Eat More Blueberries

You know that blueberries are good for you, right?  You must have heard that from somewhere by this point.  Nutritionists across the world have been ordering us to eat more of these antioxidant power bombs, but we here at FBP simply want to make sure you got the message.  Why do you need to eat more blueberries?  Let us count the reasons!

First, they are delicious.  Seriously.  When in season, these little fruits are better than any candy on the planet.  I even like the puckering power of the little sour ones!  Second, according to the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, blueberries are right up there with the highest potency antioxidant fruits in the world.  Third, neuroscientists have shown that rats who were fed blueberries experienced less age related memory loss.  Fourth, they contain proanthcyanidins that will prevent bacteria from adhering to the walls of the bladder, thus preventing bladder infections!  Fifth... Do you really need a FIFTH reason?  Fine - They taste great.  GO BUY SOME TODAY - It will help you to remember to thank me when you're older!!

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Chia For The New Mommy

You might have noticed that the Healthtippers podcast never showed up for download last week.  The reason is that I am the proud papa of a new baby girl!  My wife gave birth to our second daughter, Ivy Blue, on February 11th, and we have been busy taking care of her ever since! 

One of the things that we have been dealing with is a somewhat serious case of the baby blues and insomnia that my wife has been struggling with post-birth.  This is a fascinating subject that we are discovering all sorts of helpful hints for and compiling for the next episode of Healthtippers.  However, I wanted to share one great tip with you here and now.

As you may already know, Omega-3 fatty acids are one of the most important things that a post-natal woman should be getting into her diet.  However, it can be tough due to the lack of these elusive fatty acids in anything but fish, and as we all know, we need to limit our fish consumption because of dangerous heavy metals in many of the fish that make it to our plates. 

Step one in any post-natal woman's arsenal should be a fish oil supplement, but following that is a food that is a powerhouse of Omega-3 fatty acid: CHIA SEEDS.  These little seeds are famous for growing green fuzz on terracotta sculptures, but they have also been getting a lot of attention from people like Dr. Oz recently, and for good reason.  These tiny seeds are not only an antioxidant powerhouse, but also contain more Omega-3 fatty acids then just about any other non-fish source!  They taste great mixed in your food (on salads, in pancakes, or even by themselves) and they don't need to be ground to be digestable.  You can find Chia seeds at your local health food store, usually in the fiber section.  Get some today!

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Artichoking the Liver

Many nutritionists agree that the liver is one of the most important, and most abused, organs in the body.  We not only choose to hurt our own livers (alcohol, cosmetics, household cleaners, processed foods, etc). we are also forcing them to sustain us in a powerfully toxic environment.  Its time to give the liver a break by choosing to eat something that will help it out some: Artichokes.

Studies have shown that artichokes have some powerful phytonutrients in them that you're going to want to get into youself as soon as you can.  One of these is silymarin (which we discussed in Healthtippers episode # 3.  The number one supplement was Milk Thistle, which is also loaded with this phytonutrient.)  This antioxidant has been shown to actually assist in regenerating the liver!

Sounds like its time to get some artichoke for your next meal.  I am a big fan of the artichoke hearts that you can find packed in olive oil in or around the cheese sections of your finer grocery stores.  But however you manage to do it, eat some more of this incredible vegetable.

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Healthtippers Episode # 3 - Cleansing and Detox

Aaron and Tim get together to discuss how you can get unwanted toxins out of your body in an easy and healthy way.  They start off by telling you what five foods you need to add to your diet, then they go on to recommend five supplements that can help you along the way.  For the Chemical of the Weak portion of the show, they discuss the five most important foods to buy Organic!  Then finally, the challenge for this show will be the toughest they have tackled yet!  Get your sauerkraut ready, it's time for some more Healthtippers!

You can download the show on iTunes.

Or you can visit www.healthtippers.com and listen to it there.

Thanks for the support!

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Overlooked Okra

I'm a Chicago kid who spent his first five school years in Texas.  While there I became very familiar with a slimy green fruit called Okra that got slopped onto my lunch tray too frequently for my tastes.  It was bland, gooey, ugly, and just about as appetizing as a snot rocket.  Then my family moved back up north and my delicate palette was never again assaulted with this foul fruit.

Today, Okra and I have started our relationship over again.  I agreed that the lunch ladys of yesteryear had assaulted this well-intentioned food with loveless preparation that doomed it to being scraped off my plate into the trash every time.  Turns out, there's a lot to love about this slimy stuff!

First of all, it tastes pretty darn good!  When prepared well, Okra can add a unique flavor to your dinner plate, and for those tactile eaters out there (the ones like me, who love to play with their food), try sliding the Okra seeds around your mouth before popping them between your teeth.  Yay fun!!

Secondly, Okra is leaps and bounds better for you then the salisbury steak on the lunch tray could ever dream of being.  Take the slimy consistency for instance, that mucilage will help to bind up bile in your digestive track and carry it out of the body (Listen to Healthtippers Episode # 3 - released February 3rd - to hear why this is so important!)  The slime will also help to lubricate and soothe your bowels, which is very important for ANYONE with a digestive disorder.  Okra has also been shown to help maintain healthy skin, which might be why it was one of Cleopatra's favorite foods!

If you're like me, and your relationship with Okra has been tainted by memories of sloppy, sticky, slimy mounds of mush served with a plop from a lunch lady's ladel, then make amends with this misbegotten fruit.  And if you are experiencing any digestive problem, this needs to be your go-to food (right beside your bottle of Bubbie's Sauerkraut!)

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Stressed Out? Have Some Rice!

To be specific, have some BROWN rice. 

There are a lot of reasons to switch from white to brown rice, but one I never expected to discover was that the darker stuff helps your body deal with stress!  I guess anything's possible when it comes to this miracle grain.  Brown rice contains a lot of magnesium, which can help calm you down.  It also releases seratonin, which makes us happy!  Healthy AND happy, that's what we're going for here!

In case you were wondering what the difference is between brown and white rice, its actually pretty simple.  Brown rice hasn't been stripped of the bran.  Getting the bran ripped out helps white rice cook faster (and fluffier), but you lose a ton of good stuff!  So next time the guy behind the counter at Wahoo's Fish Taco asks you, "White or Brown," pick brown!

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Olive Oil For Cholesterol

Heart disease is the number one cause of death in the United States, and one of the biggest culprit to an unhealthy heart is high Cholesterol.  There seem to be a myriad of different pills that you can pop that promise to help you lower the bad (LDL) and raise the good (HDL), but before you go swallowing yet another magic pill, why not try the food that the Mayo Clinic lists as the most important cholesterol reducing food out there: Olive Oil.

Add some Olive Oil to your salads, cook with it, dip bread in it, do whatever you can to get more of it in your diet.  One important thing to make sure to look at when purchasing your next bottle (seriously, why can't I find a TIN of olive oil instead of a bottle?! Those glass bottles let light in, and buying it in a tin can prevent rancidity!) check to see if it is Extra Virgin Olive Oil.  If it claims to be simply "Light" then all it is is processed and not as good for you as the Extra Virgin variety.

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Eat Apricots to Ease Acne

We've all heard that eating junk food can help place a big fat zit in the middle of your face.  Fried foods and sugar will indeed increase the acid levels in the system and can lead to skin breakouts, but if that's what we should be avoiding, what should we be eating?

Your best bet is to start introducing fruits and vegetables that are high in Vitamin A.  There are a lot of them out there (Avocados, Cherries, Grapefruits, Carrots, Broccoli, Watermelon, etc) and one of my all time favorites is dried apricots!  The fresh ones work just as well, but I love, love, LOVE the dried kind.  They are delicious and convenient, and if you feel like getting decadent, cover them in dark chocolate!  I know I just wrote above that you should stay away from chocolate, but I'll make an exception for some delicious dark chocolate covered apricots!  And you can keep the sugar levels down by just dipping the tips.

Get a bag of semi-sweet chips and pour them into a microwave safe bowl.  Zap them for 30 seconds, then stir.  Return the bowl to the microwave for another round and continue doing this until the chips are melted into a creamy mess.  Then dip the dried apricots in and place them onto a sheet of parchment paper.  As soon as you're done, get them into the fridge, this will stop the hot chocolate from cooking the apricots, which will cause them to turn into a gooey mess after a day or two.  After the chocoate has cooled, enjoy the sweet taste of clear skin!  For some extra zip, try mixing a pinch of cayenne pepper into the chocolate!!

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Sesame Seed Chasers!

When most people think of sesame seeds they immediately imagine a burger bun.  However, it turns out this verstile little seed has a lot more going for it then just adding some flavor to your Big Mac!

Sesame seeds have been used in cooking for longer then just about any other condiment.  And sesame seed oil is a great addition to any cook's cabinet due to its high resistance to rancidity.  But scientists are pleased to have discovered one intersting effect that sesame seeds have on our livers that should perk up the ears of any of you out there who enjoy the occaisonal beer or glass of wine.

There is a lignan in sesame seeds called Sesamin, which has been shown to help the liver deal with the negative effects of alcohol!  By eating a handful of sesame seeds, it seems as if the sesamin will help your liver produce the enzymes it needs to protect your body from alcohol!

So next time you saddle up to the bar for a shot of whiskey, don't chase it with a beer, eat a handful of sesame seeds instead!

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15630196

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