Hidden health benefits of guilty pleasures
ALL this week we have been serialising a ground-breaking new book by U.S. doctor and scientist Dr William Li, which shows how active compounds in certain foods boost the body’s five key defence systems — immunity, stem cells, gut bacteria, blood vessels and DNA protection — to help protect us against illness and disease.
And if — even in the face of all the incontrovertible evidence throughout this week’s series — you find yourself still reluctant to add a side order of anchovies, cabbage or purple sweet potato to your dinner plate, rest assured we have saved the best to last by revealing the hidden health benefits of the foods every other healthy-eating regimen might ban.
Turn the page to read some of Dr Li’s delicious recipes which contain ingredients that support all five defence systems. He also reveals the importance of our gut bacteria in protecting us from disease (see back page).
THeRe are some foods once considered to be ‘guilty pleasures’ which do have health benefits, and they definitely deserve another look.
I call these foods ‘jaw-droppers’, because their health benefits are surprising, or even astonishing.
Many of these foods are not usually associated with health, but the science now says otherwise. The benefits I will reveal will truly make your jaw drop.
MEATS
PRoCeSSeD and red meats are off the menu for all healthy-eating regimens because studies show red meat (pork, beef and lamb) tends to be packed with saturated fat that has been linked with heart disease. Worse, most burgers, sausages, and cold cuts are preserved using quantities of salt (bad for blood pressure) and other undesirable chemicals.
But two types of ham stand apart and deserve an occasional place on your menu if you eat meat: Jamon Iberico de bellota from Spain and Italian prosciutto
di Parma. These both contain some healthy fats that make them worthy of a treat.
Because Parma pigs are fed on the whey of parmesan cheese (which contains beneficial gut bacteria) and chestnuts (rich in omega-3 fatty acids), these healthy compounds make their way into the fatty streaks in the meat.
Meanwhile, Iberico pigs are fed acorns, which are also rich in omega-3 and contain the same oleic acid found in olive oil that has been shown to boost ‘good’ HDL cholesterol and lower ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol. Better still, both types of ham are air cured without artificial preservatives. But be aware they are high in sodium, and both contain unhealthy saturated fats, too.
BEER
SoMe regimens allow the odd glass of red wine because it contains healthy compounds called resveratrols, but beer and cider have always been slammed as a gassy source of unnecessary alcoholic carbohydrate.
However, new research indicates that ‘bioactives’ (compounds that have a biological effect on the body) metabolised from the hops used to make beer, float into the liquid during the fermentation process.
These compounds have been shown to have anti-cancer effects. They can also delay the growth of fat cells, plus help reduce your risk of death from heart disease.
even non-alcoholic beer contains compounds shown to stimulate stem cells that are good for healing and heart health. one German study has suggested that beer can help prevent dementia — two beers a day providing an 87 per cent reduced risk of being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.
But it is important to be a light or moderate drinker because alcohol is a brain toxin and can increase the risk of dementia at high doses — furthermore, beer does deliver extra calories your body probably doesn’t need.
CHEESE
GeNeRALLY, cheese is high in salt and saturated fats (which is why it is so often off the healthy diet menu), but some types provide vitamin K2, which helps restrict the growth of potentially harmful blood vessels (linked to certain cancers and heart disease).
Research indicates you’ll find the highest levels of vitamin K2 in Muenster, Gouda, Camembert, edam, Stilton, emmental and Jarlsberg. eating small amounts of these cheeses (up to six slices per day) is associated with a reduced risk for heart attack.
Cheese is also a great probiotic, promoting friendly bacteria in the gut because each type has its own microbiome (community of bacteria) made up of the bacteria used in its starter culture and the bacteria, moulds and yeasts that accumulate as it matures.
Parmesan contains bacteria that has been shown to fight gastroenteritis, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and even postnatal depression. Cheese made from raw milk appears to perform better in studies than cheese made from pasteurised milk.
RED WINE
We HAve long known that wine contains hundreds of bioactive compounds, the best known
being resveratrol. Numerous studies have shown that one or two small glasses per day could be good for your heart and help protect against certain cancers, but until recently, doctors didn’t know why.
Now researchers in Taiwan have found that half a glass a day for three weeks can boost stem cells and improve the health of blood vessels around the body.
The polyphenols (plant micronutrients) in wine are not well absorbed in the small intestines, which means they continue through the gut to reach the colon where they feed the gut bacteria and get converted to compounds that have beneficial antiinflammatory properties.
Not all wines are equal, however, and our research has shown that grape variety and vintage can affect a wine’s health-giving properties.
Right now we believe the most potent health-giving wines are Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.
Note, drinking more isn’t better — health benefits drop when you tip beyond two glasses a day.
SPICY FOOD
ANYONE prone to heartburn may have been warned off spicy food, but research has revealed healthpromoting properties of the active compound capsaicin, found in chili.
A study from China has shown that eating spicy food at least once a day is associated with a reduced risk of death from conditions including heart disease, stroke, infections, and cancer.
your gut bacteria also likes the heat — research shows that a chili-fed gut bacteria are better at warding off inflammation and obesity.
CHOCOLATE
Milk chocolate is mostly made up of sugar and milk, but very dark chocolate contains more cocoa solids that carry compounds found to lower your risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes, protect your DNA and improve gut bacteria.
These compounds also switch cells in your immune system from a pro-inflammatory (disease-causing) to an anti-inflammatory (health-infusing) state.
BREAD
Unlike other forms of bread, sourdough is traditionally made with a bacteria starter that studies show can improve immunity, suppress tumour development, reduce weight gain and speed up wound healing.
Although the bacteria don’t survive the high oven temperatures used in bread baking, studies show particles of dead bacteria left in the bread are able to create the same benefits as the live bacteria when consumed.
Pumpernickel is another healthy choice worth adding to your bread bin. it is traditionally made with a sourdough starter and whole rye flour, which contains bioactives that have a prebiotic effect (i.e. they feed the beneficial bacteria in the gut) and help to decrease the population of toxin-generating bacteria in your gut, resulting in an overall healthier gut and body.