I'm phasing out the old PCOS training and ramping up the 2010 version.
The old training has some great lectures on it, and I was thinking that some of you might like to have it for your libraries. So I wanted to offer it for the last week I'll be working with this CD before moving on to focus on the new training.
I can send you this CD for $50 plus shipping, as a resource only--no CPEU credits, no live sessions, no network membership…simply the CD…up until March 5, 2010. Topics include:
PCOS--What It Is and What It Isn't
We Just Want Answers (Two Women With PCOS Tell Their Stories)
Omega-3's and Mood Disorders in Women
Omega-3 Chemistry for PCOS
PCOS and Adolescence
PCOS and Food Sensitivities
Sleep Disorders
Considerations in the Hispanic Population
The Endocrinology of Obesity
It's a total of about 13.5 hours of lectures and Power Points. If you are interested, contact me directly at this email address.
Remember, Friday, March 5 is the deadline for this offer. Monika M. Woolsey, MS, RD
We've been getting some inquiries about chia, given our love of omega-3's. Here are some basic facts that can help you decide for yourself if chia will work with your PCOS plan.
Chia (salvia hispanica), is a seed that originates from Southern Mexico and Guatemala. Way back when, it was a major staple food of the Aztec Indians. Other names you may see this seed sold under include: Cheela Brand, Sachia, Anutra, Chia Sage, Salba, Tresalbio, Purisalv, and Mila.
Nutritionally, chia is 20% protein, 34% oil, and 25% fiber. It is not a complete protein, as it lacks the essential amino acid taurine. Its fat is primarily ALA, the same type of fat found in flaxseed. Its omega-6 to omega-3 ratio is about 3 to 1, which is nice.
Two benefits to chia are that it does not need to be ground like flax does in order to gain its health benefits, and it does not go rancid as easily as flax. One major disadvantage is its cost. It's definitely not for those on a budget.
Especially, if you are Hispanic or living in the Southwest, this is a great source of omega-3's that is more locally available than flaxseed.
Be aware, however, that claims about its health benefits can be exaggerated.
1. Chia is not a complete omega-3. In other words, it can be used as a substitute for flaxseed oil, but not for fish oil. You still need a DHA source.
2. While they do have their health benefits, I could not find any peer-reviewed studies to support the hype that chia seeds have been given as an athletic performance superfood.
3. I did find one study, performed on chickens, (below) reporting that chia supplementation positively changed their fat content. However, chia was not compared to any other supplements or to a diet with a similar fatty acid composition from other grains. So it is impossible to assert that it was specifically something in the chia that had the effect.
Bottom line, it certainly won't hurt you to include chia in your diet, but just because you do, it does not give you license to eliminate other healthy eating. They can enhance, but they won't replace the benefits of the many good things you're already doing.
R Ayerza, W Coates, and M Lauria Chia seed (Salvia hispanica L.) as an omega-3 fatty acid source for broilers: influence on fatty acid composition, cholesterol and fat content of white and dark meats, growth performance, and sensory characteristics. Poultry Science, Vol 81, Issue 6, 826-837.
We've been doing some business with companies working with nopales (prickly pear cactus pads). I'd seen a lot of research suggesting that nopales are good for quite a few health issues, particularly blood glucose.
We started selling Ibitta's products a couple of months ago and I was amazed at where the orders were coming from — Memphis, Philadelphia, not simply Arizona and California like I'd expected! I finally called one customer to see why she'd ordered it. Apparently her mother had been bugging her to try it as it is a popular Mexican supplement for weight loss. When her mother finally gave her a bag, she felt it couldn't hurt to try it. She noticed that when she stirred a couple of spoonfuls of Pinalinaza into a glass of water and drank it before a meal, it helped her appetite. And over a couple of months she lost 20 pounds.
Another woman with PCOS, in military basic training, wrote:
I just wanted to give you an update. Although I knew that Nopales was used…in my Hispanic heritage, I didn't know that it would help me out with my sugar so much!! I ordered the products that you hosted on this site (Pinalinaz … a, etc…) and can't wait to start them! In the mean time, I am eating nopales I bought from the local store. For one week, I've eaten them in the morning every other day. I lost 3 pounds and during that week I was only able to walk for exercise as the week was too busy. I have kept track of my sugar and the nopales has regulated it so much so that now I am falling into a Hypoglycemic instead of Diabetic. I am determining how I can balance it, however this is an awesome break through for me. I was doing the military basic training for two months and only lost 5 lbs because of PCOS. Now that I incorporated nopales, the stubborn sugar is being removed!! I can't wait for shipment!! This is a big breakthrough for me, it is extremely hard for me to digest the sugar and the nopales are doing something right!!
Last Friday, I gave a presentation on PCOS at the local Indian Health Service Hospital here in Phoenix. One of my clients made a big batch of nopales salad for everyone to try. It was lunchtime about an hour and a half later, and several people noted that they weren't really very hungry.
There is research to support these testimonials. A 2007 study reported that 85 g nopales with a meal reduced the glycemic index of the meal. Way back in 1991, researchers reported that nopal had a glucose-lowering effect.
For the non-native eater, the prospect of de-stickering a cactus pad, not to mention what to do with the cactus once that's done, likely keeps many people from trying it. In Phoenix, we have a company, Oro Verde Products, that sells ready-to-prepare cactus pads as well as chopped nopales ready to add to your recipe. It's popular in salads, stews, and scrambled eggs. I've even heard of some people juicing it if they have a powerful blender. Check Oro Verde's website for information and recipes.
Ibitta's products are nice because they're powdered and mixed with flax. I've used them on my oatmeal, in smoothies, in vinaigrettes, and breadings. I even made a vanilla cheesecake with the hibiscus (Jamaica) flavored variety in the crust. They're very versatile and more user-friendly in the typical American kitchen.
These we do carry in the store, if you're interested in ordering.
If you live in Los Angeles, look for Nopatillas, a tortilla made with nopal. This would be super easy to include in breakfast burritos, lunch wraps, etc.
Wherever you are, however you eat it, be sure to try nopales. They could be a great way to help control your blood glucose.
Bacardi-Gascon M, Dueñas-Mena D, Jimenez-Cruz A. Lowering effect on postprandial glycemic response of nopales added to Mexican breakfasts. Diabetes Care.2007 May;30(5):1264-5. Epub 2007 Feb 26.
Frati AC, Gordillo BE, Altamirano P, Ariza CR, Cortés-Franco R, Chávez-Negrete A, Islas-Andrade S. Influence of nopal intake upon fasting glycemia in type II diabetics and healthy subjects. Arch Invest Med (Mex). 1991 Jan-Mar;22(1):51-6.
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.
If you're a regular reader of the blog, you may have noticed I missed a few days of posting. I was on the road, with Beauty Foods CEO Jacque Gibson, introducing her brand to spa buyers at the Green Spa Networork conference in Santa Fe, NM.
Though we did work hard, there was a little bit of time for fun. One afternoon I went for a walk with the camera around downtown. Between the adobe, the Hispanic colors, the spring flowers, and all the textures, it's pretty hard to take a bad photo of anything there!
This is probably my favorite one. I spent a lot of time and several takes getting it right, and much to my delight, when I looked up from the camera, behind the beautiful window was an olive oil store, Oleaceae!
In one storefront, there were olive oils from Argentina, Australia, California, Cypress, Egypt, France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Lebanon, Mexico, Morocco, Portugal, Spain, Syria, Tunisia, and Turkey. Each variety was in a steel container, with tasting cups for customers to try. With each different variety was a description of the flavor, suggested uses, and balsamic vinegar flavorings. (I'll get to vinegar in a minute!)
Here is the pomegranate balsamic vinegar. Are you feeling like a good salad yet?
On the back wall we found a smorgasbord of flavored salts!
I couldn't even fathom the number of different combinations of vinaigrettes, marinades, and rubs you could concoct between all of the varieties of oil, vinegar, and salt. I grabbed a couple of salts for gifts and bookmarked the website, as I know I've found a great go-to place when I need a gift for a foodie!
If you have a good cooking store, oils, vinegars, salts, herbs, and spices are definitely worth the investment. You don't need much for a recipe, and you can always create a new favorite from an old one simply by switching out the plain variety for a flavored one.
