Category: Cardiovascular health

Examples: atherosclerosis, congestive heart failure, angina, arrhythmias, etc.

Cardiovascular health, Nutrition, Osteoporosis

On the Hunt: Recipes Using Swiss Chard

Catie Fitzgerald

I have a bumper crop of rainbow Swiss chard in my veggie garden. I gathered an armful for lunch. Now I’m on the hunt for what to make with these dark leafy greens. Rather than rely on my go-to-greens recipes from Rebecca Katz, I decided to look around in my cookbooks and my favorite blog sites for inspiration.

During my hunt, I came across this recipe from Mark’s Daily Apple. It looks delicious and is definitely nutritious!

Warm Mushroom and Chard Salad with Bacon and Mustard Dressing

Health-promoting Benefits

Swiss chard offers several health-promoting benefits (Mateljan, 2015 unless otherwise noted):

  • Antioxidant protection due to the high content of vitamins A (as beta-carotene), C, and E, and the minerals manganese and zinc. These micronutrients along with many phytonutrients help squelch the formation and damaging action of reactive oxygen species(e.g., oxidative stress or internal rusting).
  • Anti-inflammatory agents (i.e., beta-carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin, quercetin, and kaempferol) lower the risk of chronic unwanted inflammation by altering the activity of certain enzymes or preventing the production of pro-inflammatory messaging molecules.
  • Promotes blood sugar regulation due to the 3.5+ grams of fiber and 3+ grams of protein per cup. Fiber and protein help regulate the rate of digestion and assist with motility of food through the digestive tract.
  • Support bone health as a result of the calcium and vitamin K1 Swiss chard contains. Vitamin K1 (phylloquinone) helps prevent excessive activation of osteoclasts, the cells responsible for breaking down bone. Also, the intestines can convert dietary vitamin K1 into vitamin K2
    (Okano et al., 2008) , a nutrient needed to activate osteocalcin, the major non-collagen protein in bone (Maresz, 2015).
  • Protects the cardiovascular system by helping inhibit arterial calcification and arterial stiffening as well as optimizes calcium use in the body (Maresz, 2015).

What’s your favorite Swiss chard recipe? Please share in the comments.

REFERENCES

Maresz, K. (2015). Proper Calcium Use: Vitamin K2 as a Promoter of Bone and Cardiovascular Health. Integrative Medicine: A Clinician’s Journal, 14(1), 34–39.

Mateljan, G. (2015). The world’s healthiest foods: the force for change to optimal with health-promoting foods and nutrient-rich cooking (2nd ed.). Seattle, WA.

Okano, T., Shimomura, Y., Yamane, M., Suhara, Y., Kamao, M., Sugiura, M., & Nakagawa, K. (2008). Conversion of Phylloquinone (Vitamin K1) into Menaquinone-4 (Vitamin K2) in Mice TWO POSSIBLE ROUTES FOR MENAQUINONE-4 ACCUMULATION IN CEREBRA OF MICE. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 283(17), 11270–11279. https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.M702971200

Cardiovascular health, Diabetes mellitus, Nutrition

Sweet on the sweet stuff? It isn’t sweet on you!

Catie Fitzgerald

Added sugars can lead to health problems such as weight gain and obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease (CDC, 2016).  Added sugar refers to human-made sweeteners included in packaged foods.  These sugars do not naturally exist in whole foods such as fruit and full-fat milk.  On the food label, added sugar goes by many names:  brown sugar, corn sweetener, corn syrup, dextrose, fructose, glucose, high-fructose corn syrup, honey, lactose, malt syrup, maltose, molasses, raw sugar, and sucrose.  In the USA, women ages 51-70 consume approximately 474 kcal of added sugar daily (National Cancer Institute, 2018) or the equivalent of 29.6 teaspoons! 

Refined sugars and artificial sweeteners provide no nutritional value yet your body must use nutrients to metabolize them.  A diet full of the empty calories provided by refined sweeteners (real or artificial) contributes to the nutrient depletion already set in motion by chronic stress. 

Furthermore, the sugar-laden diet contributes to insulin resistance.  The abundance of refined sugars causes excessive blood sugar which the body will address by secreting more and more insulin.  The blood sugar imbalance caused by sweetener-heavy diet exacerbates the development of insulin resistance triggered by chronic stress!

“Unless you avoid packaged and processed foods entirely, you probably eat way more sugar than you think!  The foods available in today’s grocery stores are a veritable minefield, with added sugars hidden in nearly everything – bread, pasta sauces, salad dressings, “natural” peanut butter, “healthy” cereals, and even deli meats.”

Diane Sanfilippo, The 21-Day Sugar Detox (p. 11)

What to do?

Purge your kitchen of all added sugars.  Read the label of all packaged food in your fridge, freezer, and pantry.  Toss any products that contain refined and artificial sugar. The table below lists the many names for added sugar.  

Choose less-refined naturally-derived sweeteners in moderation.  Raw honey, molasses, and 100% maple syrup do have some micronutrients but they are still refined foods.  If you must use a sweetener, opt for less-refined sources rather than white table sugar or the artificial sugars.

Preferred choices (use organic when possible):

  • Dates
  • Fruit juice (real, fresh) 
  • Honey (raw)
  • Maple syrup (dark)
  • Molasses
  • Stevia (green leaf or extract)
(Table source: Sanfilippo, 2016, p. 73)

Swap out sugar-laden condiments for primal-approved versions.   Commercially prepared mayo, ketchup, and even mustard can contain added sugars AND industrial seed oils.  Marinara and other pasta sauce also often have added sweeteners to compensate for the use of less-than-ripe tomatoes. 

This website contains affiliate links, which means Enhanced Health Solutions may receive a percentage of any product or service you purchase using the links in the articles. You pay the same price for all products and services, and your purchase helps support Enhanced Health Solutions work. Thank you for your support!

References

CDC. (2016, September 27). Know Your Limit for Added Sugars. Retrieved December 1, 2018, from http://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/data-statistics/know-your-limit-for-added-sugars.html

National Cancer Institute. (2018, April 20). Added Sugars. Retrieved December 1, 2018, from https://epi.grants.cancer.gov/diet/usualintakes/addedsugars.html

Sanfilippo, D. (2013). The 21-day sugar detox: bust sugar & carb cravings naturally. Las Vegas: Victory Belt Publishing Inc.

Sanfilippo, D. (2016). Practical paleo: A customized approach to health and a whole-foods lifestyle (2nd ed.). Las Vegas, NV.