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• Linked to reduced risk of heart disease.
• Has anti-inflammatory effects.
• Has anticancer effects. (stomach cancer)

Today I am going to talk to about onions, red onions, yellow and white onions. We’ve all experienced eye irritation when cutting onions some stronger than others and the reason behind that is when we cut an onion and we remove the cell membrane that will release a really potent vital nutrient called allyl sulphide, it is released when it comes into contact with sulfur compound in onions and that’s what makes our eyes water. It has lots of health benefits it helps maintaining  normal blood sugar levels.

Onions nutrition

4 oz of onions about 120 grams contain only 36 calories.

Onions also are rich in quercetin which has anti-inflammatory properties. Quercetin is a potent antioxidant, laboratory studies shows the quercetin protects against free-radical damage to bad LDL cholesterol, The highest concentration of quercetin are found in red onions then yellow onions and white have just a few.

Some people use the sweet onions which are left in the soil longer which makes their carbohydrates turn to sugar for that reason they are sweet. And also they lose many of their nutrients because they are kept in the soil for longer, I am not saying to avoid them but just to know the difference, and as for all vegetables and fruit the darker the color the more nutritious to us so use the red and the yellow more than the white and sweet onions, and the stronger they are and the more they make us tear and irritate the healthier they are for us.

Onions are very good source of chromium, and studies with diabetics have actually shown that chromium can lower blood fasting glucose levels, and it lowers cholesterol, triglyceride and raises HDL level which is so beneficial to our heart, also onions are very good source of fiber and rich in vitamin C too.

Onions also contain manganese, vitamin B6, folate, potassium and copper.

And because for it is anti-inflammatory properties it can be used if you suffer from asthma, arthritis and next time if you have a cold or upper respiratory congestion, try adding onions to some of your foods, that’s why we like soups when we are sick because it has an onion-based to it.

Image source: whfoods.com

How to store onions

So red and yellow onions are healthier than yellow onions, yellow onions are harder so they will stay longer and you can store them on your counter top for about a month. Do not refrigerate uncut onions because you will spoil them, you have to store them away from your potatoes because potatoes produce ethylene gas and onions can absorb their moisture and that will make them spoil much faster.

Store your cut onions in the refrigerator covered to use in couple of days to maintain the most nutrients.

Recent studies have shown that when you cut your onion, keep it for 5 to 10 minutes on the cutting board before cooking them, that will increase the health promoting benefits. One another good thing in onions that it has the lowest pesticides load which makes it maybe the cleanest food on our shelves!!

How to use onions

You can use onions in several dishes such as salads or pizza, spaghetti sauce, casserole, stews , add raw sliced onions to sandwiches and wraps, curries , gravies and any of Mexican dishes from fajitas to tacos.

One last thing to mention is onion rings are not considered a healthy food so don’t even think about it!!

The food of this week is pizza, pizza is one of the most popular food that we love but we are always worried about eating it due to its high calorie content, we hate that how much pizza is unhealthy for us. Starting with the crust they are always coming from refined carbohydrates they have trans fat in them and there is the topping coming from cheese to sausage mostly coming from unhealthy animal sources and full of unhealthy fats, So i am going to show you today how to make your healthy pizza without sacrificing flavor or time, this is going to be very easy and fast.

Now I start with a raw flour tortilla because when choosing raw tortilla you can control how its cooked, I cook mine in a non-stick pan with no oil, this tortilla is about 120 calories, that’s awesome for a crust. The next think I do is I saute’ fresh vegetables, I take the opportunity to pack on vegetables to make my healthy tasty pizza. Be creative look up in your freezer what do you have up there, I usually have frozen spinach or frozen artichokes hearts. You can use tomato slices, broccoli that you are not using or some asparagus tips, look to you cabinet maybe you have some sun dried tomatoes or pepper flakes and think about throwing some nuts on the top such as pinenuts to make it even more healthy.

Now the next thing you want to think about  is your pizza sauce, I actually do not recommend using the ready made jarred pizza sauce, because it is full with artificial flovors, colorings and preservatives which always we want to avoid, some stores have fresh made sauce it is ok to use that, or make it at home which is easy and the best, put your favorite seasoning as desired, I actually use more sauce and less cheese.

So now you’ve got all your ingredients, you can put your sauce on your tortilla sprinkle a little bit of cheese mozzarella or whatever you like, try to use low fat cheese, put your saute’ed vegatables, when i saute’ these vegetables I use a little bit olive oil, crushed pepper, some oniones and a little bit of garlic and salt and you can season it how you like it to be. Now you got your pizza ready, sprinkle a little bit more cheese on the top to get the color, bake about 10 minutes, you will get a crispy shell, the cheese is going to melt and the entire pizza will cost you about 350 calories not to mention its packfull of fibers, vitamins and minerals from those vegetables, now if you want to go a step further, cut this pizza in two halves share it with someone else with a side salad dish. I’ve checked on the internet about common pizza restaurants to check the calories of 1 slice and I’ve found that 1 slice from those pizza contain about 300 calories, so why not make your own at home??!

Make your kids help you making this healthy pizza, you will be teaching them how to make a healthy pizza and healthy food in general besides good eating habits. Let them learn that healthy food is also delicious, so why exposing our health to danger by eating those junk food which is full of unhealthy fats, let them know they can make whatever they want at home, and stay healthy.

One more thing I want to share that if you are a gluten intolerant you still can enjoy this pizza just use corn tortilla, it is going to be a little more crunchier but it will stay taste as good.

I hope you find these tips helpful for enjoying a healthy pizza, if you have any questions please feel free to ask.

Tomatoes… Has anticancer effects/ Linked to a reduced risk of heart attack/  Useful source of vitamin C and A

There are three kinds of tomatoes :

Cherry tomatoes         Plum tomatoes          Beefsteak tomatoes

Tomatoes most season is July and it stays for the next 4 months so it is good to take advantage from it at that time, it is going to be the most nutritious and delicious. I am going to talk about the health benefits of tomatoes because they are many. One of them is the anti-inflammatory properties in tomatoes such as vitamin C and vitamin A they help to control free-radical damage which occurs on daily basis. Free-radicals were linked to diseases like cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer, even arthritis and heart diseases.

The main phytochemical found in tomatoes is lycopene. Up to 85% of lycopene in the diet comes from tomatoes and tomato products. Lycopene was shown to prevent cancer. We can benefit from lycopene better from cooking tomatoes, you can use tomato sauces or canned or you can make it at home (home-made) that’s the best.

If you suffer from low energy, tomatoes will be the best food for you due to its high content of iron and B vitamins such niacin (B1), B6, B3, B2 and B5. Also tomatoes contain a good source of vitamin K and magnesium which is good for our bones as well. And for a bonus tomatoes are very low in calories, 1 cup of raw tomatoes contains about 38 calories, so consider that when you are looking for a snack, maybe a handful of raw cherry tomatoes instead of a handful of potato chips. That would really be a great alternative.

It is important when you go to shop for tomatoes to pick the organic ones, because the non-organic ones have wax on them which will trap pesticides. Another thing you have to know where tomatoes do come from, actually they do not ship very well, so they are picked early which means GREEN, which means they haven’t developed the great vital nutrients which our body needs and they are artificially ripen, they treat it with gas (ethylene) and certainly that is not the most beneficial way for us to be consuming our fruits and vegetables.

Tomatoes are best to serve as raw. You can put them in different salads, you can put them in your wraps and sandwiches. One thing I like to do is cut some avocados and cucumber and add tomatoes, serve it with balsamic vinaigrette dressing or lemon mustard dressing, it would be great delicious and most nutritious.

Another thing you can do is to cut a beefsteak tomato in halves and add some cumin and cayenne pepper or you can add oregano and basil or simply just salt and pepper put them on your grill or cook them in your oven to have the most benefit from lycopene

If you are a big tomato lover why don’t you grow your own tomatoes it is really simple, what’s better than picking tomatoes from your backyard!!

Below you can check all nutrients in tomatoes.

Image source: whfoods.com

Most of us chew gum daily. According to the American Dental Association chewing gum is very good for dental health it increases the flow of saliva in your mouth, when you chew after eating, the increased saliva flow may help neutralize and wash away acids when food is broken down by the bacteria in plaque on your teeth, and this by itself reduces tooth decay.

So we all know that chewing gum are good for oral health but I want to talk about sugar-free chewing gum, about sorbitol and aspartame that is used to substitute the sugar in chewing gum. I have wrote an article about aspartame before which is found in diet soda drinks, you can check the videos again, they talk about aspartame dangers and side effects.

Let’s talk about sorbitol now. What is Sorbitol?

Sorbitol, or glucitol, is a sugar alcohol which our bodies metabolize slowly. Sorbitol can be found in cough syrups, sugar free mints, sugar-free maple syrup,some cereals, chewing gum, diet foods, diet drinks and ice creams. Sorbitol occurs naturally in some stone fruits and berries from trees of the Sorbus genus. Apples and pears also have natural amounts of sorbitol.

Sorbitol provides about 2.6  kcal\gram and sugar provides 4 kcal\gram, As a food additive Sorbitol has an E-number E420. It is also used as a laxative.

Sorbitol side effects are diarrhoea, abdominal cramps, rapid unhealthy weight loss, and stomach pain.

An article was published on BBC news about sugar free chewing gum, they gave an example about 2 people who chewed about 20 sticks of sugar-free chewing gum daily ofcourse it contains sorbitol, they had become sick.

The 1st woman (21 years old) had complained from diahhroea and stomach pain for eight months, she lost 22 kg in that time. She had lots of tests before the doctors realized that the problem was sorbitol in her chewing gum, she became underweight.

Another man who was admitted to hospital after losing 22 kg in 1 year and he suffered diarrhoea.

They were found to comsume 20 to 30 grams of sorbitol daily (Each stick of chewing gum has around 1.25g of the sweetener). Dr Juergen Bauditz, from the Department of Gastroenterology at Charite University Hospital in Berlin, said 5-20g of sorbitol would be enough to cause minor stomach problems such as bloating and cramps but more than 20g could cause diarrhoea and, as these cases showed, severe weight loss.

After the patients stopped consuming sorbitol in thier diet, they put on weight again they had lost and all the symptoms were gone.

Sorbitol is used in diabetes products in order to cut off sugar consumption, but diabetes people can enjoy normal sugar (ofcourse there are limits to their sugar consumption) followed by daily activity and a healthy diet plan preferred by a registered dietitian.

So now after you all  knew the bad side effects of sorbitol in sugar-free chewing gum you have to be aware, you have to read the food labels carefully, and limit your consumption of sorbitol to the minimum possible or just chew your regular gum, most of chewing gum have between 15 to 20 calories, it is not a big deal, you are going to burn these few calories with any tiny unintended activity, if you didn’t like the idea you can simply cut a little of your calories in something else in another meal, or just use less sugar in your tea if that will make you happy, another choice you can chew sugarless chewing gum and make your teeth and dentist happy. It is your choice to make, choose whatever suits your life style.

Golden Crushed Potatoes by Ellie Kieger as a renowned registered dietitian specializing in nutrition and health communications.

Yield

• 4 servings, serving size 2 potatoes

Ingredients

• 8 small gold creamer potatoes (like Yukon gold), about 1 pound
• Cooking spray
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Steam the potatoes, whole, for 20 minutes, until they are still firm yet easily pierced with a fork. Drain.

Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Place a potato on the tray, cut a small cross about 1/4-inch deep into the potato and crush the potato with the back of a wooden spoon to flatten into a patty about 1/2-inch thick. Try to crush it just enough so it stays together with most of its skin intact. Repeat with the remaining potatoes.

Brush the tops of the potatoes with the oil, sprinkle with salt and bake until crisp and golden, about 20 minutes.