Avocados – High in fiber and packed with monounsaturated fats that can improve cholesterol, avocados are also rich in potassium, folate, and vitamins A, C and E. Enjoy avocados with a salad, taco or atop a whole wheat cracker or crisp bread.

Squash – From acorn to spaghetti, winter squash comes in many delicious and colorful varieties. Squash is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, folate, potassium, fiber and vitamin A. Try it baked, boiled or as the base for soups and pies.

Apples - From turkey stuffing to salads, apples are the stars of good autumn eating. Also high in fiber (average of 4 grams) and potassium, apples contain more quercetin per serviing than any other fruit. Quercitin is a powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory that can prevent cell, tissue and blood vessel damage.

Cranberries - At their peak between October and December, cranberries are great sources of vitamin C, fiber, manganese, and vitamin K. Tart, tangy and sweet, cranberries are used to treat and prevent urinary tract infections and according to recent studies, may lower cholesterol and blood pressure, promote oral health, and prevent cancer and heart disease.

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Beets – Known for their reddish-purple color, beets also grow in white, golden or rainbow varieties. Whether served raw on a salad or roasted with other vegetables, beets add beautiful color and powerful nutrients including folate, potassium, manganese, vitamin C and iron to any meal.

Pumpkin - Near synonymous with the fall, pumpkins were celebrated by Native Americans for their medicinal and nutritional properties. The star attractions at many fall festivals, pumpkins with their rich orange color, are loaded with vitamin A and beta-carotene, which may prevent blindness, cardiovascular disease and certain types of cancer.

Sweet Potato – Sweet potatoes are packed with powerful nutrients and antioxidants that lower “bad” cholesterol and blood pressure, improves circulation, stabilizes blood sugar, lowers insulin resistance and may even aid weight loss. Try them mashed, baked or in a pie.

Sources: World’s Healthiest Foods; USDA

Image: fromthelbc, flickr

This 96-page hardcover cookbook includes favorites from the first two issues of Healthy Soul Food Recipes magazine cookbooks. From soups to desserts, it features 50 tasty and healthful recipes that follow the American Heart Association’s dietary recommendations. Easy-to-make favorites include Chicken Soup with Mustard Greens and Tomatoes, Carrot-Pineapple Salad with Golden Raisins, Spicy Oven-Fried Chicken and Rich and Creamy Mac and Cheese.

The Best of Healthy Soul Food Recipes was created for soul food fans so they can enjoy tasty foods that can help reduce their risk for stroke and heart disease. The cookbook includes information about stroke risk factors, a personal risk assessment tool and recommendations for stroke prevention.

The cookbook is dedicated to the memory of Yolanda King, who was the first national Ambassador of the American Stroke Association’s Power To End Stroke, an aggressive education and awareness program for African Americans. Knowing about stroke is particularly important for African Americans because they have double the risk of having a first stroke compared to Caucasians. The cookbook is available for $12.99 at www.ShopPower.org.

Tempted? Try this spicy oven-fried chicken receipe from the cookbook:

Spicy Oven-Fried Chicken

Serves 4; 3 ounces chicken per serving

Vegetable oil spray
1/4 cup fat-free or low-fat buttermilk
1/4 cup cornflake crumbs
1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt-free extra-spicy seasoning blend
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon dry mustard
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 4 ounces each), all visible fat discarded

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly spray an 8- or 9-inch square baking pan or a baking sheet with vegetable oil spray.

Pour the buttermilk into a pie pan or shallow bowl.

In a large airtight plastic bag, combine the remaining ingredients except the chicken.
Set the pie pan, plastic bag, and baking pan in a row, assembly-line fashion. Put a piece of chicken in the buttermilk and turn to cover completely. Put the chicken in the plastic bag and shake to coat. Place the chicken in the baking pan. Repeat with the remaining chicken. Lightly spray the tops of the chicken with vegetable oil spray. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the chicken is no longer pink in the center and the coating is crisp.

Nutrients per Serving
Calories 195
Total Fat 1.5 g
Saturated Fat 0.5 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.5 g
Monounsaturated Fat 0.5 g
Cholesterol 66 mg
Sodium 264 mg
Carbohydrates 16 g
Dietary Fiber 1 g
Sugars 1 g
Protein 28 g

Dietary Exchanges
1 starch
3 very lean meat
This recipe is reprinted with permission from The Best of Healthy Soul Food Recipes, Copyright © 2008 by the American Heart Association. Published by Publications International, Ltd. Available at ShopPower.org.

Quick Facts about the Study 

• Conducted over a two year period with 322 moderately obese Israelis
• Eighty-six (86%) of the participants were men – it is unknown how the results apply to women. Men have more muscle mass and generally less fat than women.
• Low-Carb diet in study was “based” on Atkins diet. Contrary to recommendations typically associated with Atkins, the low-carb group was encouraged to look for vegetarian sources of protein and fat and to avoid trans fat.
• Low-fat diet and Mediterranean diet – women were restricted to 1500 calories/day, men restricted to 1800 calories/day
• Study was partially funded by  Atkins Research Foundation

 
In the study, the Mediterranean diet group (moderate fat, restricted calories) ate the most dietary fiber and as a result, experienced more favorable glucose and insulin levels. In previous studies, the Mediterranean diet has been praised for its heart health benefits, emphasizing vegetables, nuts and poultry and fish over red meat. The low-carb group (non-restricted calories) consumed the least amount of carbohydrates and largest amounts of fat, protein and cholesterol, yet saw the greatest improvement in HDL (good) cholesterol. This finding shakes the now conventional wisdom about the effects of a high-fat, high-cholesterol diet.

The scientific evidence from multiple studies point to diets high in saturated and trans fat as major contributor to the development of heart disease and stroke. Writing in a Newsweek column, Dr. Dean Ornish, M.D., who has researched and written extensively on the benefits of a low-fat diet, cautions against taking the results of the study as reason to run out and start loading up on fat.

“Your body makes HDL to remove excessive cholesterol from your blood and tissues. Not everything that raises HDL is good for you. For example, if you increase the amount of fat and cholesterol in your diet (e.g. an Atkins diet), you may increase your HDL because your body is trying to get rid of the extra fat and cholesterol by increasing HDL.”

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Dr. Ornish also takes issue with the low-fat diet followed in the study. Based on the American Heart Association guidelines at the time, the low-fat diet in the study aimed for 30% of calories from fat, 10% of calories from saturated fat and an intake of 300 mg of cholesterol per day. “The one [low-fat diet] used in the NEJM study was not very low in fat. It was based on the American Heart Association (AHA) guidelines, which I have long criticized as not being enough of a change in diet to show much benefit.

However the AHA, in a statement about the study, notes that the low-fat diet used in the study was based on recommendations issued in 2000 and that the Mediterranean diet followed in the study reflects the organizations current guidelines issued in 2006. “A range of 25-35 % for total fat consumption is suggested for most people, not just those trying to lose weight.” The AHA’s current guidelines also calls for less than 7% of calories from saturated fats and less than 1% of trans fat to be consumed daily.

So how do you make sense of all these guidelines and percentages? The bottom line is that if you need to lose weight, you have options. Despite the never-ending quest for the “best diet,” the consensus is that whether you are looking for dietary options to help with weight loss or to support your overall healthy lifestyle, foods high in saturated and trans fat should be avoided while vegetables, fruits, whole grains and healthy fats such as those from fish, nuts and olive oil are encouraged. Whether it’s called Mediterranean, AHA or by some other name, these basic guidelines form the foundation of a healthy and sensible nutritional plan that can be maintained for a lifetime.

Keeping a food diary can double your weight loss according to a new study from Kaiser Permanente’s Center for Health Research. “The more food records people kept, the more weight they lost,” said lead author Jack Hollis Ph.D., a researcher at Kaiser’s research center in Portland, Ore. “Those who kept daily food records lost twice as much weight as those who kept no records. It seems that the simple act of writing down what you eat encourages people to consume fewer calories.”

A food diary provides both a record of what you’re consuming and a way to hold yourself accountable. Looking at what you’ve eaten over the course of a day or whole week can pinpoint areas where you need to cut back or improve. But the diary can also help you track your progress and successes. Seeing your progress in written form can be a powerful motivator and incentive to continue your weight loss efforts.

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“Journaling felt weird at first — I had a hard time even remembering what I had eaten by the end of each day — but after just one month of telling all to my food diary, I had dropped five pounds,” said Anita Hamiliton, writing in her Time Magazine blog. Anita wasn’t part of the Kaiser study, but found keeping a food diary “worked like a charm” when “sheer willpower and daily exercise had failed.”

Participants in the Kaiser study also turned their food diaries in at weekly support meetings, followed the heart healthy DASH diet which promotes lots of fruits and vegetables and low-fat or non-fat dairy, and exercised for at least 30 minutes each day. The study was one of the few trials to include a large percentage of African American participants. African Americans have a hightler risk of overweight, diabetes and heart disease.

You don’t have to be a part of a formal weight loss program to benefit from keeping a food diary. Scribbling down what you eat on a Post-it note, sending yourself an email tallying each meal are also good ways to track what you eat, researchers say. There are a number of websites that allow you to create your own food diaries, such as myfooddiary.com or thedailyplate.com.

Do you keep a food diary? What did you eat today? Leave  your response in the comments section below.

The study, conducted by a team of researchers from the Athens Medical School in Greece, shows that drinking tea improves blood flow and expands arteries, making it easier for the heart to pump blood.In the study, blood flow was measured after volunteers drank green tea, caffeine or hot water. Consuming green tea had an immediate short term effect (within 30 minutes) of improving the function of cells that line the circulatory system.

With its high flavonoid content, green tea has been previously shown to offer cancer-fighting and cardiovascular benefits. The same antioxidants found in red wine and dark chocolate, flavonoids are found in certain plant foods and can lower cholesterol, prevent inflammation and protect arteries from hardening.

While black tea also offers health benefits, green tea comes highly recommended as it is made from unfermented tea leaves and undergoes less processing. Green tea is also lower in caffeine and has higher antioxidant properties.

image credit: Green for Tea by Alexia

Losing weight isn’t easy, but think of the benefits. Losing weight will help you feel better, make it easier to be physically active, and can improve blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels.

You can make losing weight a family project or set your own personal goal. Pick a day to begin. Focus on making simple changes on a daily basis. Make these changes slowly and stick to them. If you fall of the wagon for a day or two, don’t beat yourself up. We all have moments of weakness and days when it can be hard to stick to a healthy eating and exercise plan. The key is to quickly remember and recommit to your weight loss goal.

Follow the steps below to help you form habits that will that will bring you closer to reaching your weight loss goals.

Choose lower fat, lower calorie foods:

• Prepare food by broiling or baking instead of frying.
• Eat fewer breaded and fried foods. Breading and frying foods like fish, shrimp, chicken, and vegetables add fat and calories.
• Eat lean meat, fish, and poultry without skin. Choose poultry breasts and drumsticks more often than the wings and thighs.
• Eat more fruits, whole grain, and vegetables. If you are a nibbler, choose fruit and vegetables as snacks more often.
• Use the food label to choose lower calorie foods.
• Drink fewer alcoholic and high-calorie beverages.
• Drink six to eight glasses of water each day.

Limit your portion size:

• Eat smaller portions–do not go back for seconds.
• Try eating only one serving of high-fat, high-calorie foods like pizza, ice cream, or chips. Slowly cut back on your portion size. Substitute with lower fat, lower calorie foods during the rest of the day.

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Keep moving:

• Be physically active for at least 30 minutes a day, or as much as you can.
• Park your car a block or two away and walk.
• Get off one or two bus stops early and walk the rest of the way.
• Use the stairs.
• Dance. See if you remember those old school moves or learn some new ones.

Try to lose weight slowly. Lose about 1/2 to 1 pound a week until you reach a healthy weight. If you need help staying on track, seek support from friends and family and don’t be afraid to ask for help from your doctor or other health professional.

References: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, NIH, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services