Inflammation Matters (part 3)

Sugar intake in the United States has soared to an average of 150 lbs of sugar each year. Now I know this can be difficult news to take, but sugar intake has a very strong connection to inflammation. There are some important reasons for this:

• *Eating sugary desserts and snacks are often substituted for healthier, anti-inflammatory foods such as whole fruits and vegetables. In order to metabolize sugars, the body uses up some of it’s immune protecting vitamins and minerals.
• *Consumption of refined sugars (high glycemic index foods and drinks) can raise blood sugar very quickly, calling on the pancreas to secrete a large amount of insulin to absorb all this carbohydrate.  Insulin itself in large amounts can be inflammatory. Remember too, though, that insulin has the ability to store food as fat. Fat cells in turn produce highly inflammatory chemicals.
• *Chronic elevations of blood sugar can promote free radical formation and increase the risk for diabetes and cardiovascular disease, both inflammatory related problems.

 What can you do to change this picture?

• *Slowly replace sugary snacks and desserts with whole fruits and vegetables.
• *Replace the worst culprit for raising blood sugar, pop and sugary laden drinks, with water and teas.
• *Check out the website glycemicindex.com for information on choosing lower glycemic index foods that won’t raise the blood sugar quickly.
• *Consider alternative natural sweeteners that have a lower glycemic index such as Stevia, brown rice syrup and agave syrup.
• *Eat small, more frequent meals that include a protein source or eat small, healthy snacks between meals to keep blood sugar level all day.

Eileen Johnson, RN on staff at Valley Natural Foods can be reached directly at ejohnson@valleynaturalfoods.com. She offers free 20-minute consultations. Ask her about the FirstLine Therapy program. Check her availability or schedule a visit by calling customer service at 952-891-1212, #221. 

Buying and storing tips

Pears are available year-round. Their peak seasons are as follows:

Anjou, Conference, and Bosc: August through May

Bartlett: August through December

Comice: August to March

Passe-Crassane: November through February

Growers pick pears once their sugar levels reach the correct point, but they may still be very firm and green; tree-ripened pears soften to the point of disintegrating. Fresh pears should feel solid, and can be ripened at room temperature; avoid excessively hard fruit. As with all fruit, watch for damaged skin and mushy brown spots, which indicate core spoilage. Tenderness near the stem can indicate ripe fruit. Allow fruit to ripen before refrigerating; it can then be stored in the refrigerator for a few days.

The information presented in the Food Guide is for informational purposes only and was created by a team of US–registered dietitians and food experts. Consult your doctor, practitioner, and/or pharmacist for any health problem and before using any supplements, making dietary changes, or before making any changes in prescribed medications. Information expires June 2009.

As subscribed to by Valley Natural Foods.

Healthnotes provides you with information about common health concerns, homeopathic remedies, herbal remedies and drug interactions.  Click here to visit Healthnotes.

Inflammation Matters (part 2)

Last time, in the review of inflammation, I explained that chronic inflammation is a condition in which the body lacks an “off switch” to turn down inflammation once it has finished its healing process.

Powerful chemicals in the healthy body have the ability to turn inflammatory processes in the body on when needed and off when they are done being beneficial. These same chemical signals that regulate inflammation also tell blood vessels whether to open wider or to become narrow, whether blood platelets should become stickier or separate, and whether the immune system should rev up or quiet down.

Where are these chemicals coming from?  They are made from essential fatty acids consumed in the diet and it is crucial that they are kept in their proper balance. These are the 3 major prostaglandins that we are concerned with:

• PGE 1 – The body constructs this from linoleic acid, which is found in oils rich in Omega 6 fatty acids such as sunflower, peanut, corn, soybean, sesame and safflower oils. It tends to be anti-inflammatory and have a positive effect on the nervous system. Unfortunately, very large consumption of these oils has decreased the body’s ability to create the more anti-inflammatory, heart healthy, PGE3. Better, more anti-inflammatory oils high in Omega 6 fatty acids include primrose, borage and black currant seed oils.

• PGE 2 – Important for short healing periods, PGE 2 is highly inflammatory, increases pain sensitivity and thickens the blood. It promotes blood clumping and blood vessel spasms. PGE 2 is constructed from arachadonic acid found in animal meats, eggs, milk and squid.

• PGE 3 – Anti-inflammatory and immune enhancing, PGE3 also strongly counters the inflammatory effects of the PGE2 chemical. It prevents blood clots from forming and decreases the risk of blood vessel spasm. Chemical components important in creating PGE3 like EPA/DHA in fish oils actually reduce the amount of inflammatory chemicals found in body cells. Food sources of PGE3 include those high in Omega 3 Fatty acids like coldwater fish and fish oils, flax, pumpkin, canola, chia and walnut oils, and certain algaes.

A word about olive oil: High in Omega 9 fatty acids, it has a very small content of Omega 3 fatty acids. Its high oleic acid content though may actually help incorporate Omega 3 fatty acids into the cell wall. Olive oil tends to be anti-inflammatory and heart healthy.

Including Omega 3 fatty acids in your diet daily and consuming smaller amounts or avoiding foods high in Omega 6 and arachadonic acid can readjust your body’s “on/off” switch for inflammation. 

Eileen Johnson, RN on staff at Valley Natural Foods can be reached directly at ejohnson@valleynaturalfoods.com. She offers free 20-minute consultations. Ask her about the FirstLine Therapy program. Check her availability or schedule a visit by calling customer service at 952-891-1212, #221

Preparation, uses and tips

Mangos are perfect eaten raw, but they should always be peeled, as the skin is very acidic. After peeling, use a sharp knife to cut the flesh away from the large, flat, oval-shaped stone in the center. Eat as-is, or top with yogurt or mix into breakfast cereal. Pieces can be frozen, made into juice, marmalade, compote, or puréed into sauces. Chutney is prepared from unripe, green mangos. Dried mangos are also available in the dried-fruit section of many markets.

Buying and storing tips

Choose semisoft fruit with uniformly smooth skin. A couple of black spots are acceptable as these indicate a very ripe mango (the riper ones are sweeter). Mangos with green areas will ripen at room temperature, although completely green fruit may not. Look for fruit grown in the United States, as imported mangos are often irradiated or sprayed with chemicals banned in the United States. After they are fully ripe, mangos keep a few days in the refrigerator.

Varieties

There are over a thousand varieties of mangos that vary in shape from round to pear-shaped to narrow and oval, and that can weigh up to 4 pounds. Mangos sold in markets are usually not differentiated by variety, but are generally 4 to 5 inches in length and weigh about 8 ounces. One exception is the Manila mango; these are a smaller, golden-yellow variety that are now appearing in markets.

Nutrition Highlights

Mango, 1 cup (sliced)
Calories: 107
Protein: 1g
Carbohydrate: 28g
Total Fat: 0g
Fiber: 3g
*Excellent source of: Vitamin A (1,262.25IU), and Vitamin C(45.71mg)
*Good source of: Vitamin B6 (0.22mg)

*Foods that are an “excellent source” of a particular nutrient provide 20% or more of the Recommended Daily Value. Foods that are a “good source” of a particular nutrient provide between 10 and 20% of the Recommended Daily Value.

The information presented in the Food Guide is for informational purposes only and was created by a team of US–registered dietitians and food experts. Consult your doctor, practitioner, and/or pharmacist for any health problem and before using any supplements, making dietary changes, or before making any changes in prescribed medications. Information expires June 2009.

As subscribed to by Valley Natural Foods.

Healthnotes provides you with information about common health concerns, homeopathic remedies, herbal remedies and drug interactions.  Click here to visit Healthnotes.

Several people consider Tuesday Night Family Budget Meal events a good value, and they would come back for another one. For the nights when we offered live music, everyone who commented really enjoyed Don Noble playing his guitar and hearing him sing!

“Tuesday night’s “Family Budget Meals” have always been wonderful but last night’s meal was FANTASTIC! It is one thing to make a yummy meal, it is another to try and send it somewhere else to eat. What we eat last night was as if it had come right out of the kitchen. The meat was tender, the noodles were moist, I loved the details in the salad and the cookie popped our snaps. Last night was our 9th meal!!! We look forward to the variety of the menu, the quality of the food and the visual display. My husband recently lost his job and this wonderful value meal has enabled us to still feel that we are able to eat out once a week. Thank you for spoiling us.”

“The meal was delicious; great price!”

“I look forward to Tuesdays!”

“Hope you expand Budget Meals – offer more weeknights.”

“Offer recipies along with the meals.”

“We loved the music and the playlist. Bring him back!”

“I enjoyed the customer service from the Deli staff. I think you should have theme nights like Mediterranean Tapas.”

“Keep it going.”

“Please have more. A gluten/dairy-free option would be nice if not too difficult.”

“We loved it! Great idea, keep it going. Thank you for the excellent food!”

Valley Natural Foods really appreciates the feedback to help us meet the needs of our customers and to make our events memorable!

Delicious Gluten-Free options have increased here at Valley Natural Foods – especially in the bakery case!  Did you know we have an entire case dedicated to gluten-free?  Come check out the wide variety of freshly-baked treats available daily.  Several items are baked in-house and some come from Bittersweet Bakery. We often have samples available for tasting!

Join us every third Thursday of the month, anytime between 3:00-6:00 pm at our demo kiosk for Gluten-Free Day. Our demo team will be serving  up delicious samples, hand out recipes and answer your questions about the gluten-free diet.

Upcoming Gluten-Free Days:

Thursday, February 19 – Gluten-Free Hot Dish

Thursday, March 19 – Gluten-Free Cupcakes

 Inflammation Matters (part 1)

Inflammation is a necessary process the body goes through in order to heal injury. A burn on the finger turns red and hot. As your body sends white cells to the area to clean up any bacteria that would impede healing, the area becomes swollen. Eventually your body deliberately stops this process when healing is achieved. This is normal healing!

Chronic inflammation in the body, where this process not only cannot be stopped but spreads to all different regions of the body becomes a definite problem!

What can start this chronic progression of inflammation? Here are some of the most common beginnings of this virulent scenario in the body:

• Obesity is the number one cause. Fat cells carry inflammatory chemicals that can move anywhere around the body
•  Poor diets and digestion
• STRESS
• Multiple injuries and surgeries
• Certain nutrient deficiencies

Chronic inflammation can be connected to such diseases as rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, autoimmune disorders, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, debilitating diseases of the elderly and many forms of cancer.

The good news is that lifestyle changes can minimize or even shut down chronic inflammatory processes in the body. Watch for upcoming articles that can give you the tools to prevent or reverse inflammatory conditions in your body.

Eileen Johnson, RN on staff at Valley Natural Foods can be reached directly at ejohnson@valleynaturalfoods.com. She offers free 20-minute consultations. Ask her about the FirstLine Therapy program. Check her availability or schedule a visit by calling customer service at 952-891-1212, #221.

Preparation, uses, and tips

Buying and storing tips

Choose richly colored tangerines and expect skin that feels loose on the fruit. As with oranges, tangerines may have green areas on the rind that do not affect taste quality. These often small fruits are best when freshest, but may be stored in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Varieties

Among the varieties of tangerine are the Japanese satsuma, a small, sweet, and mostly seedless variety that often appears around the holidays at the end of the year, and is usually available canned; the clementine, grown in Europe, North Africa, and Israel, is sold in markets under its own name. Tangerines are difficult to distinguish from clementines as both are mandarin–bitter orange hybrids; the main difference is that clementines are often seedless.

Nutrition Highlights

Tangerine, 1 (fruit, raw)
Calories: 37
Protein: 0.53g
Carbohydrate: 9.4g
Total Fat: 0.16g
Fiber: 1.9g
*Excellent source of: Vitamin A (772.8), and Vitamin C (25.8mg)

*Foods that are an “excellent source” of a particular nutrient provide 20% or more of the Recommended Daily Value. Foods that are a “good source” of a particular nutrient provide between 10 and 20% of the Recommended Daily Value.

The information presented in the Food Guide is for informational purposes only and was created by a team of US–registered dietitians and food experts. Consult your doctor, practitioner, and/or pharmacist for any health problem and before using any supplements, making dietary changes, or before making any changes in prescribed medications. Information expires June 2009.

As subscribed to by Valley Natural Foods.

Healthnotes provides you with information about common health concerns, homeopathic remedies, herbal remedies and drug interactions.  Click here to visit Healthnotes.

Arlena’s Bruschetta Buffet

Heat up any dinner party with this sassy Mediterranean influenced bruschetta from television host, Arlena Schott of Garden Wise with Arlena.

Amounts vary according to how many people you plan to serve. There is no wrong or right way to layer this recipe. Use colorful ingredients like different colored bell peppers to go with feta cheese, your favorite Mediterranean olives, tabouli, tomatoes, cilantro, roasted garlic, cucumbers—you pick!

In fact, at Valley Natural Foods, there is a new Mediterranean bar to go with selections from the salad bar all for the same price per pound, allowing you to experiment with different ingredients.

Once you select your ingredients, arrange in layers in a long platter. Alternate colors.

Then, sprinkle with your favorite balsamic vinegar and drown in olive oil. Yes, drown. The idea is that you will be mopping up this fresh buffet with thick sliced pieces of rustic bread. Use a spoon if you have guests.

The flavor is amazing and the buffet a fun idea to warm up a cold February night in Minnesota!

Arlena’s Wrapped Pepper-Jelly Brie

The key to any brie recipe is to start with a fresh round of brie. You can always ask the cheese buyer at Valley Natural Foods for a recommendation. This fiery recipe is from television host Arlena Schott of Garden Wise with Arlena.

Use a refrigerated pie crust wrapper or thawed phyllo dough as the wrapper. Lay your choice flat on a oiled baking sheet. Set the brie round in the center. Cover liberally with pepper jelly, then wrap and crimp at the top of the brie, sealing everything inside.

Bake at 350 degrees in a pre-heated over for 35 minutes or until the crust turns golden and the cheese melts. Serve warm with crackers.

Arlena’s Old-Fashioned Backstrap Venison

This is something out of the ordinary unless you have a hunter in the family.  Arlena has several avid hunters in her family! That makes her a game-cook expert.

 Backstrap is a delectable and tender cut of venison. You can also pick up a fresh buffalo roast from the meat department at Valley Natural Foods if venison is not your thing.

Chop up two large onions and sauté them in about an inch of butter combined with olive oil. Oh, just like Grandma used to cook liver and onions! Fry the meat in the onion butter until the juices run clear, flipping once.

Arlena’s Seafood Grat’ton

6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, divided
3 C. julienned leeks, white and light green parts (2 large)
1 ½ C. julienned carrots (3 carrots)
1/2 C. plus 3 Tbsp. Eden Mirin (rice cooking wine)
Celtic Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 C. Crown Prince clam juice
1 half pint Organic Valley heavy cream
3 Tbsp. tomato paste
3-5 saffron threads
8 oz. raw shrimp
8 oz. raw fish like tilapia
8 oz. raw lobster tail
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 C. Ian’s panko crumbs
1/3 C. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp. minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh tarragon leaves
1 Tbsp. minced garlic (2 cloves)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Set aside a small casserole dish.

Melt 3 Tbsp. of butter in a fry pan. Add vegetables and 3 Tbsp. of Mirin, ½ tsp. salt and ¼ tsp. pepper. Sauté for about 10 minutes.

In the meantime, combine the clam juice, heavy cream, ½ C. Mirin, tomato paste and saffron in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil then turn down low.

Once the carrots are tender, set the sauté mix aside. Peel, devein and chop the shrimp. Chop the fish into bite-sized chunks. Remove the lobster tail and chop into chunks.

Add the shrimp to the saffron sauce. After 3 minutes, use a slotted spoon to remove the shrimp to the casserole dish. Add the fish to the sauce for 3 minutes, and remove to the same dish. Add the lobster to the sauce for three minutes and remove to the rest of the seafood.

In a small jar with a lid, add the cornstarch to remaining saffron sauce to make a liquid. Shake it well, dissolving the starch. Add to the remaining saffron sauce in the pan and again bring it to a boil, stirring and reducing it by half its volume.

Layer the vegetable mix on top of the seafood, then pour the reduced saffron sauce over it all.

In a bowl, mix the panko, Parmesan, parsley, tarragon, and garlic. Melt the remaining 3 Tbsp. of butter and mix it into the crumbs until just moistened. Spread the crumb mixture evenly over top of the seafood casserole.

Bake for 20 minutes, until the top is browned and the sauce is bubbly. Serve hot.

• Wyndmere Aromatherapy Moisturizing Cream

From the Grocery Department:

• Sjaaks Assorted Boxed or Bagged Chocolates
• French Nugget All Natural Chocolate Treats

From the Deli:

• Wide assortment of Baked Goodies (many baked and sold in cute heart-shaped pans)

From the Meat Department:

• Sweetheart Steaks