Making Frozen Veggies Taste Better

I don't know about you, but one of the reasons I don't eat a lot of frozen vegetables is that some of them come out mushy and flat when I cook them. Corn, peas and green beans seem to do pretty will with freezing. But carrots, cauliflower, broccoli and most others don't turn out as well. This is a shame because, nutritionally, frozen vegetables are as good as, or maybe even better than, fresh ones.

Here are a few tips for making them taste more like their fresh counterparts.

1. Roast them. Toss them with a little olive oil and a pinch of salt, garlic or other seasoning and roast them in a hot oven for 15 - 20 minutes. This will give them just a little bit of a crunch.

2. Stir fry them. Cooking them briefly in very hot oil will not give them time to steam and turn to mush.

3. Use them in soups, stews and casseroles. These sort of dishes tend to produce softer vegetables anyway so you won't even notice much of a difference.

4. Experiment. Try different varieties, cooking methods and seasonings till you hit upon the ones that work best for you.

There are so many advantages to frozen vegetables that it would be a shame not to include them in your regular diet.

In Defense of Pasta

 

Pasta has a bad reputation as being a big plateful of unhealthy carbs. But is it really deserved?

To enjoy a healthy pasta meal, the place to begin is with portion size. "If pasta is associated with weight gain," says Wesley McWhorter, the director of culinary nutrition at the University of Texas School of Public health in Houston, "that is only because we are eating a lot of it." In other words, eat too much of any grain and you will pack on the pounds.

A portion of pasta is 2 ounces (dry) or about a cup cooked. You can weigh it on a kitchen scale or buy a pasta serving measure to make it even easier. Now 2 ounces of dry pasta is not going to look like much if you are used to a typical too large portion size. A cup cooked up is better looking but not generous as you are probably accustomed too. But if you combine it with a protein - like meat, chicken or cheese - and some vegetables, under a low sodium marinara sauce, it starts to look like a meal.

Your healthiest choice would be a whole wheat pasta. A single serving will supply 7 grams of fiber in addition to 6 grams of protein and more nutrients than you will find in a refined grain pasta. It has a different taste and "mouthfeel" though so it may take you a while to get used to it. Its worth it.

But refined flour pasta is not a terrible deal either. It contains a similar amount of protein, often comes enriched with iron and B vitamins and - for biochemical reasons that I won't task you with there - has a relatively low glycemic index. You can make up for the lower fiber content by adding vegetables like broccoli.

If you are adventurous, you can try pastas made from grains other than wheat, or containing vegetables or bean flours mixed in. Try mixing a vegetable pasta with spaghetti squash. Legume pastas are by far the most nutrient dense, with 11 - 15 grams of protein and up to 15 grams of fiber. Each will have its own flavor and texture though so you may like them, or not.

In any case, there is no reason to avoid enjoying your pasta. Just watch the portion sizes and get creative with how you serve it.

Five Lifestyle Factors that Impact Your Vitamin D

 

About half of Americans 60 years and older take a daily vitamin D supplement. Most people know that getting some sunshine helps boost vitamin D levels. But here are five lifestyle factors that you may not have known also influence your status.

1. Don't Smoke.
    A smoking habit can deplete many vitamins, vitamin D among them. Add this to the many other reasons you already have to quit smoking if you do.

2. Watch Your Weight
    People who are overweight have lower levels of vitamin D in their blood. While this relationship is a correlation and not a proven cause, how many reasons do you need to shed a little weight?

3. Stay Active.
    People who are physically active tend to have higher levels of viatamin D than those who are sedentary. 

4. Diet with a D.
    It can be challenging to get enough vitamin D in your diet, but including foods that are fortified with vitamin D (dairy, orange juice and many cereals) or are naturally good sources (tuna, salmon, eggs) will help you meet your requirements.

5. Rule Out Medical Problems
    There are a number of gut and bowel conditions that are closely associated with low vitamin D levels, including Crone's Disease, IBS and other metabolic problems. These can affect your ability to absorb vitamin D.

And, of course, spend time outside. Just 15 to 20 minutes a day in the sunshine may be enough to raise your levels.

The Myth of the Healthy Turkey Sandwich

 

 

 

Ok, full disclosure. A turkey sandwich can indeed be a healthy choice. It all depends on what it is constructed from. And there are limitless ways to turn it into something a good deal less than healthy.

Nearly half of Americans report eating at least one sandwich every day. Most commonly these are made with highly processed deli meats. Most people are aware of the health drawbacks of deli meats, but many do not think of turkey as a highly processed food. So lets take a look at what you need to qualify as highly processed.

The term “processed meats” specifically refers to any meat, pork, poultry or other animal protein that has been altered through a process like salting, curing, preserving, fermentation, or other method to improve flavor, extend shelf-life, and slow or prevent harmful bacteria from multiplying. The turkey sandwich meat that you buy in the deli or cold cut section of your supermarket certainly qualifies. Just taste it. No one would confuse the taste or "mouth feel" of turkey sandwich meat with that of a turkey that you cook yourself and slice up. The lunchmeat turkey is generously dosed with nitrates, a sodium filled saline solution and other additives that give it a "pasty" feel and salty taste compared with real unprocessed turkey meat. Even lunchmeat labeled "no added nitrates" or "nitrate free" are not nitrate free.

So the first thing to consider is the turkey you are using in your turkey sandwich. But that is only the beginning. The bread you use, the condiments you choose and the additional ingredients you add all play a large part in determining the nutritional value of your turkey sandwich.

Lets start with your bread. The starch in white bread breaks down almost as quickly as a simple sugar, reports the Harvard School of Public Health. Then there is the sugar and salt that most white flour baked goods are loaded with. Whole grains metabolize or break down so they can be absorbed in the intestines more slowly than refined white breads. Whole grains also contain more nutrients. If you choose white enriched bread, you get added vitamins and minerals and carbohydrates for energy but you can do much better.

Adding some cheese? Cheese is good food, but it adds a lot of fat, more sodium and a lot of calories for the protein, vitamins and minerals it delivers. 

And then there are the condiments. Mayo seems a natural partner for turkey, but choose carefully. Pick the spread that contains the most unsaturated fats rather than one high in saturated fats. (Mayo made with olive oil for example.) Saturated fats can increase your cholesterol levels and increase your risk of atherosclerosis. Also, a serving is 1 tablespoon. Mustard is also a good deal. Or try cranberry sauce. It was good at dinner so why not on your sandwich?

Now for the good news. You can pile on tomatoes, onions, lettuce and just about any other vegetable you like for a mineral boost at almost no caloric cost. But go easy on the pickles and chips. They are loaded with sodium.

So there really is a healthy turkey sandwich. But its not one you make on white bread slathered with mayo and cheese and made with processed turkey lunchmeat. Instead, try it on a rye or whole wheat bread with a slice of Jack cheese instead of Cheddar and cranberry sauce and red lettuce. You get the idea.

The ABCs of CBD

Since its broad interstate legalization in the federal Farm Bill two years ago, nearly 1 in 3 Americans have used CBD at least once. CBD (cannabidiol) is a compound found in marijuana and hemp. Unlike its cousin THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), CBD does not produce a euphoric high and is responsible for many of the medically interesting properties of cannabinols. CBD is popular for relieving pain and sleep problems, among other things. But what does the science say?

A 2017 report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine found "substantial evidence" supporting the use of CBD for treating chronic pain, nausea and other side effects of chemotherpy, and the muscle spasms that often accompany multiple sclerosis. It also found "some evidence" that it may be effective for sleep problems, especially apnea, and pain from fibromyalgia.

A 2019 Consumer Reports survey of over 1,000 CBD users found that more than 75% reported being "satisfied" or "very satisfied" with it's effectiveness for pain relief.

The best evidence for the medical use of CBD is in the treatment of seizures associated with three relatively rare seizure disorders. Epidiolex, a CBD-based anti-seizure drug, has been approved by the FDA for this use.

The primary mechanism of action of CBD in the body is believed to be a reduction in cellular inflammation.

There are few side effects connected to CBD. While THC in high doses may cause irregular heart rhythm and hallucination, CBD does not seem to have these effects. CBD can interact with certain OTC and prescription drugs though, particularly blood thinners, statins, antihistamines and antidepressants. If you are taking medication be sure to review your status with your doctor before trying CBD.

And remember, this is a new industry. Quality standards vary wildly and labeling in inconsistent. You can also use a number of different formulations from tinctures to creams to chewable gummies and the dose you receive may vary by delivery mechanism.

Many studies and clinical trails are underway and our understanding of CBD for medical purposes is constantly evolving. The regulatory structure overseeing CBD varies State by State and the market still has a bit of a "wild west" feel to it. If you are planning to try CBD, start with a low does and ease into it until you can see how it works for you. And be sure to research the company you purchase from. There are some very good ones out there. But there is no shortage of CBD scammers either.

Metabolic Syndrome Rates Rising

 

More than half of American adults 60 and older now have metabolic syndrome. The symptoms of metabolic syndrome include high blood pressure, elevated blood sugar, excess body fat around the waist, and abnormally high cholesterol or triglyceride levels. It is a well proven risk factor for heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes. If you have two or more of the symptoms, you should probably speak with your doctor about a diagnosis.

The good news is that a healthy lifestyle will reduce your risk of developing metabolic syndrome and reduce or eliminate your symptoms if you have it. The Mayo Clinic recommends regular exercise, reducing your weight to within the healthy range for your height and age, a healthy diet (such as the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet and the Mediterranean diet), quitting smoking and reducing stress levels.

Hmmmm, isn't that pretty much the advice for any health problem?

 

An Aspirin a Day?

Many people take a "low dose" (75mg - 81mg) aspirin every day as a precaution against heart attack and other coronary problems. Aspirin acts as a mild blood thinner and is typically recommended for anyone who has suffered a heart attack or stroke as part of their ongoing therapy. But does it help to prevent vascular problems in otherwise healthy people?

For most people, studies affirm that the increased risk of internal bleeding outweighs any benefit of taking a daily low dose aspirin. It is recommended to help in prevention of a second heart attack, stroke or diagnosis of peripheral artery disease. Aspirin may benefit select individuals but generally should not be considered as part of a primary prevention regimen. 

Instead, keeping blood pressure under control, avoiding smoking and excessive alcohol consumption, a Mediterranean or DASH diet and regular moderate exercise are by far the best strategies for reducing your risk of heart attack and stroke.

There is emerging evidence that daily low dose aspirin use may play some role in reducing the risk of colon and other digestive tract cancers, as well as reduce the recurrence of breast cancer. But these results are very preliminary and have not as yet been verified in clinical trials.

If you are presently taking low dose aspirin do not suddenly stop doing so. Instead, have a discussion with your doctor on your next visit and evaluate whether or not the risks are worth whatever benefit you hope to gain.

 

COVID Scam Alert

The Coronavirus pandemic has turned over a lot of rocks and it is sickening to see what has scurried out from under them. Scammers are now making fake Covid-19 "contact tracing" calls.

Legitimate contact tracers are government public health employees who call to alert people that they have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for the virus. They will ask you who you have been in contact with, and advise you what to do next. They will NOT ask you for any financial or personal information and they will not reveal the identity of the infected person you were in contact with. Nor will they reveal yours to anyone else.

Scammers, on the other hand, while posing as public health employees, will ask for Social Security numbers, health insurance IDs, credit card accounts, date of birth and other data that pubic health departments do not need or want. These calls are increasing in number as the virus continues to spread.

For reliable information about current scams, visit the website Scamicide.com .

3 Popular Food Myths

 

 

 

A lot of what we "know" about diet and nutrition and food we absorb from our families as we grow up. Add in some of the nonsense you routinely hear from the media and the deliberately misleading marketing done by food producers and its no wonder people get confused. Here are three very common myths about food and nutrition.

1. You need to eat more protein as you age to protect against muscle loss.

The truth is, nearly all Americans get plenty of protein very day from their regular diet. A good rule of thumb is to divide your body weight in pounds by 2 and consume that many grams of protein per day. This is going to put you in the right range. There are plenty of online calculators that can give you a more customized number. Here is an example.

While it is true that most people begin to lose muscle mass by age 50, it is a myth that simply eating more protein will slow or stop this loss. Only exercise will preserve or build muscle mass. And unless you are an athlete, 1/2 gram per pound of body weight is plenty. More than that is just converted into body fat - probably not your goal.

2. In order to get complete nutrition, you must eat at least some animal products.

When people speak of "complete" proteins, they mean that the food contains all 9 of the essential amino acids that your body requires but cannot produce for itself. While meats generally provide all nine, so do many plant foods (albeit at lower concentration, but see myth #1). The difference is that where you can get all 9 from a steak, you would need to eat a variety of plant foods to do so. Soy products are one example of a complete plant-based protein. But you can achieve the same results by combining, say, rice with beans.

3. A healthy diet must limit carbohydrates.

The truth is, carbohydrates should be the most plentiful component of your diet, as much as 70% of your daily calories. The key is the type of carbohydrates that you consume. 

There are plenty of terribly unhealthy carbs to be had: pizza, chips, white bread or pasta, sugars, sweetened drinks. But all fruits and vegetable contain carbohydrates and no one would ever tell you to limit those. Make your grains whole and not overly processed. A plant based diet is a carb based diet.

 

If you'd like to assess your present diet, go ahead and visit DietID.com to take their diet quiz and get customized suggestions for improvement.

Navigating the Supermarket

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For better or worse, nearly all of us get our food from supermarkets and will likely continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Whether you shop at Kroger or Trader Joe's, Safeway or Whole Foods, you should realize that supermarkets spend millions and millions of dollars every year to manipulate you once you walk in the door. What you see, where and how often you see it, how it is displayed... none of these things are coincidental.

There is nothing fundamentally wrong with this. Supermarkets operate on razor thin profit margins and do in fact carry an astonishingly wide assortment of products. In many ways they are the envy of the world. During his 1959 visit to the United States, Soviet Premier Nikita Kruschev wanted to see two things: an IMB facility in Jan Jose and a Quality Foods supermarket in San Francisco. It is reported that till the day he died he believed that the market was overstocked just for his visit. But every aspect of the layout of your modern supermarket is carefully designed to direct and influence your shopping.

Here are some tips from Consumer Reports On Health newsletter for navigating the supermarket and getting out with a cart full of healthy groceries.

 1. Always have a list. Ideally, give some thought to what you plan to eat over the next week or so and base your list on that. This will make sure you leave with what you really need and at least alert you to when you are buying something you don't. Also, if you usually shop at the same store, you can save yourself a lot of time by arranging your list in the order you will walk through the store.

2. Read Labels. Food labels allow you to easily compare nutrition across different brands of the same product. You may be surprised by how great the differences can be. Pay special attention to sodium and added sugar content, and look for whole grain as the first ingredient in baked goods.

3. Stock up on frozen items. Frozen fruits and vegetables are just as - or sometime more - healthy as their fresh counterparts. Plus they keep for weeks vs days. Beware of highly processed foods though, frozen or not. They are often loaded with salt, sugar and calories.

4. Buy organic when it matters. Organic foods protect you from pesticide and other chemical residue in your food. But not all foods present the same risks. Look here for lists of foods that should be organic and others where it doesn't matter much.

5. Know the layout. Most supermarkets are laid out in roughly the same way. Fresh foods like produce, meats, fish, baked goods and dairy are on the outside, along the walls. Packaged, processed foods generally fill the aisles. The things that the store especially wants you to buy are displayed at the ends of the aisles (the manufacturer's pay the store extra for this positioning) and the real garbage is near the checkout line.

6. Don't be fooled. If it seems to you like the store is constantly re-arranging where everything is, that is because they are. By forcing you to look for what you need, they are hoping you will see things you do not need and buy them anyway. Avoid such impulse buying. You will save money and eat healthier too.

With a plan and a little understanding, your trip to the market can be healthy, productive and efficient.

Magnificent Magnesium

 

Somewhere between half and three quarters of Americans are estimated to be deficient in their intake of magnesium, the fourth most common element on earth (after iron, oxygen and silicon). Magnesium is important because it is involved in a number of critical health and metabolic processes including blood sugar regulation, blood pressure control, muscle function and protein synthesis.

Among the known conditions in which magnesium (Mg) plays an important role are:

Anxiety. A 2019 study of 20,000 people reported that those with higher levels of Mg in their blood had lower rates of anxiety and depression than those who had lower levels.

Asthma. Mg helps the bronchial muscles and airways relax, thus helping to alleviate asthma symptoms. It is not a primary treatment but can improve the effectiveness of traditional asthma treatments.

Blood Pressure.  Mg reduces constriction of blood vessels, allowing the blood to flow at lower pressure. The effect is not large but it is consistent.

Osteoporosis. A National Institutes of Heath study concluded that women with lower blood Mg levels correlated with higher levels of osteoporosis and osteopenia. Other studies have reported a positive correlation between magnesium intake and bone mineral density in both men and women.

Type-2 Diabetes. Most diabetics suffer from Mg deficiency. A 2007 study published in the Journal of Internal Medicine found that a 100mg increase in daily Mg intake decreased the risk of becoming diabetic by about 15%.

Note that Mg is not promoted as a cure for any of these conditions. But its presence at recommended levels seems to reduce the risk of developing them.

The recommended dietary allowance of Mg is about 320mh for women and 420 for men. A wide variety of foods are excellent sources of magnesium, including nuts, oats, whole wheat, beans, spinach, salmon and yogurt. If your diet comes up short, you can take a supplement. Generally, Magnesium Citrate is your best choice, magnesium sulfate the least desirable - based on absorption rate and bioavailablity.

Very large doses can have side effects such as cramping and nausea, and doses in excess of 5,000mg per day can have very serious, even fatal, side effects. So more if definitely not always better. Also, magnesium can interact with a number of medications so speak with your doctor or pharmacist about the dose that is right for you.

Trying to Cut Back on Sodium?

 

Many people with high blood pressure or cardiovascular health issues struggle to reduce the amount of sodium that they consume each day. Sodium is such a common additive in our foods that it can be very challenging to reduce your intake. But sodium content can vary wildly from one type of food to another. In fact, according to the CDC, ten categories of food accounts for nearly 40% of the sodium consumed by Americans.

At the top of the list were deli meat sandwiches and canned soups. But the others were less obvious and included canned vegetables, bread, other baked goods like cookies, pastas and fast food of all sorts. Notice that things you might have suspected of being high sodium, like potato ships, did not make the list. This does not mean they are good for you, only that they are not as salty as they taste. Taste, in fact, is a terrible guide to picking lower sodium foods. Instead, read the nutrition labels.

Rinsing canned foods under water when possible can reduce sodium content by 40% or more, and foods rich in potassium - avocados, sweet potatoes, bananas - can help offset the effects of the sodium you do eat on you your blood pressure.

Nine out of ten Americans still eat too much salt, 50% more than recommended on average. The illnesses abetted by this kill 800,000 of us annually and cost the economy $273 billion in annual health care costs.

Avocado Oil Letdown

You may have heard about the many benefits of using avocado oil, which include helping to control cholesterol levels, high Omega-9 oleic acid content, antioxidants and more. These all appear to be genuine. It also has a high smoke point relative to other cooking oils, which means you can use it at much higher temperatures. (Fried foods are healthiest when cooked for a shorter time at a higher temperature.) It also gives foods a mild, slightly buttery taste.

The problem is that what you find on the shelf at your local grocery store may not deliver on these proven health benefits. A 2020 study done at the University of California - Davis found that "the vast majority of avocado oil in U.S. is of poor quality, mislabeled or adulterated with other oils".

Researchers tested 22 brands of avocado oil and concluded that 82% of them were rancid well before their expiration dates or else were mixed with large amounts of other oils. Either way, their health benefits were negated. Three of the samples contained almost no avocado oil at all. The test compared the store bought oils to oil produced directly from avocados in the laboratory.

It made no difference if the oil was domestic or imported. In fact olive oil produced in California ranked among the best.

Of the 22 brands tested, only 2 - Chosen Foods and Marianne's - were both pure and un-oxidized.

What is it going to take to force food producers and sellers to deliver what they tell us we are getting?

Healthy Habits Pay Off in Later Years

 

According to a Finnish study done by the Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences at the University of Jyvaskyla, older people are now healthier than ever. The study compared muscle strength, walking speed, reaction speed, verbal fluency, reasoning and working memory of people aged 70 to 90 with similar measures from 1990. Today's seniors were stronger, faster and more mentally alert than those of 30 years ago. The researchers attributed the difference to improvements in diet, more exercise and continuing education. Apparently there were no Americans in the study.

The takeaway from this is that the decisions you make today about what you eat, how active you are and what sort of mental exercise you get will make a real difference to you in your future. Like with any other investment, you make choices now and reap the rewards (or losses) later. If you ignore what you eat, exercise by clicking the remote control from the couch and think education ends in high school, you may find your lifespan outlasts your healthspan. On the other hand, making good choices now may leave you stronger, healthier and smarter in your old age.

You can pay now, or you can pay later.