Extra virgin olive oil, because it is the best dressing for your salad – Italian Cuisine

Used raw for seasoning, it is an excellent ally for the body's health. Find out why with the help of a nutritionist

THE'extra virgin olive oil is the main food of the Mediterranean diet. It has always been considered the healthiest condiment. That's why it should be one of the most used ingredients in the kitchen to season raw, second and side dishes raw. It has a fruity taste that is excellent for giving a special flavor even to salads. Alone, or together with vinegar or lemon juice, it is the ideal dressing to flavor without the need to use other types of condiments, such as sauces, butter or yogurt. Plus, it's a real natural supplement. "It ensures good fats, vitamins and antioxidants that are good for your health and prevent many diseases. From cardio-circulatory to cancer ones , explains nutritionist Nicoletta Bocchino. To get the maximum of its benefits the ideal is to choose the one cold pressed. "It is more rich in nutritional and organoleptic properties", adds the expert. To preserve them at their best, it is always necessary to keep them in the dark-colored glass bottle sealed and kept in cool places. "Heat can cause oxidation and therefore rancidity of the product," suggests nutritionist Bocchino. Another suggestion is to pay attention to the quantities that are consumed. «To benefit from all its virtues it is better to limit yourself to 2-3 tablespoons a day. Extra virgin olive oil has a high caloric intake: a spoon contains about 90 calories, "warns the expert.

Keeps heart and arteries healthy

Extra virgin olive oil helps reduce the risk of experiencing cardiovascular disease. "It is rich in valuable antioxidants, including polyphenols that help reduce the accumulation of triglycerides and bad cholesterol in the blood, responsible for heart attacks and strokes. They also favor the "good" levels, "explains the expert. It also contains many "beneficial" fats for the health of the heart and arteries. «It ensures good quantities of Omega 3 and Omega 6, which have an anti-inflammatory action. They regulate blood pressure and promote the proper functioning of the circulation, "says nutritionist Bocchino.

Protects the brain

The essential fatty acids of which extra virgin olive oil is particularly rich are also good for the brain. "They act like real" anti-rust "substances on neurons, brain cells. They prevent degeneration and promote cognitive functions ", explains the expert.

Fights aging

Extra virgin olive oil is an excellent anti-aging oil. «It brings a great variety of antioxidants that block the harmful action of free radicals, responsible for the aging of tissues. It is rich, in particular, in vitamin E and polyphenols. These substances have a real protective action on the organism ", concludes the expert.

Water retention: 5 practical tips to fight it – Italian Cuisine

An annoying and unaesthetic disorder that affects a large number of women, of any age group, especially in the summer season.
Let's talk about the water retention, or the accumulation of water in the body, which is often concentrated in very specific areas, such as legs, buttocks and belly, causing in many cases also feelings of heaviness and fatigue (especially if it involves the lower limbs).
A problem that can be traced to different causes, but, excluding serious diseases and illnesses, it often depends on a series of factors, among which supply is lifestyle, which play a decisive role.
Here's why with aSome simple changes in diet and everyday habits can be done.
Let's find out together with Raffaella Melani, nutritionist biologist.

1st RULE LESS SALT (watch out for unsuspected foods, too)

155399 To begin with, the first important step is to use less salt, for example by reducing the consumption of processed foods. The expert clarifies: "A low-salt diet, in addition to promoting the proper functioning of the lymphatic system, contributes to a healthy and low blood pressure. The World Health Organization recommends not introducing more than 2 grams of sodium with the daily diet. Two grams of sodium correspond to about 5 grams of cooking salt, which are roughly those contained in a teaspoon (practically what it takes to salt water to boil the pasta). "

WATER INSTEAD OF WILL

126903 With water instead you have to abound, choosing in particular low residual water and moisturizing foods.
Explain Raffaella Melani, nutritionist biologist "For example cucumbers, also suitable for those who have to lose weight. In fact, cucumber, due to the large amount of water, is very satiating and thanks to the presence of potassium has an excellent diuretic action. In addition, the cucumber also contains vitamin C that protects from oxidative stress ". Also recommended avocado. Melani continues. "In fact, this fruit contains about 80% water and dietary fiber. Unlike the other fruits, it has a low sugar content and its creamy pulp is an excellent source of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) such as oleic and palmitoleic acids and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids, linoleic acid, with a strong action anti-inflammatory ".

PRESERVE THE BLOOD VASES

176176 Water retention is also linked to poor circulation. This is why it is important to prefer blood vessel friendly foods. "Such as i blueberries. These wonderful berries contain numerous active ingredients. First of all, vitamins A and C, niacin, citric acid and malic acid. It is also rich in calcium and iron and, like all red-purple fruits are rich in anthocyanins. These molecules are studied for their beneficial effects on blood vessels, where they would increase capillary resistance, improving microcirculation ".

MAKE FULL OF ANTIOXIDANTS

137867 Foods are preferred to counteract the stagnation of liquids antioxidants.
Specify the nutritionist "Like papaya. These fruits not only offer the greedy taste and the sunny color of the tropics, with only 42 kcal per 100 g of fruit, but they are also a rich source of antioxidant nutrients such as carotenes, vitamins (especially vitamin C) and numerous minerals (Iron, potassium, copper and magnesium). Together, these nutrients promote the health of the cardiovascular system and also provide protection against inflammatory diseases ".

He who hesitates is lost

176167 Last advice is to move!
Dr. Melani concludes: "Doing physical activity or simply walking. This can be effective in reducing fluid accumulation in some areas, such as in the lower limbs".

Elisa Nata
June 2019

Meryl Streep makes 70! What does the most requested diva of cinema eat? – Italian Cuisine

The woman, the actress, the cook. On June 22nd Meryl Streep turns 70. But its particular beauty and the irresistible charm that characterizes it win over time

Meryl Streep she is a perfectionist, an acrobat between talent and awards on the shelf. In her career, one of the most prolific and acclaimed in the world, she has devised a myriad of roles, hundreds of emotional states, always with critics applauding her and the directors competing to work with her. Yet for Mary Louise Streep, born seventy years ago at Summit, a small town in New Jersey, the things that really matter are others: love, sex and, of course, food.

The diva at the stove

She is the one who revealed it in an interview a few years ago on "The Talks", where she confessed for the first time a certain clumsiness in the kitchen. «Sometimes I started preparing dishes only to say: Oh god! And then throw them in the sink . When her children were young, there was someone who cooked for her: luxury to which she had to give up and which led her to prove herself once more: "When my children were young it was difficult to pay attention to the tasks at the end of the day and even prepare dinner ".
Lately, however, the pleasure of cooking has also infected her: she admits to preparing a lot of pasta, "because it's easy". «I cook because my children love certain types of things and then they want more and more of them. My daughter is now fixated with pasta with cauliflower, fresh parsley, tarragon and salted ricotta . The dishes are certainly not very simple for the actress who won three Oscars, which is in great demand from all over the world and on the most prestigious sets there are.

Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep in "Bridges of Madison County", 1975 (photo by Warner Brothers / Getty Images).

The woman and the actress

However, it is not easy to deal with the woman and the professional. If she can manage everything, it is above all thanks to her husband Don Gummer ("I was lucky to have found it") and to a certain organizational ability that allows her to plan everything well in advance, careful that nothing goes wrong. Acting, after all, is his lifeblood and if he were deprived of it he would die. "It is a glorious profession and I am so grateful for all that it has allowed me to express", Meryl confesses again, which does not hide the fragility of any woman. From a pinch of healthy envy for Jessica Lange when she got the part in Sweet Dreams in the long embrace with Sophia Loren after the unfounded voice that said that the Italian diva had it for her to have blown her starring role in The Madison County bridges. At work, however, there can be no fear. "You can be afraid in a press conference, be nervous or sweaty, but you can't have it while you do this job because that's how it works." And we love it for that too.