Pomegranate, lime and cucumber salsa

I found this recipe in a beautiful book called "Veggiestan" by Sally Butcher and it is such a hit with my family I decided to share it.

My husband, Paul Philpott, spent many years travelling in the 'stans whilst working for overseas and development agencies.  He is chronicling his adventures on his own blog - Impulse to Travel.  I was lucky enough to join him on some of his journeys and fell in love with the fresh produce and the food of this region.  As a herbivore myself, however, I must confess that I studiously avoided the boiled mutton and sheep's eyes for breakfast.

Pomegranates in the market in Osh, Kyrgyzstan (copyright: Paul Philpott)

Pomegranates have been cherished for their exquisite beauty, flavour, colour, and health benefits for centuries.

“Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, and thy speech comely: thy temples are like a piece of pomegranate within thy locks.” (The Song of Solomon 4:3)

The name "pomegranate" derives from the Middle French "pomme garnete" - literally "seeded apple." It is also sometimes referred to as a Chinese apple. Many scholars believe that the forbidden - yet irresistible - fruit in which Eve indulged within the Garden of Eden was actually a pomegranate and not an apple.

Pomegranates are high in vitamin C and potassium, a great source of fibre, and low in calories. They contain three different types of polyphenols, a potent form of antioxidants. The three types - tannins, anthocyanins, and ellagic acid - are present in many fruits, but fresh pomegranate juice contains particularly high amounts of all three.

Compounds found only in pomegranates called punicalagins are shown to benefit the heart and blood vessels. Punicalagins are the major component responsible for pomegranate's antioxidant and health benefits. They not only lower cholesterol, but also lower blood pressure and increase the speed at which heart blockages (atherosclerosis) melt away.

Not only are pomegranates good for your heart and blood vessels but they have been shown to inhibit breast cancer, prostate cancer, colon cancer, leukemia and to prevent vascular changes that promote tumour growth in lab animals.

Pomegranate juice has also been found to contain substances that stimulate serotonin and oestrogen receptors, improving symptoms of depression and increasing bone mass in lab animals.

This recipe is a real winner.  It is quick and easy to make and can be used as a salad, starter or relish.  One word of warning - it is a good idea to wear an apron.


Recipe

Serves 6

Ingredients	Method
1 large juicy pomegranate	Cut the pomegranate in half with a sharp knife; hold each half upside down over a bowl and hit the back of the pomegranate with a wooden spoon until the seeds come out. Wash seeds in water and remove any remaining pith, which should float to the surface.
1 medium cucumber, finely diced 2-3 tomatoes, finely diced 1 green pepper, finely diced 1 red chilli, chopped (you can choose a mild or a hot one to taste) ½ bunch each of fresh mint and coriander, washed and chopped 1 small bunch spring onions, finely diced Drizzle of olive oil 1 fresh lime, juiced	Mix all these ingredients together with the pomegranate seeds, stir well, cover and chill. Serve as a salad, a starter or a relish.

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References


1. Aviram M, Rosenblat M, Gaitini D, et al. Pomegranate juice consumption for 3 years by patients with carotid artery stenosis reduces common carotid intima-media thickness, blood pressure and LDL oxidation. Clin Nutr 2004;23(3):423-33.

2. Aviram M, Dornfeld L, Rosenblat M, et al. Pomegranate juice consumption reduces oxidative stress, atherogenic modifications to LDL, and platelet aggregation:studies in humans and in atherosclerotic apolipoprotein E-deficient mice. Am J Clin Nutr 2000;71(5):1062-76. Aviram M, Dornfeld L. Pomeganate juice consumption inhibits serum angiotensin coverting enzyme activity and reduces systolic blood pressure. Atherosclerosis 2001;158(1):195-8.

3. Kim ND, Mehta R, Yu W, et al. Chemopreventive and adjuvant therapeutic potential of pomegranate (Punica granatum) for human breast cancer. Breast Cancer Res Treat 2002;71(3):203-17. Kohno H, Suzuki R, Yasui Y, et al. Pomegranate seed oil rich in conjugated linolenic acid suppresses chemically induced colon carcinogenesis in rats.Cancer Sci 2004;95(6):481-6.

Toi M, Bando H, Ramachandran C, et al. Preliminary studies on the anti-angiogenic potential of pomegranate fractions in vitro and in vivo. Angiogenesis 2003;6(2):121-8.
Kawaii S, Lansky EP. Differentiation-promoting activity of pomegranate (Punica granatum) fruit extracts in HL-60 human promyelocytic leukemia cells. J Med Food 2004;7(1):13-8.

4. Mori-Okamoto J, Otawara-Hamamoto Y, Yamato H, Yoshimura H. Pomegranate extract improves a depressive state and bone properties in menopausal syndrome model ovariectomized mice. J Ethnopharmacol 2004;92(1):93-101.

5. Seeram et al, J Nutr Biochemistry 2005: (16) 360-367.

Practical suggestions for ways to include more healthy fats in your diet

We need fat in our diet for a wide range of reasons; it is the type of fat we consume that is important.

Fat is needed for manufacturing hormones, for building cell membranes, for immunity, and for the receptors in our brain which are involved in mood regulation, memory, movement and a host of other vital bodily functions.

Fat is also important as a source of energy.

The last National Diet and Nutrition Survey in the UK showed that, on average, people are consuming 13 per cent of their energy as saturated fat, when the guideline maximum is 10 per cent.

Societies in the world which are noted for their healthy longevity typically consume less than 10 per cent of their energy as saturated fat. Instead, they eat more of the healthy unsaturated fats, mostly found in plant oils and in fish.

Here are some practical ideas for incorporating more of the healthy unsaturated fats into your diet:

1. Use virgin olive oil, canola (rapeseed) oil or avocado oil for cooking as they are more stable than other oils and also contain beneficial antioxidants. 
2. Mix flax seeds in a jar with hemp, sunflower, pumpkin and sesame seeds in equal portions. Take out 2 heaped tbsp daily and grind in a coffee grinder or food processor. Add to smoothies, soups, porridge.
3. Add 1 tbsp cold-pressed polyunsaturated oils to your salads daily, e.g., flax, walnut, pumpkin, sesame. Keep oils in dark bottles in the fridge and use within 8 weeks of opening.
4. Eat three portions of oily fish a week. The best choices are mackerel, sardines, salmon, anchovies, pilchards, pink trout, tuna. Canned fish is fine, except for tuna which, during canning, is rendered low in healthy fats. There is concern about pollutants in fish but current research suggests that the benefits of eating oily fish outweigh the potential disadvantages.
5. Spread choices to use instead of butter: hummus, tahini, pumpkin, almond, sunflower nut butters, guacamole, vegetable pâtés.
6. Limit fat from meat and dairy sources by trimming visible fat, choosing lean or low-fat versions and limiting yourself to one portion a day. Choose leaner meat options such as skinless fish, chicken, turkey or game. Preferably avoid meat and dairy produce altogether.
7. Avoid hydrogenated fats in margarines and processed foods - check the food label to see whether it says "contains no hydrogenated fats". If it doesn't, avoid it.
8. Also avoid cooking with sunflower, corn or oils other than olive, canola, or avocado oil, unless they are the high oleic acid varieties.
9. Deep-fry food only occasionally. High temperatures change the nature of fats and create carcinogenic (cancer-generating) compounds.
10. The quantity of fat is nearly as important as quality. The recommended intake of fats is 30-35% of calories. For a woman eating 2000 calories per day, this equates to about 70g fat. Of this, no more than 22g should be saturated fats. Check food labels to find out how much of the different types of fat your food contains. 

Supplements 

It is always best to obtain nutrients from food. It can, however, be helpful to use supplements therapeutically for a while.

GLA (gamma linolenic acid) is found in oil of evening primrose and borage oil and is helpful for hormonal conditions such as PMS and hot flushes.

EPA/DHA in fish oil capsules are useful for conditions such as inflammation, heart disease, breast cancer, arthritis and mental health problems. We should aim for at least 1g per day of EPA. Check the label of the bottle for the concentration of EPA.

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Mediterranean diet has beneficial effects on women's bone health

A study from the Harokopio University of Athens (Greece) suggests that adherence to a dietary pattern close to the Mediterranean diet, with high consumption of fish and olive oil and low red meat intake, has a significant impact in women skeletal health.

Results suggest that this eating pattern could have bone-preserving properties throughout adult life.

Diet is one of the modifiable factors for the development and maintenance of bone mass. The nutrients of most obvious relevance to bone health are calcium and phosphorus because they compose roughly 80% to 90% of the mineral content of bone; protein, other minerals and vitamins are also essential in bone preservation.

Traditional analysis has focused on the relation between a specific nutrient (e.g. calcium) and bone health. But, researchers of the Harokopio University of Athens, Greece, carried out a study in two hundred twenty adult Greek women, which is valuable for the understanding of the effect of meals, consisting of several food items, in skeletal mass.

Scientists examined whether adherence to the Mediterranean Diet, rich in plant foods and olive oil, low in meat and dairy products, and with moderate intake of alcohol, or other dietary patterns, have any significant impact on bone mass maintenance in adult Greek women. They determined that adherence to a dietary pattern with some of the features of the Mediterranean diet, i.e., rich in fish and olive oil and low in red meat and products, is positively associated with the indices of bone mass.

These results suggest that this eating pattern could have bone-preserving properties throughout adult life.

Are you struggling with hot flushes, mood swings, depression, osteoporosis, infertility, breast or prostate disease, or simply want to protect yourself from developing these symptoms? Learn more about the factors affecting your hormonal health and how to protect yourself from the adverse effects of hormone imbalance at a Cooking for Health class on Balancing Hormones Naturally.

We will explore what hormones are; how they interact with each other and with mood-regulating chemicals in the body; the rise in hormonal health problems; hormone-disrupting chemicals; what to eat and what to avoid in order to balance hormones naturally; and how to cook with natural ingredients that support our hormone system.

Reference

Kontogianni et al. Association between dietary patterns and indices of bone mass in a sample of Mediterranean women. Nutrition, 2009; 25 (2): 165