Health
Corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick’s Day may serve up some nutritious benefits
St. Patrick’s Day holiday menus often include the traditional corned beef and cabbage meal. Despite the calories and fat content, some nutritional experts say there may be certain health benefits to this savory dish.
“With any special meal and holiday such as St. Patrick’s Day, we should not deny ourselves these delicious meals,” Karina Chiddo, a registered dietician and pediatric nutritionist with Cohen Children’s Medical Center at Northwell Health on Long Island, New York, told Fox News Digital.
“We should be mindful that special meals can be a part of a healthy lifestyle when eaten in moderation,” she said.
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The cornerstone of the traditional meal — which is a nod to Irish heritage — is corned beef, which is a cut of meat cured with salt, much like brisket.
It is typically served with cabbage on March 17, St. Patrick’s Day.
A festive St. Patrick’s Day dinner of lean corned beef with cabbage, carrots, and baby Yukon Gold potatoes, garnished with a shamrock made of baby spinach leaves. The serving size for corned beef is about 3 ounces, about the size of a deck of cards, a nutritionist said. (iStock)
“Cabbage has some great benefits as an affordable vegetable,” Chiddo pointed out.
“It is a good source of vitamin C, manganese and folic acid, and is great for phytonutrients and antioxidants.”
Those antioxidants can help to reduce the inflammation that is linked to heart disease, diabetes and other chronic diseases, she added.
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Red cabbage can also raise levels of heart-protective antioxidants and has other benefits, according to Chiddo.
“Cabbage can be beneficial for our gut, especially when it’s fermented as kimchi or sauerkraut,” she said.
Corned beef can be a great source of protein, zinc and B vitamins — although it’s important to watch your portions, Chiddo advised.
Corned beef can be a great source of protein, zinc and B vitamins — although it’s important to watch your portions, an expert advised. (iStock)
“Be mindful that the serving size is about 3 ounces, about the size of a deck of cards,” she said.
“Like any animal protein, it can be high in saturated fats.”
Julia Zumpano, a registered dietitian with the Cleveland Clinic Center for Human Nutrition, commented on this Irish tradition as well.
She said cabbage is high in vitamin C, vitamin K, polyphenols and sulfur compounds, while corned beef is a source of vitamin B12, iron, selenium and protein.
How to make corned beef and cabbage healthier
The traditional corned beef and cabbage served on St. Patrick’s Day can be high in saturated fat and sodium, Zumpano noted, but there are ways to reduce those levels and make the meal healthier.
“If you’re preparing the meal, choose a lean cut of beef and trim all fat, limit the amount of sodium added, and include additional vegetables, such as carrots and parsnips,” she told Fox News Digital.
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Cabbage may contain high amounts of sodium as well as saturated fat from butter or meat drippings because of the way it is prepared in a traditional St. Patrick’s Day feast, Zumpano warned, adding the suggestion to limit portion sizes.
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In general, health experts recommend limiting consumption of red meat and processed meat due to its association with a higher risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, according to a report on the American Heart Association website.
“If you are preparing the meal, choose a lean cut of beef and trim all fat, limit the amount of sodium added, and include additional vegetables, such as carrots and parsnips,” a nutritionist advised. (iStock)
“The major nutritional drawback of corned beef and cabbage is the amount of salt in contains,” Laura Feldman, a registered dietitian nutritionist and an assistant professor of nutrition at Long Island University in Brookville, New York, told Fox News Digital.
“A person who is affected by salt would be advised to keep portions small. However, if you follow a generally healthy diet, the impact of one holiday meal should be minimal.”
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A common over-the-counter medication combined with a home exercise program could help ease cognitive issues for cancer patients.
That’s according to a study from the University of Rochester, which tested the effects of physical activity and low-dose ibuprofen on patients receiving chemotherapy treatment.
“Chemo brain” (also called chemotherapy-related cognitive impairment, or CRCI) is a known side effect of cancer treatment that can affect memory, concentration and multitasking ability. Up to 80% of people who receive chemo experience some degree of cognitive impairment, previous studies have shown.
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Rochester’s phase 2 trial studied 86 adult cancer patients in New York undergoing chemotherapy who were experiencing cognitive problems. The average age was 53 and nearly 89% of participants were women, according to a university press release.
Participants who took only ibuprofen also showed greater cognitive improvements than the placebo group. (IStock)
Patients were randomly assigned to one of four groups. One group participated in home exercise designed specifically for cancer patients, a second group combined the exercises with ibuprofen (200 milligrams, or one pill, twice a day), the third group took ibuprofen alone and a fourth took a placebo alone.
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The exercise program consisted of low to moderate-intensity activity, including progressive walking and training with resistance bands.
“This is one of the first studies specifically designed to assess these interventions for cancer-related cognitive impairment during chemotherapy in patients with multiple diseases using both performance-based cognitive assessments and patient-reported outcomes,” said lead author Michelle C. Janelsins, Ph.D., MPH, of the University of Rochester and the Wilmot Cancer Institute, in the press release.
Up to 80% of people who receive chemo experience some degree of cognitive impairment.
After six weeks, exercise was linked to the clearest improvements in attention and cognitive function, according to input from family and friends. Those in the group who combined exercise and placebo showed better attention levels compared to those who took just a placebo.
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Participants who took only ibuprofen also showed greater cognitive improvements than the placebo group.
The findings suggest that ibuprofen may provide some improvement in cognitive function, although the benefits appeared to be smaller and less consistent than those seen with exercise.
“Chemo brain” (also called chemotherapy-related cognitive impairment, or CRCI) is a known side effect of cancer treatment that can affect memory, concentration and multitasking ability. (iStock)
This suggests that inflammation may contribute to cancer-related cognitive impairment, and that anti-inflammatory medications could be an effective therapeutic approach.
“We are encouraged by the findings of this trial that suggest possible benefits of both interventions for some cognitive domains,” Janelsins said. “Clearly, we saw a more pronounced effect with exercise, which is notable considering the multiple health benefits of exercise for cancer survivors.”
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No adverse side effects were reported during the trial.
The findings were published in Cancer, the peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society.
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There were some limitations of the study, the researchers noted, including the small sample size and short duration. The effects were also not consistent across every measure of cognitive function.
As the majority of participants were women, the findings may not be generalized to broader populations.
“Clearly, we saw a more pronounced effect with exercise, which is notable considering the multiple health benefits of exercise for cancer survivors,” the researcher said. (iStock)
Researchers are planning larger phase 3 trials to confirm whether ibuprofen and exercise can effectively improve chemo-related cognitive impairment.
“Since we saw cognitive benefits in some domains and not others, we will also consider additional doses and longer durations in future research trials,” said Janelsins.
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Investigators emphasized that patients should speak with their oncology team before starting ibuprofen or exercise interventions during chemotherapy, as certain treatments or medical conditions could increase the risk of side effects and complications.
U.S. health officials are monitoring 16 additional people across the country for symptoms of hantavirus whom the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has not previously mentioned, the agency said on Thursday.
The new people the C.D.C. reported were not on the cruise ship but were passengers on an April 25 flight to Johannesburg and exposed to someone known to have been infected, said Dr. David Fitter, who is leading the C.D.C.’s response to the outbreak.
The new total of those being monitored in the United States is 41, a significant increase over the 18 passengers from the Dutch cruise ship who were brought back to the United States on Monday. They are quarantining at special facilities in Omaha and Atlanta.
Seven other passengers from the cruise ship had disembarked on April 24 in St. Helena, an island in the Atlantic Ocean, returned to the United States on commercial flights and are being monitored by state health departments.
As of Thursday, there were no confirmed cases in the United States, Dr. Fitter said.
The infected passenger was a 69-year-old Dutch woman whose husband was the first person to die in the outbreak, on April 11. She was among those who disembarked from the ship on April 24. The next day, she flew from St. Helena to Johannesburg. She collapsed shortly after arrival and died on April 26. She was confirmed on May 4 to have had hantavirus.
C.D.C. officials would not give any other information about the 16 passengers, including where they had gone once they reached the United States.
It was not clear whether all Americans exposed to the virus are now back in the country, or whether there are additional people being monitored abroad.
“Our job is to ensure that we are monitoring and in contact with anybody that might have been on the flight this person had taken,” Dr. Fitter told reporters. The agency is “monitoring all Americans that potentially would have been exposed, whether in the U.S. or abroad, and we have been in contact with them,” he said.
In an interview on Sunday with CNN, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, the C.D.C.’s acting director, said none of the seven passengers who returned to the United States earlier had symptoms at the time of their travel, so officials had not seen a need to alert the public or trace contacts.
For the moment, quarantine is essentially voluntary. Officials are encouraging those who were exposed to the virus to “stay at home and avoid being around people during their 42-day monitoring period,” Dr. Fitter said.
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Concerns about rising hantavirus cases has Americans reflecting on the coronavirus pandemic.
Although COVID-19 began with a foreign strain and spread rapidly around the world, experts say it’s not likely that hantavirus will behave the same way.
The rare Andes virus, which was linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship outbreak, is the only known hantavirus strain that has the capability to spread from person to person, usually through prolonged close contact.
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Fox News senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel spoke with Fox News Digital about the similarities and differences between hantavirus and coronavirus, noting that there is “no comparison.”
“You could say the comparison ends at that they’re both single-stranded RNA viruses,” he said. “That’s a comparison, but [hantavirus] has been unchanged basically for decades.”
Dr. Marc Siegel says there’s “no comparison between these two viruses, other than that the single-stranded RNA viruses are both carried by animals.” (iStock)
Coronavirus was different because it began to mutate, which started to cause “all kinds of problems,” Siegel noted.
“We don’t know why it started to mutate, but this one doesn’t appear to have done that,” he said. “And every day that goes by seems to show that theory is correct – the genetics of it is the same.”
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“So, there’s no comparison between these two viruses, other than that the single-stranded RNA viruses are both carried by animals.”
Siegel added that COVID is an airborne virus, while hantavirus is mainly a secretion-borne virus, although it can be transmitted through dust and droppings in the air.
The rare Andes virus, which was linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship outbreak, is the only known hantavirus strain that has the capability to spread from person to person, usually through prolonged close contact. (Andres Gutierrez/Anadolu)
“It’s not airborne … in terms of respiratory droplets hanging in the air,” he said. “It’s very difficult to transmit.”
While coronavirus “moved in the direction of humans in a significant way,” hantavirus has not, except for “very rare” human-to-human transmission, according to the doctor.
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There have been hantavirus cases in the U.S. for decades, although they are “very rare,” Siegel noted.
Certain factors of this disease spread are changing, including warming temperatures that are causing rodents to migrate north toward Buenos Aires, according to the doctor.
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The current outbreak stemming from the cruise ship did not help the cause, Siegel went on — but this spread doesn’t suggest that the virus has changed. Rather, it shows how close quarters on a ship are “very conducive” to spread, he said.
Passengers disembark from the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, on May 10, 2026. (AP Photo)
“Every day that goes by shows that … we’re not seeing a second generation of spread,” he reiterated.
The better comparison to make is between hantavirus and bird flu, which is a predominantly animal-based virus that “occasionally infects humans,” Siegel said.
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“There are billions of birds, and every year we talk about how it’s going to cause a pandemic, but it would have to mutate significantly,” he pointed out. “I feel that [hantavirus] would have to mutate significantly before it could go human to human in any significant way, because this is basically an animal virus … it’s very comfortable inside a rodent host.”
Siegel went on, “If you get this virus, you’re in trouble, but getting this virus is very difficult.”
A person visits a COVID testing site on a Manhattan street in New York City on Jan. 21, 2022. “Coronaviruses are airborne … this is not,” Dr. Siegel said. “And coronaviruses mutate a lot, and this does not.” (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Regarding fears that another global pandemic may be looming, Siegel said that just because one virus becomes widespread does not mean all viruses will.
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“Coronaviruses are airborne anyway. This is not. And coronaviruses mutate a lot, and this does not,” he said. “I’m much more concerned about flu than this. Flu can mutate all the time, and it’s already going human to human all over the place, and it’s airborne.”
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“Most infectious disease specialists are much more worried about flu than this, as deadly as this can be,” he added.
“We’re talking apples and oranges, and any comparison you make after that provokes fear.”
Fox News Digital’s Melissa Rudy contributed to this report.
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