Food Worship #11: Brussels Sprouts

I know what you're thinking...I'm crazy.  Those nasty little cabbages you used to hate as a kid?  Why would those be a super food?  Well as you might have guessed, their green exterior and dense, veggie "aura" means that like your mother said, they're remarkably good for you.  And you know what?  I personally believe they're absolutely delicious.  They're packed with fiber, and when cooked right they're dense and provide an incredibly satisfying bite, requiring just the right amount of effort to really know you've got some substantial food in your mouth.  Yup, I love brussels sprouts.  Sue me.

So what makes these things so good for you?  Well, they're loaded with nutrients of all kinds, both macro and micro, and most definitely help your body out in all sorts of ways.  Not to mention they can really bulk up a meal (these little guys fill you up fast, they're quite substantial for sure.)  Also, when they're cooked just right, brussels sprouts are actually quite tender and delicious, and I bet if you haven't had them in a few years (due to painful childhood memories) that if you tried them again in your maturity you'd be surprised to find they're pretty darn tasty, especially compared to certain other veggies.  Let's explore a little more in detail about why you should do just that, and how exactly you'd be doing your body good.

Fiber:  As I alluded to earlier, brussels sprouts have quite a bit of fiber in them.  In today's world, the more fiber you can get, the healthier you'll be and the better you'll feel.  One cup of brussels sprouts has about 7 grams of fiber (THAT'S A LOT!), and one sprout has about 1 gram of fiber.  All this fiber supports digestive/colon health, and also can assist in slowing the digestion of food so that the body more effectively uses what it's given. This can also prevent, to a certain degree, rapid fat gain, because it gives your body a longer time to use the food you've eaten.  So get your fiber, and stay on track.

Heart Health:  Brussels sprouts are great for your heart in a couple different ways.  Firstly, they lower your LDL (bad) cholesterol.  That's awesome, because with all the processed food out there today you'll need a good cholesterol-lowering tool that's easy to cook up and munch on.  Brussels sprouts also help to create a substance in the blood called isothiocyanate (ITC) sulforaphane which has anti-inflammatory properties and may even be able to repair damaged blood vessels.  That's pretty awesome if I don't say so myself.

Omega-3:  Now I know what you're thinking, how could brussels sprouts have an essential fatty acid in them, after all there's only 0.6 grams of fat in an entire cup!  But you'll be happy to know that the little bit of fat brussels sprouts do have is ALL good for you, and also is anti-inflammatory.  Oh, and it'll support good cholesterol too, as an added bonus (as if there aren't enough bonuses to brussels sprouts already...)

Anti-Oxidants:  Brussels sprouts have so many of these it's astounding:  everything from vitamin C, E, beta-carotene, ferulic acid, and a special one called D3T (3H-1,2-dithiole-3-thione) that's actually quite rare in food.  All these anti-oxidants help to prevent oxidation damage to your cells, which in turn can have effects on preventing several kinds of cancer.  Make brussels sprouts a lifetime habit and perhaps you'll have a better chance of warding off cancer throughout your entire life.  I'll take that kind of benefit any day.

Vitamins and Minerals:  Oh boy do brussels sprouts have a bunch of these.  Eating a serving of brussels sprouts is almost like taking a multi-vitamin.  In one cup of brussels sprouts you'll be getting nearly 200% of your daily value of vitamin K, and 120% of your daily vitamin C.  WOW!  That's impressive.  You'll also be getting a heaping helping of folate, manganese, and vitamin A.  But that's not even close to the whole story.  Here's the nutritional profile of brussels sprouts, courtesy of WHFoods.com:

Brussels Sprouts 1.00 cup, raw 88.00 grams 37.84 calories
Nutrient	Amount	DV (%)	Nutrient Density	World's Healthiest Foods Rating
vitamin K	155.76 mcg	194.7	92.6	excellent
vitamin C	74.80 mg	124.7	59.3	excellent
manganese	0.30 mg	15.0	7.1	very good
folate	53.68 mcg	13.4	6.4	very good
dietary fiber	3.34 g	13.4	6.4	very good
vitamin A	663.52 IU	13.3	6.3	very good
potassium	342.32 mg	9.8	4.7	very good
vitamin B6 (pyridoxine)	0.19 mg	9.5	4.5	very good
tryptophan	0.03 g	9.4	4.5	very good
vitamin B1 (thiamin)	0.12 mg	8.0	3.8	very good
iron	1.23 mg	6.8	3.3	good
phosphorus	60.72 mg	6.1	2.9	good
protein	2.97 g	5.9	2.8	good
molybdenum	4.40 mcg	5.9	2.8	good
magnesium	20.24 mg	5.1	2.4	good
vitamin B2 (riboflavin)	0.08 mg	4.7	2.2	good
choline	16.81 mg	4.0	1.9	good
vitamin E	0.77 mg	3.9	1.8	good
omega 3 fatty acids	0.09 g	3.8	1.8	good
calcium	36.96 mg	3.7	1.8	good
vitamin B3 (niacin)	0.66 mg	3.3	1.6	good

World's Healthiest Foods Rating	Rule
excellent	DV>=75% OR Density>=7.6 AND DV>=10%
very good	DV>=50% OR Density>=3.4 AND DV>=5%
good	DV>=25% OR Density>=1.5 AND DV>=2.5%

Also, at the top there you can see that one cup of brussels sprouts has only about 40 calories.  This WILL vary depending on how big the sprouts are, but never will brussels sprouts be considered a calorie dense food.  If you decide to munch on these babies you'll get full far before you do your figure any damage.

So...brussels sprouts!  They're FANTASTIC!  They taste great, are tender and juicy, go great with almost any lunch/dinner, and are packed with all the health benefits you could ever want.  Try them out ASAP, there are a lot of AMAZING recipes out there for them.  I like mine boiled/steamed, but you can add all sorts of things to them.  In fact, here's a fantastic yet simple recipe I found online that'll really spice up a plain dish of brussels sprouts:  http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/danny-boome/sauteed-brussels-sprouts-and-red-cabbage-recipe/index.html

Give them a try, what do you have to lose except an unhealthy body?  GOOD LUCK!!


References:
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=10

Food Worship #5: The Pomegranate

To be honest, it'd been forever since I've had a Pomegranate.  In fact I bet a lot of my readers have never tried one before in their life.  Actually, you might not even know what one looks like (that's OK, it's a pretty strange fruit, not a common buy.)  But last night, when visiting home, I found a big ol' red pomegranate just sitting there on the counter, inconspicuously.  Upon asking about it, my mom said I was welcome to slice it in half and have one of the pieces, as the other was to be saved for my sister (who saves food for months.  She still has Easter candy from two years ago.)  I immediately cut that sucker open and dug in.

The only really edible part of a Pomegranate are the seeds, which seems strange because usually we avoid those in most fruits.  The actual fleshy part of the fruit itself is quite bitter, and although I tried a couple bites, I definitely don't think I could've stomached the rest of it.  Pomegranates have both an interesting flavor and texture, both of which are very distinct.  The seeds are quite sweet, juicy, and slightly crunchy as well.  It's definitely a flavor I REALLY enjoy, and I'd suggest picking up a pomegranate from your local grocery store sometime in the near future and trying it out, as you might find you are very partial to it.

Interestingly enough, the humble pomegranate has had a rich history with all sorts of ancient civilizations.  It's believed that Eve (from the bible) actually picked a pomegranate from the Garden of Eden, not an apple like we've come to believe.  Ancient Egyptian mummies were often buried with pomegranates because it was believed they could offer immortality to the dead.  And in both ancient Greece and China, pomegranates are a symbol of good luck.  That's a lot of history for one fruit.

But what I've found most interesting with pomegranates are that for some reason, to me, they just feel healthy.  The taste is powerful enough to convince you that this big red bulbous fruit is definitely helping your body in some way or another.  And you'd be right to think that.  Pomegranates are one of the best fruits going in terms of nutrients and antioxidants.

Here's a few of their numerous bodily benefits:

Heart healthy:  The antioxidants in pomegranate seeds and it's juice have a plethora of uses in your body, such as preventing the oxidation of bad cholesterol and causing the hardening of arteries.  The juice can even help to clear already clogged arteries to a certain degree.  This will help to keep your blood flowing smoothly, allowing it to deliver more oxygen where it's needed, lowering your blood pressure, and putting less strain on your heart.

Fights Cancer:  There have been all sorts of studies done on pomegranate juice's effect on various types of cancer.  The juice supposedly kills breast cancer cells, can help prevent and slow the growth of prostate cancer (this was proven in an experiment involving mice), and may even help prevent certain types of lung cancer.  That's an impressive resume for a simple fruit, and all the more reason to get a little bit of pomegranate juice into your diet.

Pomegranate juice has been shown even to help prevent an already existent cancer from spreading cancer.  Here's a quote from an article regarding prostate cancer and pomegranate juice:

"The Martins-Green lab applied pomegranate juice on laboratory-cultured prostate cancer cells that were resistant to testosterone (the more resistant a cancer cell is to testosterone, the more prone it is to metastasizing).

The researchers -- Martins-Green, graduate student Lei Wang and undergraduate students Andre Alcon and Jeffrey Ho -- found that the pomegranate juice-treated tumor cells that had not died with the treatment showed increased cell adhesion (meaning fewer cells breaking away) and decreased cell migration."

I definitely suggest reading more of that article, as it shows some pretty extraordinary supporting evidence for the benefits of pomegranate.  Here's the link:  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/12/101212121741.htm

Vitamins/Other Nutrients:  Pomegranates, like other fruit, are a very rich vitamin source.  They tend to have an especially large amount of Vitamin C, an extremely important vitamin in the now full blown cold season.  Pomegranates also have large amounts of Beta Carotene, as well as Polyphenol, another assistant to decreasing bad cholesterol.

Fiber:  The seeds in pomegranates have a decent amount of fiber in them, which as you can tell by my previous articles I'm a HUGE fan of, because fiber has so many great benefits.  It can help control your weight, aid in healthy digestion, and help keep you satiated.  Just plain awesome.

Clearly, pomegranates are quite the health food.  They taste AMAZING in my opinion, and I would definitely recommend trying one out.  It'll only do your body good, and can be a great alternative to the boring old fruit bowl filled with apples and oranges day in and day out.  Get some variety in your diet, try a fruit you haven't before.  Make the pomegranate a new staple in your clean eating endeavors.

Oh, one more note, pomegranate juice stains any sort of fabric.  I found that out last night while cutting into the darn thing.  Make sure you're wearing an old shirt, or are well protected.

Try some variety, pick up a fruit with both an amazing history and a bright future.  Good luck!

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A few reference sites:

http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/the-health-benefits-of-pomegranates/

http://www.ehow.com/facts_5049955_vitamins-pomegranates.html

http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/the-health-benefits-of-pomegranates/

http://www.healthdiaries.com/eatthis/11-health-benefits-of-pomegranate-juice.html

http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/the-health-benefits-of-pomegranates/