October 01, 2009
“Healthy nuggets of news
to keep your motor humming”
Welcome to our 7th issue of Healthy World Digest!
In this issue:
* Avoiding cat dehydration* The queen of vitamins, Vitamin D
* How to exercise for increased weight loss
* Increase fats for health and beauty
* Preventing diabetes through delightful plant foods and herbs
* Chew your food
* Cancer and barbequing
* A low carb, exceedingly healthy pasta & beans recipe
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Is it the first of October already? Must be since you're reading Healthy World Digest and my bills are due. Well, as promised, brief health news items that can really help change your treasured health and wellness follow right below.
* Preventing cat dehydration
Well, the news items are for you and your loved ones. Pets matter too.
The following hyperlink to an news article brings up the issue of preventing dehydration in cats. It recommends cat owners include canned foods with its extra moisture, relative to dry food, to make sure your cat gets enough water.
It also advises against adding water to dry cat food because the water can cause bacteria to form on the cat food. Healthy Water has suggested adding a tsp or 2 of water to dry cat food to help avoid dehydration.
Note however, that we don't recommend you keep the cat food out, constantly available to your pet at all times of day. That practice is not healthy and not natural to cats.
The best way to feed your cat is the way they have eaten in nature for thousands of years. That is, every day or two and then the food is gone.
But make water always be available.
So feed your cat every day or 2 but have the water bowl full and available at all times.
Your cat will be healthier and not end up like most elderly cats that are as overweight as the typical American. Blunt but true.
Following is the hyperlink to article cited and to Healthy Water page on feline dehydration.
Healthy Water page on Feline dehydration
* The queen of vitamins, Vitamin D
If vitamin C is the king of vitamins, and I believe it is, then Vitamin D is coming to be viewed as the queen of vitamins, and for good reason.
One study showed higher vitamin D levels in the body boosted athletic performance especially when the vitamin is gotten from the sun's rays.
It seems vitamin D works as a healthy steroid improving reaction time, speed and muscle strength.
Other studies on the benefits of vitamin D, show a positive impact on cardiovascular health to cancer, depression and much more.
We just had to do more research into the benefits of D and so just completed a full section on it. Check it out, it's very informative.
* How to exercise for greater weight loss
A study at Syracuse U. found that exercising the muscles below your belt led to greater fat and weight loss. Specifically, weight training exercise was the real key to weight loss especially weight training for legs and buttocks.
Click for more info at Healthy Exercise World page on weightloss exercises
* Increase fats for beauty and health
Italian researchers found that increasing the percentage of fat to 55% of your daily calories helped the body use up fat. This is a very complicated issue but, simply put, the clinical wisdom of the low carb advocates is consistently backed up by research.
I also feel that Dr. Robert Atkins, well known for touting a low carb diet plan starting decades ago, is one of the great heroes in alternative medicine. Much of the recent work of present low carb approaches is taken Atkins. His principles are not given due credit. Take note South Beach Diet, Heller Diet, etc etc etc.
* Preventing diabetes through delightful plant foods and herbs
Especially broccoli. Broccoli is good for you. Really, really good for you.
Along with everything else that broccoli is good for, British researchers find that it also helps to avert diabetes. A specific chemical, sulforaphane in cruciferous vegetables seems to be the beneficial agent.
Click for our page on herbs for diabetes
* Chew your food
Remember the thirty chews per bite rule? There's a lot to it according to Japanese rersearchers who found that fast eaters increased their risk of diabetes & weight gain.
* Cancer and grilling
That delicious char on the meats you grill is cancer causing. Sorry about that. But the fact is that any char or crust, even bread crust (my favorite part of the bread) is carcinogenic. Same for the crispy outside of fried foods.
With grilled or barbecued meats, marinading them in an herbal marinade reduces the cancer causing compounds. It also makes meats taste better. Win - win.
Use or make a marinade containing peppers, thyme, rosemary, chives.
* A low carb, extremely healthy pasta & beans recipe
You've read right. This recipe is a modification of my mom's quick and dirty pasta fagiole (pasta with beans). (Of course, the classic recipe is absolutely delicious but a little more complicated.)
When my mom had to get supper on the table real quick, she would just boil up a pot of pasta, leaving enough of water in to cover all of the pasta so it was a soupy pasta. Then she'd get a can of Campbell's Pork & Beans, throw them in, add some black pepper, parsley and a few tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and voila.
Simple, huh?
It was delicious and soothing.
The beans, the hint of ketchupy sauce, the black pepper, parsley and then the heavenly taste of olive oil, all made for an improbably delicious, simple, quick, cheap dish.
Pretty healthy too.
But I think I went my mom one better with my even healthier modification of this family classic.
Here are the ingredients:
A pound of dried pasta. (Use a spoonable pasta of your choice. I like elbow macaroni. If you are counting carbs, get a low carb, high fiber brand. I use either Dreamfields or the major brands that have redeveloped some of their pastas like Ronzoni's Smart Taste line.)
Two cans of pork & beans (or the vegetarian variety I get these days). Make sure it's the kind that you would have as a side dish for franks.
One can of soy beans. I get Libby's Organic Soybeans. Make sure to rinse off the soy gel. Yuck!
A little heart healthy virgin olive oil and a smidge of salt, pepper, parsley, cilantro, hot red pepper flakes to taste.
Cook up pasta leaving enough of the water to cover macaroni when it's cooked.
Toss in the beans
Spice to your taste and add olive oil, a tablespoon or 2 per serving
The pinto beans add healthy carbs with lots of fibre combined with some good healthy pasta. The soybeans have little carbs, some fat and plenty of protein and fiber. The soybeans flavor, that I do not find pleasing, gets lost in the mix. And then you have the goodness and flavor of mono-fat olive oil.
I like to fresh freeze a few servings for later on in the next week or two. Comments? Ideas? Feedback? I'd love to hear from you. Just reply to Healthy World Digest and tell me what you think.
See you next month!
Sal
Owner, Healthy World Online
