Happy Healthy Long Life

A Smoothie Maybe Even Dr. Esselstyn Would Approve Of. Plus, a Post-Trip Almost Instant Spicy Unmeatballs & Spaghetti Dinner

The Amazing Homemade Heirloom Tomato V-7 Juice -  Dr. Preston Maring's Recipe

 

"A well known vegetable juice blend (can you guess which one?) has 480 mg of sodium in its "classic" version.  In response to new national guidelines about sodium intake - 2300 mg per day for many, but 1500 mg per day for all people 51 years of age and older, African Americans of all ages, or anyone with heart disease, kidney disease or hypertension - they offer a lower sodium version that has 140 mg per cup.

Here's a homemade Farmer's Market knock-off I call V-7 for obvious reasons.  As a teaspoon of salt has about 2300 mg of sodium, you can make your own low sodium version with a half teaspoon of salt for 8 cups.  The heavy dose of Tabasco doesn't add that much sodium as it only has about 30 mg per teaspoon."

-Dr. Preston Maring, a Kaiser Permanente physician and surgeon with 36 years of experience in obstetrics and gynecology.  Because of his passion for organic local produce & cooking, Maring started the Friday Fresh Farmer’s Market at Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center in May 2003-

 

 

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The Healthy Librarian Hits the Road Again - to the Hills of Kentucky

Back on the road again!  Just got back home on Sunday night after spending 9 days vacationing with the family-- first with a too short stop-over in Cincinnati--and then on to Western Kentucky.  Anyone ever hear of Lake Barkley or the Land Between the Lakes?   I hadn't a clue until this trip.  It was a convenient place to rendezvous for the St. Louis gang.

It was a good thing we planned to make all of our meals in our rented lakeside cabin, because we would have been in big trouble if we had planned on eating out everyday in Cadiz, Kentucky.  Yikes!   And that's even if we ate burgers & pizza.

And the local Food Giant--definitely was not a giant!  It made me realize how incredibly fortunate I am to live in an area with a fabulous family-run grocery store, a Whole Foods, a Trader Joe's, & plenty of local farmers' markets.

Let's just say the fresh produce at the Food Giant was slim pickings--mostly iceberg lettuce, packaged romaine, bagged apples, Idaho potatoes, bananas & cellophaned carrots.  Plenty of fried chicken, chips, candy, and meat & cheeses of all kinds.  A rural food desert.

The cashier said, "You guys sure must like to eat lots of fruit & vegetables."  That's all we had in our grocery carts.  My husband couldn't even find raisins on the shelves.

Since we had arrived a day earlier than the rest of the family, I put in an emergency call to Son #1 in St. Louis.  "Bring whatever fruit & veggies you can fit into your car!"  He didn't disappoint!  He arrived with baskets of tomatoes from his garden, basil, beets, blueberries, and bags of bounty from his C.S.A. 

Thankfully, the Walmart in Paducah (Nice town, Paducah! Home of the National Quilt Museum) supplied just about everything else we needed for the week.

Let's just say I was glad I had planned ahead--bringing everything I thought I wouldn't be able to find in Cadiz. 

 

The Partial Portable Pantry--Complete with Vita-Mix, Air Popcorn Popper, Zester, Lemon Juicer, & Recipes. 

 

 

 

The Great Hematite Lake Hike--Land Between the Lakes

 

But, I'll save the family vacation story for a later post.  Wonderful relaxing week with the kids & a special guest appearance from Nashville Cats, Fran & Dick. 

But, this post is all about our return home. 

An instant meal.

V-7 Juice.

 

What's for Dinner after 10 Hours of Driving and the Fridge is Empty?

 

The 15 Minute "Real Italian Unmeatballs" with Fettucine & parma! Vegan Parmesan

 

By the time we'd unloaded the car--emptied the cooler--and the "Portable Pantry"--it was 8:00 pm.

We were starving.

What crazy person decides to cook dinner after driving all day?  This crazy person. 

All the way home I had a vision of baking MATCH Italian meatballs in the oven--and serving them up with the left-over jar of Trader Joe's fat-free marinara sauce, over fettucine.  Best laid plans.  Foiled.  The leftover package of MATCH was still a solid frozen brick--even after 10 hours of sitting in the cooler in the car.

But, lucky me--tucked away in the refrigerator's "meat & cheese" drawer--I spotted Plan B.

It was an impulse buy I picked up at Trader Joe's before I left for vacation.  A brand new product--at least new to me. Trader Joe's  Beef-less Ground Beef.

OK--if you're dead set against using fauxs--this isn't for you.  Stay away.  But, hey, when you want food fast--this turns out to be amazing stuff.  It comes in a refrigerated package--12 ounces of textured wheat & soy vegetable protein (TVP) , onions, spices, a teeny tiny smidge of expeller-pressed canola oil, and some added vitamins & minerals--like B-12.

Why they bothered with the vitamins & minerals is anybody's guess.  I guess they wanted a real meat substitute--complete with iron & B-12.

Six servings to a package weighing in at 60 calories, .5 grams (that's 1/2 gram in case you miss the decimal point) of fat, 250 mg of potassium, 2 grams of fiber, and 10 grams of protein. 

But, unlike MATCH,  there was no way this "beef" is made to be rolled into meatballs--it's the crumbly kind.

So here's what I whipped up in 15 minutes for the "Post-Trip Crash" Dinner.

 

The Unrecipe for 15 Minute "Real Italian Unmeatballs" with Fettucine & parma! Vegan Parmesan

 

This super-simple meal was spicy & perfecto--so good in fact, that my husband wanted to go back for a third helping.   There was no way--I was saving that last serving to take to work for lunch the next day.  Remember, my fridge was bare!

Ingredients

1  12 ounce package of refrigerated Trader Joe's Beef-less Ground Beef

Red pepper flakes  (to taste)

Oregano, dried (to taste)

Whole fennel seed (the secret ingredient of Italian sausage) (to taste)

Lemon juice from 1/2 squeezed lemon

Add whatever other Italian seasonings you like in your meatballs (basil, parsely)--or to replicate an Italian sausage taste.

12 ounces of Bionaturae 100% Organic Whole Wheat Fettucine

25 ounce jar of Trader Giotto's Fat-Free Organic Spaghetti Sauce with Mushrooms

parma! Vegan Parmesan--made with raw organic walnuts, nutritional yeast, & Celtic sea salt (low-fat, low-cal) 

 

Preparation

1.  As the water boils for the fettucine, heat up a non-stick 12 inch frying pan.

2.  Add the "beef", seasonings, & a squeeze of lemon juice.

3.  Stir occasionally until the "beef" is well-warmed & mixed well with the spices.  Taste & correct.  You want it spicy--Italian sausage-like.  At least, I want it spicy, Italian sausage-like.  I'm obsessed with that taste.

4.  If the meat mixture starts to stick to the pan, add a very small amount of veggie broth or water to deglaze the pan & unstick the "meat".

5.  Cook the fettucine according to package directions--9 minutes

6.  Add the jar of spaghetti sauce to the "unmeatball" mixture & heat thoroughly, as the fettucine cooks.  Let it simmer.

7.  Serve in bowls, fettucine topped with plenty of unmeatball sauce, and sprinkled with parma! parmesan.

 

 

Dr.  Maring's Amazing V-7 Juice

 

When you go away in August, you better believe you come home to loaded-down tomato plants.

Before even unpacking the car, my husband headed out to the backyard to see how his beloved tomato plants were doing.  He filled baskets with mega-giant Brandywine heirloom tomatoes and plenty of sweet 100 cherry tomatoes.

On Monday morning before heading off to work I spotted Dr. Maring's recipe for V-7 juice on my RSS feed & printed it off for my husband to see.  Hint! Hint!

He fell for the bait.  When I got home I found 2 half-gallon jugs filled with this gorgeous amazing anti-oxidant orange-colored smoothie concoction.   OMG!  Fabulous!

Of course he improvised a bit.  He added more garlic than Dr. Maring.  Maybe more tomatoes.  And a dash or two of Worcestershire Sauce.   But, this is just a template.  Create your own V-7 Juice.

I think even Dr. Esselstyn would approve of this all vegetable smoothie.  He's not a fan of "Green" smoothies because they're usually made with fruit--and for some folks that quick rush of sugar can be a problem for their blood sugar &/or their triglycerides--and maybe not much different than drinking fruit juice.   And Esselstyn is a firm believer in chewing fruit--not drinking it--to get that amylase in the saliva flowing, I think.   And then there's the issue of added calories with the fruit in smoothies. 

 

Dr. Maring's V-7 Juice (modified by my husband)

Click here for the original recipe

 

Ingredients

Makes about 8 or more cups — about 2 servings of vegetables per cup

8 heirloom tomatoes, cored and chunked  (our heirlooms were gigantic--so my husband used about 4)  NOTE:  I think the fresh heirloom tomatoes are the secret to the delicious taste.
6 medium carrots, chunked
4 celery stalks, chunked
1 medium yellow onion, chunked
About 1/2 cup fresh parsley, loosely packed
1/2 bunch spinach  (about 4 cups)
4 cloves garlic  (my husband grew his own this year--OMG what a difference from the grocery store variety.  He used Georgia Fire garlic for this juice)
Water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce (to taste)

Worcestershire sauce to taste (vegan or regular)

Note:  He made ours in a Vita-Mix (of course), in batches, as Dr. Maring suggests.

Dr. Maring suggests doing this about 4 cups at a time in your blender or food processor. Divide the veggies — 1/2 the tomatoes, carrots, etc. Put the squishier vegetables in first, e.g. tomatoes and onions. Add the rest of the vegetables then water to make four cups. Blenderize. Transfer to whatever storage container you are going to use in the refrigerator. Process the remaining vegetables with water. Mix all together and stir in salt and Tabasco. Chill. Maring says his turned out sort of a weird green color but it sure tasted good.

As you can see, ours was a gorgeous pinky orange.

 

Nutrition Facts Dr. Maring's Low Sodium V7 Juice
Serving Size: 1 serving
Amount Per Serving
Calories	78
Total Fat	1g
Saturated Fat	0g
Trans Fat	0g
Cholesterol	0mg
Sodium	142mg
Carbohydrate	17.1g
Dietary Fiber	4.2g
Sugars	8.1g
Protein	2.5g
Vitamin A 319% Vitamin C 67% Calcium    6% Iron 9%

 

Honestly, after tasting this savory blend of juice, I just might start making fruit-free savory smoothies a regular habit!

And maybe tonight I'll turn some of the leftover V-7 into a super-healthy Bloody Mary!

 

UPDATES:

1.  I've finally started my "at-home" weight-training routine.  Definitely a challenge.  Don't worry, you'll get the full review.  Easy equipment.  Stability ball,  5, 8, 10, 15 lb. weights.  Yoga mat.  10 lb. kettlebell.  I'll add a Bosu later.

2.  Upcoming: My "first" 14 months on the Dr. Esselstyn Plant-Based, No-Added Oil Diet will follow soon.  Still going strong.  And, in case you missed it--Bill Clinton is going to "tell all, too!" to CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta (at least I think so) on Sunday, August 21. 

Drs. Esselstyn, Ornish, & Agatston will be interviewed, too.   The new one-hour documentary, Dr. Sanjay Gupta Reports: The Last Heart Attack - a Mission Possible focuses on the latest heart disease prevention science.  It debuts Sunday, Aug. 21 at 8:00 p.m. ET and PT, and replays on Saturday, Aug. 27 at 8:00 p.m. ET and PT on CNN/U.S.

Dr. Esselstyn explains to Dr. Gupta, “We’re never going to end the epidemic with stents, with bypasses, with the drugs – because none of it is treating causation of the illness.”   But, we all knew that already.  RIght?

3.  And then there's my Brendan Brazier, Thrive Fitness recipes & review update--haven't forgotten about those, either.  Hint:  We're fans.  My husband--the more serious athlete in the family--finds them pretty incredible.  Definitely missed them in Kentucky.

4.  Got my Peas & Thank You Simple Meatless Meals the Whole Family WIll Love Cookbook yesterday. I really like Sarah Matheny. She's funny, down-to-earth, and has created quick & delicious kid and husband-friendly vegan meals--but they just aren't exactly Esselstyn-friendly.   Some will work--but many won't, because they rely on Earth Balance margarine, Daiya cheese, Veganaise, tahini, some oil, and nut butters.  Lots of muffins, cookies, & baked goods.  I've liked whatever I've tried from her Peas & Thank You blog--but, of course, I hand-picked the Esselstyn-friendly recipes.   I will still give this a chance, and see what I can modify--but I was surprised to see so many not-so-healthy recipes in her cookbook--but I know, my standards are ridiculously tough to meet.  If I still had kids at home--I know I would use this cookbook!  Very kid-friendly.

 

Later!

Traveling again to New York & Boston this month--so intermittent postings until September.  Whew!

It will really be nice to finally just stay home and veg for awhile!

The Healthy Librarian's Top Three Picks for Health News You Can Use Right Now! Low Sodium-High Potassium Foods for Health, Why You Need to Lift Weights More Often When You Hit 60, & the Environmental Triggers of Autism

 

 

 "Americans who eat a diet high in sodium and low in potassium have a 50% increased risk of death from any cause, and about twice the risk of death from heart attacks.

In a traditional, largely plant-based diet, potassium content is high and sodium content low.

As foods are processed, typically sodium is added and potassium is removed, reversing the sodium-potassium ratio.

Encouraging consumption of unprocessed, potassium-rich fruits and vegetables is the safest and preferred pathway to increasing potassium intake."

-Drs. Lynn D. Silver & Thomas A. Farley, commenting on, "Sodium and Potassium Intake and Mortality Among U.S. Adults,"   Archives of Internal Medicine 171(13):1183-1190, July 11, 2011-

 

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Honestly, there are so many medical articles that are published every week, it's tough to choose the ones that really matter to our everyday lives.

After looking through last week's news--here are the stand-outs that IMHO are worth paying attention to.  It's research you can put to use, right now.  I know I'm going to!

 

Bad News:  The High-Sodium Low-Potassium Diet = Processed & Fast Foods

Good News:  The Low Sodium-High Potassium Diet = Whole Real Foods

 

1.  Here's what you need to know:  If you eat a diet that's high in sodium, highly processed, and mostly comes from restaurants, your local grocery store deli or take-out counter or fast food joints, you significantly increase your chances of death, compared to those who eat a diet that's low in sodium, and high in fresh unprocessed food.  Plain & simple!   Doesn't it just make sense to eat lots of plants & cook your own food?

The Sodium-Potassium ratio matters!   In a recently published research study, in the Archives of Internal Medicine, the folks with the highest ratio of sodium to potassium had the highest risk of death from all causes, including heart disease.  Who wants that?

Think of it this way:  Sodium = processed food.  Potassium = Fruits, Vegetables, & Unprocessed whole foods.  It might not seem like a real news flash, but most U.S. adults get on average 3,300 milligrams of sodium a day--which is over twice the amount recommended.  If you're over 50, you're only supposed to be consuming 1,500 milligrams of sodium.   If you're under 50, your max is 2,300 milligrams of sodium.  Note: 1 tsp. of table salt contains 2,200 mg of sodium

So where's all that sodium coming from?  Restaurant foods, packaged foods, canned foods, cheese, processed meats, breads, soups, fast foods, and pastries--they all have a lot more sodium than potassium in them.

How much potassium are we supposed to be consuming a day?  4,700 milligrams a day.  Honestly, it would be tough to get this much everyday if you didn't eat lots of fruits & vegetables.  You can get your own potassium count on some of your favorite foods on the  Nutrition Data site.  But check out how easy it is to rack up the potassium milligrams on a plant-based diet:

• My typical green smoothie is made with 4 cups of kale (1200 mg), 1 cup of carrots (410 mg), 1 orange (313 mg), 1 kiwi (522 mg), and 1 cup of frozen blackerrries (211 mg) comes to a grand total of 2656 mg of potassium.
• 1 cup of baked sweet potato=950 mg
• 1 large banana=487 mg
• 1 serving of cooked lentils=534 mg
• 3 cups of romaine lettuce=348 mg
• 1 cup of cooked quinoa=348 mg
• 2 ounces of uncooked oatmeal=240 mg
• 3 Medjool dates=501 mg
• 1 cup of cooked Swiss chard=961 mg
• Grand Total= a whopping 7025 mg of potassium  (and this is just for starters)

No wonder the famous DASH Diet to stomp out high blood pressure recommends eating 8-10 servings of fruits & vegetables everyday.  It's all that potassium, baby!

And the benefits of the DASH Diet have extended to preventing memory loss.  Just check out the Cache County, Utah study where the results showed that those seniors who were closest in following the DASH diet, had the slowest decline in cognitive functioning--while the participants in the lowest quintiles had the most rapid decline in congnitive functioning.

Why is this study so important?  

It's the first one to look at a nationally representative sample of Americans, and examine the association between mortality and how much potassium & sodium we are consuming.   The researchers used top-notch statistics--analyzing the data from the the CDC's Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III)--which collected data about the nutritional & health status of 12,267 U.S. adults for 15 years, from 1988 to 2006.

What can we take home from this study?

• The higher the sodium to potassium ratio, the higher the risk of cardovascular disease--and the higher the sodium intake, the higher the higher the risk of all-cause mortality. 
• Increase your potassium levels with whole foods that are also low in sodium, such as leafy greens, like spinach & collards, grapes, blackberries, carrots, potatoes, & citrus fruits. 
• Potassium increases should come from real food--not through supplements.  Those with diabetes mellitus, renal failure, or heart failure, or taking certain medications are at risk of hyperkalemia when using potassium supplements.  (Arch Intern Med 171(13);1191-1192, July 11, 2011)
• The CDC says, "People who reduce their sodium consumption, increase their potassium consumption, or do both, benefit from improved blood pressure and reduce their risk for developing other serious health problems."
• Read labels carefully--eat out with caution--chef's like their salt shakers.  It makes food taste good!  And you won't find nutritional labelling on restaurant menus.
• Rip Esselstyn's Rule of Thumb:  Limit the amount of sodium per serving to the number of calories per serving, or less.  You'll be shocked when you carefully look at the sodium/calorie content of processed foods.  It's not so easy to lower sodium.

From one of the study's authors, Dr. Elena V. Kuklina of the CDC:

"The major implications of our findings are that a diet balanced in both micronutrients (sodium & potassium) is important.  People should try to reduce sodium in particular by consuming less processed food, but also they should increase potassium intake, and this is easily done by eating more fruit and vegetables and dairy products, which are a good source of potassium and low in sodium.  This is nothing new: a healthy diet is good for your health.

We found that potassium does matter." 

But, wait a second, I've got a question:

Is it really the sodium-potassium ratio that's responsible for such a positive health benefit in this study--or is potassium just a marker for a diet that's high in fresh vegetables and fruits--that brings with it a number of benefits, like vitamins, antioxidants, polyphenols, and fiber?  Hmm!

The conclusions of the July 11, 2011 Archives of Internal Medicine article sound strangely familiar to an article published just seven months ago in the November 22, 2010 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, "Serum Alpha-Carotene Concentrations and Risk of Death Among US Adults":

 

"[O]ur findings, based on data from a large representative sample of US adults, showed that serum alpha-carotene concentrations were inversely associated with the risk of death from all causes, and death from cardiovascular diseases and cancer.  These findings support increasing fruit and vegetable consumption as a means of preventing premature death."

 

 If You're Over 60 You'll Need to Boost Your Weight-Training If You Want to Keep Your Muscles

 

 

Ernestine Shepherd, age 74--Holds the Guinness Book of World's Record for the Oldest Female Body-Builder (read more about Ernestine here)

 

 

The older you get--the harder you have to work.  Sorry.  That's just how it is.  This article couldn't have come at a more perfect time for me--now that I've set up an appointment with a trainer to design an at-home routine I can do 2-3 times a week. My motivation is for bone health--but I won't turn down bigger muscles.

Hot Off The Press:  Older Adults Have to Exercise More to Maintain Muscle Size.   Bickel, C. Scott et al.  "Exercise Dosing to Retain Resistance Training Adaptations in Young and Older Adults,"  Medicine and Science in Sports & Exercise 2011 Jul;43(7):1177-87.

What can we take home from this study?

This is the first study to "suggest" that adults over age 60 need more weight-training sessions than 20-35 year olds need--if they want to maintain all their hard-won muscle mass gains they get from strength-training at the gym (or home).  Once a week just won't cut it!  If you cut back your weight-training to one day a week, your muscles will start to shrink.   Sorry to break it to you.

20-35 year olds just don't have to work as hard.  They can maintain their muscle mass gains with one day a week at the gym.  They can even cut their repetitions down from 3 sets, to one set, strength-train only once a week--and still maintain their muscle mass.

The good news is that both young & old can maintain their muscle strength (not to be confused with muscle mass) with a once a week weight workout.  But, strength isn't enough, if you want all the health benefits of resistance-training as you age.   It pays to work out 2-3 times a week & build your muscle mass, too.  It will help maintain your glucose balance, your fatty acid metabolism, as well as your bone & joint strength!  Just do it!

How was the study designed?

• 31 adults were 60-75 years old.  39 adults were 20-25 years old.  No one was obese, or had musculoskeletal problems.  No one had resistance-training experience in the past 5 years.
• The study lasted 32 weeks
• Phase 1 Progressive Resistance Training-16 weeks:  Three progressive resistance-training exercises were performed 3 times a week, for 16 weeks.  Everyone did 3 sets of each exercise--leg extensions, knee extensions, & squats.  All 70 participated.
• Phase 2 Detraining/Maintenance Training-16 weeks:  After the 16 weeks of muscle-building, the groups were divided into 3 groups.  One group did no exercise at all.  One group cut their training down to once a week, but still did the three sets of the three exercises.  One group cut their training down to once a week, but only did one set of the three exercises.
• How did the researchers measure muscle mass & muscle strength.  To determine changes in muscle mass each subject had 4 muscle biopsies performed (ouch!)--baseline, after the training, after follow-up periods of 16 weeks, and 32 weeks.  Each participant also had their muscle strength measured with load-lifting tests.
• The study took place at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, a joint effort of the Depts. of Physical Therapy, Surgery, Physiology & Biophysics, Geriatric Research, & the Birmingham VA Medical Center.

 Bottom Line

• For those over age 60, once-a-week strength-training will maintain muscle strength, but it will not maintain muscle size, once it has been achieved.
• The researchers demonstrated that a once-a-week resistance-training workout can maintain muscle strength up to 8 months in young & older adults.
• But, adults over age 60 need more frequent resistance-training workouts to maintain any muscle mass gains they achieve from weight-training.

"We are not advocating that people only train one day a week indefinitely, but we do believe such a program can be effective during temporary periods when it is difficult to maintain a consistent, intensive exercise regimen, several days per week."  Lead author, Marcas M. Bamman, PhD.

"The positive health benefits of increased muscle mass among older adults extend well beyond muscle performance, to include glucose homeostasis, fatty acid metabolism, aerobic capacity, and bone & joint health.

Therefore, we recommend progressive resistance-training continue indefinitely for the health and functional status of all individuals." The authors

 

The Environmental Triggers of Autism

 

Graph: The prevalence of autism has increase dramatically in the last decade. (Wikipedia Creative Commons)

 

The causes of autism still remain a mystery.  Is it genetic?  Is it environmental?   As the number of children with autism has increased in recent years, researchers can't pin down a single, clear cause. 

Is it caused by parental age, prenatal viruses, infant vaccines, environmental toxins, or even a lack of vitamin D, as some researchers have suggested?   Maybe there hasn't been an increase in cases at all.  Some researchers suggest that the increase in numbers is just based on a loosening of the diagnostic criteria?

Back in 2008 I posted about the work of some of the country's top environmental researchers, who were betting that autism might be fueled by the endocrine disruptors that come from everyday chemicals.

Bisphenol-A (BPA) that was commonly found in moldable plastics & is still in the linings of cans, along with phthalates found in carpets & flame-retardants have been implicated.  Click here for that post. 

Since writing that post, many products made with BPA have been pulled off the market--substituted with other plastics.  But are the BPA  substitutes safe?   If you have babies or children at home, or in your future, be sure to read what Dominique Browning has to say about the BPA substitutes in her recent New York Times Opinion piece:  Hitting the Bottle

Two weeks ago, I was up early on a Saturday morning & caught an interview on National Public Radio's Living on Earth broadcast with Dr. Martha Herbert.  She's a professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School and an expert in autism research.  

She explained the findings of the latest autism study that was published in April 2011 in the  Archives of General Psychiatry  This new study found that the genetic causes for autism have been overestimated--and the environmental causes have been seriously underestimated.  Definitely something we all need to consider carefully.

To read the complete interview transcript, click here.

 

GELLERMAN: So let's look at the methodology that the researchers used [in this study]- they studied twins.

HERBERT: Right.

GELLERMAN: Why?

HERBERT: Because twins are in the same family and they share at least some genes. But identical twins share all the genes and fraternal twins don’t share all the genes - they have maybe 50-50.

GELLERMAN: So if something shows up in the identical twins you’d say, ‘Ah, genetic.’ But, if something shows up in the fraternal twins, you’d say, ‘Mmm, there’s something else going on here.’

HERBERT: Yes, that’s what people have usually said.

GELLERMAN: So these researchers studied, what, about 192 pairs of twins?

HERBERT: Right.

GELLERMAN: What did they find?

HERBERT: They found that actually there was more concordance than expected in the fraternal twins, and less in the identical twins.

GELLERMAN: Concordance?

HERBERT: That means that if one is autistic, then the other is autistic. So usually it has been that 60-90 percent of the identical twins were both autistic, and 0-10 percent were both autistic if they were fraternal twins. And that led people to think that this was, by in large, very, very strongly, a genetic disorder. But to have there be so much match-concordance - in the fraternal twins, and not so much in the identical, suggests that there’s shared environment. What they calculated was that the risk for autism was 38 percent from genetics and 58 percent from the environment that the twins shared.

GELLERMAN: So it’s a very low number in terms of genetics and very high in terms of environmental issues.

HERBERT: Yes, which is really different from what everybody’s been saying up until now.

GELLERMAN: So what kind of environmental factors could we be talking about?

HERBERT: Well, there are lots of environmental factors that people have been talking about and trying to do research about. It ranges from chemicals to nutrition to exposures like to living near a freeway – many, many different types of factors.

GELLERMAN: Are there any suspects that perhaps stand out from the crowd?

HERBERT: There are a number of chemicals that it’s a good idea to watch out for.

• Bisphenol - plasticizers that make plastics moldable.
  
• Flame retardants - flame retardants in baby pajamas and in bedding that were not tested for the baby urinating in the bed, which then makes the chemicals float around in the air that the baby then breathes in.
  
• Pesticides - be really careful about spraying your house. Find more natural ways of avoiding pest exposure.
  
• Pesticides in food - try to eat organic if possible.
  
• Don’t microwave in plastic.
  
• Look under your sink and clean out a lot of the products, which have long lists of chemicals that you can’t pronounce.
  
• There’s lots of ways of cleaning your house with simple products, with vinegar and water and baking soda, and things that are not going to cause problems, that may show up now or later.

 

GELLERMAN: How does this research help us, and what happens next in autism research?

HERBERT: I think this paper is fantastic for saying: ‘Lets pull out the stops and look at everything we possibly can - environmentally.’

We have been putting our eggs so much in the basket of genetics. I have a dear friend who is a geneticist who said, ‘Why don’t you environmental people wait for awhile, we’ll work out the genes and you can sort of do the trimmings.’

Now, looking back, this is not the trimmings. This is not the icing on the cake, it’s the cake.

 

Read the entire transcript here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Week Two on Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn's Heart Disease Prevention/Reversal Diet Challenge. The Rules, Tips, and Tricks to Enjoy Plant-Based Oil-Free Eating

 

My Vegetable Bin Lunch--6 cups of Super Salad

"Making breakfast and lunch simple and nearly the same as possible everyday is helpful.  For breakfast, include some form of oats with their good cholesterol- lowering properties.

Try to keep lunch to soup and bread, salads, or sandwiches. Start as many meals as possible with salads.  Add all the vegetables you can!  Find a salad dressing you love.

Greens!!  Put them everywhere!  Focus on them."

-Ann Esselstyn, heart disease prevention & reversal diet teacher, coach, & recipe developer, extraordinaire-

 

My Everyday Breakfast--Steel-Cut Oats, Dried Apples, & Berries

 

Daily Mid-Morning, Mid-Day, On the Drive Home from Work Green Smoothie Snack

 

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I'm now almost 2 weeks into eating plant-based Esselstyn-style.  Making the switch has been so much easier than I ever expected.  Here are some of my biggest surprises:

For Part I of this series, click here

For the post that explains why I'm taking this diet challenge, click here

• Cooking without oil is easy.  It's not the big deal I thought it would be.  I've browned Cajun sweet potato fries, & Yukon Gold potato wedges in a 450 degree oven on parchment paper or a Silpat.  Caramelized onions, browned tempeh, seitan, veggie burgers and vegetables, and even made amazing oatmeal white bean blueberry pancakes in a non-stick pan without added oil.
• A six-cup lunch salad will keep me full for hours.  Forget about just eating salad greens.  I add in roasted corn, cut-up roasted beets, red peppers, cut up left-over 100% buckwheat soba noodles, barbecue seitan, cucumbers, tomatoes, 2 TBS of Trader Joe's Corn Salsa for kick, and a splash of high quality Olive Tap balsamic vinegar--which comes in flavors like lemon, pomegranate, Mandarin orange, and more.
• Who needs avocados when you have fat-free Sahara Cuisine Roasted Red Pepper Hummus?  We are loving Sahara Cuisine's Fat-Free Hummus & Black Bean Dips!  It absolutely substitutes for the creamy mouth-feel of avocado on a sandwich or on a cracker.  I don't even miss my beloved Terrapin Ridge Spicy Chipotle squeeze. Dump a can of chipotle's with adobo sauce into a blender--freeze for storage--and add a teaspoon to some red pepper hummus & you've got instant delicious chipotle sauce to top your sandwich or bean/veggie burgers.  See below for where to buy hummus.
• I was eating way too much sodium/salt and fat without even knowing it.  Although I read labels carefully, I never paid much attention to the sodium content of vegetable broths, and soups.  My favorite brand, Imagine, has oil & huge amounts of salt added to all their vegetable soups (like Tomato & Roasted Red Pepper, Cuban Black Bean Bisque, & Moroccan Chickpea Bisque).  Like 750 mg ( 31% DV) of sodium for 1 cup of Tomato & Roasted Red Pepper Soup & who eats just 1 cup of soup?  There's added oil in almost every store-bought pasta sauce, bread, tortilla wrap, veggie burger, cracker, or chip.  It doesn't matter if it's organic, or from a "health food" company like Amy's, Gardenburger, or Whole Foods.  Look at the labels.  Who knew?  Buy Pacific Low Sodium Vegetable Broth at 140 mg per cup, or Trader Joe's Low Sodium Vegetable Broth.
• Unsweetened Regular Silk Soy Milk is an acceptable coffee creamer.  It works.  It lightens my coffee, and tastes just fine.  We were used to buying cartons of Trader Joe's Soy Creamer, thinking the added sweetener & expeller pressed canola oil in it was OK.  It was almost as bad as using Cremora powdered coffee lightener--well maybe not quite as bad.
• Not missing the nuts!  It's funny, I thought I couldn't live without nuts or Larabars.  Don't miss them at all.  Soon after ditching the nuts I got to see Jeff Novick's DVD on "From Oil To Nuts"  (click here) that explains why nuts aren't exactly the health foods we think they are.  They're high in calories, they all have some saturated fat, and except for English walnuts, all of them are very high in inflammatory omega-6s--especially pine nuts, peanuts, almonds, brazil nuts, and my favorite, cashews!  I serendipitously found Dr. Bill Lands' NIH lecture about the importance of lowering our intake of omega-6 fats--and now I'm convinced about the benefits of no-oil & no nuts (walnuts excepted).  Big tip: do yourself a favor & cut out peanut butter!!  It's sky high in omega-6's. More on Bill Lands & Jeff Novick in another post--in the meantime if you'd like to catch Bill's lecture (you'll have to register with iAmplify & download the lecture), click here.
  
• Knowing the rules of the game makes it easier to play the game.  I don't even think about eating ice cream (vegan or dairy), chips of any kind, cookies, pretzels, or dark chocolate.  They are just off my list.  If I want a snack in the evening, it's watermelon, berries, a couple crackers with hummus, or maybe air-popped popcorn.  It's as simple as that.  We talk about how kids need boundaries--it makes life easier for them. I guess I do to!
• 100% Cheese-free Pizza can be a gourmet delight.  What a treat for me!  On Wednesday not only did I have to work while my kids were visiting from New York City (bummer), but I had a 3 1/2 hour long dental appointment afterward.  When I got home at 7:30, my son (who is a fantastic cook) was ready to pop 3 cheese-free pizzas into the oven.  He used 100% whole wheat Kabuli Pizza crusts (found at a non-Whole Foods natural food grocery) and Nature's Hilights Brown Rice Pizza Crust (found in the freezer section) of Whole Foods.  He topped the crusts with a no-oil added pasta sauce, an assortment of  vegetables we had just picked up from our Amish farmer's C.S.A. (community-supported agriculture co-op), and seasoned them with  oregano, basil, and chives from my garden.   Even my picky cheese-loving St. Louis son gave these pizzas a big thumbs-up--after first moaning & questioning the logic of cheese-free pizza.  Tip: We preferred the Kabuli crust to the Hilight's.

Zucchini, Red Pepper, Scallions, Fresh Oregano & Basil Pizza

Mushroom, Chives, Garlic, & Fresh Oregano Pizza

Roasted Beet, Sauteed Kale, Kalamata Olive, & Garlic Pizza

Ann Esselstyn's User-Friendly Rules & Strategies for Making the Heart Disease Prevention & Reversal Diet Work

• No meat, no poultry, no fish--not even salmon
• No dairy of any kind--not even skim milk or non-fat yogurt. 
• No eggs--not even egg whites or Egg Beaters. 
• No oil--not even virgin olive oil or canola oil
• Aim for 100% Whole Grain products. Ingredients must say, Whole Wheat, or Whole Buckwheat, Whole Rye,etc. 100% stone-ground wheat is not Whole Wheat unless the word Whole appears.  Forget about semolina flour in pasta.  Forget about white rice.  I thought my Barilla Plus multigrain pasta was fantastic--turns out, semolina is the number one ingredient.
• Do not drink juice. Fruit is fine.  A little juice used to saute, or season recipes or for salad dressings is fine
• Do not eat nuts, even walnuts unless you do not have heart disease.
• Do not eat avocados, if you have heart disease.
• Do not eat coconut, if you have heart disease.
• Eat soy products cautiously.  They are high in fat (40% +) and many are highly processed.  Only use Lite Tofu (like Mori-Nu or NaSoya Lite Firm Tofu).  I also use Soy Boy Organic 5 Grain Low Fat Tempeh.
• Reduce sugar as much as possible.  When you do use it for recipes, stick to the more unprocessed varieties.  But don't fool yourself, maple syrup, agave, and honey are still sugar. I use stevia.
• Read all labels, especially THE INGREDIENTS!!!

The Rest of the World of Vegetables, Fruit, Legumes, and Whole Grains is Yours.

Read Labels Carefully--What to Watch Out For

1.  Be sure no fat is added. Products change, and their ingredients change all the time.  Make sure there is no added oil of any kind, in the ingredient list, even if the label says zero fat.  By law products can contain less than .5% gram of fat & still say zero fat.  Glycerin, hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated, mono and diglycerides are all forms of hidden fat.  When you start carefully looking at labels you start to notice that there is added fat in EVERYTHING--even no-fat vegan Boca Burgers, and pasta sauces that say they have no fat.

2.  Watch out for sodium.  Salt is everywhere.  Buy no salt added tomatoes, and beans when you can.  Bionaturae organic diced tomatoes have 20 mg of sodium per 1/2 cup serving.  Contadina Diced Tomatoes with Roasted Garlic have a whopping 560 mg of sodium per 1/2 cup serving. Buy low-sodium Pacific or Trader Joe's vegetable broths.

3.  Find a bread that's whole grain, and made without oil--another big challenge.  Options include whole wheat pita, Ezekiel 4:9 breads, buns, wraps, & English Muffins.  You'll find the Ezekiel/Food for Life brand at Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, and in the freezer case at most grocery stores.  I love all their products--and they are flourless, and sprouted--which is supposedly healthier.

4.  Find yourself a pasta sauce made without oil or too much salt.  Options: Trader Joe's Organic Spaghetti Sauce with Mushrooms is oil-free, Whole Foods has a brand, as well as Muir Glen's Portobella Mushroom Sauce.  Or make your own.

5.  Veggie Burgers would be fine--but I can't find one brand that is made without oil.  I make my own Lentil Dal Burgers, Falafel Burgers, and Smoky Tofu Red Bean Burgers & freeze them.

Ann's Amazing Cooking Tips

Ann has over 20 years of experience with eating & cooking no-oil & plant-based.  This is just a few of her many tips.

1.  Roast Vidalia onions, covered in a low to moderate oven & keep in the fridge to chop up for recipes.  I made almost instant grilled onions to top burgers with one of these--just a 5 minute oil-free saute with paprika & a dash of pepper.  Bingo!

2.  Roast a supply of sweet potatoes or yams to add to salads, recipes, or to just enjoy plain.

3.  Keep no-fat veggie broth on hand to saute or stir-fry.  It's my new oil.

4.  Use no-fat added hummus as mayonnaise, as a sandwich base, an avocado substitute, a dip for veggies or crackers or pita, or a base for creamy salad dressings.  It's amazing stuff!

5.  Try to steam a few vegetables each night for dinner. 

6.  Use a wooden citrus reamer to get all the juice out of even dry limes or lemons--a microplane is a must for zesting citrus, or grating ginger.  I wouldn't want to eat plant-based without my Kyocera ceramic utility knife!

7.  Cook perfect collard greens in boiling water for a few minutes until slightly tender, and use them as wraps, or to make veggie sushi.

8.  If you do just one thing, Eat Greens!  Cook them along with your pasta water.  Kale, collards, Swiss Chard, bok choy, etc. are the best foods you can eat--have them as often as you can--blend them in Green Smoothies, add them to soups, stir fries, or just sauteed with garlic & lemon.

9.  Egg substitutes for baking.  Use 1 tablespoon of flax seed meal plus 3 tablespoons of water per egg. Or  1 1/2 tsp. of Ener-G Egg Replacer plus 2 tablespoons of warm water equals 1 egg.

10.  Oil replacement for baking.  Use equal amounts of mixed prunes or applesauce.

11.  Milk replacement for cereal, drinks, or cooking.  Use oat, almond, hazelnut, or no-fat soy milk.  Pacific brand makes oat, almond, & hazelnut milks.  Hazelnut is my fave.

12.  Flavored balsamic vinegars are worth the price.  Get these rich, flavorful vinegars from Olive Tap online, or through Dr. Joel Fuhrman's website.  

13.  Healthy desserts are OK once in awhile.  Ann whips up lime & chocolate mousse with 1 package of  Mori-Nu silken tofu, 1/3 cup maple syrup, then either 2 TBS. of cocoa powder or 3 TBS. of lime juice, depending on the version, and the  zest of 1 lime for the lime version or 1 tsp. vanilla for the chocolate version.  She refrigerates or freezes for 2 hrs. before serving.  A blender or VitaMix works best.  She likes to layer the lime mousse with berries. I've tried her recommendation of Sweet Nothing Non-Dairy Fudge Bars & loved them!  She also gives an A-OK for an occasional Haagen-Dazs, Edy's, or Dole fruit sorbet.  Read the labels.

 

Food Brands That I Recommend from Ann's Extensive List

Ann has put together an incredible list of recommended foods that meet her high standards.

Here are a few that I'm enjoying:

Bread

Ezekiel sprouted grain breads, buns, English muffins, & tortilla wraps

Cereal

Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Whole Grain Cereals

Uncle Sam's Cereal

Pasta Sauce

Trader Joe's Organic Spaghetti Sauce with Mushrooms

Crackers

Ryvita

Wasa Original Crispbread

Whole Foods Baked Woven Wheats (like Triscuits)

RealFoods Corn Thins with flax & soy

Hummus/Spreads/Dips

Sahara Cuisine no fat, no tahini Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

Sahara Cuisine no fat, no tahini Black Bean Dip with garlic, lemon & spices

This product is not widely available, but you can order it by the case, and it's not expensive. Ann says you can freeze them. Call the owner, Hassan Kahlid at 216-832-8833.  Or get your health food store to carry them.  Be sure to only order the no-fat, no tahini varieties.

Oasis Classic Cuisine Zero Fat Hummus.  Comes no-fat in original, Mediterranean Medley, Roasted Red Pepper, Shiitake Mushroom only.  I have not tasted these.  Call the manager Evan Lanigan at 419-269-1459 for local locations, or to order a case.

Trader Joe's Mango Salsa

Trader Joe's Pineapple Salsa

Trader Joe's Corn and Chili Tomato-Less Salsa (this isn't on Ann's list, and sugar is the #2 ingredient) but 2 Tbs. on top of a salad is a fantastic spicy sweet ingredient.  I love this mixed into brown rice, black beans, & mango salsa.

Broth

Pacific Organic fat-free vegetable broth LOW SODIUM.  This is the lowest in sodium brand Ann has found at 140 mg/cup.

Trader Joe's Organic Low Sodium vegetable broth--same sodium content as Pacific's 140 mg/cup

Tofu/Seitan

Mori-Nu lite low fat silken tofu

NaSoya Lite Silken Tofu (includes extra firm)

White Wave Seitan (love this stuff--I saute the strips with Ann's recommended Bone-Suckin' Barbecue Sauce & add to salads, stir-fries, and wraps.

Lightlife Organic Seitan

Soy Boy low-fat 5 grain tempeh (my recommendation, not on Ann's list)--I brown with light Tamari & orange juice and use in a variety of dishes.

Polenta

Trader Joe's Organic Polenta  (look for other brands, too!)

Condiments

Muir Glen Catsup

Bone-Suckin' Barbecue Sauce

Low Sodium Tamari

Bragg's Liquid Amino's (get the spray bottle to use instead of salt)

Chips

There are no good chips available any more.  Guiltless Gourmet now adds oil to their brand.

Make your own chips from pita bread, corn, or Ezekiel tortillas, or just use crackers

Sorbet/"Ice Cream"

Sweet Nothing Non-Dairy Fruit-Juice Sweetened Fudge Bar, Mango Raspberry  (I found these at Whole Foods.  Made by Turtle Mountain

Haagen-Dazs Sorbet, raspberry, etc.

Edy's Whole Fruit Sorbet, raspberry, etc.

Dole Sorbet, mango, raspberry, lemon, etc. (not chocolate-it has egg whites)

Trader Joe's Double Rainbow Sorbet, chocolate raspberry, lemon, etc.

My Quick Update

After just under 2 weeks I'm happily surprised to notice that I've lost about 2.5 pounds (most people lose much much more, however)--but this is very unusual for me, because my weight just seems to stay stable, and believe me, I'm eating a lot!

My blood pressure is now consistently in the healthy range, even after weight-lifting.  Before, it was often variable.  I'm assuming this is because I'm eating much less sodium.

Not jumping to any conclusions here, but I'm just not tired at anytime during the day (except yesterday when I only got about 5 hours of sleep)--and I'm not ready for bed until about an hour later than usual.

I'm not feeling the sudden hunger pangs that I felt last week.  I owe that to eating a hearty breakfast, and a giant salad that includes some seitan, soba noodles, or an Ezekiel English muffin.  I makes sure I stay fueled.

Stay Tuned for more updates--and the experiences of some of Dr. Esselstyn's patients.

 

 

 

 

 

Everday Insights by Ordinary People on Happiness & Health

Here's what makes me happy

Reading something that puts into words something that's just plain true.  Something I sort-of-kind-of-knew but had never put into words.  Something that makes life clearer, more understandable for me.  Until you can put a name on something, you can't understand it.


This Week's Wisdom (for me)

Elizabeth Fuller, commenting on The Perfect Gift

What I do know is that challenges aren’t what make me happy.

 My husband and I recently said to each other that our lives seem to have become a series of events to be gotten through.

Even though we enjoy many of the things we’re doing, we’re often so exhausted all we can think of is getting the most pressing projects done and putting them behind us. Finishing something successfully leads to relief rather than joy.

And yet we do have joy in our lives.

I’m not sure of exactly what that happiness depends upon, but I think it has to do with feeling deep down that something is right–--something as simple as our family being at home, engaged in doing different things, but together, joined inextricably in love.



Alex Lickerman, commenting on Want to Be Able to Predict If Someone Will Be Happy in the Future?

When happy people enter a room, it tends to pull everyone up.

When sad, depressed people enter a room, it tends to do the opposite.

In fact, in medical school, we were taught that if we found ourselves as doctors feeling depressed after interviewing a patient, that was a good indication the patient  was depressed!

I often think about the effect of "dueling life-conditions": when two people interact, who's life-condition will have more of an effect?  Will I pull you up or you pull me down? In effect, who at that moment is stronger in their current state?

So I'd say, good advice would be to make a genuinely happy disposition one of your criteria for a mate, but it's far better to focus on strengthening your own life state--to be able to resist the downward pull of others' negativity.

 

Dr. Mary E. Tinetti, a geriatrician at the Yale School of Medicine, on Treating an Illness is One Thing.  What About a Patient With Many?

Very often, there is nobody looking at the big picture or recognizing that what is best for the disease may not be best for the patient.

Fred Powledge, a 74 year old writer with multiple health problems, who takes a dozen pills a day:

But what’s missing is someone who can look at the big picture and see my health as a whole. That falls to me alone, with the help of my very wise wife and frequent visits to reliable Web sites.   As our population ages, we need some kind of overseer to juggle all the diagnoses and prescriptons and look for conflicts and duplications. This would also help to counteract the notion in many people’s minds that the doctor knows best — because often the doctor doesn’t.

For complete article click here.

A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words

69% of us are eating too much sodium.  If you're over 40 the goal is under 1500 mg of sodium a day.  Here's where it's coming from. Best to cook it yourself and eat at home.

 

Source: Mattes, RD, Donnelly, D. Relative contributions of dietary sodium sources. Journal of the American College of Nutrition. 1991 Aug;10(4):383-393