Natural Health: Baking Perfection

Baking Perfection - One of the most common baking questions we get from readers is how to know when their cake is cooked. It's an area where contestants on The Great British Bake-off often come unstuck, so we asked Ruby Tandohfor her expert advice.

Sliding a tin of cake batter into a hot oven and tenderly shutting the door, it's tempting to turn the kettle on, kick back and congratulate yourself on a job well done. But without wishing to scaremonger or to fuss: don't speak too soon. Far from being the closing credits in your cake's story, its time in the oven will prove pivotal: baked well, it'll rise to great heights; baked poorly, even the most fastidiously prepared cake batter will proceed to disappoint, emerging perhaps claggy, perhaps dry.

Cooking time and temperature are the important variables to consider at this point. Rapid, high-temperature cooking will set an airy sponge batter, whereas a deeper, heavier cake - perhaps a fruit cake, for instance - will be better suited to a longer, gentler stint in the oven. Oven temperatures can be checked by using a cheap oven thermometer. The bake time, however, is slightly more difficult to pin down. Variations in tin sizes and thicknesses, different ambient and ingredient temperatures and oven peculiarities can all have an impact on how long it takes a cake to cook. With this in mind, it's important to be able to look beyond the guide baking times and learn how to 'read' a cake, judging for yourself whether your creation is baked or not. If you can do this - by ogling, prodding and stabbing your cake - you'll be able to scale up or down or swap tins with confidence, making these recipes your own. Here are a few tests, which will, I hope, make the baking process more intuitive and less fraught.

Knife-test 

This is the most used test and the most effective. I always use a small knife for this, but you can use a proper caketester if you have one, or even a skewer or cocktail stick. If the cake is ready, a knife inserted into the middle of it will come out with no more than a couple of moist crumbs sticking to it. If the knife emerges coated with batter, the cake isn't yet done. This is the best way of being sure that the cake is cooked right through. Just don't be overzealous: the knife needs to come out clean-ish, but if you wait until it comes out bone dry then you will have baked the cake too long. 

Check the edges 

Large cakes, particularly whisked ones such as genoise sponges, will pull away from the edges of the tin when ready. Look out for the rim of the cake just starting to peel back from the cake tin. 

Spring-test 

This test won't tell you definitively whether the cake is ready, but it will give you an indication. If, under the gentle press of a fingertip, the cake is left dented or feels fragile and spongy, it'll almost certainly need a while longer in the oven. If it's springy to the touch, it may well be ready, or very nearly there. 

Colour confusion 

Recipes will often specify that a cake ought to be 'golden brown' when done. This is fair enough as an observation, but a very inaccurate way of actually judging the cooking time in practice. The fundamental problem here is that most cakes will begin to take on a deeper hue long before their centre is cooked. The only time you need to heed the colour of your baking cake is if it's beginning to burn.

Natural Health: 5 VEGETARIAN MYTHS

1. VEGGIES DON'T GET ENOUGH PROTEIN

Because vegetarians do not eat meat they are obviously missing one dietary source of protein. But, with careful attention to their vegetarian diets including as much variety as possible, they should easily be able to meet their recommended daily allowance of protein. Good sources include beans, pulses, lentils and nuts, like pistachios. Eggs are also a great way to get protein into your diet. 

2. ALL VEGETARIANS ARE ANAEMIC

Anaemia can be an issue for all of us, especially women, who lose a small amount of iron every month during their period. Haem iron from animal sources is well absorbed by our bodies but non-haem sources from plants probably account for the main source of dietary iron for most people. However, in certain circumstances it is less well absorbed and you'll need to eat the right amount to meet your RDA of iron. Good vegetarian sources of iron include beans, dark green leafy vegetables, lentils, chickpeas and tofu. Many foods are fortified with B vitamins and iron, including bread and cereals. Non-haem iron absorption is enhanced if eaten with a source of vitamin C, so a glass of orange juice with your breakfast cereal is ideal. 

3. IF YOU GO VEGETARIAN, YOU'LL LOSE WEIGHT

Three out of the eight participants on my recent weight loss show, Weighing Up The Enemy, were vegan yet obese, showing that actually with a poor diet it is very easy for vegetarians to put on weight. Eating only cake and crisps would classify you as a vegetarian but this clearly has no health benefits and a high likelihood of putting on weight. A healthy vegetarian diet is all about balance with plenty of fruit and veg, starchy foods, some nondairy source of protein like eggs and beans, some dairy products and just a small amount of fatty and sugary foods. 

4. YOU CAN'T FIND OMEGAS ANYWHERE OTHER THAN FISH

There are plenty of non-fish sources of omega 3, including flaxseeds and flaxseed oil, walnuts, soya beans and tofu, Brussels sprouts and cauliflower. 

5. YOU WON'T GET ENOUGH VITAMIN B12 IN YOUR DIET

It's essential that all vegetarians realise that vitamin B12 is only found in animal products so it is important to include eggs regularly in your diet. Other sources, although these are less good, are yeast extracts and fortified breakfast cereals. But if you really feel you're not getting enough, you can take a vitamin B12 supplement. 

Baking Perfection

SUPPLEMENTAL HEALTH CARE

GINGER

Why it works: Powerful phenolic compounds and antioxidants such as shogaols, zingerone and gingerols reduce pain and inflammation. And there's more. "Ginger helps prevent blood cells from sticking together," says Mars. "It also inhibits inflammatory prostaglandin production." A review published in the Journal of Medicinal Food showed that ginger works in a similar manner as NSAIDs by suppressing the cox-1 and cox-2 enzymes that cause inflammation.

How to use it: Make a comforting ginger compress: Dip a clean washcloth into a cup of hot (but not scalding) ginger tea, and apply to the aching joint in question. Cover with a dry cloth to hold the heat in until it's cool. Replace as needed. You can also buy topical creams to ease pain and inflammation and reduce stiffness.

TURMERIC

Why it works: Turmeric contains curcuminoids-the most famous of which is curcumin-which decrease inflammation naturally. A 2006 study in the medical journal Arthritis and Rheumatology showed that turmeric may relieve symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis.

How to use it: Take it as a supplement, or look for this ingredient in topical creams.

GREEN TEA

 Why it works: Green tea contains polyphenols, a type of antioxidant that cools arthritis-related inflammation. Research at the University of Michigan Health System in 2007 showed that this compound may inhibit the production of molecules that destroy cartilage and bone.

How to use it: Drink four cups of green tea a day or take an EGCG (active ingredient in green tea) supplement: 2,000 mg. twice a day.

CAYENNE PEPPER

Why it works: A study published in The Journal of Rheumatology in 1992 showed that capsaicin in cayenne relieves the tenderness and pain of osteoarthritis. A 2007 Harvard University study published in the medical journal Nature showed that capsaicin targets pain receptors without causing numbness.

How to use it: Make your own topical treatment by steeping a tablespoon of cayenne in 1 pint of hot (but not scalding) apple cider vinegar, says Mars. Dip a clean washcloth into the mixture, and apply as needed. Cover with a dry cloth to hold the heat in longer. Replace when it has cooled. You can also buy a cayenne pepper cream. Cayenne can also be taken in supplement form. Choose capsules of at least 500 mg., and follow label instructions.

STINGING NETTLES

Why it works: The stinging part of the nettle draws blood to the joint, relieving pain and inflammation. "Nettle sting also contains formic acid, which stimulates a natural antihistamine reaction," says Mars.

How to use it: Touching the afflicted area with stinging nettles can hurt at the time but relieves pain in the long run. Or drink it as a tea or use it in a cream topically on painful areas. Note: It has not been established that nettle root or leaf are safe for pregnant or nursing mothers. When in doubt, talk to your doctor before taking this or any supplement.

TART CHERRIES

Why it works: Research at the Oregon Health & Science University showed that tart cherries have the highest anti-inflammatory content of any food and can help manage osteoarthritis pain. "Tart cherries help to clear inflammatory compounds such as uric acid from the joints," says Mars. "Cherries also contain healthy antioxidants called anthocyanins, which give them their red color and reduce inflammation."

How to use it: Take a supplement (500 mg. four times a day), or drink 10.5 ounces of tart cherry juice daily for three weeks.

ESSENTIAL FATTY ACIDS

 Why it works: Essential fatty acids reduce inflammation by lubricating the joints; they also slow cartilage degeneration of osteoarthritis.

How to use it: Buy a fish oil high in DHA and EPA, and certified free of contaminants, such as mercury. Take 1,500-3,000 mg. per day-the lower end for maintenance and the higher end for more acute flares of pain or stiffness.



5 VEGETARIAN MYTHS

Natural Health Strength for Life

Strength for Life - RALPH WALDO EMERSON once penned: "To be great is to be misunderstood." These are apt words when applied to the concept of strength training, which often evokes images of hyper-muscular jock-types grunting as they hurl barbells and dumbbells around in a musty gym. In reality, strength training-or resistance training-is any movement in which your muscles contract to resist a force or move a load. The "load" can take many forms: the usual dumbbells, barbells and kettlebells, of course, but also your own body weight or even a bag of groceries. Strength training is crucial for physical health and balance, and it's easily accessible to every age, body type and fitness level.

WHY YOU NEED TO INCORPORATE

STRENGTH TRAINING

As infants, we innately embrace strength training: Picture a baby on his tummy pushing up to see what's in front of him. Kids, too, default almost naturally to jumping, climbing and running, activities that build muscle and bone tissue as children move and grow.

As we age, we get increasingly sedentary, so adults need to be more deliberate about developing strength. Muscle mass decreases with age-a phenomenon known as sarcopenia-as do metabolic demands, which can lead to packing on extra pounds. Strength training can help reverse these trends, improving general health, bone density, muscular strength, mental and emotional well-being, and longevity.

Plus, strength training is life training. Strong muscles expand your recreational options and enable you to complete common tasks-carrying groceries, shoveling snow, climbing stairs, keeping up with kids and grandkids-with more energy and less pain. For elderly adults, exercise that enhances strength and balance can promote more resilient bones and prevent falls. "Strength training aids your body in living better for a longer period of time," says Amber Long, a certified personal trainer and fitness center director in Kansas City, Kansas.

SUPPLEMENTAL HEALTH CARE

Natural Health The Bandwagon Diet part 2

Natural Health The Bandwagon Diet part 2 - For Dunn, her concerns with extremely low-carb diets (such as Atkins and paleo) are twofold. First is the potential decrease in healthy fiber, which not only removes waste and toxins from our digestive system, thus allowing us to absorb other important nutrients, but it also increases satiety, so you feel full longer. Second: the lack of folic acid, especially for women of childbearing age. In an effort to prevent birth defects, the USDA mandates an enrichment program that adds folic acid to most commercial grain products. Forgoing enriched grains could put pregnant women or those who plan to become pregnant and their babies at risk for folate deficiency, which can lead to neural tube defects.

Plus, although cutting out entire food or nutrient groups might feel like a quick and relatively easy approach, generally the positive effects of elimination diets are short-lived. Jumping on and off bandwagon diets often leads to yo-yoing-losing and then regaining pounds. Combined with a subsequent feeling of failure and potentially harmful nutrition gaps, the result might be a net negative.

There are exceptions, though, says Hill, who sees the long-term impact of obesity as a far bigger concern than the nutrition gaps or emotional risks of weight-cycling. For people battling obesity, "losing weight trumps everything else," he says.

In his practice at the CU Anschutz Health and Wellness Center, Hill has clients, even those who haven't received a celiac diagnosis, asking about gluten avoidance. He calls it the "hot topic of the day" but surprisingly doesn't argue against this food trend. "There's a psychological element to it all," says Hill. "Hey, if you think it makes you feel better, that's OK," he says. There's no medical downside to removing gluten. The question is: What are you replacing it with?

Dunn agrees in part, but points out: "There's nothing inherently healthier about a gluten-free diet. In fact, we've found a lot of processed gluten-free foods have added fat or sugar to improve the texture and taste."

Incidentally, Kimball thinks the paleo diet is a trend that might have legs. Encouraging people to eat the foods of the pre-agricultural hunter/gatherers, paleo advocates very little dairy and grains, increased lean protein (mostly from meat), and no processed foods.  "There's no room for low-fat Greek yogurt or high-fiber tortillas-but it makes us think about whole foods, and I see that as a trend that will stick with us."

Just don't assume because something was healthy 10,000 years ago it's right for your health today. "Our bodies have evolved," says Marlene Zuk, evolutionary biologist at the University of Minnesota and author of Paleofantasy (W.W. Norton & Company, 2013). "If you use a governing principle of not eating anything that wasn't around 10,000 years ago, you're going to miss out on a lot of stuff, like calcium from dairy. People have changed in the last 10,000 years, and that's a good thing."

To say the least, nutritional information can be misleading, the data confusing and the hype overblown. Pollan blames scientific reductionism-investigating the individual components of a food while ignoring more complex interactions and contexts in which they're consumed. "It encourages us to take a mechanistic view of [the] transaction: put in this nutrient, get out that physiological result," he says in the New York Times article. "Yet people differ in important ways." Some can metabolize sugars or digest milk or tolerate gluten better than others, he explains. "The same input of 100 calories may yield more or less energy depending on the proportion of Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes living in your gut."

In other words, go ahead and jump aboard the bandwagon if you're curious where it's headed. Most experts agree it's a good way to get more conscious about the foods you're consuming, and it might take you to a healthier place. Just don't be surprised if it's a bumpy ride or you end up back where you started. And don't be afraid to jump off the wagon if it's headed in a bad direction.

Natural Health Strength for Life

Natural Health with Agnostic Eating

Natural Health with Agnostic Eating - A friend recently introduced me to a new term that I love: diet agnostic. It means neither faith nor disbelief in a singular, supreme way of eating. To be clear, diet agnosticism isn't irreverence. It simply posits that we don't know enough about human nutrition to say one approach is right for everyone and instead suggests individuals be conscious of how they eat and craft a diet that serves them best.

Consider this in contrast to the ever-expanding array of food faiths-and their proselytizing disciples-that claim with unwavering certitude that their way is the right way...or at least, the righteous way to diet. Buy only organic. Anything worth eating should be eaten raw. Consume no carbs. If Neanderthals didn't eat it, neither should you. Attempting to simplify a galaxy of gastronomic unknowns, these passing food fads have actually complicated something as basic as eating.

And yet, each new dietary trend gains true believers, some of whom experience genuine health improvements while others, it seems, simply feel they need to follow the fad. Either way, it proves that deep down we yearn to make healthy choices. Is that thus bad? If going vegetarian, gluten-free, locavore, whatever, gets United States of America asking essential questions on the food we tend to eat, terrific.

In his new book Diet Cults: The Surprising Fallacy at the Core of Nutrition Fads and a Guide to Healthy Eating for the Rest of Us (Pegasus 2014), author Matt Fitzgerald writes, "the natural human tendency to form diet cults is neither good nor bad. But there is tension inherent in it.Advocates of each cult cite specific evidence to support their claims of superiority." But, these scientific claims often prove fleeting as well. In "Eggs Exonerated,"  we crack the long-held stereotype that eggs are somehow bad for you. A staple of every kitchen, the poor maligned egg is remarkable in its simplicity, versatility, and pure health benefits.

And while quinoa is certainly trending as a popular health food these days, there is no doubting its wonders. Across centuries and around the world, this plant has long played an integral role in a natural diet. In "Mighty Quinoa," on page 16, we offer you five creative recipes to make quinoa a part of any meal. Its another adaptable ingredient that you can have some fun with.

After all, as our own naturopathic expert Dr. James reminds us on page 40, food should be fun. "When it becomes about 'you can't have that,' or 'you have to do it like this,' you're in a little box and you can't play anymore."
Natural Health for Dinner

Natural Health The Bandwagon Diet part 1

Natural Health The Bandwagon Diet part 1 - We want a balanced diet. We just don't want it to be so hard. And that makes us easy prey for the latest food-fad headlines. Whether it's a newly released nutritional study disparaging whey protein or a friend bragging about having more energy after removing all corn syrup from her diet, we think, "This is it. The cure." And so, generally while not a lot of vital thought, we tend to jump aboard the bandwagon.

Every era arrives with a prevailing food trend or trumpeted foodlike product. Who could forget the fat-free movement of the 1980s, quickly followed by the low-carb Atkins revolution of the '90s? Within those trends, offshoots of nutritional orthodoxy arise. In a 2007 New York Times article titled "Unhappy Meals," Michael Pollan half-jokingly referred to 1988 as "The Year of Oat Bran," when food scientists got the material "into nearly each processed food sold-out in America Oat bran's moment on the dietary stage didn't last long, however the pattern had been established, and each few years since then a brand new "oat bran" has taken its flip below the selling lights." Currently kale, quinoa (see page 15) and chia seed are center stage. "Vegan," "paleo" and "gluten-free" are splashed across restaurant menus and product labels from one end of the grocery store to the other.

Molly Kimball, a registered dietician with Ochsner Health System in New Orleans, believes basic human nature drives our bandwagon behavior. "I was at the grocery store the other day, and the customer said to the checkout person, 'You look great,'" says Kimball. "I guarantee the next question was 'what have you been doing?'" When we see our friends or coworkers looking and feeling better, we want to grab a piece of that for ourselves.

But there's another reason these sensationalist trends persist: They all boil complex nutrition science down to concepts that are easy to grasp and easy to follow, at least for a brief time.

And guess what: Even the trendiest among them would possibly truly be doing United States some smart. "All these diets take one thing out of our current diet," says James O. Hill, Ph.D., decision maker of the University of Colorado Anschutz Health and health Center in Aurora, Colo. "You're cutting either fat, sugar, carbs, blue foods, red foods, you name it." Going paleo, for example recommends dropping processed foods, which are often high in saturated and trans fats-major enemies to heart health. "Removing something from your diet is an easy change to make, and it almost always makes people feel better," says Hill.

That said, removing entire food classes from a diet brings its own set of biological process issues. "We grasp the body depends on the interaction of multiple, varied foods we tend to eat," says Carlovingian Glagola Dunn, a scholarly person fellow at the University of Florida's Food Science and Human Nutrition department. "The variety helps us function, keeps us regular and feeds the healthy bacteria in our gut."

Removing macronutrients such as fat, carbs or protein impacts our intake and balance of micronutrients-aka vitamins and minerals.

"Eliminating sugar or carbs is easy for people to get their brains around for a short period of time," says Kimball. But she and other nutrition experts note that people often cut one "enemy" only to replace it with another. In this respect, people's best intentions to change their diet for the better can actually work against them.

Natural Health The Bandwagon Diet part 2