Nutrition & Diet

More than 30% of Americans are on sodium restricted diets. Did you know soup mixes from Frontier Soups are packaged with no added salt? The only salt in the package is the sodium that occurs naturally in vegetables such as celery.

To cut sodium intake in the finished recipes, use low sodium broths, or dilute the broth with water. Experiment for flavor, but we like using 3/4 of the broth called for in the recipe and adding water to equal the remaining 1/4 of the broth called for. Many cooks make their own broths, or stocks, with little added salt, but it’s an additional time consuming step.

For more information on reducing sodium in your diet visit Low Salt Foods.com.

Here’s another reason to add soup to your Fall menus. Recent Studies by British scientists have shown that the compound – inositol pentakisphosphate – found in most legumes (such as lentils, peas and beans) and in wheat bran and nuts inhibits a key enzyme involved in tumor growth. In the study the compound was tested in mouse models and on cancer cells. Not only was it found in inhibit the growth of tumors in mice, but the phosphate also enhanced the effect of cytotoxic drugs on ovarian and lung cancer cells.

A diet rich in beans, nuts and cereals could be a way to prevent cancer, believe UK researchers. Scientists at University College London have discovered that these everyday foods contain a potent anti-cancer compound. This blocks a key enzyme involved in tumour growth, they told Cancer Research journal. The researchers say, in the future, it might be possible to mimic this compound in an anti-cancer drug.

“Our study suggests the importance of a diet enriched in foods such as beans, nuts and cereals which could help prevent cancer” – Researcher Dr. Marco Falasca

Scientists have been exploring the enzyme phosphoinositide 3-kinase as a target for cancer treatment for some time but inhibitors have been difficult to develop because of problems with chemical stability and toxicity. Dr. Marco Falasca and colleagues have discovered that a natural compound, called inositol pentakisphosphate, which is found in most legumes as well as in wheat bran and nuts, blocks the activity of the enzyme.

When they tested its action in mice with ovarian and lung cancer they found it not only blocked tumour growth but also enhanced the effect of other cancer-killing drugs. In addition, it appeared to be non-toxic, unlike conventional chemotherapy agents.

Dr Falasca said: “Our study suggests the importance of a diet enriched in foods such as beans, nuts and cereals which could help prevent cancer. “Our work will now focus on establishing whether the phosphate inhibitor can be developed into an anti-cancer agent for human therapy.”

“The next step is to look at whether inositol pentakisphosphate is able to inhibit tumor growth in cancer patients” – Henry Scowcroft of Cancer Research UK

“We believe that inositol pentakisphosphate is a promising anti-cancer tool and we hope to bring it to clinical testing soon.” Henry Scowcroft of Cancer Research UK said: “It is always encouraging when a newly discovered chemical is shown to have anti-cancer activity in the laboratory, especially when it occurs naturally in foods like beans and peas. “Obviously, the next step is to look at whether inositol pentakisphosphate is able to inhibit tumour growth in cancer patients, in properly controlled clinical trials.”

He said researchers were also looking at whether people who eat more lentils, peas and beans are actually at lower risk of developing cancers “What we do know already is that a diet that includes at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day can help to reduce the risk of cancer.”

Source: BBC NEWS

Not only does bean soup make a great tasting meal, it offers terrific nutritional value as well. Beans are part of the legume family including beans, peas, and lentils. They provide two kinds of fiber. Soluble fiber acts like a little sponge to mop up the bad LDL and lower cholesterol, a foil against heart disease. You get this kind of fiber in cereal. But beans also contain insoluble fiber that provides roughage that aids digestion and intestinal health, and has been shown in studies to contribute to weight loss.

In addition beans, especially pintos and kidney beans contain omega 3’s, an important nutrient that scientists are finding have hopeful correlations as an anti-inflammatory for arthritis and heart disease, and with mental health. Legumes contribute potassium, magnesium, and folic acid to the diet—minerals chronically deficient in the standard American diet, and vital for the normal functioning of the heart and circulatory system.

The Weston A. Price Foundation, Feb. 2007

Eating right is a major concern of Americans. School lunch programs are under fire for not providing enough health wise options for children and everyone knows many Americans are over weight and suffer from related health problems.

Mireille Guiliano in her recent top seller book French Women Don’t Get Fat makes a case for eating soup – French women do five times a week!

Frontier Soups offers a real solution to the what-to-serve-for-dinner dilemma that delivers real nutrition, diverse menus and the comfort and convenience of home cooking. Frontier Soups dry soup mix for home preparation offer wholesome and delicious soup meals that feature a wide range of ingredients and recipe options. Frontier Soups contain no added salt, no preservatives, no MSG and are trans-fat free. Eating soup makes it easy to eat right.

Dried beans aren’t just hearty-they’re also good for your heart. According to a 2002 report by James Anderson and Amy Major of the Metabolic Research Group at the University of Kentucky, dried beans-such as black beans, cannellini beans and chickpeas – can reduce cholesterol levels and prevent heart disease because of their levels of soluble fiber.

The high-fiber content in beans can also help lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of hypertension, and their low glycemic index (a ranking of carbohydrates and their effect on blood sugar levels) has been shown to reduce the risk of diabetes. Eating dried beans can also help you lose weight, because they stimulate hormones that decrease hunger. A recent Australian study even found a positive correlation between eating dried beans and longevity.

Department of Agriculture nutrition scientists have used the latest technologies to tabulate antioxidant levels in over 100 types of vegetables, fruits, nuts, berries, and spices. Antioxidants are believed to help oppose damage done by molecules within the body – “free radicals” – that are associated with cancer and aging.

This list below features dried beans as numbers 1, 3, 4, and 18. Frontier Soups’ products offer a good source of key antioxidants, and don’t forget #7 – artichokes are added to our California White Bean Chili!

1. Small Red Beans (Dried Legumes)
2. Wild Blueberries
3. Red Kidney Beans
4. Pinto Beans
5. Blueberries, cultivated
6. Cranberries
7. Artichokes, cooked
8. Blackberries
9. Prunes
10. Raspberries
11. Strawberries
12. Red Delicious Apples
13. Granny Smith Apples
14. Pecans
15. Sweet Cherries
16. Black Plums
17. Russet Potatoes, cooked
18. Black Beans, dried
19. Plums
20. Gala Apples

Besides being delicious, soup has a positive function as part of a healthy diet. In fact, a recent Wall Street Journal article, “Eat Big Food” explains why eating soup helps weight control. See April 22, 2003, “The Diet That Works” in the Wall Street Journal for more dieting techniques validated by research studies.

“A Pennsylvania State University study fed normal-weight women over two days. The women ate as much as they wanted of different types of high-calorie and low-calorie foods.

When researchers tallied the women’s intake, they found the women instinctively ate about three pounds of food a day. The calorie content didn’t seem important to the women in determining how much they ate–even when it dropped by 30%. In other words, the women seemed satisfied by a certain volume of food, not calories.

So the trick for the dieter isn’t to eat less food, but to pick foods that pack relatively few calories by weight, says Barbara J. Rolls, the Penn State nutrition professor and author of the “volumetrics” diet books. An easy way to do this is to think big. Choose foods that are bulked up by water or fiber. For instance, for 100 calories, you can eat a quarter-cup of raisins or two cups of grapes. Adding vegetables can double the size of a pasta dish without much of a calorie increase.

Soups are also big food – even though liquid calories usually don’t satisfy hunger. The reason could be psychological, or it may simply be that soups are more substantive, so the body treats them as a food.

The difference soup can make is startling. In one study, women were given 1 1/3 cups of chicken-rice casserole and a 10-ounce glass of water to drink. Another day, the water was mixed with the casserole, turning it into 2 cups of soup. Both portions contained 270 calories.

After the main course, the women could eat other foods. The casserole group consumed 396 calories for lunch. The soup group stopped at 289 calories. The body, it appears, didn’t factor in the water when it was consumed as a beverage, but bulking up the casserole with water made the meal more satisfying.”