Sweet and Healthy Cherries

Sweet and Healthy Cherries

September 29th, 2010 by admin  |  No Comments

Cherries are such a delicious treat; it’s hard to believe they are so good for you. Their bright red color is the result of powerful antioxidants that offer a number of important health benefits, and they are also a great source of vitamins. Available in sweet and sour (or tart) varieties, cherries offer something for everyone. Whether you eat them raw or bake up a special treat, you can’t go wrong with cherries for nutrition and taste.

Although they have a short growing season, cherries freeze well, making them available year round for cooking and baking.

The Nutrition in Cherries

Anthocyanins, the pigment that makes cherries red, have recently been shown to reduce inflammation, lower the risk of heart disease and diabetes, and also fight free radicals to prevent cancer. Research into the health benefits of cherries continues to uncover new information.

Cherries are a good source of Vitamins C and K as well as dietary fiber, potassium and magnesium. They are low in fat and cholesterol, and although they contain sugars, the fiber makes up for the simple carbs with more complex carbs too.

Serving Up Cherries

The most popular method of eating cherries is fresh and uncooked. Use caution when serving them to your children, however, as they do contain pits that could present a choking hazard. Fresh sweet cherries while in season are so tasty, your kids will think you are serving up candy, and they will certainly never guess how healthy they are!

Dried cherries are a great addition to trail mix, hot cooked or cold cereal, and pancakes. They’re also a great snack all by themselves. You can also use dried cherries anywhere you might use raisins, from oatmeal cookies to scones. Dried cherries also work great as a sweet touch to dinner recipes like risotto or pasta. The sweet fresh taste of dried cherries is fabulous in tossed salads too.

Use cherries as a replacement for blueberries in your favorite recipes, like cherry muffins instead of blueberry ones. You can also use sour cherries wherever cranberries are called for. Try a delicious cherry sauce in the place of cranberry sauce with turkey or other poultry dishes, or even with pork.

Cherries make a great smoothie – mix them with yogurt all by themselves, or add other berries such as strawberries or blueberries for a more complex flavor and even more extra nutrients. Cherry juice is a great beverage as well, filled with healthy antioxidants and a quick serving of fruit.

There is no way to talk about cherries without a mention of cherry pie. While not a low-calorie choice, if you are going to have dessert, you might as well make it a choice filled with healthy and delicious fruit like cherries. Make your pie filling from scratch with fresh cherries rather than using a filling from a can, to preserve nutrients and keep control of the sugar that is added. Tart or sour cherries are the best choice for pies and other sweet baking applications, as they won’t taste overly sweet when sugar is added.

When using frozen cherries, be aware that the machines that pit the cherries sometimes miss a pit, so look them over just in case, to avoid a painful tooth or choking hazard.

With an incredible flavor and a long list of benefits for your health, there is no reason not to add cherries to your diet. Look to them as a fresh snack or a great way to make baked goods healthier.

Gestational Diabetes and Your Diet

Gestational Diabetes and Your Diet

July 28th, 2010 by admin  |  No Comments

Around the end of the second trimester, a glucose tolerance test will be performed on most pregnant women to check for signs of gestational diabetes. This form of diabetes affects only pregnant women, and while relatively rare, is serious for both mom and baby. Luckily, it is not difficult to control with the proper diet and monitoring.

The Basics of Gestational Diabetes

Having gestational diabetes does not mean there is any reason to suspect that you had diabetes prior to pregnancy, or that you will continue to have problems afterwards. Although no one is certain what exactly causes it, there is reason to believe that hormones from the placenta may cause insulin resistance. This is a condition where the action of insulin in the blood to work on glucose and turn it into energy is blocked, leaving high levels of glucose in the bloodstream. This results in hyperglycemia.

The extra glucose in your blood will cross the placenta and enter the baby’s blood. This causes the baby’s pancreas to secrete more insulin in response. High insulin levels in newborns have been linked to breathing problems and a higher likelihood of obesity later in life. Babies born to mothers with gestational diabetes are often larger than average, as they have received too much energy in the form of glucose.

How to Treat Gestational Diabetes

If you have been diagnosed with gestational diabetes, one of the first things your doctor will recommend is a major overhaul of your diet. You will require a special eating plan, and will probably be told to monitor your blood sugar levels. Although you should discuss your new meal plan with your doctor, there are some general recommendations to follow to eat right and control the symptoms of gestational diabetes.

What to Eat

Glucose levels in your blood are directly related to the foods you eat. The foods that cause the highest levels of glucose are carbohydrates, so any woman diagnosed with gestational diabetes will have to be very careful about eating the right carbs. You shouldn’t give up carbs altogether – this isn’t healthy for you or your baby. But you will need to get your carbs from the right sources.

Skip simple carbs, especially anything high in sugar. Instead, choose the complex carbs found in whole grain foods. These will break down more slowly in your body and prevent spikes in blood glucose that can be caused from fast-acting sugars and refined carbs. Be sure to balance your intake of carbs throughout the day. Avoid having a large amount at one meal; instead, spread your intake out over several meals.

Another thing to remember is that you should eat throughout the day. Don’t skip meals or snacks. Eating regularly keeps a steady level of energy and prevents urges to overeat or eat the wrong things due to hunger.

Although it may be tempting to switch to artificial sweeteners to fill the gap left by the sugar in your diet, try not to give in. Not all artificial sweeteners are safe during pregnancy, and even those generally thought to be ok simply don’t have enough research behind them to be absolutely certain of their safety.

The restrictions of a gestational diabetes diet are not always easy to follow, but remember that you are doing it for your baby’s health. Also bear in mind that it will not be forever; you only have to continue with the diet until the end of your pregnancy, at which point the gestational diabetes will be at an end.