The Olive Oil Hunter News #33

Healthy Ingredient Spotlight

Golden Raisins

Luscious golden raisins have a sweeter taste than traditional brown raisins even though they come from the same source (Thompson seedless grapes). That’s because they’re processed differently—plumped with water and dried under controlled conditions rather than in the sun. This helps them retain more phytonutrients. But they’re also treated with sulfur dioxide to keep their sunny color. If you’re allergic to sulfites or simply want to reduce your exposure to preservatives in general, a delicious alternative is the golden Hunza raisin. Grown in the Hunza region of the Himalayas and available online from many companies, like Nuts.com, these raisins are typically sun-dried without any preservatives.

Healthy Kitchen Nugget

Storing Nuts

Shelled pine nuts are a great modern convenience, as are other shelled nuts, like pistachios and almonds. To keep nuts fresher longer, experts at the University of California, Davis, recommend storing them in the fridge or freezer rather than at room temperature, which could hasten the rate at which their healthful natural oils go rancid. Nuts will retain their quality for a year or more in the fridge at 40°F or below and up to two years in the freezer at 0°F or below (they don’t actually freeze, so there’s no thawing time needed). To prevent them from picking up any odors, keep them in clean, tightly closed plastic or glass containers.

For Your Best Health

Cooking with Cocoa for Weightloss

If you’re like me, you rejoiced at studies showing that dark chocolate has positive health effects thanks to plant nutrients like antioxidants and that eating judicious amounts of chocolate is associated with lowering the risk of cardiometabolic diseases, including stroke, coronary heart disease, and type 2 diabetes. Recently a team from Penn State took a deep dive into cocoa powder, which is rich in fiber, iron, and many of the same nutrients as chocolate but has a lot fewer calories. They looked to see whether it has benefits, too, specifically a reduction of fat in the liver, which is often seen in people who are overweight. Fatty liver disease has become a global health problem and a risk factor for more serious liver conditions.

The Penn State team used commercially available cocoa and fed it to one group of overweight mice on a high-fat diet. When compared to a similar group of mice that didn’t get any cocoa, these mice had slower weight gain, 56% lower levels of oxidative stress, and 75% lower levels of DNA damage in the liver. It’s not entirely understood how cocoa might account for all this, but the theory is that it may inhibit the enzymes responsible for digesting dietary fat and carbohydrates. Even better, the researchers suggest that getting about 10 tablespoons of cocoa powder a day could have similar benefits for people, especially when combined with a healthy overall diet and increased exercise. Whisk a tablespoon or two of unsweetened cocoa powder into your coffee a few times a day and enjoy it in hot cocoa instead of eating chips or cookies for snacks. It’s also a great enrichment for chili and sauces like mole. Just hold the marshmallows!

Fitness Flash

Exercise and Air Pollution

Is exercise ever bad for your health? It could be if you exercise for long stretches in areas of high air pollution, according to a study published in the European Heart Journal. The multiyear research involved nearly a million and a half Korean city dwellers ages 20-39 who completed questionnaires asking about their physical activity over select seven-day periods. When factoring in the effects of exercise on the heart, researchers also looked at corresponding pollution levels including levels of small particulate matter, which are of great concern. As expected, the risk of heart disease was higher among people who didn’t meet recognized guidelines for exercise (a high intensity 15-30 minute workout five times a week or a moderate intensity 30-60 minute workout five times a week). But those who exceeded those guidelines and were exposed to high levels of air pollution experienced adverse effects, too.

“Overall, our results show that physical activity, particularly at the level recommended by European Society of Cardiology guidelines, is associated with a lower risk of developing heart and blood vessel disease among young adults. However, when air pollution levels are high, exercising beyond the recommended amount may offset or even reverse the beneficial effects,” explained Professor Sang Min Park of the Seoul National University College of Medicine, who led the research.

The body-wide negative effects of air pollution have been a concern for some time and for every age group—a recent study published in Nature Aging found that even short exposure can harm cognitive function, for instance. Protect yourself by checking daily pollution levels in your area with the Air Quality Index, especially before you exercise outside.