Social Workout

Practical Eating

The Newly Discovered Antioxidant Powers Of Black Rice

Blueberry season, sadly, is on its way out. So where are you going to get your antioxidants? Black rice! New research shows that black rice bran is packed with more antioxidant than blueberries, plus black rice has less sugar and more fiber. Eat up! Four tasty black rice recipes — from breakfast to dessert — after the jump.

Practical Drinking

Jory's Cranberry Fiber Fix

After last week's discussion of the perils of high cholesterol in your 20s and 30s, fiber, which helps lower cholesterol, became a hot topic of discussion at Social Workout HQ. Jory, our super fit web designer, swore he had the ultimate fiber solution. "Have you ever tried psyllium husk?" he asked. Jory picked up a cranberry juice psyllium husk cocktail recipe a while back, and apparently he and everyone he's ever recommended the recipe to have had rather powerful experiences with it. Jory recommends drinking it just before bed. Without further ado, the recipe:

Scientific

Meat And Weight Gain Go Hand In Hand

Bad news, meat lovers: An eight-year study of close to 400,000 people shows that the more meat people eat, the more weight they gain. It didn't matter what type of meat — chicken, beef, spam, doesn't matter — for every extra 250 grams of meat people consumed daily, they put on about 4 pounds over a five year period. This holds true, researchers say, regardless of other factors like weight, sex, amount of daily exercise, and total calories consumed. The study relied on individuals accurately self-reporting the food they ate, so if you find the conclusions horribly objectionable, your can hold out hope that all those meat eaters were fudging the truth and forgetting to document the tubs of ice cream they ate after their steaks... Otherwise, you may want to whip up some delicious gazpacho for dinner tonight instead of that chicken stuffed with ham wrapped in bacon thing you were planning. (via NPR)

Scientific

Chokeberries May Help Regulate Weight, Blood Sugar, and Cholesterol

Chokeberries have been enjoying a natural supplement renaissance, mostly because they're packed with antioxidants. But new research shows chokeberries may be more powerful than we thought. Scientists provided pre-diabetic rats with regular water or water spiked with chokeberry extract. After six weeks, the rats plied with chokeberry weighed less, had lower blood glucose, lower cholesterol, and lower plasma triglycerides, all alterations that lower the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Not exactly a human study, but still. Want to give chokeberries a try? Recipes after the jump.

Cool Down

You Scream, I Scream, Consumer Reports Testers Scream For Ice Cream

It's so hot that after her workout last night Bdwag was forced, absolutely forced, to eat ice cream to cool down. For all others who find your arms similarly twisted by the weather, Consumer Reports is out with a list of America's best ice creams. Their testers scrupulously and thoroughly tested various formulas and brands of chocolate and vanilla. Here's what ranked highest:

Scientific

Sore Muscles? Try Ginger

In a recent study, researchers at the University of Georgia showed that ginger consumption can cut exercise-induced pain by 25 percent. In the study, they plied subjects with either raw ginger, cooked ginger, or a placebo for 11 straight days. On the 8th day, they made the people do hard weight lifting that "induced moderate muscle injury." Then they assessed their pain over the next three days. The ginger-eaters: Way less pain. A few of our favorite ginger recipes after the jump.

Practical Eating

Salsa and Guacamole Are Out To Get You

The Center for Disease Control just gave salsa and guacamole their own acronym: SGA, which stands for salsa-and-guacamole associated, and the acronym was necessary because there were so many salsa-and-guacamole cases of food poisoning that it got tiresome to write the whole thing out over and over. So SGA. FYI, one reason SGA cases are so common is because salsa and gauc get whipped up in big batches, and your little bowl of salsa comes from the big bowl, which has been sitting around for a while. Solution, give up salsa a guacamole. Just kidding! Make your own! A few of your favorite recipes, after the jump.

Practical Eating

Should You Switch To A Low-Acid Diet?

Low-acid diets are gaining a following. The theory goes like this: Meat and cheese form acid in the body, higher acid levels lead to bone loss, so cut out high-acid foods and you prevent osteoporosis and stay healthy longer. Marion Nestle, a professor in the nutrition, food studies and public health department at NYU takes a look at the theory in her weekly column in the San Francisco Chronicle. Her verdict on the low-acid theory: Dubious.

Scientific

Dark Chocolate Lowers Your Blood Pressure

If you have high blood pressure, consider the chocolate cure. According to new research conducted at the University of Adelaide in Australia, the flavanols in dark chocolate lead to a significant reduction in blood pressure for people suffering from hypertension. (For those with normal blood pressure, the study showed no effect). Explanation: "Flavanols have been shown to increase the formation of endothelial nitric oxide, which promotes vasodilation and consequently may lower blood pressure." Ah ha. Sadly, however, the scientists caution that the "the practicability of chocolate or cocoa drinks as long-term treatment is questionable." But combine this with the study showing that chocolate can reduce your risk of stroke, and a daily dose is hardly the worst idea. A few of our favorite chocolate recipes after the jump.

Practical Eating

The Five Big Salt Offenders

Ninety percent of Americans eat too much salt, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, which puts 90% of us at increased risk for heart disease, kidney disease, and stroke. But it's not because we're OD-ing on salt with a sprinkle here and there from the salt shaker or some sort of collective over-the-top- anchovy addiction. In fact, it turns out there's a short list of five foods that carry the greatest blame: 

1. Yeast breads 
2. Chicken and mixed chicken dinners