Functional Common Foods & Spices
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Key Points:
Countries with lowest COVID-19 death rates are grouped into Middle East (Median Age > 25), Central Asia (and Slovakia & Belarus) (Median Age > 25), and South/East/South-East Asia (Median Age < 25). As the diet is simple in Middle East and Central Asia, we study their diets first
Results:
1. Functional Spices in Middle East: curcumin in turmeric enhanced by piperine from black pepper, saffron & cardamom.
2. Functional Foods in Central Asia: sulforaphane generated from glucosinolate by myrosinase from (pickled) brassica vegetables; and betanin/betalains/betanidin/betaine in red beetroots.
3. General: Copper and Zinc in foods as furin inhibitors as well
4. Identified-but-excluded: Edible seaweed that can bind to COVID-19 spike protein discovered by Kwon et al , 2020. Human genome and gut microbiota of North American people do not have the gene of carbohydrate active enzyme (CAZymes) to break down sulfated polysaccharids, but Japanese gut microbiota does.
5. Identified-but-excluded: Oroxylum indicum tree (leaves, flowers, stalks & seeds) as foods in Indian Subcontinent. Oroxylin A, flavonoid from Oroxylum indicum, a furin inhibitor, may be a candidate for COVID-19 treatment, but Oroxylum indicum products are not used in cooking in North America.
6. Potential Dietary Supplements: Zinc, Vitamin C, D & E.
Basic-3 spice Mix:
We developed Basic-3 mix of turmeric, black pepper and cardamom, which potentially has inhibitory effect on furin and anti-inflammatory effect. We did not include saffron due to its high price. It is an all-purpose mix for cooking/hot drink/salad/peanut buffer. We add other spices to form modified Arabic 7-spice mix or curry paste.
Basic-3 Mix = 10 TBSP turmeric + 1/2 TBSP grounded black pepper + 2 TBSP cardamom
Basic-3 Dressing = Basic-3 Mix + your favor oil like Olive oil.
Basic Cooking/Diet Tip for Brassica Vegetables ( cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli …)
1. low temperature & short time: 65C for 3 minutes suggested by Cai et al, 2020.
2. Eat cooked brassica vegetables with fermented brassica vegetables like sauerkraut or kimchi or with Japanese skin-on daikon as a side dish.
Basic Fusion Cooking Ideas:
South/East/South-East Asia Diet = Arabic spices + Central Asia’s vegetable soup ( or stew) + fresh diversified local vegetables/spices + coconut
- Mix Basic-3 mix (or dressing) with our normal spices to diversify the flavor of foods.
- Add Basic-3 to flavor your hot drink ( adding honey to cover up the bitter taste from turmeric).
- Mix Basic-3 with peanut butter to make peanut butter & jelly sandwich ( I can not tell the bitter flavor of turmeric)
- Eat fermented brassica vegetable, Japanese skin-on daikon & red beetroots as a side dish
- More brassica vegetable/red beets soup with (pickled) brassica vegetables
- For flu season, we may consider to take dietary supplements of Zinc, Vitamin C, D & E
2. Functional Analysis on Common Foods & Spices in Central Asia & Middle East:
We are uploading the analysis data now……
Common glucoraphanin-containing vegetables: broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, bok choy, kale, Chinese cabbage, garden cress, Japanese daikon, white/yellow/brown/black mustard & wasabi.
Diet Tips:
1. mild-heat broccoli: 65 °C for 3 minutes in-pack or 60 °C for 1 minute during direct water blanching.
2. Eat steamed brassica vegetables ( or soup) with a side dish.
Side dish = skin-on Japanese daikon; or fermented brassica vegetables (like kimchi or sauerkraut); or a sauce containing fresh wasabi
3. Eat fresh or fermented brassica vegetables daily or every 2 days
Data Analysis: Functions of Brassica Vegetables and Cooking Tips
Key Points:
Red beetroot as functional food was reviewed by Cliffordm et al , 2015 and Mirmiran et al , 2020. The highlights are:
- Anti-inflammation effect : Betanin significantly inhibits the NF-κB DNA-binding activity in rats induced with acute renal damage; betalains suppresses cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression in vitro; and betanidin, extracted from beetroot, dose dependently inhibits lipoxygenase (LOX), a catalytic enzyme vital for the synthesis of pro-inflammatory leukotriene molecules.
- Other benefits: lowering blood pressure and improving glucose and insulin homeostasis via NO3 and other bioactive compounds within beetroot juice,
Reference:
- Clifford T, Howatson G, West DJ, Stevenson EJ. The potential benefits of red beetroot supplementation in health and disease. Nutrients. 2015;7(4):2801-2822. Published 2015 Apr 14. doi:10.3390/nu7042801
- Mirmiran, P., Houshialsadat, Z., Gaeini, Z. et al. Functional properties of beetroot (Beta vulgaris) in management of cardio-metabolic diseases. Nutr Metab (Lond) 17, 3 (2020). doi:10.1186/s12986-019-0421-0
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