Many people are turning to vegetarianism for a healthier way of living. One way to avoid the arterial damage caused by most saturated fats is to become a vegetarian. (You won’t be eliminating all arterial aging, but you’ll be going a long way toward that goal, and you’ll be keeping your immune system younger, too.) Many vegetarians believe their diets increase stability in energy levels, improve digestion, and create an overall healthier feeling. Of course, making such a substantial change in lifestyle may require a period of adjustment. However, many vegetarians who ate meat for years say they now feel so much better that they’d never go back to their old, meat-filled diets.
Covering All the Bases
Many people avoid a vegetarian diet because they’re afraid they won’t get all the nutrients they need. It’s true that if you’re not eating meat, you will need to pay special attention to your intake of vitamins, amino acids, and minerals. However, this can be accomplished quite simply with delicious foods, and taking the right vitamins and minerals at the right times. If you eat lots of whole grains (such as wheat and oats and brown rice) and lots of soy (or fish and low-fat dairy products), you’ll almost certainly be fine. But for optimum intake of vitamins—to slow aging, not just to avoid deficiency disease—you’ll almost certainly need a multivitamin twice a day.
Getting enough protein is another common concern. Salmon, soy burgers, low-fat dairy products, and many legumes such as lima and kidney beans are all delicious and great sources of protein. If you also include fortified breakfast cereals, spinach, raisins, and other nutrient-rich foods, you’ll be making yourself younger while meeting your dietary needs.
Because meat contains zinc, iron, vitamin B6, and vitamin B12, if you’re not eating meat, make sure you’re getting these nutrients in other foods or in your vitamins. Wheat germ, wheat bran, crab, tofu, sunflower seeds, almonds, and tuna all contain zinc. Whole grains, nuts, and legumes contain vitamin B6. In addition, vitamin B6 can be found in peanut butter, green beans, bananas, artichokes, and whole wheat spaghetti. Salmon, shrimp, nonfat yogurt, and eggs all contain vitamin B12.
If you’re getting your protein mainly through nonmeat foods, eat a wide variety so you make the most of the nutrients these foods do offer. Strict vegetarians or vegans who eat no meat whatsoever should consult a physician and a dietitian to ensure they’re getting all the nutrients they need. Taking daily multivitamins can also help make your RealAge younger and provide the energy you desire. Since antioxidant vitamins usually become pro-oxidant, taking too much, or taking the vitamins like C all at one time, may not make your RealAge as young as taking one-half your vitamins twice a day.
Multivitamins to Hit the RealAge Optimum
When you shop for a multivitamin, the first thing to do is read the label. The multivitamin should have the usual DVs of the vitamins and minerals we’ve talked about. Then you need to supplement that amount so that you reach the RAOs for each vitamin and mineral listed below. The vitamins are sequential from A through F. Then you have to remember four minerals (sorry, there’s no shortcut). Just photocopy this list and take it with you when you go to buy your multi.
If you take a statin drug such as prevastatin, lovastatin, atorvastatin (Lipitor), or others, the data is beginning to indicate you might want to take only 50 mg of vitamin C, 50 IU of vitamin E, and add 100 mg coenzyme Q-10, all twice a day.
Before you go to purchase your vitamins, check your cupboard and evaluate what you already have. Check expiration dates. Throw away the vitamins that contain more than you need in one day. If you’re worried about arterial aging, make sure you get the antioxidant vitamins E and C and the homocysteine-lowering folate, as well as lutein and lycopene. If you’re concerned about osteoporosis, arthritis, or immune aging, pay careful attention to your intake of calcium, magnesium, selenium, lycopene, and vitamins B6, B12, and D, and avoid excesses of vitamin A.
Organic versus Nonorganic Foods
Organic foods are understood to be grown without artificial chemical fertilizers, herbicides, fungicides, or pesticides, but today no standard inspection system exists to assure the consumer that these criteria are being met. With the recent (late 2002) final ruling from the U.S. government mandating a single, national standard for certification of “organic” foods, the coming years will be a better time than ever to buy organic foods. Of course, whether or not to spend the extra money for organic foods is each person’s decision. The argument in favor of doing so is compelling, and consists of five major assertions:
1. Organic food is more nutritious. What has been long suspected is finally being proven: organic produce is more nutritious than its nonorganic counterparts. As reported in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (2001), a review of forty-one studies comparing the vitamin and mineral content of organic versus nonorganic foods showed that, in the vast majority of cases, organic foods contained higher levels of vitamins and minerals, particularly magnesium (29% more), vitamin C (27% more), and iron (21% more).
2. Production of organic foods involves more humane treatment of animals. Organically raised livestock must be allowed access to pasture. By contrast, many nonorganically raised chickens are caged, sometimes in tiny spaces, and their feet never once touch the ground during their lifetime. In addition, organically raised livestock are not given growth hormones. Although the effects of these hormonal growth promoters on the consuming public have not yet been proven, it’s easy to imagine why it’s best to avoid added hormones.
3. Organic foods taste better. Many people believe that, across the board, organic vegetables and fruits are more flavorful, fragrant, and delicious than nonorganic foods. If you really want your dishes to pack a big flavor punch, using organic ingredients (for example, organic berries in a smoothie) may be your best bet.
4. Organic foods are grown with less use of pesticides. Instead of blasting crops with chemical pesticides, fungicides, and herbicides, organic farmers use methods such as crop rotation, companion planting, enriching cover crops, and the introduction of beneficial insects to keep crops healthy. Organic farmers are barred from using processed sewage as fertilizer and, instead, use compost.
Fruits and vegetables vary in the amount of pesticide they retain. So, it’s a good investment to buy organic versions of the conventional produce with the most pesticide residue. According to the Environmental Working Group, using FDA and EPA data, the following fruits and vegetables commonly contain the highest levels of pesticide residue: strawberries, bell peppers, spinach, cherries, peaches, Mexican cantaloupe, celery, apples, apricots, green beans, imported grapes, and cucumbers.
Strawberries and bell peppers top the list as retaining the very highest levels of pesticide and should therefore always be bought in their organic form. Remember to wash all produce very well (a minimum of three times in warm water). If you can’t get organic versions of the above foods, substitute foods that commonly don’t retain a lot of pesticide residue. These include avocados, corn, onions, sweet potatoes, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, grapes (U.S. grown), bananas, plums, green onions, watermelon, and broccoli.
5. Organic foods are better for the environment. Less use of pesticides is not only better for us, it’s better for the environment. In addition, organic farmers guard against soil depletion, soil erosion, and many other environmental hazards that result from nonorganic farming practices that do damage to our planet.
One reason people sometimes choose not to buy organic foods is, of course, a financial one. Organic foods are usually more expensive than nonorganic foods. However, like so many aspects of the RealAge lifestyle, buying pesticide-free, nutrient-rich organic food is an investment. Your own health and the well-being of the planet are at stake. Put another way, you can pay now or you can pay later. Since late October 2002, under the USDA’s National Organic Program, all food purporting to be “organic” must be labeled in one of the following three ways:
1. “100% Organic”: Certifies that the food contains only organic ingredients, with the exception of water and salt.
2. “Organic”: Certifies that the food contains “at least” 95 percent organic ingredients, with the exception of water and salt.
3. “Made with Organic Ingredients”: Foods that contain at least 70 percent organic ingredients. The remaining nonorganic ingredients cannot have been produced by means of certain prohibited methods, such as fertilization with sewage sludge or the inclusion of genetically engineered materials.
Buy Local, Eat Global, Think Fabulous Food
One way to increase taste, and perhaps ensure your food is organic, is to buy local. When you support your local farmers, you are helping your community while making yourself younger. Because of the freshness, you gain the same nutrients with even better taste. It’s easy, too! A trip to a farmers’ market is a delightful experience for your senses and can inspire you to try new vegetarian recipes. The aroma of fresh herbs and flowers fills the air, and bold, beautiful colors please the eye. A trip to the market can help you learn how always to make the place you eat a sensuous, special place. The market bustles with excited visitors looking for the ripest produce and the freshest herbs. There are so many sights to take in, you may not know where to start. To begin, walk around and survey the whole landscape. However, if the market is huge, like the one at Madison, Wisconsin, which stretches for more than half a mile, just plunge right in.
The Farmers’ Market
Here’s why you should shop at a farmers’ market.
FOR FRESHNESS
For fruits and vegetables, time is of the essence. Some produce starts to lose sweetness the moment it leaves the plant. Some nutrients dissipate over time. A good source of vitamin C at the time of harvest may contain little vitamin C at the supermarket. So, the faster the food gets to you, the greater its potential for peak freshness and the more plentiful the vitamins and nutrients that keep your RealAge young.
Many national supermarket chains use local or even regional suppliers only infrequently. (The P & C and Wegmans supermarket chains are an exception: all their stores, I understand, have a section with local produce. The P & C where we teach a course for medical students about nutrition and cooking is truly fabulous.) Typically, produce often travels very far to reach you. Too often, produce (for example, bananas and most tomatoes) is picked green and then gassed to give the appearance of ripeness. To increase its moisture retention and shelf life at the supermarket, some produce is waxed. Apples and pears are sometimes held in storage for months before they reach you. Fruits you buy out of season—in February and March—definitely reflect storage: they don’t have much flavor but may have a whole lot of great texture. While they still have great nutrients, that bland taste makes it harder for you to use them to make your RealAge younger. However, there are two solutions: freezing them when in season and eating them fresh in season.
Produce at a farmers’ market is as fresh, or fresher, than produce in most supermarkets. Farmers and their families sell directly to you. Vegetables are crisp when they’re supposed to be, and soft and tender when that’s right, too. They’re not gassed and they’re not waxed. In flavor, they’re head and shoulders above the produce in many supermarkets.
FOR ORGANIC METHODS
The farmers’ market is a good place to shop for organic produce. If you choose carefully and ask the farmer, you can avoid synthetic chemical fungicides, pesticides, and herbicides. Some small farmers grow organically but cannot afford the USDA’s labeling process.
FOR SAVINGS
Produce at a farmers’ market is often less expensive than equivalent produce in a supermarket because there’s no middleman and no cost of storage, transportation, and marketing or merchandising.
FOR INFORMATION
Farmers are a great source of information. They can tell you how their fruit was grown, how the weather and pests have affected their crops, and what kinds of chemicals, if any, were used. They can also tell you if their soybeans, corn, and potatoes were genetically modified. Farmers can give tips on how to tell what’s ripe and what’s not. Often they’ll even share their family recipes.
FOR SAMPLES
Farmers very often let you sample foods before buying, a practice that’s not usually welcome at the supermarket. Ask for samples of freshly baked bread, homemade blackberry jam, Mutsu apple, and Bartlett pear, or whatever is in season and you’d like to try.
TO SUPPORT THE LOCAL ECONOMY
When you buy locally, you’re supporting your local farmers and the local economy.
Go to the farmers’ market whenever possible, but if you can, get there early—within 30 minutes of opening. You’ll avoid crowds (less stress keeps you young) and get the pick of the crops. Sometimes farmers bring only a small quantity of certain fruits, vegetables, and herbs, and this quantity doesn’t last long. At a farmers’ market, the early bird gets the best choices. Also, if the weather is hot, a morning visit is better, since it’s cooler and the produce hasn’t been sitting all day in the heat. If you can’t make it in the morning and you’re shopping for quantity, you can try to shop within 30 minutes of closing, when the farmers are packing up. Faced with hauling their goods home, they’re more likely to give you a break on price.
We recommend you take your own cloth bags or a big, lightweight basket that has sturdy handles. Expandable net bags are also useful. Having your own bag means you won’t have to juggle a lot of small bags. After you’re done shopping, head right home (4 Kitchen IQ points). Nothing ruins the quality of produce like the trunk of a car on a sweltering day. If you can’t go home right away, pack your purchases in a cooler to keep them fresh. (A cooler is a great addition to any trip to a farmers’ market.)
The produce is so inviting, you might be tempted to buy too much. The solution is have a list, but keep it flexible. Buy what you need, but don’t pass up great items that aren’t on your list—a new cress you’ve never tried, an unusual apricot you can smell from 10 feet away, or a huge bundle of purslane (a delicious cooking green that’s high in omega-3 fatty acids) that’s going for 50 cents a bunch. By all means, take advantage of these opportunities.
How do you find out if there’s a farmers’ market in your area? It’s easy. Just go to the Web sites listed under “Internet Resources” at the back of this book.
Community-Supported Agriculture
Community-supported agriculture (CSA) is an exciting concept that might be of interest to you. It’s a mutually beneficial relationship between local farmers and local consumers. Farmers provide fresh and nutritious food and, at the same time, protect the land. Consumers purchase shares in the farm, in return for in-season fruits and vegetables. So, the farmer grows the food while community members support the farm and share the harvest. Simple, huh?
Almost every state buys 85 to 90 percent of its food from either another state or another country. For example, most strawberries consumed in the United States are grown in California. How fresh can strawberries be if they have to be shipped to Michigan or Maine (both of which, by the way, have wonderful strawberries when they’re in season)? New York State is another area where great juicy fruit and vegetables are grown, but because of mass-market techniques, these are rarely available to home-state consumers. Community-supported agriculture was developed, in part, to address these issues. Why purchase produce from afar when it can be grown locally and delivered at peak freshness and, at the same time, help the local economy?
The idea of community-supported agriculture arose almost thirty years ago in Japan. A group of people were tired of paying too much for imported produce. They had a little land—why shouldn’t they farm for themselves? They started growing their own crops, calling the concept teikei—“putting the farmer’s face on food.” CSA farms then caught on in Europe, and the concept moved to the United States in the late 1970s. Today, there are almost a thousand CSA farms in North America.
HOW DO CSA FARMS COME INTO BEING?
CSA farms can start out as existing farms. They can also be established by land trusts, religious orders, food banks, and other institutions. In addition, CSA farms have been improvised by groups of consumers who have an interest in farming.
Here’s one story about the start of a CSA farm. In the late 1960s, John Peterson took over his family’s farm. However, overwhelmed by debt, he had to sell off much of the land. After dabbling in other careers for many years, he returned to the farm. He converted most of the land to CSA, began an internship program for prospective farmers, and started growing organic vegetables. Eventually he was able to form a group that purchased adjoining commercial land and converted it to farm use. By 2002 he had approximately eight hundred partner-customers in the Chicago area, with plans for future growth.
HOW DOES A CSA FARM WORK?
A farmer develops a budget showing what it would cost to run the farm for a year. The budget is divided by the number of people for whom the farm will supply food—each will receive a share. Consumers then purchase shares of the harvest, often a weekly supply from June through October, depending on locale. Some CSA farms offer winter supplies and some start as early as spring. Although some CSA farms ask their members to harvest the crops, or to pick up the crops after harvest, the usual arrangement is to deliver the harvest to the member.
Shareholders pay a single sum to belong to the CSA farm and receive crops in return. This yearly sum covers the cost of seed, labor, and other expenses in producing the crop. Some risk exists for both the shareholder and the farmer. If crops are destroyed or the weather isn’t right, shareholders and farmers may not get the crops they had hoped for. If hornworms are plentiful, tomatoes may suffer. If it doesn’t rain for two weeks, all the broccoli may wilt and suffer stunted growth. Nevertheless, a CSA farm can make the RealAge of your community younger.
COMMUNITY-SUPPORTED AGRICULTURE HAS MANY BENEFITS
CSA Brings Farming Back to the Community. CSA reaffirms the basic connection between farmers and their community. The community relies on the farmer for food, and the farmer relies on the community for support, both financial and physical. Unfortunately, family farms are currently slipping away while corporate farms are taking over. Then, because produce has to be shipped so far, the tie is not to the local community, but to distant places.
CSA Addresses Health and Environmental Concerns. With careful planning and thoughtfulness, and using the time-honored methods of crop rotation, application of beneficial insects, and promotion of soil health and conservation, a small farm can produce a wonderful crop using few, if any, additives.
In contrast, corporate farming often relies on a considerable amount of synthetic chemical pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, and other additives, and on genetic engineering of crops. Why is this? Consumers demand produce that is good-looking and uniform in shape and color, yet low in price. More important, all kinds of produce must be available at any time of the year. As a result, produce has to be grown in distant locales and must be easy to pack and ship. Corporate farming therefore resorts to the quickest and easiest ways to produce crops—often those entailing the use of additives. These additives might not only harm our health but also might harm our soil and water supply.
The CSA Concept Has Educational Value. Most Americans don’t know how or where their food is grown. Too many children think that snap peas and carrots come from a box in the freezer section of the supermarket. The CSA concept is a terrific way to correct those misconceptions, to understand how what you put into the earth turns into what you harvest to eat, and to help members realize connections with one another, and with the practice of sustainable agriculture.
CHECK FOR CSA FARMS IN YOUR AREA
If you want to become involved, visit a CSA farm. If you decide the idea is right for you, you can join a farm, complete an internship on a farm, or even start your own. Check http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/csa/ or http://www.csacenter.org/csaorgs.htm for information.
I’ve put a great deal of information into this chapter—information about the benefits of vegetarianism, of organic food, of local produce, and of consumer-supported agriculture. Remember, RealAge is a currency that let’s you know the value of your choices—no one will do all of them, no one will have a kitchen with a perfect IQ. But you ought to know the values of your choices. Like walking, you can start small and build if you think you’d like to try something.
Keep in mind that you don’t have to be perfect at anything to gain benefits—not perfect at fats, not perfect at meat, not a perfect vegetarian. An occasional slip doesn’t mean you should give up and go back to eating porterhouse steaks three times a week. Being a part-time vegetarian who eats a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish, and chicken is a great start and makes you substantially younger.
And congratulations! You’ve just completed Cooking the RealAge Way. Whether you started as a pro or as a rookie, as Mike did, I hope this book helps you increase your Kitchen IQ substantially and that you’ve chosen some RealAge recipes that taste fabulous. If so, you are on your way to controlling your genes and looking and feeling younger. ENJOY THE ENERGY.