RENEWAL LAB

TELOMERE-FRIENDLY SNACKS

Healthy snacks are important to have on hand, because the alternative is usually unhealthy snacks. Typical snack foods are often processed and contain unhealthy fats, sugars, and salts. We recommend any whole-food snack high in protein and low in sugars. Here are a few ideas that also include high levels of either antioxidants or omega-3 polyunsaturated fats.

Homemade trail mix. Making your own trail mix is easy, and it’s the best way to make sure it is low in sugar. (Store-bought trail mix often hides added sugars in dried fruits.) This mix is high in omega-3s and antioxidants. It’s also rich in energy, so be sure to enjoy it in moderate quantities.

Combine:

image 1 cup walnuts

image ½ cup cacao nibs or dark chocolate chips

image ½ cup goji berries or other dried berries

Optional additions:

image ½ cup dried unsweetened coconut flakes

image ½ cup raw or unsalted sunflower seeds

image 1 cup raw almonds

Homemade chia pudding. Chia seeds are high in antioxidants, calcium, and fiber. These unassuming little seeds from South America also house 28 grams of omega-3s in every ounce. Chia pudding is a great snack, but it makes a tasty part of breakfast, too.

Combine:

image ¼ cup chia seeds

image 1 cup unsweetened almond or coconut milk

image ⅛ teaspoon cinnamon

image ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

After stirring the ingredients together, let the mixture sit for five minutes. Stir the pudding again and place in the fridge for 20 minutes, or until thick, or overnight.

Optional garnishes:

image dried coconut flakes

image goji berries

image cacao nibs

image sliced apple

image honey

Seaweed. Yes, seaweed. It’s an easy grab, and it’s telomere friendly. Seaweed snacks, such as SeaSnax, can be found in health-food stores and are made from seaweed sheets lightly roasted in olive oil with a pinch of sea salt. They come in different flavors (we especially like wasabi or onion) and are a great snack for people who crave salty or savory foods. Seaweed is also extremely rich in micronutrients, so enjoy. If you are watching your sodium, choose unsalted sheets of seaweed.

KICK A BAD FOOD HABIT: FIND YOUR MOTIVATION

Adding healthy foods into your diet is great, but it may be even more important to avoid the kind of processed, sugary, junky foods that feed your cellular enemies. Breaking an unhealthy food habit is easier said than done. When people identify their personal motivation for changing a habit, they are more likely to successfully make that change. Here are some of the questions that we ask our research volunteers to help them identify their most meaningful goals when they are trying to make changes to their diet:

image How is your diet affecting you? Has anyone ever encouraged you to cut down on something? Why? What do you most want to change?

image Why exactly are you concerned about how much fast food (or junk food, sugar, or other unhealthy food) you eat? Do you have diabetes or heart disease in your family history? Do you want to lose weight? Are you worried about your telomeres?

image What part of you wants to change? What part of you doesn’t? What are the things you care most about? How would making this change impact you and people you care about?

When you’ve identified your strongest source of motivation, visualize it. If your motivation is to live a long, healthy life, create a vivid image of yourself being active and healthy at age ninety, or cheering at your grandchild’s graduation. Do you want to make sure you’re around to see your children grow up? Picture yourself dancing at their wedding receptions. Perhaps thinking of those tiny telomeres bravely protecting the future of your chromosomes in billions of cells throughout your body will motivate you! Whenever you’re facing temptation, call that image to mind. Our colleague Professor Len Epstein of SUNY Buffalo has found that thinking vividly about the future helps people resist overeating and other impulsive behaviors.48