Oneday there will be a gym in my practice with physical therapists and I will be prescribing exercise. @DrBrianHiggins

harvard strength trainingDr Nina Byrnes and Angela O’Donoghue liked

One of my favourite things is to do some exercises with patients. Basic stuff for knee or shoulder pain but it is so rewarding to have something to offer other than tablets. Someday there will be a gym in my practice with physical therapists and I will be prescribing exercise.

Recipe: Peruvian Blue Potato Salad @ClevelandClinic

Peru has been cultivating potatoes for more than 6,000 years in the high Andean slopes near Lake Titicaca.

A stroll through the public markets reveals a startling number of sizes, shapes and colors — including the famous Peruvian blue potatoes with their purplish-blue skin and flesh.

It’s fun to use these blue potatoes, but if your market doesn’t carry them or if you prefer other potatoes, you can always use small red or white potatoes.

Ingredients

Kosher salt
1 1/4 pounds small Peruvian blue potatoes
1/4 cup minced red onions
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 large tomato, seeded and chopped
1 jalepeño, seeded and minced
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon sugar substitute
2 hard-boiled egg whites, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
1/2 cup crumbled reduced-fat feta cheese
2 tablespoons sliced black olives, optional

Directions

  1. Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Simmer the potatoes until cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes, depending on size. Drain and cool. Quarter or slice into bite-sized pieces and place in a bowl.
  2. Combine the potatoes and the onion, bell peppers, tomato, jalepeño, vinegar, oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt (if using), sugar substitute, egg whites, oregano and cheese. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Garnish with olives, if using.

Nutritional information (per serving)

Makes 8 servings

Calories: 200 calories (31% from fat)
Total fat: 7 g
Saturated fat: 1.5 g
Protein: 7 g
Carbohydrate: 31 g
Dietary fiber: 2 g
Cholesterol: 5 mg
Sodium: 95 mg
Potassium: 109 mg

Source: Cleveland Clinic Healthy Heart Lifestyle Guide and Cookbook (© 2007 Broadway Books).

Recipe: Salmon Marsala @ClevelandClinic

This recipe switches up chicken marsala by swapping in salmon. It’s a great way to get delicious and healthy fish on the menu. You should be able to find Marsala wine in the cooking wines or condiments section of your local grocery store.

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 onion, cut into wedges
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 10 fresh mushrooms, sliced (or one 7-ounce can of sliced mushrooms, drained)
  • 4 (4 ounces each) skinless salmon filets
  • 1/3 cup Marsala wine
  • 2/3 cup chicken broth (1/3 less sodium)
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)
  • 4 teaspoons cornstarch
  • 4 grinds of fresh ground pepper

Directions

  1. Prep the onions and mushrooms.
  2. Heat oil in nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; add onion, garlic and mushrooms to the skillet and begin sautéing.
  3. Add the salmon filets to the skillet, cooking for 10 minutes per inch of thickness (turn them over midway in the cooking time).
  4. Mix together the wine, broth, cornstarch and fresh ground pepper; when the fish is nearly done (you can tell by twisting the center of the thickest part — if it flakes easily, it’s done), add the wine/broth mixture to the salmon.
  5. Stir gently, as the liquid turns into a thick gravy within one minute. Serve over whole-grain pasta or brown rice, with steamed asparagus or vegetable of your choice.

Ingredient health benefits

  • Olive oil: Olive oil is one of those ingredients that’s actually worth the hoopla. It has fat-soluble vitamins like vitamins D and K, which support your bones and blood cells. It’s also home to unsaturated fats that help decrease your LDL (“bad”) cholesterol and increase your HDL (“good”) cholesterol, helping your heart stay happy. And if you need another reason to use olive oil beyond this recipe, it has polyphenols and other antioxidants to fight inflammation and free radicals, keeping your cells in peak condition and helping to prevent diseases down the road.
  • Onions: They may not be the most “a-peel-ing” ingredient in the produce aisle, but looks can be deceiving. Onions have prebiotics and fiber to feed your “good” gut bacteria and support healthy digestion. And that’s not all those layers have to offer! There are also vitamin C and flavonoids that help lower inflammation while boosting your immunity.
  • Garlic: Like onions, these alliums aren’t the most exciting of foods. But “unremarkable” doesn’t mean “devoid of nutrition.” On the contrary, garlic is considered a superfood! Aside from keeping vampires away, eating garlic may strengthen your immunity as part of a well-balanced eating plan. It might also help regulate your blood pressure, and certain natural compounds in garlic can lower inflammation and protect your cells from damage.
  • Mushrooms: They may not be plants or animals, but mushrooms are just as nutritious! They’re packed with antioxidants like selenium and zinc that promote healing and may enhance your immune cells’ ability to fight diseases like cancer. Mushrooms are also a surprising source of B vitamins — like vitamins B3,B5 and B6 — which are crucial for creating and fixing DNA, as well as helping your body turn the food you eat into usable energy. Even your heart can benefit from the potassium found in these fantastic fungi, which helps regulate your blood pressure and keep the beat.
  • Salmon: Not just for the bears! This hearty fish is a complete protein that’s pescatarian-friendly, meaning it has all the amino acids your body needs to keep moving. Salmon is also low in mercury content and high in omega-3s, heart-helpful fats that are essential for your head-to-toe health. And that’s not all for omega-3s! They also double as an anti-inflammatory that promotes your immune system.

Nutrition information (per serving)

Makes 4 servings

Calories: 450
Fat: 12 g
Fiber: 9 g
Sodium: 147 mg (doesn’t include the optional salt)
Carbohydrates: 44 g
Protein: 37 g

— Recipe courtesy of Speaking of Women’s Health.

Even a small apple a day may help keep diabetes away @HarvardHealth #stayhealthy 😀🤩


Harvard Health

@HarvardHealth

Even a small apple a day may help keep diabetes away: https://bit.ly/33FmI8w #HarvardHealth

News briefs

e522fb00-4fdb-4594-bdfa-fb72961f3da7A modest uptick in the amount of fruit and vegetables you eat can help ward off type 2 diabetes, according to a study published online July 8, 2020, by The BMJ. From a much larger study involving some 340,000 people from eight European countries, scientists selected 9,754 participants who were newly diagnosed with diabetes over a decade. Researchers compared the fruit and vegetable intakes of these people to those of about 13,000 participants who remained diabetes-free during the study period. Researchers also measured blood levels of seven key plant-derived nutrients, including vitamin C and brightly colored antioxidant pigments called carotenoids. People with the highest intakes of fruit and vegetables and the highest blood levels of the plant-derived nutrients were 25% to 50% less likely to get diabetes during the study period, compared with those who ate the least of these food groups or had the lowest nutrient levels. Even better, it didn’t take a whole lot of extra green, red, yellow, and orange on the plate to make a dent in diabetes risk. The equivalent of only two-thirds of a medium apple or just over one-third of a cup of mixed fruit each day offered protection.

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