What is good for you in cucumbers? Hmmm. I don’t know.

I was just asked that recently, so I thought I would learn. Sure, I know that they are used in salons and day spa’s… something about being good for your skin.

Well, well, what do you know, cucumbers are good for your skin due to the silica content, vitamin C, and high water content. Cucumbers also contain caffeic acid which helps to soothe skin irritations and reduce swelling. Now it all makes sense.

Cucumbers are not really chocked full of vitamins and minerals. Sure, they are good for you, and have vitamin C, vitamin A, potassium, manganese, folate, molybdenum, and tryptophan (really, like in turkey), but they are not as nutrient dense as many other fruits and vegetables. Also, the skin is what is rich in fiber and most of the minerals, therefore it is best to get non-treated or waxed cucumbers and eat the skin. Personally, sometimes I like the skin and sometimes I don’t want it.

One of the main benefits I see about cucumbers is that they have lots of water in them, and are hydrating, cool, and refreshing. I like cucumbers with salt, in salad (tomato and cucumber salad, yum!), in tsatziki, and my favorite way: lacto-fermented, of that I am sure.

Are you sure?

I have always been somewhat indifferent towards mushrooms. Everything about them just seemed vague, and some of their characteristics still do. I have never had a particular liking or disliking of mushrooms, and so, perhaps for that very reason, it has been easier for me to cultivate a liking of them.

Oddly enough, one of the experiences that got me on the path to liking mushrooms, was pizza. When I think of bad tasting mushrooms, I think of mushrooms on pizza. They always have a weird taste and texture. I don’t know, it is just a bad picture in my mind. However, I just happen to eat a wild mushroom pizza at Dewey’s Pizza, and I was like “yeah, these are good mushrooms”.

So, I recently bought some organic shiitake mushrooms at Whole Foods, and thus the reason for this post:

Since that time I have read, and heard, some pretty amazing things about mushrooms. Things like: 6 ways mushrooms can save the world, or all of the nutritional information and health benefits. I have also had, and made, some excellent grilled portobella mushrooms (they make an excellent sandwich with roasted red peppers, lettuce, cheese, and, well, whatever you want to add to the sandwich: ).

While there are numerous benefits to eating mushrooms, I want to highlight a couple. Crimini mushrooms (portabella’s are large crimini’s) not only contain B vitamins but are excellent natural sources of selenium. Selenium is a necessary cofactor for the body to produce its own antioxidant glutathione. In the Baltimore Study on Aging, it showed men with lowest blood levels of selenium to have a 4-5 fold increased risk of prostate cancer. In addition, properties of mushrooms like beta-glucans and the antioxidant L-ergothioneine provide excellent immune support and have shown anti-cancer effects. Shiitakes contain lentinan, a substance that can heal chromosome damage caused by anti-cancer treatments. In general, mushrooms are low in carbohydrates and calories and high in B vitamins, fiber, iron, niacin, potassium, protein, riboflavin, selenium and zinc.

Even though they are not vegetables, I think the best way to prepare mushrooms is like vegetables: grilled, sautéed, or broiled with a good fat (coconut oil, butter, olive oil, avocado oil) and sea salt. And, it is nice to know that the antioxidant L-ergothioneine is not destroyed when mushrooms are cooked. Having said that, hopefully, that stirs your desire to experiment a bit more with mushrooms, and then, you can post your experimentations, accompanied by mouth watering photos and let me know. Then I can come to your blog and drool. Except I don’t drool.

Having changed the way I eat years ago, viewing how foods are processed and manufactured has become more of a matter of common sense (yes, your common sense can increase:). With regard to fats and oils, everything is processed to some degree. Knowing what is good, healthy, and beneficial is made easier by having the record of history and seeing what has nourished people for thousands of years. Of course, if you do not want to look at history you can study the processing and science of today and see how rancid industrial oils become, how much oxidation they undergo, what nutrients they are stripped of, or how they are bleached, deodorized, and refined.

So I suggest asking some questions when choosing your fats and oils:

1) How stable is the oil? Does it go rancid easily (how sensitive to light, air, and heat is it)? For this question, most likely you will have to know if it is saturated, monounsaturated, or polyunsaturated. Saturated fats are much more stable and better for cooking (Butter, tallow, coconut oil, palm oil), but several monounsaturated fats are good for moderate heat as well (olive oil, avocado oil).

2) What is the smoke point? The smoke point is just like it sounds… the point at which the fats begins to burn and smoke and breakdown. Many times producers will list the smoke point on the oil, but you can definitely tell when you are using them at home. In order to raise smoke points, producers have to heavily refine oils (which then make it an unhealthy product), so look for oils that are able to tolerate high heat naturally (avocado, ghee, or tallow).

3) How processed is the oil? Is it cold pressed, heated, or were chemical solvents used? For example, with olive oil, the best quality oils are first cold pressed or “extra virgin”. The terms “cold pressed” can sometimes be loosely used, so it is good to look up the producer.

4) What and where does it come from? For example, Canola is the name given to a breed (cultivar) from the rapeseed plant, which had too much erucic acid and thus a hybrid was needed in order for the oil to be deemed fit for human consumption, and so here comes Canola oil (Canadian Oil Low Acid).

Most people I know do not get enough saturated fats in their diet. Changing the fats and oils you cook with greatly affects the health of your food (fat soluble vitamins) but also the health and processes of your body. Saturated fats make the use of essential fatty acids (like omega-3) more efficient in the body and thereby you need less. Most people receive far too much omega-6 in their diet and too little omega-3. Also, because saturated fats are short chain or medium chain fatty acids, they are used for energy and burned much quicker in the body, where as longer chain fatty acids are more likely to contribute to the buildup of body fat.

Typically for baking I will use butter or coconut oil. For sautéing I will use olive oil, butter, or coconut oil. I like avocado oil, but I haven’t really used it that much. I would definitely like to experiment more with tallow, palm, and avocado oil. I realize for many people it is hard to find high quality sources, like raw butter or organic butter, but usually you can find it at health food stores or through a local farmer or coop.

On the other hand, I avoid pretty much all vegetable oils. When out and about it is almost impossible to avoid them since they are in chips that I am going to dip into my guacamole (unless I make my own chips) and maybe, perhaps I just want a slice of whole foods pizza and I am thinking “why O why would you not just use olive oil in your crust instead of canola oil?”. Money. … So I cheat too.

Good luck with your fat : )

Another random thought I have been thinking is how we get used to buying or eating certain things and do not even question them anymore. Do you do that? For example, do you always go into the grocery or market and have your ‘go to’ things that you just pick up and go without even thinking. I do that. Naturally, things we are less familiar with, we take more time to get acquainted with. Every now and then the thought runs through my head “But what if they changed the ingredients since you last looked and now they process it with or add something you don’t want to eat”… so I better read. For some reason this attention has caused me to enjoy my food more. Strange, I know. I think it is partly because when I have a better idea of what things truly are, I appreciate them more.

Sometimes I just want to keep eating a certain food or spice over and over in order to gain all of the sense of what it is and what it tastes like, so that I can really know it. Sometimes I want to do that with people too. There are certain people that I never get tired of hanging out with and they make you just want to keep experiencing them over and over again. But how would you know that about the food or the person unless you have a really good sense of what it is (or they are).?.? Hmmm?

What was this post about? I don’t know, I was just thinking out loud to you… and to me.. obviously… you see.

Oxidation in fruit is just like rust on metal. Basically, there is an enzyme (polyphenol oxidase) present in the fruit that reacts with oxygen and browns the surface of the fruit. While oxidation can be unpleasant to eat (who wants to eat brown guacamole), and there may be some loss in nutrients, most nutritional value is not lost.

Several years ago I started to wonder about the dried fruits I was eating, I could taste something I didn’t like in them. I noticed that there were packages, both of bright orange apricots, and brown ones too. The difference: sulfur dioxide.

Many dried fruits have sulfur dioxide, potassium sorbate, or sodium benzoate added to prevent oxidation and help preserve the color and nutritional value. While there are many opinions, and “science”, some saying the preservatives are good and fine and others saying they cause long term side effects, for me, it just came down to taste. It was really that simple. I would rather deal with the oxidation than with the sulfur dioxide.

If you have ever had a dehydrator you learn ways to help preserve color and nutrients without the use of preservatives. For example, soaking fruits in a lemon or lime juice solution, blanching (which destroys the enzymes though), or limiting the exposure to oxygen. Certain fruits are excellent for drying as the nature of the fruit allows it to be protected by the skin and allow the nutritional value to stay intact… like grapes, plums or berries.

For guacamole, I like to wait till the end of preparing it and then seal the top with a thin layer of lime juice (instead of mixing in right away). Not only is the lime key in the taste, it also helps to prevent oxidation by reducing the ph on the surface of the fruit and inactivating the enzyme, and by sealing the top so it prevents air from touching the guacamole… it’s a double whammy. Usually I will then mix the guac right before it gets served.

Just like anything, I try to do my best to look at what I am buying. Especially since so many crops are sprayed with pesticides or herbicides. Also, like in this post, many dried products had additives like artificial sweeteners added. Why? Why do that? It is fruit. Of course, that was in Taiwan, but nonetheless, it is good to be aware of where your food is coming from and the practices used in growing it and preserving it. (I definitely do not always know).

So, while oxidation is inevitable and fine in many respects, such as in dried fruit, there are also times when you should be wary. I am soon going to wonder aloud, or maybe in print, about oxidation in fats and oils.

On a side note, saying dried plums sounds so much better than saying prunes, don’t you think? When you say prunes, it makes one think of nursing homes and bowel movements, but when you say dried plums it makes you think of Christmastime… or something like that. I like dried plums.

1. Don’t forget to eat your greens
Fascinating article discussing how chlorophyll in greens could reverse the effects of aflatoxin poisoning (like from peanut butter).
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2. Eat fat with your veggies
Good fats help the body absorb the fat-soluble nutrients. So put some olive oil on your salad! Good article.
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3. Fighting cancer with broccoli

The study can be found here. Broccoli sprouts are an even better and more powerful way to get your sulforaphane.
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Sorghum is among the largest cereal grass crops in the world (along with wheat, oats, and barley). It is widely grown and used in Africa and it is used like any other grain in baking and cooking (basically, though it is gluten free).

However, what I want to talk about is sweet sorghum from which we get sorghum syrup. Yum… syrup. Sorghum syrup is made from sorghum cane (the stalks) of the sweet sorghum plant (a different variety than grain sorghum). The stalk is pressed for the juice (just like pressing sugar cane). Then the syrup is usually cooked down to concentrate the flavors and packaged for sale. You may have to do a bit of searching to find some, luckily Nashville’s Whole Foods Market carries sorghum syrup from a local producer (Muddy Pond Sorghum Mill) so that has been nice.

Four things I especially like about sorghum syrup:

1. Sorghum syrup does not need to be refrigerated and will not mold like maple syrup. It might crystallize but it can just be warmed up to liquefy (think honey)

2. Sorghum syrup not only contains several other trace minerals but most notably, healthy amounts of iron, calcium, and potassium.

3. Sorghum syrup is high in antioxidants (The syrup I am getting has an ORAC of 1700). Seriously, a syrup that is high in antioxidants, that gets a ‘helloo’.

4. It is considerably cheaper than maple syrup. (A quart of maple syrup might cost you $15-20 while a quart of sorghum syrup is $8-12).

Sorghum syrup has more of a fruity flavor than maple syrup, which, sounds kind of obvious as, of course maple syrup has a “mapley” flavor… it tastes like the tree, which I have always loved, heh heh (note, that was not a “ha” or a “hee”, it was a “heh heh”). I have mainly used sorghum syrup over spelt pancakes and waffles like these spelt belgians:

Sometimes I have used the syrup in a smoothie and I have yet to use it in baking… but I shall… oh yes, I shall. And yes, honestly, it did take me some time to get accustomed to its taste, but that is true of most things that have never been tasted. So, consider sorghum syrup as another weapon in your healthy sweetner arsenal, along with raw honey, maple syrup, and unrefined cane sugar (ok, maybe stevia, agave, and xylitol too… maybe).
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As a side note, I found this study interesting as it noted the antioxidant values of alternatives to refined sugar.
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I do not know exactly what is so satisfying to me about something so simple as an avocado on toast. I am sure it has something to do with the tang of toasted sourdough combined with the smooth richness of avocado. And don’t forget the sea salt… salt brings out the flavors, of course. It is opulent. Yes, food can be described as opulent. I did not want to say luscious because that seems effeminate coming from me… although, now that I say it, let’s be honest, avocados are kind of sexy.

Another reason I think it is so satisfying to me is because of all of its health benefits. Avocados contain vitamins A, B-complex, C, E, H, K, minerals like folate, magnesium, copper, iron, calcium, potassium, and all of the essential amino acids that our body needs. They are also rich in beta-sitosterol, which is used in treating prostate cancer (and other cancers and conditions as well, although it is important to stick to whole food forms like in avocados). Now now, all you ladies, don’t turn and run because I mentioned prostate cancer. In fact, I am sure you will want to know especially since the chances of the men in your life developing prostate cancer are extremely high. It is the third leading cause of cancer deaths in men (JAMA).

I always enjoy eating avocados plain with salt, making guacamole, putting them in a smoothie, or slicing them on a sandwich. I am always curious about new recipes involving them though, so I will most likely be scouring blogs looking for an avocado to catch my eye.

Avocados, what a nice small step in fighting cancer. Now I can understand why Dr. Asa Andrews says “An avocado a day keeps prostate problems away.”

A lot of times I end up talking to people about all sorts of ‘amazing and exciting new health drinks’. Drinks like MonaVie, Zrii, Frutaiga, Goji juice, Noni Juice, Genesis, Xango, Mandura, Vemma, and the list goes on and on.

First, let me say that I think a lot of these products are good, and there are some good manufacturers of them, and some are done well and can be beneficial for people. Buuuuuut, I’m gonna go with my gut on this one…

I do not care for the spirit of all of these companies and drinks. Let me explain. Far too many people are looking for a quick fix or a miracle drug or one thing that they can do so they do not have to change their life. The mindset, whether spoken or not, is ‘let me do whatever I want and just take this drink to keep me healthy’ or ‘taking this product is going to cure my ills’ or ‘I am going to use this combined with whatever to help me stay young forever’ or… whatever else is here it bothers me. It’s like the mindset that says, ‘I can eat this terrible thing, I will just exercise a little more to work it off’.

When you are eating well, there is no need to even be concerned with all of the peripheral latest and greatest things that are coming out. There are numerous beneficial products being produced, but the majority of people, who these products are marketed to, need to look in the mirror and change themselves and their every day habits of diet or way of life. Sure, keep an eye on the ‘modern food’ coming out, but keep perspective with food that has nourished people for thousands of years, like olive oil, perhaps.

The $20-$40 per bottle that this stuff costs is ridiculous. They should go drink some raw goat milk or colostrum, buy some coconut oil, and eat fresh vegetables and it would do the exact same thing for less money.

Besides, MLM always comes across as distasteful. It’s kind of like the taste of sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate, and sulfur dioxide… pun intended.

1. Russia Bans U.S. Poultry over Chlorine
Chicken frequently gets a chlorine bath… and ammonia baths too! Yay!
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2. California Firm Recalls Beef Products Due to Possible E. coli O157:H7 Contamination
No surprise here.
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3. Monsanto’s GMO Corn Linked To Organ Failure, Study Reveals

I have mentioned a little bit about Monsanto previously here.
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