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The Underappreciated Beet

jbchristensen — Tue, 10 May 2011 04:00:27 +0000

Image via Wikipedia

Beets — seems like you either love ‘em or hate ‘em. I was in the hate camp as a kid and young adult.

I remember one banquet that I attended my freshman year of college. On the plate was, I thought, a cinnamon candied apple. I set it aside and saved it for the very last, looking forward to the cinnamon-y goodness being the final flavor on my palate. You can imagine my disappointment when I cut a bite and put it in my mouth, only to discover it was a pickled beet! It ruined the entire dinner for me.

Well, I’m still not much of a pickled beet fan, but I now enjoy them in other ways — roasted with other root vegetables, boiled and chilled in salad, in borsch or just as a side dish, boiled or steamed. I grow them in my garden and enjoy the greens as well.

It turns out that what our moms told us is true. Beets really are good for us. They are full of many nutrients and phytochemicals.

Here’s a link to an article about the much maligned beet. In it there is a link to a short podcast about beets and it also has links to some creative beet recipes. Give them a try!

For Beets, a Little More Respect, Please – Well – Tara Parker-Pope – Health – New York Times Blog

I know I’ve been absent from this blog for a very long time. In the coming days I’ll bring you all up to speed as to what has been going on.

A Voice of Reason in a Sea of Hype Regarding Acai

admin — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 18:00:13 +0000

There has been lots of hype regarding the Brazilian acai berry. It seems like it is being touted as a cure to everything from dandruff to gout. Even though I like acai berries and eat acai smoothies and other things containing acai, it always seemed to me that the amount of acai that could be in a capsule would not be capable of doing much of anything. Just because something is a “superfood” doesn’t mean that a small quantity stuffed into a pill with a bunch of other stuff will usher in an era of world peace. Acai is full of antioxidants and is a healthful berry, but it is just that – a healthful berry.

I tried one of those acai berry cleanse things for a couple of months to see if it was something I would want to add to the products sold through Antioxidant Alley. The only thing that seemed lighter and cleaner was my wallet. I’m not saying that they are all frauds, but it sure didn’t do anything for me.

I prefer to have a variety of berries in my diet along with a wide variety of other fruits and vegetables. There are thousands of different substances in foods that are of benefit to us. One shouldn’t think that one single thing (or even some super-secret combination) will give us super powers.

I titled this post “A Voice of Reason in a Sea of Hype.” The voice of reason isn’t necessarily just mine. Here is a link to an article by Discovery Health that does a great job of explaining my point of view. However, as a Portuguese speaker, I cringed a little with their guide for pronunciation of the word “acai.” It’s really closer to ah-sigh-EE. There’s no “y” sound in the word.

Acai Berry : National Body Challenge : Discovery Health

Pomegranate Juice, Grape Juice and Vivix

admin — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 02:52:21 +0000

I was asked a question by @illix012 on Twitter and decided that I couldn’t respond in 140 characters, so I’m posting my response here. He asked what I thought of commercially available juice products such as Pom, Welch’s and Shaklee Vivix.

I like pomegranate juice, and purchase Pom from time to time. I love grape juice, don’t buy it too often but grow grapes and juice them. The stuff we grow is so yummy. No concord grapes for me – I grow cold tolerant wine grapes, press them and freeze the juice so it doesn’t ferment – I’m not a wine drinker.

I have no personal experience with Vivix, but it purports to have equivalent amount of resveratrol as 3,000 glasses of red wine in a month’s supply. According to Shaklee’s web site, the ingredients in Vivix are:

Muscadine Grape extract (Vitis rotundifolia) (fruit pomace), trans-Resveratrol (Polygonumcuspidatum) (root) standardized to a minimum of 98% purity, European Elderberry extract (Sambucus nigra) (fruit), and Purple Carrot extract (Daucus carota sativus) (root)

It sounds OK, but the issue I have with extracts and concentrates is that usually the tests performed on extracts look promising, but when tested on people, the results often aren’t there. I think this is because often tests are performed on a single antioxidant in vitro. However, many antioxidants don’t make it intact through the gut and so the results in vivo are much different than the in vitro tests. See my blog posting on Pills or Food and read the two articles linked in the post.

I’d rather get my antioxidants as close to nature as possible and with all the components they are combined with naturally instead of an extract. That said, I’d like to do some more research on resveratrol. I have seen some reports that make me think that maybe resveratrol in isolation can be of benefit. I’d like to research glutithione supplements for the same reason. Glutithione is a powerful antioxidant that our bodies produce. As we age, production declines, so the thought is that taking a supplement can make up for waning production.

If you know of any published scientific studies regarding resveratrol or glutithione supplements, I’d be interested in the sources. I’d love to see your comments as well.

Dark Chocolate Improves Blood Flow To Heart

admin — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 03:38:56 +0000

A Japanese study, the results of which were published at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions in 2007, suggests that dark chocolate can improve blood flow to the heart. This is important because increased blood flow could reduce the risk of chest pain and maybe even heart attack. The article also reports that other studies have shown dark chocolate can reduce blood pressure and reduce the risk of diabetes.

The author of the study, Yumi Shiina, PhD, of Chiba University in Chiba, Japan, gives credit to flavonoids. Cacao, the main ingredient of dark chocolate, is rich in flavonoids. These compounds are a group of antioxidants that are also found in red wine, tea and fruits and vegetables. She says that cacao has four times as many flavonoids per serving as red wine or tea!

The study involved 39 men who were either given 1.4 oz. of dark chocolate or white chocolate per day. The white chocolate contained no flavonoids, while the dark chocolate did. After two weeks of this regimen, the researchers measured the ability of the coronary arteries to dilate and allow more blood flow to heart muscle tissue. Coronary circulation improved significantly in the participants who ate dark chocolate. There was no change in circulation among the men that ate the white chocolate.

Of course, you need to be aware of the fat and calories in chocolate. Shiina says that perhaps the development of a cacao polyphenol supplement could overcome the problem of fat and calories. I’m a little skeptical there. It seems like whenever a single antioxidant is pulled out of a natural product and made into a supplement the results are less than hoped for. I’d rather eat the dark chocolate and watch my calories. It needs to be dark chocolate with at least 70% cacao.

I eat about 5/8 oz. of dark chocolate per day, which is about 100 calories and six grams of fat.

The fat in chocolate is in the cocoa butter and is composed of about equal parts of oleic acid, stearic acid and palmitic acid. Oleic acid is a heart-healthy monounsaturated fat also found in olive oil. Stearic acid appears to be blood lipid neutral, meaning that it neither raises or lowers blood cholesterol. Palmitic acid does affect blood lipids, but it is only 33% of the total fat in cocoa butter. So it seems that the fat in chocolate isn’t as bad as once thought. However if we talk about milk chocolate, that’s another story entirely. There are lots of added fats and they aren’t the good kind.

Here’s a link to the study on WebMD:

Dark Chocolate May Aid Heart Woes, A Candy Bar A Day Improves Blood Flow To Heart, Study Says – CBS News

Another Cocoa Study Shows Positive Effects on Hypertension

jbchristensen — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 20:31:32 +0000

Here’s a study from The Journal of the American Medical Association that shows that cocoa, or more specifically, the polyphenols in cocoa, has a positive effect on blood pressure. It points out several important facts:

It doesn’t need to be a huge quantity of dark chocolate to have an effect
The dark chocolate must be taken regularly
It must be taken on an ongoing basis

The study was performed on a rather small population (44 individuals) with untreated prehypertension (120-139/80-89) or stage 1 hypertension (140-159/90-99) without any other risk factors. According to the study, the prevalence of hypertension decreased from 86% to 68%. The participants were given either 6.3 g of dark chocolate containing 30 mg of polyphenols or the same amount of white chocolate which contained no polyphenols for a period of 18 weeks.

The study also points out that blood nitric oxide levels increased in the test participants. Nitric oxide is what triggers the dilation of the blood vessels and reduces blood pressure.

Here’s the link to the abstract of the study:

JAMA — Abstract: Effects of Low Habitual Cocoa Intake on Blood Pressure and Bioactive Nitric Oxide: A Randomized Controlled Trial, July 4, 2007, Taubert et al. 298 (1): 49

In my opinion, the thing about eating chocolate as a “medicine” is that healthy individuals probably wouldn’t feel any different, even though the polyphenols would be of benefit. Individuals with cardiovascular disease could probably measure an improvement and may feel healthier.

I know that has been the case with me.

Eat Chocolate to Reduce Hypertension?

jbchristensen — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 17:52:01 +0000

In the past, I’ve made a few posts regarding dark chocolate and hypertension. Here’s a link to a brief article that reminds us that indeed, research indicates that dark chocolate can improve blood pressure and may improve cholesterol levels and insulin sensitivity.

http://www.ephit.com/coventry_contest/chocolate.htm

The article also points out that processing removes much of the benefits of the chocolate.

If you’d be interested in dark chocolate that is minimally processed (not dutched and is cold pressed), please e-mail me and I’d be happy to send you some information. My contact info is in the “About” page.

Black and Blue

jbchristensen — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 02:58:17 +0000

One of the things I mention in my disclaimer is to do your own research. One reason for that is ultimately, each of us is responsible for our own health. Your health care provider can’t know everything and can’t keep up with all the research that is constantly presented. You should, of course, tell him/her all prescriptions, herbs and supplements you are taking, but the provider may not know how they all interact.

Herbs, supplements and to some extent, even food interact with each other and with drugs. You need to understand what those interactions and side effects could be. A personal example…

Under the supervision of my cardiologist, I take a prescription anticoagulant (Plavix) along with one full-strength aspirin per day to minimize the possibility of a clot causing another heart attack or a stroke. In researching how I could improve my health, I decided I needed to increase my intake of vitamin C and E. I also was advised by my cardiologist to start taking pharmaceutical-grade fish oil.

In researching the interactions of those vitamins and supplements I found that each is also a “blood thinner.” I found that while taking all of them, I bruised VERY easily. Even the slightest bump would cause a large bruise.

My cardiologist did not indicate that there would be any problem with the supplements I was taking.

I decided to drop the vitamins C and E other than what was in my multivitamin. Fish oil also is a “blood thinner.” So I backed off on the amount of fish oil I take. The bruising seemed to get better.

Maybe I’m a bit of a hypochondriac, but I don’t want to thin my blood to the point that I’m in danger of a hemorrhagic stroke.

Chocolate, besides being a vasodilator, is also a blood thinner. I eat dark chocolate (70% cacao) with blueberries and açai berries on a daily basis for several reasons (the subject of a blog for another day). Again, I had to do some research to learn the known interactions and side effects of everything I take.

Once again, each of us is ultimately responsible for our own health and needs to inform our health care providers
of all supplements we are taking along with the prescription drugs, but also we need to do our own research.

Here are a couple of sites that I’ve found useful for researching interactions and side effects.

http://www.drugdigest.org/DD/Interaction/ChooseDrugs/1,4109,,00.html
http://www.pdrhealth.com/drug_info/index.html (layperson’s version of Physician’s Desk Reference)

A Plethora of Antioxidant Acronyms

jbchristensen — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 07:00:04 +0000

If you’re like me, you might feel like you’ve been dropped in a vat of alphabet soup when you read about anti-aging or antioxidants. I’m no microbiologist or even a whiz at word games, but I’ll give a shot at trying to ‘splain some of the acronyms involved in the articles about which I post.

Since many of the articles refer to free radicals along with the acronyms, I’ll start off by trying to explain free radicals. High school chemistry was a very long time ago, but I seem to remember that there are some molecules that are short an electron – have an odd number, or whose valance (outer shell) is not full. These molecules seek to fill that outer shell by either sharing an electron or by “stealing” some from another molecule. Many metals are such molecules, as is oxygen. That’s why oxygen is expressed as O₂. Two oxygen atoms bond together by sharing electrons to fill their outer electron shell. We all know that oxygen will react with metal to create rust. That is oxygen combining with the metals to fill the outer shell.

Here’s an article that explains chemical bonding far better than I can.
http://www.school-for-champions.com/chemistry/bonding.htm

In our bodies, we need oxygen to fuel cellular energy production, but at the same time, oxygen and other reactive molecules can interact with with cell membranes or even DNA. Our cells can fail to function properly or die prematurely due to such damage. Cholesterol can also oxidize, which contributes to the buildup of plaque in our circulatory system. Luckily, our bodies have a defense against this type of damage. We have some enzymes that scavenge the molecules that need extra electrons & “loan” them some. However, many other free radical fighters are contained in food. These “antioxidants” can bond with the free radicals and prevent or minimize cellular damage.

Besides normal metabolism, there are many environmental factors that increase the amount of free radicals in our bodies, such as:

stress
smoking
pollution
sun overexposure
radiation

My next post will dive into some acronyms.

Pills or Food?

jbchristensen — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 22:42:23 +0000

My personal feeling has been that eating a food, as close to nature as possible, is better than taking a pill of concentrated essence of whatever. The article below lends credence to that view.

CTV.ca | Antioxidant pills don’t prevent heart disease

The study, done at Brigham & Women’s hospital, followed 8,171 women with three or more risk factors for CVD for over 9 years. Over the course of the study, the women were given either:

500 mg vitamin C or a placebo every day
600 IU vitamin E or a placebo every other day
50 mg beta carotene or a placebo every other day

The researchers found that “There were no overall effects of ascorbic acid,vitamin E, or beta carotene on cardiovascular events among womenat high risk for CVD.”

Here’s a link to the abstract of the study.

We’ve seen many studies that show antioxidants have health benefits. However, many of those studies were done in vitro, rather than in vivo. It seems that people are more complex than test tubes!

Many of the clinical trials involving cacao or dark chocolate show health benefits. My own personal experience, while anecdotal, bears out many of the findings. I still plan on posting my experience and results, but not today. One of the reasons I like minimally processed dark chocolate as a “supplement” is that it is a food, rather than a pill that someone has made by attempting to pull out the “good stuff” in the cacao (flavonoids in this case).

Here’s another article that addresses pills v. foods:

The antioxidant myth: a medical fairy tale – health – 05 August 2006 – New Scientist

Chocolate and Prevention of CVD

jbchristensen — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 17:00:37 +0000

Nutrition & Metabolism | Full text | Chocolate and Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease: A Systematic Review

I came across the study above a while ago, but am just getting around to mentioning it in this blog. This study is not primary research, but rather a review of all MEDLINE publications from 1966 through January 2005 looking for “relations between cocoa, cacao, chocolate, stearic acid, flavonoids (including flavonols, catechins, epicatechins, and procynadins) and the risk of cardiovascular disease.”

One of the things they looked at was whether or not the stearic acid content was detrimental to cardiovascular health. Stearic acid is the type of saturated fat found in cacao. The evidence suggests that it is neutral, unlike other saturated fats, which raise total cholesterol levels.

To quote the results of the study:

The body of short-term randomized feeding trials suggests cocoa and chocolate may exert beneficial effects on cardiovascular risk via effects on lowering blood pressure, anti-inflammation, anti-platelet function, higher HDL, decreased LDL oxidation. Additionally, a large body of trials of stearic acid suggests it is indeed cholesterol-neutral. However, epidemiologic studies of serum and dietary stearic acid are inconclusive due to many methodologic limitations. Meanwhile, the large body of prospective studies of flavonoids suggests the flavonoid content of chocolate may reduce risk of cardiovascular mortality. Our updated meta-analysis indicates that intake of flavonoids may lower risk of CHD mortality, RR = 0.81 (95% CI: 0.71–0.92) comparing highest and lowest tertiles.

It’s a good article. Got a lot of big words, but they do a good job of explaining and referencing the research.

I think I’ll go have some healthy dark chocolate.