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Learn to Love Olives

FitSugar — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 03:00:00 PDT

I am a big fan of the Mediterranean diet, and not just because I love hummus. The med diet has been found to fight chronic diseases, like cancer and heart disease, as well as stave off the effects of Alzheimer's.

Lucky for me, I love olives, central to this region's cuisine. Olives are technically fruits, making the oil technically olive juice, which is an oddly unappetizing thought to me so I will stick to calling it oil. This little fruit is healthy, just like the ~~juice~~ oil that comes from it. Due to their natural bitterness, olives, whether they are picked green and unripe or fully ripened and black, need to be fermented or cured to enhance their taste. Yep, olives are processed, but minimally. Soaked in salted brine, oil, or water mellows the olive, creating tasty and nutritious treats.

To see if olives are high in calories, just

read more. Olives are high in healthy monounsaturated fats, as well as vitamin E and other antioxidants. When eating a rainbow it can be difficult to incorporate dark foods into your diet. So when eating olives, go with the black ones; they're higher in antioxidants. It is said that these little flavor nuggets can help stave off wrinkling. I will eat to that! High in fiber, olives are also high in copper an important mineral for your blood, bones, and immune system. A half-cup of olives contains about 78 calories, not too bad. Do rinse your olives, especially if they are salt cured to decrease your sodium intake. How do you feel about olives? Are they only for martinis in your world or do you try to figure out ways to add them to every meal? If so, Yum has olive recipes for you to try. Tell me how you feel about olives in the comment section below. Source

A Doctor Dishes: Which "Superfoods" Are Worth the Cost?

LearnVest — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:15:00 PST

We're thrilled to present this smart LearnVest story here on Savvy!

Most people you speak to these days are trying to stretch every dollar as far as possible - even the ones they spend buying apples and oranges.

Food prices are expected to increase yet again this year, and food manufacturers are making portions smaller without reducing prices. Not surprisingly, a recent Rasmussen poll found that 93 percent of adults report paying more for groceries now than they did a year ago.

So how can we supercharge our grocery dollars and get them to do overtime for us?

Yes, some foods are obviously a better nutritional deal than others (think apples vs. potato chips), but there’s another class of foods that blows the rest of the field away in terms of nutrients and health-protecting qualities: superfoods.

Superfoods can help prevent diabetes and heart disease, repair damage to your body’s cells, and more. But before you go piling them into your cart, know that some superfoods are better nutritional bargains than others. As a doctor and a mom, I’ve sleuthed out which ones are worth the extra cost in terms of their long-term health benefits. Below is the scoop on which ones may help you age better, ward off cancer, and more.

What to Know Before Buying Superfoods

Before we dive into what to buy, there are a few important things to remember about consuming these foods:

Eating foods fresh and in their natural state, especially fruits and vegetables (rather than in pill or powder supplement form), usually allows us to absorb the greatest amount of their nutrients. The way a superfood is processed or cooked can significantly lower its antioxidant content.
If the superfood can’t be eaten fresh, look for easy and appetizing recipes containing it. No matter how “super” a superfood may be, if you don’t know how to cook it, you’ll probably let it go to waste.

Are Superfoods "Good Buys" If I’m Shopping on a Budget?

Read on to find out.

Beware of the Hottest New Grocery Scam

Business Insider — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 09:30:00 PST

We're thrilled to present this smart Business Insider story here on Savvy!

Celebrity chefs have made olive oil a $720 million business in the U.S., but a new book is blowing the lid off an industry that might be built in part on the backs of crooks.

That's the argument Tom Mueller makes in Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil.

“I was sitting in a dark bar with an undercover cop in Italy, and he was telling me about deals being cut with high-level politicians and millions of dollars in EU subsidies being misappropriated,” Mueller told the New York Post. “He was speaking in this hushed tone, and I had to laugh, because this was not black-market plutonium or drugs, this was olive oil.”

Mueller contends that because true olive oil is so pricey to produce, some companies have taken to doctoring bottles with chemicals and disguising cheaper oils with added flavoring.

Then they slap on fancy labels with buzzwords like "Made in Italy" and "Cold-pressed" and ship them to stores without any rigorous quality control from the FDA, he says.

It wouldn't be that big of a deal, except the knockoffs offer far fewer of the health benefits that made olive oil such a cash cow to begin with.

The best way to tell a fake from the real thing?

Read on to find out.

Roasted Asparagus Whole Wheat Pasta Salad

Fit Community — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 00:00:31 PST

Whole wheat pasta is a good way to get that much-needed fiber. FitSugar reader For the Love of Fiber shared this whole wheat pasta salad recipe in our Healthy Recipe group.

Just because it's Winter, doesn't mean asparagus is off limits. Check out the full post for the line up of health benefits this amazing vegetable has to offer!

Read on for the recipe.

How to Maximize the Health Benefits of Olive Oil

Zelana Montminy — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 16:24:53 PDT

Chances are high you use olive oil regularly, but do you know how to best reap its health benefits? Recent studies confirm the numerous benefits of a Mediterranean diet, a diet focused on healthy fats largely sourced from olive oil. To find out how to get the most from this prized oil, I sat down with Laurent Halasz, olive oil expert and the owner of Fig and Olive, the celebrated Mediterranean and French Riviera-inspired eatery with locations in New York and Los Angeles (where the president recently dined!) to get the scoop.

Better Than Butter
Laurent suggests using olive oil instead of butter while cooking, especially as a finishing step by drizzling the oil on your dish. Drizzle it on everything, even on the most unexpected choices such as desserts - I can vouch that it's surprisingly delicious mixed with sweets!

Taste Trumps Color
When asked whether flavor or color matters more for identifying healthful oils, he notes that the health benefit of the oil comes from the level of natural antioxidants, or polyphenols. Laurent explains that "a high polyphenol content can be identified when we taste the olive oil and it creates an assertive, peppery astringency in the back of the throat and makes us cough. A bitter, unpleasant or flat olive oil usually indicates an oil that has oxidized and has low antioxidant content."

Keep on reading to learn more about olive oil.

Could Changing Your Mood Be as Easy as Changing What You Eat?

Allure — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 02:08:25 PST

We're excited to present this story from our friends at Allure:

Turns out eating well won't just make you feel better in some abstract, "brown rice is healthy so I'll feel virtuous if I eat it" kind of a way. A diet that is specifically designed to reduce inflammation may boost your mood. Recently, inflammation has been implicated in nearly every physical woe, from blemishes to the biggies like heart disease and Alzheimer's. Here at Allure, we've reported on how anti-inflammatories benefit the skin: topical antioxidants, and certain foods and supplements may all reduce acne, signs of aging, and skin cancer. Now Dr. Andrew Weil, health guru and author of the new book, Spontaneous Happiness, argues that eating certain foods won't just make us look better; it could actually keep the blues away. "It looks as if depression is another manifestation of inflammation," says Weil. He outlines a diet that will suppress harmful inflammation throughout your body when you keep reading.

4 Surprising Diet Disasters

Prevention — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 04:15:23 PDT

We are excited to share one of our fave stories from Prevention here on FitSugar!

The surprising ways you turn healthy foods into diet disasters
By Nancy Rones, Prevention

1. Your marinades pack a big fat punch
You're wise to choose skinless grilled chicken, but be careful with condiments. Barbecue sauce is filled with sugar, which equals calories (about 94 per 1/4 cup).

The healthy move
Ditch the high-sugar sauce and instead spice up chicken by marinating it with cayenne red-pepper sauce, or mix hot sauce with some fat-free yogurt and smear it on your sandwich for buffalo-inspired flavor. Another way to punch up the taste and nutrient power of grilled chicken sandwiches and turkey burgers: Try a topping of homemade slaw. Bagged shredded cabbage makes a convenient base; toss it with flavored vinegar or fat-free mayo and a little mustard. At 11 calories per 1/2 cup, raw cabbage offers filling fiber and vitamins such as C and B6, and as a cruciferous veggie, it contains cancer-fighting antioxidants.

Swap These Foods to Lose Weight Fast!

2. Your coffee is anything but "regular"
Sipping coffee or tea plain isn't the problem. In fact, both beverages have been linked to a number of health benefits, including a lower risk of heart disease and cancer. A study in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry also suggests that drinking coffee may reduce your chances of type 2 diabetes. But major calories and saturated fat come with added ingredients such as sugary syrups, honey, whipped cream, and whole milk (1 percent and percent aren't much better). For about the same 450 calories in a large Iced Mocha Raspberry Latte at Dunkin' Donuts, for instance, you can eat two slices of Pizza Hut's hand-tossed pepperoni pizza. And while honey may seem like a natural, healthier alternative to sugar, the fact is it has 21 calories per teaspoon versus sugar's 16.

The healthy move
For a low-cal, lower-fat drink that feels like a sweet treat, choose coffee beans in tempting flavors such as chocolate almond, hazelnut, or white chocolate, rather than using syrupy mix-ins after brewing, and lighten your coffee with fat-free milk. Teas, too, come in sweet vanilla, berry, and tropical fruit blends. And whether you use Splenda, sugar, or honey in your beverages, limit yourself to about a teaspoon.

Sneaky Names of Sugar on Your Food Labels

Make sure you're not committing the other two disaster when you read more!

3 Vegetable Myths Busted

Prevention — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 15:32:09 PDT

We are excited to share one of our fave stories from Prevention here on FitSugar!

White potatoes don't make you fat, carrots aren't made of sugar - and other myths about the produce you grew up on, dispelled
By Karen Ansel, RD

If the low-carb diet craze of the early 2000s left you believing that potatoes equal pounds and corn is no better than candy, it's time to wake up and taste the produce. Truth is, even vegetables you may think of as nutritional duds are packed with vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals, not to mention varied colors, flavors, and textures. If you've been avoiding these "produce outcasts," your diet — and health — are missing out. Here, we debunk the biggest myths about a few unfairly maligned vegetables — and provide easy and healthful ways to eat more of them.

Feed Your Family for $100 a Week

White Potatoes Make You Fat
One medium baked potato has only 161 calories, plus 4 g of filling fiber
Added bonus: Chilled, cooked potato is packed with resistant starch, a fibrous substance that could help you lose weight. (For more information on resistant starch, visit prevention.com/resistantstarch.) "If you keep portion sizes in check — no more than one medium potato in a given meal — and eat the fiber-rich skin, potatoes make a satisfying, low-cal, nutrient-rich side dish," says Michelle Dudash, RD, a Gilbert, AZ-based nutritionist. They also:

Fight disease
When scientists from the USDA's Agricultural Research Service tested more than 100 potato varieties, they discovered 60 different vitamins and phytochemicals. For starters, they found flavonoids (which are credited with improving heart health and protecting against lung and prostate cancers) including quercetin, which may boost immunity.

Help maintain healthy blood pressure
Potatoes are loaded with kukoa-mines, plant chemicals that help lower blood pressure, found the USDA researchers. In addition, one medium baked potato (including the skin) provides 20 percent of your daily potassium, a known hyper-tension fighter.

Try this: To make a fat-burning potato salad, boil new potatoes in water until cooked through. Cut into one 2-inch slices and then quarter. Toss with olive oil, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, and chopped fresh parsley, and chill. Or for a hearty meal, skip the sour cream, butter, and cheese, and top a baked russet potato with vegetarian chili.

9 Eating Habits to Naturally Boost Your Health

Learn why you should be eating carrot and celery after the break.

Fatty Foods Worth a Little Indulging!

Heather Dale — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 03:06:39 PDT

Not all fats are bad for you; in fact, incorporating healthy fats into your diet can actually be good for you! The general rule of thumb is that good fats are liquid at room temperature and bad fats are solid at room temperature. Therefore, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats fall into the good fats category, while saturated and trans fats fall into the bad fats category. Unlike saturated fats, monounsaturated fats help lower LDL (bad) cholesterol, while boosting your HDL (good) cholesterol. Dietary fat is also good for us because it is one of three macronutrients that supports a number of our body's functions and provides us with energy.

Now for the fun stuff - the foods with all the healthy fats:

Avocados: Avocados contain monounsaturated fats (and antioxidants and beta carotene too!), which is said to help enhance memory and prevent heart disease. The recommended daily intake (RDI) of fat is 65 grams and one cup of avocado contains almost one third of your fat intake for a day, about 23 grams. So it's probably best to stick with eating just a half an avocado each day.

Keep reading for more healthy fatty foods!

6 Ways to Look Better Without Spending a Cent

Annie Tomlin — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 04:29:03 PDT

Looking good doesn't have to cost a lot of money. In fact, it doesn't have to cost a thing. There are plenty of ways to look better without spending a single penny. We talked with top dermatologists, hair stylists, makeup artists, and estheticians to score their secrets for looking your best for the best price of all: free. Read their tips here.