How to Use Adaptogens: Herbs That Strengthen, Energize, and Beat Stress

By Sara Altshul

Adaptogens are herbs whose gentle effects on your body are tricky to measure scientifically. But adaptogens are infinitely useful nonetheless, because they perform in a way that no pharmaceutical drug does: They’re nontoxic, mostly side effect–free, and—get this—they help your body counter physical, chemical, or biological stress, says David Winston, the eminent herbal educator, in his book Adaptogens: Herbs for Strength, Stamina and Stress Relief (cowritten with Steven Maimes, Healing Arts Press, 2007).

It’s impossible to fully cover the fascinating spectrum (wonk alert: fascinating to me, anyway) of adaptogens in this blog entry, so if you share even an iota of my interest, I urge you to get a copy of Winston’s book and give it a read. It’s really cool to learn, for example, that Soviet scientists amassed a team of more than 1,200 scientists to study adaptogens back in the 1940s because of the state’s desire to dominate everything from the military to chess to ballet.

But the Russians weren’t the first to discover adaptogenic herbs. Chinese physicians have used Asian ginseng (Panax quinquefolium), arguably our most famous adaptogen, for thousands of years. And ginseng is great. But this season, I’ve taken a particular interest in three lesser known adaptogens. If you have thoughts about these remedies or any others, please share them here.

Last Updated: February 19, 2009
Filed Under: Sara Altshul

Yes, You Can Eat Pasta Again

If you’ve been in the pasta aisle recently, you’ve seen the explosion of whole-grain and other newfangled pastas pumped up with protein and heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. They’re being marketed as better-for-you alternatives to traditional pasta, but are they?

Being active myself and married to a former professional cyclist who is still very competitive in the sport, you can bet that we go through a fair share of carbohydrates each week. My husband, Craig, who lived in Italy while racing on an Italian cycling team, is all about perfect pasta. It must be cooked just right, and he knows how to match the thickness of sauces to the specific shapes.

So when I came home the other day with all the new whole-wheat, high-fiber, fancified pastas, Craig was perturbed. “What’s the matter with regular pasta?” he grumbled.

“Nothing,” I assured him. “I just need to try these for research, then we can go back to our regular pasta.”

After cooking up batches of the six brands charted below, we taste-tested them with various tomato-based sauces. We liked them all, but the standouts were Ronzoni Healthy Harvest and Barilla Whole Grain, both of which are whole-grain pasta blends that use 51% whole-wheat flour.

The other four products are made with 100% whole grain, which lends a stiffer, chewier texture and somewhat nutty flavor. While we could get used to that, it was too different from our regular white pasta diet.

Here, you can compare some of the new whole-wheat pasta options to De Cecco traditional durum semolina-based pastas. The whole-grain has double to triple the fiber and more protein than regular pasta. And some varieties offer omega-3 fatty acids from flax, which is nutritious, but a less absorbable type of omega-3 than the kind found in fish.



Note: Nutrition information is based on a 56 gram serving, or about ½ cup uncooked pasta.
*Top picks in the Upton household.

Some tips for cooking up whole-grain pasta.

Don’t overcook by following the package cooking directions. Unlike traditional pasta, when you overcook whole-grain pasta, it turns to mush (as I quickly found out).

Thinner noodles, like spaghetti, in a whole-grain version, often turn out better than thick because they don’t cook as long.

When you pair any whole-wheat pasta with quality ingredients such as freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and extra-virgin olive oil, you really can’t go wrong.

Whether you eat whole-wheat or white pasta, the sauce is where you can make or break your diet. Avoid cream sauces and saturated-fat-rich meat sauces, which can sabotage the healthiest of staples.

By Julie Upton

Last Updated: February 20, 2009
Filed Under: Experts and Bloggers