Posts Tagged ‘vitamin C’

After a crazy week and an extremely delayed flight last night, I finally made it back to Omaha, NE to visit my family for the holiday weekend. We started off the morning with a trip to the Benson Farmers Market, where I had my first shot of fresh wheatgrass juice and a taste of sunflower sprouts! The wheatgrass had a sweet honey after-taste, which was a pleasant surprise! Click here for more information about wheatgrass.

One vendor at the market was selling sunflower sprouts, which I’ll admit, I had never seen/heard of people selling before. Apparently they clip the sprouts of the sunflower after about 6 weeks of growth and sell them to mix in with salads or toss in a juicer. I had the opportunity to sample one – the little green leaves and stem had a slightly nutty flavor to them similar to sunflower seeds, it was delicious!

Sunflower greens or sprouts are considered to be a super food because they contain protein, vitamin A, vitamin B, vitamin E, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, and zinc. I will have to be on the lookout for these little guys at the farmers markets in Chicago! I eventually came home from the market with garlic, green onions, and Chinese spinach (more on this later) in hand; all to use tomorrow at the July 4th barbeque!

After the farmers market it was time to harvest some mulberries. Every summer wild mulberries grow in my neighborhood, and this year the crop was quite abundant! I ended up picking about a quart of them! In addition to using them on top of my breakfast cereal and in smoothies I think the plan is to either bake some into muffins or a pie this year!

Mulberries grow wild throughout the United States and are often overlooked when it comes to summertime berries. Like blackberries and raspberries, mulberries are packed with nutrients and provide numerous health benefits. Mulberries are a great source of vitamins and minerals including vitamin C, vitamin K, vitamin B, iron, fiber, phosphorus, magnesium, and potassium.

Mulberries contain antioxidants that help lower cholesterol, aid in treating digestive problems, and help to prevent cancer, blood clots, and diabetes. If you have a wild mulberry tree in your neighborhood, harvest the berries between May and July and reap the great benefits mother nature has to offer us!

sources: image 1, image 2

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February is the month for vitamin C!

What is Vitamin C?

Vitamin C, also called ascorbic acid, is our very first vitamin of the month that is a water-soluble vitamin! Up until now, we have only discussed fat-soluble vitamins. Water-soluble vitamins are found in the watery compartments of foods and fat-soluble vitamins are found in the fats and oils of foods. Upon absorption, water-soluble vitamins move directly into the blood whereas fats must first enter the lymph (a clear yellowish fluid that circulates the body similar to blood that functions in fat transport) before reaching the blood. The body stores fat-soluble vitamins for your body to use over time as needed. Water-soluble vitamins on the other hand are not stored like fat-soluble vitamins and therefore we must consume foods containing them more regularly.

What are the health benefits of Vitamin C?

Vitamin C works as an antioxidant in the body to defend against free radicals. Still unsure about what antioxidants are? Click here to learn more. As an antioxidant, vitamin C protects the body from oxidative stress and thus may play a role in preventing disease. Vitamin C also helps to form collagen in the body. Collagen is what makes up your tendons, ligaments, scar tissue, and the foundation for your bones and teeth.

While many people believe that vitamin C is the cure for the common cold, research reveals only a modest benefit. It has been found that a daily dose of vitamin C can reduce the duration of a cold by only about a day. However, vitamin C does act as an antihistamine to relieve nasal congestion. So whether or not one day without a cold warrants routine daily supplementation is a matter of personal opinion.

How much Vitamin C is recommended?

It is recommended that women consume 75 mg/day and men consume 90 mg/day of vitamin C. To put this into perspective, 1 cup of orange juice provides greater than 100 mg of vitamin C. It is easier than you might think to get an adequate daily dose of vitamin C! As mentioned above (and contrary to popular belief), research shows that hyper-dosing on vitamin C will not prevent you from getting sick; the body will excrete excess vitamin C in the urine. Large doses of vitamin C (more than 2000 mg/day) can cause nausea, abdominal cramps, and diarrhea.

What foods are good sources of Vitamin C?

Any type of citrus fruit is high in vitamin C (oranges, lemons, limes, etc.) Broccoli, strawberries, red bell pepper, kiwi, Brussels sprouts, and potatoes are also excellent sources of vitamin C. Drink a glass of orange juice for breakfast, have a salad for lunch, or some broccoli for dinner and you will easily meet the daily recommendations for vitamin C!

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This weekend I tried my very first Jicama!

Jicama is a tuberous root native to Mexico and South America. It sort of resembles a turnip in appearance.

The outside has a tough brown skin while the inside is crisp and white. The starchy texture is similar to that of a raw potato, but the flavor is sweet like an apple or pear. Jicama is about 90% water and is high in vitamin C.

Jicama is usually eaten raw, typically with lemon or lime juice, salt, and chili powder. It can also be used in salads, salsas, veggie platters, or as a substitute for water chestnuts. I cut my jicama up into strips and sprinkled it with lemon juice and salt.

I dipped the jicama into homemade spicy lemon tahini for a great afternoon snack!

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I recently got my hands on some purple peppers from Whole Foods! I had never seen these before, they are totally new to me! From what I have read, they have green flesh on the inside and taste bitter and earthy like green bell peppers. 

Purple peppers are harvested before they mature into green peppers. And the green ones eventually ripen into red peppers! So depending on when you harvest a bell pepper determines what color it will be. The earlier stages are less sweet, so the purple pepper will be the least sweet of all bell peppers.

Purple peppers, because they are a rare find, tend to be more expensive than any green, red, yellow, or orange pepper. But I couldn’t resist their beauty and I can’t wait to cook up something fun and colorful with them tomorrow! Any recommendations for favorite dishes involving purple peppers?Enjoy this post? Share it with your Facebook friends!

Today we are always hearing talk about antioxidants and how we should eat this or drink that becaues it is full of antioxidants that can save us. But what exactly is an antioxidant? Don’t think you can’t know what an antioxidant is just because you hate science. Eat Chic will fill you in with this quick and dirty explanation.

When oxygen reacts with certain compounds it produces free radicals via a process called oxidation. Oxygen can react with compounds that are naturally present in the human body; but it can also react with environmental factors such as ultraviolet rays from the sun, air pollution, and tobacco smoke. When oxygen reacts with any of these, it creates free radicals.

Chemically speaking, a free radical is an unstable, highly reactive molecule. The presence of one free radical creates a whole chain reaction that produces more damaging free radicals. So where do antioxidants fit in? Well antioxidants are substances that can neutralize these free radicals and stop this chain reaction.

Still with me?

Why do we need antioxidants to stop the free radical chain reaction; are free radicals dangerous? Yes. Free radicals cause damage to your body’s proteins and cells, thus impairing their function. Damaged cells with impaired function lead to the development of disease within the body and speeds up the progression of aging. Such diseases can range anywhere from cataracts and arthritis to diabetes, heart disease, and even cancer.

So how do I get antioxidants to protect me from disease and aging? Many vitamins have antioxidant capabilities including Vitamin E, Vitamin C, and Beta Carotene (the compound that gives yellow and orange fruits and vegetables their color). Studies have shown that people who eat diets high in fruits and vegetables with antioxidants have a lower risk for cancer and heart disease.

What foods are high in antioxidants?

• Berries (blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, etc.)
• Citrus fruits (oranges, grapefruit, etc.)
• Pomegranate
• Kale
• Spinach
• Peppers
• Brussel sprouts
• Oats
• Pinto beans
• Soybeans
• Walnuts
• Coffee
• Tea

Try including these foods into your daily diet and be sure to always select a wide variety of colorful fruits and vegetables! Eating nutritious foods is only the first step to a long and healthy life; to fully protect your body from disease and aging you should also exercise regularly, maintain a healthy weight, and quit smoking.Enjoy this post? Share it with your Facebook friends!