Does Martial Art promote longevity
Moderator: Available
Here's how I'm taking my calories these days (easy to add some trimmed chicken for lean protein with little or no fat, as appropriate):
1) Vegetarian Chili:
Saute with cooking spray: 3-4 coarsely chooped onions
Then add: 6 or more finely chooped cloves of garlic
Then stirring constantly mix in: 1 – 1.5 tblsp chili powder AND cumin, 1 tsp oregano, 1/8-1/4 tsp cayenne pepper +/- 2 bay leaves, and include 1/2 c bulghur (add all at once, stir 2 min)
Then dump in 2-3 cans black or kidney beans, 1 large can whole tomatoes, chopped with juice, 3c or a tomato can full of water, +/- 1 tblsp soy sauce
and simmer till thick & fragrant.
Top with some shredded low fat cheese, serve with hot sauce, maybe low fat sour cream.
2) Blender salsa: portion of onion or small onion to taste, several cloves garlic, ½ c chopped cilantro, 1-2 thai chils or most of a jalapeno finely chopped, +/- ½ tsp oregano, +/- ½ tsp sugar if finished product a little sharp. blenderize with 1 can high quality crushed tomatoes.
3) Veggie Burritos: Saute 1 chopped large onion, then several chopped garlic cloves, then add two grated carrots. Then add, and coook till simmering: 1 tblsp each chili and cumin, Hot sauce to taste, 1-2 cans black beans, Small can tomato sauce, Frozen corn about as much as the beans, Frozen or fresh broccoli, same deal. When heated serve wrapped in flour tortillas with cheddar so it melts, with rice on the side, plus some chopped lettuce, chopped tomato.
4) Tim's Fajitas
Saute until tender but still firm 1-2 onions cut in strips, 4 cloves garlic, chopped, 1 green pepper, 1 red pepper, 1 can black beans, some previously sauteed mushrooms or frozen corn.
Serve in steamed flour tortillas with shredded cheddar inside and dump low fat sour cream and blender salsa on top.
5) Thai Red Chili Paste
Toast in pan: 1 tblsp coriander, 1 tsp ground black pepper, 1 tsp cumin.
Food process together: the spices plus 20 finger length chilies (de arbol or japones, or whatever *dried* chilies you can find then soaked in warm water, then drained), 3 stalks lemongrass or subsitute ground dried lemongrass a few tsp, or use 1/3-1/2 lemon’s juice, ¼ c chopped cilantro
¼ c chopped shallots or onion, 8-12 cloves garlic, chopped, 1 tblsp shredded giner, +/- 1 tsp minced lime peel, +/- 1 tsp salt, with extra water if needed to blend. Store 1 mo in fridge or freeze. Potent, and lasts months if used frequently.
6) Thai Peanut Stir-Fry
Combine in pan: 1 can reduced fat coconut milk, 2 tsp or to taste red paste from above, +/-blsp brown sugar, ¼ c peanut butter, +/- 1-2 tblsp lime juice or similar amount soy sauce.
Dump over stirfry of your chioce, with steamed strips of green pepper, or brocolli, or green beans, shrooms, whatever. For tofu steam until they puff up and develop a meatier texture on cooling. Stirfry well after you’ve done that to ‘em.
7) Garlic Sauce with veggies
Fry up: ½ onion finely chopped OR bunch of green onion, then add 8-10 chopped or pressed cloves garlic and 2-3 thai chilies or 1-2 jalapenos, then
dump in 1 tsp chili powder, splashes of low sodium soy sauce, additional liquid—tofu juice or water, with about 1-1.5 c, and 2-3 tblsp cornstarch dissolved in the cold water. Add more soy, chilies, liquid, or cornstarch to taste.
Then steam or stirfry until brightly colored and slightly tender but still semi crisp and not gray and limp: 3-4 portions broccoli and green / red pepper, maybe some bokchoi; consider: 3 egg or just whites omlette cooked flat and cut into strips. Serve all over rice or asian noodles.
Pizza
Whisk, let stand ten min 1c lukewarm water, 1 c lukewarm milk, 4 tsp yeast, 1 tsp sugar. then stir in: 5 c flour (2 whole wheat?), and +/- few tblsp olive or canola oil.
Knead adding flour as needed until you’re left with a soft smooth ball of dough. Lightly oil coat and cover with dishtowel, let rise in warm but not hot place; spread on oiled pan or on cornmeal covered pizza lifter.
Top with: can of quality crushed tomatos (everyone asks how I make the special sauce), and heaps of green pepper, olives, mushrooms, then part skim mozarella in moderation, not mounds. Slide onto preheated pizza stone in 500 degree over and cook until cheese just browns, 7-10min.
9) nonfat dessert
Peel chop and freeze some bananas, and some de-topped strawberries. Later, blend about a banana with several of the berries along with OJ as needed. Serve in soft serve or shake consistency as desired.
Bill's got a completely different regimen that works great for him, and as for exercise, ask him, he's going to outlive me.
1) Vegetarian Chili:
Saute with cooking spray: 3-4 coarsely chooped onions
Then add: 6 or more finely chooped cloves of garlic
Then stirring constantly mix in: 1 – 1.5 tblsp chili powder AND cumin, 1 tsp oregano, 1/8-1/4 tsp cayenne pepper +/- 2 bay leaves, and include 1/2 c bulghur (add all at once, stir 2 min)
Then dump in 2-3 cans black or kidney beans, 1 large can whole tomatoes, chopped with juice, 3c or a tomato can full of water, +/- 1 tblsp soy sauce
and simmer till thick & fragrant.
Top with some shredded low fat cheese, serve with hot sauce, maybe low fat sour cream.
2) Blender salsa: portion of onion or small onion to taste, several cloves garlic, ½ c chopped cilantro, 1-2 thai chils or most of a jalapeno finely chopped, +/- ½ tsp oregano, +/- ½ tsp sugar if finished product a little sharp. blenderize with 1 can high quality crushed tomatoes.
3) Veggie Burritos: Saute 1 chopped large onion, then several chopped garlic cloves, then add two grated carrots. Then add, and coook till simmering: 1 tblsp each chili and cumin, Hot sauce to taste, 1-2 cans black beans, Small can tomato sauce, Frozen corn about as much as the beans, Frozen or fresh broccoli, same deal. When heated serve wrapped in flour tortillas with cheddar so it melts, with rice on the side, plus some chopped lettuce, chopped tomato.
4) Tim's Fajitas
Saute until tender but still firm 1-2 onions cut in strips, 4 cloves garlic, chopped, 1 green pepper, 1 red pepper, 1 can black beans, some previously sauteed mushrooms or frozen corn.
Serve in steamed flour tortillas with shredded cheddar inside and dump low fat sour cream and blender salsa on top.
5) Thai Red Chili Paste
Toast in pan: 1 tblsp coriander, 1 tsp ground black pepper, 1 tsp cumin.
Food process together: the spices plus 20 finger length chilies (de arbol or japones, or whatever *dried* chilies you can find then soaked in warm water, then drained), 3 stalks lemongrass or subsitute ground dried lemongrass a few tsp, or use 1/3-1/2 lemon’s juice, ¼ c chopped cilantro
¼ c chopped shallots or onion, 8-12 cloves garlic, chopped, 1 tblsp shredded giner, +/- 1 tsp minced lime peel, +/- 1 tsp salt, with extra water if needed to blend. Store 1 mo in fridge or freeze. Potent, and lasts months if used frequently.
6) Thai Peanut Stir-Fry
Combine in pan: 1 can reduced fat coconut milk, 2 tsp or to taste red paste from above, +/-blsp brown sugar, ¼ c peanut butter, +/- 1-2 tblsp lime juice or similar amount soy sauce.
Dump over stirfry of your chioce, with steamed strips of green pepper, or brocolli, or green beans, shrooms, whatever. For tofu steam until they puff up and develop a meatier texture on cooling. Stirfry well after you’ve done that to ‘em.
7) Garlic Sauce with veggies
Fry up: ½ onion finely chopped OR bunch of green onion, then add 8-10 chopped or pressed cloves garlic and 2-3 thai chilies or 1-2 jalapenos, then
dump in 1 tsp chili powder, splashes of low sodium soy sauce, additional liquid—tofu juice or water, with about 1-1.5 c, and 2-3 tblsp cornstarch dissolved in the cold water. Add more soy, chilies, liquid, or cornstarch to taste.
Then steam or stirfry until brightly colored and slightly tender but still semi crisp and not gray and limp: 3-4 portions broccoli and green / red pepper, maybe some bokchoi; consider: 3 egg or just whites omlette cooked flat and cut into strips. Serve all over rice or asian noodles.
PizzaWhisk, let stand ten min 1c lukewarm water, 1 c lukewarm milk, 4 tsp yeast, 1 tsp sugar. then stir in: 5 c flour (2 whole wheat?), and +/- few tblsp olive or canola oil.
Knead adding flour as needed until you’re left with a soft smooth ball of dough. Lightly oil coat and cover with dishtowel, let rise in warm but not hot place; spread on oiled pan or on cornmeal covered pizza lifter.
Top with: can of quality crushed tomatos (everyone asks how I make the special sauce), and heaps of green pepper, olives, mushrooms, then part skim mozarella in moderation, not mounds. Slide onto preheated pizza stone in 500 degree over and cook until cheese just browns, 7-10min.
9) nonfat dessert
Peel chop and freeze some bananas, and some de-topped strawberries. Later, blend about a banana with several of the berries along with OJ as needed. Serve in soft serve or shake consistency as desired.
Bill's got a completely different regimen that works great for him, and as for exercise, ask him, he's going to outlive me.
--Ian
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Stryke
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Stryke
Hmm never mind , interesting study In statistics 
BMI said 27 % body fat ........
But measuring and calculating I got 16 %
Sensei Glasheen just out of curiosity Is ther an Ideal sort of pecentage of bodyfat while in a Muscle building phase ? , Ive heard If your to thin you cant produce Gain (realise I`m not going to fall into this group ) .
anyway Interesting topic
BMI said 27 % body fat ........
But measuring and calculating I got 16 %
Sensei Glasheen just out of curiosity Is ther an Ideal sort of pecentage of bodyfat while in a Muscle building phase ? , Ive heard If your to thin you cant produce Gain (realise I`m not going to fall into this group
) .anyway Interesting topic
Stryke as is pointed out by the salon article the BMI is far from perfect. What is seen is a general trend toward ill health with certain BMIs, but we're all individuals and for many, the BMI is misleading. Organizing accurate measures of health from anatomically accurate measures of bodyfat and funcitonal assessments like exercise capacity are much less accessible (and therefore harder to study en masse).
In real people it's better to focus less on weight than on fitness; in this country we have a dual problem with overweight, and for another end of the spectrum, obsession with weight loss rather than fitness and health, which leads to some of our profound eating disorder cases as well as people who are far from fit but have managed to deprive themselves into a skinny appearance. The BMI is useful to prod some people in the right direction and for research; if you're actively pursuing your health and know a bit about it you likely don't need it.
In real people it's better to focus less on weight than on fitness; in this country we have a dual problem with overweight, and for another end of the spectrum, obsession with weight loss rather than fitness and health, which leads to some of our profound eating disorder cases as well as people who are far from fit but have managed to deprive themselves into a skinny appearance. The BMI is useful to prod some people in the right direction and for research; if you're actively pursuing your health and know a bit about it you likely don't need it.
--Ian
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Bill Glasheen
- Posts: 17299
- Joined: Thu Mar 11, 1999 6:01 am
- Location: Richmond, VA --- Louisville, KY
Ian
You're right on the money.
The problem lies in "incentive" programs (as with my health insurance company) where people get discounts for doing the right thing and presumably creating a win/win situation (person is in better health and insurance claims go down). The health program they put us through measures blood sugar, blood lipids (cholesterol), BMI, blood pressure, and gives credit for not smoking. Generally I nail every one except for the BMI, and the dummies they have measuring things start scratching their heads. Fortunately they have the waist to hip ratio to send a weightlifting athlete like myself through with a good score.
The gold standard for measuring percent body fat is via immersion in special tanks. Even that is difficult to do though. One needs to make the measurement at a very specific lung volume. The second best method is skin thickness measurements, and this is what most serious people do. But that can't be done with very good precision. There are devices out there that presumably measure percent body fat via impedence plesthysmography. In other words, they measure your body's resistance to an electrical signal from point A to point B. But I've seen how these things work, and they are totally bogus. The one I saw made presumptions about your percent body fat based on your age. Again, that's total B.S. for a lifelong athlete. They also vary a lot based on how much fluid in the body.
Presumably they could come up with a pretty decent measurement with an MRI machine, but that would be prohibitively expensive.
The best kind of measurement that the common man can make is the "pinch" measurement. As they say, if you can pinch more than an inch, then you have problems. Do this pinch measurement at various points around the body.
And then there is the buck-naked, look-in-the-mirror, any-damn-fool-can-plainly-see test...
Bottom line is to eat the way you know you should as a way of life, and exercise regularly. Also, make exercise a part of your daily activity. Park at the far end of a parking lot where people aren't going to ding your car, and enjoy the walk. Use the stairs instead of the elevator. Cut your own grass. Etc, etc.
- Bill
You're right on the money.
The problem lies in "incentive" programs (as with my health insurance company) where people get discounts for doing the right thing and presumably creating a win/win situation (person is in better health and insurance claims go down). The health program they put us through measures blood sugar, blood lipids (cholesterol), BMI, blood pressure, and gives credit for not smoking. Generally I nail every one except for the BMI, and the dummies they have measuring things start scratching their heads. Fortunately they have the waist to hip ratio to send a weightlifting athlete like myself through with a good score.
The gold standard for measuring percent body fat is via immersion in special tanks. Even that is difficult to do though. One needs to make the measurement at a very specific lung volume. The second best method is skin thickness measurements, and this is what most serious people do. But that can't be done with very good precision. There are devices out there that presumably measure percent body fat via impedence plesthysmography. In other words, they measure your body's resistance to an electrical signal from point A to point B. But I've seen how these things work, and they are totally bogus. The one I saw made presumptions about your percent body fat based on your age. Again, that's total B.S. for a lifelong athlete. They also vary a lot based on how much fluid in the body.
Presumably they could come up with a pretty decent measurement with an MRI machine, but that would be prohibitively expensive.
The best kind of measurement that the common man can make is the "pinch" measurement. As they say, if you can pinch more than an inch, then you have problems. Do this pinch measurement at various points around the body.
And then there is the buck-naked, look-in-the-mirror, any-damn-fool-can-plainly-see test...
Bottom line is to eat the way you know you should as a way of life, and exercise regularly. Also, make exercise a part of your daily activity. Park at the far end of a parking lot where people aren't going to ding your car, and enjoy the walk. Use the stairs instead of the elevator. Cut your own grass. Etc, etc.
- Bill
Last edited by Bill Glasheen on Mon Jan 13, 2003 8:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Has anybody read the "The Okinawa Program : How the World's Longest-Lived People Achieve Everlasting Health--And How You Can Too"? I haven't read it yet, but reviews I've seen mention that Okinawa has the highest percentage of centenarians in the world. They also seem to maintain a high quality of life into those advanced years. The authors apparently attribute this longevity to the simple ways (low stress lifestyle), home grown food (the island's isolation insures less contamination by pesticides, too), low fat diet, excercise, strong social/family ties, and spritual connectedness. Appartently genetcis is not the answer since those raised elsewhere after birth do not exhibit the same longevity. Ironiclly, the younger generations that are adopting "western" ways are not expected to live so long...
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Bill Glasheen
- Posts: 17299
- Joined: Thu Mar 11, 1999 6:01 am
- Location: Richmond, VA --- Louisville, KY
Kay
This is an excellent observation, and a very poignant entry at this point.
There are several things not mentioned that really help the Okinawans...
1) They (and the Japanese) like to eat raw fish. Raw fish is an excellent source of two omega-3 fatty acids: EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid). Low fat diet? Far from it. It's the consumption of "good fats" that is key. EPA helps with the balance of good vs. bad cholesterol, is an antiinflammatory, and prevents blood from inappropriately forming clots without the side effects seen in aspirin therapy. DHA is good for your brain, and has been shown to possess anti tumor properties.
2) They like to eat things like seaweed. Nice source of certain carotenoids and other phytonutrients.
3) They drink a lot of green tea. Green tea is an excellent source of a certain class of polyphenols, which have been shown to have anti cancer properties.
- Bill
This is an excellent observation, and a very poignant entry at this point.
There are several things not mentioned that really help the Okinawans...
1) They (and the Japanese) like to eat raw fish. Raw fish is an excellent source of two omega-3 fatty acids: EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid). Low fat diet? Far from it. It's the consumption of "good fats" that is key. EPA helps with the balance of good vs. bad cholesterol, is an antiinflammatory, and prevents blood from inappropriately forming clots without the side effects seen in aspirin therapy. DHA is good for your brain, and has been shown to possess anti tumor properties.
2) They like to eat things like seaweed. Nice source of certain carotenoids and other phytonutrients.
3) They drink a lot of green tea. Green tea is an excellent source of a certain class of polyphenols, which have been shown to have anti cancer properties.
- Bill
Yes, I've read that all of the above are healthy, and the book may address these practices too. As I said, I've not read it yet. Another thing I'm wondering is if they found any correlation between longevity and those that used martial arts as their form of excercise. Wonder if they even looked a martial arts as a seperate factor...
Kay
Kay
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Bill Glasheen
- Posts: 17299
- Joined: Thu Mar 11, 1999 6:01 am
- Location: Richmond, VA --- Louisville, KY
Kay
The only halfway decent research I've seen is related to Dean Ornish type programs that show a healthy benefit of extremely lowfat diet combined with yoga or taiji. But this is the kind of stuff for aging people with cardiovascular disease. This isn't going to get the testosterone generation excited.
Okinawan karate per se isn't the issue. It's the way you approach the art that makes the difference. If you approach the material as did Gichin Funakoshi, you're likely to get a health benefit. On the other hand if you enter full contact tournaments and do a lot of heavy sake after training, you're likely to become like one of more than a few Okinawan masters that died prematurely from complications of a "fast" and "hard" life.
- Bill
The only halfway decent research I've seen is related to Dean Ornish type programs that show a healthy benefit of extremely lowfat diet combined with yoga or taiji. But this is the kind of stuff for aging people with cardiovascular disease. This isn't going to get the testosterone generation excited.
Okinawan karate per se isn't the issue. It's the way you approach the art that makes the difference. If you approach the material as did Gichin Funakoshi, you're likely to get a health benefit. On the other hand if you enter full contact tournaments and do a lot of heavy sake after training, you're likely to become like one of more than a few Okinawan masters that died prematurely from complications of a "fast" and "hard" life.
- Bill
Yeah, I guess the fast hard life is going to catch up with us no matter what (ha ha)! Anyway, I've seen reference to studies regarding simply cutting back calories (substantially, like 30% less than current minimum recommendations) prolongs life, but don't think I want to live like that. Oh well, guess I'll just have to take what I can get...
Kay
Kay
