Get out your nut-crackers...

I love the fact that as far as our food intake is concerned, form equals function ... with a sliced carrot resembling the human eye - pupil, iris and radiating lines - with carrots greatly enhancing the function of the eyes. Grapes form a cluster in the shape of a heart and each grape looks like a blood cell with research confirming that grapes are also profound heart and blood-vitalizing foods and so it continues through celery (bones), walnuts (brain), kidney beans (kidney), eggplant, avocados, pears (cervix and uterus) and figs (sperm health).

Now here’s the study ... Antioxidant-rich walnuts won’t improve memory, mood or non-verbal reasoning abilities but can increase “inferential reasoning” according to new research published in the British Journal of Nutrition. Inferential thinking is “the ability to designate the degree of accuracy of the conclusions that have been drawn from certain facts.”

But walnuts do more ... and it’s heart health. Rich in vitamin E, folate, melatonin and the omega-3 linolenic acid, the European Food Safety Authority health claims panel recently found that walnuts consumption could benefit blood vessel function. 

Walnuts (in particular, but like all nuts) are best eaten when they're eaten fresh. Buy them in the shell and get yourself a good nut cracker. One that screws in rather than one requiring strong hands can be used by the kids. They have to eat what they get out of the shell, great way to boost their brain function with super-healthy snack foods.

Make mine Mediterranean!

I blogged a few weeks ago that the Mediterranean diet was under threat - thanks to the financial constraints imposed on consumers by the GFC. 

But this new study, showing the Mediterranean diet is able to cut the risk of heart disease by 30 percent also makes it clear that these particular eating habits should be enshrined as a healthy legacy for all! Of course generations have lived by its precepts and many more regularly enjoy this fine cuisine in its multiple guises. This so-called “landmark” study, which began in 2003 was terminated in 2011, cut short because the findings were so significant and because those following the standard “low fat diet” as recommended by the American Heart Association were at such a disadvantage! How’s that for damning the dietary pundits ...?

Wondering exactly what constitutes the Mediterranean diet? Think ... Spanish, Italian, Greek, Turkish, Middle Eastern. Think ... very high in fresh vegetables and fruit (red, orange, purple, green), whole grains, legumes, seafood and mono-unsaturated fats from olive oil, olives and nuts such as walnuts and almonds. Also think ... much reduced meat and dairy!

Oh and along with food lovingly prepared from a cornucopia of fresh ingredients, you’ll usually find a fine glass of red wine and convivial surroundings in that Mediterranean mix!