The Green Buddha

The Green Buddha from oomphTV on Vimeo.

“Quality” Carbs: It’s Not Just About Your Six-Pack!

It seems as though every week we learn something new about the real power of nutrition. Recently, Agricultural Research Service (ARS) funded scientists at the Laboratory for Nutrition and Vision Research and found some interesting information.
Age related macular degeneration (AMD) and the vision loss associated with it may be connected to the “quality” of carbohydrates.

One study showed that a regular consumption of a “slow carb” ( low glycemic index) diet provided a protective effect against macular degeneration. A food’s glycemic index is an indicator of how fast the carbohydrate it contains will spike blood sugar levels.

So how do you keep your glycemic index in check? To learn more about which carbs produce only small fluctuations in our blood glucose and insulin levels, check out http://www.glycemicindex.com/ and follow their recommendations:

1. Pile half your dinner plate high with vegetables or salad
Aim to eat at least five serves of vegetables (this doesn’t include the starchy ones like potatoes, sweet potatoes or sweet corn) every day, and aim for foods with a variety of of colors.

2. Cut back on most potatoes
If you are a big potato eater and can’t bear the thought of giving them up, you don’t have to. Just cut back on the quantity. Don’t be afraid of trying other starchy vegetables like sweet potato, yams or taro, steamed, roasted or mashed.

3. Swap your bread
Choose a really grainy bread where you can actually see the grains, granary bread, stoneground wholemeal bread, real sourdough bread, soy and linseed bread, pumpernickel, fruit loaf or bread made from chickpea or other legume based flours.

4. Replace those high GI crunchy breakfast flakes
These refined breakfast cereals spike your blood glucose and insulin levels. Replace them with smart carbs like natural muesli or traditional (not instant) porridge oats or one of the lower GI processed breakfast cereals that will trickle fuel into your engine.

5. Make your starchy staples the low GI ones
Look for the low GI rice’s, serve your pasta al dente, choose less processed foods such as large flake or rolled oats for porridge or muesli and intact grains such as barley, buckwheat, bulgur, quinoa, whole kernel rye, or whole wheat kernels and opt for lower GI starchy vegetables.

6. Learn to love legumes!
Include legumes like beans, lentils and chickpeas in your meals two or three times a week, more often if you are vegetarian. Add chickpeas to a stir fry, red kidney beans to a chili, a bean salad to that barbecue menu, and beans or lentils to a casserole or soup.

7. Develop the art of combining
No need to cut out all high GI carbs. The trick is to combine them with those low GI tricklers to achieve a moderate overall GI. How? Lentils with rice (think of that delicious classic Italian soup), rice with beans and chili, tabbouli tucked into pita bread (with falafels and a dash of hummus), baked beans on toast or piled on a jacket-baked potato for classic comfort food.

8. Incorporate a lean protein source with every meal
Eat lean meat, skinless chicken, fish and seafood, eggs, milk, yoghurt or cheese, or legumes and tofu if you are vegetarian. The protein portion should make up around a quarter of the plate/meal.

9. Tickle your taste buds
Try vinaigrette (using vinegar or lemon juice with a dash of extra virgin olive oil) with salads, yogurt with cereal, lemon juice on vegetables like asparagus, or sourdough bread. These foods contain acids, which slow stomach emptying and lower your blood glucose response to the carbs in the meal.

10. Go low GI when snacking

If it is healthful and low GI, keep it handy. Grab fresh fruit, dried fruit, or fruit and nut mix, low fat milk and yogurt (or soy alternatives), fruit bread etc for snacks. Limit (this means don’t buy them every week) high GI refined flour products whether home baked or from the supermarket such as cookies, cakes, pastries, crumpets, crackers, biscuits, irrespective of their fat and sugar content. These really are the ‘keep for the occasional treat’ foods.

Keep your eye on the serving size. Remember portion caution with carb rich foods such as rice, al dente pasta and noodles, potatoes etc. Eating a huge amount of these foods, even of the low GI variety, will have a marked effect on your blood glucose. A cup of cooked noodles or al dente pasta or rice plus plenty of mixed non starchy vegetables and a little lean protein can turn into 3 cups of a very satisfying meal.

Most of all, recognize that protective nutrients are in each and every meal that you eat, and we all my have the power to stave off certain age related conditions.

Fit and Fun?

Fitness for life is something many of us would like to think that we have, but how do we measure our own success? If I can run a 5K without experiencing cardiac arrest, does it mean that I’m ‘fit’? Or if I’ve moved on to the advanced yoga class, will this classify me as ‘fit’? Just how do I rank amongst others my age and just what should fitness measure?

To answer these questions, I’ve decided to take the plunge and take the President’s Fitness Challenge Program. As you may remember from Junior High days, The President’ Council of Physical Fitness and Sports focused on youth fitness, seemingly trying to motivate kids towards healthy fitness levels. I remember these tests as being nothing but humiliating, confirming that “jocks” were indeed jocks, and that the non-athletes (me) should just give it up. I shared the same amount of love for physical fitness tests as my love for my starched gym uniform. None.

Fast forward a few years (okay, more than a few) and here I am wondering if my own fitness levels are up to federal standards. Fortunately, the President’s Council has created the first-ever Adult Fitness Test. “What began as a national youth fitness test has grown up. Today, the President’s Challenge takes staying active beyond the school gym and into everyday life.”

The Adult Fitness Test is actually a series of four tests that give one a general measure of fitness in four health related areas: aerobic capacity, muscular strength and endurance, flexibility, and body composition. First, you need to find out if you are healthy enough for testing, easily accomplished via a screening questionnaire. Second, it is recommended that adults find a partner to help collect and record the results for each challenge.

Fortunately, you don’t need to perform the challenges in any particular order or even on the same day. Once you’ve finished, you can record your results online and even get suggestions of ways to improve fitness in that particular area. Each test includes a “FITT” box which recommends Frequency (F), Intensity (I), TIme (T) and Type of exercise (T). Put the four together (FITT) and you get specific ways to improve your level of fitness. You can also compare your results to others and follow your own progress. And no starchy uniforms! What’s not to like?

This June, I’m off to visit www.adultfitnesstest.org and I’m inviting others to join in. Be sure to let us know what you think of the test after completion. Not a bad way to start the summer, eh?

Pets Can be Good for Your Health

By Michael Thomas Masters

In the film, Paulie (United States,1998), an intelligent and talking pet parrot (voiced by actor Jay Mohr) befriends a little girl who stutters and assists an aging and blind widow, enriching their lonely lives.  Bim, a brave and caring pet dog, in White Bim, Black Ear (Russia, 1978), fearlessly assists his human owner, even bringing the man great joy while he’s ill in a town hospital.

Of course, these are fictitious stories and films, which illustrate the emotional and healthy bonds between pets and humans.

Nonetheless, cats, dogs, birds, or any other pet, can make humans happier and healthier.   In fact, pets definitely provide special oomph to our lives!

By no means should we underestimate the power of love and devotion between pet owners and their pets, especially in regards to the positive influence that pets offer to the good mental and physical health of their humans.  Pets are genuine companions. They sense when their owners do not feel well or are unhappy.  Animals keenly feel when their humans need comfort.

For instance, a guide dog makes a blind person feel happier, since this very special kind of canine will help a sight impaired human to be more mobile to go wherever they desire, building their self confidence, spirit and positive state of mind.

While living and working in New York City, several years ago, I visited with my friend George, who is a blind actor, and his wonderful black lab guide dog, Royal.  I was impressed by Royal’s ease and comfort as she walked along the busy sidewalks of downtown Manhattan while assisting George, as well as when she sat quietly in a restaurant during dinner.

As a loyal companion and canine family member, George credited Royal in helping him through personal challenges, often by Royal just being there with her unconditional love.

Sometimes, the seemingly smallest acts of affection from pets, like when a pet curls up at the end of one’s bed, can make humans feel happier, stronger and more secure, thus creating a healthier person.  An affectionate lick from a dog, the purring from a loyal cat seated in ones lap or the lovely singing from a bird, can do wonders for our spirits and hearts.

My friend Carolyn’s husband, Bob, had heart surgery in Oregon a few years back.  Bob was feeling mighty tired, depressed and lonely after the operation.  After two adorable and inquisitive kittens, Jacques and Jill, entered their lives, Bob’s attitude and energy noticeably changed for the better. The playful kitties licked, purred and showered him with attention and love.  They made Bob forget his troubles and worries, as he grew healthier following his surgery.

It is also common knowledge that pets and animals can improve the mental and physical well being of elderly humans, especially when living alone.

In addition to becoming a valued and beloved friend, pets can become an elderly person’s lifeline.  Pets can provide valuable assistance to injured and aged humans.  In fact, pets have often saved their owners lives (of any age) by securing help for their injured or ill humans.

Of course, be aware of the size of your home, your financial situation and the size and type of the pet being considered, before welcoming any pet(s) into your home.

It is wonderful when affection, trust and devotion is shared between pets and humans, making them each happier and healthier creatures.

Michael Thomas Masters is originally from New Jersey. He is a published author, public speaker and arts administrative who presently resides in Iowa. His e-mail address: filmguy552003@yahoo.com

Bionic Nation?

The statistics made me pause. Then shudder. According to the Center for Disease Control, arthritis is the leading cause of disability in the country, limiting the daily activities of roughly 20 million people and costing more than $80 billion (yes, billion) annually. Osteoarthritis currently afflicts roughly 46 million Americans, and that number is projected to grow to 67 million within a few decades. And get this: The American Academy of Orthopoedic Surgeons predict that the number of first-time total knee replacements is predicted to increase by 673 percent within this same period. 673 percent?

Given the enormity of this disease, all of us need to get up to speed about osteoarthritis. To begin with, what is it?

OA is a major debilitating disease causing gradual loss of cartilage, primarily affecting the knees, hips, hands, feet and spine. If you think that you are not a potential victim because you exercise regularly, stretch, and keep an active lifestyle, you should still be concerned, because here is the rub: While vigorous exercise is essential to every aspect of healthy and successful aging, our joints seem to be rebelling in unison. While some say that repetitive stress associated with certain types of exercise is what wears out our hips and knees, others say that exercise or repetitive activity alone does not cause arthritis in the joint. They add that genetic factors along with added weight and/or the result of a previous injury in which the cartilage is damaged is what promotes arthritis.

So what’s a person to do? Can osteoarthritis really be prevented?

The Arthritis Foundation makes the following recommendations to protect joints and prevent osteoarthritis:

Maintain your ideal body weight. Excess weight puts stress on your joints, especially your hips, knees, back, and feet.

Move. Exercise strengthens muscles around joints, this can help prevent wear and tear on cartilage in a joint.

Maintain good posture. Good posture protects your joints from excessive pressure, especially your neck, back, hips, and knees.

Do a variety of physical activity. Alternate periods of heavy activity with periods of rest. For example, if you do weight training one day, do aerobic exercise the next day. Repetitive stress on joints for long periods of time can cause the excessive wear and tear that can lead to osteoarthritis.

Pay attention to pain. If you have joint pain, don’t ignore it. Pain after activity or exercise can be an indication you have overstressed your joints and that they need to rest.

Forget the weekend warrior. Start new activities slowly and safely until you know how your body will react to them. This will reduce the chance of injury.

Avoid injury to joints. Wear proper safety equipment. Don’t leave helmets and wrist pads at home. Make sure your safety gear is comfortable and fits.

Stay tuned, aging athletes. The sad and brutal fact is that cartilage simply doesn’t grow back!

Next Page »