Healthier Pizza

Food Chemists Slice Up Healthier Pizza

Food chemists at the University of Maryland discovered how to boost the antioxidant content of pizza dough by optimizing baking and fermentation methods The chemists have shown that making a pizza crust with whole wheat flour and cooking it longer releases more antioxidants (chronic disease-fighting compounds that help prevent cancer and heart disease from forming). These compounds increased by 82 percent when baked at a higher temperature, by 60 percent when baked twice as long and doubled when the dough was left to rise an extra day.

The key important factor is that it's made with whole wheat flour. Diets rich in antioxidants are thought to reduce the risk of cancer and heart disease. The researchers believe that the antioxidant boosting effect used in the study will be less obvious in pizza dough made with refined flour, because the bran and endosperm -- where the antioxidants are found -- have largely been removed

What are antioxidants?

Antioxidants are nutritional substances -- vitamins, minerals, and enzymes -- that can counteract the damaging, but normal, effects of oxidation in animal tissue. They block the oxidation process by neutralizing free radicals: chemically active atoms that grab electrons from the body, thereby damaging cells, proteins and DNA. The same process causes oils to go rancid and peeled apples to turn brown. Antioxidants may play a role in preventing diseases such as cancer, heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer's, and rheumatoid arthritis. Caution: consuming mega-doses of antioxidants (those in pills) can be harmful, causing diarrhea, bleeding, and the risk of toxic reactions.

The recipe for healthier pizza crusts can be found here: http://www.newsdesk.umd.edu/scitech/pizzarecipe.cfm

Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

Ingredients

1 packet active dry yeast (2 ¼ teaspoons)

1 cup warm water (100-110°F)

3 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon vegetable oil

1 ¼ teaspoons salt

2 ¾ cups whole wheat flour

The day before...

• Combine yeast and warm water in a small bowl. Stir with whisk until yeast dissolves.

• Add honey, oil and salt. Stir with whisk until honey and salt dissolve.

• Measure flour into large mixing bowl. Add water mixture to flour.

• Mix with wooden spoon until dough forms.

• Transfer dough to floured surface and knead by hand for 2 minutes. Dough may be sticky.

• Divide dough into 3 sections and shape each section into a ball.

• Transfer dough balls to a lightly oiled pan, leaving a few inches for each ball to raise.

• Cover pan loosely with plastic wrap.

• Store pan overnight (~18 hours) in the refrigerator.

The day of...

• Allow dough to come to room temperature. (about 30 minutes)

• Preheat oven to 500°F.

• Roll each ball out to a 12 inch circle on a pizza screen.

• Top with tomato sauce, cheese and desired toppings.

• Put pizza in middle rack of preheated oven. Bake for 6 - 8 minutes, until crust gets browned.

• (A pizza pan or stone can also be used to bake the pizzas. Baking times may change.)

Salutary Pizza Spice: Oregano Helps Against Inflammations

Oregano doesn't only give a pizza its typical taste. Researchers at Bonn University and the ETH Zürich have discovered that this spice also contains a substance which appears to help cure inflammations amongst other qualities. The researchers administered its active ingredient, known as beta-caryophyllin (E-BCP), to mice with inflamed paws. In seven out of ten cases there was a subsequent improvement in the symptoms. E-BCP might possibly be of use against disorders such as osteoporosis and arteriosclerosis. The study has appeared on Monday, 23rd June in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

E-BCP is a typical ingredient of many spices and food plants. Hence it is also found in plants such as basil, rosemary, cinnamon, and black pepper. Every day, we consume up to 200 milligrams of this annular molecule.

It was not previously realized that E-BCP inhibits inflammation and is also effective against osteoporosis.

Related

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Lycopene in the topping

From the frequent ads of food firms, one of the most well known tomato eating benefit is its lycopene content, a vital anti-oxidant that helps in the fight against cancerous cell formation and other kinds of diseases. Free radicals in the body can be flushed out with high levels of lycopene, and the tomato is so amply loaded with this vital anti-oxidant that derives its rich redness from the nutrient. While other fruits and vegetables do contain this necessary health ingredient, no other fruit or vegetable has the high concentration of lycopene of the tomato.

Cancers such as prostate cancer, cervical cancer, colon cancer, rectal cancer, and cancers of the stomach, mouth, pharynx, and esophagus have all been proven to be staved off by high levels of lycopene. Researchers introduced lycopene into pre-existing cancer cell cultures and the lycopene prevented the continued growth of these cultures. This is powerful evidence that the health benefits of eating a tomato are phenomenal.

Tomatoes are equally as nutritious fresh as they are in other variable forms. When tomato products are heat processed the bioavailablity of the lycopene actually increases.
Research indicates a high likelihood that the consumption of tomatoes and tomato based products actually may prevent serum lipid oxidation and reduce the risk of macular degenerative disease.

But that’s not all. The health benefits previously believed to come from the lycopene in tomatoes may actually come from different phytocompounds altogether, according to a new study conducted by researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and published in the journal Nutrition Research. Researchers fed male rats a diet containing tomato powder for 30 days, then analyzed which compounds accumulated in the animals' prostate glands and livers. They found that in addition to lycopene, phytoene (PE) and phytofluene (PF) also accumulated in both glands.

The FDA has approved claims that tomatoes reduce the risk of gastric, ovarian, pancreatic and prostate cancers. But the FDA has raised doubt as to the effectiveness of lycopene alone in protecting against cancers, saying that the evidence does not support this claim. Instead, the agency believes that tomatoes' protective effects come from either a different compound, such as PE or PF, or a synergy between various ingredients.

The topping which varies with your favorite recipe provides the other health benefits which can be detracted by items such as MSG and excess sodium from salt. A vegan recipe can be found here and in Google search for vegan pizza recipes.