6 choices
to live longer
Simply selecting a different snack or juice benefits
your body.
Q: Which
snack is most likely to benefit your heart: pretzels, popcorn or
potato chips?
Popcorn. New research at Harvard University
showed that eating lots of whole-grain foods, including popcorn,
reduced the risk of heart disease in a large group of female nurses
by about a third. Women who said they ate popcorn five times a week
had only half the risk of heart disease. Other heart-beneficial
whole-grain foods: brown rice, oatmeal, wheat germ, bran and whole-grain
breakfast cereals. Other research has found that pretzels tend to
raise blood sugar and that potato chips contain hazardous fats.
Q: Which
juice may help prevent colon cancer, according to new medical research:
pear, orange or apple?
Orange juice. Researchers have long known chemicals in citrus fruits
show anti-cancer activity in animals and test tubes. Now Maurice
R. Bennick of Michigan State University has found that animals who
drank orange juice for seven months were 22% less likely to develop
early colon cancer than animals given water. Bennick says compounds,
such as limonoids, in the juice alter characteristics of the colon
lining, discouraging cancer growth. He speculates orange juice also
helps suppress breast, prostate and lung cancer. (The study was
partly funded by Tropicana Products.) Try cooking with juice, too;
recipe at right.
Q: Which
is most likely to save vision as you age: spinach, kale or peaches?
Kale, followed by spinach, is richest in two antioxidants -- lutein
and zeaxanthin -- reported to protect against age-related cataracts
and macular degeneration, the leading causes of blindness. In one
study, high intakes of these antioxidants reduced the risk of macular
degeneration by 43%. A new study finds they also reduce the risk
of cataracts by 22%. Also high in vision-protecting antioxidants:
turnip greens, collards, corn, broccoli and romaine lettuce.
Q: Which
type of fat is worst for your cholesterol, saturated animal fat
or trans-fatty acids?
A recent study calls the trans-fatty acids in margarine, doughnuts,
French fries and many processed foods twice as damaging to blood
cholesterol as animal fats. Worst: stick margarines. Better: softer
and semi-liquid margarines. Best: margarine without trans fats,
such as Promise, and two new margarines that may lower bad cholesterol:
Johnson & Johnson's Benecol and Lipton's Take Control. Avoid deep-fried
foods and check labels for "partially hydrogenated oils," another
term for trans fats. Cook with canola or olive oil.
Q: Which
is richest in calcium: yogurt, spinach or rice?
Yogurt. What counts is not just a food's calcium content, but how
much is absorbed. A half-cup of spinach has 115 milligrams of calcium,
but only 6 milligrams are absorbed. It takes about 8 cups of cooked
spinach to equal the absorbable calcium in a cup of yogurt or milk,
says Purdue University's Connie M. Weaver. Three cups of cooked
kale would do the trick. Highest: fruit punch fortified with calcium
citrate malate. One cup supplies 156mg of absorbable calcium, compared
with 96mg in a cup of milk or yogurt.
Q: What
vitamins does Jean Carper take?
Many readers have asked about this. I take a high-antioxidant multivitamin-mineral
anti-aging formula I developed myself. It has 18 standard nutrients
I think everyone needs, plus 17 other antioxidants, including coenzyme
Q-10, lipoic acid, lycopene, grape seed, lutein, green tea, and
ginkgo as an option. For information on getting the supplement,
call 1-800-627-9721.
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Sweet Potato
Stew With Orange Juice and Black Beans
 1
medium yellow onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
1 Tb. chili powder
1 cup orange juice
1 Tb. honey Salt to taste
2 large sweet potatoes (about 2 pounds), peeled and cut into 1-inch
chunks
2 tsps. butter, softened
2 tsps. flour
1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
Optional: 1Ú4 cup toasted almond slivers
Put onions, chili powder, orange juice, honey, salt and
sweet potatoes in a large, microwave-safe bowl. Cover and microwave
on high power, stirring once, about 20 minutes or till potatoes
are done but still hold their shape. Add beans. Blend butter and
flour and add to the mixture. Microwave on high power 5 minutes
or till beans are heated through and stew has thickened slightly.
Sprinkle with almonds, if desired.
Serves: 6.
Nutrition per serving: 212 calories, 5.2g protein, 2g fat (0.9g
saturated), 44g carbohydrates, 156mg sodium.
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