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Olive Oil Hunter News #160

Posted on by The Olive Oil Hunter

Chilaquiles with Fried Eggs Recipe, Spotlight on Salsa and Homemade Chips, Emotional Healing After a Loss and A Woman’s Edge When it Comes to Exercise

Mediterranean recipes aren’t the only ones enhanced by extra virgin olive oil. I love to use it in all my dishes, from Asian to South American and all points in between. In fact, even recipes that call for a “neutral” oil will be more flavorful with EVOO. My chilaquiles are the perfect example, and when you use olive oil to make this zesty tortilla chip breakfast, you’ll also get the health benefits of its polyphenols. In this edition of the newsletter, I’m also sharing a new study’s strategies for coping with grief, something we will all face at different points in our lives, as well as research on the different exercise needs of men and women.

Chilaquiles with Fried Eggs

  • Chilaquiles with fried egg Chilaquiles with Fried Eggs

    This Mexican dish, which dates back to the early Aztecs, is as delicious as it is easy to make. My fast-and-furious version uses prepared salsa and packaged tortilla chips for the quickest prep, but if you have a few extra minutes, it’s even more amazing when you make your own chips (see Quick Kitchen Nugget) and salsa—click to check out my salsa recipes. I love chilaquiles with fried eggs, but you can personalize your dish with another protein or beans. 

    Ingredients

    • 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided use, plus more for drizzling
    • 1 small onion, slivered
    • 12 cherry tomatoes, halved
    • 2 cups salsa (about 32 ounces), red or green
    • 4 cups tortilla chips
    • 4 large eggs
    • 4 ounces queso fresco or cotija cheese, crumbled
    • 1 avocado, cut into small chunks
    • 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
    • Hot sauce 
    • Sour cream

    Directions

    Step 1

    Heat a very large frying pan and, when hot, add 2 tablespoons olive oil, the onions, and the tomatoes. Sauté until the onions soften. Pour in the salsa and heat through. Add the chips and stir to coat; allow them to soften over low heat while you make the eggs.

    Step 2

    Heat a rimmed griddle over high heat and, when hot, pour in the remaining olive oil. Crack each egg into a separate area of the griddle and allow to fry, undisturbed, for 3 minutes.

    Step 3

    Spoon servings of the chilaquiles onto 4 plates and top with equal amounts of cheese, avocado, and cilantro. Use a wide spatula to top each portion with a fried egg and then drizzle with olive oil. Pass hot sauce and sour cream on the side.

    Yields 4 servings

Healthy Ingredient Spotlight: Choosing Salsa

Healthy Ingredient Spotlight

Choosing Salsa

There’s no shortage of jarred salsas on supermarket shelves, and many are excellent alternatives to making your own. Read labels and choose brands with only the essentials—typically tomatoes, onions, chiles, garlic, vinegar, cilantro, and spices. Steer clear of any artificial flavors—the core ingredients should have enough flavor on their own! Also, pay special attention to the salt content so you don’t go over nutritional guidelines. 

Quick Kitchen Nugget: Homemade Chips

Quick Kitchen Nugget

Homemade Chips

Originally, chilaquiles were created as a way to use leftover fresh tortillas, and if you can spare the time, making your own chips is a great way to go. Start with a stack of twelve 6-inch blue or yellow corn tortillas. Cut them into 6 triangles, place them in a bowl, and toss them with a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. Line two rimmed sheet pans with parchment paper and arrange the tortilla pieces in one layer in the pans. Sprinkle lightly with coarse sea salt and bake at 350°F for 10 minutes, flip, and bake for another 5 minutes.

For Your Best Health: Emotional Healing After a Loss 

For Your Best Health

Emotional Healing After a Loss 

Navigating the turmoil of losing a loved one is one of the most emotional—and universal—life experiences we go through. Grieving is different for each of us, and there’s no one healing road map or timetable to follow. But a new study found that there are simple activities that can help improve mood and emotional well-being.

“We were conducting a larger study that looked at how daily behaviors affect emotional well-being and day-to-day functioning, and we realized that a significant number of study participants were dealing with the traumatic loss of a loved one,” said Shevaun Neupert, PhD, the study’s corresponding author and a professor of psychology at NC State University. “Our study suggests there are specific things people can do to bolster their emotional well-being following a traumatic loss. This gave us an opportunity to gain insights into how daily behaviors in the wake of a loss can influence our emotional well-being.”

For the study, researchers worked with data from 440 adults between the ages of 50 and 85, and 356 of those participants reported the traumatic loss of a loved one. Study participants completed a daily diary survey for 14 consecutive days with questions designed to document changes in each of their day-to-day lived experiences and mood.

“The survey questions also helped us capture information related to subjective age, or how old people report feeling each day,” Dr. Neupert said. “Do they feel older than they actually are? Younger? And how does that correlate to their mood or emotional well-being?”

“One of the study’s big findings is that activities we call ‘uplifts’ can have a significant impact,” says Ali Early, co-author of the study and a former undergraduate at NC State. Uplifts are activities that can improve our mood, such as completing a task, getting enough sleep, dining out, spending time with family, and visiting, phoning, or writing to a friend.

“Uplifts were good for everyone, but there is some nuance in not only who is most impacted but when the uplifts are most powerful,” Dr. Neupert said. “For example, we found that the positive effect of uplifts was more pronounced for people who had experienced traumatic loss, and especially so on days when they reported feeling older…There are things we can do, which are accessible for most people, to improve our moods. And those things can help us most on days when we most need it.”

The study, “Traumatic Losses Permeate Daily Emotional Experiences: Roles of Daily Uplifts and Subjective Age,” was published in the journal Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being.

Fitness Flash: A woman’s Edge When it Comes to Exercise 

Fitness Flash

A Woman’s Edge When it Comes to Exercise 

There is a gender gap between women and men when it comes to exercise, but this one is in favor of females, according to a new study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. It showed that women can exercise less often than men yet receive the same or even greater cardiovascular gains.

“Women have historically and statistically lagged behind men in engaging in meaningful exercise,” said Martha Gulati, MD, director of preventive cardiology in the department of cardiology in the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, the Anita Dann Friedman Chair in Women’s Cardiovascular Medicine and Research, and co-lead author of the study. “The beauty of this study is learning that women can get more out of each minute of moderate to vigorous activity than men do. It’s an incentivizing notion that we hope women will take to heart.”

Investigators analyzed data from 412,413 US adults utilizing the National Health Interview Survey database, including gender-specific outcomes in relation to frequency, duration, intensity, and type of physical activity between 1997 and 2019.

“For all adults engaging in any regular physical activity, compared to being inactive, mortality risk was expectedly lower,” said Susan Cheng, MD, MPH, the Erika J. Glazer Chair in Women’s Cardiovascular Health and Population Science, director of the Institute for Research on Healthy Aging in the Department of Cardiology in the Smidt Heart Institute, and senior author of the study. “Intriguingly, though, mortality risk was reduced by 24 percent in women and 15 percent in men.”

The research team then studied moderate to vigorous aerobic physical activity, such as brisk walking or cycling, and found that men reached their maximal survival benefit from doing this level of exercise for about five hours per week, whereas women achieved the same degree of survival benefit from exercising just under about two and a half hours per week. 

Similarly, when it came to muscle-strengthening activity, such as weightlifting or core body exercises, men reached their peak benefit from doing three sessions per week and women gained the same amount of benefit from about one session per week. Dr. Cheng said that women had even greater gains if they engaged in more than two and a half hours per week of moderate to vigorous aerobic activity, or in two or more sessions per week of muscle-strengthening activities. 

With all types of exercise and variables accounted for, there’s power in the recommendations based on the study’s findings. “Men get a maximal survival benefit when performing 300 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity per week, whereas women get the same benefit from 140 minutes per week,” said Dr. Gulati. “Nonetheless, women continue to get further benefit for up to 300 minutes a week.”

“I am hopeful that this pioneering research will motivate women who are not currently engaged in regular physical activity to understand that they are in a position to gain tremendous benefit for each increment of regular exercise they are able to invest in their longer-term health,” said Christine M. Albert, MD, MPH, professor and chair of the department of cardiology in the Smidt Heart Institute and the Lee and Harold Kapelovitz Distinguished Chair in Cardiology.

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The Olive Oil Hunter News #159

Posted on by The Olive Oil Hunter

Rich Chocolate Rolled Cookies Recipe, Spotlight on Cocoa Powder, A Surprising and Unhealthy Consequence of Stress, Spouses may Do Better Exercising Separately

If you’ve cooked from my e-book My All-Time Favorite Chocolate and Olive Oil Recipes, you know that extra virgin olive oil and cocoa add wonderful flavor to sweet as well as savory foods. But if you’ve never paired chocolate and EVOO, my chocolate cookie recipe is a wonderful introduction. This edition of the newsletter features two studies on topics many of us grapple with—stress and the quest to exercise more. Both have eye-opening suggestions for better health.

Rich Chocolate Rolled Cookies

  • Rich chocolate rolled cookies Rich Chocolate Rolled Cookies

    Looking to satisfy a sweet tooth? This recipe for chocolate cookies uses olive oil in place of some of the traditional butter, resulting in a cookie that practically melts in your mouth. If you’re a true chocoholic, press a few chocolate chips into the dough or dip one end of each cookie in melted dark chocolate for an added treat.

    Ingredients

    • 3 cups all-purpose flour 
    • 1-1/2 cups unsweetened natural cocoa, plus more for rolling out the dough
    • 2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder 
    • 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
    • 1/4 teaspoon salt 
    • 12 ounces unsalted butter 
    • 2-1/2 cups sugar 
    • 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 
    • 2 large eggs 
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract

    Directions

    Step 1

    In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, espresso, and salt. In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or with a hand beater, cream the butter for 5 minutes, then slowly add the sugar and then the olive oil. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until combined. On low speed, beat in the flour-cocoa mixture in 4 batches. When fully incorporated, transfer the dough to a large piece of parchment paper, flatten it out into a rectangle with your hands, fold up the sides of the paper, and chill for 30 minutes for easier rolling. 

    Step 2

    Preheat your oven to 350°F. Working in two batches and using a small amount of cocoa to coat the rolling pin, roll out the dough into a larger rectangle about 1/4 inch thick. While you can use cookie cutters, it’s easier and more elegant to cut the dough into long, thin rectangles, about 4 inches long by 1-1/2 inches wide. Transfer to cookie sheets, spacing them about 1 inch apart—they will spread. Bake until set and slightly puffed, about 10 minutes, rotating the cookie sheets halfway through. Don’t overbake—they’ll firm up as they cool. Cool the cookies on racks and then place them in a cookie tin.

    Yields about 50 cookies

Healthy Ingredient Spotlight: Kale

Healthy Ingredient Spotlight

All Hail (Tuscan) Kale

If you’re not a huge kale fan, it could be that you’ve never tasted Tuscan kale. Also known as lacinato kale, black kale (cavolo nero), and even dinosaur kale, deeply colored Tuscan kale is not as bitter as curly kale, the more common option. So you get all the benefits of dark leafy greens that you don’t have to massage to make tender. 

Quick Kitchen Nugget: Soaking Beans

Quick Kitchen Nugget

Soaking Beans

It’s hard to beat the convenience of canned beans, but there are many more varieties to choose from when you use dried beans. Even the same variety that’s available canned will be more flavorful when made from scratch. One pound of dried beans will yield about 7 cups when soaked and cooked.

There’s very little active time needed—place your beans in a bowl that can hold at least three times their volume, cover them with cold water, and come back 4 hours later (or overnight). 

You can shorten the soaking time with a quick hack: Rinse the beans and place them in a large pot. Add enough cold water to cover them by 2-3 inches and bring the water to a boil. Cook for 5 minutes, then take the pot off the heat and let it sit for an hour. 

For Ribollita, the beans must be fully cooked before adding to the soup because of its limited cooking time. To do this, rinse your soaked beans, return them to your pot, cover them again with cold water, and bring them to a boil. Simmer for about 2 hours or until the beans are tender but not overly soft and they’re ready to add.

For Your Best Health: A Surprising Benefit of Flaxseed

For Your Best Health

A Surprising Benefit of Flaxseed

A new animal study demonstrated how the gut microbiome could be a factor in breast health. In the study, flaxseed components called lignans were shown to influence the relationship between gut microorganisms and the expression of mammary gland microRNAs or miRNAs (short, noncoding RNAs that regulate gene expression). A subset of these miRNAs regulates the genes involved in breast cancer, including genes that control cell proliferation and migration. 

“The gastrointestinal microbiota plays an important role in modifying many components of our diet to impact human health,” said Jennifer Auchtung, PhD, assistant professor in the Food Science and Technology Department at the University of Nebraska Lincoln and the editor who coordinated the review of the paper. “In this study, we found correlations between diets enriched in flaxseed, cecal microbiota composition, and miRNA profiles in the mammary gland that regulate many pathways, including those involved in cancer development. This preliminary study supports further research into the role that the microbiota plays in dietary approaches to reduce risk factors associated with disease.”

For this study, the researchers studied the effects of flaxseed lignans on the microbiota of young female mice. Lignans, fiber-associated compounds found in many foods and particularly plentiful in flaxseed, are associated with reduced breast cancer mortality in postmenopausal women. The researchers found that lignan components generate specific miRNA responses in the mammary gland. 

To determine whether the relationship between the microbiota and mammary gland miRNAs could be manipulated to reduce the risk of breast cancer, the researchers fed flaxseed lignan components to female mice to see whether gut cecal microbiota profiles are related to miRNA expression in the mammary gland. The cecum, the first part of the colon, located in the right lower abdomen near the appendix, is believed to have a role in production of short-chain fatty acids and has been proposed to serve as a reservoir of anaerobic bacteria.

One flaxseed oil lignan requires microbial processing to release bioactive metabolites, small-molecule chemicals produced during metabolism that influence physiology and disease—in this case, having antitumor effects. The researchers found that the microbiota and mammary gland miRNA are related and that flaxseed lignans modify the relationship to be non-cancer-causing.

“If these findings are confirmed, the microbiota becomes a new target to prevent breast cancer through dietary intervention,” said Elena M. Comelli, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences and the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, the corresponding author on the paper. The study was published in Microbiology Spectrum, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology.

Fitness Flash

Alternating Cardio with Resistance Exercise is Heart-Healthy

A robust body of evidence shows aerobic exercise can reduce heart disease risks, especially for people who are overweight or obese. But few studies have compared results with resistance exercise, also known as strength or weight training, or with workout regimens that are half aerobic and half resistance. Researchers at Iowa State University led one of the longest and largest supervised exercise trials to help fill this gap.

Their results, published in European Heart Journal, indicate that splitting the recommended amount of physical activity between aerobic and resistance exercise reduces cardiovascular disease risks as much as aerobic-only regimens. However, resistance exercise on its own for the same amount of time did not provide the same heart health benefits.

“If you’re bored with aerobic exercise and want variety or you have joint pain that makes running long distances difficult, our study shows you can replace half of your aerobic workout with strength training to get the same cardiovascular benefits. The combined workout also offers some other unique health benefits, like improving your muscles,” said Duck-chul Lee, PhD, lead author and professor of kinesiology at Iowa State. That’s a huge plus because we tend to lose muscle mass, and consequently mobility and independence, as we age. 

“One of the most common reasons why people don’t exercise is because they have limited time. The combined exercise with both cardio and strength training we’re suggesting is not more time-consuming,” Dr. Lee underscored. Performing a certain number of sets and repetitions with weight machines, free weights, elastic bands, or your own body weight through push-ups or lunges, all count as resistance exercise.

How the study was done: 406 participants between 35 and 70 years of age enrolled in the one-year randomized controlled exercise trial. All met the threshold for being overweight or obese with body mass indexes between 25 and 40 kg/m2 and had elevated blood pressure. The researchers randomly assigned participants to one of four groups: no exercise, aerobic only, resistance only, or aerobic plus resistance. Those who were in one of the three exercise groups worked out under supervision for one hour three times a week for one year.

Every participant in the exercise groups received a tailored workout routine based on their individual fitness levels, health conditions, and progression. Those assigned to resistance training were given a certain number of sets, repetitions, and weights for weight-lifting machines. With aerobic exercises, participants wore a heart rate monitor and inserted a unique exercise program key into a treadmill or stationary bike. Sensing the participant’s heart rate, the machine automatically adjusted the speed and grade to match the prescribed intensity.

All participants wore pedometers to measure daily steps and met every three months with registered dietitians at Iowa State for “Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension” education, which is promoted by the National Institutes of Health. On three random days per month, participants were asked to record what they had consumed in the last 24 hours with an online dietary assessment tool developed by the US National Cancer Institute.

At the start of the yearlong clinical trial, six months in, and at the end, the researchers measured each participant’s systolic blood pressure, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, fasting glucose, and body fat percentage, all well-established cardiovascular disease risk factors. “Many previous studies only looked at one of these four factors, but it’s really multiple factors combined that increase cardiovascular disease risk,” explained Dr. Lee. The researchers used a composite score to fairly quantify changes across all four factors since each uses a different unit of measurement. A lower composite score indicated less risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

At the end of the yearlong trial, the percentage of body fat in all three exercise groups had decreased significantly compared to the no-exercise control group. The authors found that “every -1% body fat reduction is associated with -3%, -4%, and -8% lower risks of developing [cardiovascular disease] risk factors of hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and metabolic syndrome.” Taking all four cardiovascular disease risk factors into account, the aerobic and combined exercise groups had lower composite scores than the control group, with results consistent across gender and age.

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The Olive Oil Hunter News #158

Posted on by The Olive Oil Hunter

Ribollita Tuscan Peasant Soup Recipe, Spotlight on Tuscan Kale, Soaking Beans, A Surprising Benefit of Flaxseed and Alternating Cardio with Resistance Exercise is Heart-Healthy

Tuscany is the land of legumes, notably beans, and Tuscans have a centuries-old tradition of cooking simple bean-based soups that make the most of whatever ingredients are on hand. Ribollita is a perfect example. Meaning “reboiled,” it’s a soup that can be reheated and even enhanced by adding in leftovers as your week moves along. Speaking of moving along, there’s interesting research on the role of resistance exercise in heart health. And another study I’m sharing provides food for thought: Flaxseed could play a role in reducing breast cancer risk.

Ribollita

  • Ribollita Ribollita

    While you can make Ribollita your own by adding in other vegetables, three ingredients define this soup: cannellini beans, hearty (and stale) Tuscan bread, and Tuscan kale. If you’ve been saving your Parmigiano-Reggiano rinds, now is the perfect time to use two of them!

    Ingredients

    • 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling 
    • 2 medium onions, diced 
    • 4 large carrots, diced
    • 3 celery stalks, diced
    • 6 garlic cloves, chopped
    • 1 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
    • 1 large bunch Tuscan kale
    • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
    • 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, more to taste
    • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
    • 2 bay leaves
    • 1/4 cup fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried
    • 6 cups vegetable stock or water 
    • One 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
    • 2 pieces of Parmigiano-Reggiano rind, if available
    • 3 cups cooked cannellini beans, homemade or two 15-ounce cans, rinsed and drained  
    • 2 or more cups of hand-torn stale Tuscan bread
    • 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

    Directions

    Step 1

    Heat a Dutch oven or stockpot, and when hot, add the olive oil, onions, carrots, celery, and garlic. Cook over medium-low heat to soften but not brown the vegetables. Sprinkle on the salt to help them release their liquid. Add the kale and cook until wilted, about 5 minutes. Add the black and red pepper and the herbs; stir and then add the water or stock, the canned tomatoes with all their liquid, and the cheese rinds if available. Bring to a simmer and add the beans. Simmer for 30 minutes, and then add the bread. Cook for another 10 minutes to break down the bread a bit.

    Step 2

    To serve, ladle into bowls, drizzle on a generous amount of olive oil, and finish with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.

    Serves 10

Healthy Ingredient Spotlight: Kale

Healthy Ingredient Spotlight

All Hail (Tuscan) Kale

If you’re not a huge kale fan, it could be that you’ve never tasted Tuscan kale. Also known as lacinato kale, black kale (cavolo nero), and even dinosaur kale, deeply colored Tuscan kale is not as bitter as curly kale, the more common option. So you get all the benefits of dark leafy greens that you don’t have to massage to make tender. 

Quick Kitchen Nugget: Soaking Beans

Quick Kitchen Nugget

Soaking Beans

It’s hard to beat the convenience of canned beans, but there are many more varieties to choose from when you use dried beans. Even the same variety that’s available canned will be more flavorful when made from scratch. One pound of dried beans will yield about 7 cups when soaked and cooked.

There’s very little active time needed—place your beans in a bowl that can hold at least three times their volume, cover them with cold water, and come back 4 hours later (or overnight). 

You can shorten the soaking time with a quick hack: Rinse the beans and place them in a large pot. Add enough cold water to cover them by 2-3 inches and bring the water to a boil. Cook for 5 minutes, then take the pot off the heat and let it sit for an hour. 

For Ribollita, the beans must be fully cooked before adding to the soup because of its limited cooking time. To do this, rinse your soaked beans, return them to your pot, cover them again with cold water, and bring them to a boil. Simmer for about 2 hours or until the beans are tender but not overly soft and they’re ready to add.

For Your Best Health: A Surprising Benefit of Flaxseed

For Your Best Health

A Surprising Benefit of Flaxseed

A new animal study demonstrated how the gut microbiome could be a factor in breast health. In the study, flaxseed components called lignans were shown to influence the relationship between gut microorganisms and the expression of mammary gland microRNAs or miRNAs (short, noncoding RNAs that regulate gene expression). A subset of these miRNAs regulates the genes involved in breast cancer, including genes that control cell proliferation and migration. 

“The gastrointestinal microbiota plays an important role in modifying many components of our diet to impact human health,” said Jennifer Auchtung, PhD, assistant professor in the Food Science and Technology Department at the University of Nebraska Lincoln and the editor who coordinated the review of the paper. “In this study, we found correlations between diets enriched in flaxseed, cecal microbiota composition, and miRNA profiles in the mammary gland that regulate many pathways, including those involved in cancer development. This preliminary study supports further research into the role that the microbiota plays in dietary approaches to reduce risk factors associated with disease.”

For this study, the researchers studied the effects of flaxseed lignans on the microbiota of young female mice. Lignans, fiber-associated compounds found in many foods and particularly plentiful in flaxseed, are associated with reduced breast cancer mortality in postmenopausal women. The researchers found that lignan components generate specific miRNA responses in the mammary gland. 

To determine whether the relationship between the microbiota and mammary gland miRNAs could be manipulated to reduce the risk of breast cancer, the researchers fed flaxseed lignan components to female mice to see whether gut cecal microbiota profiles are related to miRNA expression in the mammary gland. The cecum, the first part of the colon, located in the right lower abdomen near the appendix, is believed to have a role in production of short-chain fatty acids and has been proposed to serve as a reservoir of anaerobic bacteria.

One flaxseed oil lignan requires microbial processing to release bioactive metabolites, small-molecule chemicals produced during metabolism that influence physiology and disease—in this case, having antitumor effects. The researchers found that the microbiota and mammary gland miRNA are related and that flaxseed lignans modify the relationship to be non-cancer-causing.

“If these findings are confirmed, the microbiota becomes a new target to prevent breast cancer through dietary intervention,” said Elena M. Comelli, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences and the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, the corresponding author on the paper. The study was published in Microbiology Spectrum, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology.

Fitness Flash

Alternating Cardio with Resistance Exercise is Heart-Healthy

A robust body of evidence shows aerobic exercise can reduce heart disease risks, especially for people who are overweight or obese. But few studies have compared results with resistance exercise, also known as strength or weight training, or with workout regimens that are half aerobic and half resistance. Researchers at Iowa State University led one of the longest and largest supervised exercise trials to help fill this gap.

Their results, published in European Heart Journal, indicate that splitting the recommended amount of physical activity between aerobic and resistance exercise reduces cardiovascular disease risks as much as aerobic-only regimens. However, resistance exercise on its own for the same amount of time did not provide the same heart health benefits.

“If you’re bored with aerobic exercise and want variety or you have joint pain that makes running long distances difficult, our study shows you can replace half of your aerobic workout with strength training to get the same cardiovascular benefits. The combined workout also offers some other unique health benefits, like improving your muscles,” said Duck-chul Lee, PhD, lead author and professor of kinesiology at Iowa State. That’s a huge plus because we tend to lose muscle mass, and consequently mobility and independence, as we age. 

“One of the most common reasons why people don’t exercise is because they have limited time. The combined exercise with both cardio and strength training we’re suggesting is not more time-consuming,” Dr. Lee underscored. Performing a certain number of sets and repetitions with weight machines, free weights, elastic bands, or your own body weight through push-ups or lunges, all count as resistance exercise.

How the study was done: 406 participants between 35 and 70 years of age enrolled in the one-year randomized controlled exercise trial. All met the threshold for being overweight or obese with body mass indexes between 25 and 40 kg/m2 and had elevated blood pressure. The researchers randomly assigned participants to one of four groups: no exercise, aerobic only, resistance only, or aerobic plus resistance. Those who were in one of the three exercise groups worked out under supervision for one hour three times a week for one year.

Every participant in the exercise groups received a tailored workout routine based on their individual fitness levels, health conditions, and progression. Those assigned to resistance training were given a certain number of sets, repetitions, and weights for weight-lifting machines. With aerobic exercises, participants wore a heart rate monitor and inserted a unique exercise program key into a treadmill or stationary bike. Sensing the participant’s heart rate, the machine automatically adjusted the speed and grade to match the prescribed intensity.

All participants wore pedometers to measure daily steps and met every three months with registered dietitians at Iowa State for “Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension” education, which is promoted by the National Institutes of Health. On three random days per month, participants were asked to record what they had consumed in the last 24 hours with an online dietary assessment tool developed by the US National Cancer Institute.

At the start of the yearlong clinical trial, six months in, and at the end, the researchers measured each participant’s systolic blood pressure, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, fasting glucose, and body fat percentage, all well-established cardiovascular disease risk factors. “Many previous studies only looked at one of these four factors, but it’s really multiple factors combined that increase cardiovascular disease risk,” explained Dr. Lee. The researchers used a composite score to fairly quantify changes across all four factors since each uses a different unit of measurement. A lower composite score indicated less risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

At the end of the yearlong trial, the percentage of body fat in all three exercise groups had decreased significantly compared to the no-exercise control group. The authors found that “every -1% body fat reduction is associated with -3%, -4%, and -8% lower risks of developing [cardiovascular disease] risk factors of hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and metabolic syndrome.” Taking all four cardiovascular disease risk factors into account, the aerobic and combined exercise groups had lower composite scores than the control group, with results consistent across gender and age.

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The Olive Oil Hunter News #157

Posted on by The Olive Oil Hunter

A Mediterranean-Spiced Sheet Pan Dinner Recipe, Spotlight on Allspice, and Following a Mediterranean diet to Reduce the Risk of Cognitive Decline

Sheet pan meals are still the rage, and the combinations are limited only by your imagination. My recipe focuses on a rich blend of spices to elevate everyday ingredients like chicken and cauliflower (it also works for a stir-fry and for lamb or pork). It’s a delicious way to follow the Mediterranean diet and get all its benefits, including brain benefits, which a new study has been able to pinpoint. Rather than relying only on study participants’ memories, these researchers found a scientific way to measure how well people stick to the diet and how that, in turn, can protect the brain by delaying cognitive decline. It’s one of the more potent benefits of olive oil and the Mediterranean way of life.

A Mediterranean-Spiced Sheet Pan Dinner

  • A Mediterranean-Spiced Sheet Pan Chicken A Mediterranean-Spiced Sheet Pan Dinner

    A highly spiced mixture gives deep flavor to this dish, which comes together very easily (toasting the seeds before grinding intensifies their flavor). The yogurt sauce delivers the perfect tangy balance.

    Ingredients

    For the wet rub:

    • 1 tablespoon black peppercorns 
    • 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
    • 1 tablespoon cumin seeds 
    • 12 allspice berries or 1 teaspoon ground allspice
    • 1 teaspoonVietnamese cinnamon 
    • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
    • 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
    • 1 teaspoon sea salt
    • 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
    • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, plus more for drizzling
    • 2 tablespoons water

    For the pan:

    • 2 pounds boneless and skinless chicken thighs, each cut into four pieces
    • 1 medium head cauliflower, between 2 and 3 pounds, cut into florets
    • 1 large sweet onion, peeled and cut into 8 wedges

    For the yogurt sauce:

    • 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
    • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
    • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
    • 1 garlic clove, grated
    • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
    • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill or 1 teaspoon dried dill

    Directions

    Step 1

    Make the wet rub: Heat a small sauté pan and then toast the peppercorns, coriander, and cumin seeds, and allspice berries, if using, until fragrant, about 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a spice or coffee bean grinder, pulse to a powder, then place in a small bowl with the rest of the spices and salt; mix well. Add the olive oil, vinegar, and water, and whisk until thoroughly incorporated.  

    Step 2

    Preheat your oven to 425°F. Generously brush olive oil on a rimmed sheet pan. Arrange the chicken, cauliflower, and onions on the pan and brush liberally with the wet rub. Roast for about 30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through, turning the chicken and vegetables after 15 minutes. 

    Step 3

    Meanwhile, make the yogurt sauce by whisking all the ingredients together in a small bowl. 

    Step 4

    Serve the chicken and vegetables topped with pan juices as well as generous dollops of the yogurt sauce.

    Yields 4 to 6 servings

Healthy Ingredient Spotlight: Go All in on Allspice

Healthy Ingredient Spotlight

Go All in on Allspice

You know it as an essential for spice cakes and gingerbread cookies, but allspice also has a place in many savory spice mixes. It comes from an evergreen native to Jamaica called Pimenta dioica and was introduced to the Old World by Christopher Columbus. Europeans are the ones who dubbed it “allspice” because it’s reminiscent of a number of spices—notably cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and pepper—all rolled into one. So flavorful, it quickly became part of Mediterranean and other European cuisines. 

Most home chefs use ground allspice. But as with many other spices, it’s more potent when you crush your own as needed. In this case, we’re talking about dried unripe allspice berries, which look remarkably similar to black peppercorns, though there’s no botanical connection. The berries are readily available from spice merchants and will retain their flavor far longer than ground allspice. A few berries also add a wonderful aroma to drinks, like hot mulled cider.

For Your Best Health: Following a Mediterranean Diet Reduces the Risk of Cognitive Decline As We Age

For Your Best Health

Following a Mediterranean Diet Reduces the Risk of Cognitive Decline As We Age

Mediterranean Spice Rub with Allspice

The study: “A Mediterranean Diet‐Based Metabolomic Score and Cognitive Decline in Older Adults: A Case–Control Analysis Nested within the Three‐City Cohort Study,”Molecular Nutrition and Food Research, 2023.

While studies often report on the immediate benefits of following a Mediterranean diet, research done by scientists at the University of Barcelona and published in the journal Molecular Nutrition and Food Researchfound that the benefits extend well into old age, lowering the risk of cognitive decline in older people. The specific biomarkers they evaluated also offer insight into the biological mechanisms related to the impact of the diet on cognitive health in later years.

The study, part of the European Joint Programming Initiative, “A Healthy Diet for a Healthy Life,” was led by Mireia Urpí-Sardá, adjunct lecturer and member of the Biomarkers and Nutritional & Food Metabolomics research group of the Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences, the Institute for Nutrition and Food Safety (INSA-UB), the Food and Nutrition Torribera Campus of the University of Barcelona, and the CIBER on Frailty and Healthy Ageing (CIBERFES). Carried out over 12 years, it involved 840 people over 65 years of age, 65 percent of whom were women, in the Bordeaux and Dijon regions of France.

As the researchers reiterated in their paper, certain lifestyle factors have been associated with a delay in the age-at-onset of cognitive decline or with a slowing down of disease progression. “A healthy diet is thought to have great preventive potential for cognitive decline, both directly and through its role in reducing other risk factors, like hypertension and type 2 diabetes. Healthy dietary patterns have indeed been associated with a lower risk of dementiaand better cognitive performance. 

“Also, several observational studies have concluded that high adherence to, in particular, the Mediterranean diet is associated with a decreased risk of mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and with better episodic memory and global cognition. Two other related dietary patterns also associated with better cognitive performance are the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) and the Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diets. However, evidence of the associations between dietary patterns and cognitive function is still inconclusive partly due to self-reported dietary assessment.” 

Their aim was to develop a Mediterranean diet-metabolomic score (MDMS) and use a set of dietary biomarkers to provide a more specific assessment of the participants’ diets and better evaluate the association between diet and health outcomes.

Saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, gut microbiota-derived polyphenol metabolites, and other phytochemicals in serum that reflect individual bioavailability were chosen as biomarkers. Some of them not only show consumption of the main food groups of the Mediterranean diet but are also directly linked to the health benefits of the Mediterranean dietary pattern. 

According to Mercè Pallàs, a professor at the UB Neurosciences Institute, “The use of dietary pattern indices based on food-intake biomarkers is a step forward towards the use of more accurate and objective dietary assessment methodologies that take into account important factors such as bioavailability.” 

The metabolome, or set of metabolites, related to food and derived from gut microbiota activity, was studied through a large-scale quantitative analysis from the serum (blood) of the participants without dementia from the beginning of the study. Cognitive impairment was assessed by five neuropsychological tests over 12 years.

The results: Expert Alba Tor-Roca, first author of the study and CIBERFES researcher at the UB, explains that “we found that adherence to Mediterranean diet assessed by a panel of dietary biomarkers is inversely associated with long-term cognitive decline in older people.” These results also suggest that the biomarkers play a role in future research to ultimately help doctors personalize dietary needs of people at older ages.

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