Getting More Fish in Your Diet

Nutritionists are increasingly enthusiastic about the benefits of omega-3 fatty acids, present in fatty, cold water fish such as tuna, mackerel and salmon, as well as in some nuts and vegetable oils. The benefits of regularly eating these foods include lower triglyceride levels and a reduced risk of coronary artery disease, studies have found. Experts are also researching a possible role for omega-3s in boosting the immune system and protecting against hypertension, depression and other ailments.

As the findings continue to roll in, many nutritionists now recommend that we eat fish twice a week.

Read more about fish and a recipe using canned sardine….

A Little Chocolate May Do the Heart Good

For those who believe in the Easter bunny (or at least in what he is believed to bring), good news awaits.

Just one small square of chocolate a day might help lower your blood pressure and reduce your risk for heart disease.

After analyzing the diet and health habits of 19,357 people, aged 35 to 65, for at least 10 years, German researchers found that those who ate the most chocolate (an average of 7.5 grams, or 0.3 ounces, a day) had lower blood pressure and were 39 percent less likely to have a heart attack than those who ate the least amount of chocolate (an average of 1.7 grams, or 0.06 ounces, a day).

Read more ….

Flaxseed Lowers High Cholesterol In Men

A new study from Iowa State University’s Nutrition and Wellness Research Center (NWRC) may give men a way to combat high cholesterol without drugs — if they don’t mind sprinkling some flaxseed into their daily diet.

Suzanne Hendrich, an ISU professor in food science and human nutrition, led a study that examined the effects of flaxseed lignan in 90 people diagnosed with high cholesterol. The results showed that consuming at least 150 milligrams of flaxseed lignans per day (about three tablespoons) decreased cholesterol in men, but not women, by just under 10 percent over the three months that they were given the flaxseed.

Read more ….

Health experts urge getting nutrients from diet rather than pills

You know you should eat better — but that daily multivitamin pill, calcium supplements and possibly others compensate, right?

Perhaps.

But nutrition experts say that getting crucial nutrients from food, when possible, is better than popping pills.
The American Dietetic Association, in fact, has updated its guidelines on nutrient supplementation and now stresses that eating a wide variety of nutrient-rich foods is the best way to get needed nutrients and reduce the risk of chronic disease.

Read more ….

Quinoa Sushi

I saw a recipe recently published in The Globe and Mail by Lucy Waverman. She used quinoa, a healthy grain to replace rice in a sushi dish.

Sushi is said to be derived from Su No Meshi (Vinegared rice in Japanese). Thus all sushi must have vinegared rice. Technically, this dish can not be called sushi because there is no vinegared rice in it. Anyway she used the technique and presentation of sushi to prepare her dish.

The following is her recipe:

Rinse the quinoa before cooking it to remove the powdery residue. Wash it under cold water until the water runs clear. You might be tempted to put wasabi in these rolls, but its flavour doesn’t work well with the quinoa. I used avocado for the kids, which they did not like, but you can fill them with anything you wish.

Ingredients:

2 cups water
1 cup quinoa
2 tablespoons seasoned rice wine vinegar
Pinch salt
1 English cucumber
1 red pepper
1 large avocado
6 nori leaves

Method:

1. Place water in a pot and bring to boil. Add quinoa, cover, turn heat to low and cook for 12 minutes or until the quinoa is tender and water has been absorbed. Add seasoned rice wine vinegar and salt and stir until combined. Remove from heat and let cool on a cookie sheet.
2. Cut cucumber, red pepper and avocado into long julienne strips. Cut each nori leaf in half, lengthwise.
3. Lay one piece of nori so that the longest edge is facing you on a bamboo rolling mat. Sprinkle on ¼ cup of prepared quinoa and use damp fingers to press it into an even rectangle leaving ¾-inch of nori uncovered at the top. Lay a row of each vegetables down the middle of the quinoa. Using your rolling mat as a guide, compress and roll sushi into an even cylinder. Repeat with remaining ingredients until you have 12 rolls. Let stand a few minutes to soften nori and cut into pieces to serve. Serve with soy sauce for dipping. Serves 6.