THE CRONIN NUTRITIONAL EATING PLAN FOR WEIGHT LOSS AND HEALTH 

PART EIGHT

BROWN RICE / WALNUTS / SALMON

The next Superfood that I want to talk about is Brown Rice. Of all the rices – any form of brown rice will contain more of the nutrients as it loses only the outer layer of the grain called the hull. During the process that turns brown rice to white rice it loses 67% of its vitamin B3 (niacin) 80% of B1, 90% of B6 – half of its manganese and phosphorus, 60% of its iron and all the dietary fibre and essential fatty acids. Do you realise that to make white rice acceptable as a food it has to be artificially enriched with B1 B3 and iron? I would like you to understand the difference that processing a food can have on its nutritional content.

Brown rice is a very rich source of manganese. It is essential for bone health and for its antioxidant capabilities in preventing damage to cells, particularly blood cells.

Brown rice is rich in fibre which cleans the system of toxins and harmful deposits in the blood so helps keep your cholesterol down. Like oats it tends to release its energy slowly so maintaining stable blood sugar levels. The fibre is insoluble which means that it works through your system efficiently. This prevents some organs from getting into an overload situation like the liver and the bile duct – a speedy process through the system ensures that the bile duct does not secrete too much bile which can lead to gallstones.

Again, like turkey, brown rice is high in selenium – for our immune systems and thyroid function – also to help prevent cancer as it encourages healthy DNA repair in the cells.

Magnesium is present in high quantities and this is associated with a number of systemic problems such as asthma – high blood pressure –migraine headaches and reducing the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Magnesium does this because it helps to regulate nerve and muscle tone by balancing the action of calcium. You will see that very often calcium supplements are teamed with magnesium.

Calcium tends to rush around frantically and needs magnesium to curb its enthusiasm. For example if allowed to, calcium will overwhelm the nerve cells in the muscles and get them wound up and over activated. This causes the muscle to overwork and wear out faster. This can happen if you have insufficient magnesium in your diet. Another reason that magnesium is so important is for bone health and about two thirds of the magnesium is found in the bones of the human body. The rest is stored for when needed. Brown rice provides nearly a quarter of your daily requirement in one serving.

The human body is over 100,000 years old. In that time the body has developed an incredible defence mechanism called the survival instinct. In some cases it is miraculous. It is only in recent centuries that we have begun to refine our grains. Our bodies spent the first 99,900 years eating whole-grains including rice. Wheat only came along about 10,000 years ago. So our bodies evolved a very precise dietary support system that provided it with everything it needed to survive and be the fittest. It was essential for the survival of mankind that only the fittest made it through. This ensured that each generation was stronger.

If you go back to what I was saying about the loss of nutrients in the processing of brown rice to white rice you can perhaps understand why we are now facing the sort of medical problems that we are. Every Superfood that I have talked about is packed with the nutrients that the body needs to build its defences against disease like cancer and heart disease. Processing of our foods efficiently is achieved by the co-operation between certain components such as proteins and amino-acids and the fundamental ability of the body to extract as many nutrients it can to survive healthily.

A TASTY AND HEALTHY SNACK 

WALNUTS

Walnuts are very versatile – chopped up on savoury or sweet dishes or used as a snack between meals they give you a very healthy nutritional punch. Omega 3 fatty acids are a special type of protective fat rather than harmful fat and it is something that the body does not produce itself. - 14 half walnuts provides you with over 90% of your daily requirement and if you look at the health reasons for taking Omega 3 you will understand how very important this small handful of nuts is.

Omega 3 is known to help protect us from cardiovascular problems – better brain function – help with inflammatory diseases such as asthma and arthritis and in skin diseases such as eczema and psoriasis. Walnuts also contain an antioxidant called ellagic acid, which boosts the immune system and protects against cancer.

A high concentration of fats in walnuts is monounsaturated, which is the good fat, and this helps with high cholesterol – and also lowers lipoprotein in the blood, which causes the platelets to clot which, can lead to strokes. Omega 3 helps prevent erratic heart rhythms, which again can cause clotting inside arteries.

Omega 3 works on our brain function because our brains are actually 60% structural fat and needs to be supported in our diet by specific Omega 3 fats like those in walnuts – flaxseeds and cold water fish like salmon. Part of the reason is that the cell membranes that everything has to pass through are mainly fat – Omega 3 is very flexible and fluid and can pass easily through the cell membrane taking other nutrients with it at the same time – this increases the cells uptake of nutrients making them more effective.

Studies on deficiency of Omega 3 have highlighted some worrying trends. – depression in children and hyperactivity - children displaying behavioural problems – having tantrums – experiencing learning difficulties. This deficiency is on the increase particularly in the United States, which means the UK won’t be far behind.

Apart from Omega 3 – walnuts also contain manganese (bone and cartilage – glucose metabolism - antioxidant), copper (essential for enzymes particularly those involved in production of blood cells and hormones). B6 which is essential for protein and amino acid metabolism and therefore their efficiency – a healthy cardiovascular system and producing haemoglobin in the blood. They also contain tryptophan the amino acid  that is the precursor for Serotonin the feel good hormone in the brain.

During the day snack on 14 half walnuts – that is about 190 calories

Now it is time for the “superfish”.  Try and find either fresh salmon or frozen salmon from deep sea fishing rather than farmed.  Or buy certified organic or from a sea water fed salmon farm.

SALMON

I have put salmon on the list because of its high content of Omega 3, which we have already covered with walnuts. Having a cold water fish like Salmon twice a week included in your healthy eating plan will certainly boost your Omega 3 protection but Salmon contains far more than just Omega 3. Most of us today eat farmed salmon but provided they come from a good source there should be no concerns for health. Part of the issue is that farm salmon should be in some form of free flow water source such as some of the lochs in Scotland where the water is tidal.

Like turkey, salmon is very high in tryptophan – helping to boost your serotonin and melatonin levels –with adequate amounts of these hormones you not only feel better and more alert during the day but sleep better and more peacefully at night.

So just to remind ourselves of the diseases that eating Omega rich foods like walnuts and salmon can protect us against – cardiovascular – strokes (preventing blood clotting) – diabetes in women – inflammatory diseases (asthma – arthritis) – irregular heart rhythms – depression- Alzheimer’s and dementia and cancer.

For the fight against cancer the Omega 3 is supported in cold water fish by selenium which is vital for our immune system which fights diseases such as this – If you remember from previous articles, Selenium encourages the DNA repair in cells and also the self-destruction of the cancer cells themselves.

One note on selenium – our soils are becoming nutrient deficient because we are not resting our growing areas as we used to and letting the land lie fallow- this allowed the soil to regain mineral and nutrient strength which in turn was passed onto the crops. If this is the case – selenium which is present in nuts, soybeans and whole grains as well as fish and meat, may become harder to find from our plant sources.

Salmon is one of the most delicious ways to get some other major nutrients – B3 niacin (important in the manufacture of serotonin – essential for releasing energy from carbohydrates – the metabolism of protein and fats – formation of red blood cells). B6 (healthy cardiovascular system – protein and amino acid metabolism and producing haemoglobin). B12 (essential for the efficient working of every cell in the body – especially those that are involved in rapid turnover like blood cells – lining of the intestines and is involved in the synthesis of DNA the bodies genetic material- also vital for our nervous system). Phosphorus (bone formation – red blood cells – the energy store in every cell (Adenosine Tri-phosphate). Magnesium (bone – body metabolism – counteracting calcium over activity).

For more information on nutrients and superfoods visit www.justfoodforhealth.com and if you have any questions that you would like included in the Health and Vitality mailbag send them in strict confidence to sally@moyhill.com