Do you enjoy a good green salad? I do. Is your salad mainly leafy greens or do you go overboard and create a nutritional nightmare? Not hard to do at a lot of salad bars, is it? Everything seems to call your name and tempt you. How do you build a healthy salad with a nutritional profile that’s powerful for your body?
Try these three easy tips:
1. Start with a base of leafy greens. Red leaf, green leaf, arugula, spinach, or a mixture…whatever you like. Try different greens. I rotate them depending on what’s available and what looks good that week. I’m often asked this question and you may wonder as well “Do I need to rinse the prewashed bagged salads?” Most bags of greens say triple-washed so you would think there’s no need to rinse again.
Don’t miss this….tests on salad greens performed by the Consumers Union and reported in the March 2010 issue of Consumer Report found bacteria that are common indicators of poor sanitation and fecal contamination in their samples. They tested baby greens, organic greens, bagged greens and clamshells. Nothing made a difference. Their conclusions were to buy packages as far from the use-by-date as possible, rinse the greens even if the bag says prewashed or triple-washed and prevent cross contamination in your kitchen by keeping greens away from raw meats. My suggestion is to make sure to clean your salad spinner or colander after each use just in case bacteria adhere to the surfaces.
2. Kick up your veggie intake for the day. Add chopped carrots, green peppers, sliced tomatoes or cucumbers, yellow or zucchini squash, broccoli…basically take a look and see what vegetables you have on hand and toss them in. They add flavor, crunch and a boot load of nutrition. I also like fruit in my salad so I’ll add apple slices, strawberries, dried blueberries and cherries, even watermelon. What do you add to your salad that makes it healthy and delicious?
3. Add lean protein. My girlfriends always say they’re only going to have a salad for lunch. They order one with greens and a few veggies. In an hour or so, they’re hungry again. Sound familiar? Protein has many important roles in your body from helping you to feel full and satisfied longer to maintaining your muscle mass…no matter what your age. Add sliced chicken, turkey, fish or lean beef, low fat cheese or a hard-boiled egg. If you’re vegetarian or eating some meatless meals, try cubes of tofu or chickpeas or a chopped veggie burger.
The buzzwords ‘inflammation’ and ‘anti-inflammation diet’ continue to garner a lot of attention in the nutrition world so it’s time to give you an update on the latest information that may affect your health. Inflammation can be good or bad. It’s good if it’s acute or short term such as when cut yourself. Your immune system kicks in sending white blood cells along with other substances to jump start the healing process. Inflammation is not so good when it becomes chronic or longer term inflammation in your body. This invisible type of inflammation gets all the attention because it’s been implicated in the etiology or cause of many common diseases from heart disease and auto immune illness like lupus or rheumatoid arthritis to some cancers, diabetes, and even stroke.
Here’s what scientists think is happening in the body with this low-grade chronic inflammation. This on-going inflammation damages your blood vessels thus increasing your risk for heart problems. In the case of cancer, inflammation could damage your genes or increase the development of blood vessels that let cancer cells spread and grow. In your body, inflammation raises the level of what’s called C-reactive protein or CRP for short. The liver produces this CRP during periods of inflammation so if the body has chronic inflammation going on, the CRP level will be elevated. Now doctors can measure this level of general inflammation in the body with a blood test called the hs-CRP which stands for high-sensitivity C-reactive protein.
What can you do about inflammation in the body? Does what you eat potentially make inflammation worse in your body or can it help fight inflammation? Is there an ‘anti-inflammation diet’? Yes there is. It’s called the Mediterranean Diet. A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association looked at the effect of a Mediterranean diet on inflammation in the body, particularly in people with metabolic syndrome.
Think of metabolic syndrome as a group or cluster of medical issues that includes excess weight around your belly, elevated total cholesterol and LDL levels, high blood pressure and high blood sugar levels. In fact, metabolic syndrome affects about 25% of our population. Why do I mention metabolic syndrome? Because it’s a syndrome that is tied to a pro-inflammatory state in your body…in other words…this chronic inflammation we’ve been talking about.
This study and others have found that a Mediterranean diet which includes healthy oils, nuts, fish and lots of fruits, veggies and grains decreased the level of CRP in the blood and reduced the level of inflammation in the body. Following a Mediterranean diet often results in weight loss which lowers markers of inflammation in the body…a very good thing.
1. Switch your type of fat: as much as possible use healthy oils such as olive, peanut and canola. These are rich in monounsaturated fats, the more heart healthy type of fat. Cut out as much trans fat and saturated fat as you can. These unhealthy fats not only raise the lousy cholesterol level (LDL) but also promote inflammation. Remember trans fat is the same as partially hydrogenated fat on a food label and saturated fat includes fatty meats, bacon, sausage, butter, full fat dairy, etc….opt for the low fat and lean meat versions.
2. Eat more whole grains and other high fiber foods such as beans, peas, lentils, oatmeal, etc. Consume fewer sweeteners such as sugar and corn syrup and other refined carbs including chips, cookies, pastries, and sweets. Why? They can make your blood sugar level spike which has also been tied to inflammation.
3. Consume more fish: especially fatty fish which contain omega-3 fats. Omega-3 fats are found in fish such as salmon and tuna.
4. Add nuts and avocados to the diet: these are good sources of the healthy fat, monounsaturated which appear to be anti-inflammatory.
5. Increase the number of fruits and vegetables that you eat each day. The antioxidants they contain such as vitamins A, C and E along with all the naturally occurring healthy compounds called phytonutrients seem to ramp down the inflammation process in the body.
Give the Mediterranean way of eating a try. The synergistic effect of these foods eaten together over time can have beneficial effects for your health.
Wouldn’t it be nice to hop on a Mediterranean cruise right now and sample the delicious foods from the bordering countries? I’m not sure what draws me in the most…the freshness, the flavors or just the fact that many of the foods are so good for you. These Mediterranean foods are not only good for the heart and blood pressure, but they can help you lose some weight! Think of the Mediterranean diet like this…if entire countries are eating this way because they want to…it really must be good. Just what is the Mediterranean diet? Let me break it down for you. Here are seven key factors in the Mediterranean diet that you can include in your own:
Generous amounts of fruits and vegetables…especially tomatoes. Tomatoes include lycopene, a potent antioxidant, and vitamin C. Think fresh sliced tomatoes with fresh mozzarella cheese topped with fresh basil.
Healthy fat such as olive oil which is not only for cooking but used on your salads, for dipping bread, and making pesto. Olives are popular too. I use them on pizza but I also love the large ones stuffed with garlic or almonds. They are a little salty so if you are watching your sodium intake, be aware of how many you consume.Balsamic vinegar mixes beautifully with olive oil for a salad dressing. When I sauté fresh spinach with grape tomatoes, I add a splash of balsamic vinegar right at the end and it gives the sauté a lovely flavor.
Garlic is another source of naturally occurring phytonutrients including antioxidants. Also try spices including rosemary, thyme, oregano, red peppers and cinnamon. I take dried oregano or dried basil or else chop and blend fresh herbs and add to extra virgin olive oil to use as dipping oil for whole grain bread. Yum!
The flavors are fabulous! Plus, olive oil contains monounsaturated fat that will ultimately help reduce that LDL or bad cholesterol. When shopping for olive oil, remember “virgin or extra virgin”. These are the least processed forms and great for salad dressing or dipping.
Red wine in moderation.
Beans and nuts – great sources of fiber and protein. In the countries bordering the Mediterranean, very little meat is eaten. If you’re a meat eater, that’s okay, but try to slowly substitute beans for meat on a regular basis. As a matter of fact, hummus is made from garbanzo beans or chick peas. This is great to use as a spread and you can easily find garlic or red pepper flavored hummus. As for nuts – be careful not to go too nut crazy. They are good for you but are high in calories. A few almonds between meals are a great snack but not the entire can in front of the TV…think portion control.
Eat fish on a regular basis. Fatty fish, such as salmon, is heart healthy and contains those all so important Omega 3’s.
Cheese and yogurt. These protein powerhouses are super for bone health. Just watch the fat content and choose lower fat options when possible.
Well, that’s not so tough is it? Okay, I’m sure many of you are saying “where’s the bread? Where’s the pasta?” Well, don’t worry. The Mediterranean diet does include a carb fix.
Just think whole grains. According to the Mayo Clinic, grains in the Mediterranean region are typically whole grain containing very few unhealthy trans fats. So choose your bread and pasta wisely. Look for the Whole Grain logo on the labeling or check the ingredient label for the words ‘whole grain’ as the first or second ingredient. If switching “cold turkey” to whole grain is too hard, try only using half whole grain/half enriched white pasta the first few times….just until your palette gets used to it.
Try to eat like the Greeks for a week. You may end up not only liking the food, but losing weight and keeping your heart in check!
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