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Tag: chickpeas

  • Keeping Better Score of Your Diet | NutritionFacts.org

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    How can you get a perfect diet score?

    How do you rate the quality of people’s diets? Well, “what could be more nutrient-dense than a vegetarian diet?” Indeed, if you compare the quality of vegetarian diets with non-vegetarian diets, the more plant-based diets do tend to win out, and the higher diet quality in vegetarian diets may help explain greater improvements in health outcomes. However, vegetarians appear to have a higher intake of refined grains, eating more foods like white rice and white bread that have been stripped of much of their nutrition. So, just because you’re eating a vegetarian diet doesn’t mean you’re necessarily eating as healthfully as possible.

    Those familiar with the science know the primary health importance of eating whole plant foods. So, how about a scoring system that simply adds up how many cups of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, chickpeas, split peas, and lentils, and how many ounces of nuts and seeds per 1,000 calories (with or without counting white potatoes)? Looking only at the total intake of whole plant foods doesn’t mean you aren’t also stuffing donuts into your mouth. So, you could imagine proportional intake measures, based on calories or weight, to determine the proportion of your diet that’s whole plant foods. In that case, you’d get docked points if you eat things like animal-derived foods—meat, dairy, or eggs—or added sugars and fats.

    My favorite proportional intake measure is McCarty’s “phytochemical index,” which I’ve profiled previously. I love it because of its sheer simplicity, “defined as the percent of dietary calories derived from foods rich in phytochemicals.” It assigns a score from 0 to 100, based on the percentage of your calories that are derived from foods rich in phytochemicals, which are biologically active substances naturally found in plants that may be contributing to many of the health benefits obtained from eating whole plant foods. “Monitoring phytochemical intake in the clinical setting could have great utility” in helping people optimize their diet for optimal health and disease prevention. However, quantifying phytochemicals in foods or tissue samples is impractical, laborious, and expensive. But this concept of a phytochemical index score could be a simple alternative method to monitor phytochemical intake.

    Theoretically, a whole food, plant-based or vegan diet that excluded refined grains, white potatoes, hard liquors, added oils, and added sugars could achieve a perfect score of 100. Lamentably, most Americans’ diets today might be lucky to score just 20. What’s going on? In 1998, our shopping baskets were filled with about 20% whole plant foods; more recently, that has actually shrunk, as you can see below and at 2:49 in my video Plant-Based Eating Score Put to the Test.

    Wouldn’t it be interesting if researchers used this phytochemical index to try to correlate it with health outcomes? That’s exactly what they did. We know that studies have demonstrated that vegetarian diets have a protective association with weight and body mass index. For instance, a meta-analysis of five dozen studies has shown that vegetarians had significantly lower weight and BMI compared with non-vegetarians. And even more studies show that high intakes of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes may be protective regardless of meat consumption. So, researchers wanted to use an index that gave points for whole plant foods. They used the phytochemical index and, as you may recall from an earlier video, tracked people’s weight over a few years, using a scale of 0 to 100 to simply reflect what percentage of a person’s diet is whole plant foods. And even though the healthiest-eating tier only averaged a score of about 40, which meant the bulk of their diet was still made up of processed foods and animal products, just making whole plant foods a substantial portion of the diet may help prevent weight gain and decrease body fat. So, it’s not all or nothing. Any steps we can take to increase our whole plant food intake may be beneficial.

    Many more studies have since been performed, with most pointing in the same direction for a variety of health outcomes—indicating, for instance, higher healthy plant intake is associated with about a third of the odds of abdominal obesity and significantly lower odds of high triglycerides. So, the index may be “a useful dietary target for weight loss,” where there is less focus on calorie intake and more on increasing consumption of these high-nutrient, lower-calorie foods over time. Other studies also suggest the same is true for childhood obesity.

    Even at the same weight, with the same amount of belly fat, those eating plant-based diets tend to have higher insulin sensitivity, meaning the insulin they make works better in their body, perhaps thanks to the compounds in plants that alleviate inflammation and quench free radicals. Indeed, the odds of hyperinsulinemia—an indicator of insulin resistance—were progressively lower with greater plant consumption. No wonder researchers found 91% lower odds of prediabetes for people getting more than half their calories from healthy plant foods.

    They also found significantly lower odds of metabolic syndrome and high blood pressure. There were only about half the odds of being diagnosed with hypertension over a three-year period among those eating more healthy plants. Even mental health may be impacted—about 80% less depression, 2/3 less anxiety, and 70% less psychological distress, as you can see below and at 5:15 in my video.

    Is there a link between the dietary phytochemical index and benign breast diseases, such as fibrocystic diseases, fatty necrosis, ductal ectasia, and all sorts of benign tumors? Yes—70% lower odds were observed in those with the highest scores. But what about breast cancer? A higher intake of healthy plant foods was indeed associated with a lower risk of breast cancer, even after controlling for a long list of other factors. And not just by a little bit. Eating twice the proportion of plants compared to the standard American diet was linked to more than 90% lower odds of breast cancer.

    Doctor’s Note

    You can learn more about the phytochemical index in Calculate Your Healthy Eating Score.

    If you’re worried about protein, check out Flashback Friday: Do Vegetarians Get Enough Protein?

    It doesn’t have to be all or nothing, though. Do Flexitarians Live Longer?

    For more on plant-based junk, check out Friday Favorites: Is Vegan Food Always Healthy?.

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    Michael Greger M.D. FACLM

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  • Eating to Treat Crohn’s Disease  | NutritionFacts.org

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    Switching to a plant-based diet has been shown to achieve far better outcomes than those reported on conventional treatments for both active and quiescent stages of Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis.

    Important to our understanding and the prevention of the global increase of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), we know that “dietary fiber reduces risk, whereas dietary fat, animal protein, and sugar increase it.” “Despite the recognition of westernization of lifestyle as a major driver of the growing incidence of IBD, no countermeasures against such lifestyle changes have been recommended, except that patients with Crohn’s disease should not smoke.”

    We know that “consuming whole, plant-based foods is synonymous with an anti-inflammatory diet.” Lists of foods with inflammatory effects and anti-inflammatory effects are shown here and at 0:50 in my video, The Best Diet for Crohn’s Disease.

    How about putting a plant-based diet to the test?

    Cutting down on red and processed meats didn’t work, but what about cutting down on all meat? A 25-year-old man “with newly diagnosed CD…failed to enter clinical remission despite standard medical therapy. After switching to a diet based exclusively on grains, legumes [beans, split peas, chickpeas, and lentils], vegetables, and fruits, he entered clinical remission without need for medication and showed no signs of CD on follow-up colonoscopy.”

    It’s worth delving into some of the details. The conventional treatment he was started on is infliximab, sold as REMICADE®, which can cause a stroke and may increase our chances of getting lymphoma or other cancers. (It also costs $35,000 a year.) It may not even work in 35 to 40 percent of patients, and that seemed to be the case with the 25-year-old man. So, his dose was increased after 37 weeks, but he was still suffering after two years on the drug. Then he completely eliminated animal products and processed foods from his diet and finally experienced a complete resolution of his symptoms.

    “Prior to this, his diet had been the typical American diet, consisting of meat, dairy products, refined grains, processed foods, and modest amounts of vegetables and fruits. Having experienced complete clinical remission for the first time since his Crohn’s disease diagnosis, the patient decided to switch to a whole food, plant-based diet permanently, severely reducing his intake of processed foods and limiting animal products to one serving, or less, per week.” Whenever his diet slipped, his symptoms started coming back, but he could always eliminate them by eating healthier again. After six months adhering to these diet and lifestyle changes, including stress relief and exercise, a follow-up “demonstrated complete mucosal healing [of the gut lining] with no visible evidence of Crohn’s disease.”

    We know that “a diet consisting of whole grains, legumes, fruits, and vegetables has been shown to be helpful in the prevention and treatment of heart disease, obesity, diabetes, hypertension, gallbladder disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and many cancers. Although further research is required, this case report suggests that Crohn’s disease might be added to this list of conditions.” That further research has already been done! About 20 patients with Crohn’s disease were placed on a semi-vegetarian diet—no more than half a serving of fish once a week and half a serving of meat once every two weeks—and they achieved a 100 percent remission rate at one year and 90 percent at two years.

    Some strayed from the diet, though. What happened to them? As you can see below and at 3:32 in my video, after one year, half had relapsed, and, at year two, only 20 percent had remained in remission. But those who stuck with the semi-veg diet had remarkable success. It was a small study with no formal control group, but it represents the best-reported result in Crohn’s relapse prevention published in the medical literature to date. 

    Nowadays, Crohn’s patients are often treated with so-called biologic drugs, expensive injected antibodies that suppress the immune system. They have effectively induced and maintained remission in Crohn’s disease, but not in everybody. The current remission rate in Crohn’s with early use of REMICADE® is 64 percent. So, 30 to 40 percent of patients “are likely to experience a disabling disease course even after their first treatment.” What about adding a plant-based diet? Remission rates jumped up to 100 percent for those who didn’t have to drop out due to drug side effects. Even after excluding milder cases, researchers found that 100 percent of those with serious, even “severe/fulminant disease, achieved remission.”

    If we look at gold standard systematic reviews, they conclude that the effects of dietary interventions on inflammatory bowel diseases—Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis—are uncertain. However, this is because only randomized controlled trials were considered. That’s totally understandable, as that is the most rigorous study design. “Nevertheless, people with IBD deserve advice based on the ‘best available evidence’ rather than no advice at all…” And switching to a plant-based diet has been shown to achieve “far better outcomes” than those reported on conventional treatments in both active and quiescent stages in Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. For example, below and at 5:37 in my video, you can see one-year remission rates in Crohn’s disease (100 percent) compared to budesonide, an immunosuppressant corticosteroid drug (30 to 40 percent), a half elemental diet, such as at-home tube feedings (64 percent), the $35,000-a-year drug REMICADE® (46 percent), or the $75,000-a-year drug Humira (57 percent). 

    Safer, cheaper, and more effective. That’s why some researchers have made the “recommendation of plant-based diets for inflammatory bowel disease.”

    It would seem clear that treatment based on addressing the cause of the disease is optimal. Spreading the word about healthier diets could help halt the scourge of inflammatory bowel disease, but how will people hear about this amazing research without some kind of public education campaign? That’s what NutritionFacts.org is all about.

    Doctor’s Note:

    This is the third in a series on inflammatory bowel disease. If you missed the first two, see Preventing Inflammatory Bowel Disease with Diet and The Best Diet for Ulcerative Colitis Treatment.

    My previous Crohn’s videos include Preventing Crohn’s Disease with Diet and Does Nutritional Yeast Trigger Crohn’s Disease?. 

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    Michael Greger M.D. FACLM

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  • Treat Type 1 Diabetes with a Plant-Based Diet?  | NutritionFacts.org

    Treat Type 1 Diabetes with a Plant-Based Diet?  | NutritionFacts.org

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    Is it possible to reverse type 1 diabetes if caught early enough?

    The International Journal of Disease Reversal and Prevention has already had its share of miraculous disease reversals with a plant-based diet. For instance, one patient began following a whole food, plant-based diet after having two heart attacks in two months. Within months, he experienced no more chest pain, controlled his cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugars, and also lost 50 pounds as a nice bonus. Yet, the numbers “do not capture the patient’s transformation from feeling like a ‘dead man walking’ to being in command of his health with a new future and life.” 

    I’ve previously discussed cases of reversing the autoimmune inflammatory disease psoriasis and also talked about lupus nephritis (kidney inflammation). What about type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune disease we didn’t think we could do anything about? In contrast to type 2 diabetes, which is a lifestyle disease that can be prevented and reversed with a healthy enough diet and lifestyle, type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which our body attacks our pancreas, killing off our insulin-producing cells and condemning us to a life of insulin injections—unless, perhaps, it’s caught early enough. If a healthy enough diet is started early enough, might we be able to reverse the course of type 1 diabetes by blunting that autoimmune inflammation?

    As I discuss in my video Type 1 Diabetes Treatment: A Plant-Based Diet, we know that patients with type 1 diabetes “may be able to reduce insulin requirements and achieve better glycemic [blood sugar] control” with healthier diets. For example, children and teens were randomized to a nutritional intervention in which they increased the whole plant food density of their diet—meaning they ate more whole grains, whole fruits, vegetables, legumes (beans, split peas, chickpeas, and lentils), nuts, and seeds. Researchers found that the more whole plant foods, the better the blood sugar control.

    The fact that more whole fruits were associated “with better glycemic [blood sugar] control has important clinical implications for nutrition education” in those with type 1 diabetes. We should be “educating them on the benefits of fruit intake, and allaying erroneous concerns that fruit may adversely affect blood sugar.”

    The case series in the IJDRP, however, went beyond proposing better control of just their high blood sugars, the symptom of diabetes, but better control of the disease itself, suggesting the anti-inflammatory effects of whole healthy plant foods “may slow or prevent further destruction of the beta cells”—the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas—“if dietary intervention is initiated early enough.” Where did this concept come from?

    A young patient. Immediately following diagnosis of type 1 diabetes at age three, a patient began a vegetable-rich diet and, three years later, “has not yet required insulin therapy…and has experienced a steady decline in autoantibody levels,” which are markers of insulin cell destruction. Another child, who also started eating a healthier diet, but not until several months after diagnosis, maintains a low dose of insulin with good control. And, even if their insulin-producing cells have been utterly destroyed, individuals with type 1 diabetes can still enjoy “dramatically reduced insulin requirements,” reduced inflammation, and reduced cardiovascular risk, which is their number one cause of death over the age of 30. People with type 1 diabetes have 11 to 14 times the risk of death from cardiovascular disease compared to the general population, and it’s already the top killer among the public, so it’s closer to 11 to 14 times more important for those with type 1 diabetes to be on the only diet and lifestyle program ever proven to reverse heart disease in the majority of patients—one centered around whole plant foods. The fact it may also help control the disease itself is just sugar-free icing on the cake.

    All this exciting new research was presented in the first issue of The International Journal of Disease Reversal and Prevention. As a bonus, there’s a companion publication called the Disease Reversal and Prevention Digest. These are for the lay public and are developed with the belief I wholeheartedly share that “everyone has a right to understand the science that could impact their health.” You can go behind the scenes and hear directly from the author of the lupus series, read interviews from luminaries like Dean Ornish, see practical tips from dietitians on making the transition towards a healthier diet, and enjoy recipes. 

    The second issue includes more practical tips, such as how to eat plant-based on a budget, and gives updates on what Dr. Klaper is doing to educate medical students, what Audrey Sanchez from Balanced is doing to help change school lunches, and how Dr. Ostfeld got healthy foods served in a hospital. (What a concept!) And what magazine would be complete without an article to improve your sex life? 

    The journal is free, downloadable at IJDRP.org, and its companion digest, available at diseasereversaldigest.com, carries a subscription fee. I am a proud subscriber.

    Want to learn more about preventing type 1 diabetes in the first place? See the related posts below.

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    Michael Greger M.D. FACLM

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  • What Should We Eat?  | NutritionFacts.org

    What Should We Eat?  | NutritionFacts.org

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    Here is a review of reviews on the health effects of animal foods versus plant foods.

    Instead of looking only at individual studies or individual reviews of studies, what if you looked at a review of reviews? In my last video, I covered beverages. As you can see below and at 0:20 in my video Friday Favorites: What Are the Best Foods?, the majority of reviews found some effects either way, finding at least some benefits to tea, coffee, wine, and milk, but not for sweetened beverages, such as soda. As I explored in depth, this approach isn’t perfect. It doesn’t take into account such issues as conflicts of interest and industry funding of studies, but it can offer an interesting bird’s-eye view of what’s out in the medical literature. So, what did the data show for food groups? 

    You’ll note the first thing the authors did was divide everything into plant-based foods or animal-based foods. For the broadest takeaway, we can look at the totals. The vast majority of reviews on whole plant foods show protective or, at the very least, neutral effects, whereas most reviews of animal-based foods identified deleterious health effects or, at best, neutral effects, as you can see at 1:14 in my video. 

    Let’s break these down. As you can see in the graph below and at 1:23, the plant foods consistently rate uniformly well, reflecting the total, but the animal foods vary considerably. If it weren’t for dairy and fish, the total for animal foods would swing almost entirely neutral or negative. 

    I talked about the effects of funding by the dairy industry in my last blog, as well as substitution effects. For instance, those who drink milk may be less likely to drink soda, a beverage even more universally condemned than dairy, so the protective effects may be relative. They may arise not necessarily from what is being consumed, but rather from what is being avoided. This may best explain the fish findings. After all, the prototypical choice is between chicken and fish, not chicken and chickpeas.

    Not a single review found a single protective effect of poultry consumption. Even the soda industry could come up with 14 percent protective effects! But, despite all of the funding from the National Chicken Council and the American Egg Board, chicken, and eggs got big fat goose eggs, as you can see below and at 2:20 in my video. 

    Also, like the calcium in dairy, there are healthful components of fish, such as the long-chain omega-3 fatty acids. Not for heart health, though. In “the most extensive systematic assessment of effects of omega-3 fats on cardiovascular health to date,” increasing intake of fish oil fats had little or no effect on cardiovascular health. If anything, it was the plant-based omega-3s found in flaxseeds and walnuts that were protective. The long-chain omega-3s are important for brain health. Thankfully, just like there are best-of-both-worlds non-dairy sources of calcium, there are pollutant-free sources of the long-chain omega-3s, EPA, and DHA, as well.

    The bottom line, as you can see below and at 3:04 in my video, is that when it comes to diet-related diseases, such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, mental health, bone health, cardiovascular disease, and cancers, even if you lump together all the animal foods, ignore any industry-funding effects, and just take the existing body of evidence at face value, nine out of ten study compilations show that whole plant foods are, in the very least, not bad.

    However, about eight out of ten of the reviews on animal products show them to be not good, as shown in the graph below and at 3:24 in my video.

    This reminds me of my Flashback Friday: What Are the Healthiest Foods? video, which you may find to be helpful for some broad takeaways.

    If you missed my previous video, check out Friday Favorites: What Are the Best Beverages?.

    The omega-3s video I mentioned is Should Vegans Take DHA to Preserve Brain Function?.

    For more on eggs, see here.

    On fish, go here.

    And, for poultry, see related posts below. 

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    Michael Greger M.D. FACLM

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  • Chickpea Salad

    Chickpea Salad

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    Chickpea Salad combines all of my favorite fresh vegetables in one delicious bite.

    Chickpeas are combined with juicy tomatoes, crisp cucumbers, and creamy avocados all tossed in an easy homemade lemon-kissed dressing.

    This easy salad recipe is the perfect side dish for almost any meal or a great lunch. Add some protein like grilled chicken breasts to make it a hearty dinner!

    • It’s incredibly easy to make with almost any salad veggies you love.
    • This chickpea salad recipe is packed with protein and nutrients and tastes so delicious.
    • The dressing is fresh and needs just a few ingredients.
    • It’s great to make ahead and perfect as a side dish or for lunches all week long.
    ignredients in bowl to make Chickpea Saladignredients in bowl to make Chickpea Salad

    Ingredients in Chickpea Salad

    • Chickpeas: Also known as garbanzo beans, this recipe calls for canned chickpeas. Be sure to rinse them to remove excess salt.
    • Cucumbers: Use English, Persian, or baby cucumbers, as they have nice, thin skins and don’t require peeling.
    • Tomatoes: You can use grape (or cherry tomatoes) or seeded and diced Roma tomatoes.
    • Bell peppers: Green bell peppers add crunch and flavor. Use red bell peppers for a sweeter flavor.
    • Parsley: Parsley adds a lot of flavor (and it doesn’t always get enough credit for the freshness it adds!). It can be replaced with other fresh herbs like cilantro or dill.

    Variations

    This chickpea salad recipe is so versatile. Swap in your favorite vegetables; red pepper for green pepper, white or green onion for red onion.

    Try adding kalamata olives or a bit of feta cheese. Feta is quite salty itself, start with less salt when you add the seasonings.

    close up of plated Chickpea Saladclose up of plated Chickpea Salad

    How to Make a Chickpea Salad

    1. Add the veggies and rinsed chickpeas to a bowl (recipe below).
    2. Drizzle with oil, vinegar, and seasonings. Toss to combine.
    3. If using, top with avocado and enjoy!

    Chickpea salad will last for up to 5 days in the fridge. If you’re making this ahead of time, cut the avocado just before serving!

    bowl of Chickpea Salad with lemon dressingbowl of Chickpea Salad with lemon dressing

    Chickpea Salad Dressing

    This salad is full of fresh ingredients so I keep the dressing nice and light. A simple mixture of red wine vinegar and olive oil with a hint of seasoning is all that’s needed.

    Choosing Olive Oil:  Extra virgin olive oil is considered the least processed and most flavorful, while extra light is the most processed and has a much lighter flavor (but it isn’t lighter in fat or calories). We prefer a lighter version of olive oil in this recipe. Vegetable oil or avocado oil will also work.

    Fresh and Flavorful Salads

    Did your family love this Chickpea Salad? Leave us a rating and a comment below!

    Chickpea Salad with wooden spoonsChickpea Salad with wooden spoons

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    Chickpea Salad

    Chickpeas are mixed with ripe tomatoes, crisp cucumbers, and creamy avocados, coated in a simple lemon-infused dressing.

    Prep Time 20 minutes

    Cook Time 5 minutes

    Chill Time 1 hour

    Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes

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    • In a medium bowl, combine tomatoes, cucumber, chickpeas, bell pepper, parsley, and red onion.

    • Add the olive oil, vinegar, cumin, salt, and pepper. Toss well to combine.

    • If using, cut the avocado into cubes and place in a small bowl. Squeeze the juice from ½ of a lemon over the avocado and gently stir to combine. (If not using avocado, squeeze 1 to 2 tablespoons lemon juice over the salad and toss.

    • Refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.

    Store leftover Chickpea Salad covered in the fridge for up to 5 days. 

    Calories: 238 | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 259mg | Potassium: 552mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 1000IU | Vitamin C: 38.4mg | Calcium: 58mg | Iron: 2.1mg

    Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.

    Course Salad, Side Dish
    Cuisine American

    © SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.

    close up of Chickpea Salad with a titleclose up of Chickpea Salad with a title
    Chickpea Salad with lemon dressing with writingChickpea Salad with lemon dressing with writing
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    Holly Nilsson

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  • Weekly Meal Plan May 20, 2024

    Weekly Meal Plan May 20, 2024

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    Dinnertime just got a whole lot easier! With this premade meal plan take the stress out of meal time. Save time and money while being inspired to try new recipes!

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    Holly Nilsson

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  • Easy Spring Salad w/ Lemon Vinaigrette- Oh Sweet Basil

    Easy Spring Salad w/ Lemon Vinaigrette- Oh Sweet Basil

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    This is an easy spring salad full of seasonal ingredients like asparagus, radishes, peas, fresh herbs and enhanced with roasted chickpeas, feta cheese, toasted pine nuts, and hard boiled eggs all topped with a bright and tangy lemon salad dressing.

    Well, we did it again! We survived winter! And boy was it a doozy here in Utah this year. I have never seen so much snow here and we have lived here a really long time. So the fact that a “spring” salad is even a possibility brings a smile to my face! It is time for bright refreshing flavors and warmer temperatures!

    What Goes in a Spring Salad?

    One of the beauties of a salad is that they are so versatile, so I’m going to share the ingredients for how we like to make this salad, but keep in mind that you can omit or add ingredients to your liking. Here is what we like…

    Dressing

    • Olive Oil: the base of the dressing
    • Dijon Mustard: adds intense mustard flavor
    • Lemon Juice and Zest: adds a bright pop of freshness and acidity
    • Shallot: adds mild onion flavor
    • Champagne Vinegar: if you can’t find champagne vinegar, you can use prosecco or white wine vinegar
    • Salt and Pepper: adds flavor
    a photo of someone pouring a lemon vinaigrette from a mason jar onto a spring salad.

    Salad

    • Pine Nuts: adds texture and we toast them for maximum flavor
    • Asparagus: remove the tough stem end and then cut it into 1-2″ pieces
    • Frozen Peas: let them defrost in a bowl of water
    • Baby Salad Greens: this can be any mix of greens you enjoy…romaine, spinach, arugula, chard, etc.
    • Radishes: adds a little heat and gorgeous color
    • Cucumber: we prefer an English cucumber
    • Fresh Herbs: mint, basil, parsley, chives – this blend is so bright and bold
    • Feta: totally optional, but we love them saltiness flavor it adds
    • Roasted Chickpeas: you can buy roasted chickpeas or roast your own and they add great texture
    • Olive Oil: used to roast the chickpeas
    • Salt and Pepper: adds flavor
    • Hard Boiled Eggs: adds protein and heartiness to the salad

    This is meant to just be an overview of the ingredients for this salad. For all the details and measurements, scroll down to the recipe card at the end of this post.

    a photo of all the ingredients for an easy spring salad including asparagus, quartered hard boiled eggs, sliced radishes, a bowl of peas, toasted pine nuts and chopped fresh herbs.a photo of all the ingredients for an easy spring salad including asparagus, quartered hard boiled eggs, sliced radishes, a bowl of peas, toasted pine nuts and chopped fresh herbs.

    How to Make a Fresh Spring Salad

    I like to start salad recipes by making the dressing. It can be made up to a day or two ahead of time, so it’s nice to get that made and out of the way. For this salad dressing, just whisk all the ingredients together and set it aside.

    Other parts of this recipe can also be prepped ahead of time. You can hard boil the eggs, toast the pine nuts and roast the chickpeas up to one or two days ahead of time if you want to.

    When you are ready to make the salad, start by thawing the peas in a bowl of water, prepping and sautéing the asparagus and then you’ll start slicing and chopping all the other veggies and herbs. Slice the eggs and you are ready to assemble the salad.

    Layer all the ingredients in a large bowl and pour some of the dressing on top and toss everything together. Add more dressing as desired and a little salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.

    All of the instructions for making this spring salad can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post.

    Watch How to Make Spring Salad Video

    a photo of a large glass bowl full of all the ingredients for a spring salad that hasn't been tossed yet.a photo of a large glass bowl full of all the ingredients for a spring salad that hasn't been tossed yet.

    Variations

    I mentioned at the beginning that salads are completely customizable which is why they are so popular. Here are some ideas for variations:

    • Additions: avocado, artichoke hearts, sunflower seeds, broccoli florets, cauliflower, celery, green beans, or croutons
    • Protein: grilled or smoked chicken breast, diced ham, or turkey breast
    • Substitutes: try pistachios or almonds instead of the pine nuts, shaved parmesan or goat cheese for the feta

    What to Eat with this Spring Salad

    When spring finally comes, we are all about grilling and smoking, so this spring salad often accompanies the following main dishes:

    a photo of a spring salad consisting of cucumbers, radishes, asparagus, greens, hard boiled eggs, roasted chickpeas, and toasted pine nuts.a photo of a spring salad consisting of cucumbers, radishes, asparagus, greens, hard boiled eggs, roasted chickpeas, and toasted pine nuts.

    Why We Love this Spring Salad

    • Seasonal ingredients: I love making recipes and meals based on whatever is fresh and in season. The asparagus, radishes and greens are great seasonal ingredients.
    • Homemade salad dressing: Salad dressings are so easy to make at home and then you have complete control of what goes into it. This mustard lemon vinaigrette is so bright and bold!
    • Textures: I’m obsessed with all the textures in this salad. The crunchy little pine nuts and roasted chickpeas paired with the creamy eggs and the leafy greens are a match that is meant to be.
    • Customizable: The section above offers some ideas of ways to customize this salad, but the beauty is that you make it totally your own!
    a photo of a wooden plate topped with a spring salad tossed in a lemon vinaigrette.a photo of a wooden plate topped with a spring salad tossed in a lemon vinaigrette.

    Prep Ahead and Storage Tips

    Generally speaking, salads are not great for making ahead of time. They get soggy quickly and are best eaten fresh. That being said, several parts of this salad can be prepped ahead of time. I mentioned this above, but you can make the salad dressing, roast the chickpeas, toast the pine nuts and hard boil the eggs all ahead of time.

    Prepare and dress only the amount of salad that you think will be eaten. The ingredients will store much better before adding the dressing. If you do end up with some leftovers, store in an airtight container. It will keep for a day or two.

    a photo of a large glass bowl full of a delicious spring salad.a photo of a large glass bowl full of a delicious spring salad.

    When warmer temperatures finally come, I crave bright and refreshing flavors. This easy spring salad is vibrant, healthy and looks and tastes so elegant while still being so easy to make! You’re going to love it!

    More Spring Recipes:

    Servings: 8

    Prep Time: 15 minutes

    Cook Time: 15 minutes

    Total Time: 30 minutes

    Description

    This is an easy spring salad full of seasonal ingredients like asparagus, radishes, peas, fresh herbs and enhanced with roasted chickpeas, feta cheese, toasted pine nuts, and hard boiled eggs all topped with a bright and tangy lemon salad dressing.

    Salad

    • 2 Tablespoons Pine Nuts, toasted, *see notes
    • 1 Bunch Asparagus, cut into 1-2″ pieces, sauteed on the stove top in a little olive oil and salt and pepper
    • 1/2 Cup Frozen Peas, defrosted in a bowl of water and drained
    • 6 Cups Baby Salad Greens
    • 1/2 English Cucumber, thinly sliced
    • 1-2 Radishes, thinly sliced
    • 1/3 Cup Fresh Mint, chopped
    • 1/4 Cup Fresh Basil, chopped
    • 1/4 Cup Fresh Parsley, chopped
    • 1 Tablespoon Fresh Chives, chopped
    • 1/3 Cup Feta
    • 1/2 Cup Roasted Chickpeas, *see notes
    • Olive Oil
    • Salt and Pepper
    • 3 Hard Boiled Eggs, halved, *see notes

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    • Toast the pine nuts in a pan over medium heat until golden, tossing occasionally. Remove to a plate.

      2 Tablespoons Pine Nuts

    • Place the peas in a bowl of cool water to thaw.

    • Turn the heat to medium high and replace the skillet. Dry the chickpeas and toss in olive oil, salt and pepper. Cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Set aside on a plate.

      1/2 Cup Roasted Chickpeas, Olive Oil, Salt and Pepper

    • Return the pan to the heat and drizzle in olive oil. Chop the asparagus into 1-2″ pieces and add to the skillet with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally until tender, about 4 minutes. Remove to a plate to cool.

    • Whisk the dressing together and set aside.

      6 Tablespoons Olive Oil, 1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard, 1 teaspoon Lemon Zest, 1/4 Cup Lemon Juice, 1/2 Shallot, 1 Tablespoon Champagne Vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon Salt and Pepper, 1-2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice

    • Layer the lettuces and all other ingredients on a platter and dress lightly then add a little salt and pepper on top.

      1 Bunch Asparagus, 1/2 Cup Frozen Peas, 6 Cups Baby Salad Greens, 1-2 Radishes, 1/3 Cup Fresh Mint, 1/4 Cup Fresh Basil, 1/4 Cup Fresh Parsley, 1 Tablespoon Fresh Chives, 1/3 Cup Feta, 3 Hard Boiled Eggs, 1/2 English Cucumber

    NOTE: Toast pine nuts on the stove top in a skillet over medium low heat. Place the pine nuts in a single layer and stir occasionally until the pine nuts start to brown and smell nutty.
    I buy roasted chickpeas at Costco, but you can roast your own. Drain a can of chickpeas and pat them dry. Toss them in a little olive oil and salt and pepper and roast them in the oven at 400 degrees for 45 minutes.
    Boil the eggs for 7-8 minutes, cooled in ice water then peeled and halved

    Serving: 1cupCalories: 205kcalCarbohydrates: 10gProtein: 7gFat: 16gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 76mgSodium: 187mgPotassium: 330mgFiber: 3gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 1277IUVitamin C: 22mgCalcium: 79mgIron: 3mg

    Author: Sweet Basil

    Course: 100 + Salad Recipes to Obsess Over

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    Sweet Basil

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  • Keto Diet to Effectively Fight Cancer?  | NutritionFacts.org

    Keto Diet to Effectively Fight Cancer?  | NutritionFacts.org

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    What does the science say about the clinical use of ketogenic diets for epilepsy and cancer? 

    Blood sugar, also known as blood glucose, is the universal go-to fuel for the cells throughout our bodies. Our brain burns through a quarter pound of sugar a day because “glucose is the preferred metabolic fuel.” We can break down proteins and make glucose from scratch, but most comes from our diet in the form of sugars and starches. If we stop eating carbohydrates (or stop eating altogether), most of our cells switch over to burning fat. Fat has difficulty getting through the blood-brain barrier, though, and our brain has a constant, massive need for fuel. Just that one organ accounts for up to half of our energy needs. Without it, the lights go out…permanently. 

    To make that much sugar from scratch, our body would need to break down about half a pound of protein a day. That means we’d cannibalize ourselves to death within two weeks, but people can fast for months. What’s going on? The answer to the puzzle was discovered in 1967. Harvard researchers famously stuck catheters into the brains of obese subjects who had been fasting for more than a month and discovered that ketones had replaced glucose as the preferred fuel for the brain. Our liver can turn fat into ketones, which can then breach the blood-brain barrier and sustain our brain if we aren’t getting enough carbohydrates. Switching fuels has such an effect on brain activity that it has been used to treat epilepsy since antiquity. 

    In fact, the prescription of fasting for the treatment of epileptic seizures dates back to Hippocrates. In the Bible, even Jesus seems to have concurred. To this day, it’s unclear why switching from blood sugar to ketones as a primary fuel source has such a dampening effect on brain overactivity. How long can one fast? To prolong the fasting therapy, in 1921, a distinguished physician scientist at the Mayo Clinic suggested trying what he called “ketogenic diets,” high-fat diets designed to be so deficient in carbohydrates that they could effectively mimic the fasting state. “Remarkable improvement” was noted the first time it was put to the test, efficacy that was later confirmed in randomized, controlled trials. Ketogenic diets started to fall out of favor in 1938 with the discovery of the anti-seizure drug that would become known as Dilantin, but they’re still being used today as a third- or fourth-line treatment for drug-refractory epilepsy in children. 

    Oddly, the success of ketogenic diets against pediatric epilepsy seems to get conflated by “keto diet” proponents into suggesting a ketogenic diet is beneficial for everyone. Know what else sometimes works for intractable epilepsy? Brain surgery, but I don’t hear people clamoring to get their skulls sawed open. Since when do medical therapies translate into healthy lifestyle choices? Scrambling brain activity with electroshock therapy can be helpful in some cases of major depression, so should we get out the electrodes? Ketogenic diets are also being tested to see if they can slow the growth of certain brain tumors. Even if they work, you know what else can help slow cancer growth? Chemotherapy. So why go keto when you can just go chemo? 

    Promoters of ketogenic diets for cancer are paid by so-called ketone technology companies that offer to send you salted caramel bone broth powder for a hundred bucks a pound or companies that market ketogenic meals and report “extraordinary” anecdotal responses in some cancer patients. But more concrete evidence is simply lacking, and even the theoretical underpinnings may be questionable. A common refrain is that “cancer feeds on sugar.” But all cells feed on sugar. Advocating ketogenic diets for cancer is like saying Hitler breathed air so we should boycott oxygen. 

    Cancer can feed on ketones, too. Ketones have been found to fuel human breast cancer growth and drive metastases in an experimental model, more than doubling tumor growth. Some have even speculated that this may be why breast cancer often metastasizes to the liver, the main site of ketone production. As you can see below and at 4:59 in my video Is Keto an Effective Cancer-Fighting Diet?, if you drip ketones directly onto breast cancer cells in a petri dish, the genes that get turned on and off make for much more aggressive cancer, associated with significantly lower five-year survival in breast cancer patients, as you can see in the following graph and at 5:05 in my video. Researchers are even considering designing ketone-blocking drugs to prevent further cancer growth by halting ketone production.  

    Let’s also think about what eating a ketogenic diet might entail. High animal fat intake may increase the mortality risk among breast cancer survivors and potentially play a role in the development of breast cancer in the first place through oxidative stress, hormone disruption, or inflammation. This applies to men, too. “A strong association” has been found “between saturated fat intake and prostate cancer progression and survival.” Those in the top third of consumption of these kinds of fat-rich animal foods appeared to triple their risk of dying from prostate cancer. This isn’t necessarily fat in general either. No difference has been found in breast cancer death rates based on total fat intake. However saturated fat intake specifically may negatively impact breast cancer survival, increasing the risk of dying from it by 50 percent. There’s a reason the official American Cancer Society and American Society of Clinical Oncology Breast Cancer Survivorship Care Guideline recommend a dietary pattern for breast cancer patients that’s essentially the opposite of a ketogenic diet. It calls for a diet that’s “high in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and legumes [beans, split peas, chickpeas, and lentils]; low in saturated fats; and limited in alcohol consumption.” 

    “To date, not a single clinical study has shown a measurable benefit from a ketogenic diet in any human cancer.” There are currently at least a dozen trials underway, however, and the hope is that at least some cancer types will respond. Still, even then, that wouldn’t serve as a basis for recommending ketogenic diets for the general population any more than recommending everyone get radiation, surgery, and chemo just for kicks. 

    “Keto” has been the most-searched keyword on NutritionFacts.org for months, and I didn’t have much specific to offer…until now. Check out my other videos on the topic in related videos below. 

     For an overview of my cancer work, watch How Not to Die from Cancer. 

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    Michael Greger M.D. FACLM

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