Watermelon - Summertime Treat & Health Food

Sure you knew it tastes good, but did you realize it’s a really good health food?

The History of Watermelon

The first reference to watermelons was discovered in ancient hieroglyphics on the walls of Egyptian buildings. Watermelon is thought to have originated there in the Kalahari Desert of Africa some 5,000 years ago. They were often placed in the burial tombs of kings. 

Later watermelon made its way on merchant ships into countries along the Mediterranean Sea, then later into China.  By the 13th century watermelon spread through Europe, and later made it’s way to the US on slave ships coming from Africa.

Growing Watermelon

Today watermelons are grown commercially in almost 100 countries. China, Turkey, Iran and the US are top producers, with California, Florida, Georgia and Texas being the top producing states in the latter.

This scrumptious food is related to the cantaloupe, squash, pumpkin and other vining plants. There are over 1,200 varieties of watermelon, with about 50 varieties most commonly grown in the United States and Mexico.  The top favorites fall into four general categories: Allsweet, IceBox, Seedless and Yellow Flesh.

What Makes Watermelon So Good?

Lycopene! Just like tomatoes, watermelons are full of lycopene. This is supposed to help prevent colorectal and prostate cancers. They also have a lot of good-for-you beta-carotene.

So slice off a hunk and eat it, put melon cubes or balls in fruit salads, make cubes of juice to add to drinks, or puree it into soup. Or you could even combine it with feta cheese, a sweet and salt combination often enjoyed in Israel and Egypt.

However you like it best, eat that watermelon.  It’s a summer time treat that’s also a great health food!

Mythbusters - You Can Believe What The Labels Tell You

Ignore the advertising at the end, and references to previous lectures.  Just concentrate on the message in this video.  I didn’t realize how many ways labels could fool and confuse you about something like the amount of fat in a product.

And here I thought low fat meant low fat.  Silly me. 

You just can’t believe what labels tell you.  It takes decoding to figure them out, which is a real shame.

What we need is real truth in labeling.

More Brain Food

We’ve already figured out that fish, egg yolks, legumes, nuts, meat and vegetables are part of a healthy diet.  (This is assuming, of course, that you’re not deep frying everything, ha!)

As for more on the “why” these are good foods, consider choline.

Feeding Health Food To Your Neurotransmitters

Neuro what?  Nerve Transmitters, that’s what!  This is the signaling system in your brain, and if the signal ain’t getting out, the memory is shot. 

Neurotrasmitters send the signals that jump from one brain cell to another, and to do that they need a vital brain chemical called acetylcholine.  To make this essential chemical, the body needs a closely related nutritent called choline.

Where In The World Is The Choline?

Where do you find this much needed choline?  In phosphatidylcholine (PC).  How’s that for a mouthful?  Don’t worry, all you need to remember is that once again, you need to be eating:

• fish
• egg yoks
• legumes
• nuts
• meat and
• vegetables.

Vitamins for Manufacturing Brain Food

But you’re only half-way there!  Your body needs certain B vitamins and vitamin C to turn the PC into the needed choline.  Here’s more health foods that make good brain food.

For vitamin C, chow down on

• peppers - red, yellow & green
• citrus fruits and
• cantaloupe.

And for vitamin B, eat some of these

• sweet potatoes
• tuna and
• avocados.

Of course, there are other sources for these needed vitamins!

Eat those whole grains, lean proteins, good fats, vegetables and fruits, and your brain will remember to thank you!

Fatty Acids Are Health Food For The Brain

I’m sure by now you’ve heard the news not all fat is bad.  There are some “good” fats that are essential to good health, which of course is why you should eat them!  Here are some of those needed fatty acids…

DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid)

DHA and EPA are the most plentiful fatty acids found in the brain. They’re essential to memory, and it’s been found people with Alzheimer’s have low blood levels of these essential fatty acids.

An omega-3 fatty acid, DHA is found in cold water fish such as mackererl, sardines, salmon and herring. Egg yolks are another source of DHA.

Foods such as walnuts, leafy green vegetables and flaxseed contain alpha-linolenic acid, another omega-3 fatty acid. It can be converted by the body to the brain’s needed DHA and EPA.

GLA (gamma-linolenic acid) — Omega-6 Fatty Acids for Brain Food

You need GLA to form healthy brain-cell membranes, which is the part of the cell that stores information. These omega-6 fatty acids are found in vegetable oils such as safflower, sunflower and corn oil. Flaxseed or flaxseed oil is another good source.

So for some easy health food for your brain, eat fish, walnuts, flaxseed, eggs, good vegetable oils and leafy green vegetables.  (Those oils could be used in your salad dressing, for instance!)

This is one case where fat is your friend!

Easy Health Food For Your Brain

I was reading an article about “Brain Food” recently. It turns out that your brain needs pretty much what the rest of your body needs – a well balanced diet. Big surprise, huh?

Simply put, for complex carbohydrates in your diet, you should be eating

• whole grains,
• fruits, and
• vegetables.

For protein, You should be eating

• fish,
• poultry,
• lean meats,
• legumes, plus
• nuts and seeds.

And for good fats needed in your diet, you should be eating

• fish oil,
• olive oil,
• avocados,
• almonds,
• walnuts and
• ground flaxseed.

Stay tuned and tomorrow I’ll give you the specific “whys” you should eat these things, besides the obvious all-around good nutrition.

Sourdough Gone Bust

I’ve been experimenting with sourdough bread. It has a lower glycemic index than most breads, so isn’t supposed to raise your blood sugar so much. Sourdough also has a higher protein content than many breads, so is all around supposed to be better for you.

I’ve made quasi-sourdough breads for some time. By that I mean I use the sourdough starter, but I also put some commercial yeast in with the bread. This keeps the flavor, but it messes with the interaction of yeast and enzymes that make true sourdough breads more digestible and better for you.

A few weeks ago I made some true sourdough bread by accident – I flat out forgot to put the baker’s yeast in the bread. It didn’t rise as much, but it had a good texture and flavor. I figured I’d try the instructions in my cookbook and make it “like you’re supposed to.”

My experiment was sourdough gone bust.

Granted I made it in a bread machine, but the instructions I followed were specifically for making sourdough bread with a bread machine.

Somewhere I missed something. The dough wasn’t the right texture, being more elastic paste than good dough. But I will try again!

Stay tuned… maybe my next loaf of sourdough bread will look like it’s supposed to!

Coffee Makes a Comeback!

Drink coffee, and drink to your health!

Yep, remember that little ditty about beans you used to chant when you were a kid? Well, here’s a new version for you:

Beans, Beans, the Magical Fruit,
Coffee’s a Bean that won’t make you toot,
The more you drink the better you’ll feel,
So drink some coffee for every meal!

Seriously, after taking a bad rap for so long because of the caffeine, coffee is back on the health food charts. While it doesn’t have significant amounts of vitamins or minerals, its antioxidant properties are fantastic! In fact, coffee is one of the top antioxidant beverages consumed worldwide.

It seems coffee has some lovely phytochemicals with similar antioxidant benefits to those found in many fruits and vegetables.

Studies have shown coffee to cut the risk of alcoholic cirrhosis, lessen memory loss, reduce the risk of Parkinson’s disease in men, and lower the chances of developing type 2 diabetes.

Of course, regular coffee does have about 60 to 130 mg of caffeine per cup that acts as a stimulant. Caffeine can help with alertness, but too much can cause the jitters. So while you may not want to drink coffee for every meal as suggested in my little rhyme, coffee has a green light as a health food drink again.

Enjoy your morning brew!