Heart-Healthy Lycopene

This post was originally published as Heart-Healthy Lycopene by Laurel on Health Food blog.

Lycopene is the healthy phytonutrient that gives the bright red color to produce such as watermelon and tomatoes. Studies show that lycopene helps keep your blood vessels in their best shape, prevents cancer, and keeps your cholesterol at healthy levels. Here are some of the best food sources of lycopene:

• Watermelon
• Tomatoes (red, orange, and tomato products)
• Pink grapefruit
• Guava
• Papaya

Summer is the perfect time of year to boost your lycopene intake because most of these fruits are in season. Here are a few lycopene-rich recipes to get you started:
Tomato, Cucumber, Onion, and Avocado (TCOA) Salad (Laurel’s recipe)
Caprese Salad (Laurel’s recipe)
Watermelon & Feta Salad with Pine Nuts (ChefMD recipe)
Papaya Green Onion Salad (Bobby Flay recipe)

Here’s a few ideas for summer parties. Puree fresh or frozen guava, papaya, or watermelon and mix them with lime juice and a shot of rum or tequila for a healthy cocktail. You can also chop up these fruits into small pieces, add fresh cilantro, lime, and jalapeno for a delicious salsa to put on top of grilled fish or to serve with chips.

New Thinking on Cancer Treatments

This post was originally published as New Thinking on Cancer Treatments by Laurel on Health Food blog.

I am such a believer in the healing power of foods, and I found the following video fascinating. William Li, head of the Angiogenic Foundation, recently spoke for TED.com. Not only does he clearly explain how cancer forms and grows in the body, but he explains a new type of cancer treatment called anti-angiogenic therapy which prevents the growth of blood vessels that feed cancerous tumors.

Dr. Li believes that we must eat more foods that “starve cancer” and prevent it from causing harm to our bodies. Some of these foods are grapes and wine (containing resveratrol), strawberries, soybeans, berries, oranges, turmeric, artichokes, dark chocolate, garlic, olive oil, and kale. Watch the following video to get the full list and to hear Dr. Li’s discussion.

One of my favorite parts is where he shows the graph of how effective foods are at preventing cancer growth, as compared to typical drugs prescribed to treat cancer.