Beets

Beets

These grungy-looking roots are naturally sweeter than any other vegetable, which means they pack tons of flavor under-neath their rugged exterior.



Why they're healthy: Think of beets as red spinach. Just like Popeye's powerfood, this crimson vegetable is one of the best sources of both folate and betaine. These two nutrients work together to lower your blood levels of homocysteine, an inflammatory compound that can damage your arteries and increase your risk of heart disease. Plus, the natural pigments -- called betacyanins -- that give beets their color have been proved to be potent cancer fighters in laboratory mice.



How to eat them: Fresh and raw, not from a jar. Heating beets actually decreases their antioxidant power. For a simple single-serving salad, wash and peel one beet, and then grate it on the widest blade of a box grater. Toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the juice of half a lemon.



You can eat the leaves and stems, which are also packed with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Simply cut off the stems just below the point where the leaves start, and wash thoroughly. They're now ready to be used in a salad. Or, for a side dish, sauté the leaves, along with a minced clove of garlic and a tablespoon of olive oil, in a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Cook until the leaves are wilted and the stems are tender. Season with salt and pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice, and sprinkle with fresh Parmesan cheese.

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Eat like a Mediterranean

Mediterranean eating is focused on simple cooking and includes all the foods you already eat, just in different proportions. The diet is plant-based in nature, with a heavy emphasis on fruits and vegetables, nuts, grains, seeds, beans and olive oil. Eggs, dairy, poultry and fish are consumed regularly, but the portions are smaller than typically consumed in a Western diet. Meat makes only an occasional appearance, and it’s usually added in small amounts to make sauces, beans and pasta dishes more flavorful. Refined sugar and flour and butter and fats other than olive oil are consumed rarely, if at all. Mediterranean eating also typically includes moderate consumption of red wine. One of the key components of Mediterranean eating has to do with the elevation of the meal as a social event. Meals are consumed at leisure with family and friends.

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Turmeric Anti Inflammatory

Curcumin (diferuloylmethane) is an orange-yellow component of turmeric (Curcuma longa), a spice often found in curry powder. In recent years, considerable interest has been focused on curcumin due to its use to treat a wide variety of disorders without any side effects. It is one of the major curcuminoids of turmeric, which impart its characteristic yellow colour. It was used in ancient times on the Indian subcontinent to treat various illnesses such as rheumatism, body ache, skin diseases, intestinal worms, diarrhoea, intermittent fevers, hepatic disorders, biliousness, urinary discharges, dyspepsia, inflammations, constipation, leukoderma, amenorrhea, and colic. Curcumin has the potential to treat a wide variety of inflammatory diseases including cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, arthritis, Alzheimer's disease, psoriasis, etc, through modulation of numerous molecular targets. This article reviews the use of curcumin for the chemoprevention and treatment of various diseases.

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Tumeric

Curcumin (diferuloylmethane) is an orange-yellow component of turmeric (Curcuma longa), a spice often found in curry powder. In recent years, considerable interest has been focused on curcumin due to its use to treat a wide variety of disorders without any side effects. It is one of the major curcuminoids of turmeric, which impart its characteristic yellow colour. It was used in ancient times on the Indian subcontinent to treat various illnesses such as rheumatism, body ache, skin diseases, intestinal worms, diarrhoea, intermittent fevers, hepatic disorders, biliousness, urinary discharges, dyspepsia, inflammations, constipation, leukoderma, amenorrhea, and colic. Curcumin has the potential to treat a wide variety of inflammatory diseases including cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, arthritis, Alzheimer's disease, psoriasis, etc, through modulation of numerous molecular targets. This article reviews the use of curcumin for the chemoprevention and treatment of various diseases.

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Berry Benefits

The onset of age-related neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease, superimposed on a declining nervous system, could exacerbate the motor and cognitive behavioral deficits that normally occur in senescence. In cases of severe deficits in memory or motor function, hospitalization and/or custodial care would be a likely outcome. This means that unless some way is found to reduce these age-related decrements in neuronal function, health-care costs will continue to rise exponentially. Thus, it is extremely important to explore methods to retard or reverse age-related neuronal deficits, as well as their subsequent behavioral manifestations, to increase healthy aging. In this regard, consumption of diets rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory polyphenolics, such as those found in fruits and vegetables, may lower the risk of developing age-related neurodegenerative diseases. Research suggests that the polyphenolic compounds found in berry fruits, such as blueberries and strawberries, may exert their beneficial effects either through their ability to lower oxidative stress and inflammation or directly by altering the signaling involved in neuronal communication, calcium buffering ability, neuroprotective stress shock proteins, plasticity, and stress signaling pathways. These interventions, in turn, may exert protection against age-related deficits in cognitive and motor function. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the benefits of these interventions in rodent models and to describe the putative molecular mechanisms involved in their benefits.

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The Great Berry Cure

From the New York Times:
Several studies show that people who eat diets high in fruits and vegetables have lower cancer rates. Now a large body of research suggests that berries may be among the most potent cancer-fighting fruits.

In numerous laboratory studies, researchers at Ohio State University have found that black raspberries inhibit the development of oral, esophageal and colon cancers in rats. Some human studies have also suggested a benefit from berry consumption. In one small study of patients with familial adenomatous polyposis, a genetic condition that raises risk for colon cancer, patients given black raspberry extract had up to 59 percent fewer rectal polyps than those taking a placebo; the findings were published in November’s Cancer Prevention Research journal. Another study showed black raspberry powder reduced symptoms for patients with Barrett’s esophagus, a precancerous condition.

The main berries being researched include black and red raspberries, blackberries, strawberries and elderberries. Although blueberries have numerous health benefits, they don’t appear to have the same cancer-fighting properties as other berries, researchers say. Berries contain a number of healthful compounds including vitamins A, C, E and folic acid; selenium; calcium; polyphenols; and compounds called anthocyanins, which give berries their color.

While berries, particularly raspberries, look like a promising super food, many people may not find it practical to eat them on a regular basis. A human would have to eat about a pound of berries a day to ingest the equivalent doses used in the rodent studies. Another concern is whether variations in climate and growing techniques may alter the concentration of the beneficial compounds found in the fruit. Although frozen berries can substitute for fresh when they are out of season, the fruits are expensive and may be too costly for most people to eat daily.

As a result, researchers are trying to identify the key ingredients that make berries cancer fighters. In a study published this month in Cancer Prevention Research, scientists compared rats who ingested a diet of whole black raspberries or a concentrated powder of black raspberry anthocyanins to rodents who ate a regular diet. The study found that the anthocyanin powder worked just as well as whole raspberries for slowing tumor growth. Both groups of rats consuming either whole berries or anthocyanin powder developed 50 percent fewer esophageal tumors compared to untreated rats.

“We’re quite encouraged by that,” said Gary D. Stoner, professor emeritus and former head of the Cancer Prevention Program at Ohio State University. “It’s not total inhibition, but it was pretty substantial. It tells us the anthoncyanins in the berries are pretty important and they are deserving of more research.”

Although the verdict on berries as cancer fighters is still out, Dr. Stoner says more people could benefit by eating them. Studies already show people with diets high in fruits and vegetables are healthier, and berries are a particularly tasty fruit. Dr. Stoner says frozen berries are a good option, because they won’t spoil, can be eaten year round and often are cheaper than fresh berries. Concentrated berry powders are also available at health food stores.

Dr. Stoner says he starts every morning with a shake made with strawberries, blackberries and blueberries mixed with yogurt and milk.

“We think for the average American, probably the consumption of three to four helpings of berries every week is a good thing,” he said. “We know berries have so many effects on processes related to cancer development. They are one of the food stuffs you probably should consider consuming every day, or at least a few times a week.”

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