healthy food tip and recipe
Today's Recipe
If you don't know what to serve for dinner tonight ...
Enjoy this low-fat meal with cod as part of your Healthiest Way of Eating this week. It not only tastes delicious but one serving provides 80% of the Daily Value (DV) for health-promoting selenium and 66% DV for vitamin B-12 and much more.
Ingredients:
- 1 lb cod fillets
- 2 medium onions, sliced medium thick
- 3 medium cloves garlic, chopped
- 1/2 cup + 1 TBS chicken or vegetable broth
- 2 cups fresh or 1 15 oz can (BPA-free) diced tomatoes
- 2 TBS fresh lemon juice
- *1/4 cup chopped black olives
- *1 TBS capers
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
- 2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
- 2 tsp chopped fresh thyme
- 1 lb cod fillets, cut into 2-inch pieces
- salt and cracked black pepper to taste
- red chili flakes to taste
- * optional
- Slice onions and chop garlic and let sit for 5 minutes to bring out their hidden health benefits.
- Heat 1 TBS broth in a 10-12 inch stainless steel pan or skillet. Healthy Sauté onion over medium heat for about 5 minutes in broth, until translucent. Add garlic and continue to sauté for another minute.
- Add rest of broth, diced tomatoes, and lemon juice. Bring to a simmer on high heat. Once it starts to simmer reduce heat to medium and simmer for about 5 minutes.
- Add herbs, olives, capers, and cod fillets; cover and simmer for about 5 minutes, depending on how thick the fish is. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve cod mixed with tomato herb sauce.
- Great Antipasto Salad
- Brown Rice
In-Depth Nutritional Profile for Mediterranean Cod with Tomatoes
Healthy Food Tip
Are nuts and avocados okay for someone with high blood pressure?
Q. Your website is the first place where I have heard that nuts and avocadoes are OK for those who have high blood pressure. I know doctors in Canada and many other countries don't recommend nuts or avocadoes due to their high level of fats. Can you explain how your data shows the reverse? I, myself, am a person with high blood pressure who has avoided nuts and avocadoes due to the advice of a doctor.
A. First, we do not recommend that you disregard your doctor's nutritional advice. We encourage you to talk with him or her in more depth as to the reasons for avoiding all high-fat foods.
The research we've read suggests that some high-fat foods like olive oil, for example, can be beneficial for persons with high blood pressure. In the case of olive oil, it's the polyphenols in this food that can help to relax the blood vessels through an increase in nitric oxide production. (We've provided you with the research reference and abstract below, under the primary researcher's name, Ruano, if you'd like to see the type of research involving olive oil and hypertension.
Part of the connection between fats and blood pressure is weight. Fats contain the most calories of any nutrient, and high-fat diets are almost always high-calorie. High-calorie diets often result in excess weight gain, and obesity is a risk factor for high blood pressure. So it doesn't make sense to eat too many high-fat foods because it becomes too difficult to maintain a healthy body weight.
However, some high-fat foods contain higher quality fat than others. Walnuts and flaxseeds are examples of high-fat foods that contain a significant amount of omega-3 fat, and this type of fat is clearly helpful for most persons in supporting their cardiovascular system. Of course, it's important to make these foods part of a balanced and calorically-appropriate meal plan. We'd encourage you to talk with your doctor about the amount of foods with high-quality fats, like omega 3 fats found in walnuts and flaxseeds and the monounsaturated fats in avocadoes and olive oil, that he or she thinks would be appropriate in your current diet.
References
Holm T, Andreassen AK, Aukrust P, et al Omega-3 Fatty Acids Improve
Blood Pressure Control and Preserve Renal Function in Hypertensive Heart
Transplant Recipients. Eur Heart J. 2001;22(5):428-36.
Banerjee AK. Hypertension and Dietary Fat Intake. J R Soc Med. 1987;80(10):660-1.
Dusing R, Stumpe KO, Vetter H. Dietary Fat, Hypertension, Atherosclerosis. Klin Wochenschr. 1990;68(Suppl 20):1-3.
Iacono JM, Dougherty RM, Puska P, et al. Dietary Polyunsaturated Fat and Hypertension. Ann Med. 1989;21(3):251-4.
Ruano J, Lopez-Miranda J, Fuentes F, Moreno JA, Bellido C, Perez-Martinez P, Lozano A, Gomez P, Jimenez Y, Perez Jimenez F. (2005). Phenolic content of virgin olive oil improves ischemic reactive hyperemia in hypercholesterolemic patients. J Am Coll Cardiol 46(10):1864-8.
Shinton RA, Dodson PM, Beevers DG. Hypertension and Dietary Fat. J Hum Hypertens. 1989;3(2):73-8.
Unauthored. Dietary Fat, Hypertension, Atherosclerosis. International Symposium, Bonn, November 15, 1989. Proceedings. Klin Wochenschr. 1990;68(Suppl 20):1-6.
Abstract: OBJECTIVES: The goal of this study was to evaluate the effects of the phenolic content of virgin olive oil on endothelial reactivity. BACKGROUND: Endothelial-dependent vasodilatation is impaired during the postprandial state, and oxidative stress could play a key role in its development. METHODS: Twenty-one hypercholesterolemic volunteers received two breakfasts, using a randomized sequential crossover design. Both arms received the same olive oil, but one had its phenolic acid content reduced from 400 to 80 ppm. Ischemic reactive hyperemia (IRH) was measured with a laser-Doppler procedure at baseline and 2 h and 4 h after oil intake. Postprandial plasma concentrations of lipid fractions, lipoperoxides (LPO), 8-epi prostaglandin-F(2alpha), and nitrates/nitrites (NO(x)) were obtained at baseline and after 2 h of the fat meal. RESULTS: The intake of the polyphenol-rich breakfast was associated with an improvement in endothelial function, as well as a greater increa se in concentrations of NO(x) (p < 0.001) and a lower increase in LPO (p < 0.005) and 8-epi prostaglandin-F2alpha (p < 0.001) than the ones induced by the low polyphenol fat meal. A positive correlation was found to exist between NO(x) and enhanced endothelial function at the second hour (r = 0.669; p < 0.01). Furthermore, a negative corelation was found between IRH and LPO (r = -0.203; p < 0.05) and 8-epi prostaglandin-F2alpha levels (r = -0.440; p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: A meal containing high-phenolic virgin olive oil improves ischemic reactive hyperemia during the postprandial state. This phenomenon might be mediated via reduction in oxidative stress and the increase of nitric oxide metabolites.
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