The treasure of the gardens

1997/07/01 Lorenzo, Arantza | Uranga, Ane Miren Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Dietetika/Elikagaiak

The hot spring we have had this year and the subsequent rains have made the harvest of our orchards very abundant. The first heating gave rise to beans, peas, fresh garlic, onions and green peppers, followed by the richest and most varied harvest of the year: green beans, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, zucchini, eggplants, carrots, radishes, beetroot... All of them, of course, are perfect for our body and, in addition, we have at our disposal what is necessary to enrich this great opportunity: potato.

The first vegetables that appeared were beans and peas, making a bridge between heavy winter dishes and summer salads. Along with green beans, beans and peas are part of the group of fresh legumes and are very rich in vitamin B1; like all vegetables, they also contain water-soluble fiber. Mixed with potato, we will get the first suitable dishes of any meal.

Fresh garlic, onions and peppers, as is known, are combined anyway as companions, both to mix with cooked foods and to eat raw in salad. Peppers are the richest in vitamin C, while fresh garlic and onions, as reported by their smell, have a high sulfur content.

The treasure of our orchards greatly facilitates the ways of making salads so appreciated at this time of year, taking into account that all these vegetables are characterized by being aqueous. The contribution of carbohydrates is mainly fiber. The majority are very rich in vitamins and each one provides a group of vitamins: those of red color (carrots, red peppers or pumpkin) give us vitamin A and are antioxidants and protect against cancer.

The rest of the vegetables serve to obtain vitamins of group B and therefore we say that it is necessary to make varied meals, even more at this time of year. Although you like it, it is not enough to save salads every day with only lettuce, tomato and onion; take the opportunity you have now and prepare salads mixing cucumber, pepper, carrot, corn, asparagus, mushrooms, etc.

Now is the opportunity to take advantage of this treasure that we have at our fingertips. The harvest of our orchards gives us the opportunity to cook excellent meals and, in addition, to live healthy; do not forget what the saying says: “Eating garlic we are protected against seven diseases.”

L A B U R A S If we have been practicing sports for a long time and during that time we consume continuously and in small amounts carbohydrates (sweet drinks, glucose compounds, etc.) It is known that the resistance increases. Last year an interesting research was conducted in this field in Britain. There were eight people who spent two hours doing sports, gave them little amount of carbohydrates, and found that in the last 15 minutes of the session they had achieved maximum performance. Four of these people were hit with glucids before the last quarter of an hour of the session to increase their resistance. However, when they analyzed the results, they could see something else; although the blood glucose level of these athletes was higher, there were no differences in performance. According to the researchers' response, during this long period of time carbohydrates affect the concentrations of cerebral serotonin, which causes a feeling of fatigue in the nervous system.