Brussels Sprouts

russels sprouts get a bad rap, but don't turn your nose up at these mini cabbages-they're delicious when cooked properly and they offer lots of cancer protection in their little packages.

Brussels sprouts are part of the cruciferous family of vegetables, which include broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, mustard greens, turnips, and baby bok choy. They are noted for their high sinigrin content, which seems to make them extra potent destroyers of pre-cancerous cells. Like their cruciferous cousins, Brussels sprouts offer sulforaphane, indoles, and isothiocyanates, the phytonutrients believed to be responsible for neutralizing free radicals, ridding the body of cancer-causing substances, and reducing cancer risk in general. The cancer protection offered by these unique phytonutrients is the reason why we should all eat a serving of at least one type of cruciferous vegetable each day.

A serving of Brussels sprouts is one cup, which has only 60 calories, and a whopping 4 grams each of protein and fiber. A cup of these Belgian natives also supplies 162% of your daily value for vitamin C and 23% of your daily value for heart-protective folate.

Although they are considered fall and winter vegetables, you can find Brussels sprouts year round at Gelson's. You can always get them in tubs, but it's extra nice when they come still attached to their stalks looking like green sleigh bells. Look for bright green sprouts with tight, undamaged leaves. They cook most evenly when the heads are all about the same size, so go for uniformity if you can. When you bring them home, place them in the crisper drawer in the tub they came in or transfer them to a perforated plastic bag. They'll keep for three to five days.

To prepare Brussels sprouts, break them off the stalk if necessary, then rinse the sprouts under cold running water. Trim the stems, but not too close to the leaves or they'll fall apart. If desired, halve them through the stem, from top to bottom. To steam them whole, cut a small "x" in the bottom to ensure even cooking and steam for 6-12 minutes, until slightly tender when pierced with a fork. Steam halved sprouts for 3-8 minutes. Braise the sprouts in a liquid of your choice, such as broth, for 25-35 minutes. Brussels sprouts pair well with garlic, root vegetables, sage, thyme, mustard, dill, caraway, fennel, lemon, pork, beef, game, and nuts. This month, try my recipes for Balsamic Roast Chicken and Brussels Sprout Leaves with White Beans.

Diet or Exercise or Both?

new study published in the International Journal of Obesity looked at the independent effects of exercise and reducing dietary fat on weight loss and then analyzed the combined effects of those lifestyle modifications on weight loss.

The findings varied according to sex. Men could lose weight just by increasing their physical activity, while women could not. However, both men and women lost more weight by solely cutting the amount of fat in their diets compared to just exercising without any dietary change, an indication that making dietary changes seems to have more impact on weight loss than just burning more calories with exercise.

Perhaps the most exciting conclusion from the study is that when dietary fat reduction is combined with exercise, the total effect is greater than simply the sum of its parts. That means that although cutting 500 dietary calories from fat and burning 500 calories at the gym adds up to a 1,000 calorie reduction on paper, it might actually be more like a 1,200 calorie reduction in your body (though the actual number would differ for each person). This was true for both men and women.

If you can only make one lifestyle modification, it should be to cut the fat, and therefore the calories, in your diet. If you can also increase your physical activity, you will lose significantly more weight than if you just change your diet. For those men who are unwilling to change their diets, they can have some weight loss success or prevent age-related weight gain with moderate physical activity. Although this was not true for women, they shouldn't write off exercise altogether. There are many good reasons to exercise, including new research that shows that middle-aged adults who are moderately active on a daily basis are more likely to maintain their independence as they age. Active people are the least likely to need help with bathing, dressing, climbing stairs, using public transportation, or even putting a book on a shelf as they move into their later years. Physical activity also increases your lifespan, your productivity, and reduces stress, inflammation, your risk of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. It's January now, so don't just sit there — get up and move to help change your health and your life.