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October 22, 2008

When frost is on the pumpkin

<a href="mailto:llilja17@hotmail.com">By LORRAINE LILJA</a>

Morning frost clues us that it's time to put away the flimsies and pull out the woolies. It feels as though I just finished putting winter clothes away, but if you live in the North Country, they are needed nine months of the year.

The upcoming cold and flu season becomes the reason to give some thought to what we're putting into these bods of ours.

(I think it was at the Wall Street Journal where an editor circulated a memo that read: The next time I see the word "upcoming," I shall be "downcoming," and someone will be "outgoing.")

A steaming bowl of soup or stew marks the perfect end of a frigid day, and well it should, since all the vitamins and minerals are captured within the dish.

Veggies that should make seasonal appearances are: sweet potatoes, pumpkin, squash, turnip, Swedes and parsnips. All are high in vitamins A and C, needed to build up your immune system. Garlic is valuable also, proven to have anti-viral and anti-fungal properties. (It must be consumed, not strung around your neck.)

You'll need enough protein, too. Experts say your diet should be 40-percent carbohydrate, 30-percent protein and 30-percent good fat.

Use low Glycemic Index (GI) carbohydrates as much as possible. They are found among the least-processed foods such as oats, quinoa, brown rice, adzuki, beans and lentils. (GI represents how fast your blood sugar rises after eating: sugar=100; peanuts=15, indicating that peanuts stimulate only 15 percent of the immediate insulin white sugar does.) Chronically elevated insulin weakens the immune system and the production of "super hormones."

The "good fat" or essential fatty acids are found in nuts, seeds, fish, cold pressed oils and supplements, and are needed as building blocks for the super hormones.

Calcium is available in tofu, beans and dark-green vegetables.

Because so much of today's diet is over processed, we need supplements more than our grandparents did. We need 50,000 i.u. of beta-carotene and other carotenoids daily. To get that amount from food, you'd need to eat five-and-a-half sweet potatoes or six-and-a-half carrots every day!

You'd have to eat 15 oranges to get the 1,000 mg of the vitamin C recommended daily and 19 cups of almonds for adequate vitamin E protection.

So, to stay hale and hearty, you'll want to take supplements to be sure to meet the minimum daily requirements of all vitamins and minerals. Select a good grade; this isn't the place to bargain-shop.

This nutritional advice was garnered from Jane Regan, MGPP, ITEC, LCIC, MIIRE on the Web site of Worldwide Health.com.

All of which reminds me of a song I think Morey Amsterdam sang: "Keep eatin' black strap molasses and wheat germ bread "¦ You'll live so long, you'll wish you were dead. Add some yogurt and you'll be well fed "¦ Eatin' black strap molasses and that wheat germ bread."

Lorraine Lilja is a retired Press-Republican reporter. A collection of her columns, "Lilja's World," is for sale at local bookstores. Lilja can be reached at llilja17(at)hotmail.com.

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