Your Health: Kale is the new superfood

Let them eat kale

Spinach should be green with envy, because there’s a new superfood in the produce section, according to The Washington Post. Packed with beta-carotene, vitamins A, C and K and calcium, kale is the latest darling of health-conscious diners.

“It’s taking over the world,” says Katie Waterson, the Washington mom behind The Kid and the Kale (kidandthekale.com). The company handcrafts fresh, organic baby and toddler foods, which will be available this month through online market Relay Foods (relayfoods.com).

For now, the leafy greens appear in just one item — a garlic accented pearl couscous — but Waterson may incorporate them into other purees, patties and side dishes going forward. She started using kale a lot at home when she began cooking for her son, Thomas, who is now 18 months old.

“I was trying to find ways to put greens into his food as early as possible,” she says. “I’d mix it into tomato sauce or quinoa. Now he loves it sauteed with a little olive oil and garlic.”

Help for bad knees

Exercise is an important component of staying healthy. If your have knee or hip problems, exercise plays an important role in getting healthy, says Harvard Medical School.

Strengthening the muscles around a damaged knee or hip can support the joint. For example, when your quadriceps, gluteal, hamstrings, and abdominal muscles are strong, the load on your hips is lightened. A strong quadriceps muscle can assume much of the shock-absorbing role usually played by the meniscus or cartilage in the knee.

Strength is important, but so is the proper balance of strength in the muscles surrounding a joint. Muscles work in pairs — one contracts while the opposing one relaxes. Imbalances in the function of paired muscles can cause joint problems and invite injury. Flexibility exercises are also important to improving joint function.

If you have knee or hip trouble, you may need to avoid certain activities. For example, you probably should avoid running and fast walking on sidewalks or pavement. If you love these activities, try them on a track or treadmill and wear well-cushioned shoes to lessen impact. Better still, consider swimming or cycling, which are easier on your joints. And do leg resistance exercises two to three times per week to strengthen supportive muscles around the knees.