Thai-inspired Black Rice Pudding with Mango

After last year’s unfortunate Halloween candy bender (guess who methodically worked her way through an entire 200-count econo-size bag of mini York Peppermint Patties when not a single Trick-or-Treater showed up?), I vowed not to let a single “fun-sized” candy anything pass through the doorway into my home this year.  And if the costumed neighborhood kids show up this year begging for treats, I will do what any self-respecting candyless nutritonist would do: dim the lights, ignore the doorbell, and be prepared to clean the eggs and toilet paper off my house in the morning.

Of course, this necessary act of self-preservation doesn’t mean that I won’t be treating myself to anything sweet, sticky and seasonably black-and-orange this week.  It’s just that my sweet treat of choice this year will be made from ingredients decidedly more wholesome than high-fructose corn syrup and partially-hydrogenated oils: I’m making a Thai-inspired dessert that’s part Black Rice Pudding, part Mango Sticky Rice.

Traditionally, Black Rice Pudding is made with Thai Black Rice (which is sort of more purple-brown than black); however, Chinese Black “Forbidden” Rice is easier to come by in mainstream supermarkets, so I used that.  (Bonus: it’s non-GMO and an heirloom rice variety to boot.)  Purists will argue that Forbidden Rice isn’t sticky enough to produce the proper effect, but my experience created a perfectly rice-puddingy texture just fine.  Black rice pudding is usually served with a savory-sweet coconut cream and toasted sesame seed topping, which is fine if you’re not going for a Halloween motif.  Which I am.  So I decided to take some liberties and borrow some taste (and color) inspiration from another popular Thai dessert, Mango Sticky Rice.  I also reduced the amount of sugar typically found in this recipe and swapped Lite Coconut Milk for regular.  The result is a delicious, sweet-enough treat that I will enjoy thoroughly as I sit in my darkened house with the blinds drawn on October 31st hoping the Trick-or-Treaters pass me by.

And if I may be so bold to suggest a pairing: since rice is the main event in this carb-centric dessert, I think it makes an excellent and satisfying finish to a light meal that’s more protein-and-vegetable-centric. Like an entree-sized bowl of soup.  How about: a tangy Thai Tom Yum soup, Rick Bayless’ Classic Tortilla Soup (swap the chicken out with baked tofu cubes and add a heap of baby spinach leaves to make it vegetarian), or a classic Miso soup with Tofu?

Recipe: Thai Black Rice Pudding with Mango (serves 6)

1 cup black rice

3 cups water

Salt

1/3 cup sugar

1 can unsweetened Light Coconut Milk (shaken before use to blend)

2 cups fresh mango, cut into cubes (Fresh papaya makes a fine substitute if you can’t find a ripe mango this time of year)

1. In a large saucepan (3-4 qts), mix black rice, 3 cups water and 1/4 tsp salt.  Bring to boil, then simmer covered for 45 minutes until rice is cooked.  There will still be some liquid in the pot.
2. Stir in the sugar, another 1/4 tsp salt and 1 1/2 cups of the coconut milk.  Increase heat to bring mixture to a boil again, then reduce to a simmer.  Simmer uncovered for 30 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Mixture should be thick and gooey and chewy
3. Remove pudding from heat and let cool for at least 30 minutes, stirring occasionally during cooling.
4. Serve in small dessert bowls drizzled with the remaining Light Coconut Milk (stirred to ensure well blended) and topped with 1/4 cup fresh mango cubes.

Approximate nutrition information per serving: 220 calories, 43g carbohydrate (of which ~2g are fiber), 3.5g protein and 4.5g fat.

…which is the caloric equivalent of 4 mini York Peppermint Patties, with decidedly more nutritional merit.  The black color of Forbidden Rice derives from phytochemicals called anthocyanins, which are natural plant pigments with strong antioxidant properties. In fact, there’s a bunch of research out of Asia investigating the promising cancer-quashing effects of these black rice-derived anthocyanins.  Which sadly, my beloved York Peppermint Patties can’t claim.  Sigh.  Not even the Pink ones.

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A soup worthy of my wedding china: It looks and tastes like Mushroom Barley soup, but it's gluten free!

Nothing heralds soup season like an early Noreaster, and the cold, rainy assault of ghastly unpleasantness it brings with it.

In weather like last week’s, I miss barley.  More specifically, I miss me a bowl of warming, filling and comforting mushroom barley soup in all of its earthy, satisfying glory.  I’ve come to terms with the fact that wheat has gluten, but et tu, barley?

As fate would have it, I was walking through a health food store last weekend and I spotted an unusual vaccuum-packed bag of some strangely named grain-looking product called “Job’s Tears.”  Immediately, I notice this grain looks exactly like pearled barley. I read the label.  It reveals frustratingly little about this unusually-named food, except to confirm that it is, indeed a grain.  From Japan.  And it is best used to add some heft to slow-cooking soups.  Cautiously optimistic (I’ve been hurt by grains before), I buy these so-called Job’s Tears and promptly return home to start the research.

My own eyes welled up with tears when the grain list on the Celiac Sprue Foundation website confirmed what I had been hoping: the grain called “Job’s Tears”  (aka: Coix seed, Hato Mugi, or Adlay) is not only gluten-free, but it serves as a perfect substitute for pearled barley in recipes.

What are Job’s Tears?

Job’s Tears, like other cereal grains, is a grass. In this case, it is a tropical grass native to parts of Asia (but since transplanted to some parts of the U.S.) that got its nickname from the tear-like shape of the grain it produces.  The ones I bought are white, meaning that they have already been hulled.  Apparently, however, one can readily find the brown (unhulled) version sold in Japan.

From what limited information I could gather,  Job’s Tears are not nearly as high in fiber as an equivalent

Pearled barley (top left) cooks up to look just like Job's Tears (bottom right)

amount of pearled barley, but are significantly higher in protein and iron for roughly the same number of calories and net carbohydrates. They also contain an equivalent amount of B-vitamins.  According to my analysis of an unpublished report posted on the website of Purdue University’s Center for New Crops & Plants products, a 50g portion (1/3 cup) of uncooked Job’s Tears contains 190 calories, 33g of carbohydrate (of which a negligible amount is fiber), 7.5g protein, 2.5 mg iron.  Compare that to an equivalent 50g portion of pearled barley (1/4 cup; its grains are smaller than Job’s Tears), which would contain 175 calories, 39g of carbohydrate (of which 8 huge grams are fiber, leaving 31g of actual energy-producing carbohydrate), 5g protein and 1.25g iron.

As I continued my research into Job’s Tears, I learned that its extract is used as a dietary supplement in Chinese Medicine to treat inflammatory conditions, like rheumatoid arthritis.   I further noted that several sources warn that women who are pregnant or breastfeeding should avoid taking Job’s Tears supplements. I dug deeper into this warning and found some studies in pregnant rats fed extracts of Job’s Tears which showed an increased rate of miscarriages.  Apparently, there are some compounds in the grain that increase uterine contractility, and these compounds appear to be much more biologically active in the hull (and, by definition, any extracts made from the hull) than the de-hulled seed.  (Most Job’s Tears sold in the US will be de-hulled; hence the flashy white color and low fiber content.)  Of course, the doses in these studies tend to be significantly higher than in any amount you’d reasonably ingest from eating a physiologically normal food serving, but I thought I’d mention it in case any pregnant celiac readers of mine decide go on a pickles/ice cream/Job’s Tears bender and start devouring it 3 meals a day in copious amounts. My advice, based on this albeit limited research, would be not to do that.

Where to buy Job’s Tears

Your best bet is online.  The cheapest one I could find was from an online store called Simply Natural for $4.50/lb.  (If my math serves me correctly, that’s the equivalent of about nine 1/4 cup raw servings, or nine 1 cup cooked servings.)

Recipe: Mushroom Barley/J.T. Soup for all (Ok, well for four.  Double the recipe if you wish).

Of course, the beauty of pairing Job’s Tears with mushrooms in a soup is that the high-fiber mushrooms will help make up for JT’s  fiber shortfall.  If you can eat barley, then this soup is a major-league fiber powerhouse, which explains why a bowl at lunchtime will keep you set until dinner, easily.  This recipe is only slightly adapted from a near-perfect old favorite from my dog-eared copy of the Daily Soup Cookbook.

2 TBSP olive oil

1 1/4 lbs mixed mushrooms of your choice, stems removed and reserved and caps sliced (For reasons of economy, I use mostly cremini or button and then top them off with a few exotic species for sex appeal.  Adding some reconstituted dried shiitakes adds nice texture, too.)

5 cups cold water if using barley, 6 cups if using Job’s Tears

1/4 cup white wine

1 onion, chopped

1 celery stalk, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

1 tsp dried thyme leaves

1 bay leaf

1 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

3/4 cup Job’s Tears (gluten-free) OR 1/2 cup pearled barley (gluten-full)

2 tsp balsamic or red wine vinegar

1 tsp minced fresh garlic

1. Heat 1 TBSP oil in a soup pot over medium heat.  Add mushroom stems and sweat 5 minutes until soft and releasing liquid.
2. Add water and wine and bring mixture to boil.  Reduce heat, cover, simmer for 20 minutes.  Fish out the stems with a slotted spoon and set the stock aside in a separate pot.
3. Using the original soup pot, heat remaining 1 TBSP oil.  Add onion, celery and carrot and sweat until soft, 4 minutes or so.
4. Add thyme, bay leaf, salt and pepper.  Stir to coat veggies.
5. Add sliced mushroom caps and saute 5 minutes until soft and releasing liquid.
6. Add the stock and the Job’s Tears OR barley.  Bring to boil, reduce heat, simmer for 1 hour until the grain is tender.
7. Remove from heat and stir in vinegar and garlic.
8. Fish out the bay leaf and serve!

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Bigger is not better: smaller pumpkin varieties have thicker and more flavorful flesh for cooking than the big varieties.

Three Octobers ago, I took a pumpkin cooking class taught by Michael Krondl, author of The Great Little Pumpkin Cookbook. While the web and magazine world abounds with ridiculously good sweet, desserty pumpkin recipes, there’s a surprising lack of good savory recipes that feature pumpkin.  (Frankly, even the vast majority of savory butternut squash recipes published online and in cookbooks are limited to soups and risottos in the same few flavor combos: with nutmeg, apple and/or sage).   Globally, pumpkin stars in savory entrees in a variety of cuisines, including Sichuan Chinese (our local place does an amazing shredded pumpkin with spicy green peppers), Afghan, Indian and Persian.

The unfortunate absence of savory pumpkin recipes in our country’s food circuit  makes Krondl’s book an indispensable (and cheap) little reference guide for those of you who have savory designs on your pumpkin: his fantastic recipes feature flavor pairings from pumpkin-chipotle to pumpkin-chestnut to pumpkin-pecorino.  With his permission, I am sharing his recipe (below) for Sweet & Sour South Indian Pumpkin to enable you to dip your proverbial toe into the savory orange waters.

Picking a pumpkin

When picking a pumpkin to cook with, you’ll need to use different criteria than when picking one for Jack-O-Lantern purposes.  The big ol’ carving pumpkins have very little flesh and lack flavor; however, you can most certainly save their seeds, toss them in a bit of oil and salt and toast them in your toaster oven for a resourceful little snack.  For cooking, look for the little round ones called “sugar pumpkins” or just “pie pumpkins.”  Alternatively, you can use calabaza squash/”cheese pumpkins”: they’re the beige ones that look like butternut squashes shaped like pumpkins.  In a pinch, a kabocha squash/”Japanese pumpkin” works great, too; that’s the one that looks like a dark green pumpkin. See the note below on how to peel a pumpkin; don’t be intimidated… it’s not as hard as you might think, so long as you have a good chef’s knife.

Hooray for Vitamin A

Pumpkin, like all winter squashes, is a stellar source of Vitamin A.  It also contains high amounts of Vitamin C and potassium, which helps control high blood pressure.  1 cup of (raw) cubed pumpkin, which will cook down to slightly less volume, contains a mere 30 calories, 7.5g is carbohydrate (of which ~1.0g is fiber), 61% of the daily value for Vitamin A, 17% of the daily value for vitamin C, and 11% of the daily value for potassium. And yes, even pumpkin eaten in the form of pumpkin pie is likely to meet most of your daily Vitamin A requirements, assuming it was made with 100% pumpkin puree instead of “pumpkin pie filling.”  Furthermore, since Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin, you can tell yourself that the dollop of whipped cream on top of your pie is nutritionally expedient to ensure proper absorption of the vitamin.  While Vitamin A is best known for its important role in maintaining vision, it also plays an important role in immunity (arguably more so than does Vitamin C); dietary vitamin A is converted into an active form that can enter into the DNA of immune cells and positively influence their ability to produce antibodies–as well as the ability of certain infection-fighting white blood cells to replicate. So far, studies have shown that Vitamin A therapy in deficient children can reduce the severity of measles and diarrhea; alas, it has not been shown to have the same effect on respiratory infections like, say, the swine flu.

Recipe: Sweet & Sour South Indian Pumpkin (from The Great Little Pumpkin Cookbook, Michael Krondl, published by Celestial Arts, Berkeley, CA).  Reprinted with permission from the author.

1 TBSP ground coriander

1 tsp chopped fresh ginger

2 garlic cloves, chopped fine

Pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

3 TBSP canola oil

2 lbs pumpkin, peeled* and cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces (about 6 cups)

Salt

2 TBSP lemon juice

3 TBSP light brown sugar

1 TBSP chopped cilantro

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. In a small bowl, combine the ground coriander, ginger, garlic, cayenne and black pepper.
3. Heat the oil in a large ovenproof casserole over medium heat until hot.  Add the spice mixture and cook, stirring until it turns very aromatic, about 1 minute.  Do not burn!  Immediately add the pumpkin and stir to coat with the spices.  Sprinkle with about 1/2 tsp salt and cover.  Set in the oven and bake until the pumpkin is just barely tender, about 25 minutes.
4. Remove the pan from the oven.  Using a slotted spoon, remove the pumpkin pieces.  Set the pan over medium-high heat, stir in the lemon juice and cook, uncovered, for 1 minute.
5. Stir in the brown sugar and cook 3-4 minutes until the sugar dissolves and the juices are syrupy.  Add the pumpkin and toss.  Season with more salt & pepper to taste.
6. Sprinkle with fresh cilantro and serve.

Serves 4 (generously) as a side dish.

Approximate nutrition info per serving:  170 calories, 20g carbohydrate (of which ~1g is fiber), 10g fat.

* How to peel a pumpkin

Krondl further explains: “the easiest way to peel a pumpkin, or any hard-skinned winter squash, is to cut it in half and scoop out the seeds and all the stringy bits.  Then cut the pumpkin into 2- to 3-inch slices.  Place these cut side down on a cutting board and use a large sharp knife to cut away the skin.  Store cut-up pumpkin up to 4 days in the refrigerator.”

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The Golden Girls had their cheesecake.  Garfield had his lasagna.  But for me, a nutritionist with Eastern European roots and a budget,  cabbage has emerged as the lead comfort food contender as the weather turns cool and I yearn for something warm, soft, sorta sweet but still savory… and yes, healthy, too.

OK, let’s not be too literal here.  While I did roll up a big batch of vegetarian stuffed cabbage, my cruciferous dalliances this week have also included Brussels Sprouts–in all their soft and roasted and caramelized glory (they look like baby cabbages, after all).   It’s autumn… the time of year when cruciferous vegetables of all colors (think purple cabbage and cauliflower to orangey rutabaga), shapes (think psychadelic broccoflower with its gothic spires) and sizes (think baby brussels) take center plate.  Who says cold-weather produce is boring?

Cabbage: the Nutritious Pater Familias of the Cruciferous family

Cabbage is the symbolic head of the family (pun not intended, but still funny, no?) of cruciferous vegetables, also called Brassica vegetables.  The family is a descendant of the the mustard plant family, and its tree has branches that include leafy veggies like kale, collard greens and watercress; stalky flowering plants like broccoli, cauliflower and their bizarre love-child, Romanesco (aka- Broccoflower); root vegetables like turnips and rutabaga; as well as cabbage-eque type leafy heads, like kohlrabi, bok choy and brussels sprouts.  (I apologize to any biology teachers out there who are no doubt cringing at my unscientific taxonomic descriptions; what they lack in scientific rigor, they make up for in utility.)  These various expressions of cabbageness each feature their own nutritional highlights, and will receive their 15 minutes of blog fame in due time.

Cabbage itself is an excellent source of Vitamin C (which it starts to lose once it’s cut, so it’s best to buy whole heads and cut them yourself than to buy pre-shredded slaw mixes for convenience).  If you’re making cabbage soup or otherwise braising cabbage, the Vitamin C will leach out but remain in the broth/sauce for you to enjoy; however, if you’re boiling cabbage in water and then tossing the cooking liquid, you’ll lose out on much of the Vitamin C content.  Best to steam it or saute it for a short period of time (less than 5 minutes) to retain the vitamin content and help keep your immune system tip-top until health insurance reform is a done deal.  (Full confession: the recipe that follows below does not exactly heed this advice.)

What distinguishes cabbage (and its other cruciferous relatives) nutritionally from many other vegetables is a group of phytochemicals called glucosinolates.  These particular phytochemicals have been demonstrated to be some of the most effective cancer-fighting compounds in the food supply, and as a result, epidemiological research has consistently shown that eating at least 3 servings per week of cruciferous vegetables is linked to a significantly lower risk of developing certain cancers, such as lung, prostate, colon and bladder, and possibly also breast and ovarian.  The way this family of phytocehmicals exerts its anti-cancer effect is by up-regulating the genes that code for multiple naturally-occurring enzymes in our liver which are responsible for detoxifying toxic compounds and carcinogens.  In this way, cruciferous vegetables are among the best “detox” foods one could eat (take THAT, juice fasts!)… not to mention that their high fiber content helps your body to physically remove toxic waste from the body by keeping things “moving along” in the intestines.

1 cup of cooked cabbage has about 30 calories, 7g of carbohydrate (3.5 of which is fiber), 50% of your daily Vitamin C needs and 92% of your daily Vitamin K, which you need for proper blood clotting and bone mineralization.  (Speaking of: If you’re taking the blood thinning medication coumadin (warfarin), best not to start on a cabbage soup diet without consulting your doctor, as the high Vitamin K content will counteract the medication’s anti-coagulation effect.) All this AND a cancer-fighting benefit, you ask?  Could cabbage be any perfecter?

Why yes, in fact.  Cabbage (and its relatives) is also a respectable source of highly-bioavailable calcium:

• Chinese mustard greens (Gai choy) appear to be the best cruciferous source of calcium; 1 cup chopped has the same amount of bioavailable calcium as a cup of milk.
• 2-2.5 cups of raw bok choy (it cooks down considerably, so don’t be put off) contains about the same amount of bioavailable calcium as a cup of milk, and is considerably easier to find than aforementioned gai choy
• Generally speaking, 1 cup of your standard raw cruciferous vegetable, including cabbage, will provide anywhere from 5-10% of your daily calcium needs, depending on the variety

My happy little vegetarian stuffed cabbages, huddling together in the pan

Recipe: Vegetarian Stuffed Cabbage

My mom makes an amazing stuffed cabbage in a sweet and sour tomato-based sauce; it’s one of her favorite comfort foods (ah, genetics…)  While I look forward to indulging in her version–stuffed with ground beef and rice– once or twice a year when she makes it for the holidays, I prefer to keep things on the more vegetarian side when I cook and eat at home.  To that end, I tracked down this interesting Middle Eastern recipe for cabbage stuffed with a blend of rice and chickpeas, which was surprisingly easy to make.

A few notes on the recipe:

• As written, it will serve 8-10 people… not 6 as the author generously suggests.  If you want to serve 4-5 people, halve the filling recipe and use 12 cabbage leaves instead of 24, which you will easily get out of a medium head of cabbage (plus a few more to have extras, as some will tear).  But keep the quantities the same for the finishing sauce, as halving it is a bit too stingy.
• By way of clarification, the rice for the filling should be raw, not cooked.  Be sure to add adequate salt to the filling mixture so the rice doesn’t cook up too bland.
• If you use canned diced tomatoes for the filling, why not use some of the leftover tomato liquid in lieu of some of the water to simmer the stuffed cabbage rolls in?  It will add some nice tangy flavor and replace some of the Vitamin C lost from the brutal waterboarding you subjected your cabbage leaves to.
• If you don’t have dried mint in your spice rack for the finishing sauce, you can open up a tea-bag of herbal peppermint tea and use that
• For tips on rolling technique, check out my previous post on making stuffed Grape Leaves; it’s an almost-identical process.  And a similar flavor profile, now that I think of it.
• When you make the rolls, don’t be concerned that they look much smaller than you’d expect–around the size of a single stuffed grape leaf, in fact.  They plump way up and the rolls seal themselves quite well during the cooking process.

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If the marketing onslaught of pink everything hadn’t clued you in to the fact that October is breast cancer awareness month, consider yourself officially informed.  Sigh.  If only using my pink blender while wearing my pink lip gloss and eating a pink York peppermint patty could help lower my risk of breast cancer…I’d have the most benign bosoms on the Eastern seaboard.

Luckily, nutrition science has several pink-ribbon-worthy morsels to offer us as far as things we can actually DO (or eat, or not eat) to lower our individual risks of developing breast cancer.

Best evidence: These things should definitely help lower your risk:

1. Lose that gut.   Being overweight both increases your risk of developing breast cancer, as well as decreases your risk of survival if you have breast cancer.  The risk of developing breast cancer is particularly pronounced if you become obese after menopause, with some studies showing as much as a 50% increase in risk.  After menopause, the more weight you gain, the greater the risk increases.  It also appears that women whose excess fat is concentrated around the belly have a higher risk of developing breast cancer than women whose excess weight is more evenly distributed among their hips and thighs.  There are a million reasons to maintain a healthy body weight, and now you can add breast cancer prevention to that list.
2. Lay off the sauce. Even moderate alcohol consumption (average of 1 drink/day for women) is associated with an increased risk in breast cancer compared to not drinking at all.  And the more you drink, the greater the risk.  It appears that alcohol increases the risk of a type of tumor classified as ”estrogen or progesterone receptor positive,” suggesting that alcohol works by influencing circulating hormone levels.   If you choose to drink (and I personally do), consider targeting a range closer to a drink or two per week instead of a drink or two per day.
3. Exercise most days.  30-60 minutes.  Moderate is good, but vigorous is better.

Good evidence: These things will probably help lower your risk:

1. If you do drink regularly, make sure to meet your daily folate needs. Folate is a B-vitamin that is required for normal cell replication.  Drinking alcohol impairs absorption of dietary folate.  Studies seem to show that folic acid supplementation can help mitigate the risk of developing cancer among women who use alcohol regularly, but it does not reduce the risk of breast cancer among non-drinkers.  The amount of folic acid in a typical multivitamin (400-600mcg) should suffice for moderate drinkers when taken in addition to a diet that includes some fruits, green vegetables and fortified breads/cereals.
2. Eat more (organic), traditionally-prepared soy foods.  Several large, well-designed studies out of Asia show significant decreases in breast cancer risk among women who consume higher amounts of whole or traditionally-prepared soy foods, such as tofu, misso, tempeh, natto and/or boiled soybeans (edamame) as compared to women who consume the lowest amounts of these foods.  Note that there is no good data to support that you can get this same effect from eating processed Western foods loaded up with soy protein isolate (SPI), and some reasons to be wary of doing so.  However, if you have a digestive intolerance to soy or have thyroid abnormailities, steer clear of soy; there are plenty of other things you can do to help reduce your breast cancer risk without aggravating the rest of your body.  I understand that the message on soy and breast cancer is a confusing one, with some women concerned that dietary soy may actually *increase* breast cancer risk, but the scientific literature (human studies) does not support this association.
3. If you can’t/don’t eat soy, eat flax.  There is some evidence that suggests eating foods high in phytoestrogen compounds called lignans may have a similar protective benefit as do the phytoestrogenic compounds called isoflavones found in soy; the best dietary source of lignans, hands down, is flaxseed.  Besides, flaxseed is a great source of fiber and omega-3’s, so you can kill 3 birds with one vegetarian stone.  You multi-tasker, you.
4. Go easy on the fat.  Most (but not all) studies show that lower-fat diets are associated with a lower risk of breast cancer, particularly diets that are low in saturated and trans fats.  In the typical U.S. diet, saturated fat is mostly found in red meat, milk and cheese , whereas trans fats are found in fast foods, margarine, and commercially-baked goods.  The best way to minimize saturated fat in your diet is to eat low-fat dairy instead of full-fat, go for quality over quantity with your cheese intake, and use meat as an accent rather than as the main event.  I’d advise avoiding trans fat alltogether if possible.  Be aware of deceptive marketing tactics pertaining to trans fats: many restaurants or food packages claim “0g trans fats per serving.”  It’s that “per serving” you need to watch out for, as they can legally claim 0g if each serving has <0.5g.  Are you really going to just be eating just one serving of that food?  If not, then you could be eating several grams of trans fat without realizing it.  If the label reads “partially hydrogenated oil” of any kind, the food will have trans fats, regardless of what the marketing claims.

Emerging but as-yet inconclusive  evidence: These things may help lower your risk:

1. Improve your Vitamin D status.  Recent government data shows that a frightening 77% of Americans have a Vitamin D insufficiency, and that an astounding 97% of non-hispanic black Americans are Vitamin D insufficient.  And the trends show our collective vitamin D status is worsening– NOT improving– due in large measure to more sedentary, indoor-based lifestyles, sunscreen use, and low intake of fortified dairy products.  What’s more, even people who take in the current recommended levels of Vitamin D are still coming up deficient, leading most researchers to conclude that the currently recommendations are too low.  While there are not yet any human studies which show an association between Vitamin D supplementation and reduced breast cancer, there is mounting circumstantial evidence that points in that direction.  Breast cells actually have vitamin D receptors to supply them with this much-needed vitamin, which is shown to have a role in proper cell division and differentiation.  Breast cancer tumor cells have Vitamin D receptors too, and in vitro, Vitamin D has been shown to stop them from replicating.  Epidemiological evidence shows lower rates of breast cancer among people with greater exposure to the sun, since our bodies are able to manufacture Vitamin D from UV rays.  Since Vitamin D is so important for numerous health outcomes– of which breast cancer prevention is just one possible such outcome–and since Vitamin D is virtually absent from our food supply, it’s not a bad idea for most people to take a supplement–at least during the winter months.  Personally, I supplement 1,000 IU of Vitamin D3 per day from October through May, and make sure to get 15 minutes of unprotected sun exposure on my arms from June-September.  This level of supplementation is safe for everyone, and it should be sufficient to increase your vitamin D status to sufficient levels when taken in addition to a diet that includes some fortified dairy/dairy substitutes, fatty fish (like sardines, salmon, herring and mackerel) and/or other sneaky Vitamin D-rich foods, like dried shiitake mushrooms.

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