Super Foods -> Spinach

You can usually recognize SuperFood fans in the grocery store: Their carts are loaded with spinach. Nothing makes me happier than seeing how people have jumped on the spinach bandwagon. In the US we’re now eating five times more fresh spinach than we ate in the 1970’s. This is the highest levels of spinach consumption since the 1950’s when parents were urging their kids to eat spinach so they’d be as strong as Popeye. There are two reasons for this renaissance of spinach in the diet. For one thing, it’s never been easier to get spinach on the table. You can buy pre-washed baby spinach at most markets. Some can be microwaved right in the bag and on the table in three minutes. Baby spinach is great in a salad that can be made in an instant. To my mind, however, the most important reason for the popularity of spinach is its powerful health benefits. Spinach and it’s green, leafy sidekicks, are among the most nutritious foods on earth. Calorie for calorie, spinach provides more nutrients than any other food. Along with two of my favorite SuperFoods, wild salmon and blueberries, spinach is an all-star SuperFood that packs an incredible nutritional wallop. Low in calories and jam-packed with nutrients, spinach should be a regular part of your daily menu.

Spinach seems to be able to lessen our risk for many of the most common diseases of the twenty first century. Overwhelming research has demonstrated an inverse relationship between spinach consumption and the following:

Cardiovascular disease including stroke and coronary artery disease
Cancer including colon, lung, skin, oral, stomach, ovarian, prostate and breast cancer
Age related macular degeneration (AMD)
Cataracts

In addition, preliminary research suggests that spinach may help prevent or delay age-related cognitive decline.

What makes spinach and its sidekicks such powerful health promoters? The list of compounds that have been discovered in spinach is truly impressive. Beyond the iron that Popeye was yearning for, spinach contains carotenoids, antioxidants, vitamin K, coenzyme Q10, B vitamins, minerals, chlorophyll, polyphenols, betaine and, interestingly, plant-derived omega-3 fatty acids. This is a condensed list and it’s hard to convey the powerful impact of these nutrients as they work synergistically to promote health.

It’s not surprising that spinach is a powerful ally in the fight against cancer. A number of studies have shown an inverse relationship between spinach consumption and almost every type of cancer. Researchers believe that it’s the rich supply of vitamins, minerals, omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants and phytonutrients that do the job. For example, spinach and its sidekicks offer rich supplies of glutathione and alpha lipoic acid – two critical antioxidants. These substances are manufactured in the body but as we age our ability to produce them subsides. That’s when spinach can make an important contribution with its ready-made supply of both glutathione and alpha lipoic acid. In addition to these to antioxidants, spinach supplies the carotenoids lutein/zeaxanthin and beta-carotene which play an important role in our body's anti-cancer defense systems.

SuperFoods -> Soy

One of the recent national morning shows featured a cooking segment about the nutritional benefits of tofu.

“This will be great,” said the host of the show. “I’m trying to gel more soy into my diet.” “Well, then, this should work out really well,” replied the co-host. “You can have mine!”

This brief humorous interchange typifies the way many of us think about soy and tofu, in particular. We think we should eat more of it, though we may not be sure why, and some of us are convinced we want no part of it whatsoever.

Soy is a valuable addition to your diet and, even if you never dreamed you’d eat it and even if you never, ever want to cook tofu, there are other ways to incorporate soy foods into your daily diet.

Here is the good news in a nutshell: soy truly is a SuperFood. It offers tremendous health benefits when incorporated into your diet. It’s an inexpensive, high-quality, vitamin- and mineral-rich plant protein with lots of soluble fiber, plant-based omega-3 fatty acids, and, most important, it offers a wealth of disease-fighting phytonutrients. Indeed, soy is the richest known dietary source of powerful health-promoting phytoestrogens. Soy has been recognized by many researchers as playing a positive role in preventing cardiovascular disease, cancer, and osteoporosis as well as helping to relieve menopausal and menstrual symptoms. More-over, you don’t have to eat tons of it to enjoy its considerable advantages. Once you learn about the proven benefits of soy and the simple ways you can incorporate this unique food into your diet, we think you’ll become a convert.

Soybeans have been cultivated in China since the eleventh century B.C. Indeed, the soybean is the most widely grown and utilized legume in the world. The Chinese name for the soybean is “greater bean,” and soy is also referred to as “meat without bones.” Like other beans, soybeans grow in pods, and while we most commonly think of them as green, they can also be yellow, black, or brown. The soybean was introduced to America in the eighteenth century by that innovative, forward-looking American Ben Franklin, who, impressed with tofu—the Chinese “cheese made from soybeans”—had some beans shipped from Paris to a group of farmers in Pennsylvania. It wasn’t until the next century that soybeans were extensively planted by American farmers. In the twentieth century, people began to recognize the health-promoting qualities of the soybean, and today, to many people’s surprise, the United States is the world’s largest commercial producer of soybeans.

Soy has long been recognized as a highly nutritious food. Western scientists became particularly interested in soy when they noticed that people eating Asian diets enjoyed lower rates of heart disease as well as less cancer and osteoporosis, and had fewer hormonal problems than those eating a typical Western diet. While much research still has to be done, there is now broad agreement on various connections between soy and health promotion.

Soy’s most conclusively demonstrated benefit concerns cardiovascular health. There have been extensive studies on the cholesterol-lowering effect of soy. One frequently cited study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1995, describes an analysis of thirty-eight different studies. The authors found that consumption of soy protein resulted in significant reductions in total cholesterol (9.3 percent). LDL cholesterol (12.9 percent), and triglycerides (10.5 percent) with a small though not significant increase in HDL cholesterol. A recent study (March 2003) in the Journal of Nutrition demonstrated that the intake of soy foods among the premenopausal women subjects was inversely related to their risk for coronary artery disease and stroke as well as other disorders. Similar studies have demonstrated the same effect with people with diabetes and people with high cholesterol.

Cleaning for a Reason

If you know any women currently undergoing chemotherapy, please pass the word to her that there is a cleaning service that provides FREE housecleaning - once per month for 4 months while she is in treatment, All she has to do is sign up and have her doctor fax a note confirming treatment.

Cleaning for a Reason will have participating maid service in her zip code area arrange for the service. This organization serves the entire USA and currently has 547 partners to help these women. It's our job to pass the word and let them know that there are people out there that care. Be a blessing to someone and pass this information along.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

You may not know someone going through chemo, but someone on your email list might.

Super Foods -> Pumpkin

“Pumpkin?” people ask “Why pumpkin?” Most people find pumpkin the dark horse of the SuperFoods. Many of us rarely think of pumpkin as a food. We buy a pumpkin to carve at Halloween when it serves as a glorified candleholder that’s disposed of once the trick or treaters go home. We only eat it once a year, if at all, in a Thanksgiving pie. Most people think of pumpkin as a decorative gourd rather than a highly nutritious and desirable food.

This is unfortunate because the squash known as pumpkin is one of the most nutritionally valuable foods known to man. (By the way, pumpkin is not a vegetable; it’s a fruit. Like melons, it’s a member of the gourd family.) Moreover, it’s inexpensive, available year round in canned form, incredibly easy to incorporate into recipes, high in fiber, and low in calories. All in all, pumpkin is a real nutrition superstar.

It’s all very well that pumpkin is such a nutritional powerhouse, but that doesn’t count for much if every time you wanted some pumpkin you had to wrestle one of those big orange gourds into the kitchen. A winter squash, pumpkin is usually available fresh only in the autumn and early winter and the rest of the year you might have trouble finding one. But one of the best features of pumpkin is that it’s readily available all year long in an inexpensive canned form. At our house, my wife Patty’s pumpkin pudding is always on hand. Our kids all love it and their visiting friends, who are sometimes skeptical of “healthy” foods, dig right in when we serve it.

Canned pumpkin is one of those foods that give the lie to the notion that fresh is always best. Not only is it sometimes difficult if not impossible to find fresh pumpkin, canned pumpkin is actually more nutritious. Canned pumpkin puree (don’t get it mixed up with “pumpkin pie filling,” which has added sugar and spices), has been cooked down to reduce the water content that you’d find Squash that comes from a cooler climate will often have more flavor and sweetness than one that grows in a warmer place. Check your supplier.

SuperFoods -> Pomegranates

Did you know that it may have been a pomegranate – not an apple - that tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden? Ancient and beloved, the pomegranate figures prominently in history and mythology. The art, literature and culinary traditions of Europe, the Middle East, Africa and India all revere the mighty garnet colored jewel.

One of the joys of the autumn season, pomegranates have been around since ancient times and their health benefits have long been recognized. A study in autumn colors, pomegranates can range from yellow-orange to red to deep purple. Rich in potassium, vitamin C, polyphenols and vitamin B6, pomegranates are real phytochemical powerhouses. Pomegranate juice may have two to three times the antioxidant power of equal amounts of green tea or red wine. In one study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, pomegranate juice was a potent fighter in the battle against atherosclerosis. As little as ¼ cup of pomegranate juice daily may improve cardiovascular health by reducing oxidation of LDL cholesterol. In addition, animal studies suggest that pomegranates may cause regression of atherosclerotic lesions. It’s unfortunate that many of us avoid pomegranates because it takes some work to get to the seeds.

Pomegranates possess potent anti-inflammatory phytochemicals, and consumption of pomegranate juice has been shown to lower blood pressure in hypertensive volunteers. Studies of several fruit juices and wines have reported the highest polyphenols concentration in pomegranate juice followed by red wine and cranberry juice.

If you’ve never tried a pomegranate, autumn is the perfect time. Select a pomegranate by weight: the seeds represent about half the weight of the fruit and so the heavier the fruit the better. The skin should be shiny without any cracks. You can store your pomegranate in a cool place for about a month but it will keep in the fridge for up to two months.

Box: Pomegranate juice, mixed with seltzer and a slice of lemon or lime makes a wonderful drink to sip. It will give you a powerful antioxidant boost as you enjoy the delightful flavor and color.

What do you do with your pomegranate? The best way to use pomegranates is to use the juice for sauces, vinaigrettes and marinades. You can use the whole seeds in salads and desserts or as a garnish for savory dishes of meat or fish. To get to the seeds, cut the top of the fruit and cut the rind vertically (from top to bottom) in about four places. Then put the fruit in a bowl of water or a clean water-filled sink. Peel away the sections of the fruit, releasing the seeds from the bitter white membrane. The seeds will sink to the bottom of the water and the remaining part of the fruit will float. Skim off and discard the floating bits and pour the seeds into a colander to rinse. You can then use the seeds in a recipe or put them in a blender or food processor to make juice. If you freeze the seeds first, they’ll yield more juice. Each medium fruit yields about a half cup of pomegranate juice.

If you want the benefits of pomegranate without the fuss of preparation, you can buy pomegranate juice in the supermarket. One brand, Pom, has become popular recently and can be found widely. Avoid brands that contain too much sugar. You can also liven up your autumn recipes with pomegranate molasses, a highly-concentrated form of pomegranate juice which is thick as molasses. It’s a traditional ingredient in Middle Eastern dishes and can be found in specialty food markets. It’s often used in salad dressings and sauces.

SuperFoods -> Oranges

Oranges may well have been America’s first “health food.” Long recognized as a potent source of vitamin C, oranges are considered by most to be tasty, juicy, and perhaps too familiar. No one gets very excited about an orange in a lunchbox—but they should. The discoveries that are being made about the power of oranges to support heart health and prevent cancer, stroke, diabetes, and a host of chronic ailments should bring oranges and other citrus fruits back to center stage as crucial components in a healthy diet.

Oranges originated in Asia thousands of years ago and have become one of the most popular fruits the world over. Christopher Columbus brought orange seeds to the Caribbean Islands in the late fifteenth century, and Spanish explorers then brought oranges to Florida in the next century. About two hundred years later, in the eighteenth century, Spanish missionaries brought oranges to California. These two states remain the primary producers of oranges in the United States.

Citrus seems to have a protective ability against stroke. In the Men’s Health Professionals Follow-Up Study, citrus and citrus juice were major contributors to the stroke-risk reduction from fruits and vegetables. It has been estimated that drinking one glass of orange juice daily may lower the risk of stroke in healthy men by 25 percent while the risk is reduced only ii percent from other fruits. It’s very interesting that consumption of vita¬min C in supplement form does not appear to have the same benefits as the whole fruit when it comes to stroke prevention. This suggests that there must be some other protective substances in citrus juices to account for their power to protect from strokes. The current assumption at this point is that it’s the power of the polyphenols that make the difference. Another reason to rely on whole foods for optimal nutrition! On the other hand, more than 350 to 400 milligrams a day of supplemental vitamin C for a period of at least ten years seems to be an effective means of lowering your risk of developing cataracts. (This is one instance where supplements do work.)

Playing 'Catch-Up' -> Holiday Extravaganza

Playing 'Catch-Up' -> TA Dinner

Thank you to the SFP TA and Tonino's Restaurant for a fabulous dinner.
Thank you to these boys for their serving skills:

Travel Day -> AZ, AK & HI

48. Arizona is one of the Four Corners states. Arizona has borders with New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, California, and Mexico, and it has one point in common with the southwestern corner of Colorado. Arizona has a 389-mile (626 km)-long international border with the Mexican states of Sonora and Baja California.

Admission into the union: February 14, 1912
Capital: Phoenix
Abbreviation: AZ
Nickname: The Grand Canyon State

CLICK HERE FOR FUN FACTS ABOUT ARIZONA

The world’s best preserved meteorite impact site just minutes from Interstate 40 in Northern Arizona near Winslow. Meteor Crater is the breath-taking result of a collision between a piece of an asteroid traveling at 26,000 miles per hour and planet Earth approximately 50,000 years ago.CLICK HERE TO SEE PICTURES OF THE METEOR CRATER

CLICK HERE FOR PICTURES OF ARIZONA'S DESERT FOOTHILLS

CLICK HERE FOR A SLIDESHOW OF THE GRAND CANYON

49. Alaska is a state in the United States, situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with the international boundary with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait. Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area, the 4th least populous and the least densely populated of the 50 United States. Approximately half of Alaska's 731,449[4] residents live within the Anchorage metropolitan area.

Admission into the union: January 3, 1959
Capital: Juneau
Abbreviation: AK
Nickname: “The Last Frontier”, because of its opportunities and many lightly settled regions

CLICK HERE FOR FUN FACTS ABOUT ALASKA

CLICK HERE TO VIEW A SLIDESHOW OF ALASKA

Did you know that there is a rainforest reserve in Alaska? CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICTURES

50. Hawaii is the most recent of the 50 U.S. states (joined the Union on August 21, 1959), and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean.

Admission into the union: August 21, 1959
Capital: Honolulu
Abbreviation: HI
Nickname: the Aloha State
CLICK HERE FOR FUN FACTS ABOUT HAWAII

Did you know that Hawaiian is the official language of Hawaii? CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE

CLICK HERE TO VIEW A SLIDESHOW OF HAWAII

CLICK HERE TO LEARN ABOUT PEARL HARBOR

January 2013 -> Schedule

Tues. January 1
CLOSED
Happy New Year!

Weds. January 2
9:15-12:00 Open Lab
1:15-2:15 Newsletter/Bulletin Board Class – sign-up sheet on bulletin board
2:15-4:45 Open Lab

Thurs. January 3
9:15-12:00 Open Lab
1:15-2:15 Travel Day – This month we’ll be visiting Arizona, Alaska & Hawaii. Sign-up sheet on bulletin board. As always, the links will be posted on the BLOG for the home users!
2:15-4:45 Open Lab

Fri. January 4
9:15-12:00 Open Lab
1:15-4:45 Open Lab

Tues. January 8
9:15-12:00 One-on-One By Appointment Only
1:15-4:45 Open Lab

Weds. January 9
9:15-12:00 Open Lab
1:00-2:00 CLOSED
2:15-3:15 Home Users Club – Meet in the Community Room.
2:15-4:45 Open Lab
Thurs. January 10
9:15-12:00 Open Lab
1:15-4:45 CLOSED FOR WINTER CLEANING

Tues. January 15
9:15-12:00 One-on-One By Appointment Only
1:15-4:45 Open Lab

Weds. January 16
9:15-12:00 Open Lab
1:15-2:15 English As A Second Language
2:15-4:45 Open Lab

Thurs. January 17
9:15-12:00 Open Lab
1:15-2:15 Fun with Keyboarding – Learn the keyboard using thought-provoking exercises. Not only is this class helpful for your typing skills, it gets your brain going AND we have a lot of fun!
2:15-4:45 Open Lab

Tues. January 22
9:15-12:00 One-on-One By Appointment Only
1:15-4:45 Open Lab

Weds. January 23
9:15-12:00 Open Lab
1:15-4:45 Open Lab

Thurs. January 24
9:15-12:00 Open Lab
2:00 Monthly Birthday Party
3:15-4:45 Literati Challenge! – Sign-up sheet on bulletin board.

Tues. January 29
9:15-12:00 One-on-One By Appointment Only
1:15-4:45 Open Lab

Weds. January 30
9:15-12:00 Open Lab
1:15-2:15 Newsletter/Bulletin Board Class – sign-up sheet on bulletin board
2:15-4:45 Open Lab

Thurs. January 31
9:15-12:00 Open Lab
2:00 Travel Day Party – Details to follow!