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Today I would like to show you some current news articles about healthy topics like Omega-3 Essential Fatty Acids, the high antioxidant concentration of Black Rice, and a fun little slideshow about the Mediterranean Diet.
We just can’t take old news for granted, because studies are confirming and rejecting some of what we think we know. Myths are created and dispelled on a daily basis. Check it out.
Black Rice – The Latest Antioxidant Superfood!
Looking to live a healthier lifestyle by eating healthier foods? Antioxidants are an important part of healthy living, and Project Swole readers know that blueberries, pomegranates, and acai berries are 3 of the highest antioxidant-containing foods on the planet.
However, Project Swole readers might not know that black rice has more antioxidants than blueberries. A spoonful of black rice bran contains more antioxidants than a spoonful of blueberries, but with less sugar, more fiber, and a higher concentration of vitamin E. For you thrifty shoppers, black rice also costs far less than any of the high antioxidant fruits mentioned earlier.
Read more about it here: Black Rice: Low-Cost Grain Packs Bigger Antioxidant Punch than Blueberries
The Benefits of Omega-3 Fortified Margarine
In less important news, health experts are telling us not to count on Omega-3 fortified margarine to keep us healthy and protect us from heart attacks. Omega-3s are great for you, and you should definitely add fish or flax oil to your diet, but the dosage in margarine is just not enough to single-handedly help you avoid heart trouble.
This news comes from 3 year experiment involving heart attack victims. Some patients received the healthy margarine, while others used a placebo. There was absolutely no link between eating the Omega margarine and avoiding a second cardiovascular attack such as another heart attack or stroke.
Dr. Carl Lavie, the medical director of Cardiac Rehabilitation and Prevention at John Ochsner Heart and Vascular Institute said:
“I recommend that all of my cardiac patients [with] significant coronary artery disease take EPA/DHA at a dose of 800-1000 [mg] per day. To get this dose, most require a supplement, either one, two or three capsules of an over the counter supplement depending on the concentration.”
Sounds like the dosage of Omega-3 in fortified margarine is too low to make an impact.
Whole Foods Better Than Supplements
Interestingly, based on years and years of this type of research, experts can’t conclusively determine that supplementing with Omega-3s gives you the same benefits as eating a diet high in fish, especially salmon. However, studies have repeatedly shown that a diet high in fish substantially reduces your risk of cardiovascular disease, more so than does supplementing with the same isolated nutrients.
I can’t stress this point enough: it is always better to get your nutrition from whole foods than from supplements. Supplements are a great alternative in most cases, but it seems that when we eat real food, the nutrients we seek are better assimilated than when we just pop pills.
Read more about it here: Omega-Enhanced Margarines a Heart-Saver?
The Mediterranean Diet
Finally, here is a slideshow talking about the Mediterranean Diet, which is a great diet to stay healthy and lose some nasty bodyfat.
Tags: Diet, dieting, health, healthy food, Healthy Lifestyle, nutrition, omega 3
Since adapting to the mediterranean diet. I have totally eliminated butter an margarine from my diet.I find the flavor of the foods is far superior.And the greatest thing is that it is good for you.
I was introduced to the diet by my sister who live in Europe now. I can’t thank her enough. She shared this web site.
https://www.greekoliveoil.org/vmediterranean-diet-section-2
It has done wonders for my diet an health.
Black rice is definitely the super food in the future. With its high nutritional value coupled with wide variety of uses, it will become the super food. We can make black rice as flour and eventually use the black rice flour on lots of our food. But basically you can also use it for main dishes and some of the recipes I found using black rice as ingredient can be found here: https://www.blackrice.com/recipes/
Im hearing you Steve — tomato quarters found in a salad are a personal nightmare for me.
For anti-oxidants, don’t forget about tomatoes. They are the most underrated fighter of free radicals. I discovered it writing a post about them last week. Amazing food.
As for the margarine, I stay away from engineered food. I’d much rather have the real deal, butter, in limited quantities. If the mantra of “moderation” is applied, it’s not bad for you.
I love me some cherry tomatoes, but large beefcake tomatoes and I don’t get along.
Re margarine, if you’re concerned about health why wouldn’t you just replace margarine with olive oil since olive oil is so much healthier. It helps to protect the heart and blood vessels. It not only lowers your bad cholesterol but it also raises your good cholesterol. It’s like taking liquid aspirin. In the country of Crete, the population consumes more than 40 percent of their calories as fat (primarily extra-virgin olive oil) but has the lowest rate of heart disease in the Mediterranean region. Margarine is not a staple there.
Here is a quote by Nicholas Perricone that I found at https://www.buy-extra-virgin-olive-oil.com — Pretty interesting:
“Extra virgin olive oil is one of the most powerful anti-inflammatory foods in existence. Though I cannot promise you an equally long life span [as the olive tree’s life span], I can assure you that you will look younger, think more clearly, be more active and, yes, extend your life if you incorporate extra virgin olive oil into your diet on a daily basis.”
Rhonda Aises