Archive for September, 2008
September 20, 2008 at 4:50 pm
· Filed under Flax, General, Health Benefits, omega-3 ·Tagged breast health, Flax, fruits and vegetables, green tea, lignans, tofu, tumeric, whole grains
KABC News of Los Angelos reportsthat women should eat foods that promote “breast health,” similarly to how everyone should eat food that promote “heart health.”
Number one on the list of foods to eat is flax because flax is one of the best sources of lignans, which are believed to help prevent cancer.
A second recommended food is fish – especially wild salmon, mackerel, and sardines. What KABC does not tell you is that both flax and the fish they listed are also high in omega-3 fatty acids.
Third is whole grains. No rationale is provided for why whole grains are important, but I’m always in favor of whole foods because unlike processed grains, they still have all their nutrient value.
The fourth food listed, tumeric, was a food I had not heard of before. It is believed to lower estrogen levels in post-menopausal women. And like flaxseed, it is believed to help reduce inflammation.
Fruits and vegetables, which should be in everyone’s diet, was listed fifth.
And the last food(s) on the list were green tea and tofu because they contain flavanoids (antioxidants).
The article goes on to list 31 days worth of health tips, which are well worth reading. And for those who prefer watching to reading, the link also provides a nice video.
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September 19, 2008 at 4:31 pm
· Filed under Flax, General, How to use flax, omega-3 ·Tagged Flax, Flax study, flax supplement, flaxseed, heart disease, McGill University, Winnipeg Free Press
John Wunder mentioned awhile back that flax studies rarely make the news. That’s very true here in the United States; but less true in Canada where new studies seem to be announced every few weeks.
In fact, I shy away from publishing every study I run across because I’m afraid they will become redundant and confusing. That said, one report on a new study being completed in Winnipeg caught my eye.
Reported by the Winnipeg Free Press, this study aims to determine how flax can help reduce heart disease. This thesis is not new and is only one of many studies underway. What was interesting to me was the process the researchers are using. Because flax is not a common ingredient in many processed foods, the researchers are having food made with flax for the studys’ participants. In other words, the study participants will eat food with flax in it rather than take a flax supplement.
I’d like to echo the sentiments of Joe Schwarcz, a medical nutrition professor at McGill University in Montreal, who is quoted in the Free Press article:
“Trouble comes when people start looking at food components as if they were drugs instead of looking at them as food components. I think it’s a very good idea to have some sort of oats or oatmeal for breakfast with berries on it and a spoonful of flax seed, but you don’t go eating flax at every meal because you think it’s going to prevent some disease.”
That’s it. Flax is not drug. And that’s why I think eating flax as a part of a healthy diet, rather than taking a flax supplement, is the healthiest way to increase the omega-3 fatty acids in my diet.
I look forward to the studies findings when complete.
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September 16, 2008 at 4:16 pm
· Filed under General
With fall season upon us, I was reminded of this article in the Redding, California newspaper touting smoothies as great summertime foods. Even though the temps are dropping a little, I’d advocate that smoothies are not just for summer anymore.
For those who are not smoothie-aholics like me or for those whose knowledge of smoothies consists of the sugary type often found in coffee shops, let me highlight a few good pointers from the above mentioned article:
- Freeze your fruit and you won’t need to add any ice.
- Add a little protein powder if your diet calls for a little more protein.
- Consider smoothies if you have undergone gastric bypass surgery.
- Just one-half cup of fruit will provide one of the 5-9 servings of fruit recommended by the USDA
- And my favorite, add a little ground flax and get more omega-3 fatty acids in your diet.
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September 15, 2008 at 4:32 pm
· Filed under Flax, General, omega-3 ·Tagged bitter taste, Flax, German scientists, processed foods, whole foods
ScienceDaily.com recently announced that German researches have figured out how to remove the bitter taste from flax.
At first glance I thought this was a great discovery. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if people who didn’t like the taste of flax started eating more it? Then I realized that these scientists had “processed” out certain parts of flax to take away its taste. This realization left me skeptical of what value nutrients are lost as the flax was processed. Did they change the omega-3 content? Are the lignans still there?
Granted, I may be overly cautious about scientists changing the structure of foods, but history tells us that the more processed food is the less nutritious it is. And why mess with a good thing. We already know that flax is good for our health. So just buy the whole seed, grind it, and make it a part of the food you eat.
Good health will follow.
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September 12, 2008 at 4:33 pm
· Filed under General ·Tagged Flax, healthy meals, Hilton Garden Inn, hotels, omega-3 fatty acids
Are you in the food business and looking for a way to distinguish your business from your competitors? The Hilton Garden Inns, a brand within the Hilton hotel group, recently launched a new breakfast menu titled “BIG DAY Breakfast” with healthy foods (include some with flax) as a way to set itself apart in the crowded lodging industry.
According to Hotel Interactive, Hilton Garden Inns has developed a complete marketing plan around the concept that travelers should eat healthier meals while on the road. These healthy meals will translate into guests being better prepared for their busy day.
The menu is not a full line, but the ingredients in the entrees are “loaded with ingredients rich in iron, fiber, omega-3 essential fatty acids, vitamins, antioxidants and other nutrients.” I was impressed by the Great Granola & Flax, a granola and flaxseed parfait with plain yogurt, fresh strawberries and honey.
When on the road, I tend to be price conscious, but the idea of having a healthy breakfast available would definitely sway me to a Hilton Garden Inn. Perhaps this is just the competitive advantage your business needs.
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September 10, 2008 at 5:23 pm
· Filed under Flax, General, Health Benefits, omega-3 ·Tagged academic acheivement, brain food, breakfast cereal, children, Flax, improve learning, oat meal
With the school year just underway, many parents are pondering what they can do to improve their children’s academic achievement. The CBS morning program identified proper “brain food” as a good place to start.
Most parents know that eating a good breakfast is important, but many are unaware that breakfast foods are not created equal. To make this point, CBS reported on a Tuffs University study in which one group of kids ate instant oatmeal, while the other group ate dry, ready-made cereals with lower fiber and higher sugar content. “The results showed kids fed the oatmeal did better on special and short-term memory tests, as well as auditory attention tests.”
Why’s that? Well, the higher sugar processed sugar content of the breakfast cereal provided kids with a sugar rush followed by an energy crash. The whole grain breakfast foods provided a steadier energy source and more stable blood sugars. The result were improved learning.
CBS provides a list of menu items for breakfast, lunch, supper, and snacks, identifying flax as an ingredient in two foods. But the most important part of the report — that omega-3 fatty acids are important for brain development — receives little attention. I’ve always been struck by the video showing the importance of omega-3’s to brain function, which I posted back in April.
In short, make sure your kids eat as many whole grain foods high in omega-3’s, and their learning should improve.
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September 9, 2008 at 6:24 pm
· Filed under Flax, General, omega-3 ·Tagged Flax, hives, horse care, omega-3, veterinarian, welts
How do you treat a horse that has developed a case of welts or hives? That may be an important question at this time of the year when the incident of hives is high
Dr. Joyce Harman, a veterinarian specializing in horse care, recommend treating cases of hives caused by allergies with flax.
In an article for EquiSearch, she writes:
For more chronic cases of hives, especially if you have tried many medicines, your horse may have deeper seated allergies. Even in a chronic case, I would try the homeopathic remedies listed above, but if you see no results you will have to do more. Allergies are actually the most difficult of diseases to treat, and will often get progressively worse each year. There are several nutritional supplements you can use to help balance the immune system (allergies are just an over reactive immune system). Flax or hemp provide Omega 3 essential fatty acids which really help the skin’s immune system. Feed 4-6 ounces twice per day, whole seed or naturally stabilized ground seed. Do not feed from large bags of ground flax that have not been stabilized: it goes rancid very fast. If you grind your own, grind it, feed it and clean the grinder immediately. Vitamin C is a good regulator of the immune system, so give about 5 grams per day of pure vitamin C.
The only part of the above that surprised me was that Harman recommends feeding horses ground flax rather than whole flax seeds. Granted, humans need flax to be ground to receive the benefits, but I would have thought horses would chew the flax well enough before consuming it. Either way, it’s interesting to see that even veterinarians have recognized the importance of flax.
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September 8, 2008 at 5:39 am
· Filed under Flax, General, Recipes ·Tagged crackers, Flax, Heart adn Stroke Foundation, heart healthy, recipe, Recipes
Even though South Dakota is filled with Norwegians and Swedes, I have never heard of these Swedish crackers. I found the recipe on the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada’s website, and thought they looked healthy. The foundation is dedicated to ”eliminating heart disease and stroke and reducing their impact through the advancement of research and its application, the promotion of healthy living and advocacy” and has host of of healthy recipes.
Ingredients
1 1/3 cups (325 mL) whole wheat flour
1 tsp (5 mL) sugar
1 tbsp (15 mL) flax seeds
¼ tsp (1 mL) salt
3 tbsp (40 mL) non-hydrogenated margarine
1/3 cup (75 mL) skim milk (plus 2 tbsp/25 mL if needed)
Directions
Preheat oven to 350º F (180º C).
Combine flour, sugar, flax seeds and salt in a large bowl. Using your fingers work, in the margarine until it resembles a course crumb.
Slowly add the milk and form a ball. Add more milk 1 tbsp (15 mL) at a time if needed.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a long thin rectangle. Cut into 12 rectangular crackers. Place on a cookie sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes.
Store for 5 days in an airtight container.
Suggested toppings:
- Light cream cheese and sliced cucumbers
- Slice of low fat cheese and tomato slices
- Hummus
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September 4, 2008 at 4:34 pm
· Filed under Flax, General, How to use flax, Recipes ·Tagged desert, egg substitute, Flax, flaxseed, Recipes, tofu
Flaxseeds can be used as a great substitute for eggs in a recipe. Until reading “Egg Substitutes for Baking and Cooking” at EmaxHealth.com, however, I had not considered that flax may not be the best egg substitute for certain types of foods. For instance, if you going to cook a sweet desert and seek a smooth texture, then flax may not be the best option.
The author, who has her own blog (Fun and Food), makes a few other good points in this article.
- When choosing an egg substitute start by understanding WHY the eggs are in the recipe: “In a cake, the eggs serve as a leavening agent, helping to make the cake light and fluffy. In baked goods such as cookies and muffins, the eggs add moisture and act as a binder, gluing all the other ingredients together.”
- Silken tofu is a good egg substitute in “savoury” dishes. (For those who didn’t know how silken tofu differed from regular tofu, it has a softer consistency than regular tofu and shouldn’t fall apart as easily.)
- Use bananas and applesauce in baked goods such as banana bread, muffins, and pancakes. (While her recommendation here probably works well, I can personally recommend flax for all of them.)
If you use flax, remember that 1 egg = 1 tbsp ground flaxseeds + 2-3 tbsp warm water. As for the other egg substitutes, check out the original article.
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KABC News of Los Angelos reportsthat women should eat foods that promote “breast health,” similarly to how everyone should eat food that promote “heart health.”
