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Welcome to Tycho's Food Facts where you get to know more about all your favorite ingredients

� MS Health Food Innovation Management
� Your dose of science based nutrition facts
� Oakland, California

03/11/2020

Can you tell the difference between peaches and nectarines? They only differ by the texture of their skin; while peaches are fuzzy, nectarines are not.

Peaches and nectarines are stone fruits, which have a super hard stone (read: pit) most commonly inside of the fruity flesh. The seed is located inside the stone. Mangos, cherries, plums, nectarines and apricots are also stone fruits.

In Chinese culture, peaches are believed to keep you young and to give you a long life. It’s a fruit of god and its tree is considered the tree of life. The divine qualities are portrayed in its fiber, vitamin and mineral-dense composition.

Maybe the crew of Alphaville is just desperately asking for peaches when they perform their song Forever Young.

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15/09/2020

Every year eating sustainably is becoming more and more a hot topic. Our climate is changing, temperatures are rising, which is undoubtedly going to have an impact on how we produce and consume our food around the globe.

Meat production is a strong contributor to climate change. Animal farming requires a lot of water and goes hand in hand with a high emission of greenhouse gasses. While chicken production isn't sustainable either, it is by far better than the production of beef.

Besides that, chicken is considered as white meat, which, unlike red meats including beef and pork, doesn't contain a lot of unhealthy saturated fats nor does it have high heme iron content. Too much heme iron in your diet can lead to DNA damage and increase the risk of cancer.

Do you eat meat? How many times per week?

27/08/2020

Lentils, lentils, lentils!!! If you’re vegan or vegetarian, you must be familiar with these tiny beans. These little legumes are super nutritious. While coming in different colors, all of them are great sources of protein. This makes them particularly suitable as an alternative to meat.

Besides their high amount of protein, they are also very rich in dietary fibers, which can help you to remain satiated for a long time. Increased fiber intake can also reduce levels of bad cholesterol and lower the risk for cardiovascular disease.

Let’s talk about the different types. Green lentils stay firm upon cooking and have a slightly peppery flavor, which is great for salads. Brown lentils are the cheapest and most common lentils in the supermarket. They have a mild earthy flavor and are great for soups and stews. Yellow and red lentils are sweet and nutty in flavor. Cooking will disintegrate them, which makes them soft and ideal for soups, stews and many Indian dishes.

You should know… While lentils are rich in proteins they are not equal to the proteins found in animal proteins or soy for example. The latter contain all essential amino acids are considered “complete”. These amino acids are the building blocks of proteins. Lentil proteins are incomplete as they don’t have a complete profile of essential amino acids. This is why it’s important to have a varied diet. Try to regularly alternate or combine different protein sources to collect all those building blocks.

17/08/2020

Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? This tropical fruit has some very interesting characteristics. One of them is that pineapples contain a group of enzymes called bromelain. These enzymes, which are most abundant in the stem and core of the pineapple, help to break down proteins. Something chefs can use to tenderize meat.

The core of a pineapple may not be as sweet and soft as its fruit flesh, but it is perfectly edible and at least as healthy. Some small studies suggest that bromelain are anti-inflammatory and may reduce symptoms of sinusitis (nasal inflammation) and treat osteoarthritis. However, evidence for these claims is limited and results are often contradictory. Luckily pineapple also contains other healthy nutrients including, dietary fiber, vitamin C, beta-carotene, potassium, manganese, and many others.

Let’s end with a fun fact:
The Spanish word for pineapple is piña. Colada means strained. Thus when you order a piña colada you’re literally ordering a strained pineapple.

Cheers!

12/08/2020

Salt, especially in its common form of sodium chloride, is something most people consume too much. On average people eat 9-12 grams per day while over 5 grams per day is already considered as a high (read: unhealthy) salt intake. High sodium consumption and insufficient potassium intake contribute to high blood pressure and increase the risk of stroke and cardiovascular disease.

While most products already contain salt by themselves, it is often added to enhance flavor or as a preservative. Our tastebuds get used to the high amounts of salt. To be able to still taste it properly, we need keep adding these high amounts of salt to our food. However, a gradual reduction in salt intake can restore the sensitivity of our tastebuds and reduce our cravings for more and more salt. This process can take up to 4 months!

Regardless of the type of salt, high intake can be harmful to our kidneys. There are ‘healthier’ types than sodium chloride. Potassium salt for example has a different taste, but can help to reduce a high blood pressure. Iodized salt can be helpful if you tend to have a deficiency for iodine.

Probably the best alternative though, is to exchange added salt completely by cooking with herbs and spices instead. Bring out your inner chef and experiment! What are your favorite herbs and spices?

09/08/2020

Coconut oil has a very rich and distinct flavor. However, as it consists for 80-90%% out of saturated fats it is not not a very healthy choice.

Saturated fats are believed to increase LDL-cholesterol, which can lead to heart disease. Some studies show that coconut oil contains medium-chain fatty acids, a type of fatty acids that seems to increase the good HDL-cholesterol, that may actually lower the risk for heart disease.

As far as we know at this moment, this positive effect doesn’t outweigh the bad effects. The amount of this type of fat in coconut oil is not high enough. It is therefore recommended to limit the consumption of coconut oil just like any other saturated fats.

Instead of eating coconut oil, swishing coconut oil around the oral cavity has been found to improve dental health. It basically works like a mouthwash and can improve gingivitis, help to balance out oral bacteria and protects against cavities.

22/07/2020

Celery is another vegetable that is low in calories due to its high water content, but also nutritious due to its dietary fibers, antioxidants and anti-inflammatory nutrients. The amounts of these nutrients are very small and are unlikely to treat or prevent any disease by itself.

Moreover, most research on celery has been done on animals and not on humans. A flavonoid present in celery called apigenin has shown to reduce the expression of a number of inflammatory proteins in mice. It might also contribute to programmed cell death, an important process for the treatment of cancer for example.

In general, fiber-rich ingredients like vegetables have a positive effect on the total and ‘bad’-cholesterol levels and reduce the risk for heart disease. And of course they give you a nice feeling of satiation, which might aid weight-loss. Other potential benefits of celery that you might have heard before like the prevention of gout or arthritis require more research.

The ancient Romans and Greek used celery for flavoring rather than as a medicine like the Chinese. However, celery isn’t for everyone. Especially the root (celeriac) contains a lot of allergens that can trigger allergic reactions. A celery allergy seems to be most common in central Europe, especially in individuals who are also allergic to pollen.

21/07/2020

It might sound counterintuitive, but consuming ice cream is not helpful to cool you down these summer months. Of course, it feels oh so refreshing, but. . .

As soon as the cold ice cream hits your stomach, your body will heat up to compensate the cold to remain a consistent temperature. The same goes for drinking cold beverages. However, the worst part has yet to come. Ice cream carries a lot of calorie-rich ingredients. It takes some effort for our bodies to digest these ingredients, which will also heat up the body. A popsicle won’t require as much energy as a nice and creamy gelato, but the best option is still to drink water.

Not cold water though. A little bit of hot tea will stimulate your body to sweat, which is our natural cooling system. We cool down when sweat evaporates off our skin. The good thing about tea is that it will also replenish your water levels. As spicy foods also induce perspiration they will also help you to cool down. Just don’t forget to drink water along with them. Dehydration won’t help cool you down.

17/07/2020

About 65% of the world’s human population is lactose intolerant. It is mostly common in adulthood in people of East Asian descent, while the prevalence is lowest in Northern Europe. Lactose intolerance is rare in infants regardless of their ancestry. This is because all babies are born with lactase, the enzyme needed to breakdown lactose, in their guts.

Cow’s milk is an excellent source of calcium and protein, as well as other nutrients like vitamin B12, iodine and magnesium. All that are important for your muscles and bones. Next to these nutrients that are naturally present in milk, it is often fortified with vitamin D. Especially in Northern countries where people don’t get as much sunlight and are more prone for a vitamin D deficiency, this is a logical choice as vitamin D is required for the uptake of calcium.

While whole milk does contain some saturated fat, around 3%, a moderate milk consumption is not going to do you harm. In fact, it will help you to get all those great nutrients for muscle function and bone health. Milk is good for you as long as you’re not lactose intolerant.

15/07/2020

Wow what a powerhouse! Bell peppers are super nutritious as they contain a lot of healthy fibers and large quantities of vitamins and antioxidants. These include vitamin C, vitamin B6, Vitamin K1, Vitamin B9, Vitamin E and the precursor of vitamin A, beta-carotene.

The most common colors are green, yellow, orange and red, but other colors like brown, white and lavender also exist. Every color is slightly different when it comes to taste and its nutritional profile. The green ones are usually a bit bitter while the red ones are sweeter.

Initially chlorophyll, which plants use for photosynthesis, gives bell peppers their green color. During the ripening process, the chlorophyll is decomposed and carotenoid pigments start to appear including, violaxanthin, lutein and beta-carotene. These carotenoids give bell peppers their yellow and orange colors. Eventually capsorubin and capsanthin appear show their intense red color.

According to the food database of the U.S. Department of Agriculture the yellow one carries the highest amount of vitamin C with 183.5mg per 100g compared to 127.7mg in red and 80.4mg in green bell peppers. That is more than three times the amount present in oranges!!!

This indicates that the amount of vitamin C increases and then deceases while the pepper ripens. On the other hand the amount of beta-carotene keeps increasing over time, which means that the red bell contains most of this precursor of vitamin A. The green ones contain most of the antioxidant lutein. In conclusion, all types of bell peppers are super healthy and fit well in a varied diet.

14/07/2020

Beetroot is rich in nitrate and a number of studies have found that drinking its juice can improve cardiorespiratory performance. In other words, it means that drinking beetroot juice could help you to perform better at any endurance exercise like cycling, running, rowing, etc. These performance boosting effects have not been found in highly trained subjects.

How is it supposed to work? We know that nitrate is converted to nitric oxide during digestion. Nitric oxide is a bioactive component that induces the widening of the blood vessels, called vasodilatation, which can improve blood flow and oxygen availability to muscles.

As mentioned in a previous post, vasodilatation may also lead to a lowered blood pressure, which has also been observed after drinking beetroot juice. However, the effects didn’t last a full day, which indicates that frequent consumption is necessary. More research on the effect of beetroot juice on factors like gender are required, but the results are already super promising.

Please discuss with your doctor wether drinking a glass of beetroot juice on a daily basis is something for you. It is possible that beetroot juice in combination with other medication or supplements can interfere with each other.

13/07/2020

The American English and German zucchini is a modification of the Italian zucchino, while other countries adopted the French name of this vegetable, courgette.

As you might expect from its appearance, the zucchini is from the same plant family as the cucumber. However, their nutritional profile is slightly different. Both of them are low in calories due to their high water content, but zucchinis are a bit more nutritious. The have higher amounts of vitamins and minerals. Zucchinis are especially a good source of vitamin A but also contain fair amounts of vitamin C, manganese, potassium and folate.

In the UK they investigated how well children are able to recognize a number of vegetables. About half of the children weren’t able to distinguish the zucchini from a cucumber. I’m not surprised by this to be honest. Are you?

One more thing… if you harvest your own homegrown zucchini and notice that it tastes oddly bitter, don’t eat it! This will likely indicate that it contains an extremely toxic component called cucurbitacin. The chances for this to happen are quite small, but be warned.

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