C6 Tuesday, September 3, 2013
FITNESS & WELL-BEING
POWER UP THE W
e all know that fruit and vegetables are good for us, and here are some ways to make them even better. Store them correctly A study published in the June issue of Current Biology reported the way we store our fruit and vegetables can have an impact on their nutritional value – including their anti-cancer properties. Daphne Wu, a British state registered dietitian and PhD researcher, says that most produce can be stored in cool, dry places. But you should consider factors such as humidity, temperature, light, and air circulation. For example, moisture and cold can cause bananas to deteriorate more quickly, so it’s best to store them at room temperature and in the open, rather than in a cold fridge. During the summer, ripening times are shortened, so it is probably not a good idea to store your fruit and vegetables at room temperature. Potatoes should not be exposed to light, as this triggers the production of a toxin, which turns their skin and flesh green. And both high and low temperatures can affect the sugar content of potatoes, which may change their flavour and colour.
PLANTS There are plenty of ways to boost the nutritional properties of fruit and vegetables, writes Sasha Gonzales
Cook them quickly, if at all If you don’t wish to eat your veggies raw, flash cooking is recommended to keep their antioxidants intact, since many of these nutrients, including vitamin C, are sensitive to heat. Steaming, microwaving, or stir-frying vegetables is preferable to boiling because these methods help to retain the nutrients. Certain antioxidants such as lycopene, which is found in tomatoes, are only released through cooking, so Wu suggests cooking them rather than consuming them raw. Wash them before eating To remove microbes and contaminants that can cause vomiting and food poisoning, Sally Shi-Po Poon, a registered dietitian from Personal Dietitian, recommends washing all produce before consuming. They may lose some of their water-soluble
vitamins in the process, so try not to scrub them too vigorously. Simply hold the fruit or vegetable under running water for several seconds and rub the skin gently using your fingers or a soft brush. Cook or consume your fruit and veggies immediately after washing them. Do not wash just before storing, as this may increase the spoilage rate.
Seventeen Nutrition Consultants. An apple with the skin on contains about 5.4 grams of fibre and 17 per cent vitamin C. Without the skin, it contains just 1.4 grams of fibre and 7 per cent vitamin C. Almost half the vitamin C of an apple is found just underneath the skin, so before you peel, think about what you are throwing away.
Keep the skin on Peeling may make a fruit or vegetable look better, but the skin contains plenty of vitamins and minerals. The skin of a carrot and a potato holds lots of vitamin C and fibre, so stripping this outer layer lessens the nutritional value. Before cooking all root vegetables, it is important to scrub away the soil and dirt with a soft brush. Apple skin, too, is packed with nutrients and insoluble fibre, says Charmain Tan, a registered dietitian from
Choose seasonal All produce is at its best when it is in season. It looks and tastes better, and you can be sure that you are getting the maximum amount of nutrients. If a fruit or vegetable is seasonal, it also means that it is fresher and more readily available. If you must purchase an out-of-season fruit or vegetable for a recipe, Wu suggests going for the frozen variety, as these would have been picked at the right time.
Go for nutrient-dense varieties Not all fruit and veggies are created equal. Some, such as broccoli, bok choy, blueberries and watermelon are true nutritional powerhouses, containing more vitamins and minerals by weight than other varieties. Although all fruit and veggies are a good choice, Poon suggests choosing these super-foods to get the most nutrients into your diet. Mix it up To enjoy a wide variety of fruit and vegetables, you might want to start getting more creative with your meals. Poon recommends these combinations for a healthy lunch or dinner: pork chops topped with orange segments, chicken salad with red, green and orange bell peppers, and beef with bitter melon. A handful of dried fruit makes for a good afternoon
HEALTH BITES
snack, and for breakfast, you can’t beat fresh fruit with wholegrain cereal or yogurt. Follow these freshness tips If you want good-quality produce that tastes great and is nutritious, you have to make sure it’s fresh. Tan says to avoid produce that has been bruised and does not have a vibrant colour. The skin should be firm and the fruit or vegetable should feel heavy for its size. When buying pre-cut produce, refrigerate it as soon as possible for safety reasons. Once you get it home, prepare it the right way to maintain its quality and freshness. Remove the outer layer of lettuces and cabbages. For veggies such as broccoli and Brussels sprouts, Tan suggests washing and trimming them, and then soaking them in slightly salted water to remove insects. Finally, if you’re wondering if organic is better, Tan says this isn’t always the case. Thin-skinned fruit such as peaches tend to absorb more pesticides, so organic varieties might make more sense, whereas you could probably get away with non-organic avocadoes, as they are so thick-skinned. Fruit with stems, such as pears and strawberries, are best bought organic, as pesticides can run down the stems and into the fruit. life@scmp.com
Move it and lose it: every ‘brisk’ minute counts Go hard to keep off the heft: that’s the advice of University of Utah researchers, whose new study shows that brief high-intensity activity can have a positive effect on weight, as do longer durations of exercise. In the US, the current recommendation is to get at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity a week, which can be accumulated in eight to 10 minute periods. But the researchers say shorter bouts – such as taking the stairs or walking between errands, for example – has comparable benefits. They found that each daily minute of higherintensity activity lowered the odds of obesity by 5 per cent for women and 2 per cent for men. Junk the juicer; whole fruit is best Loading up on at least two servings each week of certain whole fruit – in particular blueberries, grapes or apples – can reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes by as much as 23 per cent, according to a new study led by the Harvard School of Public Health. Conversely, consuming one or more
servings of fruit juice each day was found to increase the risk of type 2 diabetes by up to 21 per cent. The study, which involved nearly 190,000 people, was published online in BMJ (British Medical Journal).
Consume or cook your fruit and veggies straight after washing them
Hormone testing may indicate gestational diabetes risk Researchers at American health care provider Kaiser Permanente have found a potentially easy and inexpensive way to identify women at risk of gestational diabetes: by measuring levels of the hormone adiponectin. In their study of about 4,000 women published in Diabetes Care, overweight women with low levels of the hormone prior to pregnancy were almost seven times more likely to develop gestational diabetes.
Photo montage: Corbis
The condition can lead to adverse outcomes including larger-than-normal babies and delivery complications. Women with gestational diabetes are seven times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes later in life, and their children are at greater risk of becoming obese and developing diabetes themselves. Adiponectin protects against insulin resistance, inflammation and heart disease. jeanette.wang@scmp.com
FIT & FAB
Two for one suits sports fan’s competitive streak ................................................ Rachel Jacqueline life@scmp.com While some find it difficult to be good at one sport, Donna Gee finds it hard to manage her sporting talents. The gifted Australian represents Hong Kong in not one, but two sports, while juggling a full-time career heading the design faculty at a private secondary school. Gee, 30, plays ultimate frisbee and touch rugby for Hong Kong – two lesser-known but intense sports that are gaining in popularity. She recently returned to Australia for a touch rugby competition, and last year she was in Japan for the Ultimate Frisbee World Championships. The juggling act isn’t deliberate, she says. “Frisbee was never meant to be serious; it was just about having fun.”
But her competitive spirit stirred, and she found herself excelling at the sport after picking it up two years ago. “Once you have that competitive streak, it is very difficult to turn it off,” she says. Balancing training and work requires simplicity: sleep, work, train, eat, and not much else. When training for both sports is in full swing, she’s out of bed before 6am, trains for up to three hours a night, and rarely gets to bed before midnight. Though each sport involves different skills, they both require lots of running, and that keeps Gee in top shape. Frisbee is the tougher of the two, she says. “You play until a score is executed, so sometimes you can be on the field running non-stop for 14 minutes. I’ve never pushed my body as hard as I have in frisbee. You run until you have nothing left.”
Is sport about the game, or is it about the people? The people. I think the way people view sport in Hong Kong is quite different. Here, you build much stronger connections with your team and the sporting community is much smaller. Although everyone is competitive, the spirit of the game carries through much more. What does sport bring to your teaching? Does it have an influence? I would hope my ability to balance my sport and work commitments is an inspiration to my students. I’d like to show them that they are able to do more than just focus on their studies.
What’s been the impact of sport on your life? A lot of my mentors have come from sport and have affected some key life decisions. I’ve met some of my best friends in Hong Kong through the many sports I’ve played – frisbee, touch rugby and dragon boating. I met my boyfriend in the frisbee squad, and he gives me a lot of inspiration. If I didn’t have these pursuits, my life in Hong Kong would be very different.
Donna Gee has represented Hong Kong in ultimate frisbee and touch rugby. Photo: Jonathan Wong
How has sport shaped you as a person? Sport has taught me to get the most out of life, and to try anything. Stay motivated and don’t give up. It’s also taught me to be more generous, and to give as much as you can to other
people. I think when you play a team sport, especially at a high level when you have coaches and managers that organise the teams, you realise how much people do for you and the team. So you want to give back as much as you can. I’ve helped to establish a touch rugby team at my school and we now have 30 students taking part. Do you think Hongkongers can sometimes do an excessive amount of exercise? You definitely need to have a limit, and you have to take a break every now and then, otherwise you lose the passion for it. Over summer, I’ve been enjoying a bit of down time. Everyone needs that at some stage. It’s nice to have a break and then come back a bit more driven, a bit more focused, and start again feeling refreshed.