Inner Realm Real Age |
Cut Stroke Risk in Half with These 2 Fruits
You know how you're always told to fill your plate with colorful fruits and vegetables? Count white
as a color. It could cut your risk of stroke in half.
When you think "white," think under the skin (e.g., apples and pears). Bananas, too. Also:
cauliflower, onions, garlic, and cucumbers. In an impressive new stroke study, apples and pears
were all-stars because they accounted for more than half of the white produce people ate, and the
white stuff is what slashed stroke risk.
While eating lots of fruit and vegetables has long been linked to fewer strokes, this is the first
effort to pinpoint which produce gets the credit.
An Apple a Day Keeps the Doc Away
Keep that old rhyme in your head! The people in this big, long study (10 years, 20,000 men and
women) cut their stroke risk 9% for every 25 grams of white produce they ate. Here's how apples
size up (approximately) to some other white produce:
Medium apple: 180 grams
Banana: 115 grams
1 cup of raw cauliflower: 100 grams
10 slices of cucumber: 70 grams
You can see why grabbing an apple (or pear) is hard to beat, brain-wise. And yes, eat the skin. It,
too, has fistfuls of fiber and plant antioxidants.
Surprisingly, the three big, brightly colored groups (green, orange/yellow, and red/purple) of fruits
and veggies didn't affect stroke rates at all, though their colorful pigments protect you from many
other diseases, including breast cancer and prostate cancer.
Why is white produce so protective of your brain? That's not clear yet. No need to wait for
scientists to figure out the reasons, though. With the exception of rock-hard pears and apples,
white fruit can only do your body good.
RealAge Benefit: Eating 25 grams (38 grams for men under 50) of fiber per day makes your
RealAge 2.5 years younger than eating 12 grams of fiber per day.
Prevent a Cold with This White Edible
Give the frontline soldiers of your immune system some reinforcements by serving a skewer of
white button mushrooms with your favorite meals.
Nothing brings you down like a summer cold. But eating white button mushrooms may help make
colds less likely. Seems something in mushrooms encourages your dendritic cells -- important
immune system helpers -- to grow up and get to work.
Mushroom Secrets
Dendritic cells lasso viruses -- like the rhinoviruses and influenza viruses responsible for colds
and flu. Then they bring those viruses to your germ-killing B lymphocytes to be finished off. And
though it's not clear how or why, researchers think that polysaccharides -- compounds in white
button mushrooms -- may help trigger the whole process. But there's no reason to hold out on
mushrooms while researchers unravel the mystery. We already know that mushrooms have a
host of health-promoting qualities: They're low in fat, low in calories, and full of a little antioxidant
called ergothioneine, which is good for your arteries. So slice them up and add them to salads,
omelets, and cookouts for a low-calorie, fat-free, juicy, meat-free treat.
RealAge Benefit: Protecting your immune system can make your RealAge as much as 6 years
younger. Take the RealAge Test!
Reduce Three Risks with One Sweetener Switch
Choosing the right sweetener could help control your blood fats, your risk of gout, and your pants
size.
The swap you should make? Kick fructose-sweetened prepackaged beverages and foods out of
your diet. And when you need a little something sweet, try a smidge of stevia in your bowl or glass
instead.
Fructose: The Full Story
Most sodas as well as bunches of other prepackaged foods -- are sweetened with a form of
fructose called high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS). It's so ubiquitous in prepackaged foods that
roughly 10 to 12 percent of people's daily calories come from this added fructose. But,
unfortunately, a growing body of research is showing a relationship between excess fructose in
the diet and a host of health ills, from gout and high triglycerides to increased appetite and weight
gain.
So the next time you crave a sweetened ice tea or the like, see if a little stevia might fit the bill
instead. Or you could try a touch of agave nectar. Stevia is made from the stevia plant, and agave
is made from cactus. Both have a calorie count that is similar to sugar, but because they are
loads sweeter, you need only a fraction. Like any no- or low-calorie sweetener, stevia and agave
aren't perfect. But consuming them instead of fructose is a step in the right
direction.
RealAge Benefit: Actively patrolling your health can make your RealAge as much as 12 years
younger. Take the RealAge Test!
You know how you're always told to fill your plate with colorful fruits and vegetables? Count white
as a color. It could cut your risk of stroke in half.
When you think "white," think under the skin (e.g., apples and pears). Bananas, too. Also:
cauliflower, onions, garlic, and cucumbers. In an impressive new stroke study, apples and pears
were all-stars because they accounted for more than half of the white produce people ate, and the
white stuff is what slashed stroke risk.
While eating lots of fruit and vegetables has long been linked to fewer strokes, this is the first
effort to pinpoint which produce gets the credit.
An Apple a Day Keeps the Doc Away
Keep that old rhyme in your head! The people in this big, long study (10 years, 20,000 men and
women) cut their stroke risk 9% for every 25 grams of white produce they ate. Here's how apples
size up (approximately) to some other white produce:
Medium apple: 180 grams
Banana: 115 grams
1 cup of raw cauliflower: 100 grams
10 slices of cucumber: 70 grams
You can see why grabbing an apple (or pear) is hard to beat, brain-wise. And yes, eat the skin. It,
too, has fistfuls of fiber and plant antioxidants.
Surprisingly, the three big, brightly colored groups (green, orange/yellow, and red/purple) of fruits
and veggies didn't affect stroke rates at all, though their colorful pigments protect you from many
other diseases, including breast cancer and prostate cancer.
Why is white produce so protective of your brain? That's not clear yet. No need to wait for
scientists to figure out the reasons, though. With the exception of rock-hard pears and apples,
white fruit can only do your body good.
RealAge Benefit: Eating 25 grams (38 grams for men under 50) of fiber per day makes your
RealAge 2.5 years younger than eating 12 grams of fiber per day.
Prevent a Cold with This White Edible
Give the frontline soldiers of your immune system some reinforcements by serving a skewer of
white button mushrooms with your favorite meals.
Nothing brings you down like a summer cold. But eating white button mushrooms may help make
colds less likely. Seems something in mushrooms encourages your dendritic cells -- important
immune system helpers -- to grow up and get to work.
Mushroom Secrets
Dendritic cells lasso viruses -- like the rhinoviruses and influenza viruses responsible for colds
and flu. Then they bring those viruses to your germ-killing B lymphocytes to be finished off. And
though it's not clear how or why, researchers think that polysaccharides -- compounds in white
button mushrooms -- may help trigger the whole process. But there's no reason to hold out on
mushrooms while researchers unravel the mystery. We already know that mushrooms have a
host of health-promoting qualities: They're low in fat, low in calories, and full of a little antioxidant
called ergothioneine, which is good for your arteries. So slice them up and add them to salads,
omelets, and cookouts for a low-calorie, fat-free, juicy, meat-free treat.
RealAge Benefit: Protecting your immune system can make your RealAge as much as 6 years
younger. Take the RealAge Test!
Reduce Three Risks with One Sweetener Switch
Choosing the right sweetener could help control your blood fats, your risk of gout, and your pants
size.
The swap you should make? Kick fructose-sweetened prepackaged beverages and foods out of
your diet. And when you need a little something sweet, try a smidge of stevia in your bowl or glass
instead.
Fructose: The Full Story
Most sodas as well as bunches of other prepackaged foods -- are sweetened with a form of
fructose called high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS). It's so ubiquitous in prepackaged foods that
roughly 10 to 12 percent of people's daily calories come from this added fructose. But,
unfortunately, a growing body of research is showing a relationship between excess fructose in
the diet and a host of health ills, from gout and high triglycerides to increased appetite and weight
gain.
So the next time you crave a sweetened ice tea or the like, see if a little stevia might fit the bill
instead. Or you could try a touch of agave nectar. Stevia is made from the stevia plant, and agave
is made from cactus. Both have a calorie count that is similar to sugar, but because they are
loads sweeter, you need only a fraction. Like any no- or low-calorie sweetener, stevia and agave
aren't perfect. But consuming them instead of fructose is a step in the right
direction.
RealAge Benefit: Actively patrolling your health can make your RealAge as much as 12 years
younger. Take the RealAge Test!
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| Drs. Roizen and Oz |