Medicine In Your Spice Cabinet

Nick and I have learned a hard lesson about cabinets; do NOT paint them! Yeah, painting cabinets is a labor-intensive job and most cabinets are better off without paint. So, overall our cabinet project wasn't the biggest success, but I did manage to better organize what was inside our cabinets and drawers after taking everything out and putting everything back in. For example, my spices used to be all over the place, but now I have this nifty little spice rack that pulls out and drops down. They are all placed in alphabetical order (for now) making it easier to find the spice I need.




And speaking of spices, today I am going to discuss some of the amazing health benefits that two of my favorite spices provide. Starting with my favorite (ironically), garlic.

Garlic

What a great picture, right? I wish I could say I took it myself, but it is from this article in the New York Times. This is a garlic bulb, and the individual sections are each garlic cloves (in case you didn't know the difference).

I know you may be wondering why am I blogging about something I can't eat. Even though I can't eat garlic, I still love it and try to enjoy the flavor by using my garlic infused oil (which, by the way, probably provides very minimal health benefits). Nick, my lovely Italian Stallion, can eat three garlic cloves in a sitting (or four). After watching Nick eat a dish with four cloves of garlic in it the other day, I decided to start adding chopped garlic cloves to many of the dishes I make (I chop the garlic and then add it to the dish after I have cooked the dish, so it really just adds more flavor to Nick's portion but doesn't distribute throughout the dish to my part of the dish. So sad.). Here are some reasons to eat more garlic;

• Garlic has anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-clotting properties.

• Allicin is the active ingredient in garlic that provides the anti-inflammatory and anti-clotting properties, and it tends to be destroyed by heat.

• While cooking garlic may destroy most of garlic's beneficial properties, the antioxidant properties are probably not effected by cooking (yeah!). The most notable antioxidants found in garlic are vitamin C and selenium.

• You are supposed to crush garlic before consuming it, and let it sit for about 15 minutes to help release some of garlic's healthy compounds

• There are sulfur-containing molecules in garlic (such as Allicin) that produce hydrogen sulfide gas, which may help expand blood vessels and thus lower blood pressure.

• Studies suggest that you need about 2-5 grams of garlic per day in order to get any benefits (1 clove is about 1 gram).

• Read more here and here

Wondering what type of recipe calls for raw garlic? Well, there's Original hummus, Black Olive Hummus, and garlic broccoli. Do you know any others?

Turmeric

Turmeric is an ancient spice that is found in curry dishes and is a kitchen staple in India. Turmeric is actually a root (like ginger) but because it's so difficult to grind you almost always find it already ground. I love turmeric, but it's one of those very distinct spices with which you can easily ruin a great dish. It's a great flavor, when used correctly. I love how it "stains" any dish it comes in contact with yellow! I once heard that yellow dye is made with turmeric, can anyone second that statement? Here are some of turmeric's benefits;

• Curcumin, a compound found in turmeric, may inhibit the cell enzymes that contribute to inflammation (inflammation can cause chronic diseases such as cancer and arthritis).

• Studies show that turmeric may aid in the prevention of acne, allergies, Alzheimer's, arthritis, asthma, cancer, cholesterol problems, inflammatory bowel disease, and type 2 diabetes (to name only a few).

• Try to get 1/2 - 1 teaspoon per day, if you can, and keep it in the fridge to extend shelf-life.

• If you use curry in your cooking you are likely getting some turmeric, but studies suggest it's not enough. Some curry blends have more turmeric than others. It's best to stick with plain turmeric, or just add extra turmeric to your curry blends.

Try some of these recipes; Indian-Style Rice with Cashews, Raisins and Turmeric, Pork and Carrot Curry, AllRecipes' 20 Best Turmeric Recipes, or you could do what I do and add it to simple egg dishes, homemade soups and stews, or cooked vegetables! Also try adding turmeric to;

QUESTION: What is your favorite dish with garlic and/or turmeric?

Some other great medicinal spices include cinnamon, ginger, and coriander, just to name a few! Happy Monday everyone :)

Supplements; Are You Wasting Your Money?

If you were to visit me at work you would see that my desk/"office" is right in the middle of the supplement section of Giant Eagle. I really love being located right where I have access to customers looking for supplements. Many of you know how I feel about supplements, but if you don't, I will tell you that I think they can potentially play a very important role in a person's diet, but Americans know very little about the potential dangers of supplements and in my opinion we are taking way too many, and sometimes for the wrong reasons.




Nutrition Action Healthletter provided a fantastic article in their July issue, which described some popular supplements and what the data actually indicates about their reported "benefits". Here is some of what they said;



Garlic for Cholesterol? There have been several trials testing garlic, which have let to less than impressive results. Don't count on large doses of garlic, or garlic pills to help lower your cholesterol. Enjoy garlic in your dishes as a tasty and sodium-free spice, but there are better avenues for cholesterol lowering (reduce your saturated fat intake, consume some flaxseeds, and plenty of fiber).




B Vitamins for Energy? Clearly our bodies need B-vitamins to metabolize our foods and to derive energy from our foods, but taking extra B-vitamins will do you no good. There is no credible evidence that taking B-vitamins (via a pill or other supplement) will give you extra energy. In fact, most of the supplements I've seen with > 100% DV (daily value) B-vitamins are just a waste of money, unless you eat as many calories as Michael Phelps. Even he doesn't need 3000% DV! Solution? Eat a well balanced diet and take a multivitamin if you wish. No need for >100% B-vitamins.

Want energy? Eat plenty of fruits, veggies, and whole grains.

B vitamins for your heart? This is yet another piece of advice I learned during my years in school for dietetics, but which hasn't held true since. We were taught that B-vitamins could help lower homocysteine, which is a marker of heart disease. While B-vitamins do seem to lower homocysteine, unfortunately they do not seem to lower the risk for heart disease.




Gingko for memory? Results have been mixed, but studies have more overwhelmingly showed poor evidence that gingko can improve memory. My advice? Don't waste your money! Blueberries probably provide more benefit for memory and brain health. And they taste better.


Multivitamins for immunity? If you are well-nourished and free of disease, chances are a multivitamin will not improve your immunity. Heck, even those who are undernourished seem to obtain little benefit, if any, from taking a multivitamin. Studies are still being done in this area, but for now my best advice is to eat plenty of fruits and veggies, exercise, and get plenty of sleep (7-8 hours). These are all great ways to prevent sickness.




Biotin for hair and nails? You've probably heard this before, "Take a biotin supplement if you want your nails and hair to grow fast and stay strong!". Perhaps you even went out and bought some biotin at one time in your life. You may have noticed a difference, but chances are it was a placebo effect, "Wow! My hair really IS growing faster!...." Hmmm....I think not. The bottom line is that no credible studies have shown that biotin improves the look and speed of growth of nails or hair. My advice? Trim them both on a routine basis, find a good conditioning treatment to use on your hair (I use AVEDA), and a top coat for your nails (I use L.A. Girl Calcium. It's a clear coat and it works really well).

Question: Does any of this information shock you?! Do tell!


I'll be back on Friday. Until then, I hope everyone has a great week!

Garlic Infused Oil, and Why Does Popcorn Pop?

Thanks so much for all your congrats on yesterday's post. I'm EXTREMELY excited about this job because I know it was created for me :) Nick and I celebrated last night with some gelato (you know, that "60 calorie gelato"...haha). We then watched the Bachelorette and I realized why I LOVE the show so much. It lets the world know that men can be just as petty, jealous, emotional, and pathetically "in love" as women! It's GREAT! These men are so vulnerable and with some alcohol, a bunch of guys, a lot of time, and a camera, their true sides really show and it's hilarious (and sometimes really sad). Do you watch the Bachelorette??

Experiments in the Kitchen

According to the FODMAPs diet (the diet I am on to help reduce my symptoms of IBS and fructose malabsorption) I am not allowed to eat garlic. This has been tough for me, but at the same time it's easy because garlic really does cause me to get bloated and gassy! It's crazy. What I can consume, however, is oil infused with garlic (because the part that I malabsorb is not the actual garlic flavor, it's the garlic itself).

So I decided to make my own garlic infused oil......



I wanted to make garlic infused oil for my popcorn (I love garlic-tasting popcorn). Typically garlic infused oil is made with olive oil, but olive oil is sensitive to heat and light (which is why it should be stored in a cool and dark place) and extra virgin olive oil (which comes from the highest quality, hand-picked olives) should only be used in cold dishes likes cold pastas, salads, or dipping oils. I chose canola oil because I wanted to use this to make popcorn. By the way, have you ever been confused about the different terms for olive oil? They are being re-regulated. Check out more information here.


So I chopped up two garlic cloves and dropped them into about 3 T canola oil. I let the chopped garlic sit in the canola oil for ~1 day (24 hours).

Health Benefits of Canola Oil

Canola oil is made from rapeseed. Is is a good source of the omega-3 fatty acid Alpha Linolenic Acid (ALA), which is converted (in very small amounts) to DHA and EPA (the same heart and brain-healthy Omega-3s found in fish). It bears a health claim that says it can help reduce the risk of heart disease due to it's very low concentration of saturated fat. It's also a good source of monounsaturated fat. Monounsaturated fat may help reduce your LDL (bad) cholesterol, but too much may also reduce your HDL (good) cholesterol. This is just another of the many reasons why my motto is "Everything in moderation". That includes healthy foods. But of course the term "moderation" means something slightly different when you are talking about healthy foods.

So, Why Does Popcorn Pop?

According to the book "Why Does Popcorn Pop", by Don Voorhees, popcorn has a moisture content of about 13.5%. Popcorn also contains a food storage layer (which is found in all whole grains) called the endosperm. This is a tough layer that can resist the buildup of steam pressure within the kernal when heated. It isn't until the kernal reaches about 400 degrees (approximately) that the endosperm ruptures and causes the kernal to expand to about 35 times its size. I don't know though, my popcorn typically expands about ten times its original size, not 35! What about yours?

It's truly amazing. Here is my popcorn (~ 5 T) with my garlic infused canola oil (~ 1 tsp).

BEFORE

AFTER!

Definitely not 35 times the size. Well, maybe, when you look at it as a whole. But each kernal isn't 35 times the size, that's for sure.


I definitely noticed a hint of garlic flavor, but not enough to suit my taste. Next time I plan on adding about four garlic cloves, instead of two. Nick will really love me then! haha

Coming Up

Tomorrow I am giving a presentation at a local business on "Eating Healthy On a Budget"! I'm pretty excited to get out and actually do some work! Tomorrow I will be posting some of the steps I take to be healthy and watch my calories/portions when I eat out. I may also be able to give you more information about my new job. We'll see.

Thanks for reading everyone, and have a great day!