In the news

Revamping our dietary patterns

                It’s painfully clear that the Standard American Diet (SAD) is killing us by the millions and crippling us with conditions such as osteoporosis. Whatever your feelings are about the current administration, they are clearly on the right track to encourage Americans to begin eating normal food. The new food pyramid is not perfect but it’s an improvement over the old one, now with its emphasis on plant-based foods. I know, I know – I’d rather see the salmon above the steak but the latter does have an appropriately small space compared to the broccoli, carrots, and tomato. Let’s not quibble. Almost one-half of the new pyramid consists of veggies, fruit, berries and nuts.

                The place to start is breakfast, which for many persons consists of a sugary cereal. If you can’t give up breakfast cereal you can at least switch to the kind without added sugar or other processed ingredients. Eggs are fine but start cutting back on “egg helpers” such as bacon, sausage, ham, hash browns. Those are the foods that raise cholesterol, not the eggs, which are entirely innocent of that crime.

                If you need something sweet, how about one or two pieces of fruit, say half a grapefruit and a banana. Fruit juice is okay but why bother when whole fruit has less sugar, more fiber and much more satisfying “mouth feel” and is probably less expensive.

                Many Americans, especially seniors, don’t get enough protein. A morning breakfast shake that includes a scoop of powdered protein, some frozen berries, a little (!) fruit juice and some plain yogurt (more protein, as well as calcium, is tasty and filling and will get you through the morning without having to have a Danish or a donut with your coffee break.

Lifestyle

Continuing ethnoid: the salt issue

                Sodium, in the form of table salt, is a critical nutrient but taken in excess it contributes to high blood pressure. Two centuries ago it was almost the only means of preserving food and the result of a very high intake was a correspondingly high incidence of stomach cancer. In Japan, where the intake of sodium is nearly twice that in the United State – itself a higher intake than nature prefers – the incidence of stomach cancer is considerably higher than in other countries.

                In spite of the high sodium content in soy sauce and miso soup, most of the Japanese cuisine, with its emphasis on seafood and vegetables, is quite healthy. Considering that the Japanese people are the longest living on the planet, we should learn from their example. One caveat however: the youngest generation in Japan is destined to live shorter lives than its elders because of its adoption of the Western diet.

                Four items on the Chinese American menu that are particularly high in sodium are General Tso’s chicken, wonton soup, egg drop soup and vegetable stir-fry. White rice is a common staple in southern China but not in most of the country, where the folks enjoy a wide variety of vegetables that are only rarely found on Chinese restaurant menus in the United States.