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The Olive Oil Hunter News #72

Posted on by The Olive Oil Hunter

Nutty Oat Muffin Recipe, Spotlight on Oats (and Groats), plus the Body, Gut, and Brain Connection

This week’s news shows just how connected the body, gut, and brain are, with what we eat and how we move very much linked to our mental health. My nutty oat muffin recipe, so easy to make in less than 30 minutes, not only tastes great but can also help boost brain health as well as gut health, thanks to those oats. And we’re learning that movement goes beyond boosting physical health to also benefiting the brain—you can even pick types of exercise based on what mental benefits you seek. 

Nutty Oat Muffins

  • Nutty Oat Muffin Recipe Nutty Oat Muffins

    These muffins have a great crunch and are packed with whole grain goodness. 

    Ingredients

    • 1-1/2 cups white whole wheat or whole wheat pastry flour 
    • 3/4 cup rolled oats 
    • 2 ounces almonds or walnuts, roughly chopped 
    • 1 tablespoon baking powder
    • 1/4 cup brown sugar 
    • 1 tablespoon stevia
    • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
    • 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
    • 1 cup blueberries, rinsed and patted dry
    • 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
    • 2 extra-large eggs
    • 1 cup milk, your choice of dairy or plant-based
    • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or paste

    Directions

    Step 1

    Preheat your oven to 400ºF if conventional, 380ºF if convection. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, nuts, baking powder, sugar, stevia, cinnamon, and salt. Add the berries and toss to coat (this will help them stay well distributed in the batter).

    Step 2

    In a separate bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the olive oil, eggs, milk, and vanilla. Pour the liquid ingredients over the flour mixture and use a spatula to fold them in just until no traces of flour remain.

    Step 3

    Use a large ice cream scoop to fill a 12-muffin tin and bake for 20 minutes or until the tip of a knife comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes and then transfer the muffins to a rack to finish cooling. Store in a covered tin for up to two days and then refrigerate.

    Yields 12 muffins

Healthy Ingredient Spotlight: Groats and Oats

Healthy Ingredient Spotlight

From groats to oats

Oats are known as a good source of soluble fiber—the 5 grams per serving help lower cholesterol levels and heart disease risk. Oatmeal is just the beginning of what you can make from rolled oats. In the recipe above, they meld beautifully into the finished muffins. But when a hot bowl of oatmeal is on the breakfast menu, you might be wondering whether you should start with popular steel-cut oats instead. Both come from oat groats, the oat grain with the hull removed (the bran and germ are intact, so oats are still considered a whole grain). What happens to the groats next explains the difference between rolled and steel-cut oats.

Rolled oats are oat groats that have been steamed and then passed through roller mills. The thicker the rolled oats, the more nutrients they pack. 

Steel-cut oats are groats that have only been chopped into two or three pieces, no steaming or rolling. They need to be cooked much longer than rolled oats and are better in breakfast bowls than baked goods—they simply won’t soften enough. Because they need more water to cook than rolled oats, you end up with a bigger portion by volume. Finally, they’re digested more slowly than rolled oats; you feel full longer and have less of a spike in blood sugar—important if you’re managing a health condition like diabetes or prediabetes. 

Healthy Kitchen Nugget: A better vanilla?

Healthy Kitchen Nugget

A better vanilla?

If you’re looking for intense vanilla flavor but don’t want to go to the expense of buying vanilla beans, consider using vanilla paste in place of extract. You can use it teaspoon-for-teaspoon in recipes for a deeper flavor, plus it has vanilla bean seeds for that characteristic speckled look, and because it’s thicker, it adds less liquid to batters. Though you often see the suggestion to use vanilla bean paste in desserts where the vanilla is the star, such as ice cream, custard, and crème brûlée, I find it perks up the flavor of any recipe that calls for extract. 

For Your Best Health: Fiber: The new brain food

For Your Best Health

Fiber: The new brain food

You already know that fiber is a must for digestive health and that we often don’t get enough. Need more motivation to up your intake? Researchers in Japan found that fiber may help brain health. Their study, just published in the journal Nutritional Neuroscience, looked at the diet and health records of 3,500 participants from the 1980s to 2020. They found a link between a high-fiber diet and a reduced risk of dementia. 

There are two main types of fiber. Insoluble fibers, found mostly in whole grains and vegetables, are important for bowel health. Soluble fibers, found in foods like oats and legumes, are important for the beneficial bacteria that live in the gut, among other health benefits. When the researchers looked at the link between fiber intake and dementia, they found that soluble fiber had a more pronounced effect.

“The mechanisms are currently unknown but might involve the interactions that take place between the gut and the brain,” says lead author of the study, Kazumasa Yamagishi, MD, professor at the University of Tsukuba. “One possibility is that soluble fiber regulates the composition of gut bacteria. This composition may affect neuroinflammation, which plays a role in the onset of dementia. It’s also possible that dietary fiber may reduce other risk factors for dementia, such as body weight, blood pressure, lipids, and glucose levels. The work is still at an early stage, and it’s important to confirm the association in other populations.”

While we wait, there’s no reason not to stock up on those oats!

Fitness Flash: Movement for the brain

Fitness Flash

Movement for the brain

More amazing boosts to brain health come from exercise. A fascinating article posted by the Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley, explores the new book Move!: The New Science of Body Over Mind (Hanover Square Press) by Caroline Williams, who points out that the connection between exercise and the brain goes deeper than the release of feel-good endorphins known as a runner’s high. 

She describes how movement or the lack of it can send signals we may not even be aware of to the brain. As the article explains it: “If our body is communicating to our brain that we are sedentary or weak, that might create underlying feelings of depression or anxiety, insecurity or uncertainty. On the flip side, moving and building strength could create positive changes in our bodily systems that, when passed along to the brain, give us a subtle sense of happiness, confidence, and positivity.” 

Based on interviews with researchers and practitioners around the world, Williams details the many ways that working your body can influence and improve your brain for the better. It’s full of suggestions for different ways of moving that have different brain health benefits. So, while any exercise is helpful for the body physically, you can also make choices tailored to your best mental health, like taking a group fitness class to feel more connected socially or dancing to your favorite music to escape anxiety while getting lost in its rhythms.

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The Olive Oil Hunter News #71

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Chimichurri Aioli Recipe and the Gut Health Benefits of Olive Oil

There’s been a lot of research in recent years showing the relationship of gut health with overall health. The gut is thought to be as powerful a system as the brain—it’s sometimes called the second brain! Based on the level of diversity in its bacteria (called the gut microbiota), your gut can make you more or less susceptible to conditions like diabetes and heart disease. So, I was super excited to read about the ways in which extra virgin olive oil can enhance gut microbiota diversity. 

Fitness Flash: Gut Health and Olive Oil

The Gut Health Benefits of Olive Oil

Research Review: “Extra-virgin olive oil and the gut-brain axis: influence on gut microbiota, mucosal immunity, and cardiometabolic and cognitive health,” Nutrition Reviews, December 2021.

What We Know: Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is considered a functional food because it supports many aspects of health. It has a wide variety of healthful components, including monounsaturated fatty acids, or MUFAs, and bioactive phenolic compounds that, as the review reminds us, “individually and collectively, exert beneficial effects on cardiometabolic markers of health and act as neuroprotective agents through their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities.” Simply put, those compounds boost heart, brain, and metabolic health in numerous ways.

The Benefits of Olive Oil in a Nutshell: Extra virgin olive oil boosts gut microbiota diversity, enhancing health while lowering inflammation, oxidative stress, insulin resistance, blood fats, blood sugar, and blood pressure.

The review goes on to state that “the gut microbiota and health of the intestinal environment are now considered important factors in the development of obesity, metabolic disease, and even certain neurodegenerative conditions via the gut-brain axis. Recently, data are emerging which demonstrate that the health-promoting benefits of EVOO may also extend to the gut microbiota.” 

For their review, the authors analyzed many recent studies on EVOO and the gut and found that EVOO reduces the abundance of bad bacteria, stimulates the growth of good bacteria, and increases the production of short-chain fatty acids, or SCFAs, which have a wide range of anti-inflammatory effects.

They also found that EVOO plays a role in the health of the intestinal mucosa, the mucous layer lining the digestive system (it’s actually part of the body’s immune system and acts as a protective barrier to invaders). The health of the intestinal mucosa seems to influence the body’s overall level of inflammation, and inflammation is at the root of many heart, metabolic, and brain diseases. As the review authors point out, “Western-style diets, low in dietary fiber and high in high pro-inflammatory fats, are associated with gut dysbiosis, increased gut permeability, systemic inflammation, and a variety of chronic diseases. Conversely, healthier dietary patterns like the Mediterranean diet, which is rich in dietary fiber, beneficial fatty acids, and polyphenolic compounds, are associated with greater gut microbial diversity, increased abundance of beneficial bacteria, and reduced levels of inflammation and risk of chronic diseases.” 

Among the many studies cited in the review is one on the effects of a Mediterranean diet on the gut microbiota of 612 elderly European participants. The study found that sticking to the diet for over 12 months led to “an increased abundance in several bacteria associated with improved cognition and was inversely associated with pro-inflammatory markers.” In general, people who get EVOO in their diet tend to have high numbers of many types of good bacteria—numbers that tend to be lower in people who eat a typical Western diet. 

The researchers also compared the results of many large-scale studies to find the optimal amount of olive oil to have every day for different health benefits. Here’s what they found: “At least 4 tablespoons per day is associated with a 30% lower risk of occurrence of cardiovascular events and improved cognitive function compared with a low-fat diet. In addition to using EVOO in [place] of saturated fats, the European Food Safety Authority also suggests a minimum daily intake of 20 g [about 1.5 tablespoons] of EVOO to assist in obtaining optimal cholesterol levels and protection of LDL [low-density lipoproteins] from oxidative damage. Although evidence in relation to the optimal amount of EVOO required to modulate the gut microbiota is still in its infancy, beneficial effects on the microbiota have been observed in two intervention studies at doses of 40 and 50 g/day (about 3 and 4 tablespoons, respectively).” 

Chimichurri Aioli

  • Chimichurri Aioli Chimichurri Aioli

    This olive-oil based recipe turns chimichurri into an aioli, a highly flavored, garlicky mayonnaise. It’s great as a veggie dip, a condiment, and even a dressing for cold pasta salad.

    Ingredients

    • 1/4 cup best quality prepared mayonnaise
    • 1 clove garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped
    • 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves
    • 2 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
    • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar, such as Vinaigre de Banyuls, plus more to taste 
    • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano 
    • 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 
    • 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt, or more to taste
    • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
    • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 

    Directions

    Step 1

    Combine everything except the olive oil in the bowl of a food processor and process until the garlic and herbs are finely chopped. 

    Step 2

    With the motor running, slowly drizzle the oil through the feed tube until the mixture is smooth. 

    Step 3

    Taste, adding more vinegar or salt as needed. If the mixture is too thick, add a few drops of water and process for a few seconds. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. 

    Yields about a 1/2 cup 

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The Olive Oil Hunter News #70

Posted on by The Olive Oil Hunter

Cheddar Chile Cornbread Recipe, Spotlight on Cornmeal, The Color of Cheddar, Olive Oil in Early Pregnancy, and The Hidden Dangers of Uric Acid

Recipes don’t have to be complicated to be delicious, and this whole-grain cornbread, enhanced with olive oil, cheese, and peppers, is the perfect example—you’ll never use a boxed mix again! I’m including everything you need to know about the key ingredients that make this recipe special. You’ll also find results from the latest study on eating healthy during pregnancy—more proof of the universal benefits of a Mediterranean diet. Plus, details on the intriguing new book from my friend, Dr. David Perlmutter, all about an under-appreciated threat to metabolic health.

Cheddar Chile Cornbread

  • Cheddar Chile Cornbread Cheddar Chile Cornbread

    This zesty take on cornbread makes a great accompaniment to so many meals—an egg-based breakfast, a lunch of hearty chili, or a gumbo dinner. Reheat any leftovers and top with red pepper jelly for a great snack. Along with the peppers, the cornmeal and white whole-wheat flour bring a little of the always-needed fiber.

    Ingredients

    • 1/3 cup olive oil, plus more for the pan
    • 2 eggs
    • 1-1/4 cups milk
    • 1/2 cup sugar 
    • 1-1/2 cups 100% whole-grain, stone-ground cornmeal
    • 1-1/2 cups white whole-wheat flour
    • 1 tablespoon baking powder
    • 1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
    • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper powder 
    • 2–3 chile peppers, such as serranos or jalapeños, seeded and finely chopped
    • 1 bell pepper, seeded and diced
    • 3 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated

    Directions

    Step 1

    Preheat your oven to 400°F. Lightly coat a 9″ round cake pan with olive oil.

    Step 2

    In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, eggs, milk, and sugar. In a large bowl, whisk the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt, and cayenne to blend. Add the peppers and cheese, toss to coat, and then add the liquid mixture. Fold gently until combined and pour into the pan.

    Step 3

    Bake until a tester comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Let cool for 5–10 minutes before turning out onto a plate. Serve warm.

    Yields 8 generous wedges

Healthy Ingredient Spotlight: Cornmeal

Healthy Ingredient Spotlight

Cornmeal: fine, coarse, or medium?

Cornmeal is the basis for many delicious foods, from cornbread to polenta. You can find it (often from online merchants like Vitacost) in various grinds—fine, medium, and coarse. Many chefs prefer the most flavorful coarse cornmeal for very slowly cooked polenta and the somewhat less flavorful fine cornmeal for baked goods with a finer crumb. For cornbread, medium grind is best for getting a toothsome finish (you can give the cornmeal a few pulses in a food processor to make it finer when using it in other recipes). Equally important is choosing 100% stone-ground cornmeal to get the benefits of the whole grain, including fiber. If you don’t use it up quickly, store it in the fridge or freezer to keep the natural oils from going rancid. Avoid degerminated cornmeal, which is processed and has far less nutritional value. Though cornmeal comes in white, yellow, and blue, there isn’t a very noticeable difference in taste between them, so color is more a personal preference. 

Healthy Kitchen Nugget: The color of cheddar

Healthy Kitchen Nugget

The color of cheddar

Speaking of taste, there’s little to no difference between white and yellow/orange cheddar varieties. But unlike cornmeal’s hues, which are determined by the type of corn milled, yellow/orange cheddar is the result of the addition of a vegetable food coloring called annatto that comes from the fruit of the achiote tree. The only reason it’s added at some dairies is because we’re used to seeing cheddar this color. As with many other foods, the trend now is for a more natural approach—in this case that’s white cheddar.

What does make a taste difference between cheddars? Aging. Like with other cheeses, as cheddar ages, its taste becomes more pronounced or full-bodied. A mild cheddar is a few months old, while the sharpest has aged for two years or more. I like sharp cheddar in general, and it’s especially good for baking because its flavor isn’t lost in the cooking process. Tip: It’s easier to grate cheese as soon as you take it out of the fridge—the warmer it gets, the mushier the shreds.

For Your Best Health: Olive oil and other unsaturated fats in early pregnancy

For Your Best Health

Olive oil and other unsaturated fats in early pregnancy

A mother and child study, done at the University of Turku and Turku University Hospital in Finland and published in the European Journal of Nutrition, found that eating a healthy diet in early pregnancy lowers the risk of gestational diabetes, which has been linked to being overweight. Both a poor-quality diet and a diet high in foods that increase inflammation in the body, notably those high in saturated fat, heighten the risk.

“Eating vegetables, fruit, berries, and wholegrain products as well as unsaturated fats is particularly important. These nutrients and foods reduce inflammation in the body and therefore also the risk of gestational diabetes. Mothers who are overweight or obese…before the pregnancy would most likely benefit from dietary guidance in early pregnancy,” says Kirsi Laitinen, PhD, associate professor in nutrition at the University of Turku.

Fitness Flash: Hidden dangers of uric acid

Fitness Flash

The hidden dangers of uric acid

I’m very excited to share news about the publication of Drop Acid: The Surprising New Science of Uric Acid—The Key to Losing Weight, Controlling Blood Sugar, and Achieving Extraordinary Health by David Perlmutter, MD, board-certified neurologist and five-time New York Times bestselling author who serves on the Board of Directors and is a Fellow of the American College of Nutrition.

As he explains it, obesity, insulin resistance, diabetes, fatty liver disease, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, stroke, neurological disorders, and premature death can all be stoked by high uric acid levels—something you may not even realize is circulating in your system unless you’ve ever experienced gout. 

“Researchers around the globe over the past decade have revealed that uric acid is actually playing a central role in metabolic disorders. From weight gain to elevated blood sugar, it’s uric acid that is orchestrating this metabolic mayhem. And this is a simple blood test that most Americans have likely already had. It’s part of your annual blood work,” Dr. Perlmutter writes. “Uric acid is derived from only three sources: Alcohol, purines (the breakdown product of the DNA and RNA in our foods) and, most importantly, fructose. We’ve known for decades that fructose is the gateway for metabolic problems, but we never understood how. Now, we’ve learned about the uric acid connection.”  

In the book, Dr. Perlmutter not only explores this new science, but also shares his simple “LUV” (Lower Uric Values) diet and a 21-day program for lowering uric acid and favorably impacting your metabolism. It’s available at Amazon. 

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The Olive Oil Hunter News #69

Posted on by The Olive Oil Hunter

Spinach and Artichoke Dip Recipe, Spotlight on Artichoke, Why You Should Choose Glass for Food Storage, Getting the Recommended Amount of Fruits and Veggies, and The Connection Between Exercise and Brain Health

One of the greatest benefits of following a Mediterranean diet is that the all-important servings of fruits and vegetables are built in. But finding good produce can be a challenge in the dead of winter—this week’s newsletter has ideas to help. My spinach and artichoke dip recipe shows that the comfort foods we crave now can be healthy, too. And though it’s more tempting than ever to park yourself on the sofa, new discoveries on exercise and brain health will make you want to do more than get up to go to the fridge!

Spinach and Artichoke Dip

  • Spinach and Artichoke Dip Spinach and Artichoke Dip

    So much better than store-bought, this dip for chips and crudités also makes a great topping for baked potatoes.

    Ingredients

    • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
    • 8 ounces baby spinach leaves, rinsed, patted dry, and coarsely chopped
    • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
    • 1/2 cup sour cream
    • 1/2 cup cream cheese softened at room temperature
    • 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt 
    • 4 ounces artichoke hearts, roughly chopped
    • 3 garlic cloves, minced
    • 1 tablespoon fresh dill or 1/4 teaspoon dried dill 
    • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
    • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
    • Salt and pepper to taste
    • Red pepper flakes to taste (optional)

    Directions

    Step 1

    Heat a sauté pan and add the olive oil and the baby spinach a large handful at a time. Sauté until completely wilted and all the liquid has evaporated. Let cool while you proceed.

    Step 2

    In a large bowl, use a spatula to fold together the mayonnaise, sour cream, cream cheese, and yogurt. When blended, add the cooked spinach, artichokes, garlic, dill, lemon juice, and onion powder.

    Step 3

    Season to taste with the salt, pepper, and optional red pepper flakes for an added kick. Drizzle with olive oil before serving.

    Yields about 3 cups

Healthy Ingredient Spotlight: Artichokes

Healthy Ingredient Spotlight

Amazing artichokes

It’s easy to be intimidated by the look of artichokes and easy enough to buy them jarred or frozen when using them in recipes. But a freshly steamed artichoke makes a tasty light lunch or great vegetable-based first course. Native to the Mediterranean region, but also grown in California (where it’s the state vegetable!), artichokes are low in calories and rich in potassium, fiber, and antioxidants. They are also a good source of vitamin C, folate, and magnesium.

Here’s how to steam whole artichokes, according to the California Artichoke Advisory Board: Wash under cold running water, and then pull off any small or discolored petals near the base of the stem. Working one artichoke at a time, cut off the last half inch of the stem and use a vegetable peeler to take off the stem’s outer layer. Next, cut off the top quarter of the artichoke, and place it in a large bowl filled with 4 cups of water and a tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice, to avoid discoloration. When all the artichokes are prepped, bring 2 inches of water to a boil in a large stockpot, add a steaming rack, place the artichokes on the rack, cover the pot, and steam until a petal near the center pulls out easily, between 25 and 45 minutes, depending on their size. 

To eat, pull off a petal, one at a time, dip it in olive oil, melted butter, or vinaigrette, and pull it through your teeth to get the pulpy portion of the petal. Discard the rest of the petal and repeat until they’re all gone. Use a grapefruit spoon to scrape out the exposed fuzzy layer, or the choke, in the center of the base and discard. What’s left is the sweet heart of the artichoke to enjoy along with the stem. 

Healthy Kitchen Nugget: Glass Storage Containers

Healthy Kitchen Nugget

Choose glass for food storage

If you rely on plastic containers for storing and reheating food, consider the benefits of switching to glass. Even BPA-free plastic has chemicals that can be released into food and have a negative effect on your endocrine system when ingested, a problem you avoid with glass. 

Not only do glass containers last almost indefinitely, but when necessary they can be recycled easily—something that simply isn’t happening with plastics. Look for glass containers that can be stored in the freezer as well as the fridge. 

Try to buy frozen foods packaged in paper, but if your favorites only come in plastic, move the contents of the bag to a glass bowl when you’re ready to defrost them. If it’s necessary to release the food from the packaging, run the bag under cool water for a few seconds, then transfer it. 

For Your Best Health: Importance of fruits and vegetables

For Your Best Health

More fruits and veggies, please!

A startling CDC report released on January 6 showed just how few Americans get the recommended daily 1.5-to-2-cup equivalents of fruit—just 12.3%—and the 2-to-3-cup equivalents of vegetables—only 10%. As part of a healthy diet, these food groups support immune function and help prevent obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and even some cancers. Of course, eating fruits and veggies can be harder to do in the winter months when seasonal produce is almost nonexistent and the temptation to eat comfort foods is high. 

Try a two-pronged strategy to boost your intake. First, remind yourself to get these daily servings: Write out a daily diet plan that includes them, so they’ll be front of mind. Next, make shopping for produce more of an adventure. Explore the produce section of your favorite stores to look for new and exotic imported fruits and vegetables—now is a great time to try them. Then check out the frozen foods aisle for selections that were flash frozen at harvest for best flavor, like corn kernels, sweet peas, raspberries, and melon chunks, among others. You’ll get a taste of summer by using them in your favorite warm-weather recipes.

Fitness Flash: Exercise and Brain Health

Fitness Flash

Explaining the exercise–brain health link

A recently published study in Nature got us closer to understanding how exercise slows cognitive aging and why it’s tied to better brain plasticity and less inflammation within the hippocampus. Lab experiments showed that exercise leads to higher levels of a naturally occurring protein in the blood called clusterin. Clusterin can bind to certain cells in the brain and reduce inflammation, a precursor to brain diseases like Alzheimer’s. Researchers studied a small group of people with cognitive impairment who followed a set exercise program for six months and found that they were able to increase the level of clusterin in their blood. One takeaway is that it’s never too late to start getting more physical activity for better brain and body health.

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