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 #9: Olives

So which do you like, black or green?  Personally, I hated both until a few years ago when I basically taught myself to like them.  Now the taste of an olive, black OR green makes my mouth water.  These little guys are taaaaassty.  And they're a great addition to any sort of salad, healthy pizza, meat topping, or a great stand-alone snack!  They're a great source of important macro and micro nutrients, and I would suggest trying a few the next time you get a chance.

But honestly, what the heck's the difference between black and green olives?  Some people will swear by one, but despise the other (my mother falls into this category, but I can't remember which one she loves and which one she hates.  You like the green ones, right mom?)  In fact the only difference between black and green olives is the time at which they're picked relative to their ripeness!  Green olives are picked before they're ripe, and black olives are picked after.  Pretty simple eh?  Sure there are many more variations of olives, like all those yummy greek ones, but for now lets just focus on the commonly seen black and green ones.



Now olives are actually pretty inedible in their raw form, so they're soaked in either water, brine, oil, or some special mixture of the three.  Because the green olive isn't quite as ripe at the time of eating, they're usually firmer and more bitter than the very soft black olive.  Both olives are quite healthy, and here are the major health benefits you'll receive by consumption of these delectable little morsels:

Healthy Fats:  That's right, olives are LOADED with healthy unsaturated fats which do you tons of good.  To be specific, almost all the fat (80-85% of the calories in the olive itself) is monounsaturated, and comes from a fatty acid called oleic acid.  These fatty acids strongly decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease, and also help to decrease LDL cholesterol.  I think we've learned by now that fat doesn't make you fat, and that this monounsaturated fat will do you nothing but good in the long run.  Plus it smooths out the texture of olives to a point where they seem to just melt in your mouth.  YUMMY.

Antioxidants:  Olives have so many phytonutrients and antioxidants it's pretty darn astounding.  To throw a few scientific names at you, olives are extremely rich is flavanols, terpenes, simple phenols, anthocyanidins, and many more.  All you need to know is that most of these fancy name phytonutrients help to protect your cells from oxidation damage from free radicals, which is a BIG DEAL.  Olives also have a nifty little phytonutrient called oleuropein, which is only found in olives.  Oleyropein is another very strong antioxidant, and because it doesn't come from other sources you'd do well to get some olives (or at least some olive oil) in your diet.

Vitamins:  Olives have quite a bit of vitamin E, another antioxidant that also keeps blood vessels from constricting.  They're also rich in vitamin A, which is not only ANOTHER antioxidant but helps to keep teeth and skin healthy.  Vitamins B-1 through B-6, and vitamin K can also be found in olives.


Minerals- Olives have about 25% of your daily iron, and about 17% of your daily recommended zinc, in every cup.  Copper, selenium, phosphorus, and potassium are also found in olives, all minerals vital to your long term health.

All these health benefits are available in ALL olives, black or green.

Nutritional Information:  

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 1 10 small serving
Amount Per Serving
Calories from Fat 29 Calories 36
% Daily Values*
Total Fat 3.24g		5%
	Saturated Fat 0.429g	2%
	Polyunsaturated Fat 0.277g
	Monounsaturated Fat 2.395g
Cholesterol 0mg		0%
Sodium 299mg		12%
Potassium 3mg
Total Carbohydrate 2.06g		1%
	Dietary Fiber 1g	4%
	Sugars 0g
Protein 0.3g
Vitamin A 0% Vitamin C 1%
Calcium 3% Iron 6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs. Nutrition Values are based on USDA Nutrient Database SR18

This is for a serving of 10 small black olives.  With 10 medium to large olives, you can bet you'll get around 50 calories.  Green olive nutritional information is similar, if not identical.  The one thing to watch out for in olives (besides the relative caloric density) is the sodium content, as it can add up quickly.

Hungry for olives?  I sure am, I can't wait to have a few on my salad today.  If you want to do your body some good, make sure you get a few of these little guys in your diet ASAP.

Black or green, it doesn't matter, just pop 'em and enjoy.  Good Luck!!!


References:
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=46
http://www.livestrong.com/article/370210-what-vitamins-minerals-do-olives-have/
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/olives-difference-green-black/#axzz1kHR1pqHb

Food Worship #6: The Red Beet

I'm always looking for something new to put in my salad, and recently I've discovered the magically little root vegetable known as the red beet, or just plain "beet" for short.  Maybe you've seen them, and had to look twice because of their crazy red/purple hue.  Woah man, it's purple!  But seriously, these little guys are absolutely delicious, and positively packed with nutrients.  In fact they have quite a few nutrients in high quantity that you'd be hard pressed to find in almost any other veggie.

What I find most amazing about the beet though, is how naturally sweet it is for a vegetable!  These things have a pretty hefty sugar content for being in the veggie family, but believe me don't let that fact steer you away from consuming these wondrous sweet little treats daily. It's all natural sugar that most likely will not sabotage your diet like the processed stuff might.  I say "most likely" because it's possible to go overboard with pretty much any food, even fruits and vegetables.  But believe me, if you eat a normal portion of beets daily, you've got nothing to worry about.  That's great news, considering the awesome flavor kick they give, and the delicious texture they have when they're boiled.  

But what about these infamous health benefits I've hinted about?  Are beets really that nutritionally valuable?  Let's examine why you should definitely give these purple wonders a try in a meal of yours:

Antioxidants:  You may have noticed a trend by now that darker colored fruits and vegetables tend to be pretty rich with a blend of healthy antioxidants.  Beets are no exception, and have a whole host of these healthful substances hidden inside.  But what's surprising is that the particular antioxidants found in beets aren't found in huge quantity in any other common vegetable.  Instead of the common beta-carotene, beets have large amounts of lutein and zeaxanthin. Crazy names, yes, but extremely useful substances.  They help to maintain eye and skin health, and because they're hard to find in large quantities in most other foods, having beets once in a while would definitely be to your advantage.  

Beets are also rich in the antioxidant betalain, which is also the substance that helps give them their rich red/purple color.  These antioxidants help with general cell function in your body, and also may help prevent diseases such as Rheumatoid Arthritis.  

As I've said before, this blend of antioxidants in beets really is unique in a sense, and makes the beet a very desirable vegetable in any diet.  Here's a quote from whfoods.com that puts it into better perspective:  

"While research is largely in the early stage with respect to beet antioxidants and their special benefits for eye health and overall nerve tissue health, we expect to see study results showing these special benefits and recognizing beets as a standout vegetable in this area of antioxidant support."

Vitamins:  I bet you saw this one coming.  Beets are loaded with all sorts of vitamins and minerals!  They are extremely rich in Vitamin C (you need a whole bunch of Vit. C this time of year, or you're going to be suffering from runny noses and coughs), and Vitamin A.  They also have a large quantity of the minerals iron, calcium, folic acid, niacin, biotin, and manganese.  In fact, here's a list of some of the nutritional information about beets, and the most densely packed vitamins and minerals they contain:

Nutritive Values : Per 100 gm.

• Vitamin A : 20 I.U.
• Thiamine : .02 mg
• Riboflavin : .05 mg
• Niacin : .4 mg
• Vitamin C : 10 mg.
• Calcium : 27 mg.
• Iron : 1.0 mg.
• Phosphorus : 43 mg.
• Fat : .1 gm.
• Carbohydrates : 9.6 gm.
• Protein : 1.6 gm.
• Calories : 42

Low Fat:  This one seems like a no brainer, but is still definitely worth mentioning.  Beets are extremely low in fat, and are virtually free of ALL saturated fats.  That means that any fat that is there (though you'd be hard pressed to find much at all), is heart healthy unsaturated fat.  Win-win situation!

Low Calorie Salad Topper:  What I really love about beets though, is their flavor.  I implore you to give them a chance, because they really are a sweet, low calorie salad component that could easily make that boring old salad of yours suddenly alive and tasty as heck.  In fact, boiled, chilled beets are so juicy and delicious that I bet you'll be fine content with no other salad dressing than the red beet's delicious juices.  It'll add a whole new health factor to your salad, and may even help you to take away some of that processed salad dressing.  

How low calorie are they?  Well, half a cup of delicious red beets is less than 40 calories, and every single calorie that is there is a quality calorie packed with nutrients and other health promoting substances.  Don't ever stress about eating beets!  

There it is!  A whole nutritional profile of a vegetable that isn't quite as common in mainstream society today, but definitely, definitely, DEFINITELY is worth trying in your diet.  I bet you'll like the flavor, the soft texture, and the awesome purple hue!  I mean how cool is it to have a food that's like, PURPLE!  Anyways, enough immaturity.  Beets are awesome.  Try some. Today. Please.

Keep eating the good stuff, make that salad interesting, and as always, good luck!

Stress Relieving Food

Eating a poorly balanced diet can do more than change your outward appearance.  In fact, processed food can  degrade your mental state to severely frustrating levels.  Bad food stresses you out!  No one likes stress, it can make every new day a beast to tackle, and can affect things like social relationships with others, work quality, workout quality, and even your sleep cycle.  A healthy diet is one of the greatest ways going to manage stress levels, and there's no doubt in my mind or the mind of top scientists that healthy foods will make you feel a heck of a lot better.  Let's examine what's in healthy food that can really combat stressful situations.

First of all, this won't be one of those "top 10 food" articles for stress relief.  I don't take much stock in those kind of lists, especially because the nutrients those foods contain that somehow make them "top 10" worthy are in fact shared by hundreds of foods that are equally as good for you.  To ignore such amazing diet choices is a very poor and naive idea.

So what foods do the best job of combating stress?  Well that's not a hard question to answer, and I honestly bet you could take a seriously good guess.  Healthy foods like Vegetables, fruits, and whole grains do an amazing job at providing your body with the nutrients you need to produce the hormones needed to fight off excess cortisol, one chemical associated with stress when excreted in excess.

Both Vitamin C and omega 3 fatty acids are incredible combatants of excess cortisol, and therefore can significantly decrease stress levels.  Foods rich in these are most vegetables and fruits (bell peppers, asparagus, tomatoes, green beans, apples, oranges, bananas, etc.), and lots of fish including salmon, tuna, crab, herring, swordfish, and many other varieties.

Foods high in folic acid are also great stress combatants, and once again, these foods include most any vegetable you can think of, especially dark, leafy green vegetables like spinach, asparagus, cucumbers, and many others.  Try a few for dinner tonight!

Another main cause of stress is the excess of free radicals in the body.  Free radicals are atoms that have an unpaired electron in their outermost (valence) shell, which makes them extremely unstable and damaging to human cells.  Certain nutrients have been shown to eliminate free radicals quite effectively.  Foods high in anti-oxidants will do the best job at eliminating these pesky little guys.  Foods high in anti-oxidants include most fruits, like blueberries, pomegranates, apples, bananas, raspberries, strawberries, etc.  A fruit, helping you to feel better?  Who would've guessed.

Certain other nutrients will help to combat free radicals very efficiently as well, including many vitamins and minerals such as vitamins C, B2, and E.  Surprise surprise, most fruits and vegetables are very high in all three of these.  Get some into your diet!


So there you have it.  Simple really, eat well, feel great!  Who knew?  Keep healthy foods in that diet of yours, and you'll do more than keep slim for the holidays.  With all that's going on these days, I'm guessing you could use all the chipper attitude you can muster, right?  Let those healthy foods help you out!

Eat your veggies, keep smiling, and as always, good luck!

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/