The Age-Well Project

Change the way you age

Get our posts direct to your inbox

  • About The Age-Well Project
  • Books
    • Our Books
    • Reviews
    • References
  • Blog
  • Recipes
    • Recipes By Ingredient
    • Breakfast
    • Dessert
    • Dinner
    • Drinks
    • Family
    • On The Go
    • Soups and Salads
    • Treats and Snacks
  • Contact
  • Events
  • Press

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

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Welcome to The Age-Well Project

Welcome to The Age-Well Project!
Here you’ll find easy changes for a longer, happier life. We’ve immersed ourselves in the science of longevity and distilled the research to make it work in our everyday lives. You can change the way you age: here’s how.

Favourite Posts

WHY I’VE THROWN OUT ALL MY BEAUTY PRODUCTS (nearly…)

Why Alzheimer’s Is A Women’s Issue

HOW HAVING A DOG CHANGED MY LIFE

GREEN SPACE IS GOOD FOR YOUR HEALTH

SUGAR, CHOCOLATE, SADNESS AND BRAIN-BOOSTING BISCUITS

WHY ‘INFLAMM-AGEING’ COULD START IN THE GUT AND HARISSA-ROASTED VEGETABLE SALAD

POLYAMINES – THE NEW SECRET WEAPON FOR AGEING WELL & MOROCCAN SPINACH AND CHICKPEAS.

THINNING AGEING HAIR – WARM CHICKEN LIVER SALAD

About The Age Well Project

This site is for anyone who wants to make the second half of their life as healthy, happy and disease-free as possible. Sign up to get the latest research on ageing – and delicious recipes to match – direct to your inbox.

Daffodils 🌼 and champagne 🥂 because 1️⃣ Daffodils 🌼 and champagne 🥂 because 1️⃣ it’s St David’s day and 2️⃣ the next Age-Well book has been delivered to our publisher! Look out for The Age-Well Plan: Six Weeks to a Longer, Healthier, Happier Life, in the Autumn. Very happy 😃here tonight!
Recipe testing for The Age-Well Plan: lentil and c Recipe testing for The Age-Well Plan: lentil and chickpea salad (pre-prepared pulses - super speedy) and quick pickled red onions. Do you think it looks good?
Happy Monday! The sun’s out here ☀️ and we h Happy Monday! The sun’s out here ☀️ and we hope you survived the storm ⛈ A day of Age-Well writing ahead today - lots to be done before the next book heads off to the publisher! #afterthestorm #aftertherain #monday #mondaymotivation #norfolk happymonday #herewego #health #healthy #wellness #agewell #fitover50 #fitoverfifty #over50 #over50andfabulous #over50fitness #over50andfit #midlife #midlifehealth #midlifeblogger #writing #authorsofinstagram #authorslife
Happy Valentine’s Day! 💕 Leaving aside the ca Happy Valentine’s Day! 💕 Leaving aside the cards and the flowers 💐 , Valentines brings many Age-Well health benefits: hugs, empathy, happiness and, of course, chocolate! There’s more on the blog, link in bio #valentines #valentinesday2020 #friday #fridayfeeling #fridayvibes #friyay #roses #flowers #flowerstagram #happy #love #hugs #health #healthy #agewell #chocolate #chocolatecake #chocolaterecipes #empathy #midlife #midlifehealth #fitover50 #over50andfit #nutrition #wellness
Fascinating and entertaining evening @how.to.acade Fascinating and entertaining evening @how.to.academy listening to author of Life Lessons From a Brain Surgeon  @drjandial discuss ‘how to rewire your brain’. The Age-Well take away? 1️⃣ skip breakfast three times a week 2️⃣ meditate and breathe deeply 3️⃣ eat lots of omega-3 fats from oily fish and plants 4️⃣ exercise a bit more 5️⃣ challenge your brain three times a week. I’ll do a detailed blog post on this soon!
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Contact Us

For any enquiries please email theagewellproject@gmail.com.

Copyright © 2021 The Age-Well Project