Eating well to age well (our Kale and Cocoa mantra) isn’t about the odd sprinkle of chia seeds and goji berries (although we love them both) – it’s about making real change to how we eat: whacking up the amount of vegetables and fruit, reducing processed, refined foods and focussing on foods that do us…
WHY WE SHOULD ALL BE EATING MORE WATERMELON – WATERMELON SALAD WITH FETA AND PUMPKIN SEEDS
The biggest blockbuster research in recent weeks was Cambridge University’s study into lycopene, a carotenoid (that’s a natural pigment made by plants) and powerful anti-oxidant. The latest in a string of studies and reports showing the benefits of lycopene, this one found that lycopene-rich diets can improve cardio-vascular and heart health. Previous studies have suggested…
BEER, BARBECUES AND RECIPE FOR BBQ’D FISH TACOS
The smell of barbecues lingers in the air every evening, so we were depressed to read that barbecuing meat can produce chemicals with cancer-causing properties. Arghhh! There are two ways these nasties can ruin your Barbie: 1) Cooking meat at high temperatures (on the BBQ or not ) can create compounds – heterocyclic amines –…
Can you live without a bacon sarnie? And a recipe for stuffed vegetables
“New health fears over processed red meat” is not a headline that any bacon sarnie lover wants to see. But a study published in the American Heart Association journal called (and get this for a chirpy title) ‘Circulation: Heart Failure’ indicates that those eating over 75g of processed meat a day (about 3 rashers of…
PRO-AGEING RED BEANS – SPICED KIDNEY BEAN DIP WITH SMOKED PAPRIKA CRISPS AND CHERRY TOMATOES
This week’s big break-through has been the lycopene study, proving that lycopene really does protect against heart disease and strokes. We’ll be telling you more about lovely lycopene later, but you can catch up at: http://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/jun/09/tomato-extract-lycopene-relieves-damaged-arteries-cambridge-study But my favourite research? The one showing cynics faced a ‘far higher risk of Alzheimer’s’! Indeed, the Scandinavian study…
A SEASONAL SUPERFOOD THAT INHIBITS CANCER – SWEET AND SOUR CHERRY BOWL WITH KALE, ALMONDS AND GOAT’S CHEESE
There’s something of the jewel about cherries – their colour, their shape, their size, the way they shine (and yes, their price!). Nutritionally, they’re even more precious, punching way above their weight. Indeed cherries make it into the top 20 superfoods when it comes to antioxidants – and that’s just one reason they’ve been…
WHAT I EAT, WHAT I READ AND SWEET PAPRIKA SALMON FOR ALL THE FAMILY
For me, eating well means eating the foods which will reduce my chances of succumbing to dementia and other diseases which can be diet and age related, like cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer. So far, so simple. Pretty much all the experts agree that eating more veg – particularly leafy greens – is a no…
NEW RESEARCH ON DEMENTIA – AND COCONUT CHOCOLATE BRAIN BALLS FOR EXAM-SITTING TEENS
It’s National Dementia Week and two really great things have happened: 1) We’ve launched Kale and Cocoa. 2) For the first time there has been an acknowledgment from a government-funded body that lifestyle IS a factor in reducing the risk of dementia. This rather dry tweet from @PHE-uk (Public Health England) is SO important:…
THE PERFECT ANTI-AGEING SUMMER SOUP – WHY AVOCADOS RULE
The words ‘new anti-ageing superfood’ are music to our ears here at Kale & Cocoa, because that’s what we’re all about – fighting age from the inside out with good nutrition. In 2012 Professor Cortes-Rojo from the University of Michoacana de San Nicolas in Mexico pronounced avocados the ‘new anti-aging superfood,’ after his study proved…
COCONUT OIL – A VERY BIG QUESTION (AND COOKIES!)
A VERY BIG QUESTION “What if there was a cure for Alzheimer’s Disease, and no-one knew?” That’s a very big – and very loaded – question. Particularly as the cure in question is one very simple food: COCONUT OIL. The internet is awash with stories of carers who have seen remarkable improvement in their dementic…
