By: Cat Ebeling, RN, MSN-PHN, co-author of the best-sellers:  The Fat Burning Kitchen, The Top 101 Foods that Fight Aging & The Diabetes Fix

Sorry vegans and veggie-burger lovers, you’re not going to like this. I believe hamburgers are the perfect food. I mean hamburgers from REAL, red meat from grass-grazed cattle raised sustainably.

Why is hamburger the perfect food? Let’s talk beef first.

Beef gets slammed as the “red meat” that is often considered unhealthy. But much depends on the source of the beef that determines whether it is ‘healthy’ or ‘unhealthy’. We will get into the grass fed vs. conventionally-raised meat in a bit.

Why is beef so perfect?

Beef contains “heme” iron which is much more easily assimilated in the body, than iron that comes from plants. Heme iron is a form of iron that humans can absorb very efficiently, and it also helps the body absorb non-heme iron from plant-based foods. One study even found meat as being more effective than iron tablets at maintaining iron levels in women during exercise.

Beef also contains zinc, selenium, choline (vital for liver health), vitamin B12 (only available from animal sources), and vitamin B6, along with vitamins A and E.

Meat is not just high in protein. It is also a source of many nutrients that are simply not available in plants. Meat provides vitamin B12 (only available from animal sources), a highly absorbable type of iron, essential amino acids, zinc, selenium, omega 3 fatty acids, EPA, DHA, vitamin D, and vitamin K2–none of which are found in plant foods.

Now, let’s discuss grass fed beef vs conventional beef. Conventionally raised cattle are finished on a diet of corn, kept in crowded, filthy pens and are generally in poor health. Their diet of grain makes them high in inflammatory omega 6 fats and low in healthier omega 3 fats. Conventional cattle are often pumped full of antibiotics and steroid hormones which are known to help them pack on the weight quickly. Overall, conventional beef is a far different animal than grass fed beef and can hardly be compared.

Grass fed and grass finished beef are raised in their natural environment, eating their natural diet. This means they have far fewer health problems and do not need hormones or antibiotics to fight disease or make them gain weight. They are raised in sunlight and natural pastures making their environment far healthier and far less stressful.

Grass fed beef has a different fat profile than conventional beef. Grass fed beef can have up to 5X the amount of omega 3 fatty acids as conventionally-raised beef. Omega 3 fatty acids lower inflammation, and have been found to help prevent heart disease, strokes, autoimmune diseases such as lupus, eczema, and rheumatoid arthritis. Omega 3 fats also help prevent Alzheimer’s, depression and anxiety, as well as ADHD.

Grass fed meat has lower levels of saturated fat compared to grain fed beef and it contains a very important type of fat called “conjugated linoleic acid”. CLA is a potent cancer fighting compound. CLA has slowed the growth of an unusually wide variety of tumors, including cancers of the skin, breast, prostate, and colon.

Grass fed cattle contain three to five times more CLA than conventionally-raised meat. In a Finnish study, women who had higher levels of CLA in their diets had a 60% lower risk of breast cancer than women who had low levels of CLA.

Grass fed beef contains more antioxidants, pound for pound than conventionally-raised meat.

Beef contains all the amino acids your body needs to synthesize protein. It’s a very high quality source of protein. Body builders and weekend warriors alike eating plenty of beef find they easily build muscle and lower their risk of injury. Beef also contains beta-alanine, an amino acid that helps create carnosine. Carnosine is vital to the muscle power and increases your ability to perform high intensity exercise.

Eating more protein—not less—is essential not only to good health, but also in keeping blood sugar low and preventing diabetes and obesity. Meat is one of the highest quality sources of protein.

So that brings us to burgers. The ubiquitous burger. They are certainly not all the same.

And that leads me to my controversial statement: “Burgers are the most perfect food.”

Let’s discuss…

We all know burgers can be delicious. They are incredibly adaptable. And ground beef can be one of the most economical cuts of meat—even grass fed ground beef.

Burgers are great plain, but they can become a masterpiece of your culinary skills and creativity, depending on what you add—or subtract—from them.

First of all, I’d recommend you ditch the doughy bun. Grains are inflammatory and not Paleo, although you can find grain-free buns. Even better, eat your burger with a lettuce wrap for a bun—or try a collard green wrap for some extra nutrition—just blanch first to make the collards easier and more tender.

You can also drastically boost the nutrition power of your beef by adding in some liver, beef heart or kidney. Chop in the food processor and mix in your ground beef and you won’t even taste it—you’ll just get all the massive health benefits.

Use healthy condiments. Some delicious avocado mayo, sugar free catsup, whole ground mustard, jalapenos, avocado, sliced sweet onion, sautéed mushrooms, and a fresh, ripe, juicy sliced tomato are great ways to up your burger game. Pile on those fun toppings. Don’t forget fun toppings like sauerkraut, kimchi, coleslaw or baby greens.

The sky’s the limit! High quality burger toppings make for a higher quality burger.

And last but not least, don’t forget the bacon, a good quality grass fed cheese, or even an egg for some extra protein.

You can create a different burger theme every night of the week! Enjoy that delicious, perfect, juicy grass fed burger!

References
https://www.webmd.com/diet/grass-fed-beef-good-for-you#3
https://www.marksdailyapple.com/healthier-burger/
https://www.leanandtenderbeef.com/Blog/10-Surprising-Health-Benefits-of-Grass-Fed-Beef/
https://sustainabledish.com/meat-is-magnificent/
https://grasslandbeef.com/?placement=&network=g&loc_physical_ms=9028818&store_code=&device_model=&loc_interest_ms=&albert_targetid=kwd-17111085630&albert_campaignid=2037231091&product_country=&feeditemid=&device=c&albert_keyword=us%20wellness%20meats&merchant_id=&product_id=&albert_category=&matchtype=e&product_partition_id=&product_channel=&albert_creativeid=414874517196&product_language=&albert_agid=70065469337&gclid=Cj0KCQjw5auGBhDEARIsAFyNm9HCaAPzk-RAkIfOp1OJOJCcA3AtYXzuU47izQPDXV3b8hkQ1tsSArYaAnn5EALw_wcB

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By: Catherine Ebeling 
Co-author of the best-sellers:  The Fat Burning Kitchen, The Top 101 Foods that Fight Aging & The Diabetes Fix

Nothing says “Summer” better than a cool, refreshing, sweet, juicy, delicious slice of ripe watermelon—no matter what time of year it is. But I often hear cautions on eating watermelon—that it is high glycemic, full of sugar, mostly water, not very nutritious, etc.

Right? Or wrong?

While watermelons are mostly water—90% or so, they are also full of vitamins A, B6, C, lycopene, antioxidants and minerals. Remember hearing about the lycopene in tomatoes? Watermelon, another red-colored fruit, is FULL of this powerful phytonutrient! In fact, watermelon has some of the highest levels of lycopene of all fruits and veggies. Just one cup of watermelon has 1 and a half times the lycopene of a large fresh tomato. And who eats just one cup of watermelon? I know I don’t!

Because watermelon is one of the best sources of lycopene with more than 6,500 micrograms in less than half a cup, you are getting an army’s worth of inflammation-fighting antioxidant activity! Lycopene from the red flesh of watermelon is very stable, even after the watermelon has been cut and stored in the refrigerator. Lycopene is thought to be even more powerful than its other orange/red colored ally, beta carotene—found in red and orange fruits and veggies.

Cardiovascular Benefits

Lycopene is a powerful natural anti-inflammatory and antioxidant, valued for its role in protecting the cardiovascular system, bone health, and preventing cancer. Along with lycopene, watermelons contain another powerful phytochemical, citrulline, an amino acid. Citrulline gets converted into another important chemical in the body, arginine, or L-arginine. Arginine is used to create nitric oxide, which has powerful benefits on the heart and blood vessels. NO can actually cause blood vessels to relax and open up, lowering blood pressure and helping the body carry more oxygen to parts of the body where it is needed–like muscles, your heart and your brain. A study from Florida State University found that watermelon could make a significant difference in lowering blood pressure–especially in overweight people, by relaxing the blood vessel walls.

Citrulline, when it converts into arginine, can also help prevent excess accumulation of fat in fat cells, because it blocks an enzyme that stores this fat. And because citrulline is a precursor to nitric oxide, it can also help improve erectile dysfunction in men, in a similar way that Viagra works—although you would have to quite a bit of watermelon to get the same effect as Viagra.

As you can see in this article, watermelons are on the list of foods that beat statins for heart health!

It’s All About the Lycopene

Carotenoids are powerful antioxidants, capable of destroying free radicals which attack our bodies and can contribute to chronic disease and aging. In one study of 13,000 adult Americans, low levels of carotenoids were a key predictor of early death. Especially low blood levels of lycopene! Lycopene protects our cardiovascular system, the male reproductive system, and in the skin, it protects and prevents UV damage from the sun.

Several studies have been conducted showing the strong link between levels of lycopene and heart disease. Analyses from the Physicians Health Study showed a 39% decrease in stroke risk in men with the highest blood levels of lycopene. Another study in Finland following 1,000 men for 12 years has had similar results as well.

Lycopene is also responsible for limiting the enzyme responsible for making cholesterol, so eating foods with more lycopene also helps to reduce cholesterol—specifically, LDL cholesterol.  (Side note:  speaking of heart health, did you know that grass fed dairy fat actually contains nutrients that help unclog your arteries)

Anti-Cancer Power

Lycopene is a life-saver in more ways than one! Besides its cardiovascular benefits, lycopene’s antioxidant power extends to anti-cancer effects as well. A 2014 meta-analysis of 10 studies shows dietary lycopene to be protective against ovarian cancers, as well as brain tumors and breast tumors.

And of course, we know about lycopene’s value in fighting prostate cancer. In several studies, higher intakes of foods containing lycopene and a higher serum or plasma concentration of lycopene was associated with a very significant decreased risk of prostate cancer—especially the more lethal kind of prostate cancer. When researchers studied only the men who had had at least one high risk PSA test, the subjects had a 50% decreased risk of lethal prostate cancer.

“Based on these results, we hypothesize that the consumption of a diet rich in lycopene-containing foods reduces the aggressive potential of prostate cancer by inhibiting the neoangiogenesis that occurs in tumor development,” Dr. Giovannucci’s team reported online ahead of print in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.”

Other studies have shown lycopene’s powerful cancer fighting ability effective against lung cancer, esophageal, stomach, pancreatic, colorectal, and cervical cancers as well.

Extremely Good for Rehydration

Watermelons get their name because they are over 90% water, and that water is full of electrolytes and potassium which helps you stay hydrated or to rehydrate. The perfect fruit to eat on hot summer days, or after a hard, sweaty workout! And that delicious juice can also help prevent muscle soreness—especially if you have watermelon before your intense workout.

Its Not Just the Red Part

While most of us only eat the juicy red flesh of the watermelon, the whole thing is actually edible and chock full of nutrients! From the red center to the stem end, and also the blossom end–including the white part near the rind–are a plethora of impressive antioxidants, flavonoids, lycopene, and vitamin C. Even the green rind is full of nutrients. The rind is full of chlorophyll, and contains even more citrulline than the red flesh. Try throwing your watermelon rinds into the blender with fresh squeezed lime juice for a healthy slushy treat.

It is still best, however, to pick ripest, reddest watermelon you can find. Lycopene content continues to increase all the way up until the time the watermelon is at its reddest and ripest.

And don’t spit out those seeds, unless you are in a watermelon seed-spitting contest! The black watermelon seeds are not only edible, but actually extremely good for you. They are full of iron, zinc, fiber and protein. Seedless watermelons are ok to eat too—they are not genetically modified, only hybrid forms of watermelon bred especially for their no-seed content.

Watermelons also are rich in anti-inflammatory substances including cucurbitacin E, tripterpenoid which help to block the pain and inflammation of certain enzymes, in a similar fashion as NSAID’s like ibuprofen and aspirin.

While being very low in calories (only about 46 calories in a cup), watermelon also contains an impressive variety of other important essential nutrients including:

• Vitamin A
• Vitamin C
• Vitamin B6
• Potassium
• Magnesium

The Age Old Question—How Do You Pick the Perfect Watermelon?

It can be a huge gamble finding the perfect, red, sweet watermelon. But—if you know what to look for, there is a real method to finding the best one. Look on the underside of the watermelon for a pale, butter-colored yellow spot—not white or green. This is one of the best indicators of the ripeness of the watermelon. Also pick up a few and choose the one that is heaviest for its size. Many people ‘thump’ the watermelon to check its ripeness too—listen for the best hollow bass sound.

Be aware that watermelons do contain a reasonable quantity of fructose, so be mindful of your sugar intake, and eat watermelon in moderation.  With that said, because watermelons are so filling, and have both high water content AND high fiber content, the old myth that watermelons are high glycemic is not entirely true… This is because the “glycemic load” of a watermelon is actually fairly low since it’s nearly impossible to overeat large quantities of a food that is as filling as watermelon.

So enjoy your watermelon, knowing you’re doing your body good!  Also try my friend Danette’s watermelon & lime juice drink here!

References:

Charnow, (Feb 2014). Lycopene May Decrease Prostate Cancer Risk. Retrieved from http://www.renalandurologynews.com/prostate-cancer/lycopene-may-decrease-prostate-cancer-risk/article/335907/

Figueroa, Wong, Kalfon. (2014). Effects of Watermelon Supplementation on Aortic Hemodynamic Responses to the Cold Pressor Test in Obese Hypertensive Adults. American Journal of Hypertension, 2014; DOI: 10.1093/ajh/hpt295

Furhrman, J., MD. How Tomatoes Can Protect You Against Heart Attack and Stroke. Retrieved from http://www.timigustafson.com/2013/how-tomatoes-can-protect-you-against-heart-attack-and-stroke/

Hak AE, Ma J, Powell CB, et al. (2004). Prospective study of plasma carotenoids and tocopherols in relation to risk of ischemic stroke. Stroke 2004; 35:1584-1588.

Journal of the National Cancer Institute. (Feb 1999). Tomatoes, Tomato-Based Products, Lycopene, and Cancer: Review of the Epidemiologic Literature. Retrieved from http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/content/91/4/317.full

Karppi J, Laukkanen JA, Sivenius J, et al. (2012). Serum lycopene decreases the risk of stroke in men: A population-based follow-up study. Neurology 2012; 79:1540-1547.

Karppi J, Laukkanen JA, Makikallio TH, et al. (2011). Low serum lycopene and beta-carotene increase risk of acute myocardial infarction in men. Eur J Public Health 2011.

Mateljan, G. World’s Healthiest Foods. Retrieved from http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=31

Mercola, J., DO. (2014). 6 things you didn’t know about watermelon. Retrieved from http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/07/21/watermelon-nutrition.aspx#_edn15

Szalay,J. (October, 2014). Watermelon: Health Benefits, Risks & Nutrition Facts. Retrieved from http://www.livescience.com/46019-watermelon-nutrition.html

Shardell MD, Alley DE, Hicks GE, et al. Low-serum carotenoid concentrations and carotenoid interactions predict mortality in US adults: the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Nutr Res 2011; 31:178-189.

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