• Archives

  • Feb27

    Mediterranean Diet: Optimize Your Life with Better Recipes

    Posted in: Common Conditions, Recipes, Wellness and Health

    The recent Spanish study published in the NEJM showed a drop in stroke among those who ate, systematically, 4 tablespoons of olive oil or 30 ounces of nuts (half walnuts, a quarter almonds, and a quarter hazelnuts, to be precise) daily, with regular fish, legumes and other plants, plus wine with meals.

    The alternative: the Standard American Diet (SAD).

    The science: no surprise to nutrition experts.

    What is a surprise is that if most of the public has any conception at all about this way of eating it’s thought of as Spaghetti Wearhouse, where you can wear your high starch meals, and share it with 17 friends.

    We’re being deliberate about sharing recipes in the Healthy Bites newsletter too (please sign up and a free gift!), and the Refuel Newsletter to come.  I think cooking is the most powerful thing you can do to improve your health, and every adult should know at least a little about how to cook.
    By the way, though they’re delicious ingredients, the magic isn’t in Spanish olive oil, nuts and fish (though there certainly is magic in wine).

    Missing from the recommended Mediterranean foods in the NEJM: highly processes starches and grains: fewer of these types of carbs and death rates drop.  Here are over 40 of my own Free Mediterranean Diet Recipes, no platter required. But a bib…maybe. And an apron? I never wear one, but then, I like color in clothing.

    A little time invested goes a long way towards health, and pleasure. All you need is practice: watch my recent stir-fry for the Foodbank video here.

     

     

  • Apr3

    Alcohol Rx for Men Who Survive Heart Attacks: Has the Time Come?

    Posted in: Obesity and Weight Loss, Wellness and Health, Wine and Tea

    The purpose in preventing a man’s second heart attack is to prevent death.  And disability.

    In other words, it’s quality of life, not just quantity. For decades, American physicians have proscribed alcohol to men, warning of its dangers (which are real, if done in excess) and putting aside the data which show regular, moderate drinking improves mortality and morbidity.

    And it does, if you’ve had a heart attack and if you’re trying to prevent one. The latest research study, on >50k U.S. men over 20 years confirms the former yet again. For women, there is an increased breast cancer risk at some alcohol intake, though the cardiovascular benefits remain.

    There is a lot else to say: physiologic mechanisms (HDL-cholesterol, (HbA1C), fibrinogen); the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agents quercetin in grapes and resveratrol in wine; the continuing French Paradox; the U shaped curve of benefit (none for tee-totalers, and hazards for those who average over 3 glasses/day); the definition of regular (daily) and moderate (up to two five ounce glasses of wine, 12 oz beer, 1 oz spirits).

    The Rx, however, should be written, for most men.

    The real concern, however, is not liver damage or drunkenness. It’s calories: alcohol is metabolized and stored before other calories, especially fat calories, which are those most people try to burn–especially the ones that are stored around the middle.

    Alcohol has little or no satiety effect, and tends to increase food intake: it turns on other appetites. The research is equivocal about whether it causes weight gain in men (except for heavy drinkers, where it does). It’s quite solid about whether it can prevent second heart attacks, in a delicious way.

     

  • Aug23

    It’s Time for Some Q and As

    Posted in: Diabetes, Food FAQ's, High Cholesterol, Vitamins and Supplements, Wine and Tea

    I am taking a short break from farming activities (avocados, anyone?) and newsletter writing to answer some reader questions. You can also post these on Facebook or Google Plus and I will try to answer there.

    Q.  I am wondering if you think it is a good idea to minimize the cheese, chicken and fish animal proteins? The research I have read suggests that the positive qualities of those products can be found in plant based foods, and without the saturated fat, cholesterol or mercury.  My understanding is that type 1 diabetes has been linked to the casein in cows milk when given to infants, and that animal protein may be related to auto-immune diseases.

    A: In general, yes, about animal proteins–moderate more than minimize.

    I think most of the problem is in overprocessing and some of the hormones and toxins with which they are raised/to which they are subjected, instead of the saturated fat and cholesterol.

    Cholesterol in food (unless you eat 2# of shrimp or 3 egg yolks daily) doesn’t raise cholesterol in the blood.

    Most saturated fat probably raises the risk of heart disease but food is a mix of nutrients, and I think its source is the main thing.

    The other question is harder: type I diabetes has been linked to casein, but so has latitude, and the confounding factor may be vitamin D levels: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19100644.

    Infants exposed to casein early in life may be at increased risk for diabetes, but the data are not conclusive.

    So I would not avoid milk because of diabetes risk, but I would want to know where the milk came from, whether the cow received rBGH, growth promoters and so on.

    Of concern, Japanese cattle recently ate radioactive rice straw; whether it harms people to eat radioactive milk is unknown, except in high doses…but the yuck factor is pretty high.

    Q.  Hi, I saw you for the first time on PBS yesterday and was intrigued. I recently lost my job and health insurance and figured since I eat everyday, I might as well eat better. It has to be cheaper than healthcare insurance. I’m Mormon and don’t drink alcohol. Is there a non-alcoholic drink that has the benefits of wine?

    A.  Red grape juice, pomegranate juice and other dark fruit juices do provide many of the benefits of wine.

    However, alcohol raises HDL, which juices do not, but they do provide tannins, flavonoids and anti-inflammatory chemicals which are helpful with inflammation.

    Q:  You seem to be looking at and using a variety of ways to share your information to as many people as will listen. Which I think is fantastic. Have you considered a weekly or monthly conference call for people using a service, like go-to-meeting.com, where you can have interactive discussions or presentations?  I have no clue what is required on the presenter’s part, however.

    A: I have thought about it and like the idea. I’ll send out a poll to newsletter subscribers and ask if they would like that, and how much it should cost.

    I think I would likely use Skype (Kris Carr uses it for her coaching, apparently) and I think it would be fun.  Let’s see!

     

  • Feb23

    Drinks with Benefits: Wine and Tea (Top Resources)

    Posted in: Wellness and Health, Wine and Tea

    For the upcoming PBS Special “Eat and Cook Healthy!” I created four DVDs and a CD: one of the tastiest DVDs is “Drinks with Benefits: Wine and Tea”.

    It was a lot of fun to write and discover, and like ChefMD’s Big Book of Culinary Medicine, I read a lot of medical, culinary and nutritional studies and analyzed them to prepare (I love research).

    For the book, there were nearly 3000 studies (with 20 pages in the book); for the Wine and Tea DVD, there are about 100 sources: here are the Top 5 books in each: Amazon links for convenience.

    Health Benefits of Wine: Best Books

    1. Age Gets Better with Wine,
    2. To Your Health: Two Physicians Explore,
    3. Youth Pill,
    4. The Longevity Factor,
    5. The Science of Healthy Drinking

    Health Benefits of Tea: Best Books

    1. Anticancer,
    2. A New Way of Life, New Edition,
    3. 20,000 Secrets of Tea,
    4. Healthy Teas: Green, Black, Herbal, Fruit
    5. Tea: Health Benefits and Applications

    Wine Pairing: Best Books

    1. The Wine Bible,
    2. Great Wine Made Simple,
    3. What to Drink with What You Eat,
    4. Perfect Pairing: A Master Sommelier’s Practical Advice,
    5. Food and Wine Pairing: A Sensory Experience

    Wine Tasting: Best Books

    1. The Wine-Tasting Notebook,
    2. Wine Tasting: A Professional Handbook,
    3. How to Taste: A Guide to Enjoying Wine,
    4. The Sommelier Prep Book,
    5. The Taste of Wine: The Art and Science,
     

  • Nov16

    See How Easily You Can Make Yourself Younger: Small Group Seminars

    Posted in: Aging and Costs of Aging, High Cholesterol, Wellness and Health

    One of the most productive and fun seminars I’ve given took place just two weeks ago, here in Santa Barbara, in a nearby rented living room: house call!

    A group of guys from the Midwest, all members of an executive professional organization, called me a few weeks ahead of their planned biking and wine country expedition. They asked if I would speak with them for a couple of hours on Staying Healthy as You Age.

    Sure, I said. I asked them all to take a RealAge test (disclosure: I wrote two books on healthy aging with RealAge founder and Dr Oz superstar Michael Roizen, and serve on the Scientific Advisory Board).

    And the good news: nearly all had RealAges (the age of their bodies as they’ve chosen to care for them) younger than their birthday ages. And all wanted to do better…especially in weight loss, cholesterol, sleep, stress relief, quality of life.

    Plus, we got to talk about wine, wine-tasting, pairing and making. And I shared two wines I’d made–a Petite Sirah and a Zinfandel–which was also really fun. I gave each a signed copy of The RealAge Diet.

    I’m confident that the next time I see them, several of them (all of them?) will look and feel better and younger than they do now.

    Judith Weinraub of the Washington Post interviewed several of us who have observed that men and women sometimes need different advice.

    And collaboration and partnership, instead of direction. Very satisfying.

     
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