Nutrition

• Cholesterol - Certain spices and foods can help lower cholesterol Dr Richard Beliveau says

http://www.torontosun.com/2011/12/16/spice-up-your-life

• Cabbage and other vegetables in the cabbage family, known as crucifers (turnips, radishes, watercress, mustard, canola, broccoli, kale Brussels sprouts and cauliflower) really fight cancer. Here's Richard Beliveau's column of October 2011:

http://www.lfpress.com/life/healthandfitness/2011/10/20/18854151.html

• Apples are really good at reducing LDL, the 'bad' cholesterol. Apples also raise HDL, Bahram Arjmandi of Florida State University accidently discovered.

• Crucifer family vegetables (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower) have terrific preventive effects which are mostly (up to 70%) lost if boiled in water. Steam, microwave or stir-fry them, instead, Tom. Richard Beliveau 'Getting your greens - properly' column of July 12th 2011.

• Healing Spices by Bharat B. Aggarwal, PhD. (Sterling 2011) is a terrific 331 page book on “How to use everyday and exotic spices to boost health and beat disease”. There are four or five pages on each of 50 spices. It's great. And in the back of the book, there are twelve pages listing health conditions and the best healing spices. For Alzheimer's disease, which my mum and her two sisters had, he lists 13 healing spices: black pepper, cocoa, coconut, curry leaf, fennel seed, marjoram, oregano, pomegranate, saffron, sage, sesame seed, sun-dried tomato and tumeric.

• ASPIRIN - The wonder drug, also, it is believed, reduces the chance of death by cancer by inhibiting an enzyme that promotes cancer proliferation in tumours.

http://www.economist.com/node/17672796?story_id=17672796

• “A landmark study to be published in the June issue [2010] of the American Journal of Clinical Health provides direct evidence that refined, highly processed carbohydrates are worse for your heart than saturated fat.” Leslie Beck Globe and Mail, May 2010. Foods that do not provide a rush of insulin (low GI - under 55): “grainy breads with seeds, steel-cut oats, 100% bran cereal, brown rice, sweet potatoes, pasta, apples, citrus fruit, grapes, pears, legumes, nuts, milk, yogurt and soy milk.”

http://www.montignac.com/en/ig_recherche.php - a link for glycemic information

• OMEGA-3: According to “studies reviewed by Dr Gomez-Pinilla (professor of neurosurgery and physiological science at UCLA), the benefits of omega-3s include improved learning and memory, and resistance to depression and bipolar sisorder, schizophrenia, dementia, attention-deficit disorder and dyslexia. Omega-3s are found in oily fish such as salmon, as well as in walnuts and kiwi fruit…” The Economist, July 19 2008
• [vegetable] “Fats may be guarding against hip fractures” was the title of Dr Richard Beliveau's column in the Whig on December 14 2010. “Replacing these fats [saturated, eg in red meat and in whole milk]”, Beliveau said, “with those with a vegetable origin, particularly olive oil and oils rich in polyunsaturated omega-3 (flax seeds, for example), is a simple and effective way to improve the quality of fat brought into our body, thereby contributing to the prevention of several diseases, including those affecting bone density.”

• Vitamin D ”[I]n Scotland the sun is only strong enough to provide vitamin D between April and September. If the body's reserves of vitamin D run out during the winter, they need to be topped up from oily fish, eggs, meat or a supplement.” BBC News Sept 2010

• “More cinnamon, less cancer” was the title of Dr Richard Beliveau's column of March 22, 2010. I put cinnamon along with honey on my multi-grain toast this morning. No butter! By weight, cinnamon has 25 times more more polyphenols than wild blueberries. 'Attention on Prevention' is the sub-title of Beliveau's columns.

• Pistachio nuts may help prevent your arteries from clogging, your blood vessels clean and your heart healthy and strong. Consumer Reports on Health. We use non-salted pistachio nuts. Also containing phytosterols like pistachio nuts are sunflower and pumpkin seeds, flax seeds and pine nuts.
• Inflammation - Rosmarinic acid curbs inflammation. Rosmarinic acid can be found in rosemary, of course, and also oregano, sage, thyme, marjoram and lemon balm.

• To be healthy we need thirty minutes of moderate-intensity exercise five times a week. According to Paul Taylors' Globe and Mail Column on March 20 2009, moderate-intensity walking is 100 steps in 60 seconds times 30 minutes - “a brisk walk” said Dr. Marshall.
• Raw veggies are not necessarily more nutritious was Leslie Beck's thrust in her May 27 2009 Globe and Mail column. Tomatoes and spinach are better for you if cooked. Broccoli, kale and garlic, better raw.

• Mental Health : “there is nothing so urgent that it cannot be postponed in favour of a cup of tea”
• PHYTOCHEMICALS: The highest levels of anti-cancer compounds (phytochemicals) are found in greeen tea, soybeans, and tumeric. Phytochemical activity “targets the processes involves in the development of a tumour”. p.75 Foods that Fight Cancer by Beliveau and Gingras
• GOBS + CCC + TTT - I'm trying to remember the eleven chapters in Part II of Foods that Fight Cancer: three begin with T - tumeric, tomatoes and tea (green); three with C - citrus, chocolate (dark) and cabbage; and GOBS with a silent W (actually the W is invisible) stand for: red wine, garlic (onions etc), Omega 3s, berries (blue in particular) and soy.

• The term “whole grain” bread includes the wheat germ, but “whole wheat” may not.

• “GREEN TEA holds a place of prime importance in any diet planned with cancer prevention in mind. Of all foods, it contains one of the highest proportions of anti-cancer molecules” p.115 Cooking with Foods that Fight Cancer by Beliveau and Gingras is a terrific book. We now use Japanese gyokuro green tea as it is richer in catechins. Gyokuro is about $32 for 100 grams.

• As soon as you cook meat at over 350 degrees, HCAs (carcinogens) are produced. Marinating before cooking is one way to reduce HCAs.

• “We now know that monounsaturated fats can reduce the total cholesterol and the LDL while protecting the HDL, the good cholesterol.” page 33 Good Fat - Bad Fat by Louise Lambert-LaGace and Michelle LaFlamme, 1995. “Monounsaturated fats are found in plant foods such as olive oil, canola oil, hazelnuts oil, almonds, avacadoes, pistachios . . ”

• “Olive oil actually can reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease. That's because olive oil contains phenol, an ingredient that keeps your arteries elastic. That's important because “elastic” arteries can handle sudden changes in your blood flow –the secret of preventing a heart attack.” from the ad for Consumer Reports, 'The Best of Health' book

• cod liver oil “Basiclly, if you're taking your teaspoon full of cod liver oil, it's fine…but higher levels are not associated with health.” Reinhold Vieth, professor, department of nutritional sciences at U of T.

• SAGE - I now add a broken-up sage leaf or two to my soups. Sage contains essential oils, flavonoids, antioxidend enzymes and phenolic acid. Sage is supposed to enhance memory and reduce inflamation. from The Perricone Promise

• The allium vegetables (onions, garlic, leeks, shallots) help improve blood cholesterol and fat profiles, as do spices, particularly ginger and tumeric.” Michael Vertolli

• IRISH COFFEE - Only Irish coffee provides in a single cup all four essential food groups: alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.