Be nutty - stay healthy!

While many have proven that laughter is the best medicine - and will not only help you stay healthy but can even effect cures - I'm not talking about that kind of nutty this time.

I'm talking about the real nuts - the kind that grow on trees.

USDA researchers say that just 1 1/2 ounces of nuts a day can reduce your risk of heart disease and diabetes. They also taste good, but surveys show that 66% of us don't eat any nuts at all.

Here are some of the most powerful:

Almonds: For delivering heart-healthy polyphenols, one ounce is equal to a cup of green tea plus 1/2 cup of broccoli combined , AND they've been shown to help lower LDL cholesterol.

Hazlenuts: Have high levels of vitamin E, folate, and B vitamins. They are also rich in arginine - an amino acid that can relax blood vessels and lower blood pressure.

Pistachios: A recent Pennsylvania State University study shows that a daily serving or two may decrease LDL levels by up to 12%

Pecans: Just one ounce contains 10% of your daily fiber requirement, and pecans have the highest overall concentration of disease-fighting antioxidants of all nuts.

So next time you're reaching for a snack - instead of grabbing a sugar-filled candy bar from that rack, choose a bag of nuts. You'll find almonds and pistachios in most candy aisles, and you'll find the others in the baking aisle or the produce department.

Don't peel that apple!

According to scientists at Cornell University, an apple's peel contains triterpenoids, antioxidants which were proven effective in inhibiting the growth of colon, liver, and breast cancer cells. We already knew that apples - and all red fruits and vegetables - had other antioxidants.

Our ancestors may not have known the scientific names, but they knew it too. Remember the old "Apple a day keeps the doctor away?"

One thing however - be Sure to thoroughly wash that apple. Remember that the beneficial peel won't be so beneficial if it's coated with toxic pesticides or fertilizer residue.

Tip: If you also like drinking apple juice, make sure that it's made from whole apples so you get a good dose of triterpenoids.

Now... to convince my family that apple peelings belong in pie. Right now, my horse is getting the benefit of all those triterpenoids (not that I don't want him to be healthy, but he gets whole apples, too!)

Eat Your Berries

You know that raspberries, blueberries, etc. give you significant health benefits in the form of roughage, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. They've long been considered as health food for all the goodness they bring to you, but new studies suggest that some berries are actually cancer fighters!

Read this article in the New York Times to learn about the studies.

Looks like a good reason to start a raspberry patch if you don't already have one!

Are Olives a Miracle Drug?

The reading and research I've done over the past few days would lead me to believe so.

One of my clients is about to launch a new product that contains olive leaf, so to give "proof" to our claims of it's effectiveness, I started reading.

I learned that the use of dried olive leaf dates back to the ancient Egyptian and Mediterranean cultures, and is even cited in the Bible. That's a pretty long history of healing!

Clinical evidence has proven the blood pressure lowering effects of carefully extracted olive leaf extracts, and bioassays support its antibactrial, antifungal, and anti-inflammatory effects.

But the benefits don't stop with the leaf. Olive oil offers protection against heart disease by controlling LDL cholesterol levels while raising HDL (good) cholesterol levels. It's protective function in the stomach has a beneficial effect on ulcers and gastritis, and because it activates teh secretion of bile and pancreatic hormones more naturally than precription drugs, it lowers the incidence of gallstone formation.

Studies on rats are now showing that olive oil reduces the risk of colon cancer - rating almost as high as fish oil in that regard.

Every report I read recommended taking two tablespoons of virgin olive oil daily. Of course, they recommend using it to replace other oils in your diet rather than just adding olive oil.

While all olive oil is good, the best is Extra Virgin - because it has not been overly processed and does not contain any other oils. Thus it has higher levels of antioxidants.

I also learned that your olive oil should be kept in a cool dark place, tightly sealed.

Contrary to popular hype, canola oil does not have the beneficial properties of olive oil - and may even contain a dangerous fatty acid. (I've been trying to stay away from that one for years - which unfortunately limits eating out.)

Olive oil burns easily, so for frying, nutrition experts recommend coconut oil. Because of its composition, the heat won't transition the oil into dangerous trans fatty acids.

Yours for good health - and good eating!
Marte