EXOTIC DELIGHTS FIJAN SEPERFOODS
CHEF Lance Seeto's home cooking TV series has returned to the airwaves in a timely season that promotes local superfoods to boost our health in the battle against viruses and disease.
Many years ago, I visited the Kula Wild Adventure Park at Sigatoka to film the indigenous animals and birds and to observe their diet and eating habits. The animal world provides us with a glimpse into how all living species should be eating for nutrition and sustenance, and the park is a perfect place to watch and learn. Animals, insects and birds do not crave artificial flavours, sugary or factorymade foods like humans do. They instinctively eat foods that keeps their health in optimum condition and the superfoods are a critical part of their daily diet whether it is natural proteins, fruits, leaves as well as nuts and seeds. On the Lilydale farm at Nausori, the hens enjoy eating the luscious green grass and the seeds attached to the roots. Throughout ancient time, indigenous civilizations thrived on a diet of ground, crushed and whole nuts and seeds, but that habit has largely been lost in a world of processed and sugary foods. In next week's final episode of Exotic Delights for the season, we look at why nuts and seeds are so important to the human diet, especially in this age of non-communicable disease and malnutrition.
Nuts and seeds are brimming with super nutrients and minerals that help regulate your blood glucose level. They contain a high amount of fibre which helps fill you up and keeps you fuller for a longer amount of time. Heart-healthy fats called mono- and poly-saturated fats help keep your immune system functioning properly and actually work to reduce inflammation throughout your body. Studies show that people who include nuts in their daily diet, actually tend to weigh less than their counterparts who don't eat nuts and seeds each day. Even just a handful of these each day, can help keep your weight lower and fight off obesity and type 2 diabetes. Studies conclude it's because a diet that includes seeds or nuts causes you to eat less calories as the day progresses. Inside seeds and nuts are also minerals that help regulate the functions of your immune system and your blood. Nuts and seeds contain calcium which helps you have strong bones; magnesium which helps lower your risk of heart disease; and zinc and phosphorus which help give you the strength and energy you need to conquer your day. There's also a ton of protein inside of your seeds and nuts, and proteins that provide the building blocks for your cells and life processes. You also need protein for energy. You'll also find your seeds and nuts are packed with antioxidants, vitamin E and folate, all things that aid in the proper rejuvenation of your tissues each day.
Top 10 health benefits of eating nuts and seeds
We've already touched on a few of the ways that nuts and seeds are vital to your daily life and your future longevity. Here are 10 ways your body can benefit from putting a handful into each of your meals:
1. Lower your risk of cancer
Adding nuts and seeds to an already healthy lifestyle can help reduce your cancer risk or slow the progression of some types of cancer. This is due in part to the fact that nuts and seeds are packed full of antioxidants which studies have shown help to block free radicals that cause cancer in the body. They're like little worker bees for your cells.
2. Heart-healthy fats prevent heart disease
Unlike the unhealthy fats that you find in high-calorie meat, nuts and seeds contain healthy fats. Monoand Poly-saturated fats help to reduce your cholesterol and reduce inflammation throughout your whole body. Magnesium and zinc also help to make sure your heart is healthy and functioning well.
3. Lowers the risk of obesity
Nuts and seeds help keep you fuller longer and scientists think this plays a role in keeping your weight under control by keeping your blood sugar stable. When your blood sugar is steady, you're less likely to reach for a sugary, high-calorie snack, in turn keeping your weight level stable as well.
4. Keeps blood pressure in check
Nuts and seeds are also low in sodium and calories and can help lower your blood pressure. A diet that contains too much salt can likely spike blood pressure to unhealthy levels. Both nuts and seeds are included on the DASH eating plan which helps keep blood pressure levels in a healthy range. DASH is a flexible and balanced eating plan that helps create a heart-healthy eating style for life. The DASH eating plan requires no special foods and instead provides daily and weekly nutritional goals. This plan recommends eating vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. If DASH is unfamiliar to you, just Google it.
5. Prevents diabetes
Type 2 diabetes is a huge problem not only in Fiji, but the entire world. Sadly, in the Pacific Islands, diabetes accounts for much of the NCD diseases and premature deaths. Lowering your risk for obesity, keeping your weight in check and making sure your blood sugar is stable can all reduce the risk that you'll get diabetes.
6. Gives you energy
Along with a healthy lifestyle and plenty of sleep, eating nuts and seeds can ensure you have a ton of energy. This is because they contain healthy carbohydrates, proteins and healthy fats that provide the building blocks for your body to restore and rejuvenate.
7. Contains plant stanols
Plant Stanols are naturally-occurring in nuts and seeds and help lower your cholesterol by acting like cholesterol in your digestive track and fooling your body into thinking you have enough cholesterol. The real cholesterol then just leaves your body through the digestive process without getting absorbed.
8. Provides essential n utrients
Seeds and nuts are packed with nutrients, like riboflavin, niacin, selenium, folate and vitamin E. You need these nutrients daily to live a healthy life and increase your longevity.
9. Boosts your immunity
The calcium, zinc, magnesium and folate found in nuts and seeds can help keep your immune system functioning properly. A great immune system helps to ward-off sickness and help you recover from sickness faster. 10. Gives you a healthy dose of fibre
Fibre is another issue in many Pacific Islander health issues. A regular diet of fibrous foods like raw fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds are high in fibre helps aid your digestive system in running smoothly. Both nuts and seeds help fight constipation and keep you on a regular cycle. Without this natural "brooming" of the gastrointestinal tract, dangerous food particles like processed oils, salt and sugar remain in our pipes with the potential to leak out into our blood and organs. Fibre helps to push the food we eat through the intestines to the bowels and eventually out when we go to the toilet. By leaving undigested or unnatural food inside our body for longer than necessary, it has the potential to poison us from within. If you do not visit the washroom regularly, fibrous foods like nuts and seeds are problem missing in your diet.
What nuts and seeds should you eat?
There are many seeds and nuts available that you can easily add to your diet. Each of these choices is a delicious option to get the right amount of protein and healthy fats. Most premium supermarkets now stock an extensive range of nuts and seeds. Cashews and almonds are high in omega-3 fatty acids, protein and fibre and are a low-calorie option. Walnuts have heart-healthy fats that help prevent inflammation. Brazilian nuts contain selenium, which may protect against certain types of cancers. Unsalted peanuts promote brain health. Seeds that have amazing omega-3 benefits are sunflower seeds, flax seed, chia seed, pumpkin seeds and sesame seeds. These are small but are brimming with a ton of great benefits. You'll want to watch out for tinned nuts or those sold by roadside vendors as they are usually cooked in excessive oils and tossed in processed salts which counteract the healthy properties of the nut itself.
Tips to help you get more seeds and nuts in your diet
If you're wondering how many nuts and seeds you need to make up your daily intake, there are several ways you can insure you're getting enough to prove beneficial to your body and immune system. The daily recommended intake of nuts and seeds is 3 tablespoons daily according to most international health guidelines. It doesn't take a whole lot to reap the heart benefits from nuts and seeds.
COVID-19 has given us the opportunity to learn and understand that the superfoods play such an important role in keeping our immune system in top condition to fight off bacteria and viruses. If there is one silver lining from the effects of this global pandemic it is that we have learned the importance of eating a healthy diet to stay alive for longer. Vinaka vaka levu to those who have watch this season with such vigour and interest.
Lance Seeto is the host of Exotic Delights: Fijian Superfoods, every Tuesday night at 7.45pm only on FBC-TV.