Nutrition
Breakthroughs
Kale of the sea As a Westerner, you likely eat seaweed on just two occasions: when you’re out for sushi (and then only because rolls come wrapped in the stuff), and when there’s a gun to your head. But, news flash: seaweed’s blowing up — and you should get in on the action. The aquatic vegie is super-nutritious — full of vitamin C and iodine (good for the thyroid gland) and loaded with calcium, iron, copper, potassium, selenium and zinc. And, bonus: unlike some foods (factory-farmed beef, some prawns), it can be sustainably and ethically produced. For starters, pick up a seaweed salad at a sushi joint or grocery. (Trust us, it’s terrific — just watch your teeth; it likes to get stuck.) Or buy snacks made out of savoury, salty nori sheets (aka sushi-roll wrappers) or bacon-y dulse flakes you can sprinkle on salads, add to sandwiches or even lightly pan-fry. Check the ingredients and opt for snacks with just seaweed, oil and salt, and watch that last one — seaweed’s naturally high in sodium, so try to stay within the RDA of 2,300mg a day.
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■ Cranberry juice may boost the heart’s bloodflow and vessel function, the University Of Düsseldorf in Germany has found. Cranberry is a rich source of polyphenols, an antioxidant which improves blood circulation and kidney function. Frie that?
■ Too much fried food (burgers, chips, battered anything) ups heart disease risk by 56% — even more than takeaway pizza, Mexican or Chinese food, says a University Of Alabama study. So skip the regular KFC runs and give your ticker a rest.
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MEN’S FITNESS
Strung out? It’s not you — it’s the addictive qualities of your favourite processed foods.
APRIL 2016
■ We’ve all joked that we’re “addicted” to a food — but the joke’s really on us. Using 504 students as guinea pigs, US researchers found that processed foods like chocolate, icecream, chips, pizza and biscuits scored sky-high on the Yale Food Addiction Scale. (Addiction symptoms include loss of control over eating and the inability to stop eating despite having a strong desire or suffering negative effects.) The same foods
were closely linked to eating disorders. Lest you think food addiction isn’t really about processed foods, nuts — the first nonprocessed item to show a similar effect — came in only No. 20 on the list.
What a pear! ■ Pity the poor pear: The Forrest Gump of the fruit world, it’s always the underdog — eking out just 10th place on the mosteaten list, left behind if there’s an apple or banana in the bowl, shut out of the smoothie scene.
But pears actually kick arse, research shows. A Minnesota University study from the US found that a medium pear gives you not just ample vitamin C but also a full 24% of your daily fibre, putting the beatdown on both apples (17%) and bananas (a measly 12%).
And Horticulture Innovation Australia reports that eating one Asian pear, or drinking 200ml of the juice, before (not after!) partying can reduce next-day hangover misery by up to 21%. (Pear compounds may metabolise booze faster and cut the head-banging toxins.)
J a r r e n V i n k / F o o d s t y l i n g b y B r e t t K u r z w e i l /A r t D e p a r t m e n t ; C h o c o l a t e : W i l l i a m & S u s a n B r i n s o n
We’d sell our souls for chocolate, icecream and chips
Cranberry juices up your heart
