Luck is about being grateful for what you have

I’m not superstitious, I believe good luck is in part simply being grateful for what you have or what you receive. Having a positive attitude in itself may be more physiologically healthy than a negative attitude, so being grateful for what you have may help health by promoting a more positive mood.

Respecting tradition, or participating in tradition, is also something I appreciate. Having black-eyed peas for New Year’s Day wasn’t a family tradition while I was growing up. I first tried black-eyed peas  and tried cooking them after learning of their significant nutritional benefits. The southern tradition may have started out of a negative situation – no other food to eat, but the people left hungry got lucky in the food that was available.

Black -eyed peas are a very good source of folate, a B vitamin that is important for the immune system and for a good energy level by promoting healthy fully mature red blood cells. Without adequate folate a type of anemia with immature, non-functional or poorly functioning red blood cells can occur even when adequate iron is available in the diet. Black-eyed peas can help prevent anemia risk with the folate content and their iron content is also quite good at 2.2 milligrams per 1/2 cup serving. (Black-eyed Peas Health Benefits Including Anemia Prevention, Health Tips)

Per 100 grams of the food (about 4 ounces or 1/2 cup), black-eyed peas have 208 micrograms of folate while sugar has 1 microgram of folate. Green peas have 65 micrograms of folate per 100 grams. (Google: black eyed peas and folate)

So was it lucky to be left with very little food during the Civil War – no. Was it lucky to be hungry enough to try the legumes that were meant to feed farm animals – no. Was it sensible to cook them and see how they tasted – yes. Sometimes we make our own luck by working hard and accepting what is available as a positive rather than having a negative attitude and giving up. Black- eyed peas do have a slightly stronger flavor than many other beans and peas but sometimes strong flavor is a sign of more nutrients. Trying things because you learn they are good for you may be an unfamiliar habit but if you try something a few times or more the taste can become familiar and may even become something you enjoy.

With young children it is recommended to not force foods to be tried or eaten in large quantities if they are new but to offer a taste or two regularly. It can take thirty tries of a new food for a toddler to become used to the new food as something familiar and enjoyable. If force and negativity is involved however they may instead develop an aversion, a negative feeling about the food. I use the word toddler because that is the best time to accustom children to a wide range of foods. If caregivers give in too regularly to “I don’t like it” attitudes then that habit may become more fixed for the child and trying to change it later may be more difficult. Children also copy what they see adults doing so having a wide variety of healthy foods on the table and sharing a few tastes of what you are having can also be a good way to start toddlers and children with a taste for variety of flavors and foods. (Getting Kids to Try New and Healthy Foods, pbs.org)

If allergies are a problem then that should be taken into account but there are still many nutritious foods that are not regularly used and are not common allergens that could be added to a menu plan. Avoid this list of eight foods that cause up to 90% of allergies and you’ll be avoiding the most common food allergens, (unfortunately some of the ingredients are in practically most commonly used mixed dishes – so that isn’t easy to do):

  • Milk (mostly in children)
  • Eggs.
  • Peanuts.
  • Tree nuts, like walnuts, almonds, pine nuts, brazil nuts, and pecans.
  • Soy.
  • Wheat and other grains with gluten, including barley, rye, and oats.
  • Fish (mostly in adults)
  • Shellfish (mostly in adults) (this group may include shrimp as well as crab and lobster) (WebMD)

I am avoiding everything on the list except tree nuts so most of the recipes on this website do not use those foods. The almond meal in the recently posted Chocolate Cookie recipe that was included in the post with the Black-eyed Pea Soup recipe (New Year, new recipes) could be substituted with more brown rice flour or buckwheat flour is used in the original Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe. A discussion of modifying recipes is included with that recipe: (G8. Chocolate Chip Cookies)

Herbs and spices that aren’t too hot with hot pepper or horseradish are also a good way to add flavor and nutrients to simpler foods. A child’s tastebuds don’t need too much hot pepper but a small amount of spicy things may be enjoyed and tolerated well. A child’s tastebuds may be more sensitive than an adult’s so they may prefer simpler things because they simply need less flavor to activate their tastebuds. A child’s sense of smell may also be more acute than an adult’s and aroma adds significantly to the apparent “flavor” of food. The tastebuds don’t notice as much difference as our sense of smell can appreciate and differentiate. (Do children have more sensitive taste buds than adults? Ella, age 7: blastscience.co.uk)

Luck and superstition are two different topics and I believe luck is one part hard work and two parts good attitude, throw in a dash of common sense and who knows what might be possible. And superstition may include some common sense, someone may have had an accident occur when they walked under a ladder and the superstition that it is unlucky may have grown out of the common sense habit to not walk under things when you don’t know what is above – it may have grown out of an ancient instinctual knowledge that predators leap down from hiding places.

I try to do the best I can to be careful and simply clean up salt that is spilled, tossing more over my shoulder seems silly rather than respecting a holiday tradition such as having black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day. However in more ancient times when salt was difficult to find and was treated as a rare and expensive commodity it may have been a worse catastrophe – very bad luck – to spill some. Throwing a tiny pinch of what was spilled over shoulder to ward off more bad luck may have occurred at that time. During the Middle Ages there was a saying regarding table placement – to be seated above the salt meant you were important and would get served sooner from the shared dish of salt or other more expensive and sparse entrees. To be seated below the salt meant you were of less noble lineage in medieval times. (wisegeek.com) Salt is an important nutrient and more is needed in situations where it is hot and more sodium is lost in sweat from working or just from the hot environment.

Disclaimer: Opinions are my own and the information is provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of fair use. While I am a Registered Dietitian this information is not intended to provide individual health guidance. Please see a health professional for individual health care purposes.

 

Oxidative Stress and Aging; trace minerals and antioxidants

For a more detailed review of the current understanding of how oxidative stress and inflammation are involved in the aging process see this chapter from a longer book: Oxidative Stress and the Aging Brain: From Theory to Prevention, [1]

Mitochondria are the main energy producers in cells. They are involved in breaking down each molecule of glucose (one half of the larger molecule that is commonly known as sugar). During the process of breaking the chemical bonds found in the glucose molecule the free radicals that can cause oxidative damage are produced. When adequate antioxidants are available the free radicals are stabilized before they can cause damage. The body’s internally produced antioxidant enzymes also require the trace minerals copper, zinc and manganese. /Separate topic: An imbalance in copper and zinc can cause health problems./

“Free radicals are chemical species with a single unpaired electron. The unpaired electron is highly reactive as it seeks to pair with another free electron; this results in the production of another free radical. The newly produced free radical is unstable in most cases and, as a result, it can also react with another molecule to produce yet another free radical. Thus, a chain reaction of free radicals can occur, leading to more and more damaging reactions.” [1]

“Several antioxidant defense mechanisms have evolved to protect cell components from the attack of oxidative stress and associated oxidative damage. These mechanisms include antioxidant enzymes, such as SOD, superoxide reductases, catalase, glutathione peroxidases (Gpx), and many heat-shock proteins.” “SOD exists in two forms: Cu/ZnSOD is present primarily in the cytoplasm while MnSOD is present primarily in the mitochondria.” [1]

More information about manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) and how mitochondria function is available here: MnSOD in Oxidative Stress Response-Potential Regulation viaMitochondrial Protein Influx [2]

Supplementing the diet with a manganese and other trace minerals may be helpful as manganese and other trace minerals may be chelated by glyphosate, the active ingredient of the herbicide RoundUp. Chelation is a chemical term for the tendency for one chemical to bind with another – take hold and make the other one less freely available in the environment. The process can be helpful in some situations as it can act as a carrier, a taxi cab so to speak, but at other times it is simply removing the other chemical from being available for other uses.

Plant scientists are aware of the problem and there are agricultural suggestions for reducing the negative effects of manganese chelation by glyphosate in the following article: What About Glyphosate-Induced Manganese Deficiency? The effects of glyphosate’s chelation of iron, copper and zinc is also included in addition to the discussion of manganese. [3] The summary of plant yield research found that improved crop yields were produced when manganese, copper and zinc were applied as a supplemental fertilizer a certain amount of time after the glyphosate containing herbicide was applied to the fields:

“The greatest soybean yield response on high organic soils
was with both Mn and Cu applied 8 to 12 days after the glyphosate.
The highest yields for corn were obtained by foliar-applying Zn 15
days after glyphosate was applied in northwestern Indiana,” [3]

So if plant health scientists recommend supplementing with manganese, copper and zinc for best plant health do human health scientists? Some do, but the topic is still considered alternative medicine rather than being a mainstream medical recommendation. [4] Risks of increased toxicity from trace metals that have negative health effects such as aluminum. [4]

Antioxidant rich foods or supplements that were discussed in the chapter on Oxidative Stress and Aging include vitamin E, which had positive results when used as a supplement in animal studies and mixed results in studies with humans, addition of whole foods such as nuts which are a good source of vitamin E and other nutrients had more consistent positive results in human clinical research studies; Green Tea and its active metabolite EGCG; blueberries, spinach and spirulina, a blue-green algae. [1]

  • Disclaimer: Opinions are my own and the information is provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of fair use. While I am a Registered Dietitian this information is not intended to provide individual health guidance. Please see a health professional for individual health care purposes.
  1. Carmelina Gemma, Jennifer Vila, Adam Bachstetter, and Paula C. Bickford, Chapter 15: Oxidative Stress and the Aging Brain: From Theory to Prevention, from Brain Aging: Models, Methods, and Mechanisms. Riddle DR, editor. Boca Raton (FL): CRC Press/Taylor & Francis; 2007. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK3869/
  2. Demet Candas and Jian Jian Li, MnSOD in Oxidative Stress Response-Potential Regulation viaMitochondrial Protein Influx, Antioxid Redox Signal. 2014 Apr 1; 20(10): 1599–1617. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3942709/
  3. Don M. Huber, What About Glyphosate-Induced Manganese Deficiency?, Fluid Journal, Fall 2007, http://www.agweb.com/assets/import/files/58p20-22.pdf
  4. Anthony Samsel and Stephanie Seneff, Glyphosate, pathways to modern diseases III: Manganese, neurological diseases, and associated pathologies, Surg Neurol Int. 2015; 6: 45. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4392553/