Food & Drink by Shari McIntyre (formerly Darling) For more information on wine and food, go to www.sharidarling.com It has been a rough year. My father passed away last November. My brother Bret (three years my junior) passed away in October 2022 at the age of 58, less than a year after my father’s passing. Both father and brother died frommetabolic syndrome-related issues. Metabolic syndrome runs on both sides of my parents’ families. My other siblings are on medications to reduce their risks of metabolic syndrome-related illnesses. Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of conditions that occur together, increasing the risk of heart disease, stroke and Type 2 diabetes. The conditions that contribute to metabolic syndrome include high blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess body fat around the waist and abnormally low ‘good’ HDL cholesterol or high triglyceride levels. So far, I am medication free and recently underwent a flurry of tests at our local cardiology clinic. I’m healthy at the moment. I exercise daily (cardio and weightlifting) and diligently watchmy diet. I eat a low-carbohydrate diet and take whole food supplements daily. (In one recent study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation Insight, more than half of participants no longer met the criteria for metabolic syndrome immediately following a four-week, low-carb diet. This new study included 16 men and women with metabolic syndrome, a cluster of factors that also put people at higher risk for heart disease and stroke. I read about this study in an article on the Ohio State University website. Written by Jeff Grabmeier on June 25, 2019, the article is entitled “Metabolic syndrome risk may be reduced with low-carb diet.” In the article, Grabmeier quotes Jeff Volek, professor of kinesiology and nutrition. Volek says, “Even a modest restriction of carbs is enough to reverse metabolic syndrome in some people, but others need to restrict even more.”) Remember that before starting any new diet, be sure to talk to your physician first. On this low-carbohydrate diet, I refrain from traditional pasta. It is super high in carbohydrates. Instead, I substitute the noodles with vegetables such as zucchini and cabbage. Purple cabbage (also known as red cabbage) is one of those delicious low-carbohydrate veggies. This nutrient-rich vegetable is loaded with nutrition and both soluble and insoluble fibres and can replace wheat-based pasta. The veggie does contain carbohydrates, but far fewer than traditional wheat-based noodles. One cup of chopped purple cabbage has 5 net carbs and only 28 calories. One cup of cooked spaghetti has about 40.7 net carbohydrates. In comparison to green cabbage, purple cabbage offers 10x more vitamins – as well as cancer-fighting flavonoids – and is packed with antioxidants to improve the health of your eyes, teeth, bones and immune system. Cooked cabbage, like pasta, has a subtle taste and takes on all the flavours of the dish. You can cut the noodles thin to replace spaghettini or slice them a little thicker to replace egg noodles. I decided to prepare a Cabbage Pasta Alfredo with Italian sausage. You can add other vegetables to this dish as well, such as onions, peas, etc. You can substitute cabbage noodles in a wide variety of pasta dishes, such as: Beef Stroganoff: boneless rib eye steak, onions, mushrooms, butter, beef broth, mustard, sour cream, seasonings (salt & pepper) Cacio e Pepe: butter, parmesan, pecorino Carbonara: red cabbage, bacon, garlic, eggs, parmesan One-Pan Tuna Pasta Casserole: sun-dried tomatoes, capers, garlic, anchovies, tuna, parsley Cabbage Spaghetti with Shrimp: olive oil, shrimp, lemon juice, butter, garlic, cream cheese, parsley Lemon Ricotta Cabbage Pasta: ricotta, pecorino cheese, olive oil, lemon juice, seasonings, fresh basil Taco Cabbage Pasta Pie: ground beef, crushed tomatoes, Mexican shredded cheese, sour cream, scallions, seasonings (cumin, black pepper, chili powder, oregano, salt, pepper) Metabolic Syndrome 60 | www.snowbirds.org
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