Surprisingly Healthy Easter and Passover Foods
Holiday meals are all about tradition, and some of the most customary foods served during Easter and Passover slyly pack a pretty significant health punch. Here are five reasons to feel a little virtuous this season:
Eggs
Eggs get a bad wrap they truly don’t deserve. Yes the yolk is where all the cholesterol is, but dozens of studies confirm that saturated and trans fats are the true heart disease triggers, not cholesterol — eggs are low in saturated fat and are trans fat free. In addition to high quality protein the yolk is also where the vitamin D (linked to a number of health benefits including weight control) and choline are found. Adequate choline is tied to brain health, muscle control, memory and reduced inflammation — a known trigger of aging and disease — and heart health.
Potatoes
Spuds have earned a reputation as nothing more than a fattening waste of calories, but they’re actually one of the healthiest foods on the planet. In addition to providing fiber, antioxidants, vitamin C and B vitamins, when cooked then cooled, taters are also loaded with resistant starch, a unique kind of carb that’s been shown to naturally up your body’s fat-burning furnace. Like fiber, you can’t digest or absorb resistant starch and when it reaches your large intestine, it gets fermented, which triggers your body to burn fat instead of carbohydrate.
Horseradish
This condiment with kick opens up the sinuses to support breathing. It’s also been shown to boost immunity, and rev up metabolism. Pretty big benefits for a whole lot of flavor and a zero calorie price tag.
Parsley
Many people dismiss parsley as nothing more than a decorative garnish, but it’s actually a nutritional powerhouse. This Mediterranean herb is rich in immune supporting vitamins A and C and loaded with potent anti-aging, cancer fighting substances. In animal research one of parsley’s volatile oils halted the growth of lung tumors and was shown to neutralize cancer-causing substances like those found in cigarette smoke.
Wine
Red wine has come to be thought of as a health food these days, but don’t discount white. A recent Spanish study looked at the effects of each type (6.8 ounces a day) over a 4 week period in a small group of nonsmoking women and both varieties upped “good” HDL cholesterol levels and lowered inflammation, two keys to keeping your heart strong and healthy.
Understanding nutritional labels on food
Reading a nutrition label is a no-brainer. But figuring out what it means can feel like it requires a math degree. Ever since nutrition labelling became mandatory for all prepackaged foods in December of 2007, Canadian consumers have struggled to understand what food companies are trying to say on their products’ Nutrition Facts labels.
A Health Canada survey reported last summer that consumers were especially confused by the right-hand column which displays what percentage of a day’s worth of nutrients the serving provides. Serving sizes, too, were criticized for being inconsistent and not realistic.
The result of that survey is what is driving the current nutrition-facts education initiative, a TV, print and website campaign developed by Health Canada and Food & Consumer Products of Canada. Front and centre is the issue of percentage Daily Value (% DV) – a component which has been previously ignored or misunderstood by many of us. (Take calcium, for instance: Is the % DV based on 1,000 mg a day or 1,500 mg per day? For other nutrients is the % DV the same for men and women, the elderly and the young?)
Perhaps it doesn’t matter, because Health Canada is now advising consumers to think more simply: Instead of trying to make a whole lot of sense of the % DV, use it to see if the amount of food shown on the label has a little or a lot of a nutrient. Say you’re looking for low-fat yogurt and you compare two brands – one has 4% of fat per one cup and one has 8% of fat per one cup. The right choice, then, would be the 4%. Little or a lot: Simple.
If there is a right choice, that is.
“When reading a label, I tell my patients to look for what they need to know,” says Fran Berkoff, the Toronto Sun nutrition columnist and a registered dietitian in private practice. “For example, if you want more calcium or iron in your diet, then look to see if a product is giving you a lot or too little – say, 20% of a recommended daily allowance or 1%.
“If I am looking for calcium for my diet and I have a glass of milk, the % DV can show me that the glass of milk provides a third of the calcium I need for a day. That makes it a really good choice because I’m well on my way. If the label indicates it’s giving me 1%, then I can see that’s not very much and not as good a choice if it’s calcium that I’m looking for.”
Berkoff says that nutrition labels can educate but “you still need some extra knowledge on the side to know where, say, to look for the calcium.” (In the dairy section, to start with.) “And not everybody has to look for everything on a label,” says Berkoff, who says the % DV can be helpful to consumers trying to increase or decrease their intake of a specific nutrient. “If you were trying to increase your iron, for example, you would compare two or three cereals for their % DV of iron to see which one has the most.”
Likewise, if you were trying to lose weight you might compare calories and choose the product with fewer calories. But here is where labels can be easily misunderstood, says Berkoff. “Someone trying to lose weight might compare low-fat and not low-fat labels and find that the calories are exactly the same or even higher in the low-fat product. You could be looking for a snack and think a certain food is good because it’s low in fat, but in fact it is higher in calories because it has more sugar.”
Use the labels to compare each for each: Yogurt against yogurt, cracker against cracker: “Know what’s important to you so you don’t get overwhelmed with the information,” Berkoff advises. “You need to have a basic starting point – say, knowing what foods contain iron if you’re looking for iron. But you don’t have to read everything on the label because some of the things won’t matter to your particular circumstance and might confuse you.”
Do the math
Cracker A’s serving is nine crackers and weighs 23 grams. Cracker B’s serving is four crackers and weighs 20 grams. Cracker A has 13% DV for fats, 12% DV for sodium and 4% DV for fibre. Cracker B has 2% DV for fats, 4% DV for sodium, and 12% DV for fibre. The healthier choice? Cracker B – lower fats and sodium, higher fibre.
Look, read, choose
Nutrition Facts are based on a specific amount of food. Compare this to the amount you actually eat.
Read the % DV. 5% DV or less is a little of the nutrient listed; 15% DV or more is a lot.
Choose the healthier product. For example, one with less fats and sodium, and more fibre, Vitamin A, Calcium, and Iron.
What’s in it?
“The ingredient list is helpful because the ingredients are listed in descending order by weight,” says registered dietitian Fran Berkoff. In chicken soup, for instance, choose the product that lists chicken broth rather than water as its first ingredient. “The list of ingredients can also provide vital information if you have food allergies.”
Do I really need to know?
Making healthy food choices can help reduce your risk of nutrition-related chronic diseases including cancer, diabetes, heart disease and stroke.
Labels needed
These foods are not required by to have a Nutrition Facts label: Fresh fruits and vegetables, raw meat and poultry (unless ground), raw fish and seafood, foods prepared or processed at the store; foods containing very few nutrients such as coffee or herbs, alcoholic beverages.
A Good Diet Includes Many Cancer-Fighting Foods: Expert
Losing weight can help reduce your risk of cancer if you’re overweight or obese, but not all diet plans are effective in lowering that risk, an expert says.
Diets that help protect against cancer are those that encourage long-term changes in eating habits and also provide a variety of options from all food groups, explained Daxaben Amin, a senior clinical dietitian in the clinical nutrition department at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.
The Mediterranean-style diet promotes a life-long commitment to good nutrition and also meets many of the dietary guidelines for preventing cancer and heart disease, including:
Plenty of fruits, vegetables and other plant-based foods.
Using herbs and spices to flavor foods instead of salt.
Limiting consumption of red meat and alcohol.
Using healthy fats such as olive and canola oils instead of butter.
Eating fish and poultry at least twice a week.
Another good diet is the whole-body type of diet, which involves eating six to seven small meals a day instead of the usual three large meals. It offers the following cancer prevention benefits:
Fruits, vegetables and whole grains in at least half your daily meals.
Limiting foods high in fats.
Eating lean protein.
Daily physical activity.
“Diet plans that encourage short-term change usually don’t provide the nutrients your body needs on a daily basis. These diets make our ‘bad’ list,” Amin said in a cancer center news release.
Gluten-free diets are becoming popular but people shouldn’t go gluten-free unless they have celiac disease, Amin advised. Going gluten-free means avoiding foods with whole grains, which are high in fiber, vitamins and minerals — all of which protect cells from damage that can lead to cancer.
Carbohydrate-free diets are another bad choice. Completely eliminating carbohydrates deprives the body of its primary source of energy and of some important cancer-fighting foods — vegetables, fruits, whole grains and beans.
“Instead of going carb-free, choose your carbohydrates wisely. Pick whole grains rather than cakes, cookies and other foods made with processed or refined grains and sugars,” Amin suggested.
Become your own personal nutrition assistant – Roll up your sleeves: taking control of your eating habits is easier than you might think
Wouldn’t it be great to have a personal nutrition assistant? An expert who stocked the fridge regularly with appetizing plates of fruit for snacks and vegetables ready to be tossed into meals? She’d keep the kitchen tidy and have at hand the best tools for making quick work of meal preparation.
With this kind of help, it would be so much simpler to focus on healthy eating.
But let’s re-enter the real world. Since the vast majority of us don’t have access to kitchen staff, if we’re seriously committed to weight loss or maintaining a healthy weight we have to be our own kitchen assistant.
For permanent success, it’s an absolute requirement to get the area in order. So roll up your sleeves and refresh your own kitchen.
Put particular emphasis on five areas:
1. The fridge. This is vitally important. To ensure fresh vegetables and fruit comprise half the plate in most meals and snacks, they have to be easily accessible. Clean your fridge. Get rid of items you won’t eat. Then start shopping for fresh produce at least twice each week. Put it away in an organized fashion. Keep a crisper of washed and cut up carrots and celery. Stock at least three additional vegetables and three kinds of fruit for use each week. Keep a shopping list handy to add items as you start to run low.
2. Canned goods. There are several canned goods worth having on hand for use in healthy recipes. Particularly good choices are salmon, tuna and sardines, canned tomatoes, chickpeas, black beans, lentils and other legumes, and canned fruit packed in its own juice. There are also poor choices: clear out anything that’s of low quality and unworthy of your improved eating habits, including salty canned pastas and soups.
3. Grain products. Take time to sort through your pasta, rice, bread, cereals and crackers. Ensure most are whole grain and supply at least two grams of fibre per serving. For cereal, check that the sugar is below eight grams per serving and fat is less than two grams. If crackers, cookies and chips are too easily relied on for snacks, stop buying them. These foods often supply excess sodium, and the more salt you eat, the more you want.
Replace these snacks with more nutritious ones like novel tropical fruits, fresh vegetables with a tasty low-fat dip, toasted almonds or pecans.
4. The freezer. Whether it’s massive or just the one in your fridge, the freezer is a vital tool in a healthy eating plan. Keep frozen blueberries, peaches and other fruit for adding to smoothies and healthy desserts, a variety of whole grain bread products such as sliced bread, English muffins or tortillas, lean meats like chicken and fish, and a selection of frozen vegetables with no added sauces. If you haven’t discovered Brussels sprouts, they’re one of the best frozen veggie options.
5. The tools. It’s tough to eat the requisite quantity of vegetables and fruit if your preparation equipment is lousy. Invest in a new, rustproof vegetable peeler, a clean cutting board and a sharp paring knife or two. A decent non-stick pan, a couple of saucepans and roasting pans are also required tools for healthy eating. Parchment paper is worth using for simple clean up after roasting.
Storage supplies are other key tools. Items like plastic containers with lids and plastic or foil wrap make it easy to store leftovers or pack along to fuel a busy day.