Healthy Fare for Cinco de Mayo

 

 

Behind the Cancer Headlines®

April 28, 2003

 

 

Cinco de Mayo — May 5 — commemorates the Battle of Puebla in 1862 when the Mexican Army defeated the French, but the holiday has become synonymous with celebrations featuring food, fun and dance. And much of the Cinco de Mayo fare at these fiestas can be very healthy for you, according to research presented in meetings and journals of the American Chemical Society.

 

Tomatoes

 

What would Mexican food be without tomatoes? The primary ingredient in most salsas, tomatoes are chock-full of antioxidants, including vitamin C and beta carotene. These compounds, as well as the dietary fiber, copper and iron found in tomatoes, may play a role in preventing cell damage. And the red tomato pigment, lycopene, helps reduce the risk of breast, colon, lung and prostate cancer. Tomatoes also play a role in lowering cholesterol and triglycerides.

 

Avocado

 

Guacamole, made with mashed avocados, tomatoes, onions and assorted seasonings, is another healthy Mexican treat. In addition to the health benefits of the tomatoes, Japanese scientists have discovered that avocados contain compounds that reduce liver damage.

 

Onions, Chilies and Peppers

 

All that spicy food relies on onions, chilies and peppers to provide its characteristic zest. Scientists testing different foods for levels of flavonoids—a type of antioxidant known to protect against cancer—have shown that onions, red and green chilies, and bell peppers don't fall far behind more well-known sources of antioxidants, such as broccoli.

 

Beer

 

For many people, Cinco de Mayo wouldn't be the same without a beer to wash down all that food. A study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry suggests that a beer a day helps prevent heart attacks. An Israeli team of chemists showed that heart-healthy changes occurred in the blood of moderate beer drinkers by making fibrinogen, a blood clotting protein, less active.

 

 

SOURCE:

 

American Chemical Society (http://www.acs.org)