Fight Cancer With Curry October 29, 2009

The headline in Yahoo News yesterday read “Scientists Say Curry Compound Kills Cancer Cells.” A pretty compelling attention grabber, but the content left me longing. When I first saw it I thought – “hey now, we’ve come a long way in making healing foods headliners.” I thought interested readers, however, might like a few more details before they run off and turn their skin yellow by eating buckets of Indian food.

“Curry Compound” is incredibly vague, and the word curry itself is as ambiguous as “chai,” so I’ll start there. “Curry” is a blend of spices, most commonly consisting of the following:

Coriander Seeds

Cumin Seeds

Fenugreek Seeds

Turmeric

Cloves

Garlic

Ginger

Salt

Black Pepper

Cardamom

Cinnamon

Nutmeg

Onion

Mustard

All of these spices have medicinal qualities, so what exactly is the “curry compound”? The article specifically refers to the curcumin, which indicates they are referring to turmeric (curcumin is the primary bio-active agent in turmeric). Turmeric is a member of the ginger family (Zingiberaceae), and has a long history in Ayurvedic Medicine. Turmeric has been known far and wide for thousands of years as an anti-inflammatory herb, and has been used to treat everything from arthritis, IBS, and psoriasis to bacterial infections, and even anxiety. Turmeric is a known free radical scavenger, and is thought to enhance neurological nerve production – making it a modern experimental treatment for Alzheimer’s Disease.

 

The use of turmeric in cancer research is not new. It has been known for decades as a tumor inhibitor, and has been used in numerous treatment studies on colon cancer, pancreatic cancer and the prevention of cervical cancer. The excitement around this Yahoo News/Reuters release is specific to new findings with research on esophageal cancer, and the findings are remarkably promising for patients suffering from a disease with an incredibly low chance of survival.

 

So the question is, should we all add curry to our food repertoire? How much? Maybe we should just eat turmeric? And this got me thinking about cancer prevention, as opposed to cancer treatment. It is not fair, nor is it my intention, to imply that individuals are responsible for developing cancer, so I do want to be clear at the outset on that point.  Having said that, there are preventative practices that we can employ in our lifestyles to reduce risk – especially where other risk factors such as environment, genetics, or just being dealt a lousy hand may be present. This is where I think foods such as curry can be helpful.

 

When I look at the nutritional profile of the average curry dish I basically see a bowl of disease-fighting militia. Not only that, I see more servings of fresh whole foods and vegetables than the average American consumes in a week. Add to that a cocktail of herbs and spices that are known medicinals, and you have just taken a step towards a lifestyle of cancer prevention, not to mention cold and flu prevention, digestive balancing and cardiovascular support. The main point is that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables that minimizes processed foods is how you can fight cancer and stay well overall.

 

When you see articles about a certain food or a particular spice being used in medical treatment research you need to know that they are using therapeutic doses, and this does not at all look and taste like what you get for dinner at your favorite ethnic restaurant. For example, the therapeutic dose of turmeric can be as high as 3- 9 grams [Michael Tierra; The Way of Herbs]. That is an enormous amount of any kind of supplement, and it should not be used without the guidance of a trained medical professional. Further, when mainstream articles like this are published they don’t always make it clear if the studies are being done on animals or humans, and they rarely tell you details about the study group (for example, additional medications or side effects).

 

In sum, I hate to be a buzz kill, but the real news is not glamorous and isn’t new, but I like the haiku Michael Pollan wrote to describe it in “In Defense of Food:”

“Eat Food

Not too much

Mostly Plants”

Eat Well and Live Well,

Sacred Harvest

Stuffed Squash for Multi-Taskers May 7, 2009

While I am a true subscriber to the concept that slow is beautiful, my life doesn’t always seem to go that way. Likewise, I work with families that want to eat local fresh foods, but simply don’t have 90 minutes to savor the cooking process.

Here is a meal you can count on for nutrient density without compromising flavor or your schedule. It takes about 30 minutes, but the interactive time is low since the squash just bakes in the oven so you can multi-task while you make this meal.

Stuffed Acorn Squash with quinoa, goat cheese, chopped walnuts and pumpkin seeds. Roasted bell peppers and sauteed kale on the side:

The Squash and Bell Pepper:
Set oven to 450

Slice and seed the squash. Place flesh side down on a bake pan with about 1/4 inch of water. Place in oven for about 20 minutes, or until flesh is easily punctured by a fork.

Place bell peppers right on the rack for 10-15 minutes or until flesh can be punctured with a fork.

Stuffing:
Cook quinoa on the stove-top 2 parts water to 1 part grain (takes about 10 minutes and you can cook this ahead of time).

Toss quinoa with walnuts and pumpkin seeds. (You can really use any nuts, seeds, or diced/sauteed veggies you like).

Remove squash from the oven. Place goat cheese in the cup of the squash, then add quinoa blend.

Turn Oven Off:
Place stuffed squash back in the oven to keep warm while you prepare the peppers and kale.

Kale:
Warm about a 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil (or water for a low-fat steam).
Add diced onion – warm until lightly translucent
Add chopped kale – saute for about 3-5 minutes

Serving the Bell Peppers:

Peel if you like, slice in strips if you prefer, or just serve up whole peppers. Left-overs keep for several days in the fridge and make flavorful additions to sandwiches or salads.

Food of the Week March 11, 2009

Asparagus is my pick for this week. I look forward to asparagus season every year, and so far 2009 has not disappointed. The key to really enjoying asparagus of course, is buying it as fresh as possible. Ideally asparagus is eaten within 2-3 days of harvesting, which means that I buy it either at Farmer’s Market, or at Mesa Produce.

Asparagus is a member of the lily family, and its fame dates back to the third century. It’s grown world wide, and is believed to originate from the Mediterranean. The top exporter of asparagus is Peru and the U.S. the largest importer. This surprises me to the extent that asparagus is said to be easy to grow and pretty adaptable to climates. It also implies that few people have enjoyed the pleasure or truly fresh asparagus.

Medicinally asparagus is a know diuretic, and has been used to treat urinary tract infections and kidney stones.

Nutritionally asparagus is rich in folate, vitamins K, A, C and most B vitamins. It also contains iron, magnesium, zinc, potassium and calcium. Overall it’s a well balanced food with no fat, and little sodium. It contains inulin, which promotes healthy gut flora, and it’s a recommended pre-natal food due to its high levels of folate and B vitamins. Folate is a heart tonic, and B vitamins are necessary for healthy nervous system development.

My favorite way to prepare asparagus is to lightly stir fry it with grated ginger and garlic. It’s also delicious steamed, and can be served warm or cold. If you’re not watching your sodium intake, marinating it with ginger and soy is a great way to enjoy asparagus.

I personally like the stand-out flavor of asparagus, so I tend to cook it alone rather than mix it into a stir fry. Try this for a nutritious and affordable vegan dinner:

Quinoa with toasted almonds and parsley
Asparagus pan fried with garlic and ginger
Baked yams

A serving of this heart healthy dinner will give you the following nutritional intake:
461 Calories
147 Carbs
11.5 g Fat
16 g Fiber
20 g Protein
970 mg Vitamin A
32 mg Vitamin B (all Bs combined)
32.5 IU Vitamin E
318 mg Folate
92 mg Vitamin K
16 mg Vitamin C
172.5 mg Calcium
230.5 mg Magnesium
846 mg Potassium
80 mg Sodium
575 mg Beta Carotene

Notice the electrolyte ratios, and how low naturally occurring sodium is in relation to calcium, potassium, and magnesium. Some health professionals claim that high blood pressure is caused not necessarily by sodium sensitivity, but by an electrolyte imbalance.

If going vegan is not your thing, a 4 ounce roasted chicken breast will add the following nutritional data:

225 Calories
34 g Protein
9 g Fat
95 mg Cholesterol
165 IU Vitamin A
36.5 Vitamin B (All Bs combined)
13.5 IU Vitamin D
4.5 mcg Folate
16 mg Calcium
30.5 mg Magnesium
278 mg Potassium
80.5 mg Sodium (This is natuarally occurring sodium, so take note that highly processed meats are often injected with sodium to prolong shelf life).

Eat Well and Live Well!
Namaste,
Sacred Harvest