Eric the Red
Team HuskerBoard
Nebraska's red alert
Barbara Quinn On Nutrition
The airlines were under "red alert" when we traveled out of state for our daughter's commencement ceremony. And we saw even more red that week in the great state of Nebraska.
We checked into our hotel in downtown Lincoln and the nice young man at the front desk described the amenities of our room. "It has a refrigerator, microwave and a north-facing window with a preferred view," he told us. We opened the curtains when we got to our room and there, to the north, was Memorial Stadium -- home of "Big Red," the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers football team.
Red runs deep in Nebraska. It's the dress code for "Husker gear" -- what you wear to football games, restaurants and graduation ceremonies.
Red beer is a Nebraska original. A mixture of tomato juice and beer, it appears to be a routine way to supplement the diet with lycopene -- the red pigment in tomatoes that acts as an antioxidant to protect against heart disease and certain types of cancer.
Red meat was on tap at the Lincoln Rib Fest -- an outdoor barbeque event that featured champion competitors from Australia, Tennessee and even Texas. Beef, pork and lamb are red because they contain more myoglobin and hemoglobin (iron-containing proteins) than poultry or fish. (I suspect there is a low incidence of iron deficiency anemia in Nebraska.)
Myoglobin stores oxygen; hemoglobin transports oxygen. Interestingly, muscles that get more exercise and require more oxygen -- the leaner cuts of meat -- tend to have more myoglobin and are therefore "redder" than higher fat cuts.
I didn't exactly mention it at the time, but 4 to 6 ounces of meat (about the size of a farmer's hand) no more than one or two times a week is considered the most healthful way to include red meat in the diet. Even though meat is a complete protein and an excellent source of iron, zinc and other minerals, it can also be a significant source of saturated fat -- the "bad" fat associated with an increased risk for heart disease.
On the good side, beef and other dairy products also contain conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) a healthful fat currently under study for its beneficial effects on cancer and heart disease risk.
My eyes turned misty red the next day as we watched our daughter march into the arena in her cap and gown to finish her college career. And my face was red that evening after a few aerobic rounds of country western dancing (Nebraska-style) with Tom and Tyler. Good way to reduce the size of those abdominal fat cells after a night of Rib Fest.
Not everything in Nebraska is red. Soybeans -- a high quality plant protein -- and corn are major crops in this state. Corn gets its color from lutein -- a yellow pigment used by cells in our eyes to absorb harmful ultraviolet rays. I heard an unconfirmed report that a Nebraskan named Jim can eat 27 ears at one time...
As with any food we enjoy, balance and variety remains key. Thanks, Nebraska. We'll be back.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Barbara Quinn is a registered dietitian at the Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula. E-mail her at bquinn@chomp.org.
Barbara Quinn On Nutrition
The airlines were under "red alert" when we traveled out of state for our daughter's commencement ceremony. And we saw even more red that week in the great state of Nebraska.
We checked into our hotel in downtown Lincoln and the nice young man at the front desk described the amenities of our room. "It has a refrigerator, microwave and a north-facing window with a preferred view," he told us. We opened the curtains when we got to our room and there, to the north, was Memorial Stadium -- home of "Big Red," the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers football team.
Red runs deep in Nebraska. It's the dress code for "Husker gear" -- what you wear to football games, restaurants and graduation ceremonies.
Red beer is a Nebraska original. A mixture of tomato juice and beer, it appears to be a routine way to supplement the diet with lycopene -- the red pigment in tomatoes that acts as an antioxidant to protect against heart disease and certain types of cancer.
Red meat was on tap at the Lincoln Rib Fest -- an outdoor barbeque event that featured champion competitors from Australia, Tennessee and even Texas. Beef, pork and lamb are red because they contain more myoglobin and hemoglobin (iron-containing proteins) than poultry or fish. (I suspect there is a low incidence of iron deficiency anemia in Nebraska.)
Myoglobin stores oxygen; hemoglobin transports oxygen. Interestingly, muscles that get more exercise and require more oxygen -- the leaner cuts of meat -- tend to have more myoglobin and are therefore "redder" than higher fat cuts.
I didn't exactly mention it at the time, but 4 to 6 ounces of meat (about the size of a farmer's hand) no more than one or two times a week is considered the most healthful way to include red meat in the diet. Even though meat is a complete protein and an excellent source of iron, zinc and other minerals, it can also be a significant source of saturated fat -- the "bad" fat associated with an increased risk for heart disease.
On the good side, beef and other dairy products also contain conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) a healthful fat currently under study for its beneficial effects on cancer and heart disease risk.
My eyes turned misty red the next day as we watched our daughter march into the arena in her cap and gown to finish her college career. And my face was red that evening after a few aerobic rounds of country western dancing (Nebraska-style) with Tom and Tyler. Good way to reduce the size of those abdominal fat cells after a night of Rib Fest.
Not everything in Nebraska is red. Soybeans -- a high quality plant protein -- and corn are major crops in this state. Corn gets its color from lutein -- a yellow pigment used by cells in our eyes to absorb harmful ultraviolet rays. I heard an unconfirmed report that a Nebraskan named Jim can eat 27 ears at one time...
As with any food we enjoy, balance and variety remains key. Thanks, Nebraska. We'll be back.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Barbara Quinn is a registered dietitian at the Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula. E-mail her at bquinn@chomp.org.
