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Health Benefits of Fennel

1/30/2013

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In the past while doing my produce shopping, I sometimes felt that I opted for the same vegetables all the time—spinach, carrots, kale and broccoli.  So the urge would strike to try something new that was not part of my normal repertoire.  Such inspiration occurred a few years ago after returning from Italy and sampling cuisine that incorporated fennel.  Fennel was definitely not a vegetable that my mother used and I had no idea what to do with it.  Out came the cookbooks.  Research revealed that I was missing out.  Hopefully, with this article you will introduce fennel into your diet.  Besides its unique flavor, it provides a wealth of overall health benefits!

Fennel is native to the Mediterranean region, especially Italy and France.  The emperor, Charlemagne, declared “fennel was essential in every garden because it had healing properties”.  The fennel plant is divided into three parts, the bulb, the stalk and the leaves.  All parts are edible.  Once the plant goes to seed, the seeds are collected and then used as flavoring agents.  In addition to being a food product, fennel is used in mouth fresheners, toothpastes and antacids.

The flavor of fennel is sometimes likened to licorice.  It is in fact also called anise.  In its raw form, it is crunchy like celery and slightly sweet.  It belongs to the same family as carrots, parsley, dill and coriander.  The leaves of fennel resemble the leaves of dill; they are both feathery.  Fennel is very low in calories.  One cup only has about 27 calories.  Fennel contains no fat or cholesterol.  Its health benefits come from its unique combination of vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals.  Let’s explore what’s inside fennel.

·      Vitamin C—Fennel is an excellent source of vitamin C, one cup provides roughly 17.5% of the RDA.  It is best to obtain vitamin C from raw foods, as heating will destroy vitamin C.  Vitamin C is one of the body’s primary antioxidants.  Antioxidants neutralize free radicals, which are believed to be the causative agents in many diseases. 

·      Dietary Fiber—Fennel is a very good way to increase your fiber intake.  Ensuring fiber in the diet will aid in proper digestion.  For additional info on the benefits of fiber, click here.

·      Potassium—Fennel is a very good source of potassium.  The mineral potassium is important in aiding to lower high blood pressure (a risk factor for stroke and heart attacks).  Potassium also plays a key role in muscle contraction and digestion.

·      Folate—Fennel ranks as very good in this B vitamin that it is important in fetal development as well as in cardiovascular health. 

·      Other vitamins and minerals—Fennel also is a good source of calcium, magnesium, molybdenum, phosphorus, iron, copper and B3.

·      Phytonutrients—Fennel is comprised of a unique combination that offers antioxidants that may keep us healthier.  One phytonutrient called anethole has been shown in animal studies to reduce inflammation and may help prevent the occurrence of cancer.

So how does this translate into our every day lives?  Fennel’s actions can help improve our health in a number of ways.

If you are experiencing digestive issues ranging from indigestion to flatulence (fancy name for gas), fennel provides relief from gas as it is a carminative.  Bad breath or halitosis is usually caused by digestive problems.  Fennel seeds with their essential oil that contains anethole are an excellent natural remedy to relieve some digestive problems.  In addition, when the seeds are chewed, they release a favorable scent.  Chew 1 ½ tsp. of fennel seeds throughout the day to help with bad breath and have fennel tea to help relieve digestive problems.

As we are in the throes of flu and cold season, fennel may help alleviate some symptoms due to some of its components having expectorant properties.  For those experiencing nasal congestion, try boiling 1 liter of water and add 4-5 fennel seeds into a bowl.  Lean over bowl and inhale the water vapor by covering head with a towel.  For sore throats, try gargling with fennel tea 2-3 times/day and before going to bed.  If you are suffering from a cold or flu, make fennel tea by adding 1 tsp. of fennel seeds in a cup of boiling water.  Allow to steep for about 5 min.

For those with colicky babies, fennel may help calm the baby and reduce his/her discomfort.  One theory about colic is that it is caused by digestive problems resulting in cramping or spasms in the baby’s digestive tract.  Since fennel appears to be supportive of the digestive tract, nursing mothers can ingest fennel that will be passed through to the baby and may help with the colic. 

Fennel also may help those women experiencing menstrual issues or menopausal symptoms.  The phytonutrients in fennel act as phytoestrogens that may help to regulate the female hormones.  The anti-inflammatory properties may soothe uterine muscles lessening menstrual cramping.  The estrogen properties may help balance the hormones resulting in fewer hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms.  In addition to eating fennel, imbibe fennel tea as described above.  For menopausal symptoms, have fennel tea 2x/day.  If experiencing menstrual cramps, drink fennel tea 3 days before symptoms appear and until they usually pass.

Fennel can be prepared in many ways—raw, braised, or roasted.  It can be in salads, soups and stews.  The leaves can be used as an herb seasoning.  For an easy and delicious salad using fennel, click here.  Fennel spoils and loses flavor quickly so refrigerate and use within 4-5 days.  Even better, if you have your own garden, try growing fennel yourself—it’s quite easy!

Enjoy all that fennel has to offer us.  Buon appetito!
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The Skinny on Mixed Greens

1/14/2013

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It’s the New Year and you’re working on that New Year’s resolution to eat healthier.  What is the food that most people will eat?  A salad, of course.  But many people opt to make their salad with the most common lettuce, iceberg.  Iceberg has a nice sweet taste but doesn’t compare nutritionally to other lettuce varieties that are more nutrient dense.  So let’s focus on some better choices that you can incorporate into your diet.  While by no means complete, some of these salad greens include green and red leaf lettuce, romaine, mizuna, arugula and butterhead. 

All lettuce, spinach and other salad greens are low in calories.  They only have about 7 calories per cup.  The calories in salads typically come not from the greens but rather from dressings.  Because they are high in volume and low in calories, salad greens help you to satisfy your appetite by beginning the digestive process so you tend to consume fewer calories for the remainder of your meal.  Greens also have no cholesterol and very little sodium so they are considered heart-healthy. 

Greens are rich in nutrients especially vitamin A, vitamin C, beta carotene, calcium, folate and dietary fiber.  In addition, these plants also contain phytonutrients that act as antioxidants in our body neutralizing free radicals that cause chronic diseases.  While these phytonutrients are beneficial to us, they also provide protection to the plant against such things as pests and UV radiation.  A simple rule of thumb when choosing which greens to use is the darker the color, the more nutrients.  Below is a table adapted from Colorado State University illustrating some nutrient values. 

Nutrient      Unit     Iceberg    Green Leaf     Red Leaf     Romaine    Butterhead     Spinach
Vit. A             IU         502             7405              7492             8710             3312               2813
Vit. C             mg         2.8               9.2                  3.7                  4                  3.7                  8.4
Vit. K            mcg         24               126                 140               103               102                  145
Vit. B6           mg       0.04             0.09               0.10              0.07             0.08               0.10
Folic acid     mcg         29                38                   36                136                 73                 58.2
Iron                mg       0.41              0.86                1.2                0.97             1.24                0.80
Potassium     mg         141              194                 187                247              238                  167
Beta
Carotene      mcg        229            4443               4495            5226            1987                9940
Lutein &
zeaxanthin   mcg        277             1730              1724             2312            1223                 2040 

Many of the lettuces grown are cool weather crops with short growing periods.  They can be found at farmer’s markets or local supermarkets, or you can even grow your own.  There are different stages of greens.  Micro-greens are plants that are very young with only 1-2 leaves.  These micro-greens are usually harvested within 10-14 days of planting the seeds.  Baby greens grow for an additional 2 weeks.  The leaves are small but full of flavor.  The leaves usually are much more tender than the mature greens.  Since the plant is still putting out lots of energy into plant production, these baby greens are a bounty of nutrients.  And finally the mature greens that we are probably most familiar with.  You definitely want to incorporate the mature greens into your diet but studies are suggesting that baby and micro-greens contain more of certain nutrients than their mature counterparts.

It is extremely important that these baby greens are bought organically or if growing your own, not sprayed with any chemical pesticides.  As you will be eating the leaf where the pesticide will be sprayed, you want to avoid consuming the toxic materials in pesticides.  Once the greens are brought home, immersing the greens in a bowl of cold water will help loosen any residual dirt.  Immersing the baby greens into a vinegar and water solution for 5 minutes will help reduce possible contamination from microorganisms.  To make the vinegar/water solution, mix ½ cup distilled white vinegar with 2 cups water.  After the 5-minute soak, immerse the greens in plain water and then blot dry or spin to eliminate any excess water.

All these baby greens contain chlorophyll.  Chlorophyll is the component responsible for energy production in the plant.  It also plays a role for us in detoxification of the blood and the liver.  Chlorophyll is believed to remove environmental toxins such as heavy metals and pesticides from our bodies.  It also acts to purify the bowels since these greens are full of fiber.  For more about chlorophyll, see
here.

A couple of my favorite baby greens are arugula and mizuna.  Arugula is full of phytochemicals that may help counter the effects of estrogen-related cancers and may protect against other types of cancer by inhibiting cell growth.  It also contains compounds that are both immune and liver supportive.  It is rich in vitamin A, folic acid, vitamin K and the B vitamins.  It has a slightly peppery taste that adds a nice accent to salad mixtures.  For a delicious salad recipe with arugula, click here to try my roasted beet salad with arugula.  Mizuna is a Japanese mustard green with a tangy flavor and a fun texture that is different from most greens.  It is high in folic acid, vitamin A and the carotenoids.  It contains powerful antioxidants that may help in preventing certain cancers.  Try using mizuna in my pomegranate walnut salad.  For the recipe, click here. 

Each of the lettuces and baby greens has different flavors.  So have fun experimenting with the different mixtures of baby greens.  As you can see from the table above, no one green will have the highest level of nutrients.  So mix and match and see what appeals to your taste buds.
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