1. Fats are bad for us. - Even at that time when I felt I was giving best medical advice to my patient (“Cut down on fat”), I myself never was really able to cut out fats much. I get so incredibly hungry without! But I am still at the weight I had at age twelve … and have slowly come to the conclusion that I probably gave bad advice to my patients. (Sorry!). What I advise now: Olive oil for salads, coconut oil for frying, occasionally a bit of European-style cultured butter (very occasionally!).
2. Exercise hard. – The Centenarian Study has shown that people who live to a ripe old age usually are not strong on exercise. They have friends, putter around house and garden and live for a worthwhile cause. Plus they have good genes. – I am not saying don’t exercise – but like everything else: Do it in moderation! – A minute here and there on your yoga ball, daily, will give you better health than the gym once a week (my guess – no studies done).
3. Eat a snack before you go to bed. – Diabetics are taught this, and usually crackers and milk are recommended, both of which I think are really bad ideas. That dairy is unhealthy I have said before; crackers are nothing else than cardboard “food” – devoid of any nutritional value.
4. Snacks, in general. – Bad idea. Few people fare well on the “more meals but smaller meals” advice. Most people do “more meals and more and more calories.” I never snack – and I never try my own food when I am cooking – I just smell out if more salt is needed. And healthy snacks like celery sticks without the dip? They really make me hungry. - Forget snacks! Think of something more important!
5. Oh, and carrying water with you wherever you go. – Don’t! We got two hands to do really interesting stuff with them like fixing a car or playing the cello – NOT for lugging a water bottle or a coffee pot around. You don’t have to drink in the middle of your exercise or yoga class – before and after is plenty. Except if you are crossing a desert, don’t be seen with a bottle/cup in your hand. And drinks with calories in them? Also a no-no: Water and teas are all what is needed. Because drinks with calories are not drinks – they are meals.
6. Take a Tylenol or an Aspirin for fever. – Now, the body makes a fever to kill the germs that invaded you. It’s usually not a good idea to interfere with your body’s action. Go to bed early, drink hot herbal teas and sleep it out is usually the better response to a beginning cold.
7. Take a painkiller against pain. - If a simple Tylenol, etc. will do the trick, the pain is probably not so bad that you cannot tough it out (which is easier on your body – all the pain medications have unwanted side effects). Also: Better think why you got the pain in the first place: Hangover? Too much sun? Too much computer? Too little movement? Bad posture? Too little sleep?
To be continued, I guess. Read More
Blog: On Health. On Writing. On Life. On Everything.
Fats Are Bad – And a Few Other Medical Myths I Am Not Sure I Still Believe In
September 7, 2010
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Freshness
July 16, 2010
We cannot eat perfectly healthy every single time we sit down to dine. But we should at least have an idea what the ideal of a meal can be.
Surrounded by friends and family, and outdoors – if possible. Even the tiniest of balconies will do; or an open window. A tablecloth would look lovely; at least a few matching plate mats, and always my best china. For whom would I keep it? My children will inherit what is not broken.
Ah, what for food? The answer is easy: vegetables. Tonight, at my home, it will be fennel – probably sautéed with onions, garlic and olive oil. And a baby cabbage, which I will steam whole with caraway. We will finish a leftover from yesterday (beet greens, cauliflower, young zucchini and green garlic). So, technically, we will have three veggies on the table – and I haven’t even mentioned meat or fish (I might do bratwurst today, in coconut oil – we still have some frozen from our May garden party, and we had fish or vegetarian for several days in a row. Served with chana dal (an Indian small garbanzo; they look like split peas, only yellow. One takes a cup of chana dal to two cups of water, brings it to a fast boil with a pinch of salt, and then simmers with a lid until all water is gone. The problem with chana dal (as with split green peas and most grains) is that they need skimming off some froth early on so that they don’t boil over.
For desert I will quick-cook rhubarb with a bit of sugar. Rhubarb is one of the few things that absolutely can’t go without sugar.
If freshness is the standard, then this is what we eat tonight: The warmed-up vegetables came from a friend’s garden– they were tender and delicious. The fennel is organic, from the supermarket; so is the cabbage. The cabbage and the rhubarb are local, the fennel came from far away. The bratwurst is organic.
Yesterday, with the fish, we had some green sauce – from the freezer. I usually make a batch for guests, and freeze the rest. I never use a microwave (not even for thawing) or use ready-made gravy or dressings, but I am not above freezing leftovers. Here is the Green Sauce recipe (you need a strong kitchen machine – a blender will not do):
Chop five cloves of garlic, a small onion and a handful of baby carrots. Add all the herbs you can put your hands on, one by one, and chop. Basil is a staple – and so are parsley, dill and cilantro. A few snippets of sage, chives, rosemary and thyme give fragrance. Add olive oil, a dab of salt and pepper. If it tastes boring (sometimes it does…), add a few teaspoons of mustard. Chop until fairly smooth. Chill and serve to fish and/or vegetables. Freeze leftover in portions.
If you live in the countryside (or if you have friends who bring you their produce) count your blessings. Otherwise make do with what you find in your supermarket. Organic is desired – but better a conventional vegetable than no vegetable at all! Local is super – but can’t always be had. I never go to the store with a recipe to follow: Number one, I am bad in following rules; number two, I go for what is fresh and what is cheap. I throw together what I think will work (olive oil and garlic rescue many of my dishes).
Brown rice or legumes (beans, peas, lentils, garbanzos) are dry. But vegetables should not be old or store-bought frozen or canned. Go for fresh, and strew on a few fresh or dried herbs. Here I say “dried” because fresh herbs can be very expansive – better dried herbs than no herbs.
No complicated cooking – just fresh produce. Enjoy! Read More
Natural Skin Care
April 28, 2010
Save a lot of bucks, do the Earth a favor and come out beautiful!
Never in my life have I used make-up (okay, okay, once as a teenager!) and it shows at sixty five (disclosure: The picture I am using here is two years old and flattering).
Good genes help, of course. Other than that – here is what I did and what you can do. Or, in skin care, what you DON'T do seems to count the most:
• No smoking. Smoking is the worst wrinkle-maker in the world (confirmed by studies).
• Cold water: Whenever you wash you hands, splash you face with, especially if you tend oily skin. Cold water acts like a mini instant face mask.
• No soap. Unless you are a miner or auto mechanic, soap has no place in your face. And if you have to use something, use a pH-adjusted detergent. But for normal people: Absolutely no soap! Americans, on average, must be taking a shower every day or every other day. How dirty can you be? Let warm (not hot in your face!) water gently run over your face (and end each warm shower with a cold one!).
• In the shower, use your shampoo gently for your armpits and private parts. Rinse well! Again: soap is too harsh for delicate areas.
• No make-up, no moisturizer, no cold cream, no lotions – no nothing. Beauty can't be bought.
• Use olive oil or virgin coconut oil for your skin – find out which suits your skin type better. But only if you need them – don’t clog the pores with perfectly good skin with anything. I started using oil around my eyes in my fifties, not earlier. If you have very dry skin, start earlier. But don’t slobber it all over. If your cheeks and chin are fine, keep to eyes and neck.
And here is the biggest beauty secret of them all: Skin beauty comes from inside. It depends on what you eat: good oils (again olive oil and coconut oil; I take my cosmetics directly from the kitchen…) and heaps of vegetables. Leave out sugars, sweeteners, fried foods, an excess of meats (poultry is also meat!), trans fats, bad cooking oils and dairy. Eat more fish than meat - preferably small fish as they are less polluted.
If you want to do something special, take some good fish oil capsules (if you burp back fish, they aren’t so good!).
Get a good night's sleep before midnight! Make sure you are not getting sleeping folds by placing pillows to support you.
And: Smile! Friendliness and compassion show in your face - latest after thirty! Read More
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