When your schedule has less room on it than the Tokyo subway at rush hour, a bowl of canned soup is a good, quick and easy meal option. But there's one thing that's not so easy about it: Finding the veggies in there.
Here's how to make it easy again, Soup up your soup with fennel. A spice, herb and veggie all rolled into one, fennel complements many soups, from chicken noodle to tomato. And it's loaded with disease stomping flavonoids.
This aromatic, versatile powerhouse knocks food borne bacteria out flat. Which ones? E. coli, Salmonella and certain strains of Staphylococcus that may be hanging out in other food you touch, eat or add to your soup.
Look for fennel, a wholly edible root vegetable, in the produce section, It looks like a bulb with feathered leaves and celerylike stalks. Just chop it and toss some in your bowl before you nuke your soup.
Make the most of your quickie meal by checking that you're having a good soup to begin with. It should contain less than 400 milligrams of sodium (that's how they label salt) per serving. Avoid soups with noodles, since they may be cooked in saturated or trans fats.
If you're having a salad with your soup, spice it up with fennel, too. You don't even need lettuce, Just serve thinly sliced fennel with oranges and toasted nuts.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
The Hidden Healer In Your Pasta Sauce
Oregano isn't just a way to add pizza to your pasta sauce. Use it to bring some zing to your salad dressing, chicken marinade or vegetable saute, and your cells may thank you, too. This herb may have the power to prevent damaging inflammation in your body, and that prevents weight gain, not to mention wrinkles, impotence, cancer and more.
The essential oils in this herb contain a tongue-twisting substance called (E) beta caryophyllene; we just call it (E) BCP for short. This compound binds to certain receptors in your cells in a way that means less inflammation. That's the effect it had in mouse studies, and it's likely that (E) BCP has a similar benefit in humans.
What's so bad about inflammation? In your arteries, walls that are inflamed grow fatter and fatter, since inflammatory cells fighting something they want to keep away get bigger and bigger. The cells pile up, eventually rupture and then block the blood flow highway to your heart or brain (definitely not good).
Don't like oregano much? Surprisingly, the lowest dose of the compound tended to be the most effective in a recent study. Don't like it at all? Black pepper, rosemary and cinnamon all contain the compound, too. And if those don't hit the spot, try these other inflammation fighters, cherries and berries, omega-3 rich fish including salmon and tuna (or take DHA from algae in pill form); dark chocolate, and olive oil (the more virgin the oil, the better).
Bottom line, protect yourself from inflammation by adding some extra flavor to your food -- what tastes good is often good for you, too.
The essential oils in this herb contain a tongue-twisting substance called (E) beta caryophyllene; we just call it (E) BCP for short. This compound binds to certain receptors in your cells in a way that means less inflammation. That's the effect it had in mouse studies, and it's likely that (E) BCP has a similar benefit in humans.
What's so bad about inflammation? In your arteries, walls that are inflamed grow fatter and fatter, since inflammatory cells fighting something they want to keep away get bigger and bigger. The cells pile up, eventually rupture and then block the blood flow highway to your heart or brain (definitely not good).
Don't like oregano much? Surprisingly, the lowest dose of the compound tended to be the most effective in a recent study. Don't like it at all? Black pepper, rosemary and cinnamon all contain the compound, too. And if those don't hit the spot, try these other inflammation fighters, cherries and berries, omega-3 rich fish including salmon and tuna (or take DHA from algae in pill form); dark chocolate, and olive oil (the more virgin the oil, the better).
Bottom line, protect yourself from inflammation by adding some extra flavor to your food -- what tastes good is often good for you, too.
How Protein Takes The Pressure Off
Name some great ways to get protein. If no plant products were in your answer, you're missing a great way to keep your blood pressure under control. People who have better blood pressure also have diets high in vegetable, not animal, protein.
Researchers aren't sure why veggie protein lowers this key health measure, but they suspect that the amino acids (the building blocks of protein) in veggies may somehow be kinder to blood pressure than those in animal protein. And the magnesium and other good for you nutrients found in veggies may work with the amino acids to enhance their blood pressure friendly effects. Plus, the lack of saturated fat in veggie protein may allow your arteries to relax, which also lowers blood pressure.
Some top protein-packed veggie favorites, Edamame (soybeans) and kidney beans, both hold more protein per cup (17 g and 16 g, respectively) than a serving of turkey does (12 g in 3 ounces). Green peas are no slouches, either, with 9 g of protein per cup, followed by Portobello mushrooms and spinach (5 g per cup), corn and broccoli (4 g per cup). Other ways to get more protein without reaching for a steak knife, Grab a handful of nuts (4 to 6 g per ounce), and make sure your grains are 100 percent whole grains.
That doesn't mean you can't have any animal products on your plate. Just let the vegetables and grains take center stage and consider the other proteins to be more like accents. Not only will meals be more interesting, but keeping your blood pressure where it should be, at or below 115/76, can make your RealAge as much as 12 years younger.
Researchers aren't sure why veggie protein lowers this key health measure, but they suspect that the amino acids (the building blocks of protein) in veggies may somehow be kinder to blood pressure than those in animal protein. And the magnesium and other good for you nutrients found in veggies may work with the amino acids to enhance their blood pressure friendly effects. Plus, the lack of saturated fat in veggie protein may allow your arteries to relax, which also lowers blood pressure.
Some top protein-packed veggie favorites, Edamame (soybeans) and kidney beans, both hold more protein per cup (17 g and 16 g, respectively) than a serving of turkey does (12 g in 3 ounces). Green peas are no slouches, either, with 9 g of protein per cup, followed by Portobello mushrooms and spinach (5 g per cup), corn and broccoli (4 g per cup). Other ways to get more protein without reaching for a steak knife, Grab a handful of nuts (4 to 6 g per ounce), and make sure your grains are 100 percent whole grains.
That doesn't mean you can't have any animal products on your plate. Just let the vegetables and grains take center stage and consider the other proteins to be more like accents. Not only will meals be more interesting, but keeping your blood pressure where it should be, at or below 115/76, can make your RealAge as much as 12 years younger.
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