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MORE GOOD NEWS FOR THE MEDITERRANEAN DIET – HOW TO EAT BRUSSEL SPROUTS

December 5, 2014 7 Comments

brussel-sprout-salad

How comforting to think about the Mediterranean Diet as we head towards the shortest and darkest day of the year!  Wine, sun shine, peaches … Sounds good, right?  Yes, I know Brussel sprouts don’t have quite the glamour but bear with me because the big nutritional news this week has been another study endorsing the Mediterranean Diet.  We’ve written about the Diet’s correlation with reducing Alzheimers and Dementia before, but this week’s large-scale study, from the Harvard Medical School, goes a step further by linking the Mediterranean Diet to a more general reversal of ageing, in all its guises.

And what’s important, according to this study, is the diet as a whole.  It’s all about the combination of fruit, vegetables, nuts, legumes, fish, unrefined grains and healthy fats (olive, avocado, coconut oil) – and how these food groups work together.  Any one of these, on its own, won’t help.

The Mediterranean Diet, according to this new study, can directly extend lifespan because it slows the damage to chromosomes. I’m going to get a little technical now: at the end of a chromosome is a telomere, a DNA sequence that protects the chromosome, much like the plastic tip of a shoelace stops a lace fraying.  Telomeres halve during the progress from infant to adult. They halve again during the onset of old age.  Shortened telomeres are associated with ageing and age-related chronic disease (cancer, heart disease, diabetes etc) so, ideally, we want our telomeres to be as long and robust as possible. Our genes play a role (read our earlier post on genes and ageing here) but the rest is up to us. Obesity and sugar-sweetened drinks have already been linked to shortened telomeres, so those are two things we can tackle immediately – along with adopting a Mediterranean Diet.  Incidentally, the term appears to have little to do with the Med – we spent a week in Spain at half term and barely saw a vegetable!

This is the season for Brussel sprouts.  Not a vegetable we think of as Mediterranean but one that scores extremely highly on the nutrient-per-bite chart, will add to your microbiota (read more here) and is cheap as chips. I like to thinly slice raw Brussel sprouts and mix them with nuts, seeds, other greens and some festive-looking red fruits (cranberries and pomegranate seeds) to make a thoroughly Mediterranean-Diet-type meal with a Christmas twist …

BRUSSEL SPROUT SALAD (serves 2)

  • 12 brussel sprouts
  • 1 heaped tbsp. pomegranate seeds
  • 1 heaped tbsp. dried cranberries
  • 1 heaped tbsp. sunflower seeds
  • 1 heaped tbsp. shelled walnuts

For the dressing:

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1 tsp grainy mustard
  • 2 tsps lemon juice

Thinly slice the Brussel sprouts.  Add any other thinly sliced green veg (I often use kale or celery but use whatever you have lying around).

Dry toast the seeds and nuts until slightly darker (a couple of minutes).

Put the cranberries, pomegranate seeds and toasted nuts/seeds on top of the greens, pour over the dressing and serve.  Add some crumbled feta cheese if you fancy it…

Who says Brussel sprouts can only be served soggy with turkey?

Annabel

  • Meal Types: Dinner, Soups and Salads
  • Conditions: Brain and Dementia, Cancer, Diabetes, Gut, Heart, Heart disease, Strokes
  • Ingredients: Brussel sprouts, pomegranates, walnuts
« CARING, TURMERIC AND A RECIPE FOR SALMON PILAFF
CHRISTMAS, CALORIES AND ‘HEALTHY’ CAKE! »

Comments

  1. Annabel Boys says

    December 6, 2014 at 8:50 am

    Really enjoying your blog posts (since finding you through Jo at Calia web) – would love it if you could add a sharing button so its easier to share quickly to FB, Twitter etc? Thank you!!!

    Reply
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    February 21, 2016 at 4:59 am

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    Reply
    • Annabel Abbs says

      February 27, 2016 at 3:21 pm

      Thanks for your comment and glad you found us!

      Reply
  3. Susie says

    October 22, 2021 at 3:02 pm

    The Mediterranean diet can be translated to darkest Yorkshire and still be the bomb. It’s about fresh food, simple. It doesn’t matter if your local crops are peaches and tomatoes or apples and carrots. Just don’t eat them from a factory.

    Reply
    • Annabel Streets says

      October 22, 2021 at 4:08 pm

      Indeed! Fresh and local always best…

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. WILL CARBOHYDRATES KILL ME? WHOLEGRAINS AND MILLET PANCAKES says:
    January 23, 2015 at 9:47 am

    […] part of many of the world’s healthiest diets, including the Mediterranean (read our post on it here) they wanted to investigate health benefits whole grains bring in their own right, setting out to […]

    Reply
  2. MEAT-FREE WEEK AND THE BEST VEGAN BLACK BEAN CHILLI - Kale & Cocoa says:
    March 22, 2015 at 2:47 pm

    […] an interesting book. The health benefits of the Mediterranean Diet are well known (our posts on it here and here) but this book seeks to veganise the Diet and argues that its success as a healthy way of […]

    Reply

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Everything we’ve learnt about ageing well points Everything we’ve learnt about ageing well points to a time (for women at least) in their mid-60s when the chronic conditions of ageing, like diabetes, heart disease and dementia, are - statistically - more likely to kick in. 

And we know that our reproductive hormones do so much more than prepare us to have periods and babies, we have receptors for them throughout our bodies and brains. 

Oestrogen, in particular, helps keep bones strong, blood vessels flexible, brains firing and inflammation levels low. Essentially, it wraps us up in a cosy protective cloak to keep us safe and healthy while we're able to reproduce, but once the eggs have run out - we're on our own! 

Between the average age of menopause at 51, and that time in our 60s when the chronic conditions of ageing are more likely to kick in, we have a decade or so in which it’s vital to focus on our health.

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If you’re lucky enough to have good metabolic he If you’re lucky enough to have good metabolic health you might want to thank your Mum today. Recent studies have found that women who move around during their reproductive years and during pregnancy and then breastfeed for a bit pass on a compound in their milk called 3SL which provides lifelong protection against poor metabolic health. The offspring of moving, breastfeeding Mums appear to have a lower lifetime risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and other chronic metabolic disease. Even gentle strolling during pregnancy and while nursing can produce this compound. So today we thank our Mums for that - as well as everything else.  Susan’s mum in the hat. Annabel’s mum in the pony tail. 

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A big hug from us to you to mark International Wom A big hug from us to you to mark International Women’s Day! 

The campaign this year reminds us to embrace equity as a way to recognise that each of us has different circumstances, and we need different resources and opportunities to reach an equal outcome. Of course, this is as vital in ageing and health outcomes as in every other field.  

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If you’re a backwards walker, let us know in comments below! 

If you’re planning to start, save this post for when you’re ready for some reverse walking 

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