Root Vegetables For Health

Oh, the humble root vegetable. As the weather begins to cool these hardy veggies become more and more appealing. Warm baked potatoes, stewed carrots, and onions…meals composed of these ingredients sing that fall has finally arrived. These are also well known parts of comfort meals that we often crave during the colder months of the year.

So many lovely meals use root vegetables as their base ingredient, which sometimes means they are slipped in, unnoticed, and underappreciated.

However, we’re here to give some much needed kudos to these robust little buggers! You may not have realized it, but root vegetables have some pretty amazing health benefits.

So, what is a root vegetable?

Well, they’re exactly what they sound like. They’re the root of a plant. That’s all, nothing special besides the fact that they’re gloriously delicious. Let’s break it down, focusing on the most popular varieties, of course, but also introducing you to some of the less well-known in the root family.   

Household Names

The more familiar vegetables in the root family are some that we most likely eat every day:

·      Onion

·      Carrot

·      Sweet potato

·      Ginger

·      Garlic

·      Radish

So, you’re eating these things on a regular basis (we hope), but if not, perhaps knowing that these items are having a positive effect on your health will get you to incorporate them more often. For instance, garlic – also known as “the stinking rose,” has a set of sulfur-containing compounds, which help to protect against oxidative stress. These compounds aid in eliminating inflammation which is a welcomed side effect for anyone suffering from arthritis.

Sticking with the more aromatic foods, onions are commonly used to flavour our meals. Not only do they add a wonderful sweet yet biting element, they’re also pulling double duty in the health department. Onions, especially the outermost, edible layers, have antibacterial properties. They’ve also been credited with increasing bone density and lowering risk of cancers of the mouth and throat.

Other items on the list such as carrots, fennel, and ginger can be thanked for improving eyesight (eat your carrots, children!), soothing sour tummies, improving overall digestion and due to their high fiber content, naturally relieving constipation.

The Great Unknowns

Ok, we’re exaggerating a bit here. You’ve probably heard of several of the items on this “exotic” root vegetable list, but, humor us a bit!

·            Kohlrabi

·            Earth pea

·            Yuca

·            Jerusalem artichoke

·            Rhubarb

Kohlrabi

Kohlrabi, a German varietal, looks like cabbage, and tastes like a broccoli stalk. HellaWella explains that this exotic little gem is in the same family as kale and Brussels sprouts and consequently shares some health benefits.

High in fiber, vitamin C, and B6, potassium, copper, and magnesium, this golf ball sized root vegetable is loaded with nutrients.

What’s better? They can be eaten raw! Cooking your food depletes some of their natural goodness and many of our root-veg options require cooking (see potato). The kohlrabi is unique in this sense.

What About Yuca?

Don’t worry; it tastes better than its name sounds. Very similar to a white potato, these roots can be eaten boiled, pureed, sautéed, etc. They contain high levels of potassium and fiber but, something else similar to their potato cousin? They’re pretty high in carbohydrates, so use them sparingly.

Rhubarb

One you’re probably more familiar with is rhubarb. This beautiful pink root is quite the anomaly. Typically used in desserts, it’s not often seen on your dinner plate like the other foods listed. What better way to have your cake and eat it too?

Each serving of rhubarb can provide you with 45% of the daily value of vitamin K, supporting healthy bone growth and connected to preventing Alzheimer’s disease.

Onions

Another one of nature’s super foods, onions offer various nutrients, great flavor and are just so versatile in cooking.

Onions are part of the allium family of vegetables that also includes herbs; some of its members are garlic, chives, leeks, and scallions. Allium vegetables are well known for their pungent flavors and medicinal properties.

Some of the key health benefits of eating onions include improving mood, hair and skin health and the possible prevention of certain cancers.

Onions are a nutrient-dense food, which means it has a high level of minerals, antioxidants, and vitamins with very little calories.

Nutrient Absorption

Something to consider: root vegetables have an incredible ability to absorb nutrients from the ground. Keeping this in mind, you’ll want to be sure to buy organic whenever possible. Unfortunately, sometimes we let the good in with the bad and toxins easily make their way into these foods.

When out shopping, do your best to buy root vegetables that are blemish free with no soft spots and that still have their leafy tops attached. Organic Lifestyle Magazine points out that some of the greens can be consumed as well.

Waste not, want not! 

Debunking the paleo diet | Christina Warinner | TEDxOU

Paleo Diet Pros And Cons

The Paleo diet is a diet that is based on eating foods that were available to ancient man thousands of years ago. These were early humans also known as hunter gatherers, who hunted game for meat sources and ate food foraged from forested areas. Hunter gatherers were not cultivators of grains and did not have fields of wheat, corn, and rye as a source of food.

The idea behind a Paleo diet is that, since men and women of that era suffered from low rates of obesity and its associated diseases, theirs is a diet worth reproducing in modern times.

 

What To Eat In A Paleo Diet

Foods that are okay to be consumed in a Paleo diet include eating grass-fed meats, any type of seafood or fish, fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds (which could have been gathered by ancient peoples), eggs, and healthy oils derived from plant sources.

Healthy oils are those like walnut oil, macadamia nut oil, avocado oil, olive oil, flaxseed oil, and coconut oil, these are considered okay on Paleo because they come from plant sources. 

Foods to avoid in a Paleo diet are mainly foods that were unavailable to ancient man because they didn’t cultivate grains, nor did they keep domesticated animals to produce dairy products.

In a Paleo diet, you should avoid eating legumes (such as peanuts, which are harvested from the ground), cereal grains, dairy products, any type of refined sugar, processed foods, potatoes (also a food that had to be cultivated and harvested), salt, and vegetable oils made from refined sources and of course sweets.

 

The Pros Of A Paleo Diet

Many believe the Paleo diet is the way to go if you want to lose weight. In fact, the Paleo diet contains a lot of fruits and vegetables, which are naturally low in fat and calories. These foods are supplemented by healthy oils and grass-fed meats that provide you with the protein you need to build muscle and to use in cellular processes.

The Paleo diet does not allow many foods that are outright bad for you, such as sugar, salt, and processed foods. Ancient man had no access to those things (except those who lived near saltwater sources). They also had no access to trans fats, which are found in many prepackaged foods you find at the grocery store. Trans fats are used to preserve pre-processed foods but have been linked to the development of heart disease.

The biggest advantage of the Paleo diet is that it contains natural foods that are filled with nutrients and that don’t have a great many calories in them. The full range of complex carbohydrates and protein are found in this diet so you won’t be limited in getting the nutrients you need.

The Cons Of A Paleo Diet

The Paleo diet isn’t for everyone. It does not contain dairy products, for example, which are high in calcium and vitamin D for good bone growth. You can get calcium in certain green vegetables such as spinach, but you need to eat a lot of it to add up to the calcium you will find in dairy products. 

The paleo diet is also high in saturated fats, which are considered by some to be linked to heart disease. The reason ancient man got very little heart disease is because they were active and kept a normal weight. If you eat a paleo diet and are overweight, you just might put yourself at a higher risk of heart disease, especially if you eat a lot of red meats.

Summary

If you are interested in losing weight and eating a fairly healthy diet, you can choose the Paleo diet in order to lose the weight while still eating healthy. It is not for everyone, however, and many enjoy the whole grains that aren’t allowed in the paleo diet.  

Women Over 50 | Diet, Workout, Weight Loss Tips. WHAT I EAT IN A DAY Video

Healthy Eating Over 50

While it is a good idea to eat healthy throughout your life, it is never too late to start eating a healthy diet. This is true even if you are over 50 and may have already suffered some of the disadvantages of eating an unhealthy diet.

Some health consequences of eating unhealthy include having high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes and of course the dreaded weight gain that many experience as they get older. Even if you have these things already, eating healthy over 50 can begin to halt the progression of or reverse the effects of a lifetime of eating poorly.

Maintaining Sugar Control

The best diet over 50 is one that is low in refined sugar. Refined sugar can be found in white bread, pastries, cakes, and cookies. It can also be found in colas and other sugared beverages—even sugar added to coffee or tea.

Refined sugar is the same thing as a simple sugar. It gets into your bloodstream quickly after consuming it and raises your blood sugar dramatically. This causes the pancreas to release a lot of insulin in an attempt to use the sugar for fuel. Any leftover sugar is stored as glycogen in the liver or is turned to fat. Such wide fluctuations in sugar levels lead to insulin resistance, which means that the cells do not respond to insulin in the same way and the sugar stays in the bloodstream. 

Eventually, insulin resistance leads to type 2 diabetes, which is running rampant among those people over the age of 50. Type 2 diabetes has complications all its own. It can affect the nerves of the eyes, leading to blindness. It can affect the kidneys, leading to chronic kidney failure. It can also affect the nerves to the lower extremities, leading to burning pain, numbness, and tingling—a condition called diabetic neuropathy. 

Those over 50 should get the bulk of their carbs from complex carbohydrate foods. Complex carbs are obtained from whole fruits and vegetables as well as whole grains. These allow for a gradual increase in blood sugar so insulin isn’t so activated and it has time to put the blood sugar into the cells for use as fuel.

Amp Up The Fiber

In people over 50, there is a decrease in the peristalsis of the gut, resulting in an increased risk of constipation. In a healthy diet in someone over 50, there should be an increase in those things that can naturally allow the gut to pass stool through.

This means drinking a lot of fluids in your diet. Drink a glass of water or milk with every meal and have a water bottle handy so you can drink whenever the mood strikes you. The excess fluid will end up in the gut and will allow the stool to be looser and not so dry.

You should also increase the insoluble fiber in your diet. Fiber can be gotten by eating plenty of whole grains, whole fruits, vegetables, and bran. Make sure your morning cereal is high in fiber or eat high fiber bread for your meals. This will naturally bulk up your stools and decrease the risk of constipation.

Calories

Caloric requirements change as we age because metabolism slows naturally and this is especially important for those who do not workout. Every notice how people gain weight as they get older? Here is the recommended caloric intake as recommended by the National Institutes Of Health for both men and women:

Women:

·         not physically active needs about 1,600 calories

·         somewhat active needs about 1,800 calories

·         active lifestyle needs about 2,000–2,200 calories

Men

·         not physically active needs about 2,000 calories

·         somewhat active needs about 2,200-2,400 calories

·         active lifestyle needs about 2,400-2,800 calories

Make Healthy Choices

·         Eat a colorful plate filled with different colors of fruits and vegetables

·         More than 50% of your grains should be whole grains

·         Eliminate junk food and refined sugar

·         Limit fat intake, and choose healthy fats like olive oil, avocados and nuts

·         Eat seafood twice a week

Summary

There are many things you can do to improve your diet, even after the age of 50. Increase the intake of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Decrease the intake of refined sugar and processed foods. Watch your calories and make sure to amp up the fiber intake in your diet so that your bowels will move better.  

Eating A Balanced Diet For Dummies

If you ask any physician or dietician, they will tell you that it is important to have a balanced diet. Having a balanced diet is essential for good health and to get all of the macronutrients (protein, carbohydrates, and fats), vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants you need.

What It Means To Have A Balanced Diet

To have a balanced diet, you need to take a hard look at what you are eating. A balanced diet means that you are eating a wide variety of healthy foods that provide your body with the nutrients it needs, since no one food can supply all of those.

Experts recommend a plate filled with grains, vegetables, fruits, and protein, with vegetables taking most of the space. Dairy is also important as it supplies key nutrients, like vitamin D. calcium and magnesium. To reduce fat and calorie intake choose lower calorie dairy.

Carbohydrates

Complex carbohydrates are foods like whole fruits, whole vegetables, and whole grains. Complex carbohydrates should contain a lot of fiber for digestive health and should allow the system to absorb sugar in the diet slowly rather than quickly. 

While you may argue that eating refined sugars is part of a balanced diet, you should avoid these foods. They have a high glycemic index, meaning that they allow for a rapid influx of sugar into the bloodstream. This rapid influx of sugar can create havoc in the system and can lead to diabetes mellitus type 2. Keep your carbohydrates more along the lines of complex carbohydrates that do not result in a rapid influx of sugar from the gastrointestinal tract.

Your complex carbohydrates should involve a wide variety of colorful fruits (in moderation) and vegetables. Look at your plate at every meal to see that it contains highly colored foods that are naturally high in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. The food should be in the freshest form possible. Too much cooking of even healthy foods breaks down the vitamins and reduces the healthfulness of the foods you are eating.

 

Getting Your Protein

A balanced diet also includes healthy choices of protein. You need protein in your diet in order to make enzymes that help in cellular metabolism and to make structural components inside the cells. Eating protein doesn’t always mean eating a lot of meat. There are protein sources in dairy foods, eggs, and even beans and nuts. These protein sources will provide your diet with the protein it needs to get enough amino acids, which are the building blocks of proteins in your system.

Again, take a look at your plate. At least 20 percent of the food on your plate should come from a protein source. This could mean adding an egg to your breakfast, eating a handful of nuts, eating bean soup, or eating lean meats and fish. Remember that a serving size of meat is only 3 ounces of meat so it shouldn’t take up the entire plate. A nice slab of steak is okay occasionally but this doesn’t contribute to eating a balanced diet and it is high in saturated fat and calories.

 

Adding Healthy Fats To Your Diet

Eating a balanced diet means eating foods that contain healthy fats as well. The healthiest fats are unsaturated fats that come from plant sources. Things like olive oil, flaxseed oil, and coconut oil are healthier for you than the fats found in meats. Use olive oil or another plant oil when cooking and you will get enough healthy fats to make your cells have enough lipids to make and mend cell membranes inside your body.

 

Variety Is The Spice Of Life

The key to a healthy and well balanced is variety. The USDA’s recommends eating from all 5 food groups to get all the nutrients the body needs, which include fruits, vegetables, dairy, grains, meat, and beans.