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Thanksgiving
Menu Stuffed With Healthy Choices
November 12, 2002
(American Chemical
Society) -- There's more than just a bountiful feast to be thankful for at Thanksgiving.
From the main course to dessert, the traditional Thanksgiving meal is stuffed with healthy
food choices, particularly those rich in disease-fighting antioxidants.
Here is a sampling
of recent research findings about the health benefits of some favorite foods featured on
many Thanksgiving menus. The highlights are gathered from recent research publications and
conferences of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific
society.
Honey-baked
meats may help fight heart disease - That honey in your honey-baked ham and turkey does more than offer sweet
taste: It may be good for your heart. In a recent study presented at the American Chemical
Society's national meeting in Boston, Nicki Engeseth, Ph.D., a chemist with the
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, reported that honey contains antioxidants
that may help protect against heart disease. Honey also helps prolong the freshness
of meat, protects against off flavors, and guards against harmful byproducts of meat
oxidation that may increase the risk of heart disease, the researcher says. The range
of antioxidants in honey is comparable to that in apples, bananas, oranges and
strawberries.
Bread crust and
stuffing contain cancer-fighting compounds - Bread crust
is a rich source of cancer-fighting antioxidants and may provide a much stronger health
benefit than the rest of the bread. This is good news for those who like to complement
their holiday meals with bread stuffing, which is rich in crust. The discovery of a
cancer-fighting compound that is concentrated in the crust was made by German chemist
Thomas Hofmann, Ph.D. The study was reported in the Journal of Agricultural and Food
Chemistry.
Cranberries rank
number one in antioxidants - Cranberry lovers can give
heartfelt thanks to their favorite fruit. An antioxidant comparison of some of the most
common fruits found that the little red berry - in its pure form - contained the highest
quantity of disease-fighting phenols, a type of antioxidant that is thought
to reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as cancer, stroke and heart disease.
The study is the most comprehensive to date of the quantity and quality of antioxidants in
fruits, says chemist Joe Vinson, Ph.D., of the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania. The
study was reported in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
Canned corn is a
disease-fighter - Canned
corn may be healthier for you than corn on the cob, according to a study by Cornell
University scientists. The researchers say that heat processing of sweet corn
significantly raises the level of naturally occurring compounds that help fight disease,
including cancer and heart disease. The study was reported by Rui Hai Liu, M.D., Ph.D., in
the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
Eat your greens:
They're good for the eyes - If you've never had collard
greens, considered a Southern delicacy, then you might want to try them. Collards are
a rich source of lutein - an antioxidant that studies show may reduce the
risk of age-related macular degeneration, a common cause of blindness. The finding
that lutein is present in greens is based in part on research by University of
Maryland chemist Frederick Khachik, Ph.D., whose work was described in the Journal
of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. The disease-fighting antioxidants are also found
in abundance in other dark-green, leafy vegetables, including kale and spinach.
Heavy on the herbs, please -
Herbs can do more for your holiday meal than simply spicing it up. Researchers with the
U.S. Department of Agriculture have found that herbs, in addition to making food tastier,
are an abundant source of antioxidants and could provide potential cancer-fighting
benefits when incorporated into a balanced diet. Of 39 herbs tested, oregano had the
highest antioxidant activity. Dill, thyme and rosemary also had
significant activity. The study was reported by USDA biochemist Shiow Y. Wang, Ph.D.,
in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
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