We're sorry, but eCampus.com doesn't work properly without JavaScript.
Either your device does not support JavaScript or you do not have JavaScript enabled.
How to enable JavaScript in your browser.
Need help? Call 1-855-252-4222
What is included with this book?
The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.
The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.
Chapter One
Oz Eats His Words
Redesigning the Way We Eat
we all need to move toward a more mature relationship with food. If we want to be healthy, we need to move away from what I believe is a uniquely American experiment: "dieting by extremes"—that is, eating food cooked only one way (or not cooked at all) or eliminating entire food groups. The goal of the Redesigning 50 eating program is to help you establish a natural, comfortable relationship with food that allows you to eat a great variety of proteins and carbohydrates, cooked in ways that are delicious as well as nutritionally sound.
Ironically, I came to these conclusions about the American diet when I left the country. In other parts of the world, I learned not only about the foods of other countries but also about their mealtime traditions. Specifically, I visited two areas of the world with very different foods on their menus; yet, I also found some striking similarities. Both countries have a noticeable lack of overweight people. Both countries have long-standing and continuing traditions of family mealtimes. And in both countries, meals often consist of many different courses served over a period of two to three hours.
The two countries I visited were Japan and Greece.
Melding Traditions
I spent several weeks in Japan recently and decided that while I was there, I would eat only traditional Japanese foods. Almost all the social occasions and business meetings took place around food. I became enchanted with the Japanese diet not only because of its nutritional content but also because of its beautiful presentation. Even on the subway in Tokyo, you can get a lunchtime Bento box (single-portion takeout meal) with a bit of fish in one compartment, chicken in another, some rice, seaweed, and pickled vegetables. The meal is both filling and aesthetically pleasing. When my hosts took me to a traditional restaurant in Kyoto, our business lunch lasted almost three hours. We were served many courses; each course was small in portion, but rich in flavor and centered on vegetables.
I've also been influenced by the dietary practices of the Mediterranean countries, especially Greece. It's been demonstrated that olive oil, red wine, fish, and vegetables, which are abundant in the Mediterranean diet, are anticarcinogenic and contribute to the long lives of the people of this region. Even though the Mediterranean diet is high in fat (some studies have shown that almost 40 percent of its calories come from fat), it contains mostly monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats—the kinds that are good for your health. Greeks are generally lean and have one of the lowest levels of heart disease in the world. Compare this with the American diet, which is almost 38 percent fat—most of it saturated fats, which contribute substantially to the prevalence of cardiovascular disease in the United States.
In fact, a study published in the British Medical Journal in 2005 looked at 74,000 healthy men and women over the age of sixty in nine European countries, and concluded that people in Greece and Spain (where they most closely follow a Mediterranean diet) had a significantly longer life expectancy than people in other countries.
Defining the Mediterranean Diet
When people refer to the Mediterranean diet, they're actually referring to the traditional diet of the island of Crete prior to 1960. According to a 2001 article by Artemis P. Simopoulos in the Journal of Nutrition, presented at the 11th Annual Research Conference on Diet, Nutrition and Cancer (which was sponsored by the American Institute for Cancer Research), the Mediterranean diet resembles the Paleotech diet in amounts of fiber, antioxidants, saturated fat, monounsaturated fat, and the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids (a ratio of 2 to 1, as opposed to the current American ration of 16.74 to 1). The diet consists of foods rich in omega-3s (salmon, tuna, herring, mackerel, flaxseeds, green leafy vegetables), monounsaturated oils (olive and canola), seven or more servings of fruits and vegetables a day, lean meat, and low-fat dairy products. Simopoulos concluded that the traditional Greek diet, balanced in omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids and rich in vitamins C and E from fruits and vegetables, "is associated with decreased rates of heart disease and cancer more so than any other diet or drug intervention."
Nutrition and Aging
There is one nutritional fact that we, with our Western sensibility, may find hard to swallow: We simply can't eat as much as we used to. When we were kids, we could eat all the time and burn it off easily. In our teens and twenties, when we were active all day and half the night, our energy output was at an all-time high. As we age, however, our metabolism naturally slows down. We have more body fat and less lean muscle. Therefore, we need to consume fewer calories (while following a program of muscle-building exercises, which is discussed in chapter 5). In addition, we must pay more attention to the quality of the foods we consume. A young body can process almost any kind of food, but as we get older our nutrient needs increase while our calorie needs decrease.
Getting the highest nutrient value from the food we eat is important throughout our lives, but it becomes even more important as we age. Eating right can help stave off the diseases prevalent among older people and can help improve the quality of life for those who already have some of these conditions. Many years of research and experience have taught me to appreciate the functional aspects of food—its inherent potential to improve energy; help maintain lean muscle mass; shore up aging immune systems; protect against heart disease, diabetes, and cancer; and enhance the overall quality of life. Now that we are living longer lives, this is more important than ever. I look at my parents and their generation, and I see how their eating habits (traditional Cuban fare with an emphasis on meat, saturated fats, and fried foods) have had a negative impact on their senior years. They did not have the benefit of the science of nutrition we now have at our fingertips.
Excerpted from Redesigning 50: The No-Plastic-Surgery Guide to 21st-Century Age Defiance by Oz Garcia All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
