…I wanted to highlight eggs since they are a food many people don't eat, thinking about the cholesterol.
It used to be, when I was brand-new to this profession, I was taught to tell people to avoid eggs. Because of the cholesterol.
It turns out, the cholesterol in eggs has been shown to not increase serum cholesterol, and taking eggs out of your diet doesn't really decrease your cholesterol.
Besides that, eggs…
…are cheap. …have one of the highest quality proteins available. …are one of the very few foods contain choline (in the yolk), which is very important for maintaining memory, potentially reducing your risk for Alzheimer's disease. …are a good source of vitamin B-12, another nutrient that isn't always easy to get. …are convenient to eat. …if you get the omega-3 kind, can be a source of DHA, which is not easy to get in your diet if you don't like or don't have access to fish.
So have fun with your holiday and take advantage of the fact that you've got all those boiled eggs in the frig. Have them for breakfast. Put them on your salad at lunch.
And know it's something good you're doing for yourself!
I finished up my nutrition education during the height of cholesterol phobia/low fat mania. The message we were taught to teach about egg yolks dies hard.
Several years ago colleague Susan Kleiner, Ph.D., R.D., shared in a presentation I attended, that there really isn't hard research that shows, without a doubt, that eating egg yolks increases cholesterol. Neither is there really evidence to show that removing egg yolks from your diet reduces cholesterol. Other dietary choices, such as the ones we teach on this blog, are far more effective at normalizing your blood lipid tests.
Eggs are such a cheap, easy source of protein. Scrambling them with vegetables is my favorite way to clean out my vegetable bin.
If you're trying to increase and maintain your vitamin D levels, keep in mind that it is found in egg yolks. And the levels of vitamin D in egg yolks, according to the US Agricultural Research Service, is higher than thought. Each large standard egg contains 41 IU.
If you're still not convinced and questioning, consider that this same analysis showed that the amount of cholesterol in eggs is 14% lower than previously reported, 185 milligrams per egg.
Egg yolks also contain choline, the precursor for acetylcholine, the neurotransmitter involved in memory. It's not easy to find in food…if brain fog and memory are problems your PCOS has brought you, perhaps rethinking your relationship with egg yolks could be helpful.
I'm not sure what the change is, perhaps farmers have been changing the composition of poultry feed in response to the dietary concerns of their customers.
Whatever it is, I'm hoping the new results in a few more egg yolks showing up on diet diaries I review here in the office!
Why would I pick such an esoteric fruit for this blog? I've got several reasons.
1. I have been asked to be part of a committee here in Phoenix that organizes Get Your PHX, monthly events promoting local businesses. Because my specialty is nutrition, I've been assigned the task of finding food for these parties. It's a great opportunity to give my fellow Phoenicians a chance to try some of the principles promoted on this blog--eat a variety of foods, organic and locally grown when possible--and to see that it actually tastes great!
The restaurant I am working with for next week's event is called The Breadfruit. It's a small but very popular joint in downtown Phoenix that obtains quite a few of its ingredients from the farmer's market around the corner. I joined The Breadfruit's Facebook fan page, and Sasha Ottey of PCOS Challenge, who is originally from Jamaica, commented that the breadfruit is a staple of Jamaica. So, for Sasha, I'm highlighting this food.
2. Women with PCOS often cut back what they are eating to just a small list of foods that they've culled from the Internet, at the expense of their dietary variety. I worked with eating disorders before specializing in PCOS, and my observation is that there is a lot more fear about food with PCOS than with eating disorders. I would guess, it has to do with wanting so badly to conceive, or lose weight, or whatever, that (unrealistic) magical powers to help or hurt PCOS start to be attached to certain food. There is no such top ten list of PCOS cure foods. In fact, the more varied your diet, the more nutrients you can get. So I wanted to pick a food that challenged all of you to think outside of that top ten list.
3. Dietary regimens for PCOS take all the fun out of food. It becomes a chore, eating the same foods over and over becomes boring, and eventually the backlash is likely to become a binge on foods that are counterproductive to PCOS. I encourage you all to have fun with food! Even if you're not coming to Get Your PHX next week, if you have an opportunity to try Jamaican food, or Korean food, or Bolivian food…don't pass it up! You might find something you like that you can add to your routine.
Back to breadfruit. What is it? It's a starchy staple of tropical nations around the world. It is typically cooked before eating, and it gets its name from its bread-like flavor. It can also be stored, fermented, and turned into a paste.
In economically disadvanted countries, breadfruit is consumed in large quantities that would not be appropriate for someone trying to balance their carbohydrate, protein, and fat intake. As a side dish, in moderation, it does provide vitamin C, choline, thiamine, niacin, vitamin B6, folate, and a lot of dietary fiber--11 grams per serving! And even though it is starchy, its glycemic index is not high, likely due to its fiber content.
So if you're out having fun, and the menu includes something exotic, don't pass it up just because it's not salmon, broccoli, walnuts, or blueberries. Mother Earth has a bounty of options that are good for you, fun to try, and pleasing to your palate.
I am willing to bet you wrinkled your nose when you saw this week's choice. Most people will. That's unfortunate, since this kissin' cabbage cousin is a nutritional powerhouse. It's especially high in vitamin C and vitamin K, it's got folate (which all of you ladies need as much as you can get of), and it contains that anti-Alzheimer's compound I've been writing about a lot lately…choline. It's one of those vegetables like cabbage and broccoli that has some powerful anticancer properties as well. They're low glycemic, and each one only contains 10 calories!
Most people have never eaten a properly cooked Brussels sprout, which is why they think they don't like them. They can taste sulfurous if cooked too long. It's best to cook them until they just turn a bright green. Here's a video on cooking them that may be helpful.
If you're really adventurous, and willing to reconsider, here are some interesting ways to cook them:
Roasted brussels sprouts
Caramelized brussels sprouts (You will need some sugar to do the caramelizing, but you can experiment with how little you really need.)
Brussels sprout stir fry
Browned Brussels sprouts with orange and walnuts
Brussels sprouts with grapes
Grilled Brussels sprouts
And my personal favorite, pictured above, Brussels sprout salad
"Brain fog"--trouble with focus, memory, and concentration, is a common but little-discussed issue with PCOS. I believe that for many of you, it impairs your ability to follow through with changes you genuinely wish to make because you simply don't remember to do them.
This is more than just an annoying little problem. Women with PCOS are at high risk for developing diabetes, and people with diabetes are at high risk for developing Alzheimer's disease.
So while you may be more focused on how to feel better right now, look better soon, and become pregnant in the near future, I've got my eye on the big picture.
The good news is that the nutrition recommendations we make here are good for all of the problems you might have with PCOS--weight, skin, fertility, mood…and brain function. , Fish oil is one of the biggest tools you have. Eating a variety of foods, not forgetting the fruits and vegetables, and getting enough sleep, are all very important to do.
Yesterday I mentioned choline, a chemical that the brain uses to make acetylcholine, the memory neurotransmitter. If you've given up egg yolks because you are afraid of their cholesterol, take note: it's likely not the cholesterol in those yolks that are causing you trouble. And, you're throwing valuable choline down the drain that your brain wants and needs.
This coming week at The inCYSTem, I've put together a week's worth of menus incorporating foods high in choline, some seafood, and good omega 6 to omega 3 balance. A four week subscription to this new program is $15; if you'd like to participate and experience first hand what eating well can do for you…contact me at marika@google.com.
I live in a part of the country where palm trees are commonplace. I recently moved to a part of town where date farms used to fill the space. And it's not uncommon this time of year, to see fruit and yogurt stands advertising"date shakes".
I finally decided to learn more about the nutritional value of dates, and learned that they are one of the few food sources of choline. Choline is a building block for acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter that is very important for memory function. Many Alzheimer's medications are designed to help enhance acetylcholine metabolism.
One of the lesser known symptoms of PCOS is memory/concentration trouble and"brain fog". Diabetes and Alzheimer's disease have a strong metabolic connection. So it seems that women with a predisposition to diabetes should be paying attention to ways to get choline into their diet.
In addition, dates are a good source of fiber, iron, B vitamins, potassium, and magnesium.
And this one is fun! I'm giving you a healthy version of our local date shake to try, a banana-date smoothie.
Ingredients 1 cup low-fat plain yogurt 1/2 cup skim milk, 1% is fine too 1/2 cup dates, fresh, pitted and chopped 2 bananas, sliced 8 ice cubes Directions Place everything in blender and blend until the ice cubes are well incorporated. Serve! Source: www.recipezaar.com
If you are in Phoenix, this coming weekend is a date harvesting event on the Arizona State University Campus, which will include a lesson on harvesting, a cooking demonstration, and some tasting. Click here for more information.
Between the smoothie recipe and the cooking demo, here's hoping you remember to eat your dates…and in the process, encounter a few dates to remember!
It's back…food of the week! I was busy with mandatory paperwork much of this month and it consumed blogging time. I'm excited about a summer full of fun foods to try.
I ran across this while writing another article, and since PCOS is common in Hispanics I wanted to be sure to include it.
Nopalitos are cactus pads…as shown at the top of this post, in their natural environment.
But there's a lot to getting them ready to eat! You have to skin them, which takes out the stickers. And you have to cook them. I see cactus pads in the local Hispanic market, but for those of you who are not quite so adventurous, you can find them already cooked, in which case this is how they look.
What's so great about nopalitos? Well, they're chock full of the kind of fiber that helps bring your cholesterol down. You will notice when you take them out of the jar, they have a bit of a gooey consistency, kind of like okra. Don't"boo the goo"--that's the fiber!
In addition to fiber, nopalitos have a decent choline content. Susan Kleiner, Ph.D., R.D., a respected colleague, shared in a presentation last year that choline is not at all easy to find in the diet. And that can pose a problem since choline is the building block for acetylcholine, crucial for memory. So crucial, in fact, that many Alzheimer's medications are designed to increase acetylcholine levels.
Who would have thought that cactus could be brain food? They are also a decent source of vitamins A, C, K…and folate, that reproductively important vitamin that keeps showing up in our recommended foods on this blog.
So how the heck do you cook it? I'd recommend you Google"nopalitos recipes" for a lot of suggestions, but I'll share one here that makes it look pretty tasty, adapted from a recipe I found at Karen's Kitchen.
Nopalitos Salad
Ingredients:
1 jar precooked nopalitos 3 lemons 1 T olive oil 1/2 small onion, chopped 3 cloves garlic Cilantro (1 or more bunches, to taste) 3 medium tomatoes, chopped Salt to taste
Preparation:
Empty nopalitos into a strainer. Fill a large bowl with water and juice of 2 lemons. Add about a teaspoonful of salt and then put the cactus into it, soak for about 30 minutes.
Remove the leaves from the water and chop it into 1/2" pieces.
In a skillet, heat the nopalitos with onion, garlic and salt until warm.
Remove from heat and drain. Add the rest of the ingredients, adding juice of last lemon, salt and olive oil for a dressing. Serve cold.
