This bean and tuna salad recipe is off-the-charts delicious. Better still, it’s loaded with healthy ingredients all curated to promote the health of your NeuroEndoMetabolic (NEM) stress response system and body as a whole. This is easily one of my favorite salad recipes. As healthy foods go, salad in particular can often seem bland or boring, but there’s nothing bland about this healthy tuna salad. Let’s take a look at this delicious recipe and how it can help support a healthy NEM system.
Right off the bat, one of the first things you’ll probably notice about this tuna salad recipe is the tuna. Why is tuna healthy? For one thing, like many other fish, tuna is an excellent source of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. In fact, one four-ounce serving can contain nearly 150 milligrams of the stuff! Omega-3 fatty acids are an essential part of maintaining a healthy cardionomic circuit, part of the NEM stress response. Some evidence even suggests that omega-3s support brain health, useful in promoting a healthy neuroaffect circuit. And don’t forget about all the lean protein tuna has to offer as well.
You may be aware of the age-old rhyme from your elementary school days, but it’s definitely golden age-old advice. The white beans in this healthy tuna salad recipe are loaded with a magical compound that many of us are actually deprived of—fiber.
No doubt about it, fiber is an absolutely essential part of a healthy diet. Fiber is the indigestible part of food that helps keep things moving along your digestive tract, if you know what I mean. Not only does fiber help you remain regular, it acts as a carrier for probiotic bacteria, providing a place where they can reproduce and spread throughout the intestines. The fiber contained in the white beans of this healthy tuna salad act as a transport unit for probiotic bacteria and when eaten in conjunction with probiotics, can really benefit your gut health.
Parsley is a highly underappreciated herb with some amazing benefits. Here are just a few:
Of these amazing benefits, perhaps the most important is parsley’s chelating qualities. Chelation is a process used by plants to pull bound nutrients from the soil. These soil-bound nutrients are often locked within metallic salts. In your body, parsley appears to have a similar chelating effect. Like cilantro, parsley can be ingested to remove heavy metals from the body, which makes parsley particularly effective in helping the detoxification circuit of the NEM stress response system. However, it’s important to be aware that on its own, parsley may not be enough to detoxify your body of heavy metals. It may be necessary to use other approaches as well if you are concerned about heavy metal toxicity.
Fortunately, healthy fats are considered healing, particularly for those afflicted with NEM disorders such as Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome (AFS). One of these healthy fats is olive oil, which contains loads of healthy fats, antioxidants, anti-inflammatory properties, and heart healthy compounds—it’s no wonder olive oil is known as the “live a little” oil. Olive oil is a great replacement for butter and vegetable oil. With more than a few healing aspects, olive oil is a great way to live a little better.
Now, let’s get to the recipe!
The NEM stress response system is your body's way of dealing with the symptoms of stress. The NEM system is composed of six major circuits: cardionomic, neuroaffect, hormonal, detoxification, inflammation, and metabolic. Each circuit serves as an alarm system—when a circuit is triggered, it sends a warning signal to your body letting it know something is not quite right. Although this alarm system works very effectively, if it’s left unchecked, it can sometimes turn against your body.
One condition that arises from ignoring your body’s stress response is Adrenal Fatigue. The adrenal glands are triggered by the “fight or flight” response and release cortisol and adrenaline, the stress hormones that alert your body to danger. If any of the six NEM circuits are triggered, your body naturally responds by producing these hormones. After prolonged periods of stress—years to decades of constant triggering—your adrenal glands may become fatigued and the constant stress eventually leads to AFS. Adrenal Fatigue can cause many symptoms including fatigue, a weakened immune system, and even depression. Fortunately, with a proper diet and improved lifestyle choices, you can reverse Adrenal Fatigue.
Healthy recipes, such as this healthy tuna salad recipe, are a great way to reduce the stress on your adrenal glands and stimulate recovery. This healthy tuna salad recipe contains key nutrients such as omega-3 fatty acids, excellent for supporting the neuroaffect and cardiomic circuits. In addition, parsley promotes detoxification and may alleviate inflammation caused by oxidation and free radical damage. Finally, fiber-rich beans and corn can help prevent inflammation of the gut and further promote detoxification by keeping things moving along.
Indeed, there are some health risks associated with consuming tuna or purchasing tuna that has not been properly packaged. Also, fish fraud has become a major problem worldwide. Therefore, it’s important to be mindful of the brands you purchase. Furthermore, if you buy canned tuna, make sure that the can has a bisphenol A (BPA)-free liner.
Several risks have been associated with BPA. Perhaps the easiest way to understand these risks is by viewing BPA as an endocrine disruptor. This means it can impact the hormonal circuit your NEM response system in an extremely negative way. Like many plastic-derived chemicals, BPA can mimic estrogen and may also affect the production and action of several other hormones. This imbalance of your hormonal circuit can cause chronic fatigue, worsen Adrenal Fatigue symptoms, and even worse, may promote certain types of cancer. Other estrogen mimickers are often found in farmed fish if they are raised in water treated with chemicals to kill parasites and algae. Fortunately, tuna is almost always caught wild, so this is typically not an issue.
Another major concern with eating fish is mercury poisoning. Although tuna is generally safe to eat, some conditions can make people more susceptible to the effects of mercury. Also, over-consumption of fish can lead to an accumulation of mercury in the body, which can cause a variety of negative effects, many of them impacting the neuroaffect and hormonal circuits of the NEM system. Most people, however, can consume quite a lot of tuna before becoming at risk. In general, women can consume 12.5 ounces per week of canned tuna and men can consume around 14 ounces. However, if you’re pregnant or nursing, you may need to cut back.
The catch of this 5-star recipe isn’t just the tuna, this awesome recipe can be a great addition to your NEM diet and meets all the guidelines: high in lean protein from fish and beans, loaded with healthy fats like omega-3’s and olive oil, and a healthy amount of fiber from the beans and corn.
This healthy tuna salad recipe makes a great warm weather dish for cookouts and gatherings with friends and family. Be sure to share this recipe with your friends and family, either by making it for them or sharing this awesome recipe. You may find this recipe becomes a neighborhood favorite. Until next time, enjoy!
© Copyright 2019 Michael Lam, M.D. All Rights Reserved.
If you think tuna salad can’t be healthy, then you are in for a reel treat. I am not kidding when I tell you that this recipe is a catch. This healthy tuna salad is loaded with healthy fats, fiber, and delicious flavor.
