Study Shows Eating Leafy Greens Lowers Your Risk for Heart Disease

Researchers from Edith Cowan University in Australia recently looked at the benefits of eating a diet high in nitrate-rich vegetables. The team analyzed the diets of more than 50,000 Danish citizens over 23 years and found that those who consumed a diet with a consistent intake of leafy greens were 12-26% less likely to develop heart disease later in life.

Our results have shown that by simply eating one cup of raw (or half a cup of cooked) nitrate-rich vegetables each day, people may be able to significantly reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease,

Eating This One Thing Daily Slashes Your Heart Disease Risk, Study Says

The research shows that eating nitrate-rich foods resulted in the greatest reduced risk for hypertension, as it lowered systolic blood pressure by 2.5mm Hg.

The team did not see further benefits in those who ate higher amounts of nitrate-rich vegetables, they found that one cup of fresh leafy greens was sufficient.

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Remove Pesticide Residue With Baking Soda

Pesticides and herbicides get absorbed by the crops they’re sprayed on but most of the chemicals are left on the outer most part of the produce. Organic is better than conventional but organic certification does allow some pesticide and herbicide usage. Produce usually looks clean at the store but there’s plenty of pesticide residue on them.

The apples you buy in grocery stores are already washed, usually in a bleach solution, and rinsed before they’re sold, says study author Lili He, Ph.D., assistant professor of food science at University of Massachusetts, Amherst. The purpose of this, however, is to remove dirt and kill any harmful microbes that may be on the fruit. “It’s not intended to wash away pesticides,” He says.

Consumer Reports

Many people are buying designed to wash produce, or scrubbing foods in running water, or using bleach, but according to new research, these options don’t do much good. But baking soda does.

Surface pesticide residues were most effectively removed by sodium bicarbonate (baking soda, NaHCO3) solution…”

Effectiveness of Commercial and Homemade Washing Agents in Removing Pesticide Residues on and in Apples

The study used thiabendazole and phosmet as the pesticides. Apples were exposed to the pesticides for 24 hours, “applied at a concentration of 125 ng/cm2.”

Related: Foods Most Likely to Contain Glyphosate

The authors say that a baking soda washing solution can completely remove thiabendazole and phosmet surface residues of apples in about 15 minutes. That’s a lot of washing! The study authors are not clear if the produce needs to be scrubbed or just left to soak or what, but we suspect just letting them soak in a solution of water and baking soda for fifteen minutes should work. We’re attempted contact with a couple of the authors and are awaiting clarification on this. We’ll update if we hear back.

Their results showed that 20% of the thiabendazole and 4.4% of the phosmet penetrated into the apples following the exposure. So it’s not practically possible to remove all of the chemicals from the produce.

 In practical application, washing apples with NaHCO3 solution can reduce pesticides mostly from the surface. Peeling is more effective to remove the penetrated pesticides; however, bioactive compounds in the peels will become lost too.

It should also be noted that different fruits and vegetables will absorb chemicals at different rates and some will have better results from baking soda washing than others.

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Greens Nutrition Powder DIY – Could This Replace Our Veggies?

Vegetables are an important part of our diet, but are they really that important?

Yes.

Skip to How To Make Your Own Greens Powder

The evidence for why we should eat more vegetables keeps on growing. A lower incidence of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, eye disease, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, osteoporosis, and many forms of cancer are all associated with higher vegetable consumption.

Even with all of the evidence supporting the fact that increasing your vegetable consumption is one of the best things you can do for your health, 87% of the United States population did not meet vegetable intake recommendations from 2007 to 2010. This percentage is based on the CDC recommendation to eat two to three cups of vegetables daily, an amount you can easily eat in one meal if you have two sides of vegetables, and only 13% of the population was able to do it.

But that was back before 2010, things must have changed for the better, right?

In a study conducted by the Produce for Better Health Foundation, they found that vegetable and fruit consumption has declined by 7% from 2009 to 2014. They are expecting a growth in vegetable and fruit consumption by 4% in the next 5 years, but an important question still remains. Why are we still struggling to eat more vegetables?

Human Nature Trumps Logic

It doesn’t matter how much evidence supports a specific lifestyle change, humans will always crave certainty and simplicity. Why bother to use fresh produce and spend precious time making something that you and your family may not like when you can get a pre-made meal?

Even though many other factors are involved in our behavior, it is important to recognize that our brains tend to value simplicity and certainty over logic and evidence. Our brains are just not made to handle the complexities of life, but they do know what tastes good and what feels good and would much rather stick to that.

This is part of the reason why most of us will revert back to our old habits after starting a new diet. It doesn’t mean you have a lack of discipline or that you will never be healthy, it simply means that you are fighting against human nature, and human nature always wins, eventually. The key to adopting a healthy lifestyle is to make human nature work for you, not against you.

Related: 8 Easy Steps to Health & Detox Cheap and Easy Without Fasting – Recipes Included

Making Health Easy

71% of American adults consume supplements daily, which is much higher than the 13% who consume two to three cups of vegetables daily. This statistic is a stunningly accurate depiction of human nature. Even without evidence to back up the claims of most supplements, we gravitate toward them like flies to a fly trap. Supplements are so irresistible because, when they work, they make health easier. All you have to do is swallow a capsule and you magically heal your joints or cure your inflammation. Everyone will sign up for that!

Quality supplements are a win-win for your mind and body and a great way to make human nature work for you, not against you. However, it is impossible to take supplements that contain all the benefits and nutrition that are found in fruits and vegetables. The whole vegetable is more nutritious than the sum of its parts, especially when those parts are heavily processed to form a supplement.

But what about greens powder supplements? Over the past decade, green nutrition powder supplements have exploded onto the supplement scene, challenging our definition of what a “whole food” really is.

An Easy Way to Get Your Vegetables?

Vegetable dehydration has been used by humans for hundreds, if not thousands, of years to keep the food from spoiling and maintain the integrity of most of its nutrients. If you then put those dehydrated vegetables into a high-speed blender, you will have a greens powder that is easier to consume than a fast food meal and much healthier than not having any quality produce at all.

Before you order a container of greens powder, you must know that nearly one-third of greens powder supplements don’t live up to their dietary claims and may actually be harmful, according to a report from ConsumerLab.com. One of the supplements mentioned in this report was Vibrant Health’s “Green Vibrance” product, which contained roughly 24 micrograms of the carcinogen arsenic per .4-ounce serving. This far exceeds the 10-mcg-per-34-ounce safety limit established by the Environmental Protection Agency.

This doesn’t mean that you should disregard all greens powder supplements. The same ConsumerLab.com report found that Green Max Powder from Swanson and Juice Plus+ Garden Blend capsules are trustworthy and safe products.

High-quality greens powders still will not have the same benefits as eating whole fruits and vegetables. This is partly because light, air, and heat exposure can render some of the vitamins and other nutrients in fruits and vegetables useless to our body. And there is no way of guaranteeing that the supplement you are taking hasn’t been exposed to too much light, air, or heat, rendering vulnerable vitamins like C, E, K, A, B-6, and B-12 inactive.

Even if some of the vitamins are destroyed during processing, greens powders will still contain many of the same nutrients and antioxidants that you will find in whole vegetables, making this one of the few supplements capable of living up to its health claims. The only way to ensure that you have a nutritious greens powder that lives up to the hype is by making it yourself.  It is a simple and easy way to promote your health and the health of the environment.

The Power of Making Your Own Greens Supplement

In the United States, 30 to 40 percent of the food supply is made up of food waste, and edible food scraps like carrot greens, beet greens, and greens that are not “perfect” make up a portion of this food waste. Carrot greens and beet greens are as nutritious as the carrots and beets that we eat, but what are you supposed to do with them? And what can you do with the leftover greens before they go bad?

Dehydrate them and blend them into a fine powder, and you will have your own nutrient-packed greens powder that helps you and the environment.

How To Make Your Own Greens Powder

You don’t need a laboratory to make your own greens powder – all you need is greens, a source of consistent dry heat, and a high-speed blender.

Step 1

Gather all the greens that will not make it into your meals. Beet greens, carrot greens, spinach, kale, arugula, chard, lettuce, and even sprouts like broccoli sprouts will be perfect additions to your greens powder.

Tip: blanching your leafy greens for four minutes will help to increase the shelf-life of your greens powder, but it comes with the risk of destroying some vitamins. Personally, I have never blanched my greens before dehydrating them, and they have kept well for over 3 months. However, it is important to mention that I have no way of measuring their quality other than smell and taste.

Step 2

Rinse and lay your greens out so that they have consistent ventilation and exposure to heat. This is harder to do by sun drying or using the oven, so it is best to use a dehydrator.

Tip: Make sure your vegetables are dehydrating in an environment with lower humidity. More moisture means longer dehydrating times and a greater chance of spoilage.

Product Suggestion: The Nesco FD-75A Snackmaster Pro Food Dehydrator is a reliable dehydrator that I have used for almost two years without any problems. Its lowest setting is 95 degrees Fahrenheit, so it ensures that the vitamins will not be denatured by heat.

Step 3

Let the vegetables dehydrate at temperatures around 100 degrees Fahrenheit to preserve their vitamins.

Take them out of the dehydrator when they are completely dry and crisp to the touch.

This may take between 12 and 72 hours depending on the quantity and type of greens you are dehydrating.

Tip: If you are dehydrating greens with the stems attached, it will take about 12-24 hours longer for the stem to fully dry.

Step 4

Take your dehydrated greens, put them in a blender, blend them into a fine powder.

Tip: Add powdered stevia if you’d like to give it a sweeter taste.

Product Suggestion: The NutriBullet works really well for making greens powder.

Step 5

You now have your own greens powder!

Store it in a glass container in a dry environment.

Tip: Store it in a tinted jar, like a Miron violet glass jar, to protect it from light damage. You can also add a silicone moisture packet to ensure that moisture doesn’t spoil your powder.

The Easiest Way to Supplement Your Diet With More Vegetables

Now you have your own homemade greens powder with (almost) all of the vitamins and antioxidants intact, along with some of the enzymes and phytonutrients. Add a tablespoon or two of your homemade greens powder to soups, salads, dressings, sauces, or smoothies. With just one tablespoon, you will supplement your meal with almost two cups of vegetables without any extra preparation. Then add in these salad and lemonade recipes into your life and see how that feels.

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So Now It’s 10 Vegetables and Fruits Every Day? REALLY?!?

How many vegetables and fruits do you eat each day? Are you getting the maximum benefit from your food choices?

In the early 2000s, The World Health Organization (WHO) began a campaign to raise awareness of the connection between health and adequate fruit and vegetable consumption. The quality of health wasn’t the only issue. Mortality itself was measured in units of fruit and vegetable consumption.

WHO estimated 2.7 million lives could be saved each year if fruit and vegetable consumption was raised to a sufficient level. They stated that low consumption of fruits and vegetables was one of the top ten risk factors for global mortality. The recommendation equaled a minimum intake of 400g (14 ounces) of fruits and vegetables excluding potatoes and other starchy tubers. This is about 5 servings a day. This level of consumption reduced the risk of heart disease, cancer, and stroke.

The latest research says we should do better. Now the recommendation is 10 servings (800 grams or 28 ounces) of fruits and vegetables per day.

https://youtu.be/nT8d60XSaZc

The study conducted by scientists from the Imperial College London, analyzed 95 studies on fruit and vegetable intake. It included “up to 2 million people,” assessing “up to 43,000 cases of heart disease, 47,000 cases of stroke, 81,000 cases of cardiovascular disease, 112,000 cancer cases, and 94,000 deaths.” Their conclusion was an estimated reduction of 7.8 million annual premature deaths if everyone followed this dietary advice.

When compared to not eating any fruits and vegetables, ten servings a day was associated with:

  • 24 % reduced risk of heart disease
  • 33 % reduced risk of stroke
  • 28 % reduced risk of cardiovascular disease
  • 13 % reduced risk of total cancer
  • 31 % reduction in premature death

While we at OLM and many others promoting a plant-based diet agree with this conclusion, we believe there is more to healthy eating than the volume of vegetables. The study did say not all fruits and vegetable were equal, but it did not stress the need for a large variety of vegetables and fruits or to choose organic and mostly raw.

We’d also like to see five servings a day versus ten, and what about 15? When do the benefits wear off? Raw or cooked? Another question this raises for us is, are we needing to double our intake of produce because of nutrient depletion in our soil?

What we do know is that gut health provides the basis of our health. Gut health determines the strength and efficiency of our immune system, the intake of nutrients to fuel our entire body, the creation of many of our neurotransmitters, and the ability to detox. An unbalanced microbiome allows an overgrowth of one bacteria over others or an overgrowth of Candida or parasites. A leaky gut is like a sewer leaking filth and disease into the bloodstream.

We have always recommended a diet consisting of 80% raw, organic produce– a wide variety of vegetables and fruit, mostly vegetables. In addition, we recommend the elimination of all artificial colors, flavorings, and preservatives; refined sugar; trans fats; MSG; and GMOs. The perfect diet is all real food, with no packaged, processed concoctions added in. Real food doesn’t have an ingredient list. There are no added chemicals.

It is important that your vegetable and fruit consumption includes a wide variety. Every fruit or vegetable contains its own combination of nutrients. We need a variety to consume as many nutrients as possible. In addition, we don’t want to overfeed just one or a few of our friendly or not so friendly bacteria or yeast by favoring one food over others. We want to maintain balance in all ways. For instance, if all of our fruit choices are high sugar, Candida thrives. We need a diverse microbiome to fend off a wide array of pathogens and to achieve this, we need a wide variety of nutrients to feed a wide variety of helpful microbiome bacteria.

If you are ill or you don’t feel well, changing your diet will change your life. We’ve seen it over and over again. If we eat a perfect diet until all traces of disease are gone, we heal very quickly. No supplement can achieve the change of health we accomplish by eating one large, organic salad filled with 15 or more vegetables each day.

If you are ready to change your life, change your diet. Go for 10+ a day. And remember, variety is key! Check out the salad recipe in the first article below.

Further Reading:
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How to Roast Butternut Squash – Seven Step Simple Recipe

Squash is pretty much synonymous with fall in my house. Typically, during September we are up to our eyeballs in a bounty of harvest from our garden. Every countertop is stacked with squash, onions, potatoes, carrots, and beets. It’s a wonderful and busy time of year. To save time, I stick to simple but tasty recipes.
Image courtesy of Mean Miss Mustard
One of my favorite squashes is the butternut. Butternut squash is a yellow-orange fleshed fruit that has a slightly sweet, nutty flavor. This beautiful fall/winter squash offers a nutrient punch that is just what we need at the season’s change. Butternut squash is a great source of vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, iron, magnesium, and B-6.

One of the easiest ways to prepare this winter squash is to roast it and here I bring you my super simplified recipe. Winter squashes of all sorts will burst with flavor when roasted and all follow a similar preparation.

For this recipe you will need:

  • 1 butternut squash
  • approx. 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • salt and pepper
  • optional: grass-fed butter

Simply:

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
  2. Cut off stem side, just about an inch or two into the top side of squash. Discard this piece.
  3. Next, cut the squash in half, lengthwise.
  4. Scrape out the seeds and set aside.
  5. Lightly brush the cut flesh with extra virgin olive oil.
  6. Place cut side down on a foil or parchment-lined baking sheet.
  7. Bake for 35 minutes or until squash is tender.

Spoon out onto individual plates, season with salt and pepper and add a bit of grass-fed butter if you wish.

A large squash will serve 4 as a side dish.

Other winter squash you might try preparing this way are pumpkin, acorn, and delicata.



Eat Vegetables First

I always think of Dr. Seuss’s Green Eggs and Ham when I am sharing the benefits of vegetables with clients and friends. There is often so much resistance. Can’t you just see it? “Could you, would you?” and the famous reply…“But I do not like them, …”

On my personal journey, the most difficult emotional shift I needed to make around food was to move meat from the center of my plate and replace it with amazing, nutrient dense vegetables. It was difficult only because of the mindset I’d had my entire life. When it came to considering what to make for dinner, I always started with the meat. My thoughts went something like, “What am I going to make for dinner? Well, chicken and potatoes and green beans.” I needed to shift this habit to be, “What am I going to make for dinner? Roots and shoots with a side of quinoa topped with a small slice of chicken breast.” You see, the meat became the optional side. It felt difficult only because of the thought pattern. Once I made the shift in my mind, the rest was easy.

We are just beginning to understand the role vegetables can play in our well-being. Nutrition is a young, complex, and ever evolving science. What we do know is that plant foods offer a diverse and deep well of nutrition that supports our body in creating energy, fighting off cancer, preventing early aging, and aiding our digestive tract. Vegetables also help us to have clear skin and sleep better, and they seem to prevent a myriad of diseases. Every vegetable offers something slightly different, but the nutrients in each plant work together synergistically in a way we cannot yet recreate in a lab. What does this mean? There is really no substitute for the real thing.

As an example, a single cup of spinach holds 888.5 mcg (micrograms) of vitamin K, 14742.0 IU of vitamin A, 1.7 mg of manganese, and 262.4 mcg of folate. It also contains amazing amounts of magnesium, iron, vitamin C, riboflavin, calcium, (where do you think elephants get their calcium from anyway?), potassium, B6, tryptophan, fiber, copper, B1, protein, phosphorus, zinc, vitamin E, omega 3 fatty acids, niacin, selenium, beta-carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin.  (Mateljan, 2007)

Adding vegetables to your diet can make a huge impact on how you feel and on your ability to reach your health and wellness goals. If you would like to focus on nutrient density, the ANDI food scoring guide will help you to choose foods with an amazing nutrient power pack. The trick here is diversity. Try mixing up your vegetables and changing up how you prepare them. In the beginning, you might feel resistant, the flavors and textures might be different than what you are used to, but by sticking with it, you and your taste buds will adapt. Whole, natural, foods have flavors that vary as widely as their colors – sometimes it’s in the preparation and sometimes it’s in the season and growing location.

Try this exercise:

Adding vegetables to your plate at every meal can be incredibly impactful. This will be a trial to identify what it feels like to have them more often and in greater amounts. As you work through the vegetables, if after a few tries you absolutely do not like a certain one, don’t force yourself to eat it. We don’t have to like all foods and by pushing ourselves to eat foods we dislike, we are trying to create an unsustainable habit. (I know I can’t stick with eating things I don’t like for very long so it’s okay if you can’t either.)

Begin by visiting the ANDI food scoring guide and choose a vegetable or two that you’d like to add to your plate over the next two weeks.

Take Action & Schedule It!

  1. What food(s) did you choose?
  2. Where will you get it?
  3. When will you get it?
  4. How will you prepare it?
  5. How many times will you have it?

Write your plans for your meals and track your food in a personal journal.

At the end of 14 days, come back and answer these questions:

  1. What did you try?
  2. How did you prepare it?
  3. What was your favorite way of having it?
  4. How often did you eat it?
  5. How do you feel?

Bringing awareness to your experience allows you to practice listening to your body and what’s working and what’s not. Watch for subtle shifts, greater energy, reduction of mind fog, and less bloating.

This article is an excerpt from Lessons for MomPositive Living, Attainable Wellness for Modern Moms written by Tammi Hoerner, INHC. This book is available for purchase here.

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10 Most Profitable Vegetables To Grow

A lot of people are growing vegetables to beat the credit crunch. Growing vegetables is the best way to turn your gardening expertise into a means to save significant money. There are numbers of inexpensive vegetables that can easily reduce your food expense. Here is the list of the specialty crops worth planting.

Cilantro

You either love it or hate it, but if you pay for it, you undoubtedly want to consider growing it. Cilantro is worth more than $20 per sq ft. Also, keep in mind that you always grow cilantro close to some other taller vegetables to shade it in the warmer weather.

Arugula-Roquette

Arugula or Roquette, is a family member of the mustard family. This spicy bite compliments the particular sweeter lettuces and it is also best for your salads. This plant could completely be farmed, or individual exterior leaves could possibly be cut from the plant. It is advisable to grow it just like you grow cilantro, in between the taller plants.

Green Salad Mix

Mesclun and lettuces are standard salad ingredients. Once you start eating the green lettuces, you will save iceberg lettuce for baloney sandwiches. Green salad mix can definitely help you save some serious income.

Chives

Mix chives into scrambled eggs or cottage cheese, or add to a baked potato. You must have this in your garden. It’s easy to grow in the ground or in a container. Did you know it grows in winter?

Dill

Dill is worth more than $16 per square foot. You can use it in salads, quick breads, and also you can have it with fish. You should try tuna pasta salad with a bit of chopped garlic, green pepper and dill Trust me; it’s simply awesome.

Lettuce

Any lettuce, from the salad bowl to Romaine could save you more than $18 per a square foot in your garden. With lettuce, many varieties can be grown from its seeds.

Cherry Tomato, Modest & Method

You should definitely try Red Cherry, Sweet Million or Sweet 100. You can consume it directly into salads without slicing it. With these tomatoes you can save over $15.00 per square foot.

Herbs

Herbs have become much more popular in the last two decades. You can make use of them in cooking, for herbal products, and for medicine herbs. They are a value-added item to grow in your garden.

Lavender

Growing lavender is a great way to turn your love for herbs into a solid income.  Once planted, lavender will continue to produce hundreds of blooms for 15 years.

Mushrooms

Mushrooms are easy to grow in a small space and expensive to buy in the supermarket.

You can also grow the 10 veggies to save a huge amount of income. They are worth $6 to $10 dollars for each square foot.

  • Turnip
  • Squash
  • Basil
  • Celery
  • Tomato, large
  • Pumpkin
  • Tomatillo
  • Radish
  • Cucumber
  • Chard
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