Bottom Line/Women’s Health interviewed JoAnn E. Manson, MD, DrPH, professor of medicine and women’s health at Harvard Medical School and chief of the division of preventive medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, both in Boston. She is one of the lead investigators for two highly influential studies on women’s health — the Harvard Nurses’ Health Study and the Women’s Health Initiative. Dr. Manson is the author, with Shari Bassuk, ScD, of Hot Flashes, Hormones & Your Health (McGraw-Hill).

Many foods that we perceive as nutritional lightweights actually are just as healthy as — and, for many people, more enjoyable than — the so-called superfoods, such as broccoli and spinach. Here, some of the best…

Iceberg Lettuce

The light green color of iceberg lettuce suggests that it isn’t rich in nutrients.

Fact: Iceberg contains lutein and zeaxanthin, carotenoids that reduce the risk for cataracts and age-related macular degeneration, the leading causes of blindness in older adults.

Bonus: Eat a salad at the beginning of a meal. It is low in calories and, like any food, stimulates the release of cholecystokinin (CCK), a satiety hormone that reduces appetite and causes people to consume fewer calories overall.

Watermelon

It contains more water than most fruits. The high liquid content, along with the sugars and fiber, make watermelon the perfect snack before workouts. But it’s more than a snack food.

Fact: Watermelon contains 40% more lycopene than fresh (uncooked) tomatoes. Lycopene is a potent antioxidant that strengthens the immune system and may lower the risk for breast and prostate cancers.

Helpful: When you take a watermelon home, keep it on the counter even after cutting it open. Room-temperature watermelon continues to produce antioxidants for about two weeks. It will contain up to 40% more lycopene and up to 139% more beta-carotene than cold watermelon.

Sauerkraut

Fresh, minimally processed vegetables are presumed to be the healthiest. Not always.

Fact: One study found that women who ate at least four weekly servings of fermented cabbage, better known as sauerkraut, were 72% less likely to develop breast cancer than those who ate less.

Eating fermented cabbage changes gut metabolism and may help to protect the intestinal tract. Isothiocyanates, which are naturally present in all the cruciferous vegetables, appear to inhibit the proliferation of cancer cells and accelerate the death of these cells.

Korean kimchi, a spicy form of fermented cabbage, appears to have similar effects.

Onions

Most people use onions mainly as a seasoning ingredient in soups and stews and on burgers and salads. For good health, use a lot of them.

Fact: Onions are high in vitamin C, fiber, vitamin B-6 and folate. They also are rich in quercetin, a flavonoid with powerful anticancer effects, and allyl sulfides, the same protective compounds that are present in garlic.

Studies have found that people who eat between 14 and 22 servings of onions a week can reduce their risk for oral cancer by 84%. They have a 56% reduced risk for colon cancer, a 25% reduced risk for breast cancer and a 71% reduced risk for prostate cancer.

Red onions have the most quercetin. However, pink shallots contain the richest mix of chemical compounds and more antioxidants than other onions.

Artichokes

They’re work to eat, but the payoff can be better digestive health.

Fact: One study found that people who took an artichoke leaf extract had a 26.4% reduction in symptoms from irritable bowel syndrome. One of the chemical compounds in artichokes, silymarin, is reputed to improve liver health in patients with hepatitis, but this hasn’t been proved.

I advise patients to eat whole, natural foods rather than depending solely on supplements. Artichokes contain a mix of antioxidants, including narirutin and apigenin-7-rutinoside, that aren’t necessarily included in supplements.

Helpful: Look for artichokes with long stems. When cooked, the stems are almost as tasty as the hearts. Peel the stems to make them more tender. Canned, frozen and jarred artichoke hearts are good, too.

Avocados

Avocados have the distinction of being higher in fat than any other fruit or vegetable. One medium Hass avocado, for example, has about 29 grams of fat and about 320 calories.

Fact: Nearly all of the fat in avocados is the healthful, monounsaturated form. In a study of patients with high cholesterol, those who included avocado in their daily diet had a decrease in total cholesterol, along with an 11% increase in beneficial HDL cholesterol.

As a source of healthy fat, avocado is better than butter and is delicious when spread on toast or a sandwich.

Source(s):

Bottom Line/Personal interviewed John La Puma, MD, an internist at Santa Barbara Institute for Medical Nutrition and Healthy Weight in Santa Barbara, California. A professionally trained chef, he hosts the Lifetime television series What’s Cookin’ with ChefMD? He is author of ChefMD’s Big Book of Culinary Medicine: A Food Lover’s Road Map to Losing Weight, Preventing Disease and Getting Really Healthy (Three Rivers). He writes the blog “Paging Dr. La Puma” at www.DrJohnLaPuma.com.

Source(s):

Mark Houston, MD, MS, associate clinical professor of medicine at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and director of the Hypertension Institute, Vascular Biology and the Life Extension Institute at Saint Thomas Hospital in Nashville. He is author of What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Hypertension (Grand Central) and the upcoming book, What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Heart Disease (Grand Central).

Source(s):

Mark Houston, MD, MS, associate clinical professor of medicine at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and director of the Hypertension Institute, Vascular Biology and the Life Extension Institute at Saint Thomas Hospital in Nashville. He is author of What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Hypertension (Grand Central) and the upcoming book, What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Heart Disease (Grand Central).

Storing foods can present its own set of problems. And different types of foods have different storage requirements to prevent bacteria from setting in. Here’s some tips to protect your family and yourself.

Storing Vegetables

1. Vegetables should be stored in the vegetable crisper in the refrigerator. However, keep potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, and garlic in a cool, dark, well ventilated place, but not in the refrigerator. Tomatoes have better flavor if they are not refrigerated. Once cut, tomatoes should be refrigerated like any vegetable.

2. Store vegetables in the refrigerator crisper in plastic bags to prevent loss of moisture and nutritional values. However, eggplant and capsicums should be stored open in the crisper as they sweat if stored in plastic bags. Put mushrooms in a paper bag (not in a plastic bag) before placing them in the crisper.

Storing Fruits

3. Apples and berries should always be kept in the refrigerator for maximum crispness. Summer stone fruits and melons should sit at room temperature until they are ripe, then go into the refrigerator. Grapes & fruits that are not yet fully ripe can be left in a fruit bowl in the kitchen.

4. Citrus fruits are fine at room temperature unless it is very hot, in which case, put them in the refrigerator. Bananas should be kept at cool room temperature. Their skins become black if they are refrigerated, although the flesh is still fine to eat.

Storing Dairy Products

5. Always check the expiry date on dairy products, especially milk. Don’t buy milk if it will expire in 2-3 days. Milk generally starts giving smell before its expiry date even if you store it in the refrigerator! Generally, milk bottles at the front of the shelf in the supermarket have an expiry date of only a few days. Look for bottles at the back of the shelf.

Storing Frozen Foods

6. Pack all your frozen foods together in an insulated container to keep them frozen until you get home. If foods defrost on the way home and you re-freeze them in a domestic freezer, large ice crystals will form and can rupture cell membranes in the food allowing nutrients to escape. Keep frozen foods frozen to maintain quality, as bacteria will begin to multiply when the food is thawed.

Storing Meat Products

7. Fresh meat, chicken, and fish always carry some bacteria so these foods must always be kept cold. Bacterial growth slows down in the refrigerator; at room temperature, they grow rapidly. Cooking kills these bacteria. Store meat, seafood and chicken in the coldest part of the refrigerator. See that any uncooked products do not come into contact with other foods in the refrigerator. They should be stored at the bottom part of the refrigerator so that any juices that drip out won’t contaminate other foods on lower shelves.

8. Make sure that fish or other seafood are wrapped and use as soon as possible. Throw them out if not used within two days.

9. If you are going to freeze meat, seafood or poultry, enclose it in freezer wrap and freeze as soon as possible after bringing it home. Store eggs in the refrigerator, preferably in their cartons, as it provides protection and prevents moisture loss through the shell.

Storing Other Products

10. Do not allow pet foods to come into contact with human foods. Pantry items (canned foods, cereals, etc.) should be stored in a dark place like in a cupboard or pantry. Keep oils out of direct light.

For more tips and advice on Food visit:
http://www.bruisedonion.com/guide/food/