insideKENT Magazine Issue 81 - December 2018 | Page 100

CHRISTMAS Go On…Indulge cont. TURKEY The turkey, the great centrepiece of your laden Christmas table, is a strange thing. We don’t tend to eat it (much) at other times of the year, but at Christmas it is everywhere, and we eat it in various guises for days on end. And that, perhaps, is something we should try throughout the year as well because turkey holds some rather interesting health benefits. • Turkey is wonderfully rich in vitamin B6, protein, niacin and tryptophan (an essential amino acid). To a lesser degree you’ll also find vitamin B12 and zinc in there too. Plus, without the skin turkey is low in fat. Lovely! • Turkey contains selenium, which is a trace mineral known for its anti-cancer properties. As a bonus, selenium also helps to keep your thyroid (and therefore your metabolism) working properly, helping you to lose weight when you exercise and eat well. • Cholesterol is something we’re all told to watch out for, but the problem is that it is absolutely everywhere, in pretty much everything we eat. Turkey, however, has very little of it, making it one of the healthiest meats there is (turkey contains less cholesterol than beef, pork and even chicken). • Turkey makes us feel good! It might be for this reason that Christmas dinner is always such a jolly affair (of course, it could be the wine). Tryptophan, that amino acid mentioned earlier, produces serotonin which is known as the ‘happy hormone’. This hormonal neurotransmitter reduces the amount of cortisol (the stress hormone) in your body and improves your mood. Tryptophan is also something that helps to 100 strengthen the immune system and it is perfect for aiding chronic insomnia. • Vitamin B6 and niacin combine to aid our body in creating energy, converting all the fats, carbohydrates and proteins for us to use. Without this, we’ll feel sluggish and unwell, plus we’ll put on weight. BRUSSELS SPROUTS Love ’em or loathe ’em, Christmas dinner just isn’t the same without them – the good ol’ Brussels sprout. Being a vegetable, it’s clear that these little green balls of bitterness/ tastiness have some health benefits, but there is more to them than that. • Brussels are high in all kinds of nutrients such as protein, carbohydrates, fibre, vitamins A, C and K, folate and manganese. Vitamin K is needed for blood clotting and healthy bones, and vitamin C is required for a healthy immune system. • Sprouts are absolutely bursting with antioxidants too. Antioxidants are compounds that help to lower your risk of developing chronic disease and sprouts are particularly rich in an antioxidant called kaempferol. Kaempferol has been shown to reduce the growth of some cancer cells, make the heart healthier and ease muscle inflammation such as might be caused through arthritis, for example. • We’ve already mentioned that sprouts are high in fibre, but do you know why this is a good thing? It’s because fibre helps to keep your gut and digestive tract nice and healthy – basically, it stops you from getting constipated. As well as being something that no one wants to talk about, constipation is more than just being uncomfortable; it can lead to some serious problems and could even mean that you need to be hospitalised. Remember, we may laugh because the sprouts are giving Grandad wind, but all it means is that they’re doing their job and we should be glad about that… • Having healthy blood sugar levels is all- important, and Brussels sprouts can help with that too, even potentially reducing your risk of developing type II diabetes. Again, this could be linked to the amount of fibre they contain, because fibre is fantastic at regulating blood sugar levels because it moves so slowly through the body before it is digested (this means it slows how much sugar is absorbed into your blood). But sprouts also contain alpha-lipoic acid, which studies have shown is also effective at lowering blood sugar and helping to produce insulin. CARROTS The one fact that most people are able to tell you about carrots is that they help you see in the dark. Whilst they do have some health benefits for your eyes, they can do a lot more besides. • Carrots contain loads of beta-carotene which, studies have discovered, is linked to reducing the risk of both breast, lung and colon cancer, and you only need to consume around 2 milligrams of beta-carotene a day to feel the effects. Since one medium sized carrot contains about 3 milligrams, it isn’t a hard thing to do.