Grandma at 101.

My wife’s grandmother lived to 103, and the holidays remind me of how she lived. She was not a runner nor did she do a lot of cardio, except for sauce stirring and walks daily to markets and church. Our own Frank Buckles who lived to 110 ate in this manner too, he was a farmer. So enjoy the fresh holiday food but read through the lists below and make some changes for 2013 to help you with your health goals. Walking and running is good for you, but without proper nutrition one will not achieve health. We will host a Mini Med School on the topic of nutrition at City Hospital January 15 at 7pm. Join us for this free public event.

Health and Nutrition Facts.The Unfortunate Truths:

1.Populations that eat Standard American Diet (SAD) get Western diseases (obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and many cancers).

2.Unfortunately we have yet to find a single nutrient as the culprit. Rather it is the entire way of eating processed, added sugars/fats, refined grains, lots of everything but veggies.

3.Cultures eating wide variety of traditional diets do NOT get Western diseases.

4.People who get off the Standard American Diet (SAD) improve their health.

5.Sugar intake from sugar-sweetened beverages alone approaches 15% of the daily caloric intake.

6.Adolescent boys in the US consume an average of 350 calories of sweetened beverages per day.

7.Sugar-sweetened beverages are marketed extensively to children and adolescents.

8.As humans we have evolved to really like sugar. This helped us survive when we had rare times of plenty and many of famine. Think early farmers and hunter/gatherers.

9.By the year 2030 almost half of the US population will be obese if we continue current trends.

But Healthy Eating is Simple. Michael Pollan’s Food Rules: “Eat Food, Not Too Much, Mostly Plants”

1. Eat food

2. Don’t eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food

3. Avoid food products containing ingredients that no ordinary human would keep in the pantry

4. Avoid food products that contain high-fructose corn syrup

5. Avoid food products that have some form of sugar (or sweetener listed among) the top three ingredients

6. Avoid food products that have more than 5 ingredients

7. Avoid food products containing ingredients that a third-grader cannot pronounce

8. Avoid food products that make health claims

9. Avoid food products with the word “lite” or the terms “low fat” or “nonfat” in their names

10. Avoid foods that are pretending to be something they are not (i.e. margarine, mock meats)

11. Avoid foods you see advertised on television

12. Shop the peripheries of the supermarket and stay out of the middle

13. Eat only foods that will eventually rot

14. Eat foods made from ingredients that you can picture in their raw state or growing in nature

15. Get out of the supermarket whenever you can

16. Buy your snacks at the farmers market

17. Eat only foods that have been cooked by humans

18. Don’t ingest foods made in places where everyone is required to wear a surgical cap

19. If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don’t.

20. It’s not food if it arrived through the window of your car

21. It’s not food if it’s called by the same name in every language (Think Big Mac, Cheetos or Pringles)

22. Eat mostly plants, especially leaves

23. Treat meat as a flavoring or special occasion food (average American eats more than half pound a day)

24. Eating what stands on one leg [mushrooms and plant foods] is better than eating what stands on two legs [fowl], which is better than eating what stands on four legs [cows, pigs and other mammals].

25. Eat your colors

26. Drink the spinach water- save for soups/sauces

27. Eat animals that have themselves eaten well

28. If you have space, buy a freezer

29. Eat like an omnivore

30. Eat well-grown food from healthy soil

31. Eat wild foods when you can

32. Don’t overlook the oily little fishes

33. Eat some foods that have been predigested by bacterial or fungi (i.e. yogurt, kimchi, sourdough)

34. Sweeten and salt your food yourself

35. Eat sweet foods as you find them in nature (i.e. eat fruit vs. juice). Humans one of few mammals who get calories from liquids after weaning.

36. Don’t eat breakfast cereals that change the color of the milk

37. The whiter the bread, the sooner you’ll be dead

38. Favor the kinds of oils and grains that have traditionally been stone-ground

39. Eat junk food as long as you cook it yourself. Enjoy treats as you are willing to prepare them.

40. Be the kind of person who takes supplements then skip the supplements (healthy folks)

41. Eat more like the French. Or the Japanese. Or the Italians. Or the Greeks.

42. Regard nontraditional foods with skepticism

43. Have a glass of wine with dinner

44. Pay more, eat less

45. Eat less (think stop when you are not hungry vs stop when full)

46. Stop eating before you’re full (Japanese ha hachi bu- stop when 80% full)

47. Eat when you are hungry, not when you are bored

48. Consult your gut..are you hungry enough to eat an apple?

49. Eat slowly

50. The banquet is in the first bite

51. Spend as much time enjoying the meal as it took to prepare it

52. Buy smaller plates and glasses

53. Serve a proper portion and don’t go back for seconds

54. Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, dinner like pauper

55. Eat meals (in US 1/5 of eating occurs in the car)

56. Limit your snacks to unprocessed plant foods

57. Don’t get your fuel from the same place your car does

58. Do all your eating at a table

59. Try not to eat alone

60. Treat treats as treats

61. Leave something on your plate

62. Plant a vegetable garden if you have space, a window box if you don’t

63. Cook

64. Break the rules once in a while!

Some Resources for Fun and Education:

Dr. Mark’s Upgrade Your Diet www.shepherdstownchronicle.com> opinions >columns > revolution running

Details on sugary drinks fewersugarydrinks.org/

Recipes for Health NY Times topics.nytimes.com/top/news/health/series/recipes_for_health/index.html

The ultimate source for what’s in foods (go here if you dare) www.calorieking.com/foods

The Skinny on Obesity. A must view for every human http://www.uctv.tv/skinny-on-obesity/

Weight of the Nation on HBO- 4 hours of documentary free on line. theweightofthenation.hbo.com/

Dr. Dan Lieberman- www.nytimes.com/2012/06/06/opinion/evolutions-sweet-tooth.html

Books: In Defense of Food and Food Rules by Michael Pollan; Why We Get Fat and What to do About It and Good Calories , Bad Calories by Gary Taubs

Movies: Forks over Knives; Food Inc; Super Size Me; Sick, Fat, and Nearly Dead