The Hemp Connection:
anthocyanins

We seem to have this mentality that if it's an antioxidant worth our attention, that it had to come from a faraway place. If it wasn't handpicked by a silent monk, or floated miles down a rainforest river, it couldn't possibly be good, right?

I've never believed that. Mother Nature is far smarter, and it always seemed to me that she'd be sure to put antioxidant gifts in many places. I recently blogged about purple corn, which grows at altitude in Peru, where there is a need for extra protection from the sun's radiation. But closer to home, we have resveratrol in California grapes. Even here in the Southwest, we have hibiscus, also rich in anthcyanins. (For that reason, I've come to call it the Mexican blueberry!)

My theory was further strengthened at the Natural Products Expo, where I learned about a gem from the plains of Saskatchewan. Originally known as Saskatoon berries, and now being marketed as Prairie Berries, these Canadian fruits have a higher oxygen radical absorbence capacity (ORAC) score than blueberries, the fruit most often making the top ten lists of foods you should have on a regular basis.

Prairie berries have been eaten for generations by Native Americans and early settlers. They were often pounded into dried meat to make pemmican, which is similar to beef jerky.

Prairie berries are very similar to blueberries in taste. We were able to try the dried as well as thawed frozen berries. I really liked the flavor.

These berries are not widely available as I write this. The representatives we met were at the Expo to generate interest in them as a food ingredient. They do have a few products for sale on their website. I'm hoping that future Expos will be showcasing food bars, granolas, trail mixes, etc., using these North American superfruits.

Remember, an antioxidant doesn't hold its power based on how many miles it had to travel to get to you. It's about what it does to those free radicals!

I'm hearing from some of you that you're having fun learning about new and different foods, so I thought I'd pass along an idea for the more adventurous readers!

My mom was just telling me that she and my dad went to a Peruvian restaurant recently, and they tried a traditional drink called chicha morada. It is made with purple corn and has a much higher resveratrol content than red wine. It's also high in anthocyanin, the powerhouse commonly associated with blueberries. I did some checking, and found that there is research suggesting that purple corn may help to fight insulin resistance (reference below).

I'm posting a link to a video that shows you how to make the drink. Note that it includes cinnamon, another ingredient many of you are already using for insulin resistance.

http://renegadehealth.com/blog/2010/07/07/how-to-make-the-chicha-morada-super-peruvian-resveratrol-drink/

If you can't find purple corn anywhere near you, you can find it on amazon.com

When you think of your PCOS journey as an adventure, instead of something that limits you, it's amazing how much fun you can have in the kitchen.

Dietary cyanidin 3-O-beta-D-glucoside-rich purple corn color prevents obesity and ameliorates hyperglycemia in mice. J Nutr. 2003 Jul;133(7):2125-30.

I just love cherries. When I was a little girl, we took a vacation to my mother's homeland, Germany. We visited her Onkel Gustav, who one afternoon took us to a part of his farm where he had some cherry trees, buckling under the pressure of the season's ripeness.

My mother looked at me and my brother and said,"Onkel Gustav says to eat as much as you want!" For a kid from Arizona who usually only got to eat cherries one week every summer when they were cheap, this was Cherry Nirvana.

We ate, and ate, and ate. We hung them over our ears like they were earrings. We threw them at each other. We ate some more. Our lips turned red, our shirts got stained. And we ate even more cherries. Eventually we had to get on a ladder to reach more cherries, because we'd eaten everything at the bottom of the tree.

Eventually, our pace slowed down and our bellies felt as though they were going to bust. So we sat down and relaxed for a little bit until Onkel Gustav said to us,"So, are you all ready for some lunch?"

My parents recently converted old family movies into video, so I can sit down and relive that wonderful memory any time I want. But this time of year, I'd rather relive that memory real-time by splurging on a bag of fresh cherries. Which is what I did this week.

Did you know that cherries contain anthocyanins? That's the chemical that makes blueberries so famous for being brain food. Anthocyanins are an antioxidant that can help to regulate pain and reduce inflammation. (Remember, PCOS is a disease of inflammation.)

Cherries have also been found to be high in melatonin. Melatonin is also a potent anti-oxidant. I like to call it the brain's"scrubbing bubble", because while we're sleeping it is actively scouring out oxidative damage from the day and keeping our brains safe from free radicals.

According to the California Cherry Advisory Board, cherries also have a nice boron content, which may help to strengthen bones. Many of you reading this blog are on psychotropic medications, some of which have been found to work against good bone integrity. For you, cherries are an excellent dietary choice!

If you happen to live in cherry country, now is the time to stock up and freeze some cherries to use throughout the year. You can also find cherry juice in many health food stores, which is great to add to a smoothie or to another juice you might be drinking.

One last note, which I do want to include, knowing how many cherries I can eat before realizing how many cherries I've eaten, is that 20 cherries equals about 80-90 calories. I'm usually an intuitive eater, but when it comes to cherries, I've learned that this is one food I do better with when I count them out ahead of time.

For those of you who need to watch your blood glucose and carbohydrates, you might do better eating cherries at mealtime, when the effect of their sugar content can be tempered with any protein you might be eating.

So…enjoy!

http://www.calcherry.com/
http://www.uga.edu/fruit/cherry.html

I love blueberries. And recently they've gotten a lot of press, making practically every nutritional top ten list for their antioxidant content. Even so, it's always bothered me a little that they're not the most sustainable choice for someone like me, living in the desert, far from any blueberry farm. So I've been in search of alternatives that might be more logical choices when blueberries are not in season, and for people who do not live where blueberries are cultivated.

A few weeks ago I was excited to learn that hibiscus contains the same anthocyanins as blueberries. It's a popular tea here in the desert, and I've begun to ask for it in coffeehouses and restaurants.

Yesterday, on behalf of a reader living in the Netherlands who posted that she was looking for good teas over there, I looked up rosehips, a popular tea in Europe. And bingo! They contain anthocyanins as well. They also contain twice the daily recommendations for vitamin C, another powerful antioxidant.

Rosehips are readily available in Europe and the United States. They were popular with Native Americans in their cooking. Supports my"big picture" theory that if you are knowledgeable about local foods, you can often find the essentials right in your backyard. No need to import expensive foods from exotic locations in order to eat completely.

Plus, you can use hibiscus and rosehips teas while managing the overall carbohydrate content of your diet more effectively than you could eating large amounts of fruit. (Not that fruit is bad, it just needs to be consumed with respect.)

Interestingly, one reference I found described a rosehips-hibiscus tea that I'm interested in…that would definitely be a find for my suntea collection!

An interesting note, several places on the Internet mentioned that rosehips contain vitamin D, but I have not been able to find credible references to verify that. You'll best insure good vitamin D balance if you include other foods for that nutrient.