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Hello <<First Name>>,
The new year has well and truly begun. In this issue of our newsletter, we’d like to encourage and support you to make it the best year yet - in relation to your health goals. Research increasingly shows that Lifestyle Medicine is the way of the future as it only has positive side effects. It’s also a lot cheaper and can enhance your response to any medication prescribed by your gp.
The Spinach Special
Perhaps Popeye had the right idea eating spinach for good strength! This often underrated leafy green veggie has some impressive health benefits. So much so, that we could all take a leaf (pun intended!) out of Popeye’s book.
Dark leafy greens, like spinach, can help to:
- Reduce vision problems
- Lower your risk of heart attack
- Prevent memory loss
This is especially important if you have diabetes as you are at a higher risk of developing these conditions. On average, one in three people with diabetes will develop some form of eye disease. Additionally, keeping your blood vessels and heart healthy is vital, as people with poorly controlled blood sugar are four times more likely to experience heart attack and stroke!
Dark green leafy vegetables are uniquely rich in the phytonutrients called lutein and nitrate. Lutein is the pigment in vegetables that creates the green colour. In your body, it is preferentially taken up by your eyes and brain to protect them. Similarly, dietary nitrate helps your blood vessels to relax, lowers blood pressure and guards against heart attack and stroke.
In addition to these health benefits, a new study suggests spinach extract may help build muscles. A 2019 intervention study was conducted with 46 strength training males, over 10 weeks, to examine the anabolic effect of ecdysterone. Ecdysterone is a naturally occurring steroid hormone (yes, some is found in spinach!) claimed to enhance physical performance by binding to the estrogen receptor. In this study, the guys taking the spinach extract had a much higher increase in their muscle mass compared to those in the placebo group. Perhaps even more enticing for athletes and gym-goers is the fact that these males also experienced significantly more pronounced increases in one-repetition bench press performance.
Spoiler alert: but you would need to be eating between 1-16 kg of spinach daily to get as much of the ecdysterone that was tested in the extract used in this study! Apart from being a challenge even for our friend Popeye, large amounts of spinach should be avoided by those prone to kidney stones as spinach is particularly rich in oxalate.
To gain health benefits with regard to the eyes, heart and brain, the required portion is much more achievable. Approximately 1 cup of cooked greens (e.g. boiled spinach, or kale, which is low in oxalate for those prone to kidney stones) OR 2-3 cups of raw leaves (e.g. rocket) will provide valuable amounts of lutein and nitrate for your day. But don’t forget to also include a variety of other coloured vegetables - aim for a minimum of 2 cups daily - in addition to your greens.
Still wondering whether you should eat more leafy greens? A 2012 study published in the Journal of Public Health Nutrition found that women who served leafy greens, such as spinach, with a meal were perceived as being better cooks. They were also rated as more thoughtful and attentive. What more motivation do you need?!
4 quick ways with spinach (or other leafy greens)
- Light snack (or delicious party dip): finely chop cooked spinach, stir through some natural Greek yoghurt with a dash of minced garlic, a squeeze of lemon and season with cracked black pepper. Serve with raw veggie sticks and/or wholegrain crackers. Keeps in the refrigerator.
- Add colour to your weekend breakfast: serve up some spinach leaves with your eggs on toast. Just like brekkie in a café!
- Blitz up your spinach: blend any vibrant green leaves with a banana, chia seeds, your favourite milk and a sprig of mint. Perfect summertime breakfast on-the-go. Check out our Green Monster Smoothie (recipe in this issue).
- Homemade pesto: whip up steamed spinach with half a bunch torn basil leaves, a few garlic cloves, about 1/3 cup pine nuts and a squeeze of lemon juice. Slowly pour in extra virgin olive oil while pulsing until combined into a paste. Toss pesto with cooked pasta, spread on sandwiches or dollop on chicken or fish before baking.
Quote
“A man can fall many times in life, but he's never a failure until he refuses to get back up.”– Evel Knievel
What’s Cooking? – Food as Medicine – Cooking for Your Best Health
Are your meals healing or harming you? Research shows 80% of chronic disease is preventable.
Join Dr Sue Radd at this exciting event to learn how a plant based dietary pattern can help you better manage an existing medical condition, and even reverse some conditions! The latest research shows that your body has an amazing capacity to heal itself - much faster and more effectively than previously thought. So you have much more control than you may think. Your genes don’t have to be your destiny!
Learn what’s possible and taste delicious foods to benefit conditions ranging from asthma and fatty liver to macular degeneration, anxiety, depression and more.
When: Tuesday, 10th March 2020
Time: 6.30 pm – 8.30 pm
Where: Nutrition and Wellbeing Clinic, Castle Hill (Sydney)
Learn more about our cookshops
You will get to sample all the delicious dishes and take home recipes and nutrition handouts!
Or
Call NOW on (02) 9899 5208 to book your place as this event is very popular.
Food Matters with Sue Radd – Mediterranean Diet
Which diet came out on top for 2020? The best and worst diets have just been ranked by experts for CNN. And the winner was…the Mediterranean diet! Learn more about the Mediterranean diet: http://nwbc.com.au/columns/MediterraneanDiet.pdf
Recipe – Green Monster Smoothie
There’s no right or wrong way to make a green smoothie, but this one has a large volume of greens, creating a monstrous green colour! The raw kale adds important anti-cancer phytonutrients. The linseeds boost the omega-3 content, add fibre and help thicken the drink. In order to obtain a super smooth and silky drink, we recommend a high speed blender such as a Vitamix.
http://nwbc.com.au/resources/recipe_smoothie.html
In-Store Supermarket Tour – Understand Food Labels Better Lose More Weight & Improve Your Health
Do you need a nutritional GPS to traverse the supermarket and arrive at good health? Could understanding food labels help you to lose more weight?
Join us for an in-store supermarket tour and get coached on how to read the fineprint. Improve your confidence when shopping for the family and become supermarket savvy.
In this 2-hour interactive event, you will practise your skills by picking up boxes and checking nutrition information panels. We’ll take you through the aisles and give you nutrition benchmarks so you can select brands relevant for your needs. Plus, you get to take home a Healthy Shopping Guide for your wallet!
When: Wednesday, 25th March 2020
Time: 6.00 pm – 8.00 pm
Where: Coles Castle Towers, Castle Hill (Sydney)
Or
Call NOW on (02) 9899 5208 to book your place for this event.
Food InFocus – Plate Up or Plate Down?
How important are portion sizes in your lifestyle? Do you need to shrink your plates? Watch this 5 minute video to learn more:
https://vimeo.com/39801457
NEWS FLASH!
We are very happy to announce that our beloved director of the Nutrition and Wellbeing Clinic, Sue Radd, is now….. Dr Sue Radd!! Not only is she an Advanced Accredited Practising Dietitian (a credential awarded to less than 2 % of dietitians in Australia) but, as many of you will know, she is an internationally published and award winning author. Her latest work is Food as Medicine: Eating for Your Best Health, which has inspired many people in their journey to health and wellbeing.
A BIG congratulations to Sue who completed her PhD at The University of Sydney, researching the effects of the ‘traditional’ Mediterranean diet on thinking and memory to reduce the risk of dementia. Her dedication to health and nutrition is truly an inspiration to us all.
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