Micronutrient Monday: Magnesium!

Source: lookchem.com

Magnesium is a nutrient that nearly every American is roughly 100-125 mg deficient in. Magnesium plays a crucial role in bone health, cardiovascular function, nerve system balance, and energy production. Magnesium ensures efficient absorption and storage of calcium, help enzymes perform tasks that are essential for energy production in the body and avoid fatigue, and is essential for healthy function of the brain's NMDA receptors, which are important for mood, learning, and memory function. 

So let's eat some!

Top food sources of magnesium:

Cacao: 476 mg per 100 g (68 mg per Tbs)

Pumpkin Seeds: 185 mg per 1/4 cup

Spinach: 157 mg per cup (cooked)

Swiss Chard: 150 mg per cup (cooked)

Spirulina: 150 mg per 100 g

Halibut: 121 mg per 4 oz.

Black Beans: 120 mg per cup (cooked)

Cacao Powder: Oh man, this is excellent news. Cacao Powder is an excellent source of magnesium! With a whopping 68 mg of magnesium per tablespoon, it is truly a healthy decision to MAKE EVERYTHING CHOCOLATE. Of course, by this I mean adding all-natural, raw, pure cacao to things like protein shakes and all-natural baked goods, not so much making hot chocolate from pre-packaged packets. While these products may advertise the amazing benefits of eating pure cacao/cocoa such as high antioxidants and magnesium, often the cocoa used is highly refined and is diluted with tons of sugar (read: corn syrup) and therefore the product is likely more damaging than healthy. 

Pumpkin Seeds: System of a Down says "Eating seeds is a pastime activity," and I have to agree. Next up is one of my personal favorites: Raw Pumpkin Seeds! These little green guys are packed with 185 mg per quarter cup, which is SO easy to eat, considering the fact that my favorite way to eat them is shoving a whole handful into my face. Eating just a couple of handfuls will give you the intake of 400 mg of magnesium that the NIH recommends!

Spinach:This may come as a shock to you, but it turns out that spinach is really, really, healthy. Seriously though! It brings 157 mg of magnesium per cup when cooked (only 23.7 mg per raw cup, that's a big ol' salad!) to the table, and is easily incorporated into practically any dish. While eating a massive bowl of cooked spinach might sound like a nightmare, you can always spread your consumption out through your daily meals, either as a side or as an ingredient in a larger dish. 

Sources:
World's Healthiest Foods
Self Nutrition Data
National Institutes of Health

Favorites: Vitamix

Life before my Vitamix was a dark time. Filled with food items unblendable, rendered only into chunky blade-arresting clumps by previous blenders and food processors. Countless days I spent in Whole Foods, listening to the Vitamix man giving his spiel about this glorious machine.

I heard it so many times I felt I knew all there was to know! It came with an eight year warranty, heavy duty parts that wouldn't wear down, and blazing-high RPMs that would blend or process anything, in addition to cleaning itself!

But nothing can compare to the joy of truly knowing Vitamix ownership. Any soup that's too chunky that needs a smoother texture, any tough clumpy fruit or vegetable that needs a nice puree, any nut that would really serve you better as a nut butter, can be conquered with ease with a Vitamix. 

I've used mine to make gravies, sauces, soups, dessert toppings, and of course my daily green smoothie! In my experience with the Vitamix my favorite attributes have to be the variable speed setting (though there is a model with just "lo" and "hi" settings which is more affordable!) and the overheating protection. If you're grinding away at some nuts or, for instance, making raw cookies out of dates and pecans, and get a little too enthusiastic, the unit will shut itself off long before the motor gets hot enough to cause any damage. Simply let the unit cool a while, and it'll be back in business! Typically, the unit's excellent air circulation system keeps it from overheating at all!

Another bonus is of course clean up. As a former juicer, the tedious act of cleaning out food pulp makes the health benefits hardly seem worth it, not to mention the fact that I felt like I was throwing most of the food away! With the Vitamix, all one has to do is rinse out the big stuff, then fill it with warm water and a couple of drops of soap, and put it (gradually!) on the High setting for two minutes. Clean as a whistle!

Invest in one. Seriously. 

Superfood Bar: Magazine St. New Orleans

Superfood Bar is an all natural, vegan, smoothie/juice/salad bar on the 4100 block of everyone's favorite food/shopping metropolis, Magazine Street! Offering high quality smoothies, clean juices, and vegan salads, some raw, some not!

They provide the freshest, cleanest, smoothies and juices New Orleans has to offer. Smoothies ranging from the rich Banilla Nut to the fruity Avocolada (shown above!) are certain to please your palate and nourish your body! All of the smoothies can be made with various HealthForce food supplements such as VitaMineral Earth or  VitaMineral Green, which are extremely high quality, "Truganic" greens and protein powders. The best part about their smoothies is the amazing texture, as they are made entirely our of fruits, veggies, and some coconut oil, resulting in a truly smooth smoothie with the occasional rich chuck of banana or avocado which is a wonderful treat to nosh on! Most smoothies are topped with coconut flakes or house-made granola.

Also sold here are Bright Earth Foods products such as superfoods like Goji Berries and Maca Powder, as well as Coconut Oil and Noni Juice! This brand is extremely high quality and sells exclusively to small retailers to bring the best products to people who will be able to easily access to them and at an affordable price!

In addition to using HealthForce Nutritionals in smoothies and granolas, Superfood Bar also sells them at a wicked-low price! I have personally searched for a better deal in the city and there is no better place to buy HealthForce Nutritionals than at Superfood Bar. Whether it's a greens blend, a detox, or a protein powder, Superfood Bar has a HealthForce product that will naturally and cleanly suit your needs! 

Superfood Bar is located at:
4113 Magazine St, New Orleans, LA ‎
You can contact them by phone at (504) 891-7733

Check out their insanely awesome menu here!

Micronutrient Mondays: Calcium!

Source: wikimedia.org

Top food sources of Calcium:

• Sardines: 325mg per 3oz
• Collard Greens: 357mg per cup
• Spinach: 244mg per cup
• Sesame Seeds: 351mg per Quarter Cup
• Yogurt: 415mg per 8oz

Sardines are a particularly fantastic calcium source because they are also rich in vitamin D, which is essential for optimum calcium absorption. Sardines also contain 444 mg of phosphorus, which is very important for strengthening bones, as the second most abundant mineral in the body, second only to calcium. Phosphorus can also help boost kidney function, as well as aiding in muscle recovery and cellular repair, including the production of DNA and RNA. Sardines are also an excellent source of Omega 3's, supplying 1,300 mg of DHA and EPA. Vitamin B12 is also in high concentration in sardines, second only to calf liver as a food source of B12. To top it all off, a 3 oz. serving of sardines will provide 23 g of high quality protein!

Vegetable experts might notice that this is actually green chard.
The grocery was out of collards!

Collards and Spinach each provide substantial amounts of calcium, as well as supplying the body with essential secondary nutrients for optimum calcium absorption. Spinach provides 888 mcg of vitamin K, and collards 836 mcg,  per cup (cooked), a nutrient that exists in two forms in the body, K1 and K2. Each plays an important role in bone health. Vitamin K1 prevents excessive activation of osteoclasts, which are the cells that break down bones. In the intestines, K1 is converted into K2, which activates osteocalcin, a major protein in bone that anchors calcium molecules into the bone.

Note: While spinach provides a higher quantity of Vitamin K, its calcium content is unfortunately hindered by its high levels of oxalate, (750 mg per 100 g serving) which is the greatest known inhibitor of calcium absorption. Collard greens, on the other hand, only contain 74 mg of oxalate per 100 g serving, resulting in calcium that is nearly as bio-available as milk. Other highly bio-available sources such as milk or yogurt, which provides a whopping 415 mg per 8 oz. serving, would be an excellent addition to these greens for maximum calcium absorption, for those who include dairy in their diet.

So! To get a healthy dose of calcium and to ensure maximum absorption and utilization, include sardines and collards in your diet! My favorite way to use collards is to blanch them, remove the stalks, and use them in place of lettuce for veggie wraps! Sardines are wonderful with mustard with a fried egg on top (like Fisherman's eggs), as a pâté, or straight from the can, bones and parts and all!  

Sources:

World's Healthiest Foods
Linus Pauling Institute - Micronutrient Research for Optimal Health

Aaron Lind and Kim Lee at Divine Yoga

Find out what Aaron's up to at aaronlindyoga.com!

Aaron Lind Yoga with Kim Lee on the Cabrini Bridge

Find out what Aaron is up to at aaronlindyoga.com!