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Empower your food
By JANET K. KEELER, Times Staff Writer
The cyclical nature of our lives leads us to this point: the New Year's resolution. Since October, we've partied like there's no January. We've chased candy corn and miniature Snickers bars with pumpkin pies, truffles, fruitcakes and cookies. Seconds? You bet. Extra gravy on those potatoes? Why not. And that's how we got here. A few pounds heavier, a whole lot guiltier. The food that called us like a siren song last month is now setting off alarms: Must stop eating, must lose weight. If you've vowed to peel off a few pounds in 2003, you aren't alone. Thousands of Americans make resolutions for the new year, and more than half of those resolutions have something to do with food. But the New Year's resolution may be the biggest fib around. By February, many of us are back to our stubborn ways. Here's a novel idea that might turn the tide: Don't focus on what you can't eat; focus on food that energizes and fights disease. Fixate on good health rather than bad fat. It's time to unleash the power of cabbage and embrace the strength in a single stalk of celery. Free radicals, dangerous atoms running rampant in our bodies, are no match for broccoli, yams, tomatoes and fortified cereals. These molecular bad boys are rounded up by vitamins C and E and beta-carotene and then flushed from the body. The good guys, or antioxidants, help fight the diseases of aging such as cancer, heart trouble and hypertension. Take that head of cabbage, for example. According to New Foods for Healing, by the editors of Prevention magazine, cabbage is an able warrior against cancers of the breast, prostate and colon. Eating any kind of cabbage once or twice a week is likely to reduce your risk for cancer, but the Savoy variety is the most nutrient-packed. Savoy is milder than common green cabbage, and you can identify it by the spidery veins running through its leaves. Maybe it's unrealistic -- just like your New Year's resolution -- to think you're going to give up Fritos for good. But would it be so difficult to add an orange or a few stalks of broccoli to your daily diet? Here are some foods to hold dear in the new year. Eat them with the same wild abandon that you did those candy canes last month and you're likely to feel so good you won't be tempted to gorge -- until October. -- Steamed clams. About 3 ounces of these tasty bivalves provide 25 milligrams of iron, more than double what most adults require daily. Anemia, caused by a lack of iron, makes you feel fuzzy and weak. Who needs that? Another dozen steamers, please. (Other sources of iron include mussels, Cream of Wheat cereal, potatoes and lentils.) -- Sweet peppers. Any of the variety of peppers that don't burn your tongue, such as bell peppers, pimientos and wax peppers, are stuffed with antioxidants and properties thought to fight cataracts. Their Vitamin C is what fights cancer, so don't cook the peppers to death and destroy it. Add peppers to sandwiches, soups, stews, omelets, salads and casseroles. -- Garlic. These pungent bulbs do more than ward off vampires. Scientists think garlic can ease ear infections, lower cholesterol, reduce risk of stomach and colon cancers, and prevent heart disease and stroke. Some studies say that garlic comes to the rescue when our systems become immune to some antibiotics. A clove a day keeps the doctor away? -- Meat. There's plenty of healthy minerals in beef, pork, venison and other meats. Look for cuts with less than 25 to 30 percent fat, and keep the portions reasonable (about 4 ounces), and your immune system will get a boost. -- Onions. Don't cry over sliced onions; throw them on salads or layer them in sandwiches. They can lower cholesterol, reduce inflammation and relieve congestion. -- Corn. This energy booster can also help lower cholesterol in its bran form, just like wheat and oat bran. Fresh on the ear, you'll get about 80 calories and a whole lot of thiamin, a B vitamin necessary to convert food to energy. -- Cereal. Because most are vitamin fortified, cereal is a great way to start your day, provided you aren't eating frosted loopy cocoa charms. Fiber helps to keep the colon healthy, plus makes you feel full. Cereals fortified with folic acid ward against birth defects. -- Apricots. Scientists have identified about 600 carotenoids in apricots, and that's a good thing when it comes to fighting disease. Carotenoids are pigments in plants that give fruit and veggies color. In the human body, they have wide-ranging health benefits. Apricots help protect the eyes and prevent heart disease. They also can help smokers give up cigarettes, another popular New Year's promise. -- Pineapple. A healthy supply of manganese in this prickly topped fruit helps keep bones strong while improving digestion and relieving cold symptoms. What a tasty way to turn away osteoporosis. -- Soy foods. Proof of the soybean's benefits is still emerging, but the proliferation of soy foods in the grocery store shows that we are embracing early raves. Even Regis Philbin is quaffing a glass of soy milk on his morning TV show. One of the most promising benefits is for menopausal women who may be able to use soy as a supplement to estrogen replacement. The scientists do know one thing for sure: a little tofu never hurt anybody. You've probably surmised from this limited list that healthful foods are mostly natural. That doesn't mean they are certified organic but that they come from nature, meaning plants and animals. Most nutrition experts recommend eating food as close to the source as possible. The less meddling by human hands, the better. For instance, eat corn over corn chips and watermelon slices over sugary watermelon-flavored kids drinks. Individual diet concerns, such as diabetes, high-blood pressure or allergies, play a role in what type of foods you can or should eat. For instance, a diabetic should monitor fruit intake, among other things, and a person with hypertension needs to limit foods high in sodium, especially canned items. The federal government recommends five fruit and vegetable servings a day and is considering raising that number to nine. Nine servings of fruits and vegetables will seem like a mountain to those accustomed to eating one or two, a mere molehill. How about that for a resolution this year? Vow to add more superheroes of the plant world to your diet. Eat at least one -- two if you can -- at every meal. Go for color -- greens, yellows, oranges and reds -- and we don't mean the screaming logos on snack foods. Maybe this time next year, you'll be quite happy just they way you are. -- Information from New Foods for Healing by Selene Yeager and the editors of Prevention magazine (Bantam Books, $7.50) and Power Food by Janette Marshall (The Lyons Press, $14.95) was used in this report.
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From the Times Taste section From the features wire |
