Kale is one of two vegetables with the highest ORAC (oxygen radical absorption capacity) score; spinach is the second highest. In other words, kale is a great vegetable antioxidant!
Not only is kale an excellent antioxidant, it is a nutrient powerhouse! Some of the many micronutrients in kale include: chlorophyll, indoles, carotenoids (such as beta-carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin), glutathione, betaine, alpha lipoic acid, vitamins E, C, B (folate, B1, B2 and B6) and many minerals. Of course, anyone familiar with the remarkable number of food compounds, enzymes and cofactors in whole foods knows that this is only the short list!
If you’re like most people, kale doesn't seem like the easiest vegetable to work into your diet, especially if you’re not accustomed to eating it. And while a lot of clinicians may recommend it to their patients due to its remarkable nutrient profile, few seem to offer savory ways to incorporate this food into the diet.
Here is an answer…
Portuguese Kale Soup or “Caldo de Couves”. This recipe comes to you directly from my wonderful mother, Lucia. Thanks and Love you Mom!!
Ingredients:
• minimum of 8 cups of boiling water (broth may be used instead if preferred)
• minimum of 2 bunches of fresh kale “couves”(rinsed and chopped)
• a head of fresh cabbage “repolho” (rinsed and chopped)
• desired amount of fresh carrots “cenoura” (rinsed and chopped)
• desired amount of fresh potatoes “batata” or "sweet potatoes “batata doce” (peeled and cut into
cubes)
• one fresh onion “cebola” (peeled and chopped)
• desired amount of fresh garlic cloves “alho” (peeled and crushed)
• dash of salt and pepper
• approximately 4 tablespoons of olive oil “azeite”
• optional meats may be lean beef, chicken, or sliced Portuguese linguiça to add a lil’ bit of spice
• if desired, may add beans of your choice
Instructions:
1. If adding beef or chicken to the soup, my mother recommends boiling them in water in a separate pot until they are half-cooked. She prefers to first clean the beef or chicken first, and then placing them in boiling water. But if you decided to use Portuguese linguiça instead, this extra step is not needed for it.
2. In another pot, bring about 8 cups of water to a boil. Then reduce heat to a medium to low level. First add the beans (optional) and carrots, since they will take the longest to cook. Then add the garlic and onion to the mix. Next, add your choice of potatoes. Then after, add the kale, cabbage, and linguiça. The linguiça is optional, but it does add a nice flavor to the soup.
3. Once the beef or chicken is half-cooked, you may add it to the pot containing the vegetables. The same time the beef/chicken is added, add the dash of salt and pepper. Very important—Please drain the boiling water used to half-cook the beef/chicken. Do not use this water!
4. After all the ingredients are added to the main pot, cover the pot. And cook for an additional 20-30 minutes.
5. Serve it up with a (buttered) Portuguese roll and Enjoy!
Caution: This is a hearty – Food as Medicine – Soup. Only make this if you want to feel well!
Happy December to All Innate Response Friends and Family!
Greetings! I am a 2nd year ND student at Bastyr University and I am excited that I have this opportunity to offer you tantalizing tidbits of nutrition research in my monthly blog.
A study in the Archives of Internal Medicine recently caught my attention. According to the study published in the October 25 edition, serum potassium levels are an independent predictor of Type II Diabetes Mellitus. Specifically, low serum potassium levels may lead to an increased risk for the development of diabetes mellitus. The investigators analyzed data from 12,209 participants in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study, an ongoing prospective cohort study, and found that serum potassium levels lower than 5.0 mEq/L were associated with a significantly higher risk of incident DM compared with a serum level greater than 5.0 mEq/L. This study, as many do, raises more questions than it answers. For example, higher serum potassium levels are typically found in individuals who consume more potassium-rich fruits and vegetables.
So is it the potassium itself that lowers the risk of diabetes mellitus or is it the other nutrients typically found in the fruits and vegetables that could provide the protective benefit?
In the study, the investigators make reference to a few studies that begin to shed light on a possible answer. Based on these references, they conclude that ‘serum potassium levels affect insulin secretion by pancreatic B-cells, and hypokalemia associated with diuretic use has been associated with dysglycemia.’ The investigators also mention that ‘while a direct relationship between serum potassium and glucose metabolism is possible, as evidenced by these studies, other potential mediators of this relationship, such as aldosterone, should be considered.’ Unfortunately, the aldosterone and other hormone levels of the participants were not available. More research needs to be done to determine the physiological mechanism of the dysglycemia observed in the participants with hypokalemia. Clinical trials are also needed to determine if a potassium-rich diet and/or the use of potassium supplements could in fact reduce your future risk of developing Type II Diabetes. Until a definitive conclusion is found, it is best to ensure that you, your family and your patients are getting adequate potassium levels from a diet rich in whole food nutrients.
Reference:
Arch Intern Med. 2010 Oct 25;170(19):1745-51
Melatonin and Cherries Tart Cherries (Prunus cerasus) By Stacy Mobley, MPH, ND student
Monday, November 15, 2010
0 Comments
My mom was on to something when she mentioned she slept better after eating cherries. Talk about a woman who listens to her body! What a tasty sleep aid! Not only do mammals produce melatonin --plants and seeds make it too—the edible ones –yummy! Cherries and other edible plants produce more melatonin than we do. It is well known that melatonin production decreases as we age, so why not add a handful of cherries as a snack before bedtime. According to current research, Montmorency cherries contain 6 times the amount of melatonin that Balaton cherries do. Either way, it is a healthy supply of melatonin and filled with host of antioxidants.Unlike supplemented melatonin, this hormone ingested via cherries and other plants will not become ineffective over time.We are not going to settle for simply sleeping better, let’s knock out arthritis, gout, and decrease your risk for cancer while we are at it. The full blast of antioxidants helps in a variety of ways without causing any negative side effects such as sleep walking and unknowingly raiding your refrigerator.Here is a very short list of what each beautiful red cherry contains:
Anthocyanins: Packed with more than the daily dose of antioxidants and a beautiful red color to boot!
COX 1 & 2 inhibitors: Decrease inflammation and pain- arthritis and gout don’t stand a chance!
SOD like substance: Decrease C-Reactive protein; elevated levels in the blood stream during inflammation and stress on the heart
Perillyl alcohol (POH): Inhibit cancer cells growth and decrease blood supply to cancerous cells
Melatonin: A hormone produced by the pituitary to induce a nice sleep
Fresh cherries have a low Glycemic Index 54 and dried cherries (58). Boasting an ORAC score of 3,622, one glass of organic cherry juice or ½ cup of dried cherries will take care of your daily dose of antioxidants. There is no single cherry phytonutrient that stands the test but their synergy creates greatness. This is whole food at its best!
I’ll take 2 cherries on the top of my coconut ice cream sundae please!
References
Kirakosyan A, Seymour EM, Noon KR, Llanes DEU, Kaufman PB, Warber SL, Bolling SF. Interactions of antioxidants isolated from tart cherry (Prunus cerasus) fruits. Food Chemistry. 2010.
Simopoulos AP, Visioli F (eds): More on Mediterranean Diets. World Rev Nutr Diet. Basel, Karger, 2007, vol 97, pp 211–230.
Detection and Qualification of the Antioxidant Melatonin in Montmorency and Balaton Tart Cherries J. Agric. Food Chem., 2001, 49 (10), pp 4898–4902.
A Portuguese “Sopa” for Health & Vitality, By Cindy Azevedo, ND Student, University of Bridgeport
Thursday, November 11, 2010
0 Comments
One thing that has been a big part of my identity and for which I am proud and grateful is my full-blooded Portuguese descent. My family is from a small island, Terceira, which is found in the Açorean archipelago. Terceira may be small, but the vibrancy of the island folks is larger than life. Where else can you find street bullfighting as a big sport?!?! Due to my Portuguese heritage, I LOVE soups or “sopas” and grew up eating a lot of it!
One herb that is very well incorporated into the Portuguese cuisines and “sopas”, is the good old’ pungent garlic or “alho”. “Alho” is a total body tonic and broad-spectrum antiseptic that repels not only vampires, but mosquitoes, insects, high cholesterol, and those seasonal colds and flues. Gotta love it!
A simple “sopa” to try on your own and share with your patients is called Garlic Soup or “Açorda de alhos”. “Açordas” are very simple substantial bread-based soups with very inexpensive and simple ingredients that can serve as an appetizer or the main dish. “Açordas” were meant to help sustain peasants during through their hard days of manual work. So don’t get rid of the day-olds breads (“pão”)!! Every scrap of bread (before the growth of mold of course!) can be used.
This recipe serves about four. The ingredients:
• About 4-5 crushed whole garlic cloves
• Some salt and pepper
• Some chopped cilantro or parsley
• Olive oil
• Firm country bread or left-overs (“Pão)
• Poached eggs
• At least 4 cups of boiling chicken/vegetable stock
The instructions are as simple as the ingredients:
Mix the crushed garlic cloves, pinch of salt and pepper, and olive oil into the pan that is over low heat for a few minutes. Then add in the chicken/vegetable stock and continue to heat until it boils. Now add the bread into a soup bowl. Pour the broth mix over the bread. Then top with a poached egg and season with fresh parsley or cilantro.
Enjoy, Peace, and in Health! Bom Aproveito, Paz, e Saúde!
Part 1 of 2: Supplement Categories
The market for nutritional supplements is huge, and numerous nutraceutical companies are vying for your attention as a consumer and/or prescriber. When choosing supplements for yourself, your patients, or your clients, what information should you consider? First, let’s take a look at what the supplement landscape looks like.
Available supplements fall into one of four categories.
Pure, isolated supplements. These supplements are synthetically produced in a lab and do not contain any plants or foods as their sources. Many of them contain ingredients derived from crushed rocks or petrochemicals. If you look at the label, you’ll see ingredient names like ascorbic acid, pyridoxal-5-phosphate, or dimagnesium malate. Pure supplements typically contain very high doses of nutrients, but the body’s ability to absorb and utilize the nutrients (i.e., the bioavailability of the nutrients) is not very high. Supplements in this category are often prescribed therapeutically.
Food-based supplements. Food-based supplements contain the pure nutrients described above mixed with varying amounts of food powders, food extracts, or botanicals. When you read the label of a food-based supplement, you’ll see the chemical names mentioned previously, but you’ll also see more readily recognizable names such as spinach powder or rice bran. The addition of food-based products increases the bioavailability of the nutrients over that of pure nutrients alone.
Biocultured supplements. These supplements contain food, botanicals, pure isolated nutrients, as well as cultured vitamins and minerals and fermented foods such as soy. As with food-based supplements, the bioavailability is higher than that of pure, isolated supplements. When you read the label, you should be aware that any pure nutrients that are included in the formula might not be listed. In addition, the fermentation and culturing processes may degrade some of the nutrients that you think you’re getting from a food source.
Whole food supplements. Whole food supplements contain 100 percent raw whole food. This means that the supplements contain not only the individual vitamins and minerals that you wish to take, but also the vital phytochemicals and cofactors that are present in food to enhance the body’s ability to utilize those nutrients. On the label, you’ll see food names such as carrots, oranges, brown rice, and broccoli. You may also see the name of the probiotic species in which food concentrates are grown under controlled conditions to maintain nutrient viability. Because our bodies recognize whole food supplements as food and not isolated nutrients, bioavailability is high and effective doses are low. These supplements are considered foundational and serve to prevent deficiencies that can lead to disease.
Now that you’re familiar with the categories of supplements, what else should you consider? Next Month – Part 2 of 2: Supplement Quality.
Disclaimer: All data and information provided on this blog is for informational purposes only. Innate Response
Formulas makes no representations as to accuracy, completeness, suitability, or validity of any information on this blog and will not be liable for the content. All information is provided on an as-is basis.
© 2010 Innate Response
Products
Information
Policies
My Account
Help
(Your shopping cart is empty)