Cupcakes Can Be Healthy, Too

More gluten-free goodness from Lyra.

Not only did she make these chocolate chip cupcakes gluten-free, but she used coconut milk instead of butter or oil. My god, they are rich and tasty....

Fighting a Cold? Take D!

(Originally published in the Powell River Peak)

How do you get your vitamins?

Vitamin C comes from oranges, vitamin A from carrots, but the main source of vitamin D is the sun. Vitamin D is the only major nutrient humans can produce themselves.

The good news most people make all they need in 15 to 20 minutes of overhead summer sunlight (longer for those with dark skin).

But that's in summer. According to Dania Matiation, the community nutritionist at Vancouver Community Health, "the bad news is that this far north, in winter, you're probably not getting enough sunlight even if you spend an hour or more outdoors. Which means you need to be looking at your diet, or at supplements."

In northern latitudes, the low level of the sun in the sky means that the ultraviolet B rays that form vitamin D are blocked by the thickness of the atmosphere, even at midday. That's why Scandinavians have used cod liver oil for years, and why the Inuit eat a diet heavy with D-rich animal fats. It's also why Health Canada estimates that the majority of Canadians have a vitamin D deficiency.

It's been known since the 1930s that lack of vitamin D caused a condition called rickets, but it's only in the past few years that a raft of new research has built a strong case that vitamin D, which is technically a steroid hormone precursor, rather than a true vitamin, is critical to everything from immune system function, including fighting cancer, to nervous system development in infants. One study even showed that people with higher levels of the vitamin lived two to three years longer than those with low levels.

Studies are also improving knowledge of how much is needed. The current Health Canada standard of 400 IU (international units) was based on the amount needed to prevent rickets. The new studies indicate that much more may be needed for optimum health, as much as 1,000 to 2,000 IU.

"I think there will be new recommendations from Health Canada in the next few months," said Matiation.

Getting that much isn't practical through diet. Milk is fortified, but only 100 IU per cup. That leaves two options--supplements and tanning booths.

"The booths provide both kinds of ultraviolet, A and B," said Rhonda Boyles, owner of Pacific Breeze Tanning Studios. "It's possible to have a sensible regime of tanning that meets your vitamin needs and doesn't damage your skin." Boyles also works as a receptionist at the Powell River Recreation Complex, another location for tanning. "When you start acquiring the tan," she added, "that's the signal that you're getting enough vitamin D."

One contributing factor to the deficiency problem is that dermatologists, justifiably worried about increasing skin cancer rates, have been discouraging any sun exposure at all, and encouraging use of sunscreen when people do go out. But sunscreen blocks ultraviolet B.

Dr. James Spencer, clinical professor of dermatology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York City, says people can get enough vitamin D from diet and supplements. He recommends fortified milk or orange juice, and eating salmon and other fatty fish, plus taking a 600 IU supplement. "It's so easy," he said. "And it's a lot safer than lying in the sun or climbing undressed into a tanning booth and frying your whole body."

Heather Chappell, senior manager of cancer control policy at the Canadian Cancer Society, agreed that the most reliable source is probably supplements. "The Society recommends that adults start talking 1,000 IU of vitamin D daily in winter, and people with dark skin should take them year round."

Matiation added that, while it's important to consume D, it should be done sensibly. "Don't panic and overdo it," she said, "because too much vitamin D also has toxicity problems." This is especially true for pregnant women, who should consult a physician before adding supplements of any kind.

"A reasonable balance of sun, diet and supplements should work for most people," she said.

Vitamin D Effects
* Promotes immune system function. Why do people get colds and influenza in winter? New studies show it may be low levels of vitamin D.
* Promotes immune system cancer fighting, particularly against colon, breast and prostate cancers.
* Regulates bone density and calcium absorption.
* Low levels may be linked to diseases ranging from high blood pressure to periodontal disease, multiple sclerosis and depression.
* Low levels are strongly linked to muscle aches and bone pain.
* Taking supplements may add as many as one to two years to the average lifespan

Vitamin D Sources
* Fish liver oils, such as cod liver oil, 15 millilitres provides 1,360 IU.
* Catfish, 85 milligrams provides 425 IU.
* Salmon, wild-caught, cooked, 100 milligrams provides 360 IU.
* Mackerel, cooked, 100 milligrams provides 345 IU.
* Sardines, canned in oil, drained, 50 milligrams provides 250 IU.
* Tuna, canned in oil, 85 milligrams provides 200 IU.
* Sun-dried shiitake mushrooms, 13 caps provide 400 IU.
* Fortified cow's milk, 250 millilitres provides 100 IU.

Hummus Sushi?

Yummy....

All About Calcium

(cross-posted at BeOnLiving)
by Jeremy Bloom

Strong Teeth? Healthy Blood and Nerves Too!

Calcium is important for bones - everyone knows that. It’s the main structural building block of our bones. But did you know that it’s also needed for cell function, muscle tone, nerve function and blood clotting?

So it’s very important to keep the right balance in your body. Not enough calcium can lead to loss of density in bones and teeth, especially in the elderly. But too much calcium can cause blood troubles, impaired kidney functions, and trouble absorbing other nutrients.

It’s rare to see the classic calcium-deficiency disease, rickets, in the industrialized world. But in people who have a long-term lack of calcium in their diet, the body pulls calcium from the bones to maintain basic cell and nerve functioning, which over years can lead to the brittle bones of osteoporosis.

Supplements
Calcium absorption is tricky, so if you take supplements, it’s recommended that you spread them out over the day. With single heavy doses, most will be wasted. Also, Vitamin D is necessary for Calcium absorption, so proper levels of D must be maintained.

Chemically, calcium comes bound in several forms. Calcium carbonate – chalk – is the cheapest, but is hard to absorb and can cause gas, constipation and kidney stones. Calcium citrate is recommended instead. Chelated calcium is recognized by the body and is the best form of all… though getting your calcium via a healthy, balanced diet is best of all.

Notes:
- Chemically speaking, calcium is the most common metal in your body.
- If you’re on corticosteroids, you have to watch your calcium intake. Corticosteroids block activation of Vitamin D; without it, your body can’t absorb calcium.
- Many other medications interfere with Calcium – consult with your doctor.

Benefits
- Strong, healthy bones and teeth
- Proper blood clotting, blood pressure
- Proper nervous system function
- Maintaining proper calcium levels may prevent kidney stones and cataracts
- May benefit Colon Cancer, IBD
- May benefit PMS

Sources
- Dark green leafy vegetables such as chard, kale, spinach, turnip greens, parsley
- Sea Vegetables and Kelp, wakame and hijiki
- Olives and Olive Oil
- Nuts and seeds, including sesame seeds, almonds, brazil nuts, pecans
- Oranges, Gojis, Mango, Pineapple, Camu Camu
- Amaranth, Maca
- Blackstrap mollases, Agave, Yacon
- Dairy products, yogurt (although we don't recommend them)

(Flickr image from williumbillium, used under a Creative Commons license)

Got yer peanuts....

The ultimate American snack food has gotten a bad rap. From tasteless bags at ballparks to being banned at pre-schools nationwide, beloved peanuts have become the black sheep of the nut family.

But remember how much you loved that roasted aroma at one time? David Wolfe of Sunfood has taken that atavistic experience to a whole new level. He has recently started bringing in the most amazing Amazonian Wild Jungle Peanuts - quite likely the original ancestors to all the commercial nuts grown today - cultivated by the Shuar tribe of the Ecuadorian rainforest.

These little guys are beautiful to look at; long and lean, with deep chocolate-colored stripes! And the flavor? Subtle yet rich, aromatic and earthy - intense. If you've ever compared the complexity of a wild strawberry to the blandness of big, styrofoamy commercial strawberries you'll have an inkling of the difference.

Not only are they prettier and tastier, but they're a nutritional revelation - containing 26 percent protein (more than hemp or flax seeds!), including all 8 essential aminos plus methionine, plus a whopping helping of the beautifying oleic acid. And best of all - unlike nearly all commercial peanuts, there's absolutely no aflatoxin, so you can pack a sack for the kiddies without the worry.

Additionally, you can soak these nuts to encourage them to quicken (germinating nuts have more nutrients, and less enzyme inhibitors); toss them in the blender with coconut milk, lime juice and Thai basil to make a peanut sauce that is simply divine! Oh, and the added environmental/social benefit I relish - the Shuar people are fighting off oil development, meaning that every bag purchased helps them protect the land, too.

(Note: You can now get them directly from Wolf's source, ELFWholesale.)

Eat Like A Linebacker

(Originally appeared in the Albany, NY Times Union)

Q: What does a 300-pound linebacker eat?
A: Anything he wants to. . .

Used to be, athletes followed that 800-pound-gorilla style of diet. Steak and potatoes, burgers and fries. But National Football League teams are hiring nutritional consultants to broaden the players’ dietary choices not because it’s trendy, but because eating right gives players more energy on the field.

Tying in to that, the folks who make A.1. Steak Sauce have put out a pack of NFL “Masters of the Grill” recipe cards to encourage people to find a healthier range of foods to put on their grills (and under their steak sauce).

“There’s no question that our players are eating healthier,” says Mike Kensil. As director of operations for the New York Jets, Kensil plans the players’ menu. “And these players eat more fish and chicken than I’ve ever seen in my 17 years with the team.”

He says the scrambled eggs are now scrambled egg whites, and fewer team members are eating bacon. When he orders pizza for the team, he calls for plain and veggie, not sausage and pepperoni.

“They’re eating oatmeal. They’re drinking water, or skim milk. They’re asking me for low-fat dressings, low-fat cheese. They’ve basically cut the grease and fat out of their diet.”

“When you cut the fat, you have to flavor foods in a different way,” adds Heidi Skolnik, sports nutrition consultant to the New York Giants. “But you can use steak sauce, Italian dressings, vegetable broths, lemon - there’s lots of options. Low fat doesn’t need to be low taste.”

So, on one of the A.1. recipe cards we have Kent Hull, offensive lineman for the Buffalo Bills, pictured in chef hat and apron in pseudo-backyard setting. On the flip side, we have a recipe for steak ranchero, lean beef and veggies flavored with a zingy blend of steak sauce, lime juice, salsa and olives.

New York Jets linebacker Jeff Lageman has an even healthier recipe on his card: Greek grilled pizza wedges, featuring whole-wheat pita, black olives and feta cheese.

According to Ann Smith of Nabisco Foods, which makes A.1. Sauce, the company’s test kitchen worked with the players to come up with recipes that reflected their likes and dislikes, the kind of foods they would actually eat.

A few players draw on their roots for their recipes. New England Patriot Eugene Chung offers up one for chicken stir-fry, while Philadelphia Eagle Burt Grossman gives his version of the traditional Philly cheese steak sandwich (one of the few non-grilled recipes).

But there are also more exotic selections, like Tampa Bay Buccaneer Hardy Nickerson’s gazpacho steak roll, or Rickey Jackson’s South of the Border Vegetable Kabobs (spiced to delight a New Orleans Saint even after he’s been traded to the ‘49ers).

Of course, football players still have elements of the 800-pound-gorilla syndrome.
“I went through 40 pounds of pasta with marinara sauce at a pre-game dinner recently,” Kensil says. “And six turkeys.”

“Our players eat between 3,000 and 5,000 calories a day,” says the Giants’ Skolnik. “Some even more than that. And they don’t get fat. They can eat eight or 12 pieces of fruit a day, plus meat, plus vegetables. If you worked out that hard every day you could eat that much and not get fat. It’s the body’s lean mass that burns calories even when they’re not doing anything, they’re more metabolically active.”

That’s one element of Skolnik’s NFL work that has relevance to her general-public clients (she also consults for the Plus 1 Fitness Clinics in Manhattan). She says too many dieters focus on cutting calories, when simply adding more exercise to a sedentary life will allow them to eat the same amount and not gain weight.

In her work with the players, Skolnik says she emphasizes choices and variety, rather than cutting back and limiting.

“But if you’re not getting any exercise, it’s very difficult to get all the nutrients you need, eat the right variety of fruits and vegetables and complex carbohydrates, throw in a sweet for dessert, and not gain weight,” she says.

“When someone is trying to cut back to 1,200 calories a day, compare that to 5,000. Think how much more nutrient-dense every selection has to be. If they become more active they could double the amount of calories they’re taking in.”

Even so, Skolnik doesn’t want her players soaking up those extra calories with extra steak and potatoes. She is introducing the team to more grains, rounding out meals with complex carbohydrates and vegetables. And even football players have to budget their fat intake.

“Even though they can eat more, the fat can add up,” she says. “So you don’t eat both the cheeseburger and the fries today; you have the cheeseburger with a baked potato. And the next day you get the fries, but have them with grilled chicken.”

Of course, some players eat better than others. She notes that center Bart Oates, A.1.’s featured Giants player (recently traded to San Francisco), is a conscientious eater who would certainly enjoy the grilled chicken salad on his card.

“This is a man with 15 percent body fat at 300 pounds,” she says. He’s got a lot of lean mass to absorb those calories even when he’s working in his New Jersey Law firm during the off-season, explains Skolnik.

Among the Jets, Kensil singles out defensive lineman Alfred Ogelsby, who dropped from 300 out-of-shape pounds last winter to his current weight of 282 pounds. “Plus he turned about 20 more of those 282 pounds into muscle,” Kensil adds.

Not everyone has joined in the health-fest.

“I’ve got some players who have been here 12, 15 years,” says Kensil. “(Kicker) Nick Lowrey has been here 15 years, (safety) Ronnie Lotz has been here 14 years. You’re not going to change their style. They’re going to keep eating their bacon.”

But Skolnik says that if she can’t get some of her players to switch from sausage to oatmeal in the morning, she can at least get them to change to Canadian bacon, with its lower fat content.

“They may not stop eating steak and potatoes, but they’ll start adding vegetables and fruit,” she says. “If you add two or three pieces at each meal, plus snacks, then suddenly you’re getting 12 pieces a day. People forget that carbohydrates aren’t just pasta and bread - they’re in the fruits and vegetables, too. Eating a balanced diet with enough fruit and vegetables makes a huge impact on their energy level.”

And she adds that steak has gotten a bad rap: “It’s a great food that is rich in iron, zinc, minerals, protein. The trick is finding the leaner cuts, and eating it a couple of times a week instead of a couple of times a day.

“Another thing - instead of ordering a 24-ounce or 16-ounce steak, get a 10- or 12-ounce steak,” she says. “Or even smaller.

“I grew up eating red meat two to three times a day. The difference is learning how to fit things like red meat into a healthy diet, not restricting yourself but expanding the repertoire so you have a greater range of foods to choose from.”

Here are a few recipes:

GRILLED ANTIPASTO (Keith Jackson, Miami Dolphins)
Two-thirds cup A.1. Steak Sauce
One-fourth cup lemon juice
Two tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
One tablespoon dried basil leaves
Two cloves garlic, minced
Sixteen medium scallops (about 2/3 pound)
Sixteen medium shrimp, shelled and deviened (about 2/3 pound)
12 mushrooms
Two ounces thinly sliced roast beef or ham
One medium-sized eggplant
One jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained
One red bell pepper, thinly sliced
Lettuce leaves and lemon wedges for garnish

Soak 12 (10-inch) wooden skewers in water for at least 30 minutes.
In medium bowl, combine steak sauce, lemon juice, olive oil, basil and garlic; set aside.
Thread four scallops onto each of four skewers and four shrimp onto each of four skewers; thread six mushrooms onto each of two skewers. Cut eggplant into 16 strips (two inches by one-half inch).
Cut roast beef or ham into three by one-inch strips; wrap these around eggplant strips and secure with wooden toothpicks. Wrap remaining meat around artichoke hearts; thread onto remaining two skewers. Place skewers, eggplant bundles and pepper slices on baking sheet; brush with steak sauce mixture.
Grill over medium heat for seven to 10 minutes or until seafood is opaque and vegetables are tender, turning and basting several times. Remove each item from grill as it is done; place on a large lettuce-lined serving platter. Garnish with lemon wedges.

GREEK GRILLED PIZZA WEDGES (Jeff Lageman, New York Jets)
One-third cup pizza sauce
One-fourth cup A.1. Steak Sauce
Four (six-inch) pita breads
Two tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Four ounces sliced roast beef, coarsely chopped
One-half cup chopped tomato
One-third cup sliced pitted ripe black olives
One-half cup (two ounces) crumbled feta cheese (or three-fourths cup mozzarella cheese)

In small bowl, combine sauces; set aside. Brush both sides of pita bread with oil. Spread sauce mix on one side of each pita; top with meat, tomato, olives and cheese.
Grill prepared pitas, topping-side up, over medium heat for four-five minutes or until topping side is hot and pita is crisp. Cut each pita into four wedges to serve.

HEALTHY GRILLED CHICKEN SALAD (Bart Oates, formerly New York Giants, now San Francisco 49rs)
One-half cup A.1. Steak Sauce
One-half cup prepared Italian salad dressing
One teaspoon dried basil leaves
One pound boneless chicken breast
Six cups mixed salad greens
One-fourth pound snow peas, blanched and halved
One cup sliced mushrooms
One medium red bell pepper, thinly sliced
Grated parmesan cheese (optional)

In small bowl, combine steak sauce, dressing and basil. Place chicken in glass dish, coat with one-fourth cup marinade. Cover; chill one hour, turning occasionally. Arrange salad greens, snow peas, mushrooms and pepper slices on 6 individual salad plates; set aside.
In small saucepan, over medium heat, heat remaining marinade mixture; keep warm. Remove chicken from cold marinade. Grill over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes or until done, turning occasionally. Slice chicken into thin strips; arrange over salad greens and drizzle warm marinade dressing over. Serve immediately; sprinkle with parmesan cheese if desired.

GAZPACHO STEAK ROLL (Hardy Nickerson, Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
One (two-pound) beef flank steak, butterflied
Two-thirds cup A.1. Steak Sauce
One cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (two ounces)
One-half cup chopped tomato
One-third cup chopped zucchini or cucumber
One-fourth cup chopped green pepper
Two tablespoons sliced green onion

Open butterflied steak like a book on smooth surface and flatten slightly. Spread one-third cup steak sauce over surface. Layer remaining ingredients over sauce. Roll up steak from short edge; secure with wooden toothpicks or tie with string.
Grill steak roll over medium heat for 30-40 minutes or until done, turning and (during the last 10 minutes of cooking) brushing often with remaining steak sauce. When done, remove toothpicks/string and cut round slices to serve.

STEAK RANCHERO (Kent Hull, Buffalo Bills)
Two-thirds cup A.1. Steak Sauce
Two-thirds cup salsa
Two tablespoons lime juice
One (one pound) beef top round steak, about 3/4-inch thick
One-third cup sliced ripe olives
Four cups shredded lettuce
One-third cup sour cream

In small bowl, combine steak sauce, salsa and lime juice. Place steak in glass dish; coat both sides with one-half cup of the salsa marinade. Cover; chill one hour, turning occasionally.
In small saucepan over medium heat, heat remaining salsa mixture. Reserve two tablespoons of olives as garnish; stir remaining olives into sauce. Keep warm. Remove steak from marinade. Grill over medium heat for six minutes each side or until done, turning once.
To serve, arrange lettuce on serving platter. Thinly slice steak across grain; arrange over lettuce. Top with warm sauce and sour cream. Garnish with reserved olive slices.