Even though the harvest last for 4 months, there are peaks in the season. The California cherries peak at the end of May/beginning of June. The Washington cherries peak in early July.

Cherries contain vitamin C, carotenoids, and anthocyanins – cancer fighting  compounds.

I love this delicious smoothie recipe.

I always recommend organic.

Why, because conventionally grown cherries  don’t have the nutrients in them that organic cherries have. Also, cherries are on EWG’s Dirty Dozen List of produce that is the most contaminated with pesticides. They get their data from the USDA Pesticide Data Program, which tests for pesticide residues on washed produce.

Conventional cherries have been shown to carry residues from up to 42 different pesticides, some of which are known carcinogens, suspected hormone disruptors, neurotoxins, and bee toxins. Both sweet and tart cherries supply these antioxidant substances, though tart cherries contain more. (Tart cherries can also contribute to better sleep.) The antioxidants in cherry juice and dried cherries (both unsweetened and sweetened) are similar to fresh cherries. Frozen cherries’ antioxidant content is somewhat lower. If you can’t find fresh organic cherries where you are, the frozen ones work great too!

Super Cherry Smoothie

Ingredients

• 1-cup fresh berries (blackberries, blueberries, etc.)
• 1 cup pitted, fresh cherries
• ½ cup coconut or hemp, unsweetened, vanilla milk (add more as needed)
• 2 cups baby greens (spinach, Kale, romaine are all great)
• ¼ cup sprouted, pumpkin seeds

Instructions

1. Place all of the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

Serves one or two.

Join me, it’s delicious!

Leave a comment! Let me know what you think about this information and recipe!

Copyright@nancyaddison2015

The post Cancer Fighting – Cherry Smoothie Recipe appeared first on Organic Healthy Life - Nancy Addison - Nutrition.

Researchers found the women who ate a third of an ounce of fresh mushrooms every day had lowered their risk of developing a tumor by 64%.

Dried mushrooms didn’t have quite the same benefit, but still reduced the risk “by around half.”

The study also found that the women who regularly drank green tea, combined with their daily serving of fresh mushrooms, reduced their risk by 90%.

When reporting this study in 2009, The Telegraph went on to say that animal tests show mushrooms have “anti-tumor properties and can stimulate the immune system’s defenses.” Mushrooms might accomplish this by blocking “the body’s production of the hormone oestrogen, which can encourage the development of cancer.”

As the author of How to Be a Healthy Vegetarian, I promote a plant-based diet. A vegetarian diet “provides a variety of cancer-protective dietary factors,” according to a study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. A vegetarian diet reduces obesity.

This study’s author notes that obesity increases cancer risk, and that because the Body Mass Index (BMI) “of vegans is considerably lower than that of non-vegetarians,” a plant-based diet “may be an important protective factor for lowering cancer risk.”

Mushrooms are low in calories and are 80–90% water, which makes them a great substitute for meat when you want to cut calories.

Mushrooms have been studied extensively for their health benefits because they have been found to aid the immune system. These dense, smooth, earthy fungi grow in thousands of varieties, and most of them are rich in potassium, selenium, copper, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, and B-complex vitamins. One medium Portobello mushroom has more potassium than a small banana.

Five medium cremini mushrooms have more selenium than a large egg or three ounces of lean beef. Plus, the copper in mushrooms helps you make red blood cells, which carry oxygen throughout your body.

Mushrooms are an excellent source of the antioxidants known as polyphenols, selenium, and ergothioneine. Ergothioneine is a master antioxidant, an amino acid containing sulfur. Sulfur is an extremely important nutrient, yet it is often overlooked.

There are many varieties of mushrooms, thousands of which are poisonous, so do not pick them in the wild. Always buy them from a reliable and reputable supplier. Look for mushrooms that are smooth, clean, and fresh in appearance.

To clean them, use a soft mushroom brush or wet paper towel to remove any parts that look dirty or mushy. You can rinse them, but do not soak them.

Keep them refrigerated in the original container until you’re ready to use them. They can keep up to a week in the refrigerator in a porous paper bag, but never put mushrooms in an airtight container and never freeze them.

Always trim the end of the stem before you use mushrooms. If the stems are too tough, just use the caps.

Adding mushrooms to dishes is easy. Thinly slice them for salads, pasta dishes, and sandwiches—or serve them as a side dish.

Grilling them is always great, and mushrooms make a tasty and healthy alternative to a burger. I love to sauté them with onions and butter to bring out the rich flavor of savory mushrooms.

Each mushroom has a different flavor, so experiment by trying different varieties.

For some easy, recipes, you may like my How To Be A Healthy Vegetarian, 2nd edition cookbook. It’s a great place to start for delicious vegetarian food and nutritional advice!

The post Diet May Cut Cancer Risk By Two-Thirds Just By Eating Mushrooms! appeared first on Organic Healthy Life - Nancy Addison - Nutrition.

Why are avocados so healthy for us?

First of all, they contain monounsaturated fat, which is a “good fat.” According to the Harvard School of Public Health, “Unsaturated fats are called good fats because they can improve blood cholesterol levels, ease inflammation, stabilize heart rhythms, and play a number of other beneficial roles.” (1)

Back when the food and nutrition industry started to promote that fat was bad, they said it caused weight gain and heart disease. They started promoting low fat foods. When they did this, people started getting really fat, and Alzheimer’s skyrocketed.

According to Harvard, in the 1960s, fats and oils supplied Americans with about 45 percent of calories; about 13 percent of adults were obese, and under 1 percent had type 2 diabetes, a serious weight-related condition.

Today, those numbers have more than doubled, Americans take in less fat, getting about 33 percent of calories from fats and oils; yet 34 percent of adults are obese, and 11 percent have diabetes, most with type 2 diabetes. (2)

Fat is critical to our brain health, our energy levels, and our well-being. It also makes our food taste savory. When food companies started taking the savory flavor of natural fat out of food, they had to make it taste good somehow. So, they started adding sugar and refined salt. Sugar and refined salt can harm the body even more than the normal fat levels would.

Also, our body craves those good fats to function properly and give us energy. The bad fats are trans fats, meaning fats that have been changed in their molecular form, and saturated animal fats.

The good fats are monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, which “do just the opposite of the bad trans fats. They are good for the heart and most other parts of the body.” (3)

Avocados provide good, unsaturated fats, but they also give us so much more. Avocados are a nutritional powerhouse providing many health benefits.

Avocados provide protein, approximately four grams per fruit. They are very low in sugar. Avocados are an excellent source of potassium, and they are rich in vitamins K, B, C, and E.

One avocado has approximately 11 grams of fiber, which is almost half of the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) recommended by the FDA.

Studies conducted using people with metabolic syndrome (which is named for a group of people at risk for diabetes, stroke and coronary heart disease), published in The Nutrition Journal, showed that after a week of following the avocado-enriched diet, the patients experienced a 22 percent decrease in bad cholesterol and triglyceride levels and an 11 percent increase in good cholesterol.(4)

The researchers concluded that “avocado consumption is associated with improved overall diet quality, nutrient intake, and reduced risk of metabolic syndrome.”(5)

If that isn’t enough to make you a fan of avocados, they are also high Avocatin B. Avocatin B is reported to help prevent the development of certain cancers.

According to Prof. Paul Spagnuolo, of the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, in the journal Cancer Research. “Using a high-throughput cell-based screen to assess the effects of avocati B on human leukemia stem cells, the researchers found the compound selectively targets and destroys them while leaving healthy blood cells unscathed. Not only does avocatin B eliminate the source of AML (Acute myeloid Leukemia), but its targeted, selective effects make it less toxic to the body, too,” Prof. Spagnuolo explains. (6)

In conclusion, healthy fat, like the fat in avocados, is essential for every cell in our body. It can support our brain, boost our immune system, increase our nutrient absorption and create a glowing complexion. So, if you want to have optimum health, eat an avocado once in a while and know you are providing essential nutrients the body needs.

Notes:
1, 2, 3, 4: Harvard School of Public Health. Fats and cholesterol: Out with the bad, in with the good. The Nutrition Source. Retrieved from http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/fats-full-story/
5: Nordqvist, Joseph. (February 11, 2015). What are the health benefits of avocados? Medical News Today. Retrieved from http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/270406.php
6: Targeting mitochondria with avocatin B induces selective leukemia cell death, Paul Spagnuolo et al., Cancer Research, doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-14-2676, published online 15 June 2015, abstract. University of Waterloo news release, accessed 16 June 2015.

    Photo above is from an article in Dallas Morning News,

Arts  & Life Section, April 5, 2016

“Smart Foods, Wise Moves” by Leslie Barker,

      quoting Nancy Addison concerning healthy fats.

Recipe

Avocado-Sprout Sandwich

This is a yummy sandwich I have enjoyed since I was a teenager. I grew up eating sprouts and butter sandwiches. Now I add avocado instead of the butter.If you won’t be eating the sandwich right away, stop the avocado from turning dark by wrapping the sandwich tightly to keep out the air, or mash the avocado with a little lemon juice. You may want to put it in the refrigerator until you are ready to eat it.

Ingredients:

1 avocado, peeled, pitted and sliced

2 slices soft, whole, sprouted-grain bread of choice

unrefined sea salt

½–1 c. sprouts of choice (alfalfa, broccoli, etc.) 

Directions:

1. Mash avocado.
2. Toast bread if desired.
   
3. Spread some avocado on each slice of bread.
4. Sprinkle with sea salt.
5. Heap sprouts on top of avocado.
6. Cover with the other piece of bread.

Remember, the main ingredient
is always love!

Check out my books on Amzon!

My book,

“How To Be A Healthy Vegetarian” 2nd edition is the

Winner for “Best Diet And Nutrition Book of the Year!” by

The Beverly Hills Book Awards, 2017

Order your copy today!

Please leave a comment and join the conversation!

I love to hear what you think! copyright@nancyaddison2015

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