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THE POWER OF VITAMIN D – HEALTHY CHRISTMAS CANAPES

December 19, 2014 6 Comments

seanuts

With the darkest day almost upon us, it seems fitting to end the year with a few words on the sunshine vitamin – Vitamin D. A slew of new research has linked Vitamin D deficiency to obesity, dementia, prostate and colorectal cancers, fertility, multiple sclerosis, asthma, heart disease, high blood pressure, poor immunity, SAD, schizophrenia and bone aging. Research out this week links it to depression too. (http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/286496.php) . Even the British Government is worried – Vitamin D is the only vitamin to have its own Working Party.*

Last week I spent an hour with my optometrist –hearing how sunlight/Vitamin D also protects us from most age-related eye disease. And three months ago, a forty-something friend of mine fell, broke a bone and was subsequently diagnosed with osteopenia (the precursor to osteoporosis) and Vitamin D-deficiency. One in two British women over the age of 50 is now thought to be harbouring Osteoporosis, while 93% of the Canadian population is deemed Vitamin D-deficient. With most of us spending our days indoors (or slathered in sun screen), Vitamin D deficiency has, according to medics, become endemic in northern latitudes.  In a throw-back to the dark ages, more and more children are being diagnosed with rickets. So much for progress!

Vitamin D is a complex vitamin (actually it’s a steroid hormone … read the science and latest research here: www.vitamindcouncil.org).  But it’s vital for healthy ageing, enabling our bodies to repair cells, maintain immunity and absorb calcium.  And calcium is essential for good bone health.  As we hit our 30s, our bones begin to thin. After the menopause, this process accelerates.  If you don’t want to spend your latter years with successive broken bones, you need to get sun on your skin (ideally 10-15 minutes a day of midday sun on your face, neck and forearms – no sunscreen allowed – although some scientists say 15 minutes twice a week is sufficient), and Vitamin D and calcium-rich foods into your diet.

So, what should we be eating in the dark dreary months ahead?   Sadly, very few foods contain Vitamin D:  Oily fish, egg yolk, mushrooms (Portobello or Maitake contain the most) and fortified foods (such as bread and cereal where Vitamin D is added during processing).  Your bestest friend? Foods containing Vitamin D and calcium.  Tinned oily fish that include bones should be top of your shopping list right now (check out our sardine pate here).  Tinned salmon is no longer for old ladies – I always have several tins to hand, and if it’s good enough for Nigella, it’s good enough for me!  Just half a tin provides a day’s worth of Vitamin D.  I use it in fish cakes, rosti, pates, fishy burgers and spiced patties. But in preparation for the Xmas party/canapé season, today’s recipes (bursting with Vit D and calcium) can be whipped up when guests appear, you’ve run out of smoked salmon, you need something to accompany that glass of bubbly – and you’ve forgotten what a ray of sunshine feels like.

Before you relax and tuck in, however, it’s not all about diet or lying in the sun (although a sunny holiday will give you enough Vitamin D to last three months – so book a Winter holiday if you can).  Weight-bearing exercise encourages the body to lay down bone-building material and one of the best weight-bearing exercises you can do, say scientists, is running (aerobics,  yoga, dancing, tennis and resistance training are good too).  In the winter months, running is probably the only outdoor activity where you’ll warm up enough to expose your skin to the winter sun, getting Vitamin D to boot (yes, a small amount of Vitamin D can be obtained even on a cloudy day).  I’m a big fan of ‘Park Run’.  So if you find it hard to take yourself off for a run, check out http://www.parkrun.org.uk.  It’s free, there’s one near you, take your dogs, kids, mum, and jog with a crowd … You’ll be thanking me later!

Incidentally, excessive meat, cheese, salt, alcohol, tea, coffee and fizzy drinks are not your friends – they deplete calcium levels, as does drastic weight loss (more on dieting next month).  Another reason to forego the cheese and port – and stoke up with our healthy-ageing Kale & Cocoa canapes instead…

PS I’m not a huge fan of supplements, but Vitamin D is an exception. While researching this post, I discovered that American scientists and neurologists working on Vitamin D take daily 4000 iu supplements (100 mg) and make their families do the same.  Do they know something we don’t?

RECIPES: SEANUTS …. AND SALMON & DILL PATE

SEANUTS

This combination of almonds and tinned sardines gives a hefty shot of Vitamin D and calcium without a glimmer of dairy.  They taste like the Asian snack, ikan bilis, and come from Australian chef, Lee Holmes’ wonderful new cook book, ‘Supercharged Food’.

  • 150 g almonds
  • 1 tin sardines
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • ½ tsp sea salt
  • 1 tsp honey or agave
  • 1 tbsp lime zest

Mash the sardines and mince the garlic, then mix everything together, lay out on a baking tray and bake for 25 minutes at 200 c. Stir after 15 minutes.  Serve with extra lime zest and a squirt of lime juice. And a glass of bubbly – of course!

SALMON PATE

salmon-pate

  • 1 x 213g can of wild salmon (not the boneless, skinless variety, and not farmed if possible. And no, it won’t look pretty when you open the tin, but when mushed up the skin and bones disappear entirely).
  • 100 g cream cheese
  • 1 tbsp fresh dill
  • ½ tsp horseradish
  • Zest and juice of a lemon
  • ½ tsp sea salt and plenty of black pepper

Put everything in the food processor and blend for a few seconds.  Garnish with extra lemon zest and fronds of dill.  Serve with crackers (I like Finn Crisp), wholemeal pitta crisps or squares of wholemeal toast – or whatever you like to dip with.

TOP TIP: keep a few lemons and limes in your freezer (nothing worse than zesting with a flaccid lemon!).  They zest beautifully from frozen. Then microwave for one minute and juice.

*The UK Government’s Vitamin D Working Party is part of the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN), due to report back on recommended levels of Vit D imminently. There’s currently no UK RDA for Vitamin D, except for vulnerable people (unlike Canada, the US, Italy and many other countries which have an average RDA of 600 IU). Watch this space!

Annabel

  • Meal Types: Treats and Snacks
  • Conditions: Ageing, Bones, Brain and Dementia, Cancer, Diabetes, Eyes, Heart, High blood pressure, Immunity
  • Ingredients: Almonds, Salmon, Sardines
« CHRISTMAS, CALORIES AND ‘HEALTHY’ CAKE!
HEALTHY AGEING RESOLUTIONS – KALE & BLACK SESAME RICE BOWL »

Comments

  1. Tania says

    December 19, 2014 at 12:27 pm

    Yum! Guess what I’m serving at New Year now!?!

    Reply
  2. Annabel Abbs says

    January 6, 2015 at 2:40 pm

    We’ve eaten the salmon pate almost every day over Xmas – as have all our guests! The kids love it. You can miss out the dill – and then it’s almost entirely from the store cupboard! Delicious – if i say so myself!

    Reply
  3. Spray Vitamins says

    January 29, 2015 at 7:13 am

    The recipes seems to be very tasty and nutritious as well. I will definitely try these. Tempted by the previous comments.

    Reply
    • Annabel Abbs says

      January 29, 2015 at 3:43 pm

      Thanks Spray Vits! We hope you enjoy them as much as we and our families do. You can miss out the dill from the salmon pate if you don’t have any. Good luck!

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. GET FAT TO BEAT DEMENTIA, REALLY? VITAMIN E AND A CRUMBLE RECIPE - Kale & Cocoa says:
    April 17, 2015 at 7:39 am

    […] E – which may have a protective effect against dementia. We’ve posted on the power of Vitamin D here and here but the link to Vitamin E is new to […]

    Reply
  2. BOOSTING BONE STRENGTH AND THE SIMPLEST FISH PIE - Kale & Cocoa says:
    September 12, 2015 at 8:21 pm

    […] D!).  It also completely contradicts a lot of other research – you can read our post on that here.  Both Annabel and I take a Vitamin D supplement and this new research won’t change our minds […]

    Reply

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Welcome to The Age-Well Project

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Susan was lucky enough to spend a day at the olive Susan was lucky enough to spend a day at the olive harvest at Bidni Extra Virgin Olive Oil @bidni_evoo in Malta in late September. Fresh from the press, the oil was pretty peppery! That’s the polyphenols at work.

Polyphenol levels in olive oil also play a vital role in its brain boosting properties. They help reduce neuroinflammation and slow cognitive decline.

A study presented at a conference this summer by Harvard School of Public Health looked at the cognition of more than 90,000 people over 30 years. It found that those who consumed half a tablespoon of olive oil each day, as opposed to mayonnaise or margarine, had a 28%  lower risk of dying from dementia. Interestingly, this research found that the brain benefits of olive oil held up, regardless of the quality of the rest of the participants’ diet. So even those who didn’t adhere to other guidelines of the Mediterranean diet still got the benefits from the oil.

There’s more on the blog - link in bio

#womenover50 #over50andfit #womenover60 #postmenopause #postmenopausalwomen #postmenopausalhealth 
#brainhealth #alzheimers #reducedementiarisk #cognitivehealth  #agewell #longevity #ageingwell #agingwell #longevity #EVOO
Two new pieces of research you need to know about Two new pieces of research you need to know about if you want to age well: 

1️⃣ the kynurenine pathway. It’s complicated but high levels of it don’t bode well for ageing well. Several studies have found that older people, those who’ve had hip fractures, the frail, as well as the depressed have higher circulating levels of kynurenine.  Indeed the more kynurenine in your blood, the greater your chances of dying sooner rather than later. High levels of kynurenine also seem to be associated with low levels of melatonin and serotonin – meaning both poorer sleep and a greater risk of depression.

New research has identified a very simple way of blocking the accumulation of kynurenine (and its toxic by-products) in our blood and tissues: regular, heart-beat-raising movement.

2️⃣ Platelet Factor 4 (PF4). This compound appears to keep our brains and memories sharp. And it too is released when we move. Discovered by a team from the University of Queensland Brain Institute, PF4 is a protein secreted by the tiny blood cells that prevent blood clotting (known as platelets). This protein rejuvenates brain cells (neurons) in ageing mice, and researchers now think it may be the reason that exercise  and movement amplify the production of new neurons in the brain.

Want more info? It’s on the blog - link in bio 

#womenover50 #over50andfit #womenover60 #postmenopause #postmenopausalwomen #postmenopausalhealth 
#brainhealth #alzheimers #reducedementiarisk #cognitivehealth  #agewell #longevity #ageingwell #agingwell #longevity
In today’s Observer: Check out our top tips for In today’s Observer: Check out our top tips for caring for ourselves and our parents. Take a multi vit for 50+, persevere with technology and/or try something new every day, walk daily, stay social, consume sufficient protein, supplement with vits D and B12… 

#agewell #healthyaging
Autumn giveaway! 🍂 We’ve got a bundle of two Autumn giveaway! 🍂

We’ve got a bundle of two books to give away here on Insta - one copy of The Age-Well Project and one of 52 Ways to Walk. 

To win, simply leave a comment below letting us know your favorite landscape for autumn and winter walks. Do you like hills, mountains, flatlands, canals, rivers, coastlines, cities, cemeteries, your local park, moorland...? Just a few words to tell us where you’d most like to be walking in the next few months to help you age well. 

The competition closes at midnight BST on 18 October and a winner will be selected at random.

And in case you’re wondering why Annabel’s interested in your favourite landscape, it’s because she’s writing a new book about the places we choose to walk in and how they affect us. So she’d love to get a rough idea of the best-loved locations… all in confidence, of course.

Good luck!

#womenover50 #over50andfit #womenover60 #postmenopause #postmenopausalwomen #postmenopausalhealth 
#brainhealth #alzheimers #reducedementiarisk #cognitivehealth  #agewell #longevity #ageingwell #agingwell #giveaway #womenwhohike #womenwhowalk
Look, we know not many people have round-the-clock Look, we know not many people have round-the-clock access to a sauna. But Susan found one in a hotel she was staying at recently, there’s one in our local gym and Annabel found plenty on her summer holiday in Finland. 

A growing number of studies attest to the longevity-enhancing benefits of routine forays into a sauna. Much of the research has been instigated in Finland where sauna (pronounced to rhyme with downer) has existed forever.

So how does sauna help us age well? The extreme heat activates heat shock proteins which researchers think can maintain the healthy functioning of our cells.  As we get older, the proteins in some of our cells start to misfold and collapse. They then clump together forming plaques, including the plaques thought to cause Alzheimer’s and dementia.

Heat shock proteins – triggered by a sauna stint and possibly by hot baths – appear to prevent the misfolding and collapsing of cellular proteins, as well as clearing out those that have already misfolded. Which is to say they keep our cells in good shape. 

There’s more on the blog - link in bio 

#womenover50 #over50andfit #womenover60 #postmenopause #postmenopausalwomen #postmenopausalhealth 
#brainhealth #alzheimers #reducedementiarisk #cognitivehealth #betterbrainhealth #brainfog  #agewell #longevity #ageingwell #agingwell
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