by Denise on July 21, 2010
There is a lot of talk going around about Eating Seasonally. Which means eating what is grown in your area when it is at its peak, instead of eating the same things year-round and just flying them in from another part of the world when they are not in season locally.
Research is producing more and more evidence that eating this way is not just good for the environment, but also good for our health. The foods that are in season during the hot summer months also have many nutrients that protect our skin from the sun. So these foods grow when we benefit the most from them, and others grow when those nutrients are needed. Mother Nature is brilllliiaant!
Lycopene is a heavy hitter in the antioxidant world, and is especially potent in protecting our skin from sunburn and sun damage. Where do we find lots of lycopene? Tomatoes, watermelon, apricots, and guava are all great sources. And they are all symbols of juice-dripping-down-your-chin summer deliciousness.
Antioxidants like vitamin C, E and A are all great skin protectors. They are abundant in fruits like cantaloupe, watermelon, avocado, bell peppers, yellow peaches, nectarines, and basically all summer fruits and veggies. No guilt in adding that avocado to your plate – it protects your skin!
There are more than 10,000 antioxidants in the foods we eat, and two kinds that you may not have heard of can do wonders to protect your skin. One is flavanols (also called flavanoids) and they are abundant in tea, coffee and cocoa. While tea is not a seasonal food, a tall glass of iced tea sure tastes good when its hot. Iced coffee, too – but avoid the super-sugar filled, whipped cream-topped ones and stick to a non-fat iced mocha or vanilla latte. Excess sugar contributes to skin damage. Not what we want when most of our skin is exposed. An added bonus: citrus fruits like lemon and orange help us absorb more of these good guys from our tea – and they taste good. (In fact, many food combinations that taste good also contribute to increased nutrient absorption from the foods – a topic for another post.)
Polyphenols are the other and have been shown to slash the risk of skin cancer. Most herbs are loaded with polyphenols, and are likely to be taking over the garden this time of year. Oregano, rosemary, thyme, and basil are especially delicious with summer vegetables and fish. Oh, and that fish is likely a good source of omega-3 fats, another skin-loving nutrient. Grass-fed beef has more omega-3 fats than corn or grain fed beef, so look for that when you are making your burgers and do your skin (and your heart) a favor.
Dark leafy greens like spinach, chard, romaine lettuce, and broccoli rabe are all excellent sources of many antioxidants and nutrients that protect skin, along with just about every body part we have. When it is just too hot to turn on the oven, a hearty salad is the ticket to satisfaction.
These foods are all good for you in so many ways. Raw or cooked, combined in any way that tastes good to you, they will be your friends and allies in the quest for health and beauty. Beauty is more than skin deep, and skin cancer is not beautiful on anyone.
So eat up all these delicious summer foods, slather on the sunscreen, slap on a hat, and love how great your skin looks all year long.
by Denise on July 6, 2010
A new study was published in The Lancet (June 10 issue, if you are interested), in which many very smart researchers looked at a lot of stroke studies and figured out that 80% of all strokes are related to five fisk factors, and 90% of strokes are related to the top 10 risk factors. The top five risk factors and most of the top 10 are all modifiable, which means you can do something about them and significantly reduce your risk of having a stroke. If you know anyone who has had a stroke, you know how much you want to avoid having one yourself.
Here’s the list, from the highest risk factor to the lowest:
- Hypertension: the risk is especially high when at 160/90 mm Hg or higher. Talk to your doctor about how to keep your blood pressure under 120/80; 110/70 is even better. Reduce sodium and sugar in your diet, increase physical activity to at least four hours a week (see #5) and find ways to reduce your stress levels (#10) like yoga and meditation. You will see your numbers go down.
- Smoking: current smoking is the big risk factor here, so there is still time to reduce your risk by quitting now. Ask your doctor for help, there are lots of options out there and while I know it is really hard, living with brain damage is much harder.
- Waist-to-hip ratio: if your waist is larger than your hips, measured around with a dressmaker-type tape measure, you are at a greater risk of having a stroke. If this is you and you are having trouble losing the tummy pudge, send me an email and I’ll get you some strategies to help.
- Diet: fruit and fish reduce risk; red meat, organ meats, lots of eggs, processed foods, deep-fried foods, pizza, salty snacks, and cooking with lard increase risk. Interestingly, vegetables were neutral in terms of risk – maybe that’s because so few people eat enough to make a difference. But that’s not us, right?
- Physical activity: get moving at a moderate pace or more, for at least four hours a week and you can significantly reduce your risk. And probably lose some of that pesky belly bulge – cutting two risks at once. Serious multi-tasking.
- Diabetes: you may or may not be able to change this, but keeping your blood sugar at a healthy level is important for so many reasons.
- Alcohol intake: keep it at less than 4 drinks a week for women, at no more than one a day; men, you can have up to two drinks a day, up to five days a week max.
- Cardiac causes: atrial fibrillation was the big risk factor here.
- Ratio of apolipoprotein B to A1: your cardiologist or internist can help you determine this ratio with your next blood test.
- Psychological factors: specifically stress and depression. If these are issues for you, like they are for many of us, please talk to your doctor or a qualified counselor.
One very interesting finding is that blood cholesterol levels have little to do with stroke risk; however, the ratio of apolipoprotein B to apolipoprotein A1 is significant. Cholesterol does have a significant role to play in heart disease and heart attacks, so please keep it at healthy levels. Just saying.
Another interesting finding is that while BMI (Body Mass Index), or your weight-to-height ratio, has little bearing on stroke risk, your waist-to-hip ratio is one of the top five. This does not mean it is healthy to be overweight, it just means that abdominal fat puts you at a higher risk for having a stroke and you can reduce your risk by getting rid of it.
Studies like these are important because they give us the power to keep ourselves healthy.
There is a lot of information here, and if you would like me to go into more detail about any of this, just let me know in the comments section. It’s what I do.
There is a lot of talk going around about Eating Seasonally. Which means eating what is grown in your area when it is at its peak, instead of eating the same things year-round and just flying them in from another part of the world when they are not in season locally.
