By Drew Mulvey MS, CDN, CNS, CLT
The Autumn is now in full swing. That means the leaves are now portraying their bright colors and the flavors of the season all around us. It is also getting a bit chillier out and therefore it is important to pay attention to your physical, spiritual and emotional health. Here are some ways that you can celebrate the season and reap the most benefits out of this month!
October Fruits and Vegetables
National Pear and Pineapple Month
Pear
It is the Autumn season, and it is time for the apple and pear harvest. Let’s dig a little deeper into what these rich fruits can offer your body during this season.
Pears contain vitamins C and K and minerals such as potassium and copper which may boost immunity, strengthen bones, regulate muscle contraction, and aids in iron absorption beneficial for anemic conditions. They are rich in antioxidant phenols, particularly chlorogenic acid, a potent cancer fighter, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, and antihypertensive which may be effective in combating metabolic syndrome. This compound is also an antimicrobial that may help protect against a wide range of bacteria, fungi, and viruses to keep sickness away!
Pick a pear during your apple picking and use it in a variety of dishes: Bake it will a little lemon, cinnamon, and coconut oil and drizzle with raw honey, pair with almond butter for a quick snack or cook with your oats in the morning!
Pineapple
This is probably one of my favorite fruits. Why? I love the bitter and sweet taste that it delivers and makes me think of virgin pina Coladas and getting caught in the rain in Hawaii. (I had to!). Not only do they offer a nice flavor to your dishes, they are also full of amazing health benefits.
Pineapples are very widely known for their anti-inflammatory benefits. This is due to the content of bromelain, a powerful compound responsible for this effect. This is incredibly important for athletic performance and recovery as long bouts of training and exercise can increase oxidative stress in the body. Bromelain is not only beneficial for decrease inflammation but can also be used as a digestive aid! In fact, bromelain in known as a protease which helps with the digestion of protein. This also can help with better muscle recovery as protein helps to repair and rebuild damaged tissues.1 Speaking of muscle recovery, in mice bromelain, appeared to activate a beneficial immunomodulatory protein in response to cellular stress. We need a level of inflammation to repair our muscles and our cells. This is even more of an excuse to have a little pineapple after your hard workout session.
Other properties these lovely yellow fruits house are anticlotting (antithrombotic and fibrinolytic), anticancer, regulating the immune system, and can decrease the side effects associated with antibiotics!1 The latter is pretty amazing!
Pineapple is a little high in sugar but after a 30-60 HIIT workout or 90-minute steady-state cardio, your muscle glycogen (fuel source) is used up and needs to be repleted. This also can help with recovery and prevention of the “bonk” for those longer rides and runs. Therefore, this can be used as an excellent recovery food!
Vegetables:
Beets, broccoli, bok choy, Brussels sprouts*, cauliflower, celery*, corn*, eggplant, greens*, leeks, mushrooms, okra, potatoes, pumpkin, rutabaga, sweet onions, sweet potatoes*, turnips, winter squashes
Fruits:
Apples*, avocado, banana, cranberries*, grapes*, lemons/limes, mango, melons, raspberries*
*- must be purchased organic due to high pesticide residues.
Healthy Swaps
This was a fun little experiment that I ran last year. Halloween is known not only for the costumes but for the treats! Does that mean that you have to flood your body with chemicals, additives and preservatives that you can’t identify? Well, this put me on the search for healthier alternatives to their counterparts. Among my research, here are some of the healthy swaps for the most sought-after candy.
Mounds vs. Dark Chocolate Coconut Snack Bar
Mounds
Ingredients: Corn syrup, semi-sweet chocolate (chocolate, sugar, milk fat, lecithin (soy), PGPR, vanillin, artificial flavor, milk), coconut, sugar, contains 2% or less of: salt, hydrolyzed milk protein, sodium metabisulfite, to maintain freshness.
Unreal Coconut Snack Bar
Ingredients: organic coconut, organic cassava syrup, dark chocolate (chocolate liquor, cane sugar, cocoa butter, vanilla)
Why I like it:
· There are 3 ingredients and they are ALL real! If you can recognize them, so can your body.
· Does not contain any chemicals, artificial flavors, conventional dairy or preservatives you can’t pronounce. As mentioned, PGPR is used as an emulsifier and derived from castor bean oil, a vegetable oil that has the potential in increase inflammation. The sodium metabisulfite is a preservative. Though data is inconclusive, this preservative has the potential to be toxic when inhaled and is severely irritating to the skin, eyes, respiratory and GI tract. I’ll opt to not put that in my body.
· There are no transfats. Hydrolyzed milk protein in Mounds is actually a hydrogenated oil, aka a transfat. Transfats have been linked to increasing LDL cholesterol (the “bad” cholesterol), lowering HDL cholesterol (your “good cholesterol”) which may increase your risk of heart disease and stroke. No thank you!
· Coconut is the FIRST ingredient! Check out the mounds. Corn syrup is the very first ingredient. This is often used to sweeten things at a fraction of the cost. This is a sure way to overstimulate the palate and may lead to further inflammation.
Want to still enjoy the tropical bliss and without the frankenfoods? Make the switch.
Hersheys vs Enjoy Life Dark Chocolate Squares
Hersheys
Milk chocolate (sugar, milk, chocolate, cocoa butter, lactose, milk fat, soy lecithin, PGPR, emulsifier, vanillin, artificial flavor).
Enjoy Life Dark Chocolate Squares
Unsweetened Dark Chocolate, Cane Sugar, Cocoa Butter
Why I like them
· They are free of every allergen (gluten, dairy, soy, etc.). As mentioned, two days ago, dairy that is non organic is usually from conventionally raised animals fed meal that their stomachs cannot process and is high in proinflammatory fats.
· You can pronounce the ingredients and there are not many. Again, simple ingredients are recognized better by the body.
· Not artificial or any added “flavors.” It’s just pure, clean, and simple.
Want your chocolate fix? Treat your body with whole ingredients and indulge with these enjoy life minis.
Reeses Peanut Butter Cups vs Sun Cups and Justin’s Peanut Butter Cups
These were ( and still are ) my absolute favorite! This is what made me look forward to Halloween and were usually the first things to go when I got all my Halloween candy. If you are like me, can you still enjoy this past time and choose a healthier option? Yes!
Reeses Peanut Butter Cups.
Milk chocolate [sugar; cocoa butter; chocolate; skim milk; milk fat; lactose; lecithin (soy); pgpr]; peanuts; sugar; dextrose; salt; tbhq and citric acid, to maintain freshness.
Justin’s Peanut Butter Cups (Milk Chocolate)
Organic Milk Chocolate (Organic Evaporated Cane Sugar, Organic Cacao Beans*, Organic Full Cream Milk, Organic Cocoa Butter*, Organic Soya Lecithin [Emulsifier]) Organic Peanut Butter (Organic Ground Peanuts), Organic Cane Sugar, Organic Peanut Flour, Organic Palm Oil, Sea Salt, Organic Sunflower Lecithin.
Sun Cups
Dark Chocolate (Unsweetened Chocolate, Sugar, Cocoa Butter), Sunflower Seeds, Organic Powdered Sugar (Evaporated Cane Juice, Tapioca Starch), Cocoa Butter, Sea Salt
Why I like these:
· Organic. This ensures that all the ingredients passed a strict set of quality standards. As mentioned above, peanuts have the potential to be high in molds if not organic. The addition of the full cream milk is in place of the milk fat which has not had any nutrients extracted from them.
· No chemicals. TBHQ found in Reeses is a chemical antioxidant derived from petroleum. You are literally putting particles from the same stuff you pump in your car in your body.
· Sun cups are allergen friendly which makes it a great treat for those with peanut, dairy, soy, and gluten allergies.
· The Justin’s come in almond butter varieties and dark chocolate varieties for a bit of a switch up. They also come individually wrapped and great for those little Halloween treats.
Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Breast cancer is one of the most prevalent cancers among women and affects about 1 in every 8 women. (BC org).1 One hormone that has been linked to the prevalence is estrogen, and its abundance. Cancer can also be caused by underlying inflammation present in the body, yet another stressor that can secondhandedly affect hormonal levels. Therefore, it is important as women to be able to balance out our hormones not only with stress management but nutrient-dense whole foods. Here are just some that can be beneficial in the prevention, and possible supplemental treatment, of breast cancer.
What to Add to Your Diet
Carrots
Carrots are excellent for balancing hormones, particularly progesterone and estrogen. They are rich in antioxidants such as beta carotene, which may play a potential role in hindering cancer progression.
In one recent meta-analysis, studies done on blood concentrations of beta carotene in test subjects found that the Relative Risk of developing breast cancer was .84 at 50 ml/dl and .95 at 5000 micrograms/d. The number under 1 signifies a compound exerts a more protective effect against said disease. Again, studies always have confounding factors and total carotenoid concentrations in the blood could have contributed to this, but researchers stated that this factor did not contribute to significantly reducing breast cancer occurrence. 1
Want to get this naturally? One medium-sized carrot contains 5,050 mcg of beta carotene, the amount needed from these studies that potentially decrease one’s risk of developing breast cancer.1
I enjoy these as a fresh juice with beets to help with hormones but have them anyway you want! Make a healthy alternative carrot cake, throw them in your overnight oats with some cinnamon and vanilla or enjoy them as a snack paired with organic peanut butter or almond butter.
Note: These are high in pesticide residues and must be purchased organic. This is also particularly important when buying baby carrots as they have been bleached.
Soy
Soy is an excellent source of isoflavones, a type of phytoestrogen. Phytoestrogens, which actually help clear the harmful forms of estrogen and may be used in preventing the development of breast cancer. These compounds are also responsible for balancing hormones, which is particularly important after menopause. This is attributed to the presence of compounds known as saponins and their ability to bind to estrogen receptors. Other sources of phytoestrogens include wild yams, almonds, chickpeas, flaxseeds, and herbs such as rosemary and sage.
National Emotional Wellness Month
Emotional and mental health is the foundation of overall physical health. That is why it is so important to address these fundamentals when trying to improve overall health. As I just mentioned previously, it is imperative to be able to manage stress levels to not only balance hormones but prevent a buildup of free radicals in the body, also known as low-grade inflammation. This can be caused by food sensitivities, improper detoxication, environmental toxins and other external avenues, but the mind can be just as proinflammatory, if not more, than all of these.
How does this work?
There is a direct link between the brain, adrenal glands, and reproductive organs. This is better known as the HPO axis. Negative thinking and chronic worrying and anxiety can signal to the body that it is under a state of stress and switch our body from the activation of the sympathetic nervous system to the parasympathetic nervous system or in layman’s terms rest and digest to fight or flight. This stress on the body can signal that it is not apt to reproduce and can impair proper reproductive function. Why is this? Increased stress equals increased cortisol production and a decrease in sex hormone production. This is not only common in those that are highly active individuals but those that are constantly grinding, or as a good friend put it “burning the candle at both ends.” I can attest to this from personal experience.
So, what can we do? Incorporate rest or reframe the mindset to rest while you run. We are all human beings at the end of the day and require actual rest just to function. In fact, if one is not sleeping properly that is another added stressor on the body. What I have found is that we all may face tense situations but the ability to transfer the thoughts from anxiety to character building and keep the body calm is the key. I have started to learn this lesson very well. Another name for that is BALANCE. Listening to your body is imperative and keeping the mind directed towards a growth mindset instead of a destructive mindset.
Being an anxiety-ridden, overachieving, perfectionist for most of my life, I have finally found the tools to be able to live a balanced life and still accomplish what I have my heart set out for. Therefore, I have put this all together in a challenge for this month.
Do you want to be able to rest while you run and keep your hormones balanced? Check out my Resilience Challenge this month!
Challenge runs from Monday, October 18 to October 24, 2021, and will be held at 12 pm EST over Facebook Live. Sign-ups are required.
National Chili Month
This is one of my absolute favorite dishes, yet it can be hard for those that have food sensitivities or those trying to stay away from nightshades for therapeutic or performance reasons. Does that mean we have to bypass this staple from the diet altogether? Absolutely not!
As the Fall is in full swing, the harvest of seasonal vegetables is ready for some delicious dishes. I am referring to the squashes of course, particularly pumpkin! Here is a delicious recipe that can be enjoyed by the whole family.
Nightshade-Free Paleo Pumpkin Chili
Servings 6-8
Ingredients
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
5-8 garlic cloves sliced
1-pound grass-fed ground beef
2 cups cubed pumpkin
3 cups cubed acorn squash
2 1/2 cups bone broth
1/2 can pumpkin puree
1 1/2 teaspoon rosemary salt
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar ACV
2 teaspoons oregano
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon all-spice
sprinkle of cloves
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
Instructions
1. Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. When it’s hot, add the garlic and sauté until it has just started to brown.
2. Turn the heat down to medium and add the ground beef. Cook the ground beef until no pink remains.
3. Turn the heat down to medium-low and add the pumpkin cubes, kidney beans (or acorn squash), beef broth, pumpkin puree, beet puree, rosemary salt, ACV, oregano, cinnamon, black pepper, all-spice, cloves, and bay leaf to the Dutch oven. Stir until evenly combined.
4. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes. Add the chopped cilantro, stir, cover, and cook for another 15 minutes, or until the pumpkin cubes are tender.
Recipe derived from http://www.strictlydelicious.com/paleo-pumpkin-chili-nightshade-free/.
Want more delicious pumpkin recipes? Check out my “Alternative Pumpkin and Apple Recipes” available for purchase on my shop page!
Reference:
1) U.S. Breast Cancer Statistics. Breastcancer.org Website. 2021. https://www.breastcancer.org/symptoms/understand_bc/statistics. Accessed September 22, 2021.
