Merrimack Valley Magazine

Wellness Wednesday – 6/30/21

June 30, 2021 by Kristin Cole

This weekend, freedom takes on an even more poignant meaning as we reach an important milestone: Independence Day, the first major holiday in over a year that we can celebrate mask-less, at full capacity, and with as many friends and family members as our hearts desire. It is a time for safely rejoicing and celebrating all that we have our endured over the past year. This week, Wellness Wednesday is not only going red, white and blue, but providing you with tips for enjoying happy, healthy cookouts this weekend.

Star-Spangled Fruits and Veggies

Aligning with the spirit of the holiday, this week I did a deep dive into the healthiest red, white and blue foods. Across the board, phytonutrients are the real superheroes behind both plant and human health. According to this article from Diplomat Pharmacy, “phytonutrients are chemicals that help plants thrive and defend themselves against predators,” but they also are very beneficial for humans, too. Moreover, phytonutrients provide different benefits depending on their hue.

The Red …

The phytonutrients included in red fruits and vegetables include ellagic acid and lycopene. Consuming this (natural) color, along with vitamins A and C, which are found in abundance in many red fruits and vegetables, can help fight disease and cancer, reduce inflammation, enhance the immune system, regulate hormones, and protect skin, hair and nails.

For those looking to up their vegetable intake, Healthline’s list of 11 healthy red vegetables includes beets, red bell peppers, red chile peppers, red leaf lettuce, red onions and red potatoes.

A self-described berry and cherry enthusiast, I can’t talk about red without mentioning the incredible benefits of strawberries, cherries and raspberries. Healthline considers berries “among the healthiest foods on earth” because they are packed with both fiber and antioxidants, improve blood sugar and insulin response, help reduce inflammation and cholesterol levels, and are even believed to be good for your skin. Read the full article here for more details

The best thing about berries is that there’s so many ways to consume them: in a smoothie, on top of a shortcake, as a fruit salad or even added to a green salad. So ditch the cake or cookies and get creative (and colorful) with a fruit-filled dessert this weekend.

White …

White foods offer their own unique benefits. According to this article, they contain chemicals that help lower blood pressure and cholesterol, are high in potassium — which promotes heart and muscle health — and contain folate, which protects the body against cancer and aids in the production of new blood cells.

An article from The Healthy lists “13 white foods that are healthier than you thought” — mushrooms, cauliflower, milk, oysters, Greek yogurt, garlic, potatoes, turnips and popcorn are all included. Yup, you read that right. Popcorn made the list because it “has a mere 30 calories per cup; oil-popped popcorn has only 35 calories per cup [and] if you lightly butter it, you’re only looking at 80 calories per cup.”

Potatoes, too, are a healthy carb that shouldn’t be omitted from your diet. They are a great source of potassium, vitamin C, thiamin, and vitamin B6, so don’t feel bad digging into that potato salad at this weekend’s cookout. Just go easy on the mayo.

… and Blue!

Continuing on our patriotic wellness journey, blue foods are also worth including in your diet. According to Fresh Baby, “the main phytonutrient [in blue foods,] anthocyanidin, helps to decrease inflammation in the body’s cells and may protect against heart disease. Blue foods also contain minerals including copper and iron, vitamins C, K, B-6, B-12, and fiber.” Their list of healthy “blue” fruit and vegetables includes blueberries, blackberries, purple potatoes and cabbage, eggplant, plums and prunes. Healthline’s list of blue foods with “powerful benefits” adds elder berries, concord grapes, and blue tomatoes.

And if you’re worried about sugar intake after reading about all these fruits, check out this previous Wellness Wednesday discussing the benefits of sugar when consumed via fruit. And if I’ve inspired you to bring some fruit to the cookouts this weekend, I strongly encourage you to try this festive fruit salad arrangement — all you need to do is cut up some fruit!

We’ve only covered three colors of the rainbow, so if you’re looking for a little more, Everyday Health offers a thorough and entertaining summary of the health benefits of foods of every color.

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GOOD READS: COOKOUT EDITION

Whether you’re hanging out beachside or poolside, turning on the oven or firing up the grill, we want you to have a safe and exciting Independence Day weekend. Making up our good reads section this week is some great tips from around the web for both enjoying and hosting a cookout.

Healthy Cookout. Eating right doesn’t need to ruin your holiday. This article from Eat Right offers some helpful, easy tips for making your cookout foods healthier. My favorite tip? Grill your dessert!

Ultimate Guide. Hosting your first cookout? Or, hosting your first in-person get-together in over a year? Diane Garcia of Just Cook offers an “ultimate guide to hosting a summer cookout” in 2021. The article offers unique recipes and menu ideas, and tips on how to prepare food before guests arrive and how to fire up the grill during party time.

Food Inspo. Looking to spice things up with some new dishes this weekend? This article offers 50 great Independence Day recipes, with everything from appetizers to desserts. So whether you’re hosting the party or simply bringing an appetizer, there’s inspiration for everyone.

BBQ Reading. A few years ago, our editor Doug Sparks recommended numerous books that will help you perfect your summer cookout skills, and you can check out his article here. Even if you can’t finish them before this weekend’s holiday, they’ll help you improve your grilling game all summer!

Unique Traditions. Read about some unique ways that people celebrate the Fourth of July in this interesting piece from Bloomberg. Hear from Indian-, Mexican-, Asian-Americans and more as they describe their personal celebrations as well as what the holiday means to them.

And I can’t leave you without a classic song to get ready for the weekend …

Wellness Wednesday – 6/16/21

June 16, 2021 by Kristin Cole

Sometimes, a season change means more than just a wardrobe update here in New England; it’s a change in your lifestyle. For those of us who experience the extremes of all four seasons, we consistently adapt our bodies to shifting weather patterns and accompanying activities. So, as we transition into the season of hiking, swimming, beach days, cookouts, and more, it’s important to remember that what you eat counts. This week, let’s dive into the best foods to eat under the summer sun, as well as growing your own and utilizing your scraps. We’ll even examine recent research on surprising hangover-curing vegetables.

Good Summer Eats

Warm temperatures and sunny skies on the forecast mean getting out and being more active this summer, but preparing for the weather takes more than just wearing sunscreen. Being under direct sunlight exhausts more energy and dehydrates your body, so the foods you consume are really important to maintaining your energy and health throughout the summer. Refer to Woman’s Day’s 21 essential summer foods that are nutrient packed and help you avoid dehydration. The top three on the list are tomatoes, zucchini and watermelon.

Interestingly, the article notes that tomatoes contain lycopene, a naturally occurring chemical that gives fruits and vegetables their red color and also helps protect our cells from damage. Zucchini contains the pectin — helpful in boosting heart health by lowering cholesterol. Watermelon, which the article calls a “hydration hero,” has a high water content that helps keep you feeling full. Check out the article for the full list of foods and unique recipes to try with each one.

Fresh, grilled fish is another healthy staple for a summer diet. Check out our previous post on the many health benefits of seafood, and consider shopping local for your next seafood dinner.

Hangover Medicine

Summer — and the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions — means that parties, cookouts, bar hops and beach days are back on, and your alcohol intake may be slowly increasing. My father always says that greasy, heavy foods like pizza, French fries and cheeseburgers are the best foods to prevent and relieve a hangover. While these might work, there’s many fruits and vegetables that also work to prevent a hangover.

According to this article from Well + Good, recent research suggests that eating asparagus prevents hangovers. Asparagus, what the article considers “a superstar veggie,” is “non-starchy and packed with fiber and nutrients, and is considered a prebiotic, which means it helps your good gut bacteria flourish by feeding it.” The article also claims that according to the Institute of Food Technologists, asparagus leaves contain amino acids and minerals that relieve the symptoms of a hangover.

Surprisingly, when you look up the best foods for a hangover, most of the results you’ll find don’t suggest pizza or French fries (sorry, Dad.) Healthline’s list of 23 of the best hangover foods includes bananas, eggs, avocados, oatmeal, sweet potatoes, tomato juice and coconut water, to name a few. The Cleveland Clinic’s top five foods that help with hangovers are sports drinks (for the electrolytes), salmon, mangos, ginger, and “plain” foods like rice, toast and applesauce.

Growing & Scrapping

One of the reasons that makes summer so great in New England is that with a little effort, you can skip the grocery store and grow fruits and vegetables right in your back yard. Unsure of what to grow? Check out Well + Good’s “Six of the Easiest Fruits to Grow in your Garden.” Tomatoes, cherries, apples, watermelon, berries, and bananas make up the list, and the article also offers basic tips such as tools needed and how to keep your plants hydrated.

When you’re done with your meal, contribute to the environment by getting creative and reducing food waste. This article from Healthline offers 14 creative ways to use food scraps; with unique practices including pickling watermelon rinds, making croutons from stale bread, using coffee grounds as fertilizer, saving citrus peels for an air freshener and many more.

For more unique ideas, check out these 8 snacks made from upcycled food. Snacks include pulp chips, chocolate chip cookies, trail mix, Seconds crackers and more.

And if you’re looking for more ways to help the environment, support local business, and eat healthy, locally grown produce, check our Merrimack Valley CSA spotlight and keep up with our Eight Great newsletter for the best CSA’s and farmers markets around the Merrimack Valley.

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GOOD READS & WATCHES

Land Returned. Pine Island, the largest island on Big Lake in Maine, was reacquired by the Passamaquoddy tribe. The land has deep historical and cultural significance to the Passamaquoddy community, who lived there for at least 10,000 years. Read more about it here.

Fungi Heroes. A recent study from Pennsylvania State University found that individuals who eat two medium-sized mushrooms per day have a 45% lower risk of cancer. Check out more on these awesome fungi here.

Snack On. We all love to snack. In this article from U.S. News , a dietitian provides healthy snack pairing ideas that aid in weight loss. I’m definitely trying the strawberry and nut butter recipe!

Wellness Wednesday – 3/31/21

March 31, 2021 by Kristin Cole

Easter Sunday is this Sunday, and just like any other holiday, it has made me consider the number of sweets we consume. Holidays often provide an excuse to eat unhealthily, which is great because it’s important to not to be too hard on ourselves. However, loading up on sugar, even for one day, is something you should avoid. Everything in moderation, even on the holidays.

So this week, and the past year, I’ve been thinking a lot about sugar. In some forms, sugar can be good for you, but in most ways that go unnoticed, sugar is pretty bad for you. We need to pay attention to this because added sugar is in almost everything we eat. This week, we’re digging up some facts about this ingredient, how it affects our bodies and ways that we can cut it out.

Natural vs. Artificial

Consumption of sugar can be a very controversial topic. One of the most popular things I hear is that fruit, which is an essential component of a healthy diet, contains sugar. So if the banana I eat every morning contains sugar, why is it so bad? What you need to pay attention to is added sugar, which is made by processing sugar cane and sugar beets. While some companies—like The Sugar Association—might mislead you to say that these sugars are “natural” as they come from a “sugarcane” plant, be aware of green marketing. In fact, the term natural sugar is virtually useless because, according to this article from Self, “you could argue that virtually all sugars are ‘natural’ in some sense, given that they’re derived from something once found in nature. Even powdered sugar, for example, has just been refined from the sugarcane plant. So the term ‘natural sugar’ sounds nice but doesn’t mean much.”

When it comes to added sugar, it is removed from these plants, refined, and then sold as a product that can be added to our favorite foods to enhance flavor and texture, and it is that removal that results in the dangerous added sugar found in almost everything we eat today.

According to healthdesigns.net, when you consume this added sugar, “the body breaks down refined sugar rapidly, which causes insulin and blood sugar levels to skyrocket.” On the other hand, when you are consuming fruit, fiber is a major beneficial factor. When you eat a whole fruit, such as an apple, the sugars inside it “are digested slower and help you feel full for longer. It also helps keep your metabolism stable.” However, some companies who make fruit products, such as juice, mislead consumers by claiming that their product contains “natural” sugars. Yes, apple juice contains apples, but to enjoy the apple’s true nutritional value without a sugar rush, eat the apple.

Check out the comparison made in this article from Harvard University:

“Since one medium-sized orange has about 10-13 grams of sugar, the 16 oz. orange juice contains four oranges’ worth of sugar. If you were eating the actual fruit, you probably wouldn’t consume anywhere close to this amount of sugar. Whole fruit contains fiber, which fills you up and keeps you from overeating. The cellular structure of fruit is also important – since your body has to break down the cells of the orange before the sugar can be released, the sugar is absorbed into the blood more slowly. Eating fruit raises your blood sugar levels, but in a slow and controlled manner, promoting fullness and preventing overconsumption.”

The Dangers of Sugar and How to Avoid Them

What happens when many of the snacks we love today are packed with added sugar? Research has found that too much added sugar can result in obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, tooth decay and a fatty liver, accelerated aging, and more. For more reliable facts on the damage that sugar can to do your body, check out this article from Harvard Medical School.

Now, I’m sure I have you thinking, how do I cut sugars out? I’ll warn you, it’s difficult. Personally, I’d start by checking the labels of the items in your pantry to simply observe how much added sugar you may be consuming. Yes, it might shock or surprise you, but that’s why we’re here. First, check out this article, which provides an honest take on sugar detoxes, sugar cravings, and how you can’t—and shouldn’t—cut out sugar from your diet entirely (remember, we just talked about fruit!)

Here are some helpful sources from around the web that I have found that will help you get started on reducing sugar in your diet.

Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2015-2020

How to Spot — and Avoid — Added Sugar from Harvard Medical School

14 Simple Ways to Stop Eating Lots of Sugar

5 Common Mistakes People Make When Avoiding Added Sugar

As I’ve mentioned before, everything in moderation. Don’t let me ruin your easter; I know I will be enjoying a Reeses’ Egg or two. Consuming some sugar is won’t kill you, but the goal here is to be mindful of how what we’re eating affects our bodies so we can make educated decisions for our wellbeing. So next time you reach for the apple juice, consider the apple instead.

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GOOD LISTENS & WATCHES

So I might be advising you to not consume sugar, but listening to it is pretty harmless! Check out some of my favorite songs with “sugar” in the title that are certain to boost your mood — sugar rush not included.

“Watermelon Sugar” – by Harry Styles

“Pour Some Sugar on Me” – by Def Leppard

“Sugar Sugar” – by The Archies

“Sugar” – by Maroon 5

“Suga Suga” – by Baby Bash

For those looking for an interesting look at sugar consumption in the U.S, check out the 2014 documentary “Fed Up” which appears to be free on YouTube. The documentary analyzes the government’s role in the skyrocketing sugar consumption over the past few decades.