Olive Oil Buyer's Guide

Olive oil is one of the few good vegetable oils. It is about 10% omega-6 (n-6) fatty acids, compared to 50% for soybean oil, 52% for cottonseed oil and 54% for corn oil. Omega-6 fatty acids made up a smaller proportion of calories before modern times, due to their scarcity in animal fats. Beef suet is 2% n-6, butter is 3% and lard is 10%. Many people believe that excess n-6 fat is a contributing factor to chronic disease, due to its effect on inflammatory prostaglandins. I'm reserving my opinion on n-6 fats until I see more data, but I do think it's worth noting the association of increased vegetable oil consumption with declining health in the US.

Olive oil is also one of the few oils that require no harsh processing to extract. As a matter of fact, all you have to do is squeeze the olives and collect the oil. Other oils that can be extracted with minimal processing are red palm oil (9% n-6), hazelnut oil (10% n-6) and coconut oil (2% n-6). These are also the oils I consider to be healthy. Due to the mild processing these oils undergo, they retain their natural vitamin and antioxidant content.

You've eaten corn, so you know it's not an oily seed. Same with soybeans. So how to they get the oil out of them? They use a combination of heat and petroleum solvents. Then, they chemically bleach and deodorize the oil, and sometimes partially hydrogenate it to make it more shelf-stable. Hungry yet? This is true of all the common colorless oils, and anything labeled "vegetable oil".

Olive oil is great, but don't run out and buy it just yet! There are different grades, and it's important to know the difference between them. The highest grade is extra-virgin olive oil, and it's the only one I recommend. It's the only grade that's not heated or chemically refined in any way. Virgin olive oil, "light" olive oil (refers to the flavor, not calories), "pure" olive oil, or simply olive oil all involve different degrees of chemical extraction and/or processing. This applies primarily to Europe. Unfortunately, the US is not part of the International Olive Oil Council (IOOC), which regulates oil quality and labeling.

The olive oil market is plagued by corruption. Much of the oil exported from Italy is cut with cheaper oils such as colza. Most "Italian olive oil" is actually produced in North Africa and bottled in Italy, and may be of inferior quality. The USDA has refused to regulate the market so they get away with it. If you find a deal on olive oil that looks too good to be true, it probably is.

Only buy from reputable sources. Look for the IOOC seal, which guarantees purity, provenance and freshness. IOOC olive oil must contain less than 0.8% acidity. Acidity refers to the percentage of free fatty acids (as opposed to those bound in triglycerides), a measure of damage to the oil. Fortunately, the US has a private equivalent to the IOOC, the California Olive Oil Council (COOC). The COOC seal ensures provenance, purity and freshness just like the IOOC seal. It has outdone the IOOC in requiring less than 0.5% acidity. COOC-certified oils are more expensive, but you know exactly what you're getting.

Thanks to funadium for the CC photo

Recipe - easy stir fried beef

Easy Stir Fried Beef












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Ingredients:

1 pound boneless tender beef

2 tablespoons soy sauce


2 tablespoons vegetable oil


3 cups cut-up capsicum (red and green)


2 tablespoons soy sauce


1 tablespoon oyster sauce






Directions:




.Slice beef into very thin strips. Set aside.


.Heat oil in skillet. Add beef and stir-fry until browned and juices evaporate.


.Add soy sauce and oyster sauce. Stir fry for one minute.


.Add capsicum and stir-fry until tender-crisp.

.Serve hot

Real Food V: Sauerkraut

Sauerkraut is part of a tradition of fermented foods that reaches far into human prehistory. Fermentation is a means of preserving food while also increasing its nutritional value. It increases digestibility and provides us with beneficial bacteria, especially those that produce lactic acid. Raw sauerkraut is a potent digestive aid, probably the reason it's traditionally eaten with heavy food.

Sauerkraut is produced by a process called �anaerobic� fermentation, meaning �without oxygen�. It�s very simple to achieve in practice. You simply submerge the cabbage in a brine of its own juices and allow the naturally present bacteria to break down the sugars it contains. The process of �lacto-fermentation� converts the sugars to lactic acid, making it tart. The combination of salt, anaerobic conditions, and acidity makes it very difficult for anything to survive besides the beneficial bacteria, so contamination is rare. If it does become contaminated, your nose will tell you as soon as you taste it.

Store-bought sauerkraut is far inferior to homemade. It's soggy and sterile. Ask a German: unpasteurized kraut is light, crunchy and tart!

My method is inexpensive and requires no special equipment. I've tested it many times and have never been disappointed.

Materials

• Wide-mouth quart canning jars (cheap at your local grocery store)
• Beer bottles with the labels removed, or small jars that fit inside the canning jars
• Three tablespoons of sea salt (NOT iodized table salt-- it's fatal to our bacteria)
• Five pounds of green cabbage

Recipe

1. Chop cabbage thinly. Ideally the slices should be 2 mm or so wide, but it doesn�t matter very much. You can use a food processor, mandolin or knife.
2. Put all the cabbage together in a large bowl and add the salt. If the salt is not very dense (sometimes finely ground sea salt can be fluffy), you can add up to 5 tablespoons total. Mix it around with your hands. Taste some. It should be good and salty.
3. Let the salted cabbage sit in the bowl for 30 minutes or so. It should be starting to get juicy.
4. Pack the cabbage tightly into the canning jars. Leave 2-3 inches at the top of the jar. When you push on the cabbage in the jar, you should be able to get the brine to rise above the cabbage. Try to get rid of air bubbles.
5. Put water into the beer bottles and place them into the canning jars. The weight of the bottles will keep the cabbage under the brine. It�s okay that some of the brine is exposed to the air; the cabbage itself is protected.
6. Let it sit for 2 weeks at room temperature! As the fermentation proceeds, bubbles will form and this will raise the level of the brine. This is normal. You might get some scum on top of the liquid; just check for this and scrape it off every few days. It won�t affect the final product. If the brine drops to the level of the cabbage, add salt water (1 tsp/cup, non-chlorinated water) to bring it back up.
7. Taste it! It should be tart and slightly crunchy, with a fresh lactic acid flavor. If fully fermented, it will keep in the fridge for a long time.

Here are some photos from making sauerruben, which is like sauerkraut but made with turnips:

Recipe - malay fried rice

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Malay Fried Rice

Ingredients

5 Tablespoons oil
3 eggs -- beaten
1 Small onion -- thinly sliced
1/2 Cup chopped dried shrimp/dried anchovies
4 Cups cooked rice
1 Cup frozen mixed vegetables -- thawed
Salt to taste
Hot pepper-soy sauce to taste
Chili powder to taste
Shredded lettuce

In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil.
Add eggs and fry in an even layer until firm.
Remove and cut into strips.
Add onion to skillet and cook until golden brown; remove and set aside.
Heat remaining 3 tablespoons oil and fry shrimp/anchovies for one minute.
Add rice, vegetables, mushrooms, half of the egg strips, the onion, and seasonings;stir fry for 3 minutes.

Add a little water if rice is too dry. Serve on a bed of shredded lettuce and top
with remaining egg strips.

Makes 8 servings.

Healthy Hands : How To Get Healthy Hands

Healthy Hands

Our hands are the first to show signs of aging. They are constantly exposed to all sorts of chemicals and elements. Here are a few things that we can do to protect our hands.

1.Don't forget to apply SPF daily.

2.Cuticles function as barriers to bacteria and fungus, but they can often overgrow. Use a cuticle pusher after a shower to keep them in line.

3.Doing your own nails is economical and practical, but a professional manicure every two or three months is a welcome bit of pampering.

4.Long nails tend to look garish, and invite breaks that can be painful. File nails to a quarter-inch above your fingertips.

5.Always keep your hands moisturized. Whenever you do the dishes, or exposing your hands to a lot of water, be sure to wear gloves.

High Blood Pressure : How To Prevent High Blood Pressure

How To Prevent High Blood Pressure

* Eating healthy diet. Following a healthy eating plan can both reduce the risk of developing high blood pressure and lower an already elevated blood pressure.

* Reduce salt. For someone with high blood pressure, the doctor may advise eating less salt and sodium. These lower-sodium diets also can keep blood pressure from rising and help blood pressure medicines work better.

* Maintain healthy weight.Being overweight increases your risk of developing high blood pressure. Blood pressure rises as body weight increases. Losing even 10 pounds can lower blood pressure.

* Exercise. Exercise is the most important step to prevent or control high blood pressure. It also helps reduce your risk of heart disease.

* Stop smoking. Even though smoking does not cause high blood pressure, it is bad for anyone, especially those with high blood pressure. Once you quit, your risk of having a heart attack is reduced after the first year.

* Decrease the amounts of alcohol intake.Drinking too much alcohol can raise blood pressure. Alcoholic drinks also contain calories, which matter if you are trying to lose weight. Have only a moderate amount.

* Avoid stress. Stress can make blood pressure go up for a while, and it has been thought to contribute to high blood pressure.

Leptin

I've been puzzled by an interesting question lately. Why is it that certain cultures are able to eat large amounts of carbohydrate and remain healthy, while others suffer from overweight and disease? How do the pre-industrial Kuna and Kitavans maintain their insulin sensitivity while their bodies are being bombarded by an amount of carbohydrate that makes the average American look like a bowling ball?

I read a very interesting post on the Modern Forager yesterday that sent me on a nerd safari through the scientific literature. The paper that inspired the Modern Forager post is a review by Dr. Staffan Lindeberg. In it, he attempts to draw a link between compounds called lectins, found in grains (among other things), and resistance to the hormone leptin. Let's take a step back and go over some background.

One of the most-studied animal models of obesity is called the "Zucker" rat. This rat has a missense mutation in its leptin receptor gene, causing it to be nonfunctional. Leptin is a hormone that signals satiety, or fullness. It's secreted by fat tissue. The more fat tissue an animal has, the more leptin it secretes. Normally, this creates negative feedback that causes it to eat less when fat begins to accumulate, keeping its weight within a narrow range.

Zucker rats secrete leptin just fine, but they lack leptin receptors in their brain. Their blood leptin is high but their brain isn't listening. Thus, the signal to stop eating never gets through and they eat themselves to morbid obesity. Cardiovascular disease and diabetes follow shortly thereafter, unless you remove their visceral fat surgically.

The reason Zucker rats are so interesting is they faithfully reproduce so many features of the disease of civilization in humans. They become obese, hypometabolic, develop insulin resistance, impaired glucose tolerance, dyslipidemia, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Basically, severe metabolic syndrome. So here's a rat that shows that leptin resistance can cause something that looks a whole heck of a lot like the disease of civilization in humans.

For this model to be relevant to us, we'd expect that humans with metabolic syndrome should be leptin-resistant. Well what do you know, administering leptin to obese people doesn't cause satiety like it does in thin people. Furthermore, elevated leptin predicts the onset of obesity and metabolic syndrome. It also predicts insulin resistance. Yes, you read that right, leptin resistance may come before insulin resistance.

Interestingly enough, the carbohydrate-loving Kitavans don't get elevated leptin like europeans do, and they don't become overweight, develop insulin dysfunction or the metabolic syndrome either. This all suggests that leptin may be the keystone in the whole disease process, but what accounts for the differences in leptin levels between populations?