Terre Pruitt's Blog

In the realm of health, wellness, fitness, and the like, or whatever inspires me.

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Posts Tagged ‘lower cholesterol’

Why, Yes, It is GOOD Fat

Posted by terrepruitt on November 1, 2012

Don’t you just love avocados?  I know so many people who do.  Some people I know could just eat an avocado plain.  Cut it in half, pull it apart, and use a spoon to scoop out the mushy flesh inside.  Ewwww.  Not my thing.  I am not a fan of avocado at all.  I usually get as far as cutting it in half and scoop out a portion, then it starts to get on my hands and under my nails and I am done.  I end up putting it on a dish with a spoon or a knife — depending on the ripeness — and telling my husband he has to deal with it.  I lean towards the idea that they taste like dirt.  But I can’t actually remember the last time I tasted one.  But the idea of it tasting like dirt is stuck in my head.  People are often amazed that I don’t like avocado because most people LOVE them.  They say, “Oh, but you must like guacamole?”  And I don’t.  But there are many smoothie recipes that have avocado in them.  There is also a recipe that came with my blender for tortilla soup recipe that has a bit of avocado in it.  I do like that, but it has a very small bit of avocado.  I think that if you mix avocado with enough other stuff the taste can be disguised.  After looking up nutrient information on them I am going to try to add it to more recipes.  It seems the fat in avocados is unique and has the potential for many health benefits.

According to WH Foods about 85% of an avocado’s calories is from fat.  But as you probably have heard it is a “good” fat.  The properties in the fat contained in avocados have anti-inflammatory benefits.  And you might have heard that more and more research is proving that chronic inflammation in the body is being linked to many illnesses and diseases.

The information I am seeing is that avocados are thought to help lower blood cholesterol levels.   Also since they contain oleic acid it is believed they might help lowering risks of heart disease. These are some of the things that are meant by avocados contain “good” fat.

World’s Healthiest Foods nutrient information on Avocados:

1.00 cup (146.00 grams) = 233.60 calories

fiber 9.78 g   /  39.1% of the DVDance Exercise, Nia, Nia at the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Zumba
vitamin K 30.66 mcg / 38.3% of the DV
folate 118.26 mcg / 29.6% of the DV
vitamin C 14.60 mg / 24.3% of the DV
vitamin B5 2.03 mg /20.3% of the DV
potassium 708.10 mg / 20.2% of the DV
vitamin B6 0.38 mg  /19.0% of the DV

WebMD states:

“Avocados are a good source of fiber, potassium, and vitamins C, K, folate, and B6. Half an avocado has 160 calories, 15 grams of heart-healthy unsaturated fat, and only 2 grams saturated fat. One globe contains more than one-third daily value of vitamin C, and more than half the day’s requirements of vitamin K.”

According to Wiki, avocados originated in Mexico.  Wiki further states “The avocado is a climacteric fruit (the banana is another), which means it matures on the tree, but ripens off the tree.”  I didn’t know that.  I always thought they were picked too soon, but apparently they ripen off the tree.

So do you like avocados?  How do you eat them?  Do you have any recipes that you put them in?

Posted in Food | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

Oats – The Incredible Whole Grain

Posted by terrepruitt on March 24, 2012

Since breakfast is so important I have been looking for an easy and healthy thing to eat before I rush off to teach Nia.  I don’t always have a chance to eat before my Nia class, but I have been looking to try to change that.  Oatmeal is always touted as being one of the best breakfast foods.  I do not like oatmeal.  I recently found a recipe for granola that is basically just oats and I started to wonder if oats cooked that way are as good as oatmeal. Here are some nutritional facts on oats:

The fiber contained in oats is known in studies to have a cholesterol lowering effect. Since high cholesterol is associated with buildup of plaque in the blood vessel walls the lowering of cholesterol helps with heart disease. In addition to oats special fiber that helps lower cholesterol scientists have also found an antioxidant compound in oats that help lower the risk of cardiovascular disease. Studies have also shown that postmenopausal women can greatly benefit from eating oats at least six times a week.  The study showed that the antioxidant slowed the progression of narrowing the arteries.  In addition oats have been shown to improve or enhance the body’s immune system’s response to infection.  They were mentioned in my post Some Foods Can Boost Your Immune System. Oats also help stabilize blood sugar.
 
You have probably heard a lot of talk about flora in the intestinal track and how important it is to keep the guts healthy.  Oats also contain phytochemical the gets converted to friendly flora and a healthy gut contributes to a healthy digestive system which helps the body in so many ways.  If your digestive system is healthy it allows you to absorb the nutrients you need and eliminates the stuff you don’t need.
 
Dance Exercies, Nia, Nia Campbell, Campbell Nia, Nia classes in Campbell, evening Nia, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, SF Bay Nia, San Francisco Bay Area Nia, NiaNow.com,Oats are also gluten-free which is very helpful since it is a whole-grain and it can be used as a serial and it can also be used ground as a flour.  So it can be a very healthy substitute for gluten containing cereals and flours.
 
The oats I bought show that 1/2 cup of uncooked oats have:
 
Calories 190
Total Fat 3.5 g
Cholesterol 0 mg
Sodium 0 mg
Total Carbohydrates 32 g
Dietary Fiber 5 g
Protein 7 g
 
Of the Daily Values there is 2% calcuim and 15% iron.
 
A lot of fiber and a lot of protein and the benefits of a whole grain.  I am thinking that I might even just like the oats toasted and eaten as a cereal without adding all the extra stuff as called for in the granola recipe.  Since I have this whole bag I might just try that.  Of course I will also have to use some of this bag for the Banana Oatmeal Walnut Cookies.
 
Oats do contain tryptophan so if you get sleepy after eating them it could be more than just because you might think of oatmeal as a comfort food.

With the large amount of fiber and protein this is a great food to start the day with, both fiber and protein help keep you full. So you can start the day off energized and satisfied.  Oats are an incredible whole grain!

Are you including this whole grain as part of your breakfast?

Posted in Food, Oats | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments »

Garlic

Posted by terrepruitt on March 26, 2011

I love garlic.  I made dinner tonight with a ton of garlic and it is just so yummy.  Garlic is part of the onion family.  It is often referred to as the “stinking rose”.  Garlic itself is quite aromatic.  If you eat enough of it, it usually lingers on your breath and seeps out through your pours via sweat.  During digestion a portion of it cannot be digested and gets into the blood where it is excreted through lungs and skin.  Aside from making you aromatic 😉 , garlic seems to help with a lot of things in the body.

There is a protein needed to move iron around in the body, while garlic does not have this protein in it garlic may help the body increase its production.  Garlic is also proving to be an anti-inflammatory.  Which affects the circulatory system, the muscular system, and our bones.  The properties in garlic assist in the blood not clumping and in keep the vessels open. Garlic has been shown to reduce blood pressure and lower cholesterol.

If you like garlic you shouldn’t hesitate to eat it, cook with it, and use it generously.  Unless, of course you are taking the type of medications that might act adversely with a large quantity of garlic.

This food helps with infections from both bacteria and viruses.  I remember watching the Doctor Oz show where he said a clove of garlic in the ear over night can eliminate an ear infection.  It might help in the treatment of some infections that are resistant to antibiotics.  Garlic has a long history of being used in a medicinal fashion.

My family used to eat sautéed garlic.  It is very strong when cooked and eaten this way.  I think that roasting it tends to cut down on the bitter that comes out when frying it.  Roasting helps bring out the sweetness.

I never made a marinade without garlic.  I use garlic a lot.  Tonight I cooked broccoli in minced garlic and sprinkled powered garlic on the pasta.

I didn’t realize that some people have a  fear of garlic.  This phobia is called alliumphobia.  I guess I did know that there was a fear of garlic—I would think that vampires suffer from alliumphbia.  🙂

Do you like garlic?  How do you use it?  Do you cook with it?  Do you use fresh garlic?  Do you use garlic powder?

Posted in Food | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments »