The Emergence of Black Rice

Black Rice in Raw Form

One of the most well known foods around the world is white and brown rice, but there is a rare counterpart that is in itself extremely nutritious and it's black rice.  Black rice is toted as being very high in Vitamin E and is said to rival the antioxidant content found in blueberries.  A short background of black rice begins in ancient China where the grain was labeled as "forbidden rice" because of it's natural black color.  It's a shame that it was condemned as something bad or evil because the nutritional content found in black rice is very impressive.  Black rice in fact has more antioxidants per serving when compared with a serving of blueberries and it also has less sugar, more fiber, and a lot more Vitamin E.  Consuming high amounts of antioxidants, phytochemicals, and fiber all which are found in black rice, can reduce your risk of cancer and heart disease (two of the biggest killers in the United States).  Antioxidants help your immune system fight off everyday diseases and lower your blood pressure which in turn helps ward off heart disease.

Black Vs. Brown Rice

Brown rice is very popular within American cuisine and all around the world and it is a far better choice when compared to white rice.  The problem with white rice is it's basically a complex carbohydrate which means there are no whole grains or fiber within the rice so it turns directly into sugar within your system and that sugar turns directly into fat (usually in all the wrong places).  Brown rice on the other hand, is filled with fiber and is a whole grain but when compared to black rice, brown rice has to take a backseat.  Black rice has more antioxidants and Vitamin E.  Black rice isn't very popular within American cuisine and it is mostly found in Asian countries.  Black rice is found in varieties of sushi, puddings, and noodles.  Since black rice is being labeled as the new "superfood" and "cancer fighter" it may become more relevant and popular in American cuisine.

Sources:
http://www.naturalnews.com/029735_black_rice_antioxidants.html

Meet Your New Italian Friend: Spaghetti Squash

Spaghetti Squash

Everyone seems to be worrying about cutting back on carbohydrates and the complex white carbohydrates of pasta, but pasta is a great and essential part of preparing so many dishes.  If I told you that there was a way to get the same fulfillment and sensation of pasta but without the carbohydrate guilt trip you would probably think I was crazy.  There is an answer to calorie and carbohydrate packed pasta and it comes from a squash...yes a squash.  The all natural squash is your new best friend when it comes to Italian and Mediterranean dishes from now on.

Spaghetti Squash Prepared in Squash

In order to prepare spaghetti squash you need to find a medium sized squash and bake it in the oven at 375 degrees for one hour.  After it's cooked, carefully take the squash out of the oven and let it sit for five to ten minutes so it can cool down.  When the squash is cooled down a bit, cut the squash in half from top to bottom and take a spoon and carefully scoop out the seeds.  This can be a little tricky because the seeds can be hidden and slippery.  You also don't want to scoop and scrap the squash too hard because that will ruin your spaghetti consistency.  When you have all the slippery seeds out of the squash use a fork to simply scrap the squash from end to end.  You will notice that it will almost completely resemble cooked pasta!  Place the spaghetti squash in a bowl or plate and serve.  If you want to be clever and fancy you can use the empty squash half as a serving bowl.  The consistency of the spaghetti squash will have more of a crunch compared to traditional pasta.  Your mind will believe you're eating white pasta but your body will be thanking you for the nutrient rich and lack of complex white carbohydrates and unneeded calories.

Dried vs. Fresh Fruit: Which One Is Really Nature's Candy?

Colorful Fruits

Fresh fruit has always been referred to as Nature's candy, but is dried fruit closer to actual candy compared to fresh fruit?  At the grocery store we've all seen the many varieties of fresh fruit and not too far from the fresh fruit are several compact containers of dried fruits.  There is a bit of a controversy between the two varieties of fruit, but besides taste, how does fresh fruit and dried fruit match up nutritionally?  Well, to start there are several reasons why to purchase and eat dried fruit and fresh fruit.  Dried fruit is much easier to serve, especially to children, and there is no need to prep, cut or peel, you can simply serve the fruit right out of the container.  The main problem with dried fruit is the higher amount of calories and sugar contents.  Compared to fresh fruit, dried fruit has more sugar because the drying processes can cause nutrients to be lost, and most times sugar will be added as well.  The amount of fiber in the dried fruit can help counteract the amount of sugar, but dried fruit has at least twice the amount of sugar compared to fresh fruit because of the drying process and added amounts of sugar in order to make the product sweet as opposed to being tart. Dried fruit has been showed to act as a good way to satisfy your sweet tooth and is shown to decrease one's risk of being obese.  The convenience of dried fruit also helps individuals struggling with incorporating fruit into their diet.  Dried fruit definitely has nutritional benefits such as containing fiber, antioxidants, and it is high in Vitamins A and C.  Since dried fruit is high in fiber it helps control diabetes, lowers blood cholesterol, and helps to relieve constipation.  Dried fruit's main contributor to health and nutrition is the amount of antioxidants compared to regular fresh fruit.  Dried fruit such as blueberries have four times the amount of antioxidants when compared with fresh blueberries.  Dried fruit is a good alternative to sugary and artificially flavored snacks for children and a lot of athletes eat dried fruit for energy.

Colorful Dried Fruits

Dried fruit unfortunately has a few negative aspects too.  I mentioned dried fruit has more calories and sugar when compared with fresh fruit, but dried fruit also loses nutrients during the drying process.  If you look at the ingredient list for any dried fruit you'll probably notice the ingredient sulfur dioxide.  This ingredient is added in order for the dried fruit to keep it's lasting freshness.  The problem is sulfur dioxide diminishes vital nutrients naturally within the fruit.  The nutrient thiamine is completely destroyed during the drying process of the fruit.  During the drying process, if the fruit is exposed to oxygen and light then even more nutrients can be lost.

Nature's Candy

Fresh fruit has always been the cornerstone in the world of health and nutrition and for good reason.  Fresh fruit contains large amounts fiber, key vitamins and minerals, and are naturally low in calories.  Compared to dried fruit, fresh fruit does not go through any drying process of any kind so there is not a lack of any nutrients.  The nutrients include fiber, potassium, vitamins A and C, folate, and antioxidants.  Fresh fruit contains a lot more water and in turn makes you feel fuller.  Since you feel fuller faster, you will eat less calories and you will won't overeat later on.  Fresh fruit is a perfect snack in between meals, but I wouldn't recommend eating fruit with a large meal because it has been shown to cause indigestion and discomfort.  It is important to incorporate fresh fruit within your daily diet, but some fruits are better for you than others.  Tropical fruits such as bananas, mangoes, pineapple, and coconut are all very good for you nutritionally, but tropical fruits also contain more sugar compared to other fruits.  Coconuts also contain a large amount of saturated fat, but a lot of nutritionists are not worried about the amount of saturated fat within coconuts but I would still restrict the amount of coconut you have in your diet.

Dried Apricots All Line Up

When it comes down to which type of fruit is nutritionally better for you, fresh fruit wins but dried fruit is also a nutritional powerhouse.  I would suggest restricting the amount of dried fruit you consume because of the high calorie and sugar content, and dried fruit is also very convenient and a great snack for adults and children.  You'll find it difficult to overeat fresh fruit because of the amount of water, but try not to eat too many tropical fruits in your daily eating habits.  So the next time your at the grocery store pick up that apple or those dried apricots instead of that candy bar, you'll feel fuller and you'll be getting a ton of nutrients right from Nature's candy shop.

Sources:
http://ezinearticles.com/?Preserved-and-Dried-Fruit-Vs-Fresh-Fruit-Nutrition&id=2854412

Miso Soup: A Better Bowl of Benefits

Steaming Bowl of Miso Soup

Everyone knows that chicken soup helps fight off the common cold and has been utilized and passed down from many generations, but there is another soup that actually has more nutritional benefits than chicken soup.  The soup that I'm referring to is miso soup, which is a popular staple in Asian cuisine.  Before I begin to break down and discuss the health and nutritional benefits of soup I have to advise everyone to watch out for the amount of sodium within soup.  If you buy soup or if you make your own soup, you have to make it with low-sodium stock.  Most soups have more than half a daily serving of salt for only one serving, which is usually half a can, so just be careful and avoid higher sodium soups.

Miso soup is a traditional Japanese soup that is composed of stock which is called dashi and contains softened miso paste.  Other ingredients and spices differ from each culture and location but some other popular ingredients in miso soup include tofu, scallion, mushrooms, and seaweed.  The most important and defining ingredient in miso soup is the miso paste.  There are several different varieties of miso paste including red, white, and mixed.  The soup's stock is commonly composed of vegetables, dried sardines, dried kelp, and dried Shiite mushrooms.

Miso Paste

The health benefits of consuming miso soup include cutting the risk of breast cancer and other forms of cancer.  Having just one small bowl of miso soup can cut a woman's risk of breast cancer mainly because of the miso paste itself.  The fermented soy paste is the main contributor to fighting off cancer cells from forming.  Miso soup is also shown to decrease the development of the hormone oestrogen in women, which causes and forms tumors.  The nutritional benefits are also impressive by being low in cholesterol, very high in dietary fiber (59% of your daily value per serving), a great source of magnesium, copper, protein, and vitamins K, E, B12.  Miso soup is also very rich in antioxidants and the good fatty acids and the essential minerals in miso soup helps your immune system, thus fighting off and protecting you from the common cold.  So instead of following your grandmother's traditional chicken soup recipe to conquer the common cold, try miso soup and get even more of a nutritional boost in every spoonful!

Grow Some Horns! Bison vs. Beef

Bison

Cow

The average US citizen consumes about 67 pounds of beef every year.  That is a huge amount of beef which is most likely not grass fed, but rather corn fed and full of antibiotics and hormones.  The problem that the US has is simply supply and demand.  The beef industry cannot keep pace with the demand of beef in the US so manufacturers (I won't call them farmers) have decided to feed their cattle corn in order to make them bigger within a shorter period of time.  Obviously corn is not a natural and organic source of food in a cattle's diet, so their bodies react differently when compared to eating natural grass.  Since corn is not a natural dietary source of their diets, the cattle become larger and almost deformed when compared to normal grass-fed cattle.  By altering the cattle, disease is increased and manufacturers also inject hormones and antibiotics to help with the growing process and make sure that the cattle don't become sick.  This also adds a huge risks to human consumers because all of the hormones and antibiotics that is injected into the cattle is transmitted into the human consuming the meat.  Corn-fed cattle are also confined in small spaces because there isn't enough room for the massive supply of cattle needed for consumers.  Since they are not allowed to roam and eat natural diets they are reduced to confined spaces and are forced to stand in their own filth.  All of that filth and sewage is transferred to the final meat product and thus, you.

Beware of Recalled Meats

Every few months or so their is a massive recall of tainted beef and those are the only recalls we hear about, there are probably many more that the FDA and the government keeps under the sheets.  You may be asking why would they do that but the meat industry is big bucks, so it wouldn't surprise me in the least.  There is a solution to this mass productive debacle, you can buy grass-fed beef, but grass-fed beef is expensive and difficult to find.  The problem is the government funds these big business corn-fed beef "farms", and thus, it's even more of a challenge to find grass-fed and natural beef.  The best solution that I can present is instead of buying beef, buy bison meat.  Bison is more reasonable in price compared to grass-fed beef and it's also a game meat, which means it's naturally lower in fat and low in calories.  Bison meat is easy to find and purchase, and it's becoming more and more popular in the United States.  Bison is more tender and since it's so lean, you won't feel guilty about having a burger (and it even tastes much better than a dry beef burger).  Bison burger has less total fat than most meat products including pork, chicken and most fish.  Bison also contains more iron than most meat products.  Here is a brief nutritional statistic of a typical 3 oz. serving of bison meat:

• Calories 152, Total Fat 7 grams (3 grams saturated fat)

• Excellent protein with 40 grams, which is 84% of the daily value (DV) in a 2,000-calorie diet.

• 60 milligrams of cholesterol or 20% of the daily value.

• Ground bison is high in vitamin B6 17% DV, B12 35% DV, iron 15% DV, and niacin 25% DV

• Sources: Bisoncentral.com, Nutritiondata.com

Regular ground beef:

• Calories 230, Total Fat 15 grams (6 grams saturated fat)

• 22 grams of protein

• 75 milligrams or 25% of the daily value of cholesterol

• 12% iron for your DV

• Source: Nutritiondata.com

By consuming and purchasing bison meat or grass-fed beef, you can promote the organic and natural farmers in the US and this also promotes and helps the environment because if cattle and bison are allowed to live in open pastures and not in confined spaces, then other elements of the environment can strive and prosper.  So by eating bison or grass-fed beef you can be both eco-friendly and nutritionally sound.

Gigante Beans: Big on Nutrition

I recently found out about a new bean called the gigante bean, or in other words, a large white bean.  Gigante beans are large, flat, cream colored bean that are popular in the Mediterranean.  Beans in general are a great source of vitamins and essential minerals and should be incorporated within your daily diet.  Beans are a nutritional powerhouse containing great amounts of protein, fiber, iron, potassium, calcium, antioxidants, and all beans are naturally low in fat.  Gigante beans are naturally sweet tasting and can be found in many Greek dishes.  There are a few ways to prepare gigante beans and those include soaking them in cold water overnight and then boiling them or simply serving them at room temperature within a vegetable salad.  If you don't want to prepare the beans yourself you can purchase gigante beans already prepared at the antipasto bar at Whole Foods market.  Gigante beans are a great side dish or great served within a Mediterranean style marinated salad along with plenty of other vegetables.

The Whole Soy Bean Fact and Fiction

Raw Tofu and Soy Beans

Soy has always been viewed and categorized as one of the healthiest foods you can eat.  Asian countries have been eating soy beans for centuries and they live some of the longest lives in the world.  The fact is that soy is a great source of protein, essential vitamins and minerals and it is completely fat-free.  The amount of protein alone in soy is 5 times that of vegetables, but the main problem with soy is the way it's processed.  In East Asia where soy originated and has been grown and eaten for years is consumed in it's natural state.  The main problem is the United States sells 90% genetically modified soy (GMO) and the overly processed soy products include soy protein isolates, hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP), and textured vegetable protein (TVP).

So why should people avoid GMO soy products?  The main reason is that soy contains isoflavones, specifically genistein and daidzein and these substances have similar reactions to estrogen within the body, and with too much estrogen the body is prone to cancers, mood swings and emotionally unstable states, additional fats on the waistline, thighs, and hips (Casanova, Santell).  Soy may be connected with Alzheimer’s Disease and in studies in Japan and Hawai, men who consumed tofu at least twice weekly had more cognitive impairment than those who rarely or never ate tofu. (White, Markesbery).  Soy is also a mineral-deficient food, and contains phytin, which depletes essential minerals such as iron, zinc and magnesium out of the body before they can be absorbed.  This can potentially place soy in the category of a powerful cancer promoter of the breast, prostate, lung and colon (Yu).

Tofurky Products

A lot of people assume that soy is the main food source in Asian countries, but they actually use soy as a condiment rather than a main meal.  Japan and China on average has about 10 grams, which is two teaspoons, of soy per day.  The problem that Americans, especially vegans have is you're not suppose to replace a whole meal (meat products, etc.) with GMO soy products.  Asian countries also consume fermented soy, and like I mentioned earlier 90% of soy products sold in the United States is genetically modified soy.  Soy has been labeled as one of the essential health foods in the world but with so many soy products being overly processed, more risks are proposed rather than potential health benefits.  The best advice in order to get the most nutrients from soy is having fermented soy products or soy beans in their natural state (also known as edamame). 

Resources:

Casanova, M. et al. “Developmental effects of dietary phytoestrogens in Sprague.” Toxicol Sci, Oct. 1999, 51 (2): 236-244.

Santell, L, et al. “Dietary genistein exerts estrogenic effects upon uterus, mammary gland and the hypothalamic/pituitary axis in rats.” J Nutr, Feb. 1997, 127(2) 263-269.

White, L R., Petrorich, H, Ross, G W, and Masaki, K H. “Association of mid-life consumption of tofu with late life cognitive impairment and dimentia: the Honolulu-Asia Aging Study.” Fifth International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease, #487, 27 July 1996, Osaka, Japan.

White, LR, Petrovitch, H, Ross, G w, Masaki, K H, Hardman, J, Nelson. J, Davis. D, and Markesbery, W. “Brain again and midlife tofu consumption.” J Am Coll Nutr, April 2000, 19(2): 242-2555.

Yu, H. “Role of the insulin-like growth factor family in cancer development and progression.” J Natl Cancer Inst, Sept. 20, 2000, 92(18)1472-1489.