WHFoods Weekly Newsletter

[World's Healthiest Foods]() Weekly Newsletter - July 24, 2017 The George Mateljan Foundation is a not-for-profit foundation with no commercial interests or advertising. Our mission is to help you eat and cook the healthiest way for optimal health. Dear Friend of World's Healthiest Foods, This week, we highlight another one of our newly created lunch recipes from our upcoming WHFoods 7-Day Meal Plan to help you on your way to optimal health. I encourage you to try this week's featured lunch recipe and see how easy it is to combine great nutrition with great taste! [Curried Turkey Salad]( Can you tell us about adapting a meal plan without grains? Many website visitors have asked us for practical suggestions when trying to avoid certain types of foods or food groups in their meal plans. Sometimes foods or food groups may need to be avoided for medical reasons. At other times, people choose to avoid certain foods for personal ethical reasons and/or dietary practices involving religious beliefs. In addition, people sometimes describe themselves as simply "doing better" without certain foods. Read on to learn more about ... [Adapting a Meal Plan for Little or No Grains](. Enjoy your week of healthy eating, George We would love to hear from you. Please e-mail us your rave reviews, comments, or any suggestions you might have after having tried the recipes from our powerful WHFoods 7-Day Menu, gmf@mauigateway.com [Food of the Week] What's New and Beneficial About Kale Kale Tops of WHFoods in Terms of Lutein Among all 100 of our WHFoods, kale tops the list in terms of lutein content. Kale is not only our most lutein-rich food at WHFoods, it is also the top lutein-containing food in the USDA's National Nutrient Database, which analyzes 5,350 foods that contain this carotenoid nutrient. Among the carotenoids, lutein is perhaps best known for its supportive role in eye health, and in particular, for its ability to protect different parts of the eye from potential damage by light or oxygen. A recent study involving African-American women has shown decreased likelihood of glaucoma (an eye problem usually caused by increased pressure within the eye) when dietary intake of kale reaches higher intake levels. In this case, "higher intake levels" were defined as any levelsexceeding a mere one half-cup serving per week! Since our WHFoods serving size for kale is one cup, you will be getting double this amount from one serving based on our standard. Among all of the vegetables examined in this particular study, kale and collards came out at the top of the vegetable list for decreasing the likelihood of glaucoma! A recent study that analyzed the combination of kale with lentils found this food combination to be particularly complementary in providing us with nutrient-richness. Interestingly, this study focused on two areas of nutrition: mineral nourishment and "prebiotic nutrients." Prebiotic nutrients support the growth of desirable bacteria within our digestive tract. These nutrients often involve short chains of simple sugars called "oligosaccharides." (Glucooligosaccharides, fructooligosaccharides, and xylooligosaccharides are well-studied examples of oligosaccharides.) In this study, researchers determined that the combination of prebiotic nutrients in kale-plus-lentils and the combination of mineral nutrients in kale-plus-lentils were especially complementary as each food provided the nutrients the other one lacked. In each nutrient category, kale and lentils were able to "bring something special to the table" that the other could not, resulting in outstanding combined nutrient-richness. Take advantage of this unique food combination by starting with our [Curried Lentils](. Each serving of this vegetarian entreé will provide you with 1/2 cup of kale and 1/2 cup of lentils. And it tastes great, too! Kale Provides Cardiovascular Support The research track record for kale in providing overall cardiovascular support is fairly strong, and not limited to improvement in blood cholesterol levels. However, research on kale and cholesterol levels is especially interesting. Recent studies show that kale can provide you with some special cholesterol-lowering benefits if you cook it by steaming. The fiber-related components in kale do a better job of binding together with bile acids in your digestive tract when they've been steamed. When this binding process takes place, it's easier for bile acids to be excreted, and the result is a drop in your cholesterol levels. Raw kale still has cholesterol-lowering ability - just not as much. Along these same lines, a recent study examined the impact of 5 ounces of kale juice per day for 12 weeks in men with high blood cholesterol levels (above 200 mg/dL). Consumption of kale juice was determined to raise the HDL (good cholesterol) levels in these study participants, lower their LDL (potentially harmful cholesterol) levels, and also improve their atherogenic profiles (which are a measure of the likelihood of developing coronary artery disease). At WHFoods, we always encourage consumption of whole foods in their minimally processed forms. However, we also believe that this study of kale juice underscores the exceptional health benefits derived from this cruciferous vegetable. Kale has Diverse Nutrient Content Recent genetic studies on kale have shown it to have remarkable diversity, not only in terms of its physical varieties, but also in terms of its nutrient content. For example, over 45 different flavonoids are known to be present in significantly differing amounts across the many different varieties of kale that can be found within the very broad kale family. One recent study has compared an Italian Lacinato-type variety of kale (also sometimes called Tuscan Black or Dinosaur kale) to a North American broad-leafed kale (often called a Napus or Siberian type kale) as well as to a German curly-leaf variety of kale (belonging to the Scotch/Scotch-Curled type of this cruciferous vegetable). As you can see, the very description of these kale types requires us to think about two continents and even more countries in which the kale was being grown. This particular study focused on sulfur-containing compounds in kale - including its glucosinolates. The researchers determined that glucosinolate content in kale can vary by as much as 10-fold depending on the specific variety in question and the conditions of cultivation and harvest. In general, this study showed that curly-leafed kale varieties and darker Lacinato varieties of kale contained higher levels of glucosinolates (and especially one particular glucosinolate called glucoraphanin) than the broad-leafed, Napus/Siberian types of kale. For glucosinolate-related health benefits from kale, you might want to eat more of these varieties. In our Description section, you can find more details about each of these kale varieties. Kale for Detoxification Kale is now recognized as providing comprehensive support for the body's detoxification system. New research has shown that compounds made in our bodies from from kale's glucosinolates can help beneficially regulate detoxification at a genetic level. [Read More]( [Recipe of the Week] Try This Recipe of the Week 5-Minute "Quick Steamed" Kale This week, I want to share with you the Nutrient-Rich Way to Cook Kale to help maximize its nutrients and flavor! My friends love this recipe. (Taken from page 331 of the 2nd Edition of the World's Healthiest Foods book.) [Read More]( [Nutrient of the Week] Kale is an Excellent Source of Vitamin B6 Kale is among the World's Healthiest Food because it is nutrient-rich with health-protective nutrients such as vitamin B6. [Read More]( [Hot Topic] The Difference in Nutrient-Richness Between Raw vs Cooked We receive frequent questions about the advantages and disadvantages of raw versus cooked foods. This week we will begin a series of editorials addressing various aspects of this topic starting with the nutrient-richness of raw vs. cooked foods. At WHFoods, we think about "raw" and "cooked" as being part of a continuum that begins with fresh, whole foods which have never been heated or processed in any way and continues on through several basic cooking methods. However, when it comes to cooking, the comparison between raw and cooked foods in terms of their taste and health benefits is better described as a comparison between raw and "optimally cooked," which for us means minimally cooked in a way that avoids as much nutrient loss as possible, while bringing out a food's vibrant colors, flavors and aromas. [Read More]( Here's to another week of the Healthiest Way of Eating and Cooking! George [WHFoods Book 2nd Edition] The World's Healthiest Foods, 2nd Edition is complete and ready to order with 2 free gifts valued at $51.95. All international orders (including Canada) must be placed through Amazon.com. More from happy book owners: Just received my second edition yesterday and I must say I love it. Thank you for all your efforts. - Dave [Read more about our book]( $39.95 [buy now]( visit our homepage at Newsletter circulation: over 120,000 Copyright © 2017 The George Mateljan Foundation, All Rights Reserved George Mateljan Foundation, PO Box 25801, Seattle, Washington 98165 [Unsubscribe]( | [Change Subscriber Options](