Tag Archives: salmon

wild alaskan salmon

The Ultimate Valentine’s Day Dinner: Almond-Encrusted Wild Salmon Fillets

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Hazelnuts, walnuts or sunflower seeds may be used in place of almonds in this delicious, heart-healthy recipe.

Ingredients:

  • ½ cup coarsely ground almonds
  • 1⁄4 cup chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 tablespoon grated organic lemon zest (use organic lemons;non-organic lemon rind is treated with fungicide)
  • Dash of sea salt and fresh pepper
  • Two 6-ounce (185-g) wild salmon skinless fillets
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 4 cups mixed organic baby greens (arugula/rocket, mesclun,spinach, etc.)
  • Lemon wedges

Directions:

  1. Grind the almonds in a coffee grinder or food processor—do not overgrind and turn them into a paste.
  2. Mix ground almonds, parsley, grated lemon zest, salt, and pepper on plate.
  3. Dry the salmon; dredge salmon on both sides in the almond mixture.
  4. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
  5. Add the salmon and cook about 5 minutes on each side, making sure that the salmon is cooked through.
  6. Arrange 1 cup of greens—such as spinach, or a mix of greens such as baby lettuce, arugula/rocket, turnip or mustard greens, herbs,endive, and escarole—on each of 2 plates.
  7. Transfer the hot salmon fillets to plates.
  8. Garnish with lemon wedges and serve immediately.

What are your favorite ways to prepare salmon?

Dr. Nicholas Perricone

Beauty Rx: Skin Fixes

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Here are our 3 favorite pieces of skincare wisdom from Dr. Perricone on Refinery29‘s article,  “Beauty Rx: Foods to Cure Your Beauty Woes.”

“If women understood that eating a simple can of sardines or salmon would give their hair and skin an unrivaled radiance, softness, and suppleness — like nothing else in this world — these foods would fly off the supermarket shelves. You would see a stampede toward the fish aisle.”

“Healthy fats are key to successful weight loss. Good fats are those found in salmon, sardines, anchovies, extra virgin olive oil, nuts, seeds, and avocado. These ‘good’ fats will help us absorb nutrients from our vegetables and fruits, and are key to weight loss because we also need dietary fat to burn fat.”

“Dry skin is actually a manifestation of chronic subclinical (invisible to the eye) inflammation. Make sure that you have adequate intake of healthy fats, such as those found in fish, fish oil, and extra virgin olive oil. While topicals can do wonders [for dry skin] it is critically important to not forget the dietary component, which can both cause and worsen all of these conditions.”

What is your favorite piece of skincare wisdom?

10 Dirty Little Secrets about Body Fat

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10 Dirty Little Secrets about Body Fat

By Nicholas Perricone, MD, FACN, CNS

There are many reasons to embrace Paul McCartney’s suggestion for “No-meat Mondays/giving up meat one day a week.” In fact, unless you are eating 100% grass-fed meat, I recommend cutting back on overall meat intake. This is not just environmentally sound, it is sound from a health/longevity viewpoint. Grain-fed meat lacks CLA, which influences body fat and lean muscle, and the omega-3 fatty acids, which are as close to a health, beauty, longevity and weight-loss magic bullet that we can get. Grain-fed meat is also high in pro-inflammatory saturated fat. Consuming a lot of these saturated fats leads to the accumulation of visceral fat. 

The Truth about Body Fat

This past decade has seen a turnaround in the way scientists regard white adipose tissue—better known as body fat, perhaps two of the most dreaded words of our generation. There are many theories as to why so many people are afflicted with excess body fat today, when twenty or thirty years ago this was not the case. Instead of feeling guilty and depressed, we need a basic understanding about the danger of excess body fat and to be vigilant in our food choices. 

Dirty Little Secret #1

There are two types of fat: subcutaneous (under the skin) and visceral (found in the abdomen and surrounding vital organs). Visceral fat is of greater concern because it surrounds vital organs and is metabolized by the liver, which turns it into blood cholesterol. Consuming large amounts of saturated fat and/or performing little physical activity results in high stores of visceral fat.

Dirty Little Secret #2

We now know that body fat is not just an inert deposit of fat cells, stored as the result of overeating. These areas of fat storage are actually an active endocrine organ. 

Dirty Little Secret #3

Body fat produces hormones, as does our pancreas, thyroid, parathyroid, adrenals, pineal and pituitary glands and testes/ovaries, the organs that comprise the endocrine system. These secreted hormones, known as adipokines, can contribute to systemic, low-grade, chronic inflammation.

Dirty Little Secret 

Body fat, as a group of cells, communicates with other organ systems such as the brain, the liver, the bone marrow, skeletal muscle, the adrenal cortex, the sympathetic nervous system and the complete immune system.

Dirty Little Secret #5

This agglomeration of fat cells, now an active endocrine organ, has the unique distinction of being the only endocrine organ to send pro-inflammatory and destructive signals to all organ systems, creating a spectrum of problems in every organ system, from bone growth to sexual reproduction.

Dirty Little Secret #6

Body fat directly impacts appetite, energy and our immune system. 

Dirty Little Secret #7

Body fat itself controls how much body fat is going to be stored, and the greater the amount of fat we have stored, the greater its negative influence on the entire body—an extremely destructive, inflammatory influence.  

Dirty Little Secret #8

A large storage of body fat can be so overwhelming to the system that the fat cells have to secrete hormone-like substances to increase blood vessel growth necessary to feed the accumulation of fat. 

Dirty Little Secret #9

Blood vessel growth cannot keep up with the rapidly growing mass of fat cells, which then begin to become oxygen-starved. These oxygen-starved cells start releasing inflammatory chemicals to further trigger blood vessel growth. 

Dirty Little Secret #10

When we are obese, muscle is constantly converting to fat.


The Alpha and the Omega

The truth about body fat reads like a frightening 1950’s pulp science fiction story, like Steve McQueen’s memorable debut film, The Blob. But, in fact, an escape from this real-life horror story is detailed in The Perricone Weight Loss Diet (Ballantine Books 2006)—and although there is plenty of science, there is no fiction about it.  

This is why it is critical to take a powerful anti-inflammatory approach to dieting. It is the inflammatory chemicals, such as NfkB, that block the effects of insulin—whether it is to metabolize blood sugar or to nourish muscles with amino acids. 

Excess insulin and high blood sugar put a lock on body fat, ensuring that those fat cells are going nowhere. Avoid pro-inflammatory, sugary, starchy foods and beverages, body fat’s greatest allies. The high omega-3 content found in wild salmon, anchovies, sardines and other cold-water fish, along with fish oil capsules, will help eliminate this toxic fat. Their essential fatty acids have tremendous anti-inflammatory properties and are key in sensitizing our cells to insulin. Omega-3 EFAs also inhibit the production of the enzyme fatty acid synthase, which plays a role in the storage of calories as body fat. 

Alpha lipoic acid, a powerful anti-inflammatory nutrient, accelerates the removal of glucose from the bloodstream, improves insulin function and decreases insulin resistance, making its use another critical strategy in the fight against body fat.

Chromium is also critical in controlling and reducing body fat. It effectively lowers blood sugar and insulin levels—the key to the anti-inflammatory weight-loss diet. Chromium helps decrease inflammation, thereby unlocking the enzymes that aid in fat metabolization, while normalizing blood lipids such as triglycerides and cholesterol, increasing levels of the “good” HDL cholesterol and lowering total cholesterol and triglycerides, making it cardio-protective.

The general population of the United States is deficient in chromium—and low levels of chromium are associated with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Studies have also been published noting that increased consumption of sugar depletes our body stores of chromium, placing us at further risk for hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia (too much blood sugar, too much insulin). 

As an active researcher, I welcome your comments and suggestions.

View PerriconeMD products to help manage weight

Top Ten Superfoods for Weight Loss

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Here is a list of 10 Superfood groups to support a healthy weight loss and management program.

Super Food Groups
Each group is followed by a list of its primary functions in fighting weight gain, and the “STAR” and “Runners Up” foods in it.

  1. Rich Cold-Water Fish: Anti-inflammatory Omega-3 Fats
    TOP CHOICE:  Wild Alaskan Salmon
    Runners up:  Sablefish, Sardines, Anchovies, Herring, North Atlantic Mackerel, Trout, Tuna
  2. Favorite Fruits: Fiber, Anti-inflammatory Antioxidants, and other Phytonutrient Obesity-Fighters
    TOP CHOICES:  Apples, Grapefruit
    Runners up:  Berries, Pears, Peaches, Plums, Prunes, Cherries, Oranges
  3. “Back to Mono” Fruits: Fiber, Anti-inflammatory Antioxidants, Anti-inflammatory/Anti-Adiposity Fats, and other Phytonutrient Obesity-Fighters
    TOP CHOICE:  Avocado
    Runners up:  Olives, Coconut, Acai
  4. Hot Calorie Burners: Anti-inflammatory Antioxidants, Fiber, and other Phytonutrient Obesity-Fighters
    TOP CHOICE:  Chili Peppers
    Runners up:  Cayenne, chili powder
  5. Nuts and Seeds: Fiber, Anti-inflammatory Fats, and other Phytonutrient Obesity-Fighters
    TOP CHOICE:  Sesame Seeds and Sesame Butter (Tahini)
    Runners up:  Flaxseed, Walnuts, Cashews, Filberts, Pumpkin seed, Hemp seed
  6. Low-Fat Probiotic Dairy Foods: Nutriceutical Obesity-Fighters
    TOP CHOICE:  Low-Fat Yogurt
    Runners up: Low-Fat Kefir, Low-Fat Probiotic Milk
  7. Beans (legume family): Fiber, Anti-inflammatory Antioxidants and other Nutriceutical Obesity-Fighters
    TOP CHOICES:  Chana Dal (AKA Bengal gram dal or chholar dal), Lentils, Chickpeas, Mung Beans, Hummus (chickpea puree)
    Runners up:  Kidney Beans, Navy Beans, Pinto Beans, Black Beans
  8. Heritage Whole Grains: Fiber, Anti-inflammatory Antioxidants, and other Phytonutrient Obesity-Fighters
    TOP CHOICE:  Oats
    Runners up:  Hull-less Barley, Buckwheat
  9. Spicy Sugar-Stabilizers: Anti-inflammatory Antioxidants and other Phytonutrient Obesity-Fighters
    TOP CHOICES:  Cinnamon, Turmeric
    Runners up:  Cloves, Fenugreek
  10. Anti-inflammatory Vegetables: Fiber, Anti-inflammatory Antioxidants, and other Phytonutrient Obesity-Fighters
    TOP CHOICES:  Spinach, Kale, Chard, Collards, Root Vegetable Greens (Turnip, Mustard, Beet)
    Runners up:  Brussels Sprouts, Broccoli Florets, Broccoli Sprouts, Bell Peppers, Onion-Garlic (Allium) Family, Eggplant, Green or Red Cabbage (red has the higher anti-oxidant potential), Aromatic Culinary Herbs (e.g., parsley, mint, rosemary, thyme, basil, oregano), Lettuces (various types), Wheat and Barley Grasses, Blue-Green Algae and Spirulina

Barbecue Your Way to Beautiful Skin

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It’s summertime, and the grilling is easy.

Once of the joys of summertime is the barbecue.  Nothing tastes better than food cooked outdoors over an open fire.  But cooking muscle meats and other protein foods at high heats can create carcinogenic chemicals called heterocyclic amines (HCAs).  In addition, Advanced Glycation End Products (AGEs) are also created.  The more AGEs we have, the more oxidative stress in our bodies, accelerating aging and disease risk in all organ systems, including skin.  In fact, AGEs play a key role in both healthy aging and preventing wrinkles and deeply lined, sagging skin.

We can still barbecue and reduce our risk of creating toxins if we follow a few simple rules.

1.    Choose lean meat, ideally from grass fed cattle or lamb, fish and free-range poultry; trim any excess fat from meat and remove skin from poultry.
2.    Marinate before cooking.  By marinating and/or basting most foods prior to or during cooking we can cut way back on the AGEs created.  Use vinegar, citrus juice, herbs, spices, red wine and olive oil in your marinades because they have antioxidant properties
3.    Keep your grill clean; remove any build up of charred food
4.    Avoid charring food; remove any charred areas from food before eating
5.    Try poaching food on the grill.  Nothing is more delicious that salmon poached in an aluminum foil packet, whether in the oven or on the grill.

Wild salmon is in season and is an excellent barbecue choice.  It is also one of the world’s most “wine friendly” entrees, working well with crisp whites or more robust reds.  For optimum flavor and anti-oxidants, try Pinot Noir or a glass of iced green tea with this dish.

Salmon, Chicken or Tofu Kabobs with a Basting Marinade of Fresh Lime and Rosemary
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients
4 (6-oz. each) skinless-boneless wild salmon fillets, boneless, skinless chicken breasts, or bricks of firm tofu, cut into chunks
4 large white mushrooms
1 medium zucchini sliced
1 large red bell pepper seeded and quartered
1 large onion peeled and quartered
salt
freshly ground black pepper

12 skewers
Note: If using wooden skewers soak in water for at least an hour, so they don’t scorch on grill.

Garnishes
lime slices
rosemary sprigs

Basting sauce
1/3 cup chopped shallots
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest (use organic lemons to avoid the pesticide residues that accumulate in citrus rinds)
Freshly ground sea salt and black pepper to taste

Preparation
•    Wash mushrooms; remove and discard stems. Wash peppers and remove seeds.
•    Thread vegetables onto skewers. Cook on grill over medium heat for about 10 minutes, turning occasionally and basting with marinade.  Grilled veggie kabobs make the perfect accompaniment to our savory skewered salmon, chicken or tofu
•    Rinse the fish, chicken or tofu and pat dry. Cut into large cubes suitable for skewering.
•    Place the salmon cubes in a shallow baking dish and sprinkle with freshly grated    sea salt and pepper.
•    Place the marinade ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together until blended.
•    Pour the marinade over the fish and marinate for at least 10 minutes.
•    Lace the salmon, chicken or tofu onto the skewers and broil (or grill) for 5 minutes, turning once.
•    While the fish (et al) is cooking, pour the marinade in a small saucepan and heat it over medium heat.

To serve
Divide the fish among 4 serving plates and spoon some of the heated marinade over each. Garnish each plate with a few lime slices and a sprig of fresh rosemary and serve.

As an active researcher I welcome your comments and suggestions.

Nicholas Perricone, MD, FACN, CNS

Baked Fillet of Salmon with Asparagus and Caper-Enriched Lemon Sauce

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Spring is the perfect time to buy fresh asparagus and wild salmon! This delightful entrée recipe is easy enough for everyday enjoyment, but elegant enough for a dinner party.  The piquant flavor of the capers enhances the delicate, yet distinctive flavors of the wild salmon and fresh asparagus.  Capers are an outstanding way turn a super dish into the sublime—without adding unwanted calories or fat.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons minced shallots (may substitute red onion)
1 tablespoon drained capers, chopped
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest – use organic only or omit from recipe
24 oz wild salmon fillets (1-1/4 to 1-1/2 inches thick; skinless if available)
1 pound asparagus, trimmed
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Lemon slices

Preparation

•    Preheat oven to 450°·F. Briskly stir first 6 ingredients in small bowl to blend. Add sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
•    Slice three 1/2-inch-deep slits crosswise in top of salmon (as if dividing into 4 equal pieces but do not cut through).
•    Arrange asparagus in even layer on rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with oil and turn to coat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
•    Place salmon atop asparagus; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast until salmon is just opaque in center, about 20 minutes.
•    Transfer asparagus and salmon to platter. Spoon sauce over salmon. Cut into 4 pieces along slits, garnish with lemon slices and serve.

Acne Diet – More Than Skin Deep

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Think beautiful skin starts in a bottle?  Think again.  Beautiful, clear skin starts in your kitchen and has everything to do with what you put into your body.

Your skin is a direct reflection of what’s happening digestively; I like to tell our clients to think of their skin as their intestines turned inside out.  So when my clients come to me wanting clear skin yet are washing down their Doritos with Diet Coke, well…there’s work to be done in the education process.

A large part of our nutritional practice at the Flagship involves treating people with acne.  And guess what?  90-95% of our clients with acne have either been on the Pill, on antibiotics, or some combination of both.  This causes an overgrowth of unhealthy bacteria, and depletes the good bacteria present.  And acne is the residual after-effect of this imbalance.  The work we do to correct the imbalance is with a yeast-free, sugar-free diet rich in essential fatty acids and protein.  This in effect will rebuild the digestive system and restore luminous, clear skin.

PRIMO PROTEINS
Protein helps repair the skin and supports liver detoxification and hormonal balance (another culprit of acne).  The best choices include: wild Alaskan salmon and other cold-water fatty fish, chicken, turkey, eggs, Greek yogurt, whey protein, and grass-fed meats.  Choose 2-4 ounces per meal.

SUITABLE STARCHES
Since carbohydrates have the greatest impact on blood sugar and inflammation, choose them wisely.  Fruits and vegetables should be the base of your diet; you can incorporate ½ cup cooked of the following per day: barley, beans and legumes, brown rice, rolled or steel-cut oats, winter squash, sweet potato, buckwheat, quinoa, amaranth, and millet.

FABULOUS FATS
The right fats can literally make or break your health, and we all need them to survive.  Go for avocados, raw nuts and seeds, nut butters and tahini, olives and olive oil, ground flaxseeds, raw coconut and coconut oil, and grape seed oil.  They’ll correct dry chicken skin and regulate sebum production.  Incorporate at least 2 tsp of fat per meal.

STEER CLEAR…
When you’re working hard to eat healthfully, the following can quickly undo all your efforts: white flour and sugar (pasta, bread, muffins, cake, and cookies—and no, whole wheat is not any better), fruit juices and dried fruits, aged cheeses, milk, soy, vinegar, alcohol, and mushrooms.

Cleaning up your act in the kitchen will ultimately help clear up your skin.  Give your body 3-6 months for all the changes to take place.  You’ll be glad you did!

Esther Blum,MS,RD,CDN,CNS
Registered Dietitian
NV Perricone, MD Flagship
791 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10065
212.734.2537

Eat Fish, Burn Fat

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Introduce anchovies, herring, and sardines into your diet. Like wild Alaskan salmon, these tiny little fish will really ramp up your ability to shed fat! And they are rich sources of the omega-3 essential fatty acids. Anchovies can be mashed and added to sauces and salad dressing—the classic Caesar salad dressing owes its unique, incomparable flavor to the addition of anchovy paste or a few mashed anchovies. If you want to help your skin stay taut and toned on face and body, eat liberal amounts of these miracle fish. In addition to omega-3s, they contain DMAE which helps ensure adequate levels of the neurotransmitters that contribute to the maintenance of muscle tone—on face and body.

Protein First

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Following the pericone diet is simple. Every meal or snack must include: protein, low-glycemic carbs, healthy fats. Always eat your protein first. Reach for that shrimp cocktail or smoked salmon appetizer first—and when your Thanksgiving dinner entrée arrives, eat the turkey first, followed by your green salad and vegetables. Why? Because by eating your protein first at every meal you are helping suppress your appetite. Proteins are digested much more slowly than carbohydrates—even carbohydrates that are high in fiber. Also protein is neutral in terms of its effect on blood sugar.

Essential Fatty Acids

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The omega 3 essential fatty acids are particularly important and the best sources are the aforementioned cold water fish and fish oil capsules, with nuts and seeds as the second best source.

However, omega-3 is not the only type of essential fatty acid necessary for good health.  Also important are the omega-6 and omega-9.  All are needed to form and maintain the structural and functional integrity of cell membranes, provide fuel for cellular energy and create the hormone-like messenger chemicals, the prostaglandins and the eicosanoids, which regulate many key metabolic functions.

Because the body cannot make these essential fats, we must obtain them from our diets.  This is a lot easier said than done.  For one thing, many of us consume a low ratio of essential fatty acids compared to our intake of saturated fatty acids, such as those found in full fat dairy products and meat (we all know that saturated fats are pro-inflammatory and are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease).

Unfortunately, when most of us do consume essential fatty acids, they tend to be omega-6, which is found in grains and vegetable oils such as corn and safflower.  In fact, very few of us are getting the proper ratio of omega-3 to omega-6, which may account for the growing prevalence of serious health conditions like heart attacks, cancer, asthma, lupus, schizophrenia, depression, accelerated aging, ADHD, Alzheimer’s disease, metabolic syndrome, obesity, and diabetes in our society.

This imbalance upsets the proverbial fat-metabolizing apple cart.  An overabundance of omega-6 is inflammatory and interferes with the body’s ability to use omega-3s—a serious situation because of the positive effects of omega-3s we talked about earlier:  They inhibit the calories we consume from being stored as body fat, while promoting the burning of body fat we already have.  It is believed that human’s evolved with a 1:1 ratio of omega 3 to omega 6.  It is now believed that the Western diet is 15:1 or significantly greater with the omega 6 intake far surpassing the omega 3 intake.  To prevent disease and to look and feel your best, drastically limit intake of omega 6, eliminate all refined vegetables oils other than extra virgin olive oil and increase your intake of the omega 3’s.

Best Choices for Omega 3 Essential Fatty acids (Linolenic Acid)

  • Cold water high fat fish, esp. wild salmon, sardines, anchovies, mackerel, shad, herring and trout
  • Flaxseed oil (flaxseed oil has the highest linolenic content of any food), flaxseeds, flaxseed meal, hempseed oil, hempseeds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, Brazil nuts, sesame seeds
  • Avocado
  • Certain dark green leafy vegetables, including kale, spinach, purslane, mustard greens, collards, etc

Best Choices for Omega-6 Essential Fatty Acids (Linoleic Acid):

  • Flaxseed oil, flaxseeds, flaxseed meal,
  • hempseed oil, hempseeds,
  • grapeseed oil,
  • pumpkin seeds,
  • Pignolia (pine) nuts,
  • pistachio nuts,
  • raw sunflower seeds (raw),
  • borage oil,
  • evening primrose oil,
  • black currant seed oil
  • Acai

Corn, safflower, sunflower, soybean, and cottonseed oils are also sources of linoleic acid, but are refined and may be deficient in nutrients

Best Choices for Omega-9 Essential Fatty Acids (Oleic Acid)

While Omega-9 is not technically classified as an essential fatty acids because our bodies can manufacture it –however foods rich in oleic acid are recommended because oleic acid oleic acid assists in cancer protection, and decreases the risk of heart attacks and arteriosclerosis.

  • Olive oil (extra virgin or virgin), olives,
  • avocados,
  • almonds,
  • peanuts,
  • sesame oil,
  • pecans,
  • pistachio nuts,
  • cashews,
  • hazelnuts,
  • macadamia nuts

A special note on nuts and seeds:.  Buy organic when possible, in small batches and store in the freezer to protect from rancidity