TOMATO, "RED GOLD" AGAINST CHOLESTEROL AND OBESITY

The tomato is a vegetable native to the area of ​​South America, came to Europe in 1540 thanks to Hernan Cortes, arriving in Italy in 1596 and became from then on a must of Italian cuisine. Deep red color and the heady scent deserves for the title of "red gold", the French pomme d'amour the appeal and also in certain area of ​​Sicily has been used to call "Puma d'Amuri".

It is said that after its introduction in Europe Sir Walter Raleigh was donated to the Queen Elizabeth a plant rich of its delicious red fruits, naming it as apples of love (love apple). The tomato so it would be recognized around the world for its beneficial properties, it is rich in vitamins, mineral salts, and which certainly will please many, contain few calories. It is a light food, mineralizing, refreshing, high-density nutrition containing water (94%); Proteins (not exceeding 1%); Fat (0.2%); Carbohydrates (2.8%) and consisted largely of fructose and glucose.

This prodigious vegetable has recently been the subject of study for researchers of the China Medical University in Taiwan, aimed at identifying the effects of tomato on chronic inflammation of the adipose tissue, something which is common in obesity.

The experiment was attended by 30 women aged between 20 and 30 years with a body mass index greater than or equal to 20. The participants were followed for two months their usual diet to which, however, has been added to the juice tomato, specifically 280 ml per day containing 32.5 mg of lycopene, a substance belonging to the family of carotenoids with strong antioxidant properties.

The results recorded by researchers in Taiwan were really interesting, it is in fact a double phenomenon occurred, on the one hand the decrease of 22% of the markers of inflammation of the adipose tissue and on the other hand an increase of 25% of a hormone that regulates insulin sensitivity, adiponectin. Based on this evidence it can be said that daily consumption of tomato juice would help to reduce waist circumference, decrease cholesterol levels and those of inflammatory adipokines in young healthy women, these valid reasons to include in our daily eating habits a tasty and beneficial tomato juice.

And why not, maybe a "Virgin Mary":

Ingredients

- 12 cl of tomato juice

- 2 cl lemon juice

- 2 drops of Worchester sauce

- 4 drops of Tabasco

- 1 lime

- Lemon zest

- Salt q.s.

Preparation

Put in lowball the lime slices and ice cubes; add the tomato juice, lemon, Tabasco and Worcester sauce; add salt, stir and garnish with lemon zest.

Enjoy your meal!

Andrea Busalacchi

GINSENG AND FLU. THE MUFFINS ARE A "SWEET" MEDICINE

Also this year the flu has hit many people, it is estimated that every year in the world there are 3 to 5 million cases per year and about 250,000 to 500,000 deaths according to the World Health Organization.

Although the winter is almost over, the phenomenon of the influence seems to persist even in the spring, probably due to continuous temperature changes to which we are subjected, that weakening our immune system, making us more vulnerable.

I have published numerous articles have highlighted the importance of proper nutrition and when necessary, of a functional nutritional supplementation to strengthen our immune system; remember vitamin D, probiotics, garlic, a diet rich in antioxidants, for example...

To this list must now be added also the Ginseng, or rather the Korean Red Panax ginseng, as the University of Georgia (USA), an interesting study has shown an interesting effect protective of the influenza type A. Specifically animals who was given the extract of ginseng, they showed a result of infection with influenza A, an interesting modification of the immune system, which was more active against the virus. Following this interesting result, it has started the test on human lung tissues, showing also in this case an increased cell survival after exposure to the virus.

Ginseng may therefore show an interesting weapon in the prevention of viral respiratory diseases, which could be taken not only by nutritional supplementation, but also with some interesting recipes, like the "muffin Ginseng"

Ingredients

100g ground almonds

1 teaspoon instant coffee

2 teaspoons of powdered ginseng

200 grams of flour or gluten free flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

120 g butter or 80 grams of corn oil

130 grams of brown sugar

2 eggs

125 ml of cow's milk or soy milk

1 pinch of salt

80 grams of dark chocolate 80%

Preparation

Mix in a bowl the dry ingredients: almonds, coffee, ginseng, flour, baking powder and salt. Mount with the planetary butter with sugar and add the eggs to the wire: then add this mixture to the flour alternately with the milk.

Continue stirring until you get a smooth mixture. Portioning the mixture into cups by pushing in a small square of chocolate.

Bake for 20 minutes at 180 ° in ventilated mode: before serving let cool the muffins.

Bon appetit!

MAGNESIUM TO FIGHT DIABETES, CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE AND FATTY LIVER

The health of our body, as we all know, is closely related to good eating habits and therefore the presence or absence of various kinds of substances necessary for its proper functioning and to prevent the onset of diseases of varying severity.

Among the beneficial substances for our body a prominent place goes to magnesium, this substance present in whole grains like bran, in leafy vegetables such as broccoli, turnips, cauliflower, but also in fruit such as oranges, grapes, cherries, pineapple and more.

Magnesium is a mineral essential for our body as it plays a key role in nerve conduction, its alteration could therefore give rise to problems such as impaired muscle function, cramps, insomnia, arrhythmia, depression and neurological diseases of varying degrees. To maintain adequate levels of magnesium is necessary to avoid certain behaviors "wrong" as, to name one, excessive consumption of refined sugars.

The importance of magnesium in the psychological well-being, has been confirmed by scientists at Indiana University who conducted a meta-analysis of six previous studies concerning "Magnesium and metabolic syndrome." The metabolic syndrome, a condition now fairly widespread, does not indicate a well-defined disease, but rather a set of factors that predispose the individual to develop serious medical conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, fatty liver. Trai factors that determine the onset of metabolic syndrome include: the presence of high blood triglycerides, elevated fasting glucose, excessive body fat located mainly in the abdominal area. The analysis of the researchers from Indiana, based on cross-sectional studies, shows how the relationship between magnesium and metabolic syndrome is not random but a direct relationship also putting light on how to decrease by 17% the possibility of establishing such a syndrome through the daily intake 100 mg of magnesium. The researchers also said that magnesium may influence the metabolic syndrome by multiple mechanisms, including the effects on glucose metabolism, lipid, inflammatory mediators, as well as the activity of smooth muscle.

Metabolic syndrome is therefore not present in those subjects with a diet rich in magnesium, certainly valid reason to prefer those foods that can guarantee us an adequate daily intake of magnesium in our diet.

Today's recipe ensures an intake of at least 100mg of magnesium, "Lasagne al pesto"

Ingredients

250 g of sheets of lasagna integral

500 ml of soy sauce

200 grams of pesto

250 grams of fat mozzarella

60 grams of Parmesan

salt

Preparation

Start preparing the sauce.

Boil the sheets of lasagne in boiling salted water for a couple of minutes.

Poggiatele and raise them on a surface covered with a cotton cloth to dry them.

Coat a baking dish with a thin layer of white sauce, then place the first layer of lasagne slightly crossing the sheets to each other.

Cover the dough with a first layer of white sauce and add the pesto.

Top with the diced provolone and finally sprinkle with grated Parmesan

Cover with the second layer of lasagne and add as the first white sauce, pesto, provolone and parmesan and finish with the pastry

Finite assemble the lasagne with pesto with a layer of sauce to which you add the pesto to form a cream.

Sprinkle lasagna with the remaining Parmesan and bake.

Cook the lasagna with pesto sauce for about 30 minutes at 190 degrees or until the surface layer of white sauce will not be au gratin

Now remove the lasagna from the oven, let cool, cut into slices and serve.

Bon Appetite!

Andrea Busalacchi

NUTS, REDUCE PROSTATE CANCER?

During the holidays we usually decorate our tables with a rich basket of dried fruit, almonds, pistachios, hazelnuts and walnuts can not miss.

Dried fruit has always been synonymous with parties, making our boards rich, pleasant and good wishes, but its consumption should not be limited to holidays but daily, given the strong beneficial.

Already in ancient times, walnuts were playing a central role in the daily vitamin deficiencies and compensating for deficiencies of other nutrients. The nuts were usually eaten with bread and used in the preparation of an oil which was the kitchen flavoring poor in areas where it was not possible the cultivation of olives. The seed nuts (kernel) possesses the special properties due to the presence of alpha-linolenic acid and its rich content of vitamins and minerals. In the second century. A.D. the physician Galen, emphasized the tonic and astringent nuts, property today confirmed.

Only three nuts a day in fact seem to be able to progressively lower levels of "bad" cholesterol LDL helping to preserve the health of the heart. But the beneficial properties of the nuts will not run out here, from a study conducted by Dr. Paul Davis of the University of California would arrive interesting developments on the miraculous properties of this dried fruit. Well nuts, especially if not treated with pesticides, would be able to reduce prostate cancer.

In the experiment in question have been used mice genetically programmed to develop cancer and divided into three different groups: the first group were administered the walnuts, the second one was administered oil extracted from the nuts, the third was finally given a substitute composed of fats similar to those contained in nuts. The results were very interesting fact mice belonging to the first two groups developed a tumor, compared to those of the third group, of a much smaller low, and with a much slower growth. Dr. Davis said that would not be the omega-3 alone to shrink the tumor, but the combination of these with some unknown substance still present in nuts and in its oil.

The research at the University of California has not been able to identify which this particular combination of compounds present in nuts able to slow the growth of cancer, and does not include fibers, zinc, magnesium and selenium. While we can not obviously extend the results of this research to humans, the implications are obvious benefits of nut consumption and its oil for our body.

To make the most important properties of this fruit, we prepare a tasty sauce:

Ingredients

Extra virgin olive oil 1/2 cup

Nuts 250 g

1 clove garlic

30 g pine nuts

Parmesan cheese 40 g

Approximately 250 ml milk

Marjoram 1 sprig

Salt q.s.

Bread crumb 40g

Preparation

To prepare the sauce with walnuts, the first thing to do is burn the kernels for at least 5 minutes in boiling water, so that it is then easier to peel.

After 5 minutes, drain the kernels and let them cool. Meanwhile, put the bread soaked in milk in a bowl and when it is soft and soggy, drain, keep aside the milk squeezed.

Walnut sauce

Blanched kernels (helping with a brush) one by one and put them in a blender along with the pine nuts, garlic, cheese and oil.

Walnut sauce

Then add the bread previously soaked and drained and marjoram: operate the blender and add a little 'milk (you can use the one used to soak the bread), as well as enough to get a thick cream, then season with salt.

When you've got a nice smooth paste, your sauce with walnuts will be ready to be used as a sauce for pasta, or as an accompaniment to an aperitif.

Bon Appetite!

Andrea Busalacchi

13 TIPS FOR LOSE WEIGHT AFTER HOLIDAYS

Come back from the Christmas holidays, the first thought is certainly to our weight, banquets, meetings with friends and family gatherings often affect our weight. The network is full by numerous remedies more or less valid in the name of "detox", hinting that it is necessary to detoxify after this holiday season.

In fact the term detoxify is not suitable to explain this phenomenon, our body can not "intoxicated" or at least remain intoxicated following some extra meal.If so we would be sick and this would result in the appearance of symptoms related to a disease.Feeling full or bloated has nothing to do with the intoxication or the accumulation of toxins (which our body should eliminate), but we need to lose a few extra pounds.

Body weight gain and water retention, occur frequently due to calorie meals, rich in salt or loads of sugar, so it is necessary to resort to the immediate remedies.

And here is some simple advice, specifically designed for you, that will help, easily and without sacrifices, to get fit.

1. get up in the morning and drink a glass of water at room temperature
2. eplaced coffee with a good green tea, and just get 2-3 cups a day
3. consumed fruit at breakfast
4. snack are fundamental, consumed dried fruit (4-5 almonds, walnuts 3-4)
5. 30 minutes before dinner, drink a glass of chilled spinach
6. 30 minutes before dinner, eat 5g of dark chocolate to 80%
7. start your meal with a light salad sun vegetables, but I recommend the portions, which are reduced
8. do not use the elevator
9. walking 30 minutes a day, but that this will lead to a rise in body temperature, otherwise it will be useless for the purpose
10. do not skip meals
11. not ever replace a meal with salad
12. prefer pasta to bread
13. get in the habit of consuming a good herbal tea before going to bed

hanks to these rules, within two weeks you can be sure that you regain your line, but if this were not enough, you just have to wait for the next article.

But how to leave you without the usual recipe, today is the turn of a contour particularly suitable in this period, which will help you to your purpose, "peas and mushrooms"

Ingredients

300 gr. frozen peas

200 gr. mushrooms

1 clove garlic

extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper

Preparation

Pour some olive oil in a pan and a clove of garlic. Sauté without letting it burn and add the peas. Cook for a couple of minutes combining little water if necessary.

Now add the mushrooms previously cleaned and cut into slices and cover the pan with a lid.

Cook everything until the peas are cooked. Season with salt and pepper and let rest a few minutes before serving

Bon Appetite!

Andrea Busalacchi

TURMERIC TO TREAT STROKE AND ALZHEIMER'S: STUDY SHOCK COMES FROM GERMANY

Nowadays it is increasingly widespread tendency to experience cuisines from countries other than ours. One of these is certainly the Indian cuisine, a cuisine that makes extensive use of spices including certainly the best known is turmeric, a herbaceous plant of yellow ocher and an intense aroma.

Turmeric, also known as saffron Indies, is a plant with oval leaves within which bloom of flowers gathered in spikes which yield the rhizomes, they finally are subjected to a process of boiling and squeezing in order to obtain a dust with strong anti-inflammatory and healing properties.
Many certainly have been the scientific discoveries of this Indian spice: help to improve the functioning of the stomach and intestines, would have strong healing properties and more importantly strong anticancer properties, but does not end here, in fact, comes from Germany an interesting study of Turmeric and brain.

In turmeric, to say the German scholars, would present a bioactive compound capable of promoting the proliferation and differentiation of neural stem cells, the Tumerone.
The study conducted by researchers at the Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine in Jülich, has reviewed and verified the existence of a relationship between Turmerone aromatic and neutral endogenous stem cells (NSC), or the stem cells in the adult brain.
The NSC differ in the central nervous system and play an important role in the recovery of brain function. The study was conducted in vivo, the scientists injected in laboratory mice adults (ar) tumerone, noting that in these, compared to the control group (ie in rats not injected with tumerone), were extended both the subventricular area that the hippocampus, the brain these two zones, in which it is blown neurogenesis or neuronal growth.

Certainly no exception to any of us the important consequences of this study in the medical field. For if the miraculous properties of tumerone, which certainly will continue to be evaluated, found to confirm this substance would become a prime candidate to treat neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and stroke.
So if you experience kitchens "alternative" and foreign, until yesterday was just a quirk, now put on our plates of tasty and fragrant curry (or a mixture of spices mainly containing turmeric) becomes an excellent initiative that healthy can not miss .

In order to make the most of the beneficial properties and organoleptic characteristics of this tasty spice, here is an interesting recipe "Fagottini potato Curry" (vegan recipe):

INGREDIENTS
1 zucchini
2 carrots
2 medium potatoes
¼ leek
1 pinch of salt integral
4 coriander seeds
½ teaspoon curry
½ teaspoon cumin
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

For the pastry:
200 grams of flour or wholemeal 0
½ cup of extra virgin olive oil
1 pinch of salt until full
cold water

PREPARATION
Peel and wash the carrots and potatoes. Wash the zucchini and slice all vegetables to obtain small cubes. Cut the leek into thin strips. In a pan, pour two tablespoons of olive oil, fry the vegetables for a few minutes. Then add the spices, remembering to press between the fingers coriander seeds. Pour into the pan a glass of hot water and cook covered for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until the vegetables have softened.

Combine in a bowl the flour and oil, along with a pinch of salt. Stir and add cold water gradually. Start working the ingredients with your hands until the dough is very elastic. Forming the classic ball and let the dough rest for 15 minutes, anointing him with a little oil. Lay a sheet of rectangular and rather thin with a rolling pin.

Place in the center, the filling of vegetables that you have prepared. Fold the corners inward, toward the center of the square, one at a time, and seal the edges with your fingers. Cook the dumplings potato curry in the oven at 180 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown. Serve while still hot.

Bon Appetite!

Andrea Busalacchi

SPINACH TO CONTROL HUNGER

Eating is certainly one of the many pleasures that life has to offer, but let completely abandon such pleasure without any restraint could lead to unpleasant consequences for our health, starting with the overweight and anything that might result from this condition.

For this reason it is of primary importance to be able to keep under control the feeling of hunger, especially in particular conditions (stress, nervousness, boredom etc), strikes us.

A great help in this regard would be there in a study conducted at the University of Lund in Sweden, the protagonists of this study: the spinach. When we think of spinach, we can not bring to mind the image of Popeye that consumed boxes and boxes of these to increase his strength, but according to recent findings by Dr. Charlotte Erlanson-Albertsson more than increase the strength of the spinach help to reduce the feeling of hunger and defeat the dreaded extra pounds.

The experiment involved 38 overweight women, half of these were made to drink every morning for three months a mix of spinach, the other half a placebo instead (a concentration that did not contain spinach). The participants, however, were unaware of the type of drink they were consuming.

At the end of three months, the women who drank the concentrate made from spinach not only lost less than 5 kg compared to 3.5 in the placebo group, but they were also able to stick to three meals a day not having felt no particular desire to food, a factor that has dramatically reduced (95%) consumption of so-called junk foods.

But to what to attribute the prodigious ability of spinach? Well, the credit for this was due to the thylakoids, these substances can prolong the digestive process, this extension would allow the gut hormone to reach the brain before it warns again the feeling of hunger. The wonderful effects of the thylakoids are not attributable to a single active ingredient, but various substances such as galactolipids, protein, vitamin A, E, K, antioxidants, beta-carotene, lutein, and many others.

It is good to know that spinach give off the "miraculous" thylakoids is necessary for them to be crushed, filtered, and centrifuged prior to use. So we want to free ourselves from the often excruciating, feelings of hunger that oppresses us and hits us unexpectedly and more often than not being able to fight, we are forced to go along; Well we do like the comic book hero and consume every morning a great centrifuged spinach to easily defeat the no less dreaded feeling of hunger.

Here is a recipe for a tasty and enjoyable centrifuged to prepare a "centrifuged pineapple and spinach"

Ingredients

1 bunch of spinach

1 handful of kale leaves

2 green apples

4 mint leaves

4 or 5 slices of pineapple

Preparation

Place all ingredients washed and cut, within a centrifuge. The resulting product can be served with ice or at room temperature.

Bon Appetite!

Andrea Busalacchi