All About Beets

All About Beets:
Why They Can't be Beat for Your Health,
Plus Tasty Recipes

The next time you visit your favorite European restaurant and your waitress asks you, "chicken dumpling or Borscht soup," think twice before answering as you may be missing out on some tasty health benefits in a bowl -- beets.

Beets are good for your brain, your eyes, your heart and more.

This often overlooked, underdog vegetable is loaded with antioxidants such as  fiber, potassium and vitamin C. Because of its folate-rich properties, just one half cup of cooked beets meets 17 percent of the daily recommended folate intake.

These colorful root vegetables that traditionally come in red are also available in gold and white and contain powerful nutrient compounds that can help protect against heart disease, birth defects and certain cancers, especially colon cancer.
Six Health Reasons to Add this Superfood to Your Diet

1. Help Prevent Cancer

Lab studies conducted on human tumor cells have confirmed that beets reduce the risk for colon, stomach, lung, breast and testicular cancers. It was discovered that betacyanin, the pigment that gives beets their red color, is responsible for reducing the development of cancerous cells and inflammation linked to heart disease.
The high fiber in beets is another key to warding off colon cancer because it increases the production of special immune cells that destroy cancer cells in the colon.

2. Boost Your Brain

Studies have shown that the antioxidants in one dose of beet juice a day triggers an increase in the blood flow to your brain, helping to keep your mind sharp and building a line of defense against developing dementia as you get older. This happens through the antioxidants working to lower the levels of harmful free radicals in your body, which are prime culprits for damaging brain cells and other body regions.

3. Lower Blood Pressure

Beets improve blood flow and lower blood pressure. A British study published in the American Heart Association journal Hypertensionfound that the rich nitrate levels found in beet juice work to open up blood vessels, which helps lower blood pressure and prevent blood clotting and inflammation.

4. Antioxidant Benefits

Beets contain a unique source of phytonutrients called betalains that have been shown to provide antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and detoxification support. The betalains found in the peel and flesh of the beet allow for these health benefits.

5. Protect Your Vision

According to a recent study from Italy, two important carotenoids found in beets, lutein and zeaxanthin, are especially big factors when it comes to reducing the development of common age-related eye problems surrounding the macula and retina areas.

6. Folic Acid Powerhouse

Beets are a rich source of folic acid, an especially important nutrient for pregnant women or anyone undergoing physical healing. Folic acid works to prevent birth defects like spinal bifida and is also responsible for the production and maintenance of new cells.

Four Delicious Beet Recipes to Serve to Your Family or Dinner Guests
At first glance when looking at a beet it's hard to imagine that this hard exterior could be transformed into a soft, buttery and delicious-tasting treat once cooked. But beets can be prepared in a variety of creative ways. You can steam, boil, pickle, roast or cut them up and eat them raw in a salad of mixed greens.
If time is a factor you can put together a dish in 15 minutes by cutting them in quarters without removing the skin, steaming them and serving them as a colorful side dish to your meal.

Roasted as a side dish or raw on a salad, beets can't be beat for your health!

Below are three tasty ways to prepare these naturally sweet and nutrient-rich vegetables and add them to your weekly menus.
Roasting Beets  
This is the easiest and one of the most delicious ways to prepare beets. There is virtually no preparation, no clean up and the beets are sweet and delicious and can be used warm or cold in a variety of dishes.
If you are cooking a lot of beets, they can be roasted in a roasting pan, covered with foil. If cooking just a few, roast them in a pouch made of aluminum foil. Roasted beets can be eaten warm right out of the oven dressed with a little olive oil and salt, added to a roasted vegetable mix, served cold with French lentils or as a warm beet and mushroom salad.
Warm Roasted Beet and Portobello Salad
 Serves 4 as an appetizer or 2 as an entrée:
Ingredients:

• 3 medium beets
• 3 Portobello mushroom caps
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 3.5 ounces goat cheese
• 10 ounces arugula or baby spinach
• 1/4 cup picked parsley leaves
• 1/4 cup toasted walnuts
• 2 shallots, sliced into thin rounds
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method
Pre-heat the oven to 400F.
Scrub the beets and place on a large sheet of foil, sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and fold the sides up to make a sealed pouch.
Wipe off the mushroom caps, place them on another large sheet of foil, sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, season with salt and pepper and fold the sides up to make a sealed pouch. Place both pouches in the oven.
Bake the mushrooms for approximately 20 minutes, or until cooked through. Bake the beets for approximately 45 minutes, until they are tender when pierced with a knife.
Meanwhile, whisk together the balsamic vinegar, mustard and olive oil and set aside. When the beets and mushrooms are fully cooked, remove from the oven. Slice the mushrooms into strips. With a knife, remove the tops of the beets, slide the skins off with your hands.
Slice the beets and toss with the warm mushrooms and goat cheese, cover with foil so they stay warm until you serve them.
In a salad bowl, toss together the arugula, walnuts, shallots, parsley and dressing. Place onto plates and top with the beet and mushroom mixture.
Beet Tumbleweed
This is one of the snacks currently being served at Washington, D.C.,'s Minibar as part of a 30-course tasting menu. It comes from Chef Katsuya Fukushima.
Ingredients:

• 1 medium beet
• 3 cups vegetable oil
• Kosher salt

Method:
Preheat oil to 340 degrees.
Peel beet and cut off ends. Slice into thin strings using Japanese Benriner cutter or pressing hard with a zester. Measure strings into 1/3-ounce portions, a little less than a tablespoon.
Place a single portion of string into hot oil for 8 seconds. Remove from oil, quickly place on towel to drain and salt liberally.
Within 5 seconds after leaving oil, work hot string between the palms of your hands until it hardens into a ball the size of a ping-pong. You may have to try several times to get the proper shape. Repeat process until you have used all the beet strings.
Serve as a snack or as a little bite before the meal begins.
Roasted Beets with Blue Cheese Sauce and Spiced
Serves 6
Ingredients:

• 4 medium beets
• 1 pint heavy cream
• 6 ounces Maytag blue cheese
• Spiced walnuts (see recipe below)

Method:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
If beets have stalks, trim stalks 1/2 inch from beet. Wash beets gently under water, then wrap individually in aluminum foil.
Roast beets for 1-2 hours depending on sizes. A knife should slide easily into the beet, through foil, when done. Allow to cool to room temperature.
While beets are roasting, put cream in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower heat and add blue cheese. Stir constantly until cheese has been fully incorporated into the cream.
Pour the cheese mixture into a food processor and blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Allow to cool to room temperature.
Remove beets from foil, then remove beet skins using a paper towel. (Wear kitchen gloves to avoid staining your hands.)
Cut roasted beets into desired shapes. Drizzle cheese sauce over beets, then top with chopped spiced walnuts.
Spiced Walnuts
Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
• 1/2 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• Dash cayenne pepper
• Dash sea salt
• Black pepper to taste

Method:
Melt butter over medium heat in small saucepan. Add walnuts, then spices and toss for 30 seconds. Allow to cool to room temperature.
If you're looking for additional recipes on beets and preparing other healthy and delicious raw food dishes, Alive in 5: Raw Gourmet Meals in Five Minutes is a great resource to consider.

---

Sources
World's Healthiest Foods: Beets
WebMD.com "There's No Beating the Beet"
Medical News Today November 8, 2010

Click here to discuss / make an appointment and someone from our office will contact you.

© 2011 Health Realizations, Inc

Carrots-vs-Twinkies

Have you ever wondered why a bunch of carrots costs more than a package of Twinkies? Food journalist Michael Pollan connects the dots between food policy, high-fructose corn syrup, and our health. Watch this video and discover why...  Twinkie-vs-Carrot Video

How To Save a Trillion Dollars

In the scheme of things, saving the 38 billion bucks that Congress seems poised to agree upon is not a big deal. A big deal is saving atrillion bucks. And we could do that by preventing disease instead of treating it.

For the first time in history, lifestyle diseases like diabetes, heart disease, some cancers and others kill more people than communicable ones. Treating these diseases — and futile attempts to “cure” them — costs a fortune, more than one-seventh of our GDP.

But they’re preventable, and you prevent them the same way you cause them: lifestyle. A sane diet, along with exercise, meditation and intangibles like love prevent and even reverse disease. A sane diet alone would save us hundreds of billions of dollars and maybe more.

This isn’t just me talking. In a recent issue of the magazine Circulation, the American Heart Association editorial board stated flatly that costs in the U.S. from cardiovascular disease — the leading cause of death here and in much of the rest of the world — will triple by 2030, to more than $800 billion annually. Throw in about $276 billion of what they call “real indirect costs,” like productivity, and you have over a trillion. Enough over, in fact, to make $38 billion in budget cuts seem like a rounding error.

Similarly, Type 2 diabetes is projected to cost us $500 billion a year come 2020, when half of all Americans will have diabetes or pre-diabetes. Need I remind you that Type 2 diabetes is virtually entirely preventable? Ten billion dollars invested now might save a couple of hundred billion annually 10 years from now. And:hypertension, many cancers, diverticulitis and more are treated by a health care (better termed “disease care”) system that costs us about $2.3 trillion annually now — before costs double and triple.

It’s worth noting that the Federal budget will absorb its usual 60 percent of that cost. We can save some of that money, though, if an alliance of insurers, government, individuals — maybe even Big Food, if it’s pushed hard enough — moves us towards better eating.

The many numbers all point in the same direction. Look at heart disease: The INTERHEART study of 30,000 men and women in 52 countries showed that at least 90 percent of heart disease is lifestyle related; a European study of more than 23,000 Germans showed that people with healthier lifestyles had an 81 percent lower risk.

And those estimates might be on the low side. Dean Ornish, the San Francisco-based doctor who probably knows more about diet and heart disease than anyone, says, “My colleagues and I have found that more intensive diets than those studies used can reverse the progression of even severe coronary heart disease.”

In his latest book, “The Spectrum,” Ornish recommends that people at risk eat stricter diets (more plants, higher fiber, lower saturated fats and so on) than those who are generally healthy, but it’s not all or nothing — the more you change your diet and lifestyle, the healthier you are. “What matters most,” he says, “is your overall way of eating and living. If you indulge yourself one day, eat healthier the next.” I’ve been preaching similarly for years. But the trillion-dollar question is, “How do we get people to eat that way?”

I don’t have an easy answer; no one does. But it for sure will take an investment: it’s a situation in which you must spend money to make or save money. (Yes, taxes will go up, but whose taxes?) Some number of billions of dollars — something in the rounding error area — should be spent on research to figure out exactly how to turn this ship around. (The NIH, which pegs obesity-related costs at about $150 billion, just announced a new billion-dollar investment. Good, but not enough.)

Corny as it is to say so, if we can put a man on the moon we can create an environment in which an apple is a better and more accessible choice than a Pop-Tart. Some other billions of dollars must go to public health. Again: we built sewage systems; we built water supplies; we showed that we could get people to eat anything we marketed. Now all we have to do is build a food distribution system that favors real food, and market that.

Experts without vested interests in the status quo come to much the same conclusion: Only a massive public health effort can save both our health and our budget.

Can we afford it? Sure. Dr. David Ludwig, a Harvard-affiliated pediatrician and the author of “Ending the Food Fight,” says, “The magnitude of the deficit is small when you consider costs of nutrition-related disease; the $4 trillion that the Republicans want cut over a decade is about the same as the projected costs of diabetes over that same period.”

In last week’s issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, Ludwig made a number of concrete suggestions, like restructuring subsidies, regulating the marketing of food to children and adequately funding school lunch programs.

His most novel ideas use existing and future technologies to help the food industry retain profits while producing less junky products: devising a method of preserving polyunsaturated fats, for example (dangerous trans-fats are widely used simply because they are stable) or making bread with real whole grains instead of refined ones. (His research demonstrates that people who eat ultra-processed grains rather than whole grains for breakfast go on to consume 600 to 700 calories more than other people each day.) “I’m not arguing that the food industry should be philanthropic,” he says. “Its purpose is to make money. But the goal of the government should be to encourage industry to make money by producing more rather than less healthful foods.”

The best way to combat diet-related diseases is to change what we eat. And if our thinking is along the lines of diet improved = deficit reduced, so much the better. If a better diet were to result only in a 10 percent decrease in heart disease (way lower than Ludwig believes possible), that’s $100 billion project savings per year by 2030.

This isn’t just fiscal responsibility, but social responsibility as well. And the alternative is not only fiscal catastrophe but millions of premature deaths.

How to Save a Trillion Dollars by Mark Bittman

Healthy Help for Elimination

A daily dose of dried plums (prunes) is more effective for constipation relief than the soluble fiber psyllium, say results from a randomized clinical trial. The study showed that daily prune consumption significantly improved spontaneous bowel movements per week, compared with psyllium.

For effective support, try  PaleoFiber™, a combination of natural fibers derived from fruits, vegetables, roots, seeds, and tree extracts with added friendly bacteria and prebiotics, available through Health & Nutrition at AHC. 

SOURCE: Randomised clinical trial: dried plums (prunes) vs. psyllium for constipation

Mind/Body Medicine

What is Mind/Body Medicine?

Mind/body medicine is an approach to healing that uses the power of thoughts and emotions to influence physical health. As Hippocrates once wrote, "The natural healing force within each one of us is the greatest force in getting well." This is the essence of mind/body medicine.

Does Mind/Body Medicine work?
While phrases such as "mind over matter" have been around for years, only recently have scientists found solid evidence that mind-body techniques actually do combat disease and promote health. In 1989, a landmark study by David Spiegel, M.D. at Stanford University School of Medicine dramatically demonstrated the power of the mind to heal. Of 86 women with late-stage breast cancer, half received standard medical care while the other half received the standard care plus weekly support sessions in which the women were able to share both their grief and their triumphs. Spiegel discovered that the women who participated in the social support group lived twice as long as the women who did not.

What are Mind/Body Techniques?
The key to any mind/body technique is to "train" the mind to focus on the body without distraction. It is in this state of "focused concentration" that an individual may be able to change his or her health. The following are some of the most commonly practiced techniques.

Biofeedback: Biofeedback is a technique in which people are trained to improve their health by learning to control certain internal bodily processes that normally occur involuntarily, such as heart rate or blood pressure. These activities can be measured with electrodes and displayed on a monitor that both the participant and his or her practitioner can see. The monitor thereby provides feedback to the participant about the internal workings of his or her body. This person can then be taught to use this information to gain control over these "involuntary" activities. Biofeedback is an effective therapy for many conditions, but it is primarily used to treat tension headache, migraine headache, and chronic pain.

Relaxation Techniques: There are three major types of relaxation techniques:

• Autogenic training. This technique uses both visual imagery and body awareness to move a person into a deep state of relaxation. The person imagines a peaceful place and then focuses on different physical sensations, moving from the feet to the head. For example, one might focus on warmth and heaviness in the limbs, easy, natural breathing, a calm heartbeat, and a cool forehead.
• Progressive muscle relaxation. This technique involves slowly tensing and then releasing each muscle group individually, starting with the muscles in the toes and finishing with those in the head.
• Meditation. The two most popular forms of meditation in the U.S. include Transcendental Meditation (students repeat a mantra [a single word or phrase], maintaining an "oh well" attitude if other thoughts arise) and mindfulness meditation (students focus their attention on their moment-by-moment thoughts and sensations).

Hypnosis: During hypnosis (taken from the Greek term hypnos, meaning "sleep") a person's body relaxes while his or her thoughts become more focused and attentive. It is in this state of deep concentration that people are highly responsive to a hypnotherapist's suggestions. There are three layers of hypnosis: the first is absorption (becoming deeply engaged in the words or images presented by a hypnotherapist); the second is dissociation (letting go of critical thoughts); and the third is responsiveness (complying whole-heartedly to a hypnotherapist's suggestions). Today, many mental health professionals use hypnosis to treat people with addictions, pain, anxiety disorders, and phobias.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids have Anti-Inflammatory Action

While inflammation is in fact a protective and restorative response to injury, excessive or prolonged inflammation can cause many chronic health problems such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. The classic signs of inflammation -local redness, swelling, heat, pain, and loss of function - are caused and regulated by the activity of a large number of chemical mediators called eicosanoids.

Eicosanoids consist of different hormones that are responsible for numerous cellular functions within the body. There are pro-inflammatory eicosanoids (i.e., those that encourage inflammation) and anti-inflammatory eicosanoids (i.e., those that discourage inflammation).

The production of pro- and anti-inflammatory eicosanoids depends on the type and amount of fatty acids that we consume. Because the standard American diet is rich in fatty acids that heavily promote the production pro-inflammatory eicosanoids, numerous health challenges can arise.

Fortunately, many substances - including the omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) found in cold-water fish?have been shown to simultaneously inhibit the production of pro-inflammatory eicosanoids and promote the production of anti-inflammatory eicosanoids. For this reason, supplementation with EPA and DHA may provide a safe and natural way to reduce inflammation and promote overall health.

This year, Advanced Health & Nutrition is partnering with Metagenics and Vitamin Angels by sponsoring  Operation 20/20 - an outreach program dedicated to reducing child mortality worldwide by connecting essential nutrients, especially Vit A, with infants and children under 5. Many children go blind, simply because of poor nutrition. We can now do something to make a difference in helping these children!

Every 2 bottles of EPA and/or DHA supplements you purchase through us will fund nutritional support for 1 yr for a child in need. Help us help a child!

SOURCE: Am J Clin Nutr 2000;71(Suppl):S343-S48.

Advanced Nutrition Publications ©2002

ABOUT US

Customize a picture slideshow