The Satisfying Staple of Sustenance

Roasty Toasty

With cold weather fast closing in, it is time to be indulging in the warm comfort of hearty soups.

It may sound logical that eating warm foods helps your body to warm up from the inside out. However, it is a little more involved. Let’s use soup as a fabulous example.

Soup is served hot, which means that due to thermodynamics of the food being broken down, it warms up the inside of the body as we eat it. It’s not only this but it usually also contains complex carbohydrates (slow digesting and burning) such as lentils, butterbeans, quinoa, rice, and/or starchy vegetables (pumpkin, sweet potato, and potato); as well as some forms of protein (chicken) and fat (olive oil, cream, or butter). When we eat and digest our food as part of our metabolic processes (when carbohydrates, fats and proteins are broken down in the body) they create heat when the breakdown process is slow. This is called thermogenesis.

When choosing a soup to warm you up, one based on complex carbohydrates will do the trick as they will move more slowly through the digestive track requiring more energy to assist the breakdown process, thus generating more heat.

Hidden gems 

Soups that go the extra mile often contain extra hidden treasures; these are your warming spices which can add a bit of a heat kick and provide extra health benefits in the process!

Here are a few examples of what can be added:

Ginger - contains a compound called gingerol, that has two main properties. One works with strong anti-inflammatory properties, of which many of the health benefits of ginger can be linked to. Due to its heat-producing nature gingerol (the plant phytonutrient) one of its anti-inflammatory benefits is to relieve pain and assist in weight loss. Anti-inflammatory properties combined with the antioxidant properties of gingerol have also shown great potential to aid issues with blood health, such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure (ginger acts also as a vasodilator meaning more blood can move through the capillaries), and balance blood glucose levels.

And then there is also the digestive properties of ginger that aid indigestion and reduce nausea, again more likely linked to its ability to reduce aggravated and inflamed tissue surfaces and calm down imbalanced neural pathways.

Turmeric is warming and nourishing to the liver. Its active compounds curcumin works as a strong anti-inflammatory especially digestion and joints within the body. And is better absorbed when paired with black pepper.

Cumin – Working a bit like ginger does it has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. However, cumin also sports antimicrobial properties, which aids in keeping the good bacteria of the gut in balance to aid digestion, mood, and brain functionality.

Cayenne Pepper - Heating spice not only does it warm the body, but the warmer environment and heat building properties can assist in other metabolic reactions within various body systems. The compounds responsible for this are capsaicin and flavonoids. These can act in the following ways, neuroprotective, assists in metabolic processes, absorption of nutrients, such as B vitamins and vitamin C from food and within the cellular processes.

Functional Benefits

For soup to be a functional nutrition staple in your diet for winter coming it is good to know how it can help you gain better functionality of your body and mind during the cold weather coming.

Hydration

Hydration is important to keep up during the winter months. This may seem counterintuitive to some. You may think that because you are not sweating as often, that your skin won’t get dry or that you don’t need as much water. However, in cold weather when we are exposed, we can lose heat/ water in several ways. For example, if you are an active person and exercise a lot then you can lose a lot through sweating, even running out in the cold. This occurs via convection if it is cold and windy, and you don’t have enough layers of clothing (which is why we often can get cracked lips when exposed to the wind). Or, if you are sitting or lying on something cold you can lose heat/water through conduction (from your body to the objects surface).

Soups offer a nourishing and quick way to boost nutrients, warmth, and hydration to the body in one hit!

Quick Nutrition

Soups are a quick and nourishing choice to eat out at a café or restaurant. They are also quick and easy to make at home, they feed many and store well frozen.

Compared to a heavy meal they are also more easily digested, and nutrients absorbed into the blood stream. This is because the pieces of food are smaller, or they are blended entirely making a smoother/ thicker consistency. This makes them a great choice to help balance the need for heat production, but not too much energy drawn into the gut for food processing, leaving a person tired and lethargic after a large meal.

Rebalancing Digestion

Due to the consistency of most soups i.e., well cooked, smaller food pieces, and blended ingredients, this means it is easier for the stomach to breakdown the food particles and the intestines to absorb the nutrients compared to wholefood meals. So, if digestive issues such as bloating, and constipation are a concern for you then why not give your system a bit of a break and lighten the load with some nutritious soups.

Well balanced soups, containing foods from fats, carbohydrates (including vegetables) and protein, can be a cost effective and nutritionally beneficial way to add more health to your being by inviting a variety of soups to become a winter staple.

Roberto’s Authentic Gelato sell is a fabulous example of offering nourishing soups for the English Winter.

Tomato, Vegetable, Potato and Leek soup are on the menu this week, check out https://www.facebook.com/robertoauthenticgelato

If you would like some guidance to your nutrition with assistance to create greater wellbeing within your life and balance to your diet, then you can contact me via www.activatedwellbeing.com

Happy Slurping!