Category Archives: Articles

The Anti-Oxidant Onion Preserves Food Too

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Raw yellow or white onions contain flavonoids which have antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. This makes them a terrific alternative for preserving food. Onions inhibit the growth of  micro-organisms that make food decompose and delay lipid oxidation in oil and water emulsions which means you should consider adding them to mayonnaises.

Onions effectively prevent the development of  Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, Micrococcus luteus and Listeria monocytogenes, microorganisms typically associated with the deterioration of foods.

On top of this, the onion flavonoids  are good eating. They are antioxidant, anti-inflammatory,  cardioprotective, vasodilatory and anti-carcinogenic.

Onions: The onion (Allium cepa) is one of the most cultivated and consumed vegetables on the planet (around 66 million tonnes in 2008, of which 1.1 million were produced in Spain, especially in Castilla-La Mancha), and one of the main ingredients of the Mediterranean diet.

References:

International Journal of Food Science and Technology

Say Cheese!

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How It’s Made

Cheese is made by heating whole milk for about an hour. It is then ripened by adding bacteria and rennet or a microbial enzyme, and kept warm while the milk sugars are converted into lactic acid. This releases the whey from the milk. It will begin to look like yogurt, which is really a thin form of fresh cheese.

Once the cheese has cooked, it is strained to separate out the whey, and the curds are pressed or milled. Salt is often added at this stage or the cheese may be soaked in brine. The cheese is then ripened which can take it from a soft creamy fresh cheese to a dried, aged one. Cheeses can be allowed to grow mould or may be wrapped in grape leaves. Some develop rinds, others are soaked in wine.

How the cheese is cooked, separated from the whey, and handled, affects the flavour and texture of the cheese. Mozarella for example, is cooked twice, then stretched.

Health Benefits

Finnish scientists have shown a link between cheese and a healthy immune system among the elderly because it acts as a carrier for probiotic bacteria.

The study recommends daily doses of probiotic cheese to help fight age-based deterioration of the immune system (immunosenescene) which can lead to the body being unable to resist disease and infection.

Since most bacteria enter the body through the mouth and 70% of immunoglobulin are created in the gastrointestinal tract , the team considered the possibility that one could fight immunosenescene through food.

They asked volunteers from a senior’s care residence to eat a slice of either placebo or probiotic Gouda cheese with their breakfast for four weeks. For those taking the Gouda, blood tests showed enhanced natural and acquired immunity through the activation of NK blood cells and an increase in phagocytic activity.

Fats and Asthma

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Heavy, high-fat meals appear to inflame airways within a few hours and inhibit the response to Ventolin (albuterol), an asthma relief medication.  Since asthma is on the rise in westernized countries, some already believe it may be responsive to environmental factors such as diet. This means that for some sufferers at least, there may be some relief in changing lifestyles.  Our western diet tends to be higher in fats than other cultural culinary traditions.

High dietary fat intake is believed to activate the immune response, which can mean greater susceptibility to inflammation.  To test whether this affected the airways, researchers recruited 40 asthmatics and randomly served them either a high-fat, high-calorie meal of fast food burgers and hash browns,  or a low-fat, low-calorie meal of reduced fat yogurt. Sputum samples were collected before the meal and 4 hours later.

Those who had ate the burgers suffered inflammation of the airways.  The TLR4 cell surface receptors in their airways were activated by the nutritional fatty acids. They responded to the saturated fatty acids as if they were being attacked by a pathogen and released inflammatory mediators.  Further, when given medication, they were less responsive to its effects.

For more information visit the Thoracic Organization

Food Cravings

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No-one who has had a weight problem will ever forget how difficult it is to lose even a few pounds and keep it off. No matter how motivated you are, the cravings start.

Watching Oprah, I remember hearing Dr. Oz hint that if you can hold out for 10 minutes, the craving will pass. One only assumes he hasn’t got a kitchen or fast-food restaurant anywhere nearbyt.

Food cravings are a common experience but are under-studied. At issue is not a sense of hunger because the craving can happen even when you are full. Cravings demand we eat something quite specific: chocolate, beans, a carrot. It’s as if your body needed something that only that one food can provide.  For some people, it’s not enough to have a taste of the food, they need to dig deep and binge away.

The Source of Cravings

All my life (which has been long) it has been suggested that caving to craving is a lack of self-discipline.

Research suggests that cravings are accompanied with very clear mental images of the desired foods and the more vivid the image, the greater the cravings.  Moreover, while the image is in mind, it seems to take over cognitive function. Studies show that people undergoing a craving actually have trouble completing  various cognitive tasks. In one experiment, volunteers craving chocolate couldn’t remember words and took longer to solve math problems. Cravings become the focus of our attention and disrupt our ability to think clearly!

Fortunately it works both ways because if you can take your mind off the food for a moment and fixate elsewhere, the craving will diminish. So the next time you are craving something that you think is bad for you, try re-tuning your mind by concentrating on a hobby or person that you find attractive.  And get out of the kitchen!

DanActive Yoghurt

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Three cheers for probiotics! And an extra one for the probiotic yogurt-like drink DanActive, a drink I happen to love very much!

Seems that DanActive or a substitute, was given to 638 children, aged 3 to 6,  all in daycare 5 days a week.  The DanActive kids showed reduced rates of common illnesses such as ear infections, sinusitis, the flu and diarrhea. Yes the study was funded by The Dannon Company, Inc., and yes, probiotics are faddishly popular, turning up in ice cream as well as other common foods. Nevertheless, the results are positive.

Lactobacillus casei (L. casei) DN-114 001 is the probiotic in DanActive.

  • Parents kept daily diaries of their child’s health and the number of drinks consumed.
  • Researchers found a 19% decrease in common infections among the DanActive kids who also had
    • 24 % fewer gastrointestinal infections (such as diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting),
    • 18% fewer upper respiratory tract infections (such as ear infections, sinusitis and strep).
  • There was no change in the number of days kids missed from school so one presumes the infections were mild?

Weight Watchers and Diabetes

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57 million Americans live with “pre-diabetes” and 23 million have type 2 diabetes. Two indicators of the disease are high fasting glucose and insulin levels.

Weight loss programs can help because there is a strong correlation between diabetes-2 and obesity. A new study shows that following Weight Watchers for only 6 months  helped overweight adults lose weight and reduce both fasting glucose and insulin levels.

The study worked with 61 overweight people who were taught the benefits of a low-calorie diet, exercise and weekly support meetings.  Those who attended 20 or more sessions out of a possible 24, lost on average, 14 pounds and significantly lowered glucose and insulin levels.

The total cost of treating diabetes in the USA alone is over $200 billions. But the most effective form of medical intervention is change your lifestyle.  According to the Diabetes Prevention Program Trial (DPP), changing your lifestyle can reduce the risk of developing diabetes by over 50%.

For many people, the only way to get into gear with a healthier lifestyle is to join an organization that supports them in the quest for greater wellness.

According to the American Diabetes Association, “structured programs emphasizing lifestyle changes including moderate weight loss (7% body weight) and regular physical activity (150 min/week), with dietary strategies including reduced calories and reduced intake of dietary fat, can reduce the risk for developing diabetes.”

Bottled Water

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70% of the bottled water sampled by researchers in Montreal showed high levels of heterotrophic bacteria. This calls into question the benefits of switching to bottled water in cities with clean tap water.

The researchers randomly purchased several brands of bottled water from a local marketplace and subjected them to microbiological analysis. They discovered more than 70 percent of famous brands tested did not meet the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) specifications of 500 cfu/mL, and in some cases the water was 100 times richer in bacteria than recommended.

The average microbial count for different tap water samples was 170 cfu/mL.

The bacteria are unlikely to cause disease although they could potentially affect people whose systems are already vulnerable.

“Bottled water is not expected to be free from microorganisms but the cfu observed in this study is surprisingly very high. Therefore, it is strongly recommended to establish a limit for the heterotrophic bacteria count as well as to identify the nature of microorganisms present in the bottled water,” says Azam.

Chocolate Milk

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Drink it because it’s good for you!

The American College of Sports Medicine says that in a series of four studies chocolate milk was found to be better at helping people recover after exercise. It was even better than  specially designed carbohydrate sports drinks.

After strenuous exercise it’s important to help the body recover lost nutrients and rebuild muscles.  Fat free chocolate milk helps the body retain, replenish and rebuild muscle and may prep muscles to perform better later.

Specifically, researchers found a chocolate milk advantage for:

  • Building Muscle — Muscle biopsies were taken from 8 runners after exercising. In one session they followed the exercise with 16 ounces of fat free chocolate milk. In another session they drank a carbohydrate only sports beverage. The post milk biopsy showed the runners had enhanced skeletal muscle protein synthesis — indicating the muscles were repairing themselves more efficiently.
  • Replenishing Glycogen — Glycogen is muscle fuel. The proteins in milk made it more effective that carbs-only sports drinks in helping to replenish the concentrations of glycogen in the muscles, after exercise.
  • Maintaining Lean Muscle — Fat free chocolate milk  helped decrease markers of muscle breakdown.
  • Subsequent Exercise Performance — A subsequent study that compared the performance of 10 cyclists showed that those who drank milk were able to perform the second leg of the trial, a 40km ride, in less time than those who drank the control drink or sports drink.

Why Chocolate Milk?

What makes chocolate milk so effective is its combination of carbohydrates (sugar), proteins, fluids and electrolytes.  They build muscle, rehydrate the body and provide essential minerals that we sweat out during exercise.

Global Vegetation

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Anyone who loves to eat has to worry about the state of farm products and that means they need to be concerned about climate change because recent studies suggest that where plants grow is shifting, as they seek cooler or wetter conditions.

A new study from a University of California, Berkeley  ecologist working with researchers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service found that over the past century, vegetation has gradually moved toward the poles and up mountain slopes, to areas with cooler temperatures,  and towards the equator, where rainfall is greater.

Meanwhile depending on whether or not we can control greenhouse gas emissions, between 1/10 and 1/2 of the Earth will continue to see climate-related vegetation shifts.

The results are based on an overview of hundreds of field studies and a spatial analysis of what we have witnessed over the past century and can expect over the next 100 years.

The researchers found 15 cases where there was a complete biome shift since the 18th century meaning that an entire suite of plants moved. In each case the researchers were able to attribute the shift to changes in temperature and precipitation.

The researchers calculated that over the 20th century,  mean temperatures  increased over 76%  of the earth’s landmasses, with the greatest warming in the subarctic. The big biome shifts occurred where either temperature or precipitation changed by one-half to two standard deviations from 20th century mean values.

What Does That Mean?

Examples of biome shifts that actually occurred were

  • woodlands giving way to grasslands in the African Sahel, and
  • shrublands encroaching onto tundra in the Arctic.

As trees and shrubs in the Sahel died off, there was less and less wood for housing and cooking.  The damage to Arctic tundra reduced habitat for caribou and other wildlife.  Globally, we are seeing the disruption of many ecosystems which affects everything from the habitats of endangered species to human water supplies. In all, at least 1 billion people live in areas that are could be affected by vegetation shifts. That’s 1 in 7 people who may find that food, water, or other plant based supplies are hard to come by if we don’t act.

Acid Reflux

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Acid reflux (GERD) is painful and it affects up to 15% of all people.

Acid backs up into the esophagus to leave a burning sensation in the throat. For those who suffer from the disease, you may be heartened to hear that a recent study suggests that the problem has a specific cause and there may be medical relief on the way.

What’s the Problem?

For people with GERD, the circular valve-like muscle  (lower-esophageal sphincter) that should prevent what’s in your stomach from backing up into the esophagus, doesn’t close properly.  The sphincter may even open spontaneously. Either way, gastric acid leaks into the esophagus, causing inflammation and acid indigestion, or “heartburn.” In time, it can lead to tissue damage or even cancer.

Many people treat GERD with antacids which simply control the acids in the stomach. Knowing exactly where the problem lies, researchers may be able to find a medical solution to fix the problem or at least relieve sypmptoms.