Homemade Olive Oil Ice Cream Recipes, with Simple Sauces of Blueberry or Chocolate
This special Olive Oil Hunter Newsletter is devoted to one of the best treats in life, fresh ice cream. It’s not complicated—my master recipe doesn’t involve eggs, so there’s no tempering needed.
You can easily create your favorite ice cream flavors by adding other ingredients, like fresh mint or cinnamon, for example, to the mix while heating the base, or before chilling it in the fridge by folding in melted chocolate, instant espresso powder, or puréed peaches. Add-ins, such as chocolate chips and nuts, can get folded in at the very end of the churning.
And what would a home ice cream parlor be without sauces? My light chocolate sauce is a silky topping for the vanilla and dulce de leche ice creams, and my blueberry sauce is the perfect enhancement for the lemon one.
Wonderful on its own or with a luscious sauce, use this as the base for flavor variations.The quantity is enough making for two different flavors. Divide the recipe in half if you want to make just one.
Ingredients
4 cups heavy cream
1-1/2 cups whole milk
1-1/2 cups half and half
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
2 teaspoons vanilla paste or extract
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Directions
Step 1
Heat the cream, milk, and half and half in a saucepan over medium heat until it reaches a simmer. With the heat off, add the sugar and salt, whisking thoroughly until the sugar is fully melted. Add the vanilla and olive oil and continue whisking. It’s OK if you see tiny beads of oil—they will be incorporated during the churning.
Step 2
Let the base come to room temperature and then refrigerate until cold. When ready, give it a quick whisk and pour into your ice cream maker. Freeze according to the manufacturer’s directions. (If making the full recipe, churn in two or three batches, depending on your machine’s capacity.) Transfer the ice cream to freezer-safe containers.
14 ounces dulce de leche, homemade, canned, or jarred
1/4 teaspoon of coarse sea salt
Directions
While the base is still warm, pour about 1/2 cup into a small bowl and whisk in 7 ounces of the dulce de leche; return the mixture to the rest of the base and stir to incorporate. Once it reaches room temperature, refrigerate until cold. When ready, give it a quick whisk and pour into your ice cream maker. Freeze according to the manufacturer’s directions. While it’s churning, separately fold the salt into the reserved dulce de leche. Transfer the ice cream to a freezer-safe container in large spoonfuls, alternating with dollops of the reserved dulce and swirling it in gently.
Lemon gives this ice cream a sweet and tangy taste, so refreshing on a hot day. A variation for Creamsicle fans is to replace the lemon juice and zest with freshly squeezed orange juice and grated zest.
While the base is still warm, whisk in the lemon juice—it will thicken and lighten in color. Once it reaches room temperature, refrigerate until cold. When ready, give it a quick whisk and pour into your ice cream maker. Freeze according to the manufacturer’s directions, adding in most of the reserved zest in the last minute of churning. Transfer the ice cream to a freezer-safe container. When serving, sprinkle each portion with some of the remaining zest and a drizzle of olive oil.
Perfect over vanilla ice cream and a true treat as a topping for the lemon ice cream.
Ingredients
2 cups fresh blueberries
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Pinch of fine salt
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Directions
Mix 1-1/2 cups blueberries, cornstarch, sugar, water, lemon juice, and salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Turn the heat down to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Off the heat, use a potato masher to mash the blueberries a bit. While still warm (but not hot), fold in the olive oil and the rest of the blueberries. The sauce will continue to thicken as it cools.
Churning adds air to an ice cream base, giving its creamy contents a light and silky mouthfeel. The price of compressor-run machines—you just plug it in and go—has gotten more affordable over the years; an excellent one costs about $300. But you can get the type of ice cream maker that uses a removable metal cylinder for closer to $70, sometimes less. The cylinder must be frozen before each use, but if you store it in your freezer, it will always be ready when you get the urge for ice cream. KitchenAid makes an ice cream bowl and dasher attachment for its stand mixers, no additional appliance needed. It turns out ice cream in about 20 minutes and is very easy to clean.
T. J.’s Mediterranean Salad Recipe, For Your Best Heart Health: The Mediterranean Diet and Reversing Metabolic Syndrome After Heart Disease
Research on the benefits of olive oil and the Mediterranean diet continues to support the role they play in good health. One of the longest and most wide-reaching studies comes from Spain, one of my favorite countries and of course, as Club members know, one of the leading producers of the most flavorful and polyphenol-rich extra virgin olive oils. This study’s scientific findings show that following the Mediterranean lifestyle, diet included, helps not only prevent many health conditions but also reverse some of them. And because it’s delicious as well as good for you, it doesn’t feel like “a diet,” but rather an enjoyable way of life. This week’s recipe also shows how easy it can be!
Every country around the Mediterranean has its own version of a national salad, usually created with tomatoes, cucumber, and onions with a smattering of fresh herbs. My version brings in the sweet surprise of watermelon—on its own a great pairing with the feta. Speaking of feta, always buy blocks or rounds of feta, not crumbles, which often get dried out in the package. This combination makes a satisfying lunch or dinner, especially on hot days when you want to enjoy a light meal with no cooking needed. It takes only a few minutes to prep, but if you have the time, let it sit on the counter for about 30 minutes before digging in so that the flavors can meld.
Ingredients
2 large cucumbers
1 pound tomatoes, any variety
1 pound watermelon chunks
1 medium red onion
1/2 cup fresh parsley, minced
1/4 cup fresh mint, minced
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, plus more to taste
Freshly ground black pepper and sea salt to taste
6-ounce slice feta cheese
Directions
Step 1
Cut the cucumbers (leave the skins on), tomatoes, watermelon, and red onion into an even dice and place in a large glass bowl. Add the herbs, olive oil, and lemon juice, and toss gently. Taste and, if needed, add salt, pepper, and extra lemon juice to your liking.
Step 2
Just before serving, crumble the feta over the top.
Yields 4 servings
For Your Best Heart Health
The Mediterranean Diet: Reversing Metabolic Syndrome After Heart Disease
The study: “Adherence to a Mediterranean lifestyle improves metabolic status in coronary heart disease patients: A prospective analysis from the CORDIOPREV study,” Journal of Internal Medicine, May 2023.
Study Abstract from the Research Team
Background and objectives: A Mediterranean lifestyle may prevent and mitigate cardiometabolic disorders. We explored whether adherence to a Mediterranean lifestyle (MEDLIFE) was prospectively associated with the risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS) among coronary heart disease (CHD) patients.
Methods: The Coronary Diet Intervention with Olive Oil and Cardiovascular Prevention (CORDIOPREV) study was an interventional diet study to compare a Mediterranean diet with a low-fat diet in 1,002 CHD patients. The Mediterranean lifestyle (MEDLIFE) index was used to assess adherence to MEDLIFE at baseline and, after five years, in 851 participants from the CORDIOPREV study. Subjects were classified as having high (13 points or more), moderate (12 to 13 points), and low (less than 12 points) adherence to MEDLIFE.
Results: During the five-year follow-up, CORDIOPREV participants with high adherence to MEDLIFE had a lower risk of MetS development and a higher likelihood of reversing preexisting MetS compared with participants with low adherence to MEDLIFE. Each additional one-point increment in the MEDLIFE index was associated with a 24% lower risk of MetS development and a 21% higher likelihood of reversing preexisting MetS.
Conclusions: Our results showed that greater adherence to MEDLIFE reduced the risk of subsequent MetS development and increased the likelihood of reversing preexisting MetS among patients with CHD at baseline.
About Heart Disease and Metabolic Syndrome
In the US, you’re most likely to hear the term coronary artery disease, or CAD, though it is also referred to as coronary heart disease, according to the CDC. By either name, the condition is caused by the buildup of plaque (cholesterol and other substances) in the walls of the coronary arteries, those that supply blood to the heart and other parts of the body. This causes the arteries to narrow over time, partially or totally blocking blood flow. It’s especially dangerous because it can go undetected until it causes a heart attack.
The CDC estimates that about 1 in 20 adults age 20 and older have CAD. And CAD doesn’t discriminate: Heart disease is the leading causeof death for both men and women, including most racial and ethnic groups in the United States.
Metabolic syndrome is even more prevalent. About 1 in 3 American adults have it, according to the National Institutes of Health. It encompasses a constellation of factors: having a large waistline, high blood sugar, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high triglycerides, and low HDL (or good) cholesterol. Having three or more of these factors leads to a metabolic syndrome diagnosis.
Metabolic syndrome is a risk factor for heart disease. Since many people with heart disease also have metabolic syndrome, the ability to reverse it through the Mediterranean diet is extremely important.
An editorial published along with the study underlines the importance of the Mediterranean diet for everyone:
“Spain has a proud tradition of nutrition research in the cardiovascular field. The primary preventive PREDIMED study clearly shows the health benefits of professional dietary intervention for individuals with high cardiometabolic risk. The secondary preventive CORDIOPREV study also contributes with important new knowledge about the role of lifestyle, including nutrition, for the prognosis of coronary heart disease. The present study focuses on the role of an overall healthy lifestyle on the prevention and treatment of the metabolic syndrome. Still, the two studies provide complementary knowledge on the health benefits of traditional Mediterranean food. It is important to emphasize that this food pattern is a good model for healthy eating according to the current knowledge.
“The results from the present CORDIOPREV study are indeed clinically relevant. In recent decades, lifestyle and risk factor patterns in the population as a whole, as well as in patients with coronary heart disease, have changed. The prevalence of the metabolic syndrome is increasing in all parts of the population, especially in at-risk individuals with coronary heart disease because such patients today are often sedentary and have abdominal obesity. The metabolic syndrome is—beyond an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases—also linked to an increased risk of cancer, cognitive impairment, and inflammatory diseases, as well as low quality of life.
“Perhaps, we are approaching the limit for what is achievable by pharmacological treatment alone. Instead, an increased investment in lifestyle might be required to further improve the prognosis for people with coronary heart disease. The important data from the Spanish CORDIOPREV study underline that lifestyle interventions, including dietary changes, are still underused in modern healthcare. This study indicates that much health remains to be gained.”
Stone Fruit and Berry Buckle Recipe, Spotlight on Blueberries, Flavanols and Memory, Freezing Summer’s Bounty and Walking for Your Brain
With farmers’ markets brimming with all kinds of berries and ripe stone fruit like peaches, plums, and nectarines, there’s no better time to bake a buckle—a one-layer cake named for the dimpled look as the cake rises over chunks of fruit and a tempting crumble topping. This issue of the newsletter also has a boost-your-memory theme, with two important studies—one looks at the cognitive risks of flavanol deficiency and the other, at how walking boosts brain connectivity and thereby memory.
This recipe is sized to feed a crowd—any leftovers make a terrific breakfast the next day. Choose fruit based on availability—it’s as delicious with just one variety as it is with four or more! Right out of the oven, the buckle is exceptional when topped with olive oil ice cream, a simple frozen treat you can make at home.
Ingredients
For the crumble topping:
4 ounces unsalted butter, cubed and chilled
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
For the cake:
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for the baking dish
8 ounces unsalted butter at room temperature
2 cups sugar
8 large eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon fine salt
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
6 cups assorted berries and stone fruit chunks (skin on)
Optional toppings: fresh blueberries, confectioners’ sugar for dusting, lightly whipped cream, or ice cream
Directions
Step 1
Preheat your oven to 350°F. Lightly coat a 13-inch by 9-inch baking dish with olive oil; set aside.
Step 2
Make the topping: Use your hands or a pastry blender to turn the butter, sugar, flour, and cinnamon into small bits, ranging from the size of peas to the size of beans. Set aside.
Step 3
Make the batter: In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer until fluffy. With the machine running on low, slowly pour in the olive oil and then add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition until combined. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder. With your mixer on a low speed, gradually add flour mixture to the wet batter until incorporated.
Step 4
Transfer the batter to the baking dish and use a large offset spatula to smooth the surface. Arrange the fruit in a fun pattern over the top and then sprinkle on the crumble, being careful to get it into the corners of the dish so that every bite includes it.
Step 5
Bake until the top of the cake is browns lightly and the tip of a sharp knife inserted in the center comes out clean, about an hour. Serve while still warm.
Yields 12 servings
Healthy Ingredient Spotlight
Bountiful Blueberries
Blueberries are more than delicious—they pack amazing health benefits. Here are four great reasons why, according to Cleveland Clinic dietitian Julia Zumpano, RD, LD.
Blueberries pack an antioxidant wallop. Along with having vitamins C and K and the mineral manganese, they’re rich in anthocyanins, which give the berries their blue-purple color and protect our cells from damaging molecules called free radicals. To get the most antioxidants, enjoy some blueberries raw, and always choose organic when available.
Blueberries’ soluble fiber helps manage blood cholesterol by sweeping cholesterol-laden bile out of the body, which, in turn, can lower the risk for heart disease.
Blueberries help decrease blood sugar levels, thanks to the combination of their fiber and a lower amount of natural sugar than other fruits, according to some studies.
Blueberries may also help with blood pressure, especially in people with metabolic syndrome. Eating them contributes to the body’s production of nitric oxide, which helps relax blood vessels.
Quick Kitchen Nugget
Freezing Fruits and Vegetables
Want to save some of summer’s bounty for the winter? Freeze pieces individually by spreading them in a single layer on a rimmed sheet pan. When frozen solid, transfer to airtight freezer-safe containers or bags, filling them up to minimize the amount of trapped air and avoid “snow” forming on the pieces.
For Your Best Health
Flavanols and Memory
A large-scale study led by researchers at Columbia and Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard is the first to establish that a diet deficient in flavanols, a specific type of phytonutrient within the flavonoid group, is linked to age-related memory loss.
The study found that flavanol intake among older adults tracks with scores on tests designed to detect memory loss due to normal aging and that replenishing these bioactive dietary components in mildly flavanol-deficient adults over age 60 improves their performance on these tests.
“The improvement among study participants with low-flavanol diets was substantial and raises the possibility of using flavanol-rich diets or supplements to improve cognitive function in older adults,” says Adam Brickman, PhD, professor of neuropsychology at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and coleader of the study. The finding also supports the emerging idea that the aging brain requires specific nutrients for optimal health, just as a baby’s brain requires specific nutrients for proper development.
The current study builds on over 15 years of research done in the lab of the study’s senior author, Scott Small, MD, the Boris and Rose Katz Professor of Neurology at Vagelos. That work linked The current study builds on over 15 years of research done in the lab of the study’s senior author, Scott Small, MD, the Boris and Rose Katz Professor of Neurology at Vagelos. That work linked age-related memory loss to changes in the dentate gyrus, a specific area in the brain’s hippocampus (a region vital for forming new memories), and showed that flavanols improved function in this part of the brain.
The Columbia team collaborated with researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital studying the effects of flavanols and multivitamins in COSMOS (COcoa Supplements and Multivitamin Outcomes Study). The current study, COSMOS-Web, was designed to test the impact of flavanols in a much larger group and explore the link between flavanol deficiency and cognitive aging in the hippocampus.
How the study was done
More than 3,500 healthy older adults were randomly assigned to receive a daily flavanol supplement or placebo for three years. The active supplement contained 500 mg of flavanols, including 80 mg of epicatechins, an amount that adults are advised to get from food.
At the beginning of the study, all participants completed a survey that assessed the quality of their diet, including foods known to be high in flavanols. Participants then performed a series of web-based activities in their own homes, designed and validated by Dr. Brickman, to assess the types of short-term memory governed by the hippocampus. The tests were repeated after one year, two years, and three years.
More than a third of the participants also supplied urine samples that allowed researchers to measure a biomarker for dietary flavanol, a test developed by the study’s coauthors at Reading University in the UK, before and during the study. The biomarker gave the researchers a more precise way to determine whether flavanol levels corresponded to performance on the cognitive tests and ensure that participants were sticking to their assigned regimen (compliance was high throughout the study). Flavanol levels varied moderately, though no participants were severely flavanol-deficient.
At the end of the first year of taking the flavanol supplement, participants who reported consuming a poorer diet and had lower baseline levels of flavanols saw their memory scores increase by an average of 10.5% compared to placebo and 16% compared to their memory at baseline. Annual cognitive testing showed that the improvement observed at one year was sustained for at least two more years.
The results strongly suggest that flavanol deficiency is a driver of age-related memory loss, the researchers say, because flavanol consumption correlated with higher memory scores and flavanol supplements improved memory in flavanol-deficient adults.
Next steps
“We cannot yet definitively conclude that low dietary intake of flavanols alone causes poor memory performance, because we did not conduct the opposite experiment: depleting flavanol in people who are not deficient,” Dr. Small says, adding that such an experiment might be considered unethical.
The next step needed to confirm flavanols’ effect on the brain, Dr. Small says, is a clinical trial to restore flavanol levels in adults with severe flavanol deficiency. “Age-related memory decline is thought to occur sooner or later in nearly everyone, though there is a great amount of variability,” he explains. “If some of this variance is partly due to differences in dietary consumption of flavanols, then we would see an even more dramatic improvement in memory in people who replenish dietary flavanols when they’re in their 40s and 50s.”
Flavanols are found in many healthful foods that you can add to your diet for a variety of health benefits: berries, peaches, grapes, onions, scallions, tomatoes, lettuce, broccoli, kale, and tea.
Fitness Flash
The Brain Benefits of Walking
Researchers have long known that moderate exercise has a beneficial impact on the body’s response to inflammation, but what’s been less understood is why. New research done on a mouse model at York University in Toronto, Canada, suggests that the answers may lie within the body’s macrophages, white blood cells responsible for killing off infections, healing injury, and otherwise acting as your internal first responders.
“Much like you train your muscles through exercise, we showed that exercise of moderate intensity ended up training the precursors of those macrophages in the bone marrow,” says Ali Abdul-Sater, PhD, associate professor in the University’s School of Kinesiology and Health Science and York Research Chair. “The way that exercise is doing this is by changing the way those cells breathe—essentially, how they use oxygen to generate energy and then changing the way they access their DNA.”
While many studies have looked at temporary boosts to the immune system immediately after exercise, this study, published in the American Journal of Physiology-Cell Physiology, found these changes occurred even a week later, suggesting that they are long term.
“Inflammation is amazing—it’s a very important part of our normal immune response,” says Dr. Abdul-Sater. Inflammation is the body’s response to infection and other stressors, and some level of inflammation is necessary and desirable. “What we’re concerned about is excessive inflammation,” he explains. “Heart disease, diabetes, many cancers, and autoimmune diseases all essentially begin because there was an inappropriate inflammatory response.”
The study found that, for active mice, it was around the six-to-eight-week mark into the exercise regimen when changes really became apparent. “There’s a lot of rewiring that’s taking place in the circuitry of how the cells breathe, how the cells metabolize glucose, how the cells then access DNA. So all that just takes time.”
Dr. Abdul-Sater says that because the inflammatory response is a very ancient one, this aspect of the immune system is generally very similar across mammals, and he expects the research will translate well to people. In the next phase, the team will collect immune cells from human volunteers who will do exercises of various intensities to see which workout routines are most beneficial to balance the inflammatory response.
“The thing with humans is there’s no intervention that will work on everyone. We know that, but what this study suggests is that moderate and persistent exercise not only improves metabolic health, but also will improve immune health in the long run.”
Pasta e Fagioli Salad Recipe, Spotlight on Tomatoes, How to Quick Soak Beans and Guard Against Forever Chemicals (PFAS), Plus Exercise and Inflammation
Looking for a satisfying dish that requires a minimum of cooking? You’ll love this adaptation of the classic pasta e fagioli soup, a unique way to savor ripe tomatoes (turning large tomatoes into chunks will work as well as the cherry tomatoes). Canned beans offer convenience, but you can try my quick hack for soaking dried beans if you’d like to make your own. You’ll also find strategies to limit exposure to dangerous PFAS (dubbed “forever chemicals”) and insights into how exercise delivers health benefits.
You know pasta e fagioli as a hearty soup that stars the tiny pasta tubes called ditalini and creamy white beans, perfect for chilly nights. But there’s no reason to “table” this great combination when you can give it a summery twist: a salad composed of all its delicious ingredients, plus a sweet-tart vinaigrette great for all kinds of salads. If you can’t find ditalini, you can use any small-sized pasta—the idea is to get a variety close to the size of the beans. For another layer of flavor, top with shavings of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar of Modena
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt, plus more to taste
1/2 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 cups cooked cannellini beans or one 29-ounce can, rinsed and drained
3 cups cooked pasta, such as ditalini
3 cups cherry tomatoes
1 medium red onion, slivered
2 tablespoons each chopped fresh parsley and basil, plus more for garnish
Directions
Step 1
Make the vinaigrette: In a medium bowl, whisk together the two vinegars, mustard, honey, salt, and garlic. Gradually whisk in the olive oil until the dressing is emulsified. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.
Step 2
Place the beans, pasta, tomatoes, red onion, and herbs in a large glass bowl and pour on the vinaigrette. Toss gently to coat. Serve at room temperature or chilled, garnished with more herbs.
Yields 6 generous servings
Healthy Ingredient Spotlight
Tomatoes, Tomatoes, Tomatoes
There’s no better time to enjoy tomatoes than summer. For the sweetest cherry tomatoes, look for Sungolds and other bright-yellow varieties—wonderful in the pasta e fagioli salad. I love to stuff huge beefsteak tomatoes with tuna flakes from a just-grilled filet and then drizzle them with a vinaigrette. Don’t forget to sample heirloom tomatoes in fanciful colors and shapes.
When shopping your local farmers’ markets, look for tomatoes with smooth, mostly unblemished skin, but remember that organic tomatoes may not look picture-perfect, and that’s OK. More important is that the tomatoes feel ripe all around—firm, but not hard, and definitely not squishy. Then give them the sniff test—they should smell like…tomatoes!
Quick Kitchen Nugget
A Fast Way to Soak Dried Beans
One reason to buy dried beans rather than canned is the greater variety available, plus you control the salt. But, of course, that involves remembering to first soak the beans and then cooking them until tender. Here’s a hack to speed up the process—it’s especially handy if you forget to soak the beans the night before you want to use them.
Step 1: “Hot soak” the dried beans. In a large pot, add 1 pound of dried beans and 6 cups of cold water (multiply as needed). Bring to a boil, and boil for 3 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat, cover, and let soak for 1 hour.
Step 2: Cook the soaked beans. Drain and rinse the beans in cool water, and wash out the pot. Return the beans to the cleaned pot and cover them with cold water. Bring to a boil, turn the heat down to a simmer, cover, and cook until tender, but not mushy, about 1 hour for cannellini beans (larger beans may take up to an hour more).
For Your Best Health
Guarding Against “Forever Chemicals”
News of chemical manufacturer 3M agreeing to pay over $10 billion to settle lawsuits over contamination of many US public drinking water systems by its harmful compounds has brought national attention to the problem of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS. They’re called forever chemicals because they don’t degrade naturally in the environment. And they’re dangerous—exposure over time has been linked to health problems, including liver and immune-system damage, heart disease, some cancers, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and decreased fertility, according to experts at Hartford Healthcare.
Here’s advice from the watchdog group NRDC you can use to protect yourself:
Replace nonstick pans with stainless steel, cast-iron, glass, or ceramic alternatives.
Consider transferring store-bought foods to glass containers when you get home. Don’t heat food wrapped in grease-resistant packaging or reheat leftovers in takeout containers. Make popcorn on the stovetop instead of in PFAS-treated microwave bags. Look for BPI-certified compostable packaging, which doesn’t contain PFAS.
Choose clothing brands that have removed PFAS from their lines, such as American Eagle and L.L.Bean.
Avoid buying any home furnishings labeled water- or stain-repellent, which likely involve treatments that use PFAS.
Install reverse osmosis filters on your water faucets to get PFAS out of your drinking water.
Fitness Flash
How Exercise Helps with Inflammation
Researchers have long known that moderate exercise has a beneficial impact on the body’s response to inflammation, but what’s been less understood is why. New research done on a mouse model at York University in Toronto, Canada, suggests that the answers may lie within the body’s macrophages, white blood cells responsible for killing off infections, healing injury, and otherwise acting as your internal first responders.
“Much like you train your muscles through exercise, we showed that exercise of moderate intensity ended up training the precursors of those macrophages in the bone marrow,” says Ali Abdul-Sater, PhD, associate professor in the University’s School of Kinesiology and Health Science and York Research Chair. “The way that exercise is doing this is by changing the way those cells breathe—essentially, how they use oxygen to generate energy and then changing the way they access their DNA.”
While many studies have looked at temporary boosts to the immune system immediately after exercise, this study, published in the American Journal of Physiology-Cell Physiology, found these changes occurred even a week later, suggesting that they are long term.
“Inflammation is amazing—it’s a very important part of our normal immune response,” says Dr. Abdul-Sater. Inflammation is the body’s response to infection and other stressors, and some level of inflammation is necessary and desirable. “What we’re concerned about is excessive inflammation,” he explains. “Heart disease, diabetes, many cancers, and autoimmune diseases all essentially begin because there was an inappropriate inflammatory response.”
The study found that, for active mice, it was around the six-to-eight-week mark into the exercise regimen when changes really became apparent. “There’s a lot of rewiring that’s taking place in the circuitry of how the cells breathe, how the cells metabolize glucose, how the cells then access DNA. So all that just takes time.”
Dr. Abdul-Sater says that because the inflammatory response is a very ancient one, this aspect of the immune system is generally very similar across mammals, and he expects the research will translate well to people. In the next phase, the team will collect immune cells from human volunteers who will do exercises of various intensities to see which workout routines are most beneficial to balance the inflammatory response.
“The thing with humans is there’s no intervention that will work on everyone. We know that, but what this study suggests is that moderate and persistent exercise not only improves metabolic health, but also will improve immune health in the long run.”
Vanilla Olive Oil Ice Cream
Dulce de Leche Ice Cream
Lemon Ice Cream
Double Blueberry Sauce
