Oh My Goodness! Oranges!

175-ShelleyGoldbeckPost-Christmas until the end of March is the best season for oranges and grapefruit, unless you live where citrus grows; then it’s longer. (Mandarin oranges are in season until just before Christmas.)

I look forward to eating oranges in season. They are juicy and sweet but tangy. My favourites are Cara Cara oranges and Tangerines, which show up late in the season, (March). Of course fruit seasons vary slightly from year to year.

I believe in seasonal eating. When fruit is in season, it is usually ripe, sweet, and relatively inexpensive. I think human digestive systems do well with eating one food for a while (in season). Eat your fill and move onto the next season.

Local is nice but completely impractical when our frost-free growing season is only 90 days. There aren’t many fruit trees that can survive our winters. Citrus does best with zero frost-free days. Recall panicked Florida orange growers when frost threatens!

Why do you want to eat oranges? Citrus fruits are a great source of Vitamin C and the bioflavonoids that help C do its job. High in fibre, low in fat, they even have a small amount of protein. Oranges have folate, vital in fetus development and Vitamin A (Retinoids and Carotenoids) for various tasks to maintain bodily health.

The value of these nutrients in this delicious sphere, with its very own colour, far exceeds what you can get from a supplement or multi-vitamin. The synthetics don’t include the micronutrients and trace minerals that make the nutrition team inside the orange work so harmoniously.

What about orange juice? I recommend it only if you juice it yourself, (and consume it sparingly. It’s not whole without the fibre.) Many orange juice brands contain unlabelled substances like colours, flavours, preservatives and agricultural chemical residues. They’re also pasteurized, effectively killing most nutrients. Some brands sneak in sugar, or worse, aspartame. The juice, without pulp is little more than sugar water, spiking your blood sugar levels.

It’s best to eat the whole fruit. I do juice oranges that are past their prime eating stage. I use the juice to flavour salad dressings and desserts or we pour a bit into our smoothies. It’s easy to overdo orange juice. Beware!

Eating Ideas: add oranges to salads for some pizzazz. Pair oranges with cranberry in recipes for an interesting taste combination. My grandma taught me to add orange juice and zest to a white cake recipe for an elegant but simple dessert.

Oranges. Get them while they’re good.

Remember to Eat the Food, The Whole Food and Nothing but the Food.

My Orange Chiffon Cake recipe

For a complete report on the nutrition of oranges see: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=nutrientprofile&dbid=31

Shelley Goldbeck, DTM has studied food for over 35 years, after an epiphany at the grocery store led her to put back the doughnuts and cookies and buy the peaches instead! Her food choices have evolved and she enjoys sharing the results of her research with others. Shelley is a Thinker, Writer, and Speaker based in Calgary, AB. 

Cheers for Cherries!

cherryCherry season says summer. And it’s here now!

For the next month or so, cherries are in stores, at farmers’ markets and impromptu roadside stands.

There is nothing like biting into a cherry and feeling the crunch of the crisp skin as it snaps between my teeth. The ensuing explosion of juicy flavour brings ecstasy to my mouth!

Cherries are among the healthiest foods on earth. They contain a plethora of nutrients including Vitamins A and C, anti-oxidants, and phytochemicals.

There are several studies suggesting that cherries prevent cancer.

But you won’t see that in a TV ad. The US cherry growers suggested on their website that cherries could prevent cancer. The statement is backed by solid scientific studies.

The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) successfully sued the cherry growers for making health claims. It doesn’t matter if they’re true; such claims are verboten!

Yet Subway makes “Eat Fresh” claims. Their lettuce arrives at the restaurant pre-chopped and it never turns brown! They obviously spray or soak it in something to preserve it. Is that something good for me? Does the FDA sue Subway? Of course not.

If we eat too much healthy food we won’t get sick. Our being sick is in the best interest of many companies. So unless we look for them, we will never learn the health benefits of eating cherries.

I suggest you eat as many cherries as you can in the next month. Organic is best but all fruit should be thoroughly washed.

From USDA
From USDA

Cherries don’t hang around long at my house so I have few recipes for them.

A great way to serve them, especially if they’re getting soft, is to stew them. Throw into a pot with a bit of water. Add sweetener (honey, maple syrup, agave, coconut sugar) to taste. Bring to slight boil. Turn down heat and simmer for 15 minutes or until fruit is soft. Cool slightly. Serve warm with a few tablespoons of coconut milk.

Warning: overeating raw cherries can lead to a few unpleasant side effects. Because they’re high in vitamin C and fibre, they can have a laxative effect. If you’re sensitive to them, it’s best to eat a few each day and work your way up to eating them by the case like I do!

Don’t forget to include sour cherries in your diet. Their nutritional profile is even higher than the ones commonly sold in stores. Sour cherries of some variety grow almost everywhere and their seasons vary. Sour cherries are great edible landscape plants.

So cheers for cherries. Eat ‘em while they’re here for they are too soon gone.

Butter vs. Margarine

butterpicRevised July 2013

Margarine is the generic term used for butter substitutes. Its history goes back almost 200 years to the discovery of margaric acid from whence margarine derives its name. Over the years various ingredients have been used to concoct a less expensive spread than butter including beef tallow, whale, seal, and fish oils, vegetable oils and sometimes even a little butter.

Both butter and margarine are water-in-oil emulsions; they have similar calories, depending on the amount of water in the margarine or “spread”. Sadly, most people erroneously think they are interchangeable.

Margarine consumption surpassed that of butter in the late 1950’s when some scientists proposed a correlation between the consumption of saturated fats and blood-serum cholesterol levels with heart disease. Doctors began advising their patients to use margarine instead of butter.

Many people still believe in this supposed cause and effect but the explosion of heart disease in our society would suggest otherwise. Food manufacturers seized the opportunity to increase profits by using cheaper inferior ingredients while proclaiming the health benefits of their products.

Margarine is a manufactured “food”, generally accomplished by passing hydrogen through (often) inferior quality oil in the presence of a nickel, cadmium, or palladium (all toxic heavy metals) catalyst. The addition of hydrogen to the unsaturated bonds results in saturated bonds, effectively increasing the melting point of the oil and thus hardening it.

This process creates trans fats, which the body does not recognize as food and ironically are now known to contribute to heart disease and other diseases like cancer. Furthermore, the oil is extracted at high temperature, which damages the oil and destroys the vitamin E in it. The advertisements and the packaging for margarine are usually deceptive lies, stating it contains ‘polyunsaturated oil’, when the processing saturates or partially saturates the oil.

Butter has many nutritional benefits, where margarine has few. Butter contains antioxidants, which help offset free-radical damage to cells. It is a source of vitamin A, D, E, and K, calcium, selenium, and conjugated linoleic acid, which helps maintain lean body mass, prevents weight gain and may reduce certain cancers. Butter fat helps the absorption of certain vitamins and minerals. And it tastes better.

Although many people are sensitive to cow’s milk dairy products, often butter is well-tolerated because butter is almost a pure fat, and does not contain many of the allergens found in other milk products.

 

One issue is the treatment of dairy cows. They are often pumped full of antibiotics and hormones which naturally land in the milk.

 

The argument that margarine helps control cholesterol is a myth as most cholesterol is manufactured within the body; a maximum of about 4% of all cholesterol comes from the diet.  Cholesterol is the raw material for the adrenal stress hormones and the sex hormones. The body often reacts to stress by producing more cholesterol allowing the body to make more stress-fighting hormones. Therefore it is quite likely that the consumption of trans fats stresses the body to produce more cholesterol.

 

The human body is not designed to consume manufactured food but thrives on a diet of whole, real food. Butter is a natural food and one of the best sources of important fat-soluble vitamins. You will pay more for butter, but nutritionally, for its purity, and its taste it is well worth it. Just remember, all things in moderation; the body is not served by eating any fat, including butter, by the pound.

 

 

Sources for this article include:

http://www.naturodoc.com/library/nutrition/margbutt.htm

Aviva:

http://www.healthcastle.com/butter-or-margarine.shtml

http://www.homemakers.com/health-and-nutrition/nutrition-and-diet/margarine-vs-butter-the-debate-continues/a/27133

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002114.htm

This site is sponsored by margarine producers who proclaim the “debate is over”.  It is included in this list in the interest of balance:

http://www.choosemargarine.com/latestSpread_marg_vs_butter.html

http://www.drlwilson.com/Articles/butter.htm

http://www.chatham-kent.ca/community+services/Public+Health/keeping+you+healthy/healthy+eating/Butter+or+Margarine.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margarine