Category — Antioxidants

Strawberries are a delicious way to add more antioxidants and fiber to your diet.  According to the California Strawberry Commission, a serving of strawberries, just 8 berries, contains more vitamin C than an orange, and 2 grams of fiber!  What’s even better, is that a cup of strawberries contains just 50 calories.

I’ve found that the best and fastest way to get my daily intake of fruits and veggies is to make a power-packed morning smoothie. Here’s a strawberry smoothie recipe to get you started.  It also contains blueberries–another superfood!

Strawberry & Blueberry Smoothie

• 1/2 cup frozen blueberries
• 1 cup frozen strawberries
• 1 banana, peeled
• 1-1/2 cups milk
• 1 individual size container of yogurt

Combine all ingredients in a blender, or smoothie maker, and blend until mixture reaches desired consistency.  To add a little zip, replace some of the milk with orange juice.  Yogurt can be any flavor, depending on what you like.  I’ve also added a handful of uncooked quick oats to this recipe for increasing my whole grain intake.

If you’re trying to turn back the hands of time, you may want to give blueberries a try.  These plump and royal-hued berries should be considered little gems when it comes to maintaining a youthful appearance and good nutrition.

Here are just a few of the health benefits of eating blueberries:

• Blueberries contain more antioxidants than any other fruit.   Eating blueberries wards off cancers and heart disease because of their high concentration of anthocyanin.
• Blueberries slow the aging process, preserve eyesight, and help us stay mentally alert.
• Blueberries prevent urinary tract infections.

Here’s a recipe that will help you add blueberries to your diet!

Banana Blueberry Bran Muffins

• 4 ripe bananas, pureed in blender or food processor
• 1 package frozen blueberries
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 2 eggs
• 3 tsp. baking soda
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 2 cups oat bran
• 1 quart of buttermilk (see below for substitute info)
• 4 cups Kellogg’s All Bran cereal
• 2 1/2 cups flour

In a large mixing bowl, combine bananas, blueberries, walnuts, eggs, baking soda, sugar, vanilla, and oat bran until coarsely blended.  Then, add buttermilk, cereal, and flour.  Stir until thoroughly mixed.  Fill muffin pans 2/3 full and bake at 375 degrees F for approximately 30 minutes.

No buttermilk?  You can make your own buttermilk substitute in 5 minutes.  To make 1 cup of buttermilk, add 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice to a measuring cup.  Then fill to the one cup line with regular milk.  Gently stir, then set aside for 5 minutes before using.  The muffin recipe above requires 1 quart (4 cups) of buttermilk, so you’ll need to do this four times, or quadruple the recipe.

Here are many more blueberry recipes.

In my never ending quest to squeeze more veggies into my family’s diet, I was reading the other day about the health benefits of sweet potatoes.  Turns out these funny looking root vegetables are an excellent source of vitamin A, and a good source of both calcium and vitamin C. In addition, the antioxidants contained in sweet potatoes are linked to helping the body heal itself, and fight cancer and other diseases.  This article on sweet potatoes even rates them as the most nutritious vegetable in existence.

You can make baked sweet potatoes in the oven, or even in your microwave, just like a regular baked potato, or mash them.  I’m also going to try this skillet recipe:

Skillet Sweet Potatoes

• 2 tsp. olive oil
• 2 whole sweet potatoes
• 1 cup sliced onions
• 1/2 cup vegetable stock
• Salt and pepper

Peel sweet potatoes with a vegetable peeler.  Using a mandolin slicer or a knife, slice the potatoes into 1/2 inch strips, and then the onion into medium-thick slices.

In a nonstick skillet, cook onions in oil for 5 minutes, or until softened.  Next, add sweet potatoes and vegetable stock.  Cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes until potatoes are tender.   Serves 2-4.

Sweet potatoes pair well with pork dishes, or baked chicken breasts. Here are more sweet potato recipes.

I have almost all the risk factors for contracting skin cancer: pale skin, blue eyes, freckles, an immediate relative who has been diagnosed with skin cancer and a history of being burned several times over.  To add fuel to the fire, I live between Southern Cali and Australia, I love the outdoors and I hate putting on sun block!  All this considered, I still have a fantasy that I can not only eat to protect my skin, but also perhaps, ingest my way to reversing the skin damage I already have!  Here’s what the experts say I’ll have to eat if there’s any chance of making my dreams reality.

• Vitamin A - Found in carrots and low-fat dairy products such as yogurt.  A vitamin A supplement is also recommended for it’s dramatic benefits to the skin, however use caution in taking it if you’re pregnant - it can harm the baby in large doses.
• Antioxidants - The best sources are berries: blueberries, strawberries and blackberries.  These protect skin cells from DNA damage.
• Essential Fatty Acids - Found in salmon, walnuts and flax oil.  Some women prefer to take fat from their butt and shoot it into their face to look younger.  I think I’ll try eating more salmon first.
• Oils - Make sure it’s cold-pressed, expeller processed or is extra virgin.  Commercial oils are full of crap and heated when processed which ruins the good stuff.  Oil is high in calories however so you only need two tablespoons per day.
• Selenium - has been proven in some studies to prevent skin damage.  Brazil nuts are a high in selenium.
• Green Tea - can be useful if put on the skin as well as digested.  Green tea has been proven to prevent and reduce the risk of skin cancer.
• Water - An oldie but a goodie.  Make sure you drink at least 8 glasses per day.  Your skin will thank you!

Check ou WebMD for a full report on healthy foods for skin.

Want to know my vote for the most healthy and refreshing drink ever?

A chilled, fresh coconut. If you’ve never tried one, you’ve got to experience the bliss. They are so sweet and delicious you can’t believe it’s pure nature. And whatever you’ve heard about coconut being fattening or bad for you in anyway is completely wrong. I’ve read so much about coconut water, it’s meat and oils that it’s got me believing it’s a super food. I’ve heard testamonies from people that claim that eating a spoonful of cocnut oil every day has not only improved the look and feel of their skin and hair, but also helped them lose weight! These were not quacks or salesmen, but real live friends standing in front of me with glowing skin and svelt bodies. For a full list of the benefits of coconut check out the coconut research center.

Coconuts can be found at health food and grocery stores. They are also popular at Thai restaurants. You should be able to buy them for $1-4. If you can have them pre-cut, I recommend you do. If you don’t have them prepared in advance, you’re going to need a butcher knife to hack into it. Once you drink the juice, the meat can be scooped out and eaten. Make sure you serve them chilled.

Imagine a Tiki-style party this summer. Or just enjoy the benefits yourself after a long day’s work. The coconuts can be a fun drink for kids and adults alike, so get one for each member of the family.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/neloqua/328041456/

Red wine has been credited with health attributes from slimming down to lowering cholesterol. Imagine my surprise when I read in an article in Mother Earth News that it may also fight cancer. That’s because the most powerful cancer-fighting compound we can get from food is resveratrol, found in the skin and seeds of red grapes. Apparently, resveratrol not only protects the heart but also has been proven to help fight cancer in it’s early reversible stage by preventing cancer cells from developing and growing.

Red wine might be the most fun way to get these amazing benefits, but eating the grapes or drinking plain grape juice is just as good. A tip when buying grapes is to choose the seeded variety for maximum health benefit. If you chew and swallow the seeds as well as the skin and pulp you get the added plus of an antioxident called oligomeric proanthocyanidin which researchers claim slows the aging process and protects the skin and internal organs from the bad effects of stress and toxins.

I love when my evening relaxation habits turn out to have proven health benefits. We can all rest assured that there are some things that are fun and taste good that are also good for you!

As if I haven’t given you enough reasons to get out to your local farmer’s market and take advantage of all the fruits and vegetables that are in season right now, here’s another one.  It’s been scientifically proven that they help prevent and fight cancer.
These are the health-promoting compounds that occur naturally in foods:

• Anthocyanidins - Antioxidants with anti-inflammatory properties.  Think purple: beets, blackberries, blueberries, cherries, red grapes and purple cabbage.

• Carotenoids - protect vital fatty acids and enhance immune response.  Good sources: apricots, carrots, dark leafy greens, yams, squash, and tomatoes.

• Lutein - an antioxidant that helps protect cells and maintains health of eyes, heart, skin, and breasts and cervix in women.  Go green: spinach, collard greens, kale, leeks, peas and romaine lettuce

• Lycopene - reduces risk of prostate cancer in men.  Overall, it’s also a potent antioxidant and prevents damage to DNA.  Tomatoes have the highest percentage of lycopene; other food sources include watermelon, pink grapefruit and guava juice.

• Sulfer compounds - may help remove cancer -causing agents from your body as well as improve estrogen balance.  Mr. Mustard Family: broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, mustard greens, radishes, and turnips

The easiest way to make sure you’re selecting a good mix of cancer-fighting fruits and vegetables is by observing the colors: purple, orange, dark green and pink/red.  A mix like this is not only pleasing to your body but also to your eye.

Want a beauty tip straight from Capitol Hill?  Nancy Pelosi, the democratic Speaker of the House of Representatives credits dark chocolate in this month’s Harper’s Bazaar magazine.  “I’ve never been one to have an exercise regimen,” states Pelosi. “All day, I know that by night I’m going to be doing my crossword puzzles or reading a book, soaking in the tub, eating my chocolate.”  And when it comes to shades of chocolate “the darker the better,” is her preference.

That’s awesome to hear because I love dark chocolate too.  Just this summer my niece asked me if there are any health benefits to eating dark chocolate.  Let’s find out!

According to Dirk Taubert, MD, PhD, and colleagues at the University of Cologne, Germany, dark chocolate - not white chocolate - lowers high blood pressure. Mauro Serafini, PhD, of Italy’s National Institute for Food and Nutrition Research in Rome, and colleagues agree reporting that, “Dark chocolate - but not milk chocolate or dark chocolate eaten with milk - is a potent antioxidant.”  What’s dark chocolate got that other chocolates don’t?  Plant phenols, specifically cocoa phenols. These compounds are known to lower blood pressure.

And that’s not the extent of the benifits.  A small bar of dark chocolate is recommended by the Foods Standard Agency in the U.K. as a healthy way to fight iron deficiency.

If you want to try Mrs. Pelosi’s health and beauty routine, take this tip from Web MD when choosing your darks.  “Chocolates made in Europe are generally richer in cocoa phenols than those made in the U.S. So if you’re going to try this at home, remember: Darker is better.”  Looks like Doc and Nanc are on the same page!