Encouraging Health

I LOVE berries! Recently, a friend invited me to go up Interstate 5 near Everett, WA to buy berries fresh from the actual farmers. I bought a 1/2 flat of blueberries and immediately stuck them in the freezer, on the pretense of enjoying them in the winter. There were 8 baggies of them, now I think I have 3 or 4 left. They are so good!

Been known to gorge on blueberries in late summer and early fall, when they’re abundant and in season? Go ahead! Even in the world of fruits and berries, which is loaded with health-boosting, age-fighting nutrition stars, blueberries are a supernova.

They’re linked not only to skin, heart, eye, and urinary health but also to a lower risk of cancer, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s.

So how much should you be eating to reap the protective health benefits? About 1 to 2 cups a day says Steven G. Pratt, MD, author of the new book SuperFoods HealthStyle: Proven Strategies for Lifelong Health.

First off, you may be thinking, “Wow, that’s a lot of blueberries, even in August!” Second, if they’re not in season, you’re wondering how on earth you’re going to eat a cup or more a day. Here’s how:

Stock your freezer. There’s evidence that frozen blueberries provide the same benefits of fresh, says Dr. Pratt. The big tip-off? A European study found that men who ate frozen berries daily had as much as 50% more quercetin, a particularly powerful anticancer antioxidant, in their blood than did men who abstained from eating berries.

When fresh blueberries are so last season, here are a few suggestions from Pratt and others on how to use frozen ones to get that “cup a day”:

• Put a cup of frozen berries in the fridge in the evening to defrost; in the morning, sprinkle them over cereal or stir them into yogurt. Forgot to defrost? Throw those chilly berries in the blender, and whip up a quick all-fruit smoothie.

• Boost the fiber and nutrients in your baked goods by tossing a handful into muffin or quick-bread batter. Just add 5 to 15 minutes to the baking time to compensate for their chilling effect.

• Float a few in a glass of cold club soda or lemonade as festive, edible ice cubes. (Kids will get a kick out of this.)

• Eat them plain, like tiny popsicles. (Another kid pleaser.)

• Add them to a salad of winter fruit about 15 minutes before serving.

Eating fistfuls of blueberries every day is certainly no risk to your weight. You’re only looking at 79 calories a cup. And all those antioxidants pay off big-time.

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If you’ve been denying yourself pancakes for health and waist reasons, get out the griddle — they’re back.

Play Fast and Loose with the Batter
“Pancake batters are like cookie mixtures: They aren’t an exact science. You can throw all kinds of stuff into them and they’ll still come out just fine!” says nutritionist Elizabeth Somer, RD, author of The Food and Mood Cookbook. Here’s how to rehab your favorite flapjack recipe:

1. Cut Down the Calories
· Use half the oil, margarine, shortening, or butter called for in the recipe.
· Use nonfat milk or nonfat condensed milk — or low-fat buttermilk or soymilk — instead of whole milk.
· Use cooking spray to prepare the griddle.
· Keep servings to two 4″ pancakes.

2. Pump Up the Fiber
· Replace some of the white or unbleached flour with whole-wheat pastry flour. (It’s lighter than regular whole-wheat flour.) Start with 3/4 cup white and 1/4 cup whole-wheat flour for every cup of flour called for. Increase the whole-wheat flour every time you cook until you find the proportion you like best.
· Toss in a handful of oatmeal to up the protein and fiber. (You may need to add a little extra milk, too.)
· To make gluten-free pancakes, use buckwheat flour.

3. Skim Off the Cholesterol
· Replace the eggs with egg substitute, or use two whites per yolk.
· For fluffier pancakes, whip the whites separately, and then fold them into the batter.

4. Skinny Down the Sugar
· Replace half the sugar with Splenda.
· Try adding sweet-tasting flavorings: vanilla, nutmeg, and/or cinnamon, and leave out some of the sugar.

5. Rev Up the Antioxidants
· Mix a spoonful of canned pumpkin, grated apple, or whole blueberries into the batter.
· Add some toasted wheat germ or ground flaxseeds, too.

6. Swap Out the Syrup
· Heap on fresh or thawed berries — any kind.
· Top with a tablespoon of all-fruit apricot jam and a sliced banana.
· Spoon on fat-free sour cream, yogurt, or ricotta cheese mixed with mango chunks or mandarin oranges.

If you still crave syrup, drizzle any of the above with a little agave nectar (sold in health-food stores). It tastes as sweet as syrup, but it’s far easier on your blood sugar levels.

Now, Reap the Rewards
Trading pale, wimpy pancakes soaked in butter and syrup for hearty, healthy ones rich in flavor, fruit, fiber, and nutrients will do more than rehab an A.M. favorite and boost your energy for the day.

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Red wine isn’t the only beverage that helps keep your arteries clear.

Here are two other mighty fine choices: cranberry juice and tea.

Both are bursting with heart-protective flavonoids. To get the RealAge-recommended daily dose, you can drink several cups of tea (any kind will do) or two and a half small glasses of cranberry juice a day. Yup, it’s that easy.

All About Your Arteries
Whole fruits and veggies are good flavonoid sources, too. But it’s nice to know that what you drink can help nudge you toward the RealAge goal of 31 milligrams of flavonoids daily. Get enough and you’ll not only help give heart disease the boot but also fend off peripheral artery disease (PAD) — a condition that reduces blood flow to the limbs and vital organs. OJ and tomato juice have lots of flavonoids, too, by the way.

Extra Protection
Stave off artery disease with these additional love-your-heart steps:

Kick butt. Smokers are at particularly high risk.

Lace up your walking shoes. Carve out 30 minutes during your day to pound the pavement.

Love the good fats. That means grabbing nuts (not chips) and olive oil (not butter)

Cram in More Cranberries

Bursting with flavor, dripping with color, and abounding in cancer-fighters — the tiny cranberry has it all.

The bright red of the cranberry is a clue that it is jam-packed with flavonoids, including ones that appear to defend against cancer cell growth. So spread your turkey sandwiches with lots of tasty, fresh cranberry relish. It’s great on fish, in muffins, and as a salad topping, too!

Researchers testing a unique group of flavonoids — anthocyanins, proanthocyanidins, and flavonol glycosides — found that individually, each one prevented liver and breast cancer cells from multiplying. When the three are combined, as they are in a cranberry, they may be even more effective in squelching cancer cell growth. In the lab, it’s called synergy. In your mouth, it’s called divine.

Enjoy plenty of fresh cranberries this season by making sauces, cobblers, muffins, and breads with them. When they are out of season, stock up on dried cranberries and add them to cereal, salads, and trail mix. And cranberry juice with a splash of sparkling water is a terrific refresher. With every bite or sip, you’ll be doing something positive for your health, and positively delicious.

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Getting toned arms and legs sounds like a job for Mr. Nautilus. But Mr. Peach?

Maybe. Seems potassium-rich produce — like peaches — gives your muscles what they need to stay toned, healthy, and able to do their jobs.

It’s a Balance
A diet heavy in proteins and cereal grains can cause blood to become too acidic. When this happens, muscle tissue can waste away. Fruits and vegetables, though, make your body’s pH more alkaline — mostly thanks to their high potassium content. So it makes sense that people in a recent study who loaded up on potassium-rich produce had more lean muscle mass than their produce-shirking peers.

Your Body, Years Ahead
Some other ways to shape up now and stay buff-looking long into your retirement years:
Shape your core. These foundational muscles — hips, tummy, back — are where it all starts.

First, grab an exercise ball. Using an exercise ball for stomach toning gives you stronger muscles than if you did the exercises on the floor. Plus, you get bonus benefits, like better balance. Now, follow these three easy “Ab Curl” steps:

1. Sit on the exercise ball, feet flat on the floor, knees hip-width apart and bent at a 90-degree angle.

2. Place your hands behind your head, elbows pointed out, and slowly roll back until your mid to lower back rests on the ball.

3. Pull your ribs toward your pelvis to raise your upper back 3 to 4 inches off the ball. Hold for a second and then return your shoulders to the ball. Repeat 10 times.

Your core — the 29 muscles surrounding the middle of your body — is responsible for keeping you stable and strong. Core workouts not only give you firm, flat abs but also help you out-drive your golf group, add aces to your tennis game, kick up your carving quotient when you’re skiing or snowboarding, and make you look better in jeans.

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Which tropical fruit treat gives you the bigger antioxidant payout — guava or papaya?

Turns out guava is tops among tropical fruits when it comes to disease-fighting antioxidants. And it beats out more run-of-the-mill antioxidant superstars, too, like blueberries, raspberries, and apples.

And Fiber to Boot
The little fruits — which come in a variety of shapes (round to oval) and colors (white to red) — are particularly loaded with vitamin C and lycopene. And not only are they rich in age- and inflammation-fighting antioxidants like these, but they also were richest in fiber when compared with other tropical fruits in a recent study. Give guava a shot with this nectar-based Hawaiian Smoothie.

Hawaiian SmoothieFor the best taste and color, use a red-fleshed Hawaiian papaya for this exotic, lip-puckering taste of island summer. Papayas are loaded with papain, a digestive enzyme, so

Ingredients
1 cup chopped fresh pineapple
1/2 cup chopped peeled papaya
1/4 cup guava nectar, (see Ingredient Note)
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 teaspoon grenadine, (see Ingredient Note)
1/2 cup ice

Directions
1. Place ingredients in the order listed in a blender. Pulse three times to chop the fruit, then blend until smooth. Serve immediately.

Something Different
Guava is one great way to rev up a boring bananas-and-oranges fruit bowl. So are these exotic, nutrition-packed treats:
Lychee: It’s another antioxidant powerhouse.
Papaya: It could be your skin’s best friend.
Kiwifruit: Your ticker loves this fuzzy fruit: It’s in Your Blood
Kiwifruit appear to put the kibosh on artery-clogging plaques in two ways: They help lower triglyceride levels, and they reduce platelet clumping. The platelet effect could be particularly good for your ticker: Although platelets aid in blood clotting, when these cells stick together too much, it could set the stage for a heart attack or stroke.

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Sweet corn on the cob, tomatoes from the garden, steak seared on the grill.

Could there be a more perfect late summer meal? Yes, but only if you know the healthiest ways to indulge your barbecue habit. Good bet you’ve heard murmurs about grilled meat causing — yes — cancer, and you’ve either tried not to listen or guiltily thought, well, what doesn’t? But here’s the good news: There are a bunch of ways to virtually wipe out the risk. In fact, we’ve found eight of them!

The problem, by the way, is that grilling meat, chicken, and fish — especially if it’s charred or well-done — produces cancer-linked chemicals known as HCAs or HAAs. Animal fat dripping onto hot coals creates another worry: stuff called PAHs. But you don’t have to go flame-free. Just do one or more of the following, which actually tend to make grilled food taste even better.

Is it worth it? You bet: Besides eliminating the guilt, making healthful substitutions when cooking can make you healthier.

1. Soak it up. Marinating meat boosts flavor and tenderness while slashing production of cancer-causing HCAs by up to 90%, especially if the marinade has an olive oil base. Make your own, or use bottled Italian dressing zinged up with extra garlic.
2. Do kabobs. Small pieces of meat cook faster and produce fewer HCAs than caveman-size slabs do. Thread your protein of choice onto a skewer with lots of veggies (cherry tomatoes, peppers, mushrooms, zucchini chunks, onions) and grill until just done.
3. Add a secret ingredient. Making burgers? Mix in 1 teaspoon of wheat bran per pound of ground meat. It keeps burgers juicy, stops HCAs in their tracks, and won’t even register on the carb meter.

4. Finish it fast. Precook meat on the stove or in the oven or microwave earlier in the day, and then finish on the grill for great flavor and those tempting stripes. Precooking also means people won’t have to wait around for ages while dinner cooks.

5. Foiled again. Cover the grate with punctured aluminum foil. No flames, no drips, no HCAs — and no grill clean up, either. Frequently flipping your meat of choice also helps curtail troublemakers.

6. Get skinny. To curtail dripping, trim fat from meat. Cook chicken with the skin on, and then toss the skin. You have nothing to lose but grease, calories, and carcinogens.

7. Have a glass of tea. How about some iced tea with your baby back ribs? Tea’s supercharged antioxidants help neutralize carcinogens.

8. Grill something besides the main course. Bored with broccoli? Sick of sliced fruit? Throw them on the grill. Fruits and veggies don’t produce carcinogens, and many, from pears to pineapple, take surprisingly well to the brazier.

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Try something different. Add a little lychee to your fruit salad. Not only will it add an exotic tickle for your taste buds, but it will tickle your ticker, too.

When scientists recently measured the heart-helping polyphenol content of fruits popular in France, lychees were bested only by strawberries. Grapes came in third.

The Top 10
Who would have thought lychees — cultivated in China — would become a fave fruit in France? But the top polyphenol-spiked fruits there, in order, are: strawberries, lychees, grapes, apricots, apples, dates, cherries, figs, pears, and white nectarines.

The small, heart-shaped red fruit is now going global and making an appearance in U.S. markets, too, especially during the summer.

Two More for Your Ticker
In addition to impressive amounts of polyphenols, lychees also have heart-smart vitamin C and potassium.

French scientists describe how high and low doses of polyphenols have different effects. At relatively low doses, the French researchers found that the same polyphenols play a beneficial role for those with diseased hearts and circulatory systems by facilitating blood vessel growth. The amount of polyphenols necessary for this effect was found to be the equivalent of only one glass of red wine per day or simply sticking to a healthy diet of fruits and vegetables containing polyphenols. This diet is known as the “Mediterranean Diet.” This study also adds to a growing body of research showing dose-dependent relationships for many types of commonly used compounds. For instance, research published in the October 2006 issue of The FASEB Journal shows that aspirin, through different mechanisms, also has a dose-dependent relationship for heart disease and cancer.

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Found this healthy grocery list that helps you eat food that is better for you:

If we all spent as much time reading nutrition labels as experts tell us to, supermarkets would have to start installing more cushy chairs and coffee bars than Barnes & Noble. Which may be what inspired two gods of healthy eating — Harvard’s legendary nutrition guru, Walter Willett, MD, and Mollie Katzen, authors of the groundbreaking Moosewood Cookbook — to name names in their latest book, Eat, Drink, and Weigh Less.

The book lists brands for the foods that make grocery shoppers crazy: Either you choose from products where there are so many options (e.g., bread, cereal) that you just want to throw in the towel — especially if your shopping cart is loaded with kids as well as cartons — or you choose from products that sound healthy but often are sugar and calorie extravaganzas (e.g., many energy bars, tricked-up yogurts).

In the words of Willett and Katzen, “Bring your glasses when shopping for breads, crackers, bars, yogurt, smoothies, and even veggie burgers — the calorie counts and nutritional profiles of these items can vary wildly.” Or bring this handy list of the healthiest brands. Although they name more brands in the book, we’ve done the legwork for you and picked out the most widely available. If it’s on this list, consider it blessed.

Bread
Pepperidge Farm sliced bread
100% Whole Wheat Very Thin Sliced
Carb Style, Soft 100% Whole Wheat
100% Natural Nine Grain
Country Hearth Stone Ground 100% Whole Wheat sliced bread
Thomas’ English Muffins Hearty Grain 100% Whole Wheat
Roman Meal Multi-Grain Hamburger Buns

Cereal
Wheaties
Total Whole Grain
Kashi GoLean
Old Fashioned Quaker Oats
Wheatena

Crackers
Wheat Thins, Multi-Grain
Triscuit Thin Crisps

Yogurt
Dannon Light & Fit (regular, Carb Control, and Creamy)
Stonyfield Farm MOOve Over Sugar
Yoplait Light

Smoothies
Stonyfield Farm Light Smoothie
Yoplait Smoothie Light
Dannon Light & Fit Smoothie

Protein Bars
PowerBar Pria Complete Nutrition bar
Luna bars
Kashi GoLean Crunchy! bar and Roll! bar

Veggie Burgers
Boca
Original
All American Flame Grilled
Grilled Vegetable
Roasted Onion
Roasted Garlic
Gardenburger
The Original
Sun-Dried Tomato Basil
Veggie Medley
Black Bean Chipotle
Morningstar Farms Garden Veggie Patties

Browse around the 451 press network for more tips and articles on living a healthy lifestyle.

healthy foods, grocery list, groceries

healthy foods, grocery list, groceries