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 TROMPE L'OEIL PORTION CONTROL
Low-ball Contents with
Highball Glasses
"Seeing through a glass darkly" has
always implied that occluded vision is an intrinsic part of the
human condition. Fine. Let's leverage our ocular imperfections to
our advantage in the ongoing crusade against fat.
Try
tricking your eyes by pouring your drinks into long, narrow glasses.
Apparently taller, slimmer beverage glasses fooled folks into
thinking they were drinking more -- when they were actually
consuming less. In one study conducted by the Marketing Science
Institute in Cambridge, Mass., adult and child subjects were asked
to pour drinks into either tall, thin glasses, or short, squat ones
-- then estimate the liquid contents.
Amazingly, adults
poured themselves almost 20% more -- and kids poured almost 75% more
-- when using a tumbler as opposed to a tall glass, yet both adults
and kids underestimated the contents of the former, and
overestimated those of the latter.
You can see how that might
happen since double old-fashioned glasses and highball glasses both
hold 12 ounces, even though the latter seems to hold so much more.
So try pouring your next drink into a tall, skinny glass -- it may
help you look that way too!
HEAVY-HANDED HEALTH RISK
How Excess Weight Can
Damage Your Digits
It seems no part of the body is
immune to the many serious damaging effects of excess weight. If
you've been using those lovely hands of yours to stuff your face,
they may end up bearing the consequences in the form of unsightly,
oversized knuckles caused by a joint-deforming condition called
osteoarthritis.
French researchers have linked the joint
distortion to a hormone released by fat cells called leptin. They
found that the higher the body mass index, the higher the
concentration of leptin in the joints.
Get a handle on your
weight by reaching for high fiber, low-calorie fruits and vegetables
to keep hunger at bay. Your hands will applaud the result.
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 JUST 12% GET 5-A-DAY
More Than Half of Kids Won't
Eat Fruit Today
National 5-A-Day Month opened this
September with discouraging news. After years of public service
campaigns aimed at getting Americans to eat more fruits and
vegetables, more than 85% of consumers still don't eat the
recommended five daily servings, according to a new national AC
Nielsen poll commissioned by the Produce for Better Health
Foundation. Other results of the survey: 3% claim to eat no produce
at all, and 20% think just one or two servings is enough.
The
report that so few are meeting the bare minimum of five servings
comes at a time when the U.S. government is expected to announce
revised dietary guidelines early next year, raising the
recommendation to 13. While it's hoped that raising the number will
encourage greater consumption, when it comes to improving the
nutrition of the next generation, what matters most is how you raise
your kids.
Every day, research is uncovering new health
benefits to fruits and vegetables that are uniquely essential in the
body's formative years. Here are five reasons to make 5-A-Day part
of your children's diet every day:
1) Fight Future Cancer
Risk: Give your kids a head start on remaining cancer-free with
a diet rich in disease-fighting phytochemicals found in fruits and
vegetables.
2) Combat Obesity: Consistent research
shows high fruit and vegetable consumption correlates with lower
childhood body mass indices (or BMIs).
3) Keep Bones
Fracture-Free: Osteoporosis isn't confined to the elderly. In
one study, 67% of kids who experienced frequent fractures already
had the disease. Folic acid, the B vitamin found in many fruits and
vegetables, can cut fracture risk.
4) Reduce
Hyperactivity: Unlike highly refined sugar and carb snacks,
fruit's high fiber content slows absorption, avoiding the glucose
roller coaster that plays a role in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity
Disorder.
5) Lower Blood Pressure: Youngsters' blood
pressure levels are on the rise. Among the reasons: 75% of kids get
too little potassium while most get too much salt. Bananas,
cantaloupe and raisins are all good sources of potassium.
For
ways to make eating 5-a-day easy, try visiting the Dole
5-A-Day site.
SAY "NYET" TO WET
How to Avoid a Common
Contamination Risk
Sorry Steve Miller, not
everything's better when wet. Restaurant plates that are stacked
before being completely dried (known as "wet-nesting") can provide a
breeding ground for bacteria and infectious organisms like
salmonella. According to the Journal of the American Dietetic
Association, an increase in meals eaten away from home has
contributed to a rise in reported cases of food borne illnesses over
the past two decades. High employee turnover and unskilled labor can
make it harder to wipe out high-risk practices like
wet-nesting.
You can't be privy to all that goes on behind
the scenes, but you can make sure to keep your own "nest" dry at
home by waiting before stacking, and when out: send wet plates back
to the kitchen, or bring them to the establishment's attention if
you find them at a buffet.
GIVE A FIG ABOUT YOUR HEALTH
Celebrate National Fig
Week Sept. 1 to 7
Figs are the kind of fruit you'd
expect to find dripping like jewels from the trees of a mythical
paradise like Shangri-La. Amethyst outside, with flesh that looks
like the cavity of a rose-quartz geode, these early autumn fruits
also contain a treasure trove of nutritional benefits.
Figs
have one of the highest fiber contents of most common fruits and
vegetables, with just one serving (3 each, fresh or dried)
containing a fifth of your daily fiber needs. What's more, the fig
contains both types of fiber, water-soluble and insoluble, which act
differently in the body. Water-soluble fiber helps lower
cholesterol, while slowing both the rate at which food leaves the
stomach as well as the rate at which sugar is absorbed into the
bloodstream, keeping you full longer. Insoluble fiber acts to
promote regularity and prevent constipation.
That same
serving of figs also contains some iron, calcium and potassium, as
well as one of the highest quantities of polyphenol antioxidants,
which help combat the negative effects of aging and lower cancer
risk by acting as a bulwark against free radical damage. Fiber,
anti-aging phenols, heavenly sweetness in a luscious-looking
package, all for a mere 110 calories a serving.
We suggest
you try Marie Oser's healthy and delicious Ginger Fig Ring, or check
out these California Fig Ideas A-Z.
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 IN SICKNESS AND IN HEALTH
Is Getting Married Good
for You?
It must be some kind of connubial
conspiracy: all of a sudden everyone around me is getting married.
My friend Ruth. My colleague, Carly. Tabloids announcing celebrity
marriages assail me at the checkout aisle. Wilted celebs like Tori
Spelling and Dennis Quaid join would-be ones like Nikki Hilton in
the march to the altar. Add to this wave of weddings the many
same-sex ceremonies that have lately caused so much controversy
across the land.
But September is not Marriage Madness Month.
It's actually Marriage Health Month, sponsored by the ... ha, ha,
ha. Sorry. Sponsored by the, ahem, Monogamous Male Association,
which, if it was not an oxymoronic spoof to start with has become
one since, as the group -- like its eponymous members -- seems to
have vanished from the face of the World Wide Web. Maybe it has
folded for lack of membership dues.
Be that as it may, the
superfluity of weddings has me wondering: Is getting married good
for your health? The research I've seen suggests a mixed verdict,
though married men do seem to have an edge over their single peers.
Even if a married man drinks and smokes he is still likely to
outlive a clean-living bachelor according to statistics. Single men
are less likely to visit a doctor, make less money, and are more
prone to suicide. The health advantage for married women is there,
though less pronounced.
Marriage Rx
Whence the
protective benefit? Perhaps marriage discourages risky/unhealthy
behavior while encouraging social integration. A spouse makes it
more likely you'll receive adequate care in times of illness or
during an emergency.
Post-Wedding Weight
Gain
On the other hand, the early years of wedlock are
associated with significant weight gain -- 6 to 8 pounds in the
first two years, according to a study in Obesity Research.
Another study found women gained an average of 24.7 pounds over 13
years of marriage, while men typically gain 19.4 pounds.
The
conventional wisdom about post-wedding weight gain was recently
challenged by research coming out of the U.K. which found that
married women were more likely to be on a diet than singletons. It's
not clear to me why this statistic would contradict rather than
confirm earlier findings: It's possible that more matrons than maids
diet precisely because they're trying to cope with the excess weight
they didn't have to worry about before.
Why should getting
married be so fattening? Yale professor David Katz has one theory
with regard to new wives. He attributes the phenomenon to the "I've
got him, so I don't have to work so hard" mentality. What a
chauvinist. It seems to me that there are too many other factors in
play -- less time to exercise, decreasing metabolism with age, more
food in the house, cooking for the family -- to blame mere
matrimonial complacency alone.
One factor could lie between
the sheets. We know, for example, that not getting enough sleep is a
big time diet saboteur. Not only does it sap your energy when it
comes to exercise, sleep loss affects appetite and fat-regulating
hormones in a way that makes it easier to gain weight. Sleeping solo
makes it more likely, not less, that you'll get all the zzz's you
need: Nearly half of those who have a sleep partner report losing at
least three hours of shut-eye a week due to a tossing, turning,
snoring partner.
You're Half the Man I
Married
Even if we accept that getting married makes it
more likely you'll gain weight, the effects of obesity on marital
satisfaction are, once again, mixed. While obese men are less happy
than normal-weight men with their marriages, obese wives are happier
with their marriages than normal-weight wives, according to one
Cornell University study.
Losing weight, too, can have
unexpected effects on the state of your union. This summer saw a
spate of news accounts of how divorce had become a side effect of gastric bypass
surgery. It's thought that drastic weight loss might shift the
dynamics of a long-term relationship.
Low-Carb Birth
Control
Regular readers of the Dole Nutrition News
are well familiar with the health risks of low-carb diets, but
as a Wall Street Journal article on "The Atkins Spousal
Syndrome" pointed out, such regimes "are having an unintended, and
often unpleasant, impact on people who live with a dieter but who
aren't dieting themselves. The problems range from rising blood
pressure to halitosis, a common side effect of low-carb
diets."
"It's kind of like secondhand smoke," observed Amy
Lanou of Physicians for Responsible Medicine. One weary wife married
to a low-carb dieter said, "This diet is the best form of birth
control."
As many disillusioned low-carb dieters come to
realize, there's no metabolic "short cut" to long-term weight loss.
Indeed, the common keys to successful dieting aren't all that
different than those required in keeping a marriage together. It
takes accountability, commitment and continual effort.
While
you've vowed to support each other "in sickness and in health,"
supporting each other in better health habits will minimize the
former and make the most of the latter. For example, couples who
embark upon a health and fitness program together are more
likely to stay with it than singles, according to the Journal of
Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness. Walking down the aisle can
and should be the warm-up to a longer, more fulfilling, life, as
long as you use your union to encourage healthy behaviors, rather
than enable unhealthy ones.
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Ginger Fig Ring
by Marie Oser
16
Servings
This fragrant cake is moist and delicious, with
luscious chopped figs and walnuts in every bite. Serve sprinkled
with organic powdered sugar and sliced fresh
strawberries.
2/3 cup enriched soymilk
1 Tbsp. lemon
juice
3 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup soy flour
1/4
cup yellow cornmeal
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. non-aluminum
baking powder
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1
tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground allspice
1 cup chopped
dried figs
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 (12.3 oz.) pkg. lite
silken tofu
1/2 cup prune puree
1 3/4 cups evaporated cane
juice
1 Tbsp. pure vanilla extract
1 Tbsp. Ginger
Brandy
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray tube pan with oil.
Combine the soymilk and lemon juice in a non-reactive liquid
measuring cup and set aside. In a large bowl combine the pastry
flour with the soy flour, corn meal, baking soda and baking powder,
salt, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, chopped figs and walnuts. Set
aside. Place the tofu in food processor and blend. Add prune puree;
blend and add the sugar and remaining ingredients. Process, and
while motor is running, pour soymilk mixture through feed tube. Make
a well in the dry ingredients and fold in the tofu mixture quickly,
just until mixed. Pour into prepared pan and bake 50 minutes or
until tester comes out clean.
Enlightened Ginger Fig
Ring
Nutrition Analysis: per 3 1/2 oz. serving:
Protein: 7
g
Carb: 45 g
Fiber: 4 g
Fat: 3 g
Chol: 0.0
mg
Calcium: 62 mg
Sodium: 199 mg
Calories: 232 (from
Protein: 11%, from Carbohydrate: 76%, from Fat:
12%)
Traditional Ginger Fig Ring
Nutrition
Analysis: per 3 1/2 oz. serving:
Protein: 6 g
Carb: 49
g
Fiber: 2 g
Fat: 13 g
Chol: 59 mg
Calcium:
57mg
Sodium: 265 mg
Calories: 332 (from Protein: 7%, from
Carbohydrate: 58%, from Fat: 34%)
SIDEBAR: Ginger Brandy is
used in several recipes in this collection and in some cases other
flavors of brandy can be substituted. In this recipe, however,
Ginger Brandy adds a special dimension and is much
preferred.
More Soy Cooking, John Wiley & Sons,
Inc. ©Marie Oser 2000
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Papaya Peel
Research comparing 40 different
fruits for the recommended daily intake percentage of nine vitamins
plus potassium and fiber rated papayas first. Papayas also rank
first among fruit in terms of its content of vitamin C, an
antioxidant essential for the maintenance of collagen, which is
responsible for your skin's youthful resiliency. Those two facts
alone make papaya a beauty food nonpareil. But it also contains an
enzyme that makes it an excellent ingredient in this rejuvenating
facemask.
Ingredients:
1/2 papaya -- can be unripe
1/4
cup sparkling or tap water
1/2 tsp. baking
soda
Directions:
Peel papaya, cut into cubes, place in
blender, puree well, add baking soda and water. Apply sparingly to
skin and remove immediately if stinging or burning occurs. Leave on
no longer than 2 minutes. Rinse face thoroughly to minimize
overexposure to exfoliating enzymes. Pat dry. Follow with green tea
toner and your favorite moisturizer.
Papain is a peptidase
enzyme that works to break down dead, proteinaceous matter, which on
your face consists of the outer layer of dead skin cells that may be
clogging your pores and dulling your complexion. Just because this
exfoliating mask is packaged by Mother Nature rather than in some
cosmetics lab doesn't mean it won't do the job -- in fact, it's so
effective that those with dry, sensitive skin might want to avoid
it. Keep in mind: The riper the fruit, the higher the papain
content, so if you're using extremely ripe fruit you may want to
compensate by using a bit more baking soda, which helps to
neutralize the acidity. Make sure to leave on your face no more than
a minute or two, and remove immediately if any stinging occurs.
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