That led to Susan indirectly giving me a hard time. She knows of my love for Diet Dews, and thinks all that chemical stuff is poison. This then led to a concession by me that she could be right, but I would ask her also to put sugar and high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) on that list of "poisons." A 90-minute medical school lecture by Robert Lustig shows the biochemistry. Fructose is the simple sugar we want to stay away from, and it's a majority component of both HFCS and table sugar (sucrose).
But there is that sweet tooth we need to deal with. What to do? In discussing this with Van, I highlighted the idea that *denial* wasn't the answer. Rather my philosophy on diet is to substitute something new and yummy for something you want to remove from your plate. And what example did I give? Following The Mediterranean Diet.
And wouldn't you know... the timing was exquisite. We have more good results from those Harvard people who study nurses. These nurses who volunteer to be monitored are saints, and the folks who use the data on them for investigation produce lots of good stuff.
This today from Forbes magazine. It's all about the telomere, or the end of our DNA strands. Our cells can only divide so many times before those DNA ends are shortened too much. Then it's over.
..... A Link Between A Mediterranean Diet And A Long Life
If you look at the detail of the Mediterranean Diet articulated in this article, it's completely consistent with things that I both practice and preach. It's all good stuff. The difference between yesterday and today is that scientists are starting to unravel the mechanisms behind why this antioxidant-rich diet causes people to live well and live longer.Why would a Mediterranean diet protect the telomere from shrinking? It seems to have to do with the reduction of inflammation and oxidative stress, which are both known to speed up telomere shrinkage over time. We do things every day that contribute to oxidative stress and inflammation: Smoking, being obese, and eating a high-sugar diet are all linked to shorter telomeres. The antioxidants in the Mediterranean diet are thought to reduce inflammation and oxidative stress in our cells, possibly leading to a healthier telomere.
Bon appetite!
- Bill