While eating more vegetables and fruits is always a good idea, eating the rainbow can help women live both longer and better. New research published in Nutritional Neuroscience by the University of Georgia in the United States, suggests that though women have higher rates of illness, this can be improved through diets.
Brightly coloured foods like sweet potatoes, spinach, carrots, bell pepper, watermelon, oranges, and tomatoes can help maintain visual and cognitive clarity in women, says lead author of the study, Professor Billy Hammond.
“The idea is that men get a lot of the diseases that tend to kill you, but women get those diseases less often or later, so they perseverate but with illnesses that are debilitating,” he says.
“For example, of all of the existing cases of macular degeneration and dementia in the world, two-thirds are women… these diseases that women suffer for years are the very ones most amenable to prevention through lifestyle.”
How gender impacts health
Previous studies reveal that women generally live longer than men, despite the fact that there are higher social determinants for women than men.
“If you take all the autoimmune diseases collectively, women account for nearly 80%. So, because of this vulnerability, linked directly to biology, women need extra preventive care.”
Professor Billy Hammond
One of the reasons for this vulnerability has to do with the way women store vitamins and minerals in their bodies. Hammond points out that women have, on average, more body fat than men.
Body fat serves as a significant sink for many dietary vitamins and minerals, which creates a useful stock for women to access during pregnancy. This availability, however, means less is available for the retina and the brain, putting women at more risk for degenerative problems.
What are carotenoids?
According to Healthline, carotenoids are yellow, orange, and red organic pigments or phytonutrients that are produced by plants, algae, bacteria, and fungi.
Carotenoids give characteristic colours to vegetables and fruits like carrots, pumpkin, parsnips, corn, tomatoes, and even spinach.
Dietary intake of pigmented carotenoids acts as antioxidants for humans. “Men and women eat about the same amount of these carotenoids, but the requirements for women are much higher,” says Hammond.
“The recommendations should be different, but there are, generally, not any recommendations for men or women for dietary components that are not directly linked to deficiency disease (like vitamin C and scurvy).”
“Part of the idea for the article is that recommendations need to be changed so that women are aware that they have these vulnerabilities that they have to proactively address, so they don’t have these problems later in life.”
Best served on plates
Carotenoids are also available via supplements, but Hammond says getting them through food is a much better strategy.
“Components of diet influence the brain, from things like personality to even our concept of self. I don’t think people quite realize what a profound effect diet has on basically who they are, their mood, even their propensity to anger,” he adds.
“And now of course this is extended to the microbiome and the bacteria that make up your gut all of these components work together to create the building blocks that compose our brain and the neurotransmitters that mediate its use.”
Get bright and busy!
Looking for a recipe full of colour and flavour? Veggie loving foodie, Dané Vermeulen has just the treat for you – a sweet potato and tomato rosti.
ALSO READ: Women’s health gets far too little attention
Ingredients
- 1 medium sweet potato (yields 4 rostis)
- Self-rising flour (chickpea flour for a gluten free option)
- Thyme
- Salt
- Pepper
- Vegetable oil (for frying the sweet potato rosti)
- 1 medium onion
- 1 small/half large green pepper
- Clove of garlic
- Balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vegetable stock
- 1 can tomato relish
- 1 can butter beans
- Olive oil (for browning onions)
- 1 medium avocado
- Fresh coriander
- Fresh lemon
- 1 spring onion
Instructions
Tomato and butter bean stew
- On a medium to high heat, brown the chopped onions, garlic and green pepper in a medium sized pot with some olive oil.
- Add the can of tomato relish, vegetable stock and a dash of the balsamic vinegar.
- Add the butter beans and stir to mix.
Cook’s tip: Sometimes I like some extra heat so I add a bit of sriracha sauce or tabasco.
- Lower the heat to a simmer. Stir often to prevent it from burning.
- When most of the moisture has been cooked out of the tomato and bean stew it is ready to be stacked.
Potato Rosti
- In a mixing bowl, grate the sweet potato and slowly add the flour while mixing into the grated sweet potato. Stop adding flour when the mixture is able to stick together and form a ball.
- Add the thyme, salt and pepper.
- Divide the mixture into four equal parts. Roll them into a ball and then flatten to make the shape of the rosti.
- Heat vegetable oil in a pan and fry the rosti on each side until golden brown.
Let’s get stacking
- In a separate mixing bowl, cut the avocado into bit sized blocks. Add salt, pepper and fresh lemon juice and coat the avocado.
- Chop the spring onion and separate the coriander leaves from the stems and set aside.
- Make sure that the consistency is not runny, otherwise your stack will collapse.
- Start your stack by layering a rosti and your tomato and bean stew. You can stack it as high as you like. When you’ve finished your layering, place your avocado, spring onions and coriander leaves on top and drizzle some balsamic reduction over your dish for that final touch.
Leftover tip: If you have leftover tomato and bean stew, you can eat it the next day in a nacho style feast with some tortilla chips and guacamole.
