How Not To Die: Part 3:
We like to think of “unprocessed” as nothing bad added, nothing good taken away. It’s really the day-to-day stuff that matters most. What you eat on special occasions is insignificant compared to what you eat day in and day out. So don’t beat yourself up if you really want to put edible bacon-flavored candles on your birthday cake. Your body has a remarkable ability to recover from sporadic insults as long as you’re not habitually poking it with a fork. There’s a concept in psychology called “decision fatigue” that marketers use to exploit consumers. It appears humans have a limited capacity to make many decisions in one short stretch of time, and the quality of our decisions will deteriorate to the extent that we eventually begin making downright irrational choices. Ever wonder why supermarkets stack the junk food at the checkout counter? After wading through the forty thousand items in the average supermarket, we end up with less willpower to resist impulse purchases. Now, onto the food guidelines which may sound pretty similar to the others I have mentioned in other blog posts…are we noticing a pattern yet?
Beans, I mean legumes, which comprise all the different kinds of beans, including soybeans, split peas, chickpeas, and lentils. You should try to get three servings a day. A serving of berries is a half cup of fresh or frozen, or a quarter cup of dried. For other fruits, a serving is a medium-sized fruit, a cup of cut-up fruit, or a quarter cup of dried fruit. Common cruciferous vegetables include broccoli, cabbage, collards, and kale. I recommend at least one serving a day (typically a half cup) and at least two additional servings of greens a day, cruciferous or otherwise. Everyone should try to incorporate one tablespoon of ground flaxseeds into his or her daily diet, in addition to a serving of nuts or other seeds. A quarter cup of nuts is considered a serving, or two tablespoons of nut or seed butters, including peanut butter. I also recommend one-quarter teaspoon a day of the spice turmeric, along with any other (salt-free) herbs and spices you may enjoy. A serving of whole grains can be considered a half cup of hot cereal such as oatmeal, cooked grain such as rice (including the “pseudograins” amaranth, buckwheat, and quinoa), cooked pasta, or corn kernels; a cup of ready-to-eat (cold) cereal; one tortilla or slice of bread; half a bagel or English muffin; or three cups of popped popcorn. Legume consumption is associated with a slimmer waist and lower blood pressure, and randomized trials have shown it can match or beat out calorie cutting for slimming tummy fat as well as improving the regulation of blood sugar, insulin levels, and cholesterol. Beans are packed with fiber, folate, and phytates, which may help reduce the risk of stroke, depression, and colon cancer. The phytoestrogens in soy in particular appear to both help prevent breast cancer and improve breast cancer survival. No wonder the cancer guidelines suggest you should try to fit beans into your meals. They can be added to nearly any meal, easily incorporated into snack times, or served as the star attraction. The possibilities are endless. There are a few popular diets out there that urge people to stop eating fruits because their natural sugars (fructose) are thought to contribute to weight gain. The truth is, only fructose from added sugars appears to be associated with declining liver function, high blood pressure, and weight gain. Studies show that if you drink a glass of water with three tablespoons of sugar (similar to what would be in a can of soda), you’ll have a big spike in your blood sugar levels within the first hour. That causes your body to release so much insulin to mop up the excess sugar that you actually overshoot and become hypoglycemic by the second hour, meaning that your blood sugar drops even lower than it would if you were fasting. Your body detects this low blood sugar, thinks you might be in some sort of famine situation, and responds by dumping fat into your bloodstream as an energy source to keep you alive. This excess fat in the blood can then go on to cause further problems. The isolation of sugar from the whole food may be the reason you’re more likely to supersize soda than sweet potatoes or why you’re unlikely to eat too much corn on the cob but can’t seem to get enough high-fructose corn syrup. Eating greens nearly every day may be one of the most powerful steps you can take to prolong your life. Of all the food groups analyzed by a team of Harvard University researchers, greens turned out to be associated with the strongest protection against major chronic diseases, including up to about a 20 percent reduction in risk for both heart attacks and strokes for every additional daily serving. In one of the few studies that looked specifically at the diversity of fruit and vegetable consumption, the variety of intake was an even better predictor of decreased inflammation in the bodies of middle-aged adults than the absolute quantity of consumption. What about organic? The fact is that being organic doesn’t mean a food is healthy. The organic food industry didn’t become so lucrative by selling carrots. For instance, you can now buy pesticide-free potato chips and organic jelly beans. There are even organic Oreo cookies. Junk food is still junk food, even if it was produced organically. The organic label cannot turn red lights green. At least half your plate should be filled with vegetables. Here’s a simple rule: Include vegetables in everything, and the more the better. Bean burritos are better than carnitas, but better still is a bean burrito with lots of veggies wrapped inside. Instead of spaghetti with marinara sauce, make it spaghetti with marinara sauce … and loads of veggies. Marinara is certainly better than Alfredo, but it’s even better still to go the extra veggie mile and heap on your favorite vegetables. Whole grains are great, but intact whole grains may be even better. The idea of preventive health is that you do something now so that nothing bad happens later. You floss your teeth not because it makes you feel better but because, by doing so, one day you won’t feel worse. You could consider the healthy habits described in this blog to be preventive—you eat a healthier diet now to avoid disease later.
