Thanksgiving Light

Growing up on Crooked Road, Thanksgiving was my absolute favorite holiday. My parents knew how to do it right.

My mom has this talent of making the effort of hosting look effortless. Plus, it was magical to spend a day with my favorite people, as my dad’s siblings would often join: Uncle Bill (my favorite), Aunt Susan (my other favorite) and my little cousin Andrew, who is 12 years younger than me and always seemed adorable and amusing.

Now that I’m the hostess, I see from the inside how much effort Thanksgiving can be. (I do not make it look effortless. Sorry, Mom!).

And while Thanksgiving is still one of my favorite holidays, with my very favorite people (including all-grown-up Andrew and his lovely girlfriend, Megan), I’ve revolted completely against the typical American Thanksgiving offerings.

Here’s my beef, if you will – You would never sit down with a stack of cookbooks and plan that meal. Who would serve that many carb-intensive side dishes? Who would slather all of the vegetables in canned soup and marshmallows? As a foodie and a planner, it feels like a completely illogical menu.

So, for the past two years, we’ve gone Italian. And this year, to mix it up, we went even more fully Italian and served six courses over about eight hours.

There is something profoundly depressing about spending three days cooking and about 45 minutes eating said cooking. This year, we spent about three hours cooking and the entire day reconvening around the table in between watching the parade, sitting by the fire and playing games.

Capturing the lightness

A few epicurean epiphanies: a) Eating this way allows you to really focus on the flavors and textures of just one or two dishes. Seriously, risotto, when not competing with a main dish and other sides, was the highlight of the meal; b) Eating this way helps you avoid the overly fully belly and the post-meal slump; c) Hosting this way was an enormous sanity saver!

Also, when I went back through my photos from the day, I realized that we ate across the entire day’s spectrum of light: midday sunlight reflecting off 18 inches of fresh snow, waning daylight, rosy dusk and quiet, snowy evening with only the glow of the Christmas lights outside.

Next year, my goal is to continue to embrace the potential lightness of the day.

Apertivo: Blue cheese and fig jam savouries, made by Benji, and prosecco with fresh pomegranate juice

Antipasto: Prosciutto di San Daniele, genoa, olives, roasted red bell peppers, yellow tomatoes, goat cheese with tapenade and pepperoncini

Primo: Asparagus and lemon risotto with Prosciutto di Parma crisps, by Sophia

Secondi and contorno: Marcella Hazan’s drunk pork roast and green beans with brown butter and toasted hazelnuts

Formaggi e frutta: Saint-André and Piave Stravecchio with black grapes and satsumas

Dolce, caffè and digestivo: Fiadone (Corsican cheesecake), coffee and limoncello crafted by Andrew and Megan

Heading to a party? Bring paella!

When making a dish to share, there’s nothing simpler than a hearty paella. The beauty of paella is that just a few choice ingredients come together to create a significant serving of food with serious “WOW!” factor that’s much easier to make than it seems.

Guests are impressed, and after doing just a bit of chopping, you’re able to create a colorful, seafood-rich entrée to feed a crowd that’s still healthful while feeling festive.

The recipe below is flexible enough to take advantage of whatever seafood you happen to have in the freezer. When I make paella at home, I don’t always use such a wide variety of seafood. 

However, when entertaining, by combining two to three different items, you create a bounty that appeals to a wide variety of palates! This combination of chorizo, halibut, mussels and spot prawns, which I made for a dear friend’s birthday party, delivers a little something for everyone.

It’s common to see a simple blend of onions, tomatoes and peas to flavor the paella. To make this dish a bit more unique, I instead used a combination of baby lima beans, green olives and lemon zest. The final flavor was dynamic and fairly faithful to Spanish cuisine, from which paella originates.

Feel free to improvise with the vegetables, seafood and even liquids – I used half chicken broth and half white wine.

And finally, yes, saffron is expensive. But you will be amazed at how much flavor it can lend to a huge dish of rice and seafood. It’s worth every penny and really imbues paella with its distinctive flavor.

Prawn and Mussel Paella for a Crowd

Serves 4-6 as a main course; 10-15 as an appetizer

2 tablespoons olive oil
½ lb. Spanish chorizo
1 onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
2 cups Arborio rice
Pinch of saffron
4 cups liquid (combination of chicken broth and/or white wine)
1 pound frozen blue Pacific mussels
2 6-ounce portions boneless, skinless wild Alaskan halibut, cut into 1½-inch chunks
12- to 16-ounces spot prawns
½ cup frozen baby lima beans
1 cup green olives, pitted
Zest of 2 lemons
Salt and pepper to taste

Instead of thawing the seafood overnight in the refrigerator, I like to quick-thaw it right before I make the paella.

Remove the mussels and prawns from their package into a large colander, then quickly rinse in cold water just enough to dissolve the bits of ice.

For the halibut, place the portions in their packaging in a dish of cold water for 10 minutes, or until the fish is just soft enough to slice.

Once all of your ingredients are prepped and ready, heat olive oil over medium heat in a large, shallow paella pan or sauté pan.

Add chorizo. Cook, breaking up into small chunks, until it’s cooked through and browned, 8-10 minutes.

Add onion and bell pepper and cook until soft, 5-6 minutes. While the onions and peppers sauté, heat the liquid in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until warm.

Add the rice and saffron to the pan and stir until the rice is shiny. Pour in the warm liquid and stir until combined, then layer in the seafood. 

Increase the heat to medium-high and simmer 10 minutes, undisturbed. Then reduce the heat to medium-low, add the lima beans, olives and lemon zest, stirring just once, and season with salt and pepper.

Cook an additional 10 minutes. The paella is done once the rice is just tender and has absorbed most or all of the liquid.

If you’re lucky, the very bottom layer of rice will have caramelized onto the bottom of the pan, creating socarrat. If you’re sharing your paella with a crowd, let your guest of honor have first dibs on the socarrat – it’s delicious!

Adapted from content initially published by Vital Choice Wild Seafood & Organics.

40 approaching 50? Eat Right for Perimenopause!

For women in their mid-30s and up, perimenopause is a huge life transition that can last up to a decade. While hormonal fluctuation is a normal part of most women’s lives, the changes that occur during this period can bring extra challenges.

Perimenopause is the period that leads up to the end of menstruation (menopause), when the ovaries begin to produce less estrogen. For most women, it starts in the 40s, but can begin as early as the mid-30s. 

Perimenopause lasts until the ovaries stop releasing eggs and menstruation ceases (technically after 12 straight months without a period). While perimenopausal symptoms can last up to a decade, there’s often a “ramping up” in the final years as estrogen levels plummet. This dramatic change in hormone levels leads to a number of symptoms. 

While each woman experiences perimenopause differently, there are a number of symptoms that are common to most, including:

•    Worsening of premenstrual syndrome (PMS)
•    Longer or shorter than normal menstrual cycles
•    Fatigue
•    Hot flashes and night sweats
•    Mood swings
•    Bone loss
•    Difficulty sleeping
•    Lower sex drive
•    Breast tenderness
•    Urine leakage when sneezing or coughing
•    Discomfort during sex due to vaginal dryness

It’s overwhelming just to read this list of symptoms, let alone get through them with grace and humor. Luckily, there are a number of lifestyle changes you can make to lessen the disruption perimenopause causes in your day-to-day life.

Among the best ways to naturally manage perimenopause, doctors often recommend regular exercise, getting more sleep (and higher-quality sleep), drinking less alcohol, maintaining a healthy body weight and, perhaps most importantly, attention to a healthy diet.

There are number of good food choices that can help you survive. Let’s look at the top three!

#1 – Plant estrogens from soy
Isoflavones are plant chemicals found in certain foods, particularly soybeans, chickpeas and other legumes. While much less powerful than actual estrogen, these isoflavones have an estrogen-like structure and can work in the body as a phytoestrogen (plant-based estrogen).

While emerging research indicates isoflavones may help to protect bone and heart health, some of the more exciting research points to the benefit of isoflavones for hot flashes.

One study, published in 2015 by the North American Menopause Society, looked at the effects of isoflavones from soy in the diet for perimenopausal women.

Previous research indicates that about half of all women are able to convert soy into an estrogen (equol). 

Researchers surveyed women (ages 45 to 55) who weren’t on any type of hormone therapy and who ate soy products at least three times a week. Participants kept a log of how many and how severe and their hot flashes and night sweats were, and they had their hot flashes measured with a skin monitor. 

Next, urine samples were studied to determine who of the participants were able to produce equol from soy isoflavones. Of the 357 participants, 34% were equol producers. And among that group, those who ate the most soy were over 75% less likely to report a higher than average number of hot flashes and night sweats than those who had the least soy in their diet.

For the women unable to produce equol, the soy in their diet made no difference. As equol testing is not a standard protocol for most doctors, the best course of action is to try a high-soy diet for six weeks and keep track of your own benefits.

A second, more in-depth research review from the North American Menopause Society looked at the overarching benefits of isoflavones for perimenopausal women. Overall, the review board of 22 clinicians found that “use of soy isoflavones for hot flashes is reasonable and that soy food consumption is associated with lower risk of breast and endometrial cancer.”

#2 – Omega-3 fatty acids from salmon and other fatty fish
Omega-3 fatty acids from salmon and other fatty fish can help with perimenopausal symptoms even beyond hot flashes.

Research shows that omega-3s can first help curb out-of-control inflammation in the body, which can seriously worsen menopausal changes to bone health, heart health and mood (and hot flashes to boot).

A 2013 study found that omega-3 fatty acids were linked to perimenopausal bone health. Scientists looked at red blood cell samples from women with and without a history of hip breaks. They found that higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids (either from fish or from plants such as flax) were associated with a lower likelihood of fracturing a hip (the most common age-related bone fracture).

While the study didn’t identify a direct mechanism for omega-3s improving bone health, the researchers hypothesize “that inflammation may contribute to bone resorption, the breaking down of bone caused by the release of cells called osteoclasts.”

A second study on perimenopausal Korean women with osteoporosis found similar results. Looking at bone loss levels and fish in the diet, the team found that the more fish in the diet, the less bone loss the women experienced. 

Studies show that omega-3s can also help to improve the mood swings and changes that come with fluctuations in estrogen levels. A 2009 study from Université Laval in Quebec found that omega-3s ease mental distress and symptoms of depression common to menopausal and perimenopausal women.

For the study, the team recruited 120 women (ages 40 to 55) and divided them into two groups. Women in the first group took one gram of EPA (a marine-based omega-3 fatty acid) every day for eight weeks. Those in the second group took a placebo.

At the end of the trial period, the women taking omega-3s experienced a significant improvement to their mood and feelings of mild depression. As a bonus, women with hot flashes also experienced an improvement taking the omega-3 supplement. 

Finally, menopause can have a significant impact on heart health. Estrogen is believed to have a positive effect on the inner layer of artery wall, helping to keep blood vessels flexible. In addition, for many women the hormonal changes of menopause cause the blood pressure to rise, “bad” LDL cholesterol levels to rise as “good” HDL cholesterol declines, and triglycerides to rise. 

There is a growing body of evidence that omega-3 fatty acids from salmon and other fish can provide cardiovascular protection for women as they age. One particular study from 2014 found that omega-3s were linked to sharply lower heart risk among post-menopausal women.

Researchers examined blood tests and medical records from 2,448 postmenopausal women between the ages of 50 and 79 who participated in the Women’s Health Initiative study. Of those women, half had heart disease and half did not.

By comparing the women’s heart health status and omega-3 blood levels, the team found that higher levels of the three seafood-source omega-3 fatty acids (EPA, DHA, and DPA) were linked to a significant reduction in heart disease. 

#3 – Calcium and vitamin D from food or supplements
Like omega-3 fatty acids from salmon, calcium and vitamin D offer a wide-range of benefits for perimenopausal women. To start, it shows promise in lowering cholesterol (which often rises as hormone levels change).

A 2014 study found that calcium and vitamin D were able to improve cholesterol profiles. Over 600 women in the trial took either a supplement containing 1,000 mg of calcium and 400 IU of vitamin D3 or a placebo. The women who took the supplement were more than twice as likely to have normal vitamin D levels, as well as lower “bad” LDL levels and higher “good” HDL levels. Test subjects also experienced lower levels of triglycerides.

Of course, vitamin D and calcium are well-documented as key nutrients for the prevention of osteoporosis. In fact, in 2007 the FDA approved a health claim for these two supplements. 

According to the FDA: “Osteoporosis is a significant public health problem, especially for women. This new labeling should assist consumers to select foods—and women especially since women do the majority of food shopping in the US—that provide adequate calcium and Vitamin D intake and hopefully prevent the occurrence of osteoporosis in themselves and their family members.”

Interestingly, another study found that calcium and vitamin D levels were linked to lower risk of early menopause, so it’s important to start early with increased dietary intake and/or supplementation. 

The 2017 study from epidemiologists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s School of Public Health and Health Sciences evaluated how vitamin D and calcium intake was associated with early menopause by looking at data from over 100,000 women ages 25-42.

According to Alexandra Purdue-Smithe, lead researcher: “We found that after adjusting for a variety of different factors, vitamin D from food sources, such as fortified dairy and fatty fish, was associated with a 17 percent lower risk of early menopause when comparing the highest intake group to the lowest intake group.”

Sources:
Food and Drug Administration, HHS. Food labeling: health claims; calcium and osteoporosis, and calcium, vitamin D, and osteoporosis. Final rule. Fed Regist. 2008 Sep 29;73(189):56477-87. PubMed PMID: 18985959.

Lucas M, Asselin G, Mérette C, Poulin ML, Dodin S. Ethyl-eicosapentaenoic acid for the treatment of psychological distress and depressive symptoms in middle-aged women: a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Volume 89, Issue 2, 1 February 2009, Pages 641–651, https://doi.org/10.3945/ajcn.2008.26749.

Matthan NR, Ooi EM, Van Horn L, Neuhouser ML, Woodman R, Lichtenstein AH. Plasma phospholipid fatty acid biomarkers of dietary fat quality and endogenous metabolism predict coronary heart disease risk: a nested case-control study within the Women’s Health Initiative observational study. J Am Heart Assoc. 2014 Aug 13;3(4). pii: e000764. doi: 10.1161/JAHA.113.000764. PubMed PMID: 25122663; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4310362.Messina M. (2016). Soy and Health Update: Evaluation of the Clinical and Epidemiologic Literature. Nutrients, 8(12), 754. http://doi.org/10.3390/nu8120754 

Moon HJ, Kim TH, Byun DW, Park Y. Positive correlation between erythrocyte levels of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and bone mass in postmenopausal Korean women with osteoporosis. Ann Nutr Metab. 2012;60(2):146-53. doi: 10.1159/000337302. Epub 2012 Apr 14. PubMed PMID: 22507833. 

Newton KM, Reed SD, Uchiyama S, Qu C, Ueno T, Iwashita S, Gunderson G, Fuller S, Lampe JW. A cross-sectional study of equol producer status and self-reported vasomotor symptoms. Menopause. 2015 May;22(5):489-95. doi: 10.1097/GME.0000000000000363. PubMed PMID: 25380274.

Orchard, T. S., Ing, S. W., Lu, B., Belury, M. A., Johnson, K., Wactawski-Wende, J., & Jackson, R. D. (2013). The association of red blood cell n-3 and n-6 fatty acids to dietary fatty acid intake, bone mineral density and hip fracture risk in The Women’s Health Initiative. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research : The Official Journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research, 28(3), 505–515. http://doi.org/10.1002/jbmr.1772

Purdue-Smithe AC, Whitcomb BW, Szegda KL, Boutot ME, Manson JE, Hankinson SE,  Rosner BA, Troy LM, Michels KB, Bertone-Johnson ER. Vitamin D and calcium intake  and risk of early menopause. Am J Clin Nutr. 2017 Jun;105(6):1493-1501. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.116.145607. Epub 2017 May 10. PubMed PMID: 28490509; PubMed Central  PMCID: PMC5445672.

Schnatz PF, Jiang X, Vila-Wright S, Aragaki AK, Nudy M, O’Sullivan DM, Jackson R, LeBlanc E, Robinson JG, Shikany JM, Womack CR, Martin LW, Neuhouser ML, Vitolins MZ, Song Y, Kritchevsky S, Manson JE. Calcium/vitamin D supplementation, serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations, and cholesterol profiles in the Women’s Health Initiative calcium/vitamin D randomized trial. Menopause. 2014 Aug;21(8):823-33. doi: 10.1097/GME.0000000000000188. PubMed PMID: 24594863; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5234488.

Beer-Steamed Mussels

If you love Pacific blue mussels as much as we do, it’s likely that you can whip up a batch of French-inspired steamed mussels with white wine and shallots without needing a recipe. 

So, to mix it up, we tried a spicier, zestier take on the bistro classic, inspired by southwestern flavors and steamed in a lovely, locally brewed lager.

I am lucky enough to live in the land of microbreweries. In fact, the Boulder suburb we live in has 10 breweries alone! I chose a locally brewed IPA-style lager from Wibby Brewing for this dish, but feel free to choose a local favorite of your own, or even a classic Mexican beer such as Dos Equis lager.

To make this dish dynamic and unique, it combines the flavors of lime juice, fresh tomato, jalapeño and fresh cilantro. A slice of jalapeno, a cilantro leaf and a bit of tomato, all atop a steamed Pacific blue mussels, was fresh tasting with a luscious richness. 

A few notes for the cook

Vital Choice has made it incredibly simple to make restaurant-worthy mussels at home. Here’s the beauty of this superior product: after the Pacific blue mussels are cleaned and vacuum-packed, they’re immersed in 175°F water for 13 minutes. This process pasteurizes and partially cooks the mussels, making it very easy to pull the meat from the shell.

This pasteurization process also renders the mussels sand-free, so they can go directly from the freezer to the pan with no thawing, cooking in just minutes.

I prefer to debeard my mussels, so here’s what I do – I remove the mussels from their freezer bag, place them in a colander, and run them quickly under cold water to remove the chunks of ice, which then allows me to remove the beards that may be sticking out from between the closed shell halves (just rip and tear). 

And please remember – it’s safe to eat even the unopened mussels, because they’ve been pre-cooked and pasteurized.

Beer-Steamed Mussels

Serves 2 as a main course, 4 as an appetizer

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large shallot, thinly sliced
1 jalapeno, thinly sliced (remove the seeds for a milder dish)
2 pounds Vital Choice Frozen Pacific Blue Mussels
Juice of 1 lime
12-ounces of beer (I used an IPA-style lager)
2 medium tomatoes, diced
Fresh cilantro for garnish

In a large shallow pan with a lid, heat the olive oil over medium heat. 

Reserve a tablespoon of jalapeño for garnish. Add the sliced shallots and the remaining jalapeno slices to the pan and sauté until tender, 3 minutes. 

Layer in the mussels, then top with lime juice, beer and diced tomatoes and bring to a boil. Cover the pan, reduce heat to simmer and cook until the mussels are plump and open, 5-7 minutes. 

Divide the mussels between two bowls. Return the liquid to a boil and reduce for 5 minutes to create a richer broth.

Top each bowl of mussels with half of the reduced broth and garnish with reserved jalapeno slices and fresh cilantro leaves.

Adapted from content initially published by Vital Choice Wild Seafood & Organics.

Julia's Favorite ... Classic Sole Meunière!

I often tweak classic recipes to make them lighter, healthier and perhaps a bit more modern. But sometimes, you just don’t mess with perfection.

Julia Child wrote that the first time she experienced sole meunière upon her arrival in France, she had a culinary epiphany. And after trying this just once, I can understand why.

The fish is crispy on the ends, very moist and flavorful in the center, and sings with a simple sauce of browned butter and fresh lemon, topped with a sprinkling of fresh parsley.

While the classic calls for Dover sole (a true sole imported from Europe), it was wonderful with wild petrale sole – a member of the flounder family that is also a flatfish very similar to its European counterpart.

Meunière is a cooking style and sauce, meaning “miller’s wife,” because the fish is lightly dredged in flour before being quickly fried in browned butter. 

Please give this elegant, perfectly balanced classic French preparation a try and find out what all of the fuss is about – I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Leave me a comment and let me know if it was an epiphany for you as well!

A few notes for the cook

This two-step recipe comes together very quickly. After you cook your sole, it’s nice to have a warm plate ready to rest the fish on as you make the quick sauce. Feel free to tent with foil as well.

And don’t skimp on the butter – the beauty of this dish is the browning of the milk solids in the butter, which creates a nutty flavor, and the way in which it makes a lip-smackingly delicious sauce with the fresh lemon. It’s worth the splurge!

I used a cast iron skillet for this recipe, which worked wonderfully, but any large, heavy-bottom pan will work as well.

Classic Sole Meunière

Serves 2

2 portions wild petrale sole, thawed
¼ cup all-purpose flour
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
4 slices fresh lemon, seeds removed
2 tablespoons fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

Gently pat the thawed sole portions dry with paper towels. Place the flour on a large plate and season well with salt and freshly ground pepper. Lightly dredge the sole on both sides in the flour, gently tapping off any excess.

Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Once the oil is shimmering, add 1 tablespoon unsalted butter and swirl it into the oil until the foil subsides. Fry a portion of sole for 2 minutes until browned on the bottom, then gently turn over and cook an additional 2 minutes. Remove the sole to a warm plate and repeat with the second portion.

Once both portions of sole are cooked, wipe out any remaining oil and butter from the pan, then return the pan to the range over low heat. Place the lemon slices in the pan and add the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter. Cook, stirring often for 2-3 minutes, until the butter begins to brown.

Remove the sauce from the heat. Gently squeeze the lemon slices into the butter, stirring to combine, then divide the sauce over the sole portions. Garnish each portion with chopped Italian parsley and serve immediately.

Adapted from content initially published by Vital Choice Wild Seafood & Organics.

Do you suffer from “sugar sag?”

Do you suffer from “sugar sag?”

As the years begin to add up, our skin can start to give away our age. And we spend incredible amounts of money on products and treatments to help reduce the visible signs of aging, such as wrinkled and sagging skin.

You may not realize, however, that one of the most powerful tools you have at your disposal for great skin is your diet.

Of course, there are a number of foods and nutrients that can help you to protect your skin against the ravages of time, including salmon and other fatty fish, nuts, avocados and colorful antioxidant-rich fruits and veggies.

Unfortunately, there’s one ingredient in your diet that could be undermining all of your other efforts to live healthy: sugar!

Recent studies show that sugar not only adds to your waistline, but can cause “sugar sag” – premature and unfortunate wrinkling and sagging of your skin.

But how? Let’s look first at the process called glycation and how it impacts that aging of your skin.

The link between AGE and aging

To understand how sugar ages your skin and causes “sugar sag,” you first have to understand what happens when you eat sugar.

Any time you have a high-sugar or high-glycemic food (anything from a cupcake to a piece of fruit to a piece of bread), your body converts these food sugars into glucose. And glucose in turn raises your body’s insulin levels. The more refined the sugar, such as corn syrup or white bread, the bigger the spike. 

This digested sugar attaches itself to proteins in a process called glycation to create new chemicals in your body known as advanced glycation end products, perhaps ironically known as AGEs. 

The more sugar you eat, the more AGEs your body develops. And as these AGEs begin to pile up, they damage surrounding tissues. The most vulnerable tissues they attack? Collagen and elastin. 

Collagen and elastin are the components of your skin that keep it elastic and resilient. If collagen and elastin are damaged by AGEs, they lose their resiliency and spring, causing the skin to wrinkle and become slack. Thus the “sugar sag.” 

The study of AGEs first emerged in research related to diabetes – in fact, diabetics can have up to 50 times the level of AGEs in the skin compared to those without. Which can go a long way in explaining how those with the disease tend to suffer more from age-related skin changes.

New research has expanded beyond diabetes to understand the ways in which AGEs make us look older.

The newest “sugar sag” research review

One large review of the research on AGEs and aging skin was published in 2015, and the results were conclusive – glycation plays a critical role in skin aging.

Your skin ages two ways – from internal factors, such as changes in collagen levels and the structure of the skin, and from external factors, including UV radiation from the sun.

Unfortunately, high AGE levels due to poor diet damage the skin from the inside out and can be created from the outside in. As mentioned above, AGEs damage collagen and elastin, leading to saggier, less resilient skin. And high levels of sugar in your diet boost AGE levels.

However, this research also revealed that AGEs are not only created by diet, but they’re also created or “activated” by UV exposure, creating a “vicious cycle” of AGE creation and skin damage from both directions, internally and externally. 

An additional review, published in 2012, concurred that ample evidence exists to show the role that AGEs play in skin aging. They point to a few key dietary interventions with promise, with an emphasis on the need for future human studies on how nutrition may help to counteract the effect of accumulated AGEs.

High blood sugar makes you lookolder than you are

Not only are AGEs slowly impacting your skin, they’re also making you look older than your calendar years! One fascinating study, from 2013, found that long-term exposure to high levels of glucose makes people look older than they really are.

This study was the first to find a relationship between individuals’ blood sugar levels and their perceived facial age. The research team analyzed the non-fasting blood sugar levels of more than 600 men and women in the Netherlands, who were also photographed. 

Next, they gathered feedback from 60 independent “judges” to determine how old the subjects looked. Researchers were then able to compare the test subjects’ actual age to their socially perceived age. 

The research team found that people with high blood sugar levels consistently looked older than those with lower blood sugar levels. In fact, for every unit increase in blood sugar, they saw a comparative increase in age.

In addition, they found that adults with diabetes, who’ve experienced a longer exposure to the effects of high blood sugar (and higher AGE levels), looked older than adults without diabetes, even taking into account external factors that can increase skin aging, including sun exposure, overall weight and smoking. 

Diana van Heemst, one of the study’s authors, notes: “The results from this study further underscore how important regulation of blood glucose levels is for well-being and health in advanced middle age. The associated benefit of looking younger might provide an extra motivation to bring about healthy lifestyle changes in 50-to-70 year olds.”

David Gunn, co-author, adds: “This is the first time that a relationship between high blood sugar levels and facial ageing has been identified. While there’s an extensive body of research which shows that consistently high levels of glucose in people’s blood stream is bad for their health, this study suggests that it's also not going to help them keep a youthful appearance.”

Early research points to antioxidants for protection against glycation

According to the comprehensive reviews, there’s an abundance of research that not only shows the damage AGEs can have on your youthful appearance, but also some insights into possible dietary changes that may slow aging due to AGEs. 

Suggested dietary changes include first and foremost limiting dietary sugar by understanding the glycemic index, the scale which determines how quickly blood sugar levels rise after ingesting particular foods.

Early studies also suggest that you need plenty of powerful antioxidants from fresh fruits and vegetables. Surprisingly, slower, water-based cooking methods (such as steaming) instead of grilling, frying or roasting also protect from AGEs that come directly from your diet (as opposed to being created in your body).

Additional research also indicates that nutritional supports such as green, tea, vitamin C, vitamin E, blueberry extract and various herbs and spices (ginger, cinnamon, cloves, marjoram, rosemary and tarragon) may all help to protect the skin by inhibiting the glycation that creates AGEs.

Sources:

Danby FW. “Nutrition and aging skin: sugar and glycation.” Clin Dermatol. 2010 Jul-Aug;28(4):409-11. doi: 10.1016/j.clindermatol.2010.03.018. PubMed PMID: 20620757.

Gkogkolou P, Böhm M. “Advanced glycation end products: Key players in skin aging?” Dermatoendocrinol. 2012 Jul 1;4(3):259-70. doi: 10.4161/derm.22028. PubMed PMID: 23467327; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3583887.

Janovska J, Babikovs S, Kisis J, Voicehovska J, Kasparane L, Dorizas AS. “Glycation and ageing: measurement and treatment.” Prime Journal. 17 March 2016.

Nguyen HP, Katta R. “Sugar Sag: Glycation and the Role of Diet in Aging Skin.” Skin Therapy Lett. 2015 Nov;20(6):1-5. Review. PubMed PMID: 27224842.

Noordam R, Gunn DA, Tomlin CC, Maier AB, Mooijaart SP, Slagboom PE, Westendorp RG, de Craen AJ, van Heemst D; Leiden Longevity Study Group. “High serum glucose levels are associated with a higher perceived age.” Age (Dordr). 2013 Feb;35(1):189-95.

Say NO to Resolutions!

As the New Year approaches, it seems only natural that we contemplate how we want to begin 2018 and who we want to be in the year ahead.

In the past, I’ve made New Year’s resolutions. Big ones. Small ones. Many of them. Just one really important one. I suspect you have, too.

Time and time again, I’ve failed. It’s not hard to understand why … regardless of how tempting it is to reinvent oneself at the start of the year, statistically speaking the odds are against us.

Why New Year’s resolutions fail

Recent psychological studies have shown that while nearly half of us make New Year’s resolutions, at least 50% of us will abandon them within the first three months. 

The longer-range view isn’t rosier. After two years, this same research shows that only 19% of participantsstuck to their original resolutions.

Why? A host of very valid reasons. Our goals are often overly ambitious and require too much dramatic change in our lifestyles and choices.

In addition, researchers have found that it’s critical that our resolutions align with our true visions of ourselves. When we make resolutions that are unrealistic or don’t match with our honest sense of self, it gives us “false hope,”setting us up for likely failure on the path to change.

Researchers have calculated that it takes approximately three months to form a new habit. From that point forward, people are much more likely to stay successfully on their path of change.

So, the good news is that if you dokeep your resolution for the first three months, you’re much more likely to stick with it!

My new approach to the new year

Studies and scientists aside, I’m taking a different approach this year. I’m saying “No” to New Year’s resolutions.

My experience is that they’re de-motivating. I make big promises, I (of course) am imperfect at meeting these big promises, and I feel defeated. End of transformation. 

However, if I take a rearview look at 2017, I did manage to achieve some real, meaningful change amid all the chaos of day-to-day life.

I’ve lost 35 pounds by gradually changing my diet and my exercise habits. How? Because my doctor said I had to. In April. So I asked friends who’d been successful and followed their lead on slow, steady changes.

I’ve starting cooking more for my family, too. How? Because I opened up my schedule a bit in the afternoons and have put more energy into weekend planning and shopping for a successful week ahead. Nothing dramatic, just gradual adjustments leading to fewer pizza orders.

Plus, I’ve been having more fun! And what’s more important than that? How have I done this? By choosing to laugh and play more and stress less about my worries.

I guarantee that if I had vowed to achieve any of these changes in January, I would have failed. Miserably.

Why this year-end feeling of success? I believe it’s because I made these changes as the opportunities and needs arose. Meaning, I made them when the time was right and for an in-the-moment reason, rather than arbitrarily on January 1.

So, here’s what I would encourage you to do – just say “No!” Instead of making New Year promises you likely won’t keep, take stock of your life today and celebrate the successes that arose naturally out of your year. Like me, you’ll probably see some wonderful incremental changes that, added up, feel like a big success!

And when you wake up January 1, know that it’s just another day in the continuum of your changing self. No need for grand proclamations … just keep doing what you’re already doing.

Know you’ll rise to meet new challenges, and in the mean time, do the very best you can each day to embrace positive change and have fun!Happy New Year!

Give Poke a Chance!

Poke is everywhere – you can’t eat out without seeing a poke bowl or appetizer on the menu. Pronounced PO-kay, this very hot (yet very raw) beautiful food trend is actually based on a centuries-old, classic Hawaiian dish.

Poke is simply spiced raw fish. Found in supermarkets throughout the Hawaiian Islands, poke is raw fish with any of a huge range of seasonings and vegetables. It’s generally served over rice, but you’ll also see it served over a variety of noodles, over greens as a salad, with wonton crisps as an appetizer, etc.

As my 12-year-old so sagely observed, served over rice, a poke bowl is very much like sushi deconstructed, but with the addition of a bit more dressing and spice.

After a Florida spring training adventure (Go Cardinals!), I knew I had to give poke a try at home, if only to see if I could rival the yummy dishes we enjoyed everywhere. (Spoiler alert ... I could rival restaurant poke, which means you can too!).

Let me say this – The reviews around my table were pure raves! The gorgeous combination of flavors makes a healthy and colorful meal that has that certain something extra that leaves you feeling perfectly satisfied!

This poke bowl is a combination of four key elements: jasmine rice, a slightly spicy shoyu (soy sauce) dressing, a few fresh vegetables and raw, cubed yellowfin tuna.

If you have time to make rice, the rest of the dish can be prepared while the rice cooks, making this an incredibly quick meal, particularly given how impressive and delicious it is.

Yellowfin Tuna Poke Bowl

Serves 4

1/2 to 1 large jalapeno
2 tablespoons black sesame seeds
4 scallions
3 tablespoons good-quality soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
½ teaspoon freshly grated ginger
1 teaspoon sesame oil
4 small Persian cucumbers (or 1/3 large English cucumber)
2 5.5oz steaks Wild Pacific Yellowfin Tuna, thawed
2 small ripe avocados
Jasmine rice to serve 4 guests (or similar)

First, start your jasmine rice. In the 30 minutes it takes to cook and rest the rice, you can prepare the rest of this recipe.

Gently toast the black sesame seeds in a dry skillet over medium-low heat until just fragrant, about 4 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Mince ½ to 1 large jalapeno, using some or all of the seeds depending on how spicy you prefer this dish. I used ½ large jalapeno with the seeds, which was just a bit spicy without considerable heat.

Thinly slice the white and light green portions of the scallions. Combine the jalapeno and scallions in a large bowl, then add soy sauce, rice vinegar, fresh lemon juice, grated ginger and sesame oil. Whisk to combine.

Thinly slice the cucumbers (I don’t peel them, as the peel is so thin) and stir into the dressing and let rest. This gives the cucumbers a lightly pickled flavor.

Once the rice is finished, divide it equally between bowls or plates. Cut the avocados into ½-inch pieces.

Cut the yellowfin tuna into ½-inch pieces and gently combine with the dressing. Spoon tuna, cucumber and a bit of dressing over each the bowl of rice, then top with avocado and garnish with toasted black sesame seeds. Serve immediately.

Adapted from content initially published by Vital Choice Wild Seafood & Organics.