legumes Archives - Amazing Health Advances

Does a Macrobiotic Diet Help with Diabetes?

AHA Publisher — Fri, 16 Dec 2022 08:00:31 +0000

Michael Greger M.D. FACLM via Nutrition Facts – What happens when you add massive amounts of carbohydrates in the form of whole grains to the daily diet of people with type 2 diabetes? Why are macrobiotic diets apparently so effective at reducing blood sugar levels in diabetics within just a few weeks’ time? The diet is centered around whole grains—brown rice, barley, and millet—so might the high fiber intake improve the gut microbiome, the friendly flora in our colon, which then leads to a reduction in insulin resistance? Or, perhaps it’s because the diet is also rich in vegetables, so that corrects some kind of low-grade acidosis from the high levels of animal protein in their regular (non-macrobiotic) diets. Regardless of the reason, researchers found a significant difference after just 21 days. Can macrobiotic diets also help with longer term blood sugar control? I examine this in my video Flashback Friday: Benefits of a Macrobiotic Diet for Diabetes. How about a six-month dietary intervention with wildly out-of-control blood sugars? As you can see at 0:51 in my video, hemoglobin A1c offers a sense of one’s average blood sugars over the previous few months. An A1c level of 5, for example, would mean that your blood sugars have been in the double digits most of the time over the last few months, indicating that your sugars have been at a normal, healthy, non diabetic level. But, an A1c of 6 is prediabetes territory and 6.5 can be a sign of full-blown diabetes; an A1c under 7 is considered controlled diabetes—what diabetics are striving towards with pills and insulin injections—and a level over 7 is considered out-of-control diabetes. In the macrobiotic diet study, the average A1c level started out off-the-charts at 12.6. The subjects had been averaging blood sugars in the 300s for months, despite all having been on insulin injections. What happened when the study participants were placed on the so-called Ma-Pi 2 diet, a strictly plant-based macrobiotic-style diet centered around whole grains, vegetables, and beans, with some sesame seeds and green tea? After just six months on the diet, their A1c levels dropped from a wildly out-of-control diabetic 12.6 to averaging a non diabetic 5.7. What’s more, although the subjects were getting daily insulin injections when their A1c was an astronomical 12.6, they achieved non diabetic 5.7 on the diet after they had all been able to eliminate their insulin. Within only six months, 100 percent of the study participants started out on insulin with out-of-control diabetes and ended with 0 percent on insulin and averaging non diabetic blood sugars. That’s the power of plants. Also within those six months, three-quarters were off all of their diabetes medications completely. Any side effects? Their bad LDL cholesterol dropped by 20 percent and their triglycerides dropped by nearly 40 percent. (And, of course, let’s not forget that anyone starting a strictly plant-based diet must ensure a regular, reliable source of vitamin B12.) All we needed was a randomized, controlled trial, and we got one: Type 2 diabetics were randomized to the macrobiotic diet versus the recommended American Diabetes Association-type diet. You can see an example of a typical day on the macrobiotic diet below and at 2:59 in my video, which includes a savory whole-grain cake for breakfast; brown rice sesame balls for a snack; a vegetable millet soup with a brown rice salad, a lot of vegetable sides, and adzuki beans for lunch; more whole grain snacks; and, similar to lunch, a dinner of vegetable barley soup with a lot of vegetables and chickpeas; and green tea throughout the day. On the more standard diabetic diet, participants might have low-fat milk and whole-wheat bread for breakfast; a Mediterranean lunch with vegetables and beans; fruit for a snack; and a bean and vegetable soup, whole-grain bread, agretti (a green leafy vegetable), and baked fish for dinner. I have to say, that’s a pretty healthy control diet. The researchers could have compared the macrobiotic diet to a trashy one, but they wanted to stack it up against the diet diabetes groups recommend. So, what happened? The macrobiotic diet won out on every measure of blood sugar control. You can view the numbers in the graph below and at 4:00 in my video. At the start of the study, participants had fasting blood sugars in the 120s. That’s bad, but they were diabetics, after all. Normal fasting blood sugars, like when you wake up in the morning before having breakfast, should be at least in the double digits and under 100. When subjects were put on the relatively healthy, more standard diabetic diet, their blood sugars got better over the three-week study, dropping from the 120s down into the 110s. (That’s the best the American Diabetes Association-type diet can do.) Compare that to an isocaloric macrobiotic diet, meaning with the same number of calories. On the macrobiotic diet, subjects improved within days and achieved normal fasting blood sugars within a week. A full 100 percent of those on the macrobiotic diet got their fasting blood sugars under 110, whereas less than half of those on the diabetes diet did. And, that was achieved while on fewer drugs. In the control group, one participant was able to reduce their oral hypoglycemic medications, whereas five of the seven on such drugs in the macrobiotic group had to stop taking them. Otherwise, if they had continued taking the drugs, their blood sugars would have fallen toolow. So, the macrobiotic diet gave better results on fewer drugs. That’s the power of a reallyhealthy diet. As an aside, what a poke in the eye with a sharp stick this study was to the low-carb crowd! Researchers took diabetics and put them on a 73 percent carbohydrate diet, adding 100 grams of carbs—in the form of grains, no less—to their daily diet. And what happened? Did their blood sugars skyrocket out of control? No, they got significantly better in a matter of days, with average fasting blood sugars starting out at 129 and falling to 95. And, in just three weeks, their bad LDL cholesterol plummeted down to 62, a nearly 48 percent drop. Is the macrobiotic diet perfect? No, but I offer some suggestions for improving it in my video Flashback Friday: Pros and Cons of a Macrobiotic Diet. Key Takeaways Macrobiotic diets have been shown to effectively reduce blood sugar levels in diabetics in just three weeks, perhaps due to its high fiber content or being rich in vegetables. A six-month dietary intervention showed that participants placed on the so-called Ma-Pi 2 diet, a strictly plant-based macrobiotic-style eating regimen with green tea, experienced significant improvements in their A1c levels, dropping from a wildly out-of-control diabetic 12.6 to averaging a non diabetic 5.7. As well, the subjects achieved non diabetic 5.7 on the diet after they had eliminated their insulin. Additionally, their bad LDL cholesterol dropped by 20 percent and their triglycerides dropped by nearly 40 percent. When type 2 diabetics were randomized to the macrobiotic diet versus the recommended American Diabetes Association-type diet, the macrobiotic diet won out on every measure of blood sugar control. And, although only one subject in the control group was able to reduce their oral hypoglycemic medications, five of the seven on such drugs in the macrobiotic group had to stop taking them lest their blood sugars fall too low. The study was likely very eye-opening to low-carb followers since the diabetics were put on a 73 percent carbohydrate diet, adding 100 g of carbs to their daily diet, and not only did their blood sugars improve, but their bad LDL cholesterol also plummeted. To read the original article click here.

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Why I Include Lentils in My Prebiotic Recipe

AHA Publisher — Fri, 09 Sep 2022 07:00:23 +0000

Michael Greger M.D. FACLM via Nutrition Facts – Lentils and chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans, are put to the test. If you compared the total antioxidant content of ten different legumes, which do you think would come out on top? Researchers looked at the “pinto bean, baby lima bean, red kidney bean, black kidney bean [what I believe we more commonly know as black bean], navy bean, small red bean, black eyed bean [black-eyed pea], mung bean, lentil, and chickpea.” Who can guess the winner and the loser? As you can see at 0:33 in my video Benefits of Lentils and Chickpeas, lima beans came in at number ten at the bottom of the list. Then came navy beans, black-eyed peas, and mung beans, which is what bean sprouts are typically made from, in seventh place. Moving into the winner’s circle, kidney beans. I’ll bet many would have guessed those to be our number one, but, no. They came in sixth, in the middle of the pack. Five legumes beat them out: pinto beans, black beans, the bronze to small red beans, the silver to chickpeas (garbanzo beans), and the gold to lentils. As you can see below and at 1:17 in my video how lentils pull away from the pack in terms of scavenging up free radicals. Lentils top the charts based on a variety of different measures. Might it be because they’re so small and their nutrients are concentrated in the seed coat, so smaller means more surface area? That would be my guess. When pitted against cholesterol in vitro to try to prevent oxidation, lentils also seem to stand out, perhaps making it “the best among all tested food legumes for the development of a dietary supplement for promoting heart health and for preventing cancers”—or you could just have some lentil soup. (They are the L in my BROL prebiotic mix recipe featured in How Not to Diet and The How Not to Diet Cookbook.) “Aside from lentils, black beans, black soybeans, and red kidney beans” were also found to top the list. As you can see below and at 2:05 in my video, the ingredients of a breakfast made up of a bagel, cream cheese, margarine, egg, cantaloupe, and whole milk. What would happen if you also served either a bowl of black bean soup, just the amount of fiber found in that bowl of soup, orjust the amount of antioxidants found in that bowl of soup? Which do you think works better? Whole plant foods can be greater than the sum of their parts. “Nowadays, it is popular to isolateand sell functional components of foods as dietary supplements and many supplements are marketed for their ‘antioxidant’ properties. However, functional ingredients”—the extracted ingredients—“may not produce the same effects when delivered outside a whole food matrix” or form. In one study, for example, the researchers compared “the ability of black beans to attenuate postprandial [after-meal] metabolic, oxidative stress, and inflammatory responses [to a crappy breakfast] and determine relative contributions of dietary fiber and antioxidant capacity to the overall effect.” Well, it’s kind of a no-brainer. “Overall, the inclusion of black beans in a meal improved postprandial metabolic responses…that could not be explained by either the fiber or antioxidant fractions alone.” Beans can even affect our responses to subsequent meals. When our body detects starch in our small intestine, it slows down rate at which our stomach empties. That makes sense, since the body wants to finish digesting before the next meal comes down the pike. So, researchers “hypothesized that eating a slowly digestible starch, such as lentils, may trigger these potent…mechanisms to result in a sustained delaying effect on gastric [stomach] emptying.” You can see below and at 3:34 in my video, a graphic showing the stomach emptying rate at a second meal consumed four and a half hours after eating a “premeal of either lentils or bread,” a quickly digesting starch. The chart doesn’t show how fast your stomach empties itself of the premeal, but how fast it empties a second meal eaten hours after you ate those lentils or that bread. So what happened? A premeal of lentils significantly slowed stomach emptying of a second meal compared with a premeal of quickly digestible bread. In fact, the lentil premeal slowed stomach emptying by about an hour, which means you would feel that much fuller for that much longer after lunch, simply because you had some beans for breakfast. And, when all the fiber and resistant starch make it down to the large intestine, they can feed the good bacteria in our colon. Researchers fed people a little over a cup of canned chickpeas a day, and, in just three weeks, some of the bad bacteria, the “pathogenic” and “putrefactive bacteria,” got crowded out, nearly halving the number of people colonizing a high ammonia-producing bacteria, indicating that chickpeas “have the potential to modulate the intestinal microbiome to promote intestinal health in humans” within a matter of weeks. I’ve since expanded my BROL prebiotic mix to include hulled purple barley and rye berries. Together with oat groats and beluga lentils, they form the base for many a sweet and savory dish in the Greger household. Key Takeaways Total antioxidant content of ten legumes, from most to least: lentils, garbanzo beans (chickpeas), small red beans, black beans, pinto beans, kidney beans, mung beans, black-eyed peas, navy beans, and lima beans. Lentils also stand out when pitted against cholesterol in vitro to try to prevent oxidation, making them “the best among all tested food legumes for the development of a dietary supplement for promoting heart health and for preventing cancers”—but why not just eat lentils themselves? Although extracts, dietary supplements, and the like are popular, whole plant foods can be greater than the sum of their parts. When researchers compared black beans to an unhealthy breakfast, the beans were found to improve after-meal metabolic responses “that could not be explained by either the fiber or antioxidant fractions alone.” Beans, such as lentils, can also slow stomach emptying of a subsequent meal, leaving you feeling much fuller for longer. The fiber and resistant starch in beans also feed the good bacteria in our colon, thereby crowding out our bad “pathogenic” and “putrefactive” bacteria. To read the original article click here.

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Black Bean Brownies Recipe

AHA Publisher — Thu, 20 Jan 2022 08:00:53 +0000

Dr. Josh Axe, DC, DNM, CN – Rich, chocolatey, decadent brownies definitely are a dessert option that makes many mouths water. The only problem is most brownies are loaded with sugar and carbs but devoid of valuable nutrients — but not my black bean brownies recipe. This brownie recipe lets you have the dessert without the guilt. These healthy black bean brownies are absolutely delicious and also packed with fiber, protein, iron and magnesium. Plus, they’re completely gluten-free. Is a Black Bean Brownie Recipe the Healthiest Brownie Option? Black bean brownies with flour (as in all-purpose, wheat-derived flour) contain gluten and are typically high in both sugar and carbs … not to mention they are lower in protein and fiber compared to these black bean brownies. This recipe for gluten-free black bean brownies uses Paleo flour, which you can make yourself or buy in the store. These are also sugar-free black bean brownies as in they contain zero refined sugar like typical brownie recipes. Some people like black bean brownies with dates included as a natural sweetener, which isn’t a bad idea at all. For this recipe, I decided to use maple syrup and stevia. As you’ll see from the nutrition information below, this easy black bean brownie recipe is impressively high in fiber, which can help ward off digestive complaints like constipation. One of the drawbacks of these brownies is the fact that some people have a hard time digesting legumes like black beans. Soaking and sprouting beans can help make them easier on the gut. These may not be vegan black bean brownies, but to make black bean brownies vegan, you can substitute ¼ to ½ of a ripe avocado mashed for each egg in this recipe. Black bean avocado brownies are also delicious and healthy. As another vegan option, the regular eggs can be substituted for flax eggs. The standard conversion for a regular egg to a flax egg is one tablespoon of flaxseed meal and three tablespoons of water to replace one egg. You may be thinking, “This all sounds very healthy, but how do they taste?” Try serving these to your friends and family … with no bean taste, I bet they’ll mistake them for regular brownies — delicious, gooey, chocolatey brownies. How to Make Black Bean Brownies Forget making black bean brownies with mix because even though this recipe is made from scratch, it’s still an incredibly easy recipe to create even when you don’t have a ton of time. First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Next, put all of your ingredients into the blender. Once everything is mixed up well, pour the batter into the greased pan. These simple black bean brownies will be ready for tasting in less than an hour! Let’s go into detail … Add all of the ingredients to the blender. Blend all of the ingredients together. When it’s all done, there shouldn’t be any clumps. Pour the black bean brownie mix into a greased 8×8 pan or baking dish. Coconut oil works great for greasing the pan/dish. Bake for 40 minutes. Let the pan cool for at least 10 minutes. Time to serve! Depending on how you cut them, this recipe will make anywhere from nine to 12 brownies. Last but not least, enjoy a delicious black bean brownie! Black Bean Brownies Recipe This black bean brownies recipe lets you have the dessert without the guilt! It’s packed full of fiber, protein, iron and magnesium. INGREDIENTS 15-ounces cooked black beans, drained ½ cup cacao powder 4 tablespoons coconut oil, melted ¾ cup maple syrup 2 teaspoons stevia 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 3 eggs ½ cup Paleo flour ¼ teaspoon sea salt ¼ cup water INSTRUCTIONS Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Blend all ingredients together. Pour ingredients into a greased 8×8 pan and bake for 40 minutes. Allow to cool for 10–15 minutes. To read the original article click here.

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Eating More Plant Foods May Lower Heart Disease Risk in Young Adults, Older Women

AHA Publisher — Thu, 05 Aug 2021 07:12:34 +0000

American Heart Association (AHA) via Newswise – Eating more nutritious, plant-based foods is heart-healthy at any age, according to two research studies published today in the Journal of the American Heart Association, an open access journal of the American Heart Association. In two separate studies analyzing different measures of healthy plant food consumption, researchers found that both young adults and postmenopausal women had fewer heart attacks and were less likely to develop cardiovascular disease when they ate more healthy plant foods. The American Heart Association Diet and Lifestyle Recommendations suggest an overall healthy dietary pattern that emphasizes a variety of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy products, skinless poultry and fish, nuts and legumes and non-tropical vegetable oils. It also advises limited consumption of saturated fat, trans fat, sodium, red meat, sweets and sugary drinks. One study, titled “A Plant-Centered Diet and Risk of Incident Cardiovascular Disease during Young to Middle Adulthood,” evaluated whether long-term consumption of a plant-centered diet and a shift toward a plant-centered diet starting in young adulthood are associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease in midlife. “Earlier research was focused on single nutrients or single foods, yet there is little data about a plant-centered diet and the long-term risk of cardiovascular disease,” said Yuni Choi, Ph.D., lead author of the young adult study and a postdoctoral researcher in the division of epidemiology and community health at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health in Minneapolis. Choi and colleagues examined diet and the occurrence of heart disease in 4,946 adults enrolled in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study. Participants were 18- to 30-years-old at the time of enrollment (1985-1986) in this study and were free of cardiovascular disease at that time. Participants included 2,509 Black adults and 2,437 white adults (54.9% women overall) who were also analyzed by education level (equivalent to more than high school vs. high school or less). Participants had eight follow-up exams from 1987-88 to 2015-16 that included lab tests, physical measurements, medical histories and assessment of lifestyle factors. Unlike randomized controlled trials, participants were not instructed to eat certain things and were not told their scores on the diet measures, so the researchers could collect unbiased, long-term habitual diet data. After detailed diet history interviews, the quality of the participants diets was scored based on the A Priori Diet Quality Score (APDQS) composed of 46 food groups at years 0, 7 and 20 of the study. The food groups were classified into beneficial foods (such as fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts and whole grains); adverse foods (such as fried potatoes, high-fat red meat, salty snacks, pastries and soft drinks); and neutral foods (such as potatoes, refined grains, lean meats and shellfish) based on their known association with cardiovascular disease. Participants who received higher scores ate a variety of beneficial foods, while people who had lower scores ate more adverse foods. Overall, higher values correspond to a nutritionally rich, plant-centered diet. “As opposed to existing diet quality scores that are usually based on small numbers of food groups, APDQS is explicit in capturing the overall quality of diet using 46 individual food groups, describing the whole diet that the general population commonly consumes. Our scoring is very comprehensive, and it has many similarities with diets like the Dietary Guidelines for Americans Healthy Eating Index (from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service), the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet and the Mediterranean diet,“ said David E. Jacobs Jr., Ph.D., senior author of the study and Mayo Professor of Public Health in the division of epidemiology and community health at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health in Minneapolis. Researchers found: During 32 years of follow-up, 289 of the participants developed cardiovascular disease (including heart attack, stroke, heart failure, heart-related chest pain or clogged arteries anywhere in the body). People who scored in the top 20% on the long-term diet quality score (meaning they ate the most nutritionally rich plant foods and fewer adversely rated animal products) were 52% less likely to develop cardiovascular disease, after considering several factors (including age, sex, race, average caloric consumption, education, parental history of heart disease, smoking and average physical activity). In addition, between year 7 and 20 of the study when participants ages ranged from 25 to 50, those who improved their diet quality the most (eating more beneficial plant foods and fewer adversely rated animal products) were 61% less likely to develop subsequent cardiovascular disease, in comparison to the participants whose diet quality declined the most during that time. There were few vegetarians among the participants, so the study was not able to assess the possible benefits of a strict vegetarian diet, which excludes all animal products, including meat, dairy and eggs. “A nutritionally rich, plant-centered diet is beneficial for cardiovascular health. A plant-centered diet is not necessarily vegetarian,” Choi said. “People can choose among plant foods that are as close to natural as possible, not highly processed. We think that individuals can include animal products in moderation from time to time, such as non-fried poultry, non-fried fish, eggs and low-fat dairy.” Because this study is observational, it cannot prove a cause-and-effect relationship between diet and heart disease. Other co-authors are Nicole Larson, Ph.D.; Lyn M. Steffen, Ph.D.; Pamela J. Schreiner, Ph.D.; Daniel D. Gallaher, Ph.D.; Daniel A. Duprez, M.D., Ph.D.; James M. Shikany, Dr.P.H.; and Jamal S. Rana, M.D., Ph.D. The study was funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health; Healthy Food Healthy Lives Institute at the University of Minnesota; and the MnDrive Global Food Ventures Professional Development Program at the University of Minnesota. In another study, “Relationship Between a Plant-Based Dietary Portfolio and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease: Findings from the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) Prospective Cohort Study,” researchers, in collaboration with WHI investigators led by Simin Liu, M.D., Ph.D., at Brown University, evaluated whether or not diets that included a dietary portfolio of plant-based foods with U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved health claims for lowering “bad” cholesterol levels (known as the “Portfolio Diet”) were associated with fewer cardiovascular disease events in a large group of postmenopausal women. The “Portfolio Diet” includes nuts; plant protein from soy, beans or tofu; viscous soluble fiber from oats, barley, okra, eggplant, oranges, apples and berries; plant sterols from enriched foods and monounsaturated fats found in olive and canola oil and avocadoes; along with limited consumption of saturated fats and dietary cholesterol. Previously, two randomized trials demonstrated that reaching high target levels of foods included in the Portfolio Diet resulted in significant lowering of “bad” cholesterol or low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), more so than a traditional low-saturated-fat National Cholesterol and Education Program diet in one study and on par with taking a cholesterol-lowering statin medication in another. The study analyzed whether postmenopausal women who followed the Portfolio Diet experienced fewer heart disease events. The study included 123,330 women in the U.S. who participated in the Women’s Health Initiative, a long-term national study looking at risk factors, prevention and early detection of serious health conditions in postmenopausal women. When the women in this analysis enrolled in the study between 1993 and 1998, they were between 50-79 years old (average age of 62) and did not have cardiovascular disease. The study group was followed until 2017 (average follow-up time of 15.3 years). Researchers used self-reported food-frequency questionnaires data to score each woman on adherence to the Portfolio Diet. The researchers found: Compared to women who followed the Portfolio Diet less frequently, those with the closest alignment were 11% less likely to develop any type of cardiovascular disease, 14% less likely to develop coronary heart disease and 17% less likely to develop heart failure. There was no association between following the Portfolio Diet more closely and the occurrence of stroke or atrial fibrillation. “These results present an important opportunity, as there is still room for people to incorporate more cholesterol-lowering plant foods into their diets. With even greater adherence to the Portfolio dietary pattern, one would expect an association with even less cardiovascular events, perhaps as much as cholesterol-lowering medications. Still, an 11% reduction is clinically meaningful and would meet anyone’s minimum threshold for a benefit. The results indicate the Portfolio Diet yields heart-health benefits,” said John Sievenpiper, M.D., Ph.D., senior author of the study at St. Michael’s Hospital, a site of Unity Health Toronto in Ontario, Canada, and associate professor of nutritional sciences and medicine at the University of Toronto. The researchers believe the results highlight possible opportunities to lower heart disease by encouraging people to consume more foods in the Portfolio Diet. “We also found a dose response in our study, meaning that you can start small, adding one component of the Portfolio Diet at a time, and gain more heart-health benefits as you add more components,” said Andrea J. Glenn, M.Sc., R.D., lead author of the study and a doctoral student at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto and in nutritional sciences at the University of Toronto. Although the study was observational and cannot directly establish a cause-and-effect relation between diet and cardiovascular events, researchers feel it provides a most reliable estimate for the diet-heart relation to-date due to its study design (included well-validated food frequency questionnaires administered at baseline and year three in a large population of highly dedicated participants). Nevertheless, the investigators report that these findings need to be further investigated in additional populations of men or younger women. To read the original article click here.

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Split Pea Soup Recipe

AHA Publisher — Thu, 25 Mar 2021 07:00:08 +0000

Dr. Josh Axe, DC, DMN, CNS – Split pea soup: just the name can conjure up images of bland, sad, overcooked soups made by well-meaning grandmothers or, conversely, the witch in fairy tales. Similar to Brussels sprouts or green beans, split peas have been been given a bad rap due to overboiling, overcooking and underseasoning. But if you’re ready to transform your views on split pea soup and have a ridiculously easy recipe on hand for those busy nights, you’re in luck. This split pea soup isn’t your grandma’s recipe. This one is loaded with flavor and pantry herbs, packed with yummy ingredients like turkey bacon and requires little work. Plus, it’s super filling — split peas are a super high-fiber food and will keep you feeling full for a long time. I know the split pea soup name can be a deterrent, but this is one recipe you really can’t knock until you try. In fact, when you serve this dish, leave out the name and see who guesses what it really is! How to Make Split Pea Soup Start by heating coconut oil in a large pot over medium heat, letting it warm up until the oil starts shimmering. Then add in the onion, garlic and celery. Enjoy the fragrance filling up your kitchen and sauté the veggies until the onions soften, about 5–8 minutes. Next, stir in the carrots, split peas, broth, turkey bacon, herbs, bay leaf and salt. Cover the pot and bring all that goodness to a boil. Once it’s bubbling, reduce the heat and let the split pea soup and all that great taste simmer for an hour. When the soup is ready, discard the bay leaf — it adds a ton of flavor while cooking, but you don’t want to nibble on that! — and let the soup rest and cool off for 10 minutes. Top it with freshly sliced green onions when serving. This split pea soup is one of the easiest soup recipes around. You can also eliminate the turkey bacon to make it vegetarian. I hope you love this modern split pea soup as much as I do. Split Pea Soup Recipe DESCRIPTION This split pea soup isn’t your grandma’s recipe. This one is loaded with flavor and pantry herbs, packed with yummy ingredients like turkey bacon and requires little work. INGREDIENTS 1 tablespoon coconut oil 1 cup chopped yellow onion 1 clove garlic, minced 2 cups chopped celery 3 cups carrots, julienned 2½ cups green split peas, sorted and rinsed 8 cups vegetable broth 1 package uncured turkey bacon, diced 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes ½ teaspoon dried thyme 1 teaspoon dried oregano 1 tablespoon dried basil 1 bay leaf sea salt to taste chopped green onions for topping INSTRUCTIONS In a large pot over medium heat, heat the coconut oil until it shimmers. Add the onion, garlic and celery and sauté until the onions are soft, about 5–8 minutes. Stir in the carrots, split peas, broth, turkey bacon, herbs, bay leaf and salt. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce and simmer for 1 hour. Discard the bay leaf and allow the soup to rest for 10 minutes before serving. Top with chopped green onions. NOTES When the soup is ready, discard the bay leaf — it adds a ton of flavor while cooking, but you don’t want to nibble on that! You can also eliminate the turkey bacon to make it vegetarian. To read the original article click here. For more articles from Dr. Axe click here.

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Extra Virgin Olive Oil Boosts Cognitive Function, New Trial

AHA Publisher — Wed, 18 Nov 2020 08:00:32 +0000

Joy Jensen via NaturalHealth365 – The Mediterranean diet has long been considered a heart-healthy diet, which consists of legumes, fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains, and healthy fats, including olive oil. And it turns out that olive oil could be key in the health benefits it offers. A recent trial found that consuming extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) boosts cognitive function, making a case for using long-term intervention with the oil to boost brain health and performance. What was surprising was how supplementing with EVOO stacked up against following the Mediterranean diet alone. Surprising Brain Function Results Delivered by Using EVOO According to researchers, whose work was published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease in October 2020, they wanted to learn more about the effects of Greek High Phenolic Early Harvest (HP-EH) extra virgin olive oil as compared to moderate phenolic EVOO and simply following the Mediterranean diet in individuals dealing with mild cognitive impairment. Scientists took three groups of people with mild cognitive impairment, gave one group the HP-EH extra virgin olive oil daily, another group the moderate phenolic EVOO daily, and the third group followed instructions for the Mediterranean diet. At the end of the trial, they found that the group with the best performance was the group that was giving the HP-EH extra virgin olive oil each day. They had improved cognitive performance in nearly every area that was tested, leading researchers to conclude that long-term intervention with EVOO offers significant improvements in overall cognitive function. Additional Health Benefits of Extra Virgin Olive Oil Beyond boosting brain health and improving cognitive function, EVOO offers many other health benefits that make it worth adding to your diet or even taking as a supplement. Studies show that regular consumption of EVOO helps reduce triglyceride levels, an important step for preventing heart disease. It’s also been found to help prevent blood clots and strokes, supporting healthy cholesterol levels that can keep platelets from sticking together and causing clots. The monounsaturated fats found in the oil are anti-inflammatory as well, reducing inflammation and boosting the health of cardiovascular tissues, which helps lower the risk of heart disease. Researchers have also discovered that EVOO has antimicrobial effects against the bacteria that cause peptic ulcers, while other studies show that regular olive oil consumption results in stronger bones and reduced risk of fractures. Previous studies also found that EVOO protects the brain from oxidative stress and inflammation, which may reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. What’s the best way to get the benefits of extra virgin olive oil? Experts usually recommend getting between one to four tablespoons daily. You can use it on salads, drizzle it on veggies when you roast or sauté them, or use it when whipping up your favorite dips, spreads, pesto, or hummus. Just make sure you purchase extra virgin olive oil that’s been cold-pressed to ensure the valuable fatty acids, polyphenols, and nutrients aren’t destroyed during processing. Editor’s note: You may be interested in this article, “The Top 5 olive oils to protect your heart” – which includes my favorite brand. And, no, I do not have any financial incentive to give you this information. Sources for this article include: EuropePMC.org, LifeExtension.com, NaturalHealth365.com, NaturalHealth365.com, NaturalHealth365.com To read the original article click here. For more articles from NaturalHealth365 click here.

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Need a Heart Health Boost? Try Legumes

AHA Publisher — Thu, 28 Nov 2019 08:00:41 +0000

Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine via EurekAlert – New research says beans, beans, they’re good for the heart. WASHINGTON–Consuming beans, lentils, peas, and other legumes reduces the risk for cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease, and high blood pressure, according to a review published in Advances in Nutrition. Researchers reviewed prospective cohort studies that assessed consumption of legumes on the risk for cardiometabolic diseases and related markers. The study found that those who consumed the most legumes reduced incidence rates for cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease, and hypertension by as much as 10 percent when compared to those with the lowest intakes. “Cardiovascular disease is the world’s leading–and most expensive–cause of death, costing the United States nearly 1 billion dollars a day,” says study co-author Hana Kahleova, MD, PhD, director of clinical research for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. “This study shows that an inexpensive, accessible, and common pantry staple could help change that: beans.” Beans and other legumes benefit cardiovascular health because they are high in fiber, plant protein, and other micronutrients, but low in fat, free of cholesterol, and low on the glycemic index, according to the study authors. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans says that Americans are not eating enough legumes and recommends eating about three cups per week. The average American consumes less than a cup a week. “Americans eat less than one serving of legumes per day, on average,” adds Dr. Kahleova. “Simply adding more beans to our plates could be a powerful tool in fighting heart disease and bringing down blood pressure.” Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S., responsible for approximately 1 in every 4 deaths. About 1 in 3 U.S. adults suffer from hypertension. To read the original article click here.

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