the stove at Kalyn’s kitchen. Farro is a type of whole wheat often found on the shelves of the many Italian grocery stores in Melbourne. Finally, I’ve found something enticing to do with it!
Buying tip
Oxfam has 23 shops around Australia. Often hidden away at the back is a some great Fairtrade food items. Other than all the delicious chocolate (that can be eaten with the warm glow that comes from making an ethical purchase) this is one of the best places to buy quinoa – both regular and red.
For Melbourne listeners – shops located within transmitter range currently include: Walk Arcade in the city, Geelong, Knox, Southland, Carlton, Doncaster and Camberwell.
Next week on Health Trip it’s radiothon time – don’t forget to subscribe.
What to do with grains once you've bought them
Need some inspiration about what to do with some of these grains? Here’s a few recipes that have caught my eye.
Wild Rice and Celeriac Soup from Nourish Me. While you are there take a look at the whole swag of great recipes that Lucy has devised.
Grandma’s Grains a whole heap of grains cooked together. This simple dish is enchanting and enticing, as are many of the other delights at 101 cookbooks.
Millet, Almonds and Pumpkin Pilaf another one dish, vegan wonder.
Farro with Mushrooms and Thyme is on the stove at Kalyn’s kitchen. Farro is a type of whole wheat often found on the shelves of the many Italian grocery stores in Melbourne. Finally, I’ve found something enticing to do with it!
Buying tip
Oxfam has 23 shops around Australia. Often hidden away at the back is a some great Fairtrade food items. Other than all the delicious chocolate (that can be eaten with the warm glow that comes from making an ethical purchase) this is one of the best places to buy quinoa – both regular and red.
For Melbourne listeners – shops located within transmitter range currently include: Walk Arcade in the city, Geelong, Knox, Southland, Carlton, Doncaster and Camberwell.
Next week on Health Trip it’s radiothon time – don’t forget to subscribe.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Eating with the seasons – the colder months
Noticed how chilly it has been in the morning lately? In Melbourne, at least, the temperature has greeted us in the low single digits. We respond by moving our body more briskly, wearing bulkier clothes and seeking heat sources for a little instant gratification. But what about our food? Most of us dress differently for the seasons but not everyone adjusts their diet.
Are there any benefits of eating seasonally?
It is argued that in this age of globalism that everything is in season, somewhere in the world. A trip to the supermarket this week in Victoria will offer you cherries from North America, barramundi from Thailand and oranges of mixed origin. While labelling is improving as to the countries these foods originate, the regions within Australia still are missing in the big chains.
European studies show that the nutrient values of foods flown in from other countries are lower than locally grown and snap frozen vegetables. It would be logical to assume that fresh vegetables grown in the area, with less time in transit would have at least similar benefits. Certainly the time between being picked and consumed can have a huge bearing on unstable nutrients such as vitamin C.
Locavore is a buzzword made popular by books on seasonal eating, like Barbara Kingsolver’s ”Animal, Vegetable, Miracle”. While the premise behind the idea is broader than just personal health, a trade-off for using less energy to transport our food is that if you eat what is grown in your vicinity (arbitrarily the consensus seems to bee 100 miles/160 kms) will essentially be food suited to the climate you live in.
Kingsolver found some obvious sticky areas. For one, the family wasn’t prepared to give up drinking coffee, a bean suited to growing in a tropical climate. Tea drinkers would have similar issues. But as far fresh produce was concerned, the family ate what they could grow on their land or in their county for twelve months as an ecological experiment.
Autumn into winter fresh produce
While most people don’t have a vegetable garden to supplement their dinner table it can be difficult to know what is in season. A simple guide is that what is most plentiful and cheaper in the shops is most likely to be in season.
However Australia is a large country, with many climate zones and even most organic groceries will tend to have fresh fruit and vegetables from many States. Once again, the further they have to travel from the farm will increase the costs. Zucchini, for example, so cheap at the end of summer is still available Australian grown but at least treble the price as autumn comes to an end.
Farmers markets tend to sell produce closer to home and become your best bet for more locavore oriented seasonality.
Fruits and vegetables in season in the Eastern states of Australia
(Source: Campion and Curtis)
May - late autumn
fruit
apples (bonza, braeburn , cox's orange, pippins , fuji, gala, golden delicious, granny smith, jonagold, jonathan, mutso, pink lady , red delicious, snow, sundowner), banana, cumquat, custard apple, feijoa, grapes (purple cornichon, waltham cross), kiwifruit, lemons, limes, mandarin (imperial), melon (champagne), nuts (chestnut, hazelnut, peanut, walnut), pears (howell, josephine, packham , red sensation, Williams), persimmon, quince, rhubarb.
vegetables
asian greens (bok choy, choy sum, gai laan, wonga bok), avocados (fuerte, sharwill), beetroot, broccoli, brussels sprout, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celeriac, celery, daikon, eggplant, fennel, garlic, ginger, horseradish, leeks, lettuce, mushrooms (wild, field, pine, slippery jacks), okra, olives, onions (brown, spring), parsnip, peas, potato, pumpkin, shallots, silverbeet, spinach, squash, swede, sweet potato, taro, tomato, turnip, witlof, zucchini.
June - early winter
fruit
apples – (bonza, braeburn , cox's orange, pippins , fuji, gala, golden delicious, granny smith, jonagold, jonathan, lady Williams, mutso, pink lady, red delicious, snow, sundowner), custard apple, grapefruit, kiwifruit, lemons, limes, mandarin (ellendale), melons (champagne), nashi, nuts (chestnut, hazelnut , walnut), oranges (navel), pears (beurre bosc, Josephine, packham), persimmon, pomelo, quince, rhubarb.
vegetables
asian greens (bok choy, choy sum, gai laan, wonga bok), avocados (fuerte, sharwill), beetroot, broccoli, brussels sprout, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celeriac, celery, fennel, garlic, ginger, horseradish, Jerusalem artichokes, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, okra, olives, onions, parsnip, peas, potato, pumpkin, shallot, silverbeet, spinach, swede, sweet potato, turnip, witlof.
Cool weather cooking
While the hotter months tempt us with crisp and cooling fruits and vegetables (think of cucumbers, pineapples and mangoes) that are best eaten raw and chilled, nature moves onto producing denser foods at this time of year. Vegetables that often require some cooking to liberate the goodness (think root vegetables potatoes, turnips and swedes).
The most plentiful fruit tends to be apples and pears, which are even more appealing stewed up with warming spices like cinnamon and eaten hot.
This time of year, when in some places fresh food is hard to find, relies on the stored goodness of grains, beans, nuts and seeds. While Australians might think of the summe barbecue season as the time for meat, the densely packed nutrients in red meat are energetically more suited to the cooler months, slowly cooked and preferably still on the bone. Traditionally winter was the time to eat fats to gain some insulation for the months when food was harder to find, however in current day Australia this is rarely an issue.
This is the time to dust off the crock-pot and set it to work with meat, grains or beans, chopped root vegetables, stock and herbs to slowly cook while you work the day away (see recipes below).
The colder it is outside, the warmer your food and drinks should become.
Seasonal food suggestions
Breakfast
This is a great time of year to eat cooked grains to begin your day. Oats, as in porridge is an obvious place to start but so too is a cooked breakfast of quinoa, cornmeal, buckwheat or millet (which are also gluten-free options). This creamy quinoa breakfast is currently the favourite in my household.
To make a basic porridge or cooked grain dish, use a ratio of 1 part grains to 2 parts water, some kind of milk or even fruit juice, then cooked til soft. A little cinnamon or grated nutmeg makes a nice addition or dried or stewed fruit. Don’t forget the slow cooker – pour in your grains, fluid and other flavours before bed, switch it on and you have the perfect, no fuss hot breakfast waiting for you in the morning.
Homemade baked beans, boiled or poached eggs or just a bowl of stewed fruit make other great tasty cool season breakfasts.
Lunch
Soups and stews and other heated leftovers make ideal lunches. But if, like me, you are a little suspicious of microwaves or you are on the road during the day a thermos can be your best friend at this time of year. My happiest winter meal was a hot soup made from beans and winter vegetables, eaten in the snow while cross-country skiing.
If you buy your lunch consider looking at other options in your Japanese takeaway moving from the nori rolls to warm dishes like the ‘dons’ (on rice) or soupy noodles meals. Of course a toasted sandwich can feel pretty satisfying on a cold day too but make sure you vary the fillings to include a decent serve of vegetables.
Dinner
A weekly batch of soup to have on standby for nights you get home late and cold. My favourite are beans, root vegetables, a can of tomatoes and some vegetable stock. Carnivores might enjoy a classic lamb shank based soup or stew with pearl barley or split peas and orange vegetables.
A whole baked fish, such as snapper, with roast vegetables.
Chilli con carne (or without carne for a vegetarian version).
Tagine type Middle Eastern dishes favour warming spices like cinnamon, dried fruit, and vegetables as the basis of a slow cooked meat or vegetarian meal. Another ideal slow cooker meal.
Pilafs are grain based meals cooked with vegetables/meat and spices. Rice and lentils are an Indian version but millet or quinoa with finely chopped vegetables, onion, garlic and vegetable stock make a healthy modern twist on the theme. Try Lucy’s quinoa and millet pilaf for something different.
Drinks
Regardless of the season, ditch the ice. Our digestive system likes to metabolise things at room temperature at all times of the year.
While chai has become a popular drink year round, those warming spices like ginger, cardamom and cinnamon can blend well with a variety of herbs to make what I call “kitchen cupboard spice tea”. A few slices of oranges or lemons, a generous chunk of finely chopped or grated root ginger, a cinnamon or cassia stick and a couple of star anises brewed up in the pot makes a warming mix. The rich red of dried hibiscus flowers with root ginger also makes a pleasant brew.
Of course spices and warm drinks are synonymous with mulled wine. Much of the alcohol is driven off in the cooking process (if not fortified with brandy or other spirits before imbibing!). Similar recipes use cider or grape juice, heated with spices for a warming drink.
More healthy winter food ideas and other links
A Melbourne reporter’s locavore experiment
Crock-pot recipes
Vegan slow cooker recipes
Things to do with a thermos including how to make porridge in one.
Are there any benefits of eating seasonally?
It is argued that in this age of globalism that everything is in season, somewhere in the world. A trip to the supermarket this week in Victoria will offer you cherries from North America, barramundi from Thailand and oranges of mixed origin. While labelling is improving as to the countries these foods originate, the regions within Australia still are missing in the big chains.
European studies show that the nutrient values of foods flown in from other countries are lower than locally grown and snap frozen vegetables. It would be logical to assume that fresh vegetables grown in the area, with less time in transit would have at least similar benefits. Certainly the time between being picked and consumed can have a huge bearing on unstable nutrients such as vitamin C.
Locavore is a buzzword made popular by books on seasonal eating, like Barbara Kingsolver’s ”Animal, Vegetable, Miracle”. While the premise behind the idea is broader than just personal health, a trade-off for using less energy to transport our food is that if you eat what is grown in your vicinity (arbitrarily the consensus seems to bee 100 miles/160 kms) will essentially be food suited to the climate you live in.
Kingsolver found some obvious sticky areas. For one, the family wasn’t prepared to give up drinking coffee, a bean suited to growing in a tropical climate. Tea drinkers would have similar issues. But as far fresh produce was concerned, the family ate what they could grow on their land or in their county for twelve months as an ecological experiment.
Autumn into winter fresh produce
While most people don’t have a vegetable garden to supplement their dinner table it can be difficult to know what is in season. A simple guide is that what is most plentiful and cheaper in the shops is most likely to be in season.
However Australia is a large country, with many climate zones and even most organic groceries will tend to have fresh fruit and vegetables from many States. Once again, the further they have to travel from the farm will increase the costs. Zucchini, for example, so cheap at the end of summer is still available Australian grown but at least treble the price as autumn comes to an end.
Farmers markets tend to sell produce closer to home and become your best bet for more locavore oriented seasonality.
Fruits and vegetables in season in the Eastern states of Australia
(Source: Campion and Curtis)
May - late autumn
fruit
apples (bonza, braeburn , cox's orange, pippins , fuji, gala, golden delicious, granny smith, jonagold, jonathan, mutso, pink lady , red delicious, snow, sundowner), banana, cumquat, custard apple, feijoa, grapes (purple cornichon, waltham cross), kiwifruit, lemons, limes, mandarin (imperial), melon (champagne), nuts (chestnut, hazelnut, peanut, walnut), pears (howell, josephine, packham , red sensation, Williams), persimmon, quince, rhubarb.
vegetables
asian greens (bok choy, choy sum, gai laan, wonga bok), avocados (fuerte, sharwill), beetroot, broccoli, brussels sprout, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celeriac, celery, daikon, eggplant, fennel, garlic, ginger, horseradish, leeks, lettuce, mushrooms (wild, field, pine, slippery jacks), okra, olives, onions (brown, spring), parsnip, peas, potato, pumpkin, shallots, silverbeet, spinach, squash, swede, sweet potato, taro, tomato, turnip, witlof, zucchini.
June - early winter
fruit
apples – (bonza, braeburn , cox's orange, pippins , fuji, gala, golden delicious, granny smith, jonagold, jonathan, lady Williams, mutso, pink lady, red delicious, snow, sundowner), custard apple, grapefruit, kiwifruit, lemons, limes, mandarin (ellendale), melons (champagne), nashi, nuts (chestnut, hazelnut , walnut), oranges (navel), pears (beurre bosc, Josephine, packham), persimmon, pomelo, quince, rhubarb.
vegetables
asian greens (bok choy, choy sum, gai laan, wonga bok), avocados (fuerte, sharwill), beetroot, broccoli, brussels sprout, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celeriac, celery, fennel, garlic, ginger, horseradish, Jerusalem artichokes, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, okra, olives, onions, parsnip, peas, potato, pumpkin, shallot, silverbeet, spinach, swede, sweet potato, turnip, witlof.
Cool weather cooking
While the hotter months tempt us with crisp and cooling fruits and vegetables (think of cucumbers, pineapples and mangoes) that are best eaten raw and chilled, nature moves onto producing denser foods at this time of year. Vegetables that often require some cooking to liberate the goodness (think root vegetables potatoes, turnips and swedes).
The most plentiful fruit tends to be apples and pears, which are even more appealing stewed up with warming spices like cinnamon and eaten hot.
This time of year, when in some places fresh food is hard to find, relies on the stored goodness of grains, beans, nuts and seeds. While Australians might think of the summe barbecue season as the time for meat, the densely packed nutrients in red meat are energetically more suited to the cooler months, slowly cooked and preferably still on the bone. Traditionally winter was the time to eat fats to gain some insulation for the months when food was harder to find, however in current day Australia this is rarely an issue.
This is the time to dust off the crock-pot and set it to work with meat, grains or beans, chopped root vegetables, stock and herbs to slowly cook while you work the day away (see recipes below).
The colder it is outside, the warmer your food and drinks should become.
Seasonal food suggestions
Breakfast
This is a great time of year to eat cooked grains to begin your day. Oats, as in porridge is an obvious place to start but so too is a cooked breakfast of quinoa, cornmeal, buckwheat or millet (which are also gluten-free options). This creamy quinoa breakfast is currently the favourite in my household.
To make a basic porridge or cooked grain dish, use a ratio of 1 part grains to 2 parts water, some kind of milk or even fruit juice, then cooked til soft. A little cinnamon or grated nutmeg makes a nice addition or dried or stewed fruit. Don’t forget the slow cooker – pour in your grains, fluid and other flavours before bed, switch it on and you have the perfect, no fuss hot breakfast waiting for you in the morning.
Homemade baked beans, boiled or poached eggs or just a bowl of stewed fruit make other great tasty cool season breakfasts.
Lunch
Soups and stews and other heated leftovers make ideal lunches. But if, like me, you are a little suspicious of microwaves or you are on the road during the day a thermos can be your best friend at this time of year. My happiest winter meal was a hot soup made from beans and winter vegetables, eaten in the snow while cross-country skiing.
If you buy your lunch consider looking at other options in your Japanese takeaway moving from the nori rolls to warm dishes like the ‘dons’ (on rice) or soupy noodles meals. Of course a toasted sandwich can feel pretty satisfying on a cold day too but make sure you vary the fillings to include a decent serve of vegetables.
Dinner
A weekly batch of soup to have on standby for nights you get home late and cold. My favourite are beans, root vegetables, a can of tomatoes and some vegetable stock. Carnivores might enjoy a classic lamb shank based soup or stew with pearl barley or split peas and orange vegetables.
A whole baked fish, such as snapper, with roast vegetables.
Chilli con carne (or without carne for a vegetarian version).
Tagine type Middle Eastern dishes favour warming spices like cinnamon, dried fruit, and vegetables as the basis of a slow cooked meat or vegetarian meal. Another ideal slow cooker meal.
Pilafs are grain based meals cooked with vegetables/meat and spices. Rice and lentils are an Indian version but millet or quinoa with finely chopped vegetables, onion, garlic and vegetable stock make a healthy modern twist on the theme. Try Lucy’s quinoa and millet pilaf for something different.
Drinks
Regardless of the season, ditch the ice. Our digestive system likes to metabolise things at room temperature at all times of the year.
While chai has become a popular drink year round, those warming spices like ginger, cardamom and cinnamon can blend well with a variety of herbs to make what I call “kitchen cupboard spice tea”. A few slices of oranges or lemons, a generous chunk of finely chopped or grated root ginger, a cinnamon or cassia stick and a couple of star anises brewed up in the pot makes a warming mix. The rich red of dried hibiscus flowers with root ginger also makes a pleasant brew.
Of course spices and warm drinks are synonymous with mulled wine. Much of the alcohol is driven off in the cooking process (if not fortified with brandy or other spirits before imbibing!). Similar recipes use cider or grape juice, heated with spices for a warming drink.
More healthy winter food ideas and other links
A Melbourne reporter’s locavore experiment
Crock-pot recipes
Vegan slow cooker recipes
Things to do with a thermos including how to make porridge in one.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Healthier Christmas eating
Here in the Southern Hemisphere our desire to eat lighter food in the hot months is hampered by Old World traditions. While the holiday season that straddles our summer is steeped in the cold climate rituals of cooking copious amounts of meat, stuffing, baked starchy vegetables, dense cakes and even richer puddings – our bodies tend to protest at the excess, even if other parts enjoy the feast.
While summer is suited to fish on the barbecue, lots of crispy salads and cooling tropical fruit, despite a huge shift in many people’s Christmas fare – there is still some massive resistance to drop the bird, pud and monumental lump of cured pig. In fact in a recent online discussion in the Age mobilized an incredible wrath, after the columnist suggested people cut back on preserved meats in light of the growing evidence linking it with cancer. One commenter lamented concern of regarding what her in-laws would think of her if the Christmas table didn’t feature a ham. Her anguish bought home to me just how resistant we are to change.
So even if your yuletide celebration is a feast of epic proportions, there is still room to introduce some kinder to your body, yet delicious, options.
Breakfast is a great time to get a serve or 3 of fruit. An all in one bowl fruit salad, or arranged elegantly on a platter – it is hard to resist such a cornucopia of seasonal goodies eg: mangoes, papaya, pineapple (these two also contain great enzymes that help our digestion), apricots, nectarines, and peaches. If you want to add the schmaltzy colours of the season add some kiwi and cherries for a bit of red and green, or garnish with fresh mint.
Red drinks – hibiscus tea, cranberry juice, raspberry or strawberry smoothies, pomegranate molasses mixed with mineral water.
The main event
Grilled or barbecued fish kebabs: cubes of firm white fish (eg: blue eye), marinated for 1 hour in 1 part lemon or lime juice, 2 parts olive oil plus some crushed garlic.
Vegetarian kebabs: skewers of capsicum, onion, eggplant, zucchini etc. Tofu marinated in 1 part tamari, 1 part mirin plus crushed ginger and garlic – optional.
Vegetarian platters: wedges of avocado (dressed with a little lemon juice to stop discolouring), halved boiled eggs, grilled eggplant, cucumber, celery, capsicum, blanched asparagus, pistachios or other nuts. From the deli: marinated olives, grilled artichoke hearts, felafels, and dolmades.
If you really want to do more cooking:
Mini frittatas:
Fillings – spring onion/garlic/shitake mushroom, tomato/olive, caramelised onion and parsley, smoked oysters or mussels.
Place a small amount of filling in a greased or lined muffin pan.
Beat together 1.5 organic eggs and a dash of water, per frittata plus salt and pepper.
Half fill each pan with egg mixture.
Bake in moderate oven (180c) for about 12-15 minutes until puffed and golden.
(Can be eaten warm or cold)
From "Confessions of a Food Nazi":
Roasted cauliflower and tahini dip with crudités (can make the day before).
Chickpea and asparagus salad with kaffir lime dressing
From “Chocolate and Zucchini”:
Radish and avocado canapés this uses smoked salt but can be substituted with a little sea salt mixed with smoky paprika.
White bean and tahini dip
Sun dried tomato and basil polenta squares - these look fantastic, are grilled rather than fried and are both dairy and gluten free.
Remember to have lots of jugs of water on hand with your favourite garnish – slices of citrus, sprigs of mint etc All you have to do then is pour and drink.
In the end, it is just one day of the year. Unfortunately for many of us it comes in a long line of summer celebrations – an extra glass or two of alcohol here, too much finger food and not enough vegetables there – all adds up. Try to use a smaller plate and eat more slowly. Take a decent break in all the eating and drinking and go for a walk, kick a footy or be really smart and give someone you will be with on the day a gift that will get you all up and moving like a kite or a frisbee.
If you have eaten too much – herbal teas made from peppermint, ginger or chamomile can help if you are feeling a little off colour, likewise bitters such as lemon juice in warm water or an unsweetened dandelion root ‘coffee’ may aid your digestion.
If you are prone to reflux – avoid the mince pies and any other sweet or savoury pastries as the combination of flour and fat tends to worsen this condition. (More on reflux and indigestion
Enjoy the season, however you choose to celebrate.
Seasonal Health Resources
Surviving the party season
Burn out
Stress-less gifts - ethical and homemade presents
When Christmas makes you blue - Raising our spirits, Coping with anxiety
While summer is suited to fish on the barbecue, lots of crispy salads and cooling tropical fruit, despite a huge shift in many people’s Christmas fare – there is still some massive resistance to drop the bird, pud and monumental lump of cured pig. In fact in a recent online discussion in the Age mobilized an incredible wrath, after the columnist suggested people cut back on preserved meats in light of the growing evidence linking it with cancer. One commenter lamented concern of regarding what her in-laws would think of her if the Christmas table didn’t feature a ham. Her anguish bought home to me just how resistant we are to change.
So even if your yuletide celebration is a feast of epic proportions, there is still room to introduce some kinder to your body, yet delicious, options.
Breakfast is a great time to get a serve or 3 of fruit. An all in one bowl fruit salad, or arranged elegantly on a platter – it is hard to resist such a cornucopia of seasonal goodies eg: mangoes, papaya, pineapple (these two also contain great enzymes that help our digestion), apricots, nectarines, and peaches. If you want to add the schmaltzy colours of the season add some kiwi and cherries for a bit of red and green, or garnish with fresh mint.
Red drinks – hibiscus tea, cranberry juice, raspberry or strawberry smoothies, pomegranate molasses mixed with mineral water.
The main event
Grilled or barbecued fish kebabs: cubes of firm white fish (eg: blue eye), marinated for 1 hour in 1 part lemon or lime juice, 2 parts olive oil plus some crushed garlic.
Vegetarian kebabs: skewers of capsicum, onion, eggplant, zucchini etc. Tofu marinated in 1 part tamari, 1 part mirin plus crushed ginger and garlic – optional.
Vegetarian platters: wedges of avocado (dressed with a little lemon juice to stop discolouring), halved boiled eggs, grilled eggplant, cucumber, celery, capsicum, blanched asparagus, pistachios or other nuts. From the deli: marinated olives, grilled artichoke hearts, felafels, and dolmades.
If you really want to do more cooking:
Mini frittatas:
Fillings – spring onion/garlic/shitake mushroom, tomato/olive, caramelised onion and parsley, smoked oysters or mussels.
Place a small amount of filling in a greased or lined muffin pan.
Beat together 1.5 organic eggs and a dash of water, per frittata plus salt and pepper.
Half fill each pan with egg mixture.
Bake in moderate oven (180c) for about 12-15 minutes until puffed and golden.
(Can be eaten warm or cold)
From "Confessions of a Food Nazi":
Roasted cauliflower and tahini dip with crudités (can make the day before).
Chickpea and asparagus salad with kaffir lime dressing
From “Chocolate and Zucchini”:
Radish and avocado canapés this uses smoked salt but can be substituted with a little sea salt mixed with smoky paprika.
White bean and tahini dip
Sun dried tomato and basil polenta squares - these look fantastic, are grilled rather than fried and are both dairy and gluten free.
Remember to have lots of jugs of water on hand with your favourite garnish – slices of citrus, sprigs of mint etc All you have to do then is pour and drink.
In the end, it is just one day of the year. Unfortunately for many of us it comes in a long line of summer celebrations – an extra glass or two of alcohol here, too much finger food and not enough vegetables there – all adds up. Try to use a smaller plate and eat more slowly. Take a decent break in all the eating and drinking and go for a walk, kick a footy or be really smart and give someone you will be with on the day a gift that will get you all up and moving like a kite or a frisbee.
If you have eaten too much – herbal teas made from peppermint, ginger or chamomile can help if you are feeling a little off colour, likewise bitters such as lemon juice in warm water or an unsweetened dandelion root ‘coffee’ may aid your digestion.
If you are prone to reflux – avoid the mince pies and any other sweet or savoury pastries as the combination of flour and fat tends to worsen this condition. (More on reflux and indigestion
Enjoy the season, however you choose to celebrate.
Seasonal Health Resources
Surviving the party season
Burn out
Stress-less gifts - ethical and homemade presents
When Christmas makes you blue - Raising our spirits, Coping with anxiety
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
a grain of truth
Below is an abstract of a recently published study showing, once more, that good food keeps you well. Or more specifically, whole grains stop your arteries clogging up (a major cause of heart disease) and also protect you from type 2 diabetes.
Whole grains, the plant foods that still look like they do when they are on the plant, husk and all (or as close to it as we are able to digest), make great winter foods. They also taste good, fill us up with slow release energy, keep our bowels regular and are packed full of nutrients.
Here's a little culinary motivation:
Quinoa is one of my favourite grains, some of the best recipes I've found for this gem is at 101 Cookbooks, also keep an eye out for it's author, Heidi Swanson's, new cookbook.
While you are there, check out what she does with brown rice as well.
Don't forget the joys of porridge on these cold mornings, a generous handful of barley in soups and stews and a millet pilaf for something different.
Study Reconfirms Importance of Whole Grains of Heart Health
By Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS, June 25, 2007,
abstracted from "Whole-grain intake and carotid artery atherosclerosis
in a multiethnic cohort: the Insulin Resistance Atherosclerosis Study"
in the 2007 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Along with the meteoric rise of type 2 diabetes (T2D) in the U.S.,
with currently more than 18 million Americans affected,1 is the rise
of cardiovascular disease (CVD), which took over 871,000 Americans in
2004.2 With the crucial role that diet plays in health, America's
shift from whole grains to refined grains3 has been thought to be
associated with accelerating the onsets of both CVD and T2D.4
Although the current recommendation for whole grain intake is at least
3 servings per day to promote health,5 Americans "fall far short" of
this.6 Now a new study7 has reconfirmed the importance of whole grain
consumption to help promote health.
In the study, nearly 1600 participants aged 40-69 years who
participated in the Insulin Resistance Atherosclerosis Study (IRAS)8
completed a 114-item food questionnaire. They also had blood tests
done and had an ultrasound of the carotid artery to measure its
thickness. The participants then returned 5 years later to have the
same measurements taken.
The researchers found "a strong, inverse association between
whole-grain intake" and artery thickness as well as insulin
sensitivity. They then compared these results to previous
research(9-11) that found as much as a 25% reduced risk for CVD with
higher whole grain intakes.
For the researchers, "These findings provide further support for the
potential beneficial role of whole grains in reducing atherosclerotic
cardiovascular disease."
Reference:
1 Diabetes Statistics posted on
www.diabetes.org/diabetes-statistics/prevalence.jsp
2 Cardiovascular Disease statistics posted on
www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4478
3 Gross LS, Li L, Ford ES, Liu S. Increased consumption of refined
carbohydrates and the epidemic of type 2 diabetes in the United
States: an ecologic assessment. Am J Clin Nutr 2004;79:774 –9
4 Stumvoll M, Goldstein BJ, van Haeften TW. Type 2 diabetes:
principles of pathogenesis and therapy. Lancet 2005;365:1333– 46
5 US Department of Agriculture. Dietary guidelines for Americans
2005.Internet: www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2005/
document/html/chapter5.htm 2005 (accessed 29 July 2005)
6 Cleveland LE, Moshfegh AJ, Albertson AM, Goldman JD. Dietary intake
of whole grains. J Am Coll Nutr 2000;19(suppl):331S– 8
7 Mellen PB. Whole-grain intake and carotid artery atherosclerosis
in a multiethnic cohort: the Insulin Resistance Atherosclerosis Study.
Am J Clin Nutr 2007; 85(6): 1495-1502
8 Wagenknecht LE, Mayer EJ, Rewers M, et al. The Insulin Resistance
Atherosclerosis Study (IRAS): objectives, design, and recruitment
results. Ann Epidemiol 1995;5:464 –72
9 Jacobs DR Jr, Meyer KA, Kushi LH, Folsom AR. Whole-grain intake may
reduce the risk of ischemic heart disease death in postmenopausal
women: the Iowa Women's Health Study. AmJ Clin Nutr 1998;68:248–57
10 Steffen LM, JacobsDRJr, Stevens J, Shahar E, Carithers T, Folsom
AR. Associations of whole-grain, refined-grain, and fruit and
vegetable consumption with risks of all-cause mortality and incident
coronary artery disease and ischemic stroke: the Atherosclerosis Risk
in Communities (ARIC) Study. Am J Clin Nutr 2003;78:383–90
11 Jensen MK, Koh-Banerjee P, Hu FB et al. Intakes of whole grains,
bran, and germ and the risk of coronary heart disease in men. Am J
Clin Nutr 2004;80:1492–9
Whole grains, the plant foods that still look like they do when they are on the plant, husk and all (or as close to it as we are able to digest), make great winter foods. They also taste good, fill us up with slow release energy, keep our bowels regular and are packed full of nutrients.
Here's a little culinary motivation:
Quinoa is one of my favourite grains, some of the best recipes I've found for this gem is at 101 Cookbooks, also keep an eye out for it's author, Heidi Swanson's, new cookbook.
While you are there, check out what she does with brown rice as well.
Don't forget the joys of porridge on these cold mornings, a generous handful of barley in soups and stews and a millet pilaf for something different.
Study Reconfirms Importance of Whole Grains of Heart Health
By Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS, June 25, 2007,
abstracted from "Whole-grain intake and carotid artery atherosclerosis
in a multiethnic cohort: the Insulin Resistance Atherosclerosis Study"
in the 2007 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Along with the meteoric rise of type 2 diabetes (T2D) in the U.S.,
with currently more than 18 million Americans affected,1 is the rise
of cardiovascular disease (CVD), which took over 871,000 Americans in
2004.2 With the crucial role that diet plays in health, America's
shift from whole grains to refined grains3 has been thought to be
associated with accelerating the onsets of both CVD and T2D.4
Although the current recommendation for whole grain intake is at least
3 servings per day to promote health,5 Americans "fall far short" of
this.6 Now a new study7 has reconfirmed the importance of whole grain
consumption to help promote health.
In the study, nearly 1600 participants aged 40-69 years who
participated in the Insulin Resistance Atherosclerosis Study (IRAS)8
completed a 114-item food questionnaire. They also had blood tests
done and had an ultrasound of the carotid artery to measure its
thickness. The participants then returned 5 years later to have the
same measurements taken.
The researchers found "a strong, inverse association between
whole-grain intake" and artery thickness as well as insulin
sensitivity. They then compared these results to previous
research(9-11) that found as much as a 25% reduced risk for CVD with
higher whole grain intakes.
For the researchers, "These findings provide further support for the
potential beneficial role of whole grains in reducing atherosclerotic
cardiovascular disease."
Reference:
1 Diabetes Statistics posted on
www.diabetes.org/diabetes-statistics/prevalence.jsp
2 Cardiovascular Disease statistics posted on
www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4478
3 Gross LS, Li L, Ford ES, Liu S. Increased consumption of refined
carbohydrates and the epidemic of type 2 diabetes in the United
States: an ecologic assessment. Am J Clin Nutr 2004;79:774 –9
4 Stumvoll M, Goldstein BJ, van Haeften TW. Type 2 diabetes:
principles of pathogenesis and therapy. Lancet 2005;365:1333– 46
5 US Department of Agriculture. Dietary guidelines for Americans
2005.Internet: www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2005/
document/html/chapter5.htm 2005 (accessed 29 July 2005)
6 Cleveland LE, Moshfegh AJ, Albertson AM, Goldman JD. Dietary intake
of whole grains. J Am Coll Nutr 2000;19(suppl):331S– 8
7 Mellen PB. Whole-grain intake and carotid artery atherosclerosis
in a multiethnic cohort: the Insulin Resistance Atherosclerosis Study.
Am J Clin Nutr 2007; 85(6): 1495-1502
8 Wagenknecht LE, Mayer EJ, Rewers M, et al. The Insulin Resistance
Atherosclerosis Study (IRAS): objectives, design, and recruitment
results. Ann Epidemiol 1995;5:464 –72
9 Jacobs DR Jr, Meyer KA, Kushi LH, Folsom AR. Whole-grain intake may
reduce the risk of ischemic heart disease death in postmenopausal
women: the Iowa Women's Health Study. AmJ Clin Nutr 1998;68:248–57
10 Steffen LM, JacobsDRJr, Stevens J, Shahar E, Carithers T, Folsom
AR. Associations of whole-grain, refined-grain, and fruit and
vegetable consumption with risks of all-cause mortality and incident
coronary artery disease and ischemic stroke: the Atherosclerosis Risk
in Communities (ARIC) Study. Am J Clin Nutr 2003;78:383–90
11 Jensen MK, Koh-Banerjee P, Hu FB et al. Intakes of whole grains,
bran, and germ and the risk of coronary heart disease in men. Am J
Clin Nutr 2004;80:1492–9
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