Can diet help you live longer?

How would you like to have dinner with a longevity expert?  What questions would you ask about how to live a longer life?   Well, a New York Times reporter did have dinner with the longevity expert, Dan Buettner.  So what advice does a longevity expert offer?   

      1.  Coffee � according to Buettner, coffee is �one of the biggest sources of antioxidants in the American diet�,  He notes Greeks living on the Greek island, Icaria, drink 2-3 cups of coffee a day.  These are people who often live to 100.    

      2.  Focus on veggies and herbs � to prepare an evening meal, Buettner purchase fennel, broccoli, celery, carrots, chickpeas   

      3.  Add Honey � local honey, and Tofu, coconut milk, frozen berries 

      4.  Walk � exercise is important to a long life and walking is one of Buettner�s approved ways to exercise as those living in the �Blue Zones� walk a lot.  

       5.  Is butter back?  Although some are saying butter is fine, Buettner notes a dollop or two a week may be fine but he is not yet on the butter is good for you bandwagon.   

       6.  Meat and fish � not a true vegetarian but those in the Blue Zones eat meat and fish sparingly.  This would be hard for me as I love cheese and like most Americans, I enjoy some meat in my diet.  

      7.�Icarian stew� made by Buettner consisted of black-eyed peas, fennel, onions, garlic, carrots, canned tomatoes, other veggies and some olive oil.  Sounds healthy but I would need to add some ham or other meat for a real stew.   

      8.  Bread � he doesn�t shun carbs, gluten or bread.  Good news for me as I love bread and it isn�t a meal if it doesn�t have bread. 

So how does Buettnner fair health wise?  To get an accurate assessment he went to the renowned Mayo Clinic to get an executive physical.  His arteries were clear.  What does Buettner have to say about the popular Paleo Diet?  �He joked the paleo diet is fine if all you want is the life expectancy of a cave man.�  And cave men didn�t lead long lives.  

Buettner authored a book about longevity, The Blue Zones.  It focuses on 5 communities with lessons from those who have lived the longest.  You can go to his website, https://www.bluezones.com/live-longer/and take your Vitality Compass, to calculate how long you might live and also get information from the Vitality Coach.  

Sources:  My Dinner With Longevity Expert Dan Buettner, Live Longer,  Image source:  coffee

Enjoy Watermelon for a nutrition boost

What is summer or a backyard cookout without some watermelon?   How healthy is watermelon, what nutrition benefits does it offer?  As noted below, watermelon packs a lot of nutrition for few calories.

    National Geographic�s  Reasons to Eat Watermelon  and Medical News Today:  Watermelon:  Healthy Benefits and Nutritional Information:    

      1.   Soothes sore muscles � what does eating watermelon have to do with your muscles?  A research study found that �drinking watermelon juice before a hard work out� helped reduce muscle soreness the next day.  Watermelon also shortens recovery time.  Watermelon has the amino acid, L-citrulline which our bodies change to L-arginine, an amino acid that improves blood circulation and relaxes your blood vessels.    

     2.  Heart Health � These same amino acids improve your heart health by helping to lower blood pressure.    

     3.  Watermelon is rich in vitamins and minerals � Although watermelon is 90% water, it also has many vitamins and minerals.  Some people don�t realize watermelon is a good source of vitamin C.   

       It also provide vitamin A and potassium.  Watermelon also provides the minerals iron, magnesium, phosphorus, manganese, selenium.  Zinc and copper.  Besides A and C watermelon provides B-vitamins: thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, B-6 and folate.  

     4.  Cancer fighting � watermelon provides the healthy antioxidant, lycopene.   Most people know lycopene is found in tomatoes but watermelon is also a good source.  The National Watermelon Promotion Board states that watermelon provides more lycopene than any other fruit or vegetable. 

     5.  Low calorie � one cup of diced watermelon has only 43 calories and no fat and almost no sodium

     6. Asthma prevention � those consuming high amounts of nutrients like the vitamin C in watermelon lessen their risk of developing asthma.   

     7.  Digestion � because watermelon has fiber and contains a lot of water, it aides in digestion.

     8. Hydration � a good way to help kids stay hydrated in the summer is to serve some watermelon.  Watermelon not only has water in it, it also offers electrolytes to help prevent dehydration.

     9.  Reduce Inflammation:  watermelon can help reduce inflammation because it contains choline.  

     10  Healthy Skin � watermelon promotes skin health because of the vitamin A it contains.  Vitamin A also promotes healthier hair.  The vitamin C in watermelon helps our skin build and maintain collagen.  The water in watermelon promotes skin hydration.

So enjoy some watermelon this summer and pack in some nutrition benefits. 

 

Sources:    Reasons to Eat Watermelon, Watermelon:  Healthy Benefits and Nutritional Information, Image source:  Watermelon

Juicing or Smoothies?

So many people now are into juicing and others love to make a smoothie.  Some make a smoothie for breakfast as a fast, take it with you meal.  So which is healthier for you, smoothies or juicing?  Both have advantages.

Juicing

Pros

• 5 A Day -  for those who aren�t into many veggies and fruits, this is a way to help you get your �Five A Day�, five servings of fruits and veggies every day.
• Variety � eating a variety of fruits and veggies is a key to good health.  Juicing makes it easy to vary your fruits and vegetables. 

Cons

• Pulp and fiber � Depending on how you juice, you could be leaving behind the pulp, and along with it fiber and nutrients.
• Limit juicing to 8-12 ounces a day � about a cup or cup and a half.  Why?  To save space for fresh fruit and veggies and all the nutrients fresh produce and fruit provide

Smoothies

 Pros

• healthier than juicing as smoothies are usually blended which preserves the pulp, fiber and nutrients in the pulp.
• Dairy adds calcium and vitamin D � making smoothies with yogurt or milk adds needed calcium and vitamin D to your diet. 
• Protein � yogurt and milk offer a high quality protein and if you use low fat milk or yogurt you get high quality protein with less fat.
• More vitamins, antioxidants, minerals, phytochemicals if the whole fruit or veggie is blended into a smoothie, including the skins improves nutritional value.

 Cons

• High in calories if you use sugared yogurt, juices with added sugar, frozen yogurt, sorbet or ice cream. 
• Bottled smoothies � avoid if you can, as many contain added sugars and extra calories.

So choose smoothies if you like them.  A very healthy way to get in some fruits, veggies and dairy.   Choose juicing if you don�t like fresh fruit and veggies but want to add some to your diet.  But also enjoy fresh fruits and veggies every day.  

For healthy smoothie recipes go to:  Low-Calorie Smoothie Recipes.  For healthy juice recipes go to :  Healthy Juice Recipes for a Juicer or a Blender

Sources: Health benefits of juicing vs. smoothies,  Healthy Juice Recipes for a Juicer or a Blender, Image source:  Smoothie

Do you need fat in your diet?

Many of us are trying to cut back on calories and thus cut back on fat calories.  But do you need some fat?  The answer is yes.   Fat is important for many reasons but one is that fat soluble vitamins need some fat to be absorbed.  Thus, you may not want to use a fat-free dressing on your salad but a dressing with some fat.  If you want to cut back on fat calories, you can choose the light or reduced fat version of dressing and not the fat-free version.  

In the classes I teach, many students come up with a snack for kids of carrots and Fat-Free Ranch Dressing.  Carrots are a healthy food but serving it with Fat-free Ranch means you won�t be absorbing all the nutrients in those carrots.  Not to mention the child will be hungry in no time as carrots are low in calories and Fat-Free Ranch also is low in calories.  Are there health benefits to using salad dressings with some fat such as regular Ranch or Light Ranch dressing?

A Little Fat Helps the Vegetables Go Down so notes an article at WebMD.   The subtitle is:  �Eating Salads with Fat-Free Dressings May Rob the Body of Nutrients�.   They note eating salad dressing with some fat may be better for your overall health than fat free dressing.  You need some fat to absorb the nutrients found in vegetables like the healthy lycopeneand carotene.  If you choose to eat your salad with fat-free dressing, you may not be absorbing these healthy nutrients.  

Doesn�t mean you need a high fat diet and most Americans eat too much fat.  But it does mean you can enjoy some oil, or fat in your salad dressing.  Vegetables are naturally low in fat so to absorb the healthy nutrients you need some fat with your meal.  So enjoy some low fat or regular dressing with your salad and forgo the fat-free dressing.

Sources:  A Little Fat Helps the Vegetables Go Down,  Image Source:  Light Ranch Salad Dressing

Proactol and Vitamin Absorption (Part 4)

Supplements which block the absorption of fat are effective at treating obesity because fat has significantly more calories than other nutrients. Indeed, 1 gram of fat has 9 calories, whereas 1 gram of protein or carbohydrate has just 4 calories. However, fats are required for the absorption of certain fat-soluble vitamins like vitamin A or E. As a result, some fat blockers also block the absorption of essential vitamins. For instance, the popular fat blocker, Alli, reduces the absorption of Vitamin E by a whopping 60%.

To find out whether Proactol�s active ingredient, NeOpuntia, also interfered with the absorption of vitamins, researches performed a straightforward test using a gastrointestinal model. Researchers created a mixture of sunflower oil, which contained typical daily amounts of vitamins A and E, and they added NeOpuntia to the mixture to see if it affected vitamin absorption.

Scientists found that NeOpuntia did not bind to these

fat soluble vitamins

. This suggests that NeOpuntia, unlike many other fat blockers, doesn�t interfere with the absorption of fat soluble vitamins. Go to Proactol web page right now.