One Dietary Habit that Can Change a Woman's Life
By Dr. Liz Orchard, ND
This ONE dietary habit can change a woman's life for the better. We invite women to strive to achieve it at least once every day and even better if done more often.
It will help keep hormones like estrogen and progesterone balanced and prevent or reduce PMS, breast cancer and cervical cancer, menopause symptoms, and osteoporosis, to name a few ways that hormone imbalance affects most women's health.
Many women will ask in disbelief "How can it be so simple? Just one thing?"
Simply YES. It is so simple that we believe it to be genius. Here it is....
At mealtimes, half of the plate should be covered by VEGETABLES!
Not just any vegetables will do: It is specifically the ones in the Brassica family that help detoxify and eliminate excess estrogen.
Common examples of Brassica vegetables include:
brussels sprouts
broccoli
cauliflower
kale
collard greens
cabbage
mustard greens
(NOTE: If you have a thyroid disorder, do NOT eat these veggies RAW...you need to cook them because they could negatively affect thyroid function when consumed raw.)
Now that we've shared this bit of nutritional wisdom for women, we'd also like to share our favorite Brussels sprout recipe... An easy side dish even the biggest Brussels sprouts haters will enjoy, via Be Well Philly.
Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Sweet Potatoes
Serves four to six as side dish
3 medium to large sweet potatoes, chopped into 1 to 2 inch pieces
1 pound Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved *
1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
1/4 cup dried cranberries or cherries
To prepare sprouts, give them a quick rinse. Next, chop off the nubby end, about 1/2 inch. Slice in half vertically, and they’re ready to go!
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Place sweet potatoes on a parchment lined (or well greased) baking sheet. Drizzle with two tbsp. olive oil until potatoes are evenly coated.
3. Sprinkle sea salt and pepper (at least 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp. pepper or more).
4. Place in preheated oven for 15 minutes before adding sprouts.
5. To prepare sprouts, evenly spread about 1 tbsp. olive oil on parchment lined baking sheet. Sprinkle olive oil with at least 1/2 tsp. sea salt, or more to taste. Place sprouts on sheet, cut side down. Drizzle another 1 tbsp. olive oil over the backs, and sprinkle with a bit more salt and pepper if desired.
6. Place in oven when the timer goes off (15 minutes after potatoes went in). Reset oven timer for 25 minutes.
7. Place dried cranberries/cherries in a mixing bowl with remaining 1 tbsp. olive oil.
8. Cook until timer goes off or potatoes are soft and golden brown and sprouts are turning golden. Remove and place vegetables in the mixing bowl. Let sit for about five minutes, then stir to combine.
9. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Serve warm.