Fiftysomething Diet: 6 Steps to a Healthier Fall Soup

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Our foolproof formula lets you cook and serve it in 30 minutes


By Maureen Callahan for Next Avenue

With nights turning cooler, it’s the perfect time for soup suppers, those big pots of warming goodness that fill you up with little fuss.

Forget store-bought varieties that tend to taste like a salt lick and can raise your blood pressure. We’re talking about simple homemade soups that are easy on cleanup (one pot) and offer a world of big, bold flavors.

Worried about spending too much time in the kitchen? Here’s our Fiftysomething formula that lets you simmer common pantry ingredients into satisfying soup in about 30 minutes. (Note: If you’re nervous about “winging it” with this loose six-step process, don’t worry. We’ve also provided links to step-by-step recipes from healthy cooking gurus Eating Well and Cooking Light.)

The Formula

1. Start with aromatics Building flavor into any soup starts first by sauteeing aromatic vegetables in small amounts of healthy oils such as olive or canola. One chopped onion and a few tablespoons of oil in a soup pot is a perfect soup starter. If time permits, add other aromatics such as chopped carrots, celery and garlic. Saute just one, or all the aromatics, over medium heat for four to five minutes.

2. Toast a few spices Next, stir 1 to 2 tablespoons of a favorite spice blend into the cooked aromatics and let the spices toast, over medium heat, for one to two minutes. Try a Mexican spice blend (chili powder, cumin and dried oregano) for chili-style soups. Or use curry powder or a curry spice blend (curry powder, turmeric, cinnamon) if you’re partial to Indian dishes like this Fall Vegetable Curry soup. The idea is to let spices toast into the oil to flavor the whole soup.

3. Add a low-salt broth Once the aromatics and spices are done, add a quart (4 cups) of stock to the soup pot and bring it to a boil. Homemade chicken and vegetable stocks are tastier, but the convenience factor of store-bought stock is a plus for quick soups. Just be sure to scan nutrient fact panels of packaged broths to find varieties with at least one-third less sodium.

4. Stir in lots of vegetables When the stock comes to a boil, stir in four cups (about one pound) of chopped assorted in-season vegetables. Choose from root vegetables like carrots and turnips. Or mix and match mild flavored fall favorites like sweet potatoes, butternut squash, cauliflower, spinach and tomatoes. Steer clear of anything with too strong a taste (broccoli, Brussels sprouts) that might overpower other flavors. Sometimes you might want to focus on one favorite vegetable, like sweet potatoes, for a healthy version of Sweet Potato-Peanut Bisque.

5. Add small amounts of lean, quick-cook meats Stir in meats, if you are using them, at the same time as vegetables so they have plenty of time to cook through. Best choices are small quantities (one half to one pound of meat per pot of soup) of chopped healthier cuts like turkey tenderloins, low-fat sausages, or boneless skinless chicken thighs. Chopped pork tenderloin is a good bet too as you’ll see with this healthy Pork, White Bean & Kale Soup. Or try this Turkey & Squash Soup. Once you’ve added the vegetables and meats of your choice, simmer soup for 25 to 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and go to step six.

6. Stir in some complex carbs Boost the filling fiber of the soup you’re creating with a last minute addition of a cup of whole grains or legumes. To save time, opt for already cooked brown rice, wheat berries, canned beans or chickpeas, as in this Chickpea and Sausage Minestrone. As an alternative, go meatless on occasion and let complex carbs be the stars of your soup as with this Tomato and Lentil Soup or a classic Split Pea Soup with Rosemary.


© Twin Cities Public Television - 2017. All rights reserved.



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How to Keep Off Extra Pounds During the Holidays

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These seven practical steps can make a difference
By Rashelle Brown for Next Avenue

With the holidays right around the corner, your calendar is probably already filling up with friendly parties, formal dinners and family gatherings. All of that celebrating can take a toll on the body. Polls and scientific studies estimate that many Americans gain between one and five pounds during the holiday season.

This wouldn’t be so bad, except that most of us won’t lose that weight over the next year. By the time we reach our fifties and beyond, the accumulation of those holiday pounds can pose a significant health risk. To help you enjoy this holiday season without gaining extra weight, here are seven tips you and your family can use:

7 Practical, Everyday Tips

These seven tips are specific little things that are easy to implement throughout the holiday season and will help keep you from consuming more calories than you burn.

1. Eat before attending events. Knowing that you have a holiday party coming up in the evening, you might think it’s a good idea to eat less throughout the day, but that’s actually setting yourself up for an overindulgence disaster. By eating healthy meals and snacks throughout the day, you’ll ensure a constant supply of energy and reduce the likelihood of party-time cravings and the associated bingeing.

Your best buffer against consuming a ton of empty calories at a party is to eat a fiber- and nutrient-dense meal or substantial snack right before you head to the party. Some good options are a lightly dressed salad with plenty of veggies and legumes, a bowl of bean soup or a healthy whole grain pilaf.

2. Employ the every-other rule with alcohol. One of the biggest calorie culprits at holiday gatherings is that cup of cheer. Alcoholic drinks can contain 80 to 500+ calories per serving and, what’s worse, studies have shown that drinking alcohol makes it likely you’ll consume more food calories as well. One of the tactics I describe in my weight-loss book, Reboot Your Body: Unlocking the Genetic Secrets to Permanent Weight Loss, is what I call the “every-other” rule, which requires you to drink a full glass of water between every alcoholic beverage you consume. Doing this makes you feel fuller and keeps you hydrated, which can be important for regulating hunger signals.

3. Go green, and red and orange. Some holiday events are more formal affairs, involving sit-down dinners rather than roaming appetizer platters. In those instances, you can greatly reduce the number of calories you consume by opting for the plant-based entrée and by starting with a large salad free of meats, cheeses and creamy dressings. By filling up on fibrous vegetables, legumes and whole grains, you’ll be less likely to overeat when the dessert tray comes rolling by.

4. Double down on exercise. Another good way to fight holiday weight gain is by offsetting extra calories consumed with more calories burned. If you already exercise regularly, now is the time to ramp up your routine, either by adding more minutes or by upping the intensity.

If you don’t exercise, but are healthy enough to do so, then starting now — rather than waiting for Jan. 1 to roll around — is a good idea. If you can’t dedicate a big chunk of time to exercise every day, look for ways to work more activity into your normal daily routine. Breaking up a workout into two shorter sessions is one good strategy, but doing many short bouts of exercise throughout the day is just as effective in terms of the calorie burn. These short “activity snacks” can also be a good way to re-energize whenever you find yourself feeling sluggish.

5. Rethink your holiday traditions. There’s no doubt that food and drink are important elements of many holiday traditions, but I encourage you to ask yourself whether they should be the central elements of those traditions. Imagine a holiday season that places more emphasis on the gathering and fellowship among friends and family and less emphasis on the meals and treats.

At my family’s gatherings, many things change from year to year, but one thing remains the same: There is always too much of everything. By taking a more moderate approach and limiting your holiday smorgasbord to a very few delicious traditional dishes, you can actually create a greater sense of enjoyment. With less competition on the buffet table, guests can slow down and better appreciate what’s in front of them.

6. Start your day by setting your intentions. This is a quick and easy strategy to implement, and by doing it every day it becomes powerfully effective. When you first wake up, before you do anything else, take one or two minutes to set your healthy habit intentions for the day. Think about the events you’ll be attending and how you plan to navigate them. Remind yourself that the holiday season is about connecting with others and practicing gratitude and compassion, and that the overconsumption of food and drink doesn’t need to be a part of that.

7. Share your goals with family and friends. One of the keys to behavior change I write about in my book is building a strong social network to support your healthy habits. By telling others about your healthy holiday goals you gain two advantages. First, you reduce or eliminate potential obstacles; once your friends and family know about your goals, they’ll be less likely to put you in tempting situations and more likely to offer emotional support. Second, by making your intentions known to others, you add an important accountability check against your actions. You won’t be as likely to grab another cookie or glass of champagne in front of a friend who’s part of your accountability circle.

By implementing these tips, you can create and participate in a holiday season that’s festive, full of enjoyment, and missing nothing but the extra pounds.

I don’t know about you, but this holiday season I’m looking forward to a Jan. 1 that doesn’t involve an emergency weight loss plan!



© Twin Cities Public Television - 2016. All rights reserved.



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They're Trendy but Are They Really Healthy?

They are getting a lot of attention and may even be good for you

By Maureen Callahan for Next Avenue

Credit: Thinkstock

In the never-ending parade of new food products that make headlines every year, there are always a few that catch on and become trendy, almost fashionable. They are options that beg to be included in any healthy diet.

The question is: Are they worth bringing to the table? Put another way, will they help you age more gracefully and do they have unique nutritional benefits?

Here’s a look at seven of the trendiest edible offerings that people are talking about around the water cooler, at book clubs and in the coffee shop, along with details on what they do and don’t offer when it comes to health, nutrition and disease prevention:

1. Lollipop Kale

The new “it” veggie of the produce bin might be labeled lollipops, or kale sprouts or KalettesTM, depending on where you shop. Whatever the moniker, nutritionists agree that crossing two superstars of the vegetable world — Russian Red Kale and Brussels sprouts — is definitely a win-win when it comes to health.

What you’ll get in 1.5 cups: Just 45 calories, but a full day’s supply of Vitamin K, almost half the required vitamin C and a good dose of vitamin B6.

What they taste like: A little bit sweet, a little bit peppery, a little bit nutty, with mild notes of that distinctive brassica (Brussels sprouts) vegetable flavor.

How to eat them: The beautiful red-green mini leaves look nice in a salad like this Orange Kalettes Salad from Tozer Seeds, the British company that created the cultivar. The savory “lollipops” are also good sautéed or roasted.

2. Grass-Fed Beef

Rich in heart-healthy omega 3 fats and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a type of fat that is showing promise in the prevention of cancer, grass-fed beef is also lower in fat and saturated fat than its grain-fed cousin.

According to the American Grassfed Beef Association (AGBA), a sirloin steak from a grass-fed steer has about one-half to one-third the amount of fat as one raised on grain. And that adds up, says AGBA: “If you eat a typical amount of beef (66.5 pounds a year), switching to grass-fed beef will save you 17,733 calories a year — without requiring any willpower or change in eating habits. If everything else in your diet remains constant, you’ll lose about six pounds a year.”

If that sounds good but you’re put off by the higher price tag of grass-fed beef, not to worry. “Lean beef that’s 10 percent fat or less — whether it’s grass-fed beef or another type of beef — can be part of a heart-healthy diet,” says Dr. Rekha Mankad, a Mayo Clinic cardiologist.

3. Bone Broth

While long, slow-simmered stovetop stocks made with roasted bones and vegetables have always been around, paleo and detox diet proponents are making them trendy again by calling them bone broths. Nourishing bone broths. The name, they say, is meant to separate these homemade elixirs from mass-produced broths cluttered with additives and devoid of gelatin and other good nutrients that leech from meat bones that are slow simmered. (Ironically, the trend is so hot that big soup companies are now mass-producing boxed “bone broths.”)

Is bone broth nourishing? Yes. Is it lower in sodium that boxed varieties? Most of the time. Is it a superfood that tames inflammation? Not really. It’s just one food, one healthy diet choice.

With soup weather here, try this homemade beef bone broth recipe or homemade chicken stock. Called bone broth or stock, they’re both the same, and both good for you.

4. Coconut Sugar

As the “all things coconut” craze heats up, the caramel-colored sugar made from the sap of the coconut palm is riding a wave of popularity. It’s not really a new sweetener, just new to Westerners. Used in South Asia for thousands of years, coconut sugar has a flavor similar to brown sugar. But that’s not all that’s similar. The American Diabetes Association (ADA) says coconut palm sugar provides just as many calories and carbohydrates as regular sugar: about 15 calories and 4 grams of carbohydrate per teaspoon.

“It is OK for people with diabetes to use coconut palm sugar as a sweetener, but they should not treat it any differently than regular sugar,” the ADA says.

What about those health claims that say coconut sugar is low on the glycemic index (a scale that measures how blood sugar levels react to carbohydrates)? Holistic medicine specialist Dr. Andrew Weil takes issue. “This is irrelevant,” says Weil. “The glycemic index does not directly apply to sweeteners.” Weil’s bottom line: Sugar is sugar, whether it’s from a natural source or not. Go easy on it if you want to stay healthy.
5. Raw Sauerkraut

Hot dog topper and traditional side dish for pork chops, fermented white cabbage has long been recognized for potential cancer-fighting benefits. But who knew? This German staple is now getting a second health look, not for its cabbage content but for the good-for-you (or your immune system and digestive tract) probiotic bacteria produced during fermentation. (Here’s a good review of probiotics from WebMD if you need it.)

Why raw sauerkraut? Canned and bottled sauerkrauts are typically heat treated, which destroys probiotic bacteria. So the only way to nab the beneficial bugs is with unpasteurized or raw cultured sauerkraut, the kind usually found in whole food or health food supermarkets.

More good news for raw sauerkraut: A preliminary study finds the probiotic strains it harbors, called lactobacilli, might help prevent the body’s absorption of some pesticides.

6. Matcha Green Tea

In Manhattan, matcha is the “new java,” a hipper caffeinated brew and an ingredient chefs are using to create all kinds of sweet and savory treats. It’s also the tea of choice in the traditional Japanese tea ceremony. But among “food as medicine” proponents, the star feature of matcha is that it contains three times as many as catechins (substances that studies show might do everything from fighting cancer to preventing heart disease, to helping with weight loss) as regular green teas. The reason: This tea isn’t steeped from green tea leaves, but is actually ground up tea leaves. When Matcha is harvested, the leaves are ground into a beautiful bright green powder that is then whisked into water. Make it at home.

But if you’re hitting the local tea or coffee shop for your fix, be aware. “Sweetened tea beverages introduce calories, fat and other ingredients that get away from the basic premise that the tea leaf may be responsible for any health benefits,” Dr. Howard Sesso tells Harvard Health Publications. Sesso is Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Associate Epidemiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

7. Natto

Heralded as “the breakfast of champions” by many Japanese, paleo diet enthusiasts are singing the praises of the fermented soybean mixture called natto. For starters, it’s healthy for the heart. It’s a natural blood thinner, it lowers blood pressure and it’s super-rich in vitamin K2, a hard-to-get nutrient that helps prevent osteoporosis and keep bones strong. In other words, natto might offer multiple benefits for many of the common lifestyle ills that plague a fiftysomething body.

There’s just one hitch. While Japanese diners are in love with all forms of natto — there’s natto ice cream, natto toast, natto sushi — the slippery texture and stinky aroma are not an easy sell to Westerners, says one Japanese fan.

If natto is a no-go for you, Weil says there might be some other options. “I think all of these fermented soy foods are healthy — miso, natto, tempeh,” he says. “Adding fermented foods in general to the diet is good.”

© Twin Cities Public Television - 2016. All rights reserved.



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4 Myths About Brain Health and How to Stay Sharp

What your doctor may not know, but you should

By Leslie Kernisan, MD for Next Avenue

Credit: Thinkstock

Want to stay mentally sharp for as long as possible?

I certainly do, and I’m guessing you do, too: an AARP survey found that 87 percent of respondents reported being very concerned about this issue.

And in April, a highly influential nonprofit released a new report whose recommendations represent the best available medical knowledge on how our brains change as we age and what we can do about this.

The report by the Institute of Medicine (IOM), the health arm of the National Academy of Sciences, is called “Cognitive Aging: Progress in Understanding and Opportunities for Action.” The full report is a pretty lengthy and comprehensive review. But in a series of shorter related materials, the IOM highlights some practical approaches we can all take to maintain better brain health — whether for ourselves or for an older loved one. It also provides tips on compensating for some common problems related to cognitive aging.

Here are the highlights I consider most important:

Cognitive Aging Happens to Everyone

The IOM defines cognitive aging as “a process of gradual, ongoing, yet highly variable changes in cognitive functions that occur as people get older.”

This process is not considered a disease. Rather, it’s a natural process of age-related changes in the brain. Like other aspects of aging in the body, it tends to happen a little differently for every person, in part due to things like genetics, lifestyle and environmental factors.

In Alzheimer’s, there is extensive neuron loss, and the disease is chronic and progressive. The IOM’s related “Cognitive Aging Action Guide for Individuals and Families” provides a distilled summation.

The action guide also lists four common myths about brain health and aging, and provides the corresponding facts you should know. I’ve paraphrased them below.

Myths and Facts About Cognitive Aging

Myth: Maintaining cognitive health means preserving your memory.
Fact: Cognitive health is far more than having a good memory. It also involves decision-making, attention and problem-solving.

Myth: Cognitive function always declines with age.
Fact: Aging can have positive and negative effects on cognition.

Myth: Brain neurons die as you age, so there is no way to prevent cognitive decline.
Fact: In the absence of disease, neuron death is minimal.

Myth: There is nothing you can do to improve your cognitive health.
Fact: There are actions individuals and families can take to help support their cognitive health and adapt to age-related cognitive changes.

6 Ways to Protect Your Brain as You Age

In its full report, the IOM devotes 120 pages to reviewing the factors that affect cognitive aging, along with interventions that might improve brain health. It summarizes the most important suggestions for the public in its handy action guide, and I’ve paraphrased them below (the first three are the most important):

1. Be physically active.
2. Reduce your cardiovascular risk factors (including hypertension, diabetes and smoking).
3. Manage your medications by reviewing them with a clinician and learning about their effects on cognitive health.
4. Be socially and intellectually active.
5. Get adequate sleep.
6. Learn to prevent delirium, a decrease in cognitive function that can be triggered by hospitalization, medications or certain illnesses.

Risky Medications and Delirium Prevention

All six of these recommendations are important and useful. But two particularly caught my eye, because they are actions that we especially focus on in geriatrics: medication management and delirium prevention.

Now I hate to say this, but I think you should know the truth: We geriatricians focus on them in part because they are often overlooked by our doctor colleagues. Most clinicians are very busy and usually have not had special training in modifying healthcare to be a better fit for older adults.

The IOM’s “Action Guide for Health Care Providers” spells out what doctors should be doing in those areas. For instance, it mentions that the use of over-the-counter anticholinergics should be assessed. (This is a topic I covered recently in a Next Avenue blog post.)

We hope that many health providers read this IOM action guide and modify their work accordingly.

But here’s an insider tip from me to you: When you find out that expert organizations feel the need to remind doctors to do something, that’s a sign that doctors aren’t doing it reliably. Which means it is smart to be proactive and remind your doctors to help you.

For more information about avoiding risky medications, see this list of online resources.

Why Seniors Get Delirium

Delirium is an incredibly common and important health complication that affects seniors.

It’s basically a state of worse-than-usual mental function that can be brought on by some illness or stress on the body or mind. It is the reason older adults are often confused after surgery, but can also be the only outward sign of a potentially serious infection in someone living at home.

Delirium is associated with all kinds of bad health outcomes, including longer hospital stays, health complications and even acceleration of cognitive decline. But you can help prevent it, or at least make sure it gets noticed and managed promptly. Here’s where to learn more:
HospitalElderLifeProgram.org: A great program and website founded by Dr. Sharon Inouye, a geriatrician who is the leading researcher on delirium in older adults. (She was also part of the committee that worked on this cognitive aging IOM report.) Information tailored for families is here.
HealthinAging.org: This is the health information site affiliated with the American Geriatrics Society, and it includes a comprehensive section on delirium.

Driving and Finances in Seniors

The IOM reports that cognitive aging can affect an older adult’s ability to manage complex tasks such as driving and finances. It notes that victims of financial elder abuse lose billions every year. (My guess is that many of those victims are suffering from more than cognitive aging, but yes, this is a serious problem.)

Hence, the IOM has created related resource lists to help people be proactive about preventing, detecting, and addressing problems with finances and driving. See “Online Resources Related to Elder Financial Abuse” and “Online Resources Related to Older Adult Driving.”

Nutrition and Other Approaches for Brain Health

In preparing this report, the IOM conducted a comprehensive review of different approaches that have been studied in relation to cognitive health. So if you are wondering about a particular approach that’s not mentioned above, chances are it is covered in the full report.

The summary on the effect of various diets, including the Mediterranean diet, is here and the summary regarding vitamins, including antioxidants, starts here.

Basically, for now the IOM has concluded that some of the dietary approaches have promise but we need more research to confirm their effectiveness. The report also concludes that the medical literature doesn’t convincingly support vitamin supplementation to prevent cognitive decline.

If You or a Relative Has Alzheimer’s

Part of the purpose of the IOM report is to draw attention to cognitive aging as a health issue that is distinct from dementia and deserves its own attention from the public, practicing clinicians and researchers.

This is a reasonable position. That said, if you’re concerned about brain health for someone with a dementia diagnosis, you should know this: The cognitive aging recommendations listed above do improve the brain health of people with Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia.

Why? Because the recommendations are basically about how you can optimize brain health and brain function; they apply whether a person has experienced brain aging or extra damage from a disease.

If we can all do better in helping people optimize their brain health and in compensating for any cognitive aging, our society will be a better place for aging Americans.

© Twin Cities Public Television - 2016. All rights reserved.



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5 Foods That Are Healthier Than You Think

You may have been told they are bad, but new information says otherwise

By Maureen Callahan for Next Avenue

Credit: Thinkstock

Sometimes foods we love land in the nutritional “dog house” because of a negative news story. And then it doesn’t matter what health experts say, or what new research comes to light. In our minds we come to think of these foods as unhealthy choices.

Take these five much-maligned foods. Experts now agree: eating these former food vices might actually make you a healthier, happier fiftysomething.

Eggs

Perceived as a vice because:
Eggs, or specifically the yolks, are rich sources of cholesterol. And since the plaque that clogs arteries and damages hearts is made up mostly of cholesterol, “people sort of connected those dots,” explains Walter Willett, Fredrick John Stare Professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition at Harvard. But “there was never any data that showed that people who ate more eggs had higher risk of heart attacks.”

Good for you because:

An extensive body of research confirms that cholesterol in the diet has very little impact on blood cholesterol levels. (Foods high in saturated and trans fats are what raise blood cholesterol.) So the 2015 U.S. Dietary Guidelines now recommend that it’s OK for healthy people to eat up to seven eggs per week. Rich in protein and a good source of everything from Vitamin D to phosphorous, eggs illustrate the “good things come in small packages” rule of thumb.

Coffee

Perceived as a vice because:

Plenty of people still see coffee drinking “as an unhealthy habit, along the lines of smoking and excessive drinking, and they may make a lot of effort to reduce their coffee consumption or quit drinking it altogether, even if they really enjoy it,” says Harvard scientist and professor Rob van Dam.

Good for you because:

When Harvard researchers looked at the coffee drinking habits of 130,000 volunteers (healthy men and women in their 40s and 50s) and then followed these volunteers for 18-24 years, they saw no evidence that drinking up to six cups of coffee a day increased risk of death from any cause.

“Our findings suggest that if you want to improve your health, it’s better to focus on other lifestyle factors, such as increasing your physical activity, quitting smoking, or eating more whole grains,” says van Dam.

Of course, he’s talking about black coffee here. All bets are off when you start adding copious amounts of sugar and cream and whip them up into a slushy frozen confection.

One exception to the rule: People who have a hard time controlling their blood pressure or blood sugar might want to avoid coffee or switch to decaf. Caffeine is a stimulant and going overboard might increase heart rate and raise blood pressure.

Wine

Perceived as a vice because:

Drinking too much red wine can raise blood pressure and it may increase risk for several types of cancer. And when a 2014 Italian study found that the antioxidant resveratrol, often credited for conferring some of the health benefits in red wine, didn’t reduce cardiovascular disease, cancer, or deaths, it again raised the question: Is red wine good for health?

Good for you because:

While they didn’t find benefits to resveratrol in the Italian study, lead researcher Dr. Richard D. Semba of Johns Hopkins University says other studies have shown that red wine, dark chocolate and berries can reduce inflammation and still appear to protect the heart. “It’s just that the benefits, if they are there, must come from other polyphenols or substances found in those foodstuffs,” he says.

Avocados

Perceived as a vice because:

Pinned by dieters with a scarlet “F” for fattening, the 21 grams of fat in a small avocado do sound a bit rich. If you focus on total fat it’s easy to lump the fruit with other guilty indulgences like quarter pound burgers (20 grams of fat), scoops of rich, premium ice creams (17 grams of fat) and buttery croissants (18 grams.) Yet, unlike these favorite fatty splurges, the bulk of fat in avocados is the “healthy-for-the-heart” monounsaturated variety.

Good for you because:

A 2015 study from the American Heart Association finds that eating one avocado per day as part of a moderate fat diet can drop LDL, or “bad” cholesterol, nearly 14 points.

“We need to focus on getting people to eat a heart-healthy diet that includes avocados and other nutrient-rich food sources of better fats,” says Penny M. Kris-Etherton, senior study author and chair of the American Heart Association’s Nutrition Committee.

And if you eat that avocado at lunch all the better. Loma Linda University researchers find that eating half an avocado at lunch helps squash food cravings for three to four hours after the meal, which could prevent a diet-busting case of the afternoon munchies.

Peanut Butter (Peanuts)

Perceived as a vice because:

It’s fine for the grandkids, but this quintessential sandwich spread has “too much fat” for many fiftysomethings. So they skip it all together. Same goes for peanuts. Many people believe pretzels are a better snack than peanuts or peanut butter.

But a 2010 study shows that refined carbs (like pretzels) might be worse for the heart than saturated fats. “The obesity epidemic and growing intake of refined carbohydrates have created a ‘perfect storm’ for the development of cardiometabolic disorders,” says Harvard researcher Frank Hu.

One good strategy, he suggests, is “replacing carbohydrates (especially refined grains and sugar) with unsaturated fats and/or healthy sources of protein.” Peanuts (and peanut butter) are rich in heart-healthy unsaturated fats and contain generous amounts of protein.

Good for you because:
Researchers at Penn State, who had volunteers eat peanuts as part of a high-fat meal, might have figured out why peanuts are good for the heart.

“Previous studies have shown that individuals who consume peanuts more than two times a week have a lower risk of coronary heart disease,” lead researcher on the new study, Xiaoran Liu, said. “Our new study indicates that the protective effect of peanut consumption could be due, in part, to its beneficial effect on artery health.”



© Twin Cities Public Television - 2016. All rights reserved.



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The Top 6 Healthy Foods to Put In Your Shopping Cart

Experts pick their favorite superfoods. Are these on your list?

By Maureen Callahan for Next Avenue

Thinkstock

As far as good-for-you foods go, the mind-boggling mix of advice directed to fiftysomething eaters is enough to make anyone’s head spin.

Do you eat whole grains because the latest nutrition headlines say they prevent cancer? Become a vegan or vegetarian to help the heart? Honestly, the advice changes depending on whatever research is making news.

That made us wonder: Are there good-for-you food staples that make it onto the weekly grocery list of health experts regardless of headlines or hype about superfoods?

From doctors to scientists to dietitians, here’s a quick look at what six of the country’s top health experts are stashing in their shopping carts. You’ll notice the short list centers on whole foods, particularly a wide variety of colorful fruits and vegetables. Keep building them into your weekly shopping list, experts say, and you’ll stay on the road to good health.

Mushrooms

Dr. Dana Simpler, a primary care physician at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore, Md., places special focus in her practice on using diet and lifestyle to prevent and reverse medical problems.

“One food I definitely eat each week is mushrooms, because mushrooms have strong anti-cancer properties and are also a great meat substitute in spaghetti sauce and soups,” Simpler says. “Mushrooms have an aromatase inhibitor effect, which reduces breast cancer occurrence and recurrence.”

Dried Plums

“There’s some fascinating research on dried plums — prunes — and bone health,” says Leslie J. Bonci, director of sports nutrition at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center for Sports Medicine and a nutrition consultant to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

“Dried plums are high in boron, a mineral that is important for bone structure, and high in polyphenols, plant nutrients that may have anti-inflammatory effects,” she says.

In addition, Bonci says scientists are looking at how eating prunes might improve bone mineral density. Of course, they’re also nature’s best digestive aid. And for seniors taking probiotics, these purple-black snacks are good prebiotics, special types of sugar or starches that feed and stimulate the growth of those good-for-your-gut probiotics.

Unsalted Mixed Nuts

“I like crunchy textures, so chips are definitely my downfall,” admits registered dietitian Neal G. Malik, who specializes in chronic disease prevention and nutrition at the University of California, Riverside.

“To combat this craving, the one food I make sure I eat every week (if not every day!) are unsalted, mixed nuts. I love these as a post-workout snack! Just 1/4 to 1/2 cup provides a nice dose of heart-healthy fats, some protein, and a decent amount of fiber. They’re nature’s perfect food and they satisfy my cravings for crunch,” says Malik.

Bananas

“Bananas are a favorite,” says Holley Grainger, a lifestyle and culinary nutrition expert who shares more than 700 healthy cooking and nutrition videos with her online audiences. When it comes to nutrition, “they're an affordable fruit option that taste great, are filling and offer potassium, fiber, vitamin C, B6 and manganese.”

You can’t beat their versatility, either. “You can eat them as is or on peanut butter sandwiches, freeze and mix into smoothies, or use in baking,” she says. Even better, while bananas are helping fiftysomething blood pressure and heart health, they’re a healthy snack for the grandkids, too.

Sweet Potatoes

Dr. Thomas Campbell, a longtime proponent of plant-based diets and author of the upcoming book, The Campbell Plan: The Simple Way to Lose Weight and Reverse Illness, Using The China Study's Whole-Food, Plant-Based Diet, says he’s only recently come to appreciate sweet potatoes.

“Sweet potatoes have tremendous amounts of healthful nutrients, including antioxidants and minerals, in a package that's full of long-lasting energy. It is a fairly low glycemic index food, causing a lower spike on blood sugar than white potatoes and many grains,” says Campbell.

Leafy Greens

Mayo Clinic dietitian Katherine Zeratsky puts some form of leafy green in the grocery cart every week, usually romaine lettuce.

Romaine's mild flavor and crunchy texture “allows me to dress it up with many varieties of foods – other vegetables, fruits, meats, cheese, nuts and seeds, to create combinations of savory or sweet dishes, not to mention make a balanced meal,” she says. “My cups of romaine are very low in calories yet an excellent source of potassium and vitamin A.”

Don’t like romaine? Zeratsky says just make it a point to choose favorite fruits and vegetables that are in season.

“Seasonality allows for better pricing and better quality,” she says. “I eat fruit at meals and as snacks, so there are always one or two bowls in the refrigerator. I have salad as an entrée or as a part of the meal several times per week, as it is a great way to get nutrients and fill up my stomach while keeping calories in check. Also, I add carrots, celery and onion to most meals, raw and cooked.” It’s all just “a great way to add flavor, fiber and antioxidants.”

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