You are what you eat

Are you what you eat, or is it possible you are what you don’t eat? A recent study looked at the diets of around one hundred African-American women living in public housing in Washington, D.C., and found that less than 1 percent met all five of the goals to reduce their risk of developing cancer, and only 15 percent ate all their daily servings of fruits and vegetables (five) suggested. For these women, the things that they don’t eat could be negatively affecting their health.

Vegetarian Myth Busters

I want to preface this by saying I am not a vegetarian.

I tried to be once, for three weeks, after I read the book Fast Food Nation. Scared off meat! However, my crash course in not eating meat or fish did not go too well. Mostly my boredom came from a lack of creativity - I wasn’t incorporating tofu or soy into my diet or being inventive with my cooking. I pretty much just ate bagels and cream cheese and apples for like, three weeks. My dietary boredom did teach me one thing though, being a happy vegetarian requires a little strategy, a little finesse.

We know that eating a plant based diet is a critical part of eating like centenarians in the regions of the world identified as the Blue Zones. For that reason, I bring you Vegetarian Myth Busters. You don't have to be a full blown vegetarian, but you should start reaping the health benefits by incorporating more healthy greens, soy, tofu and legumes into your daily diet.

Water, water everywhere

The next time you work up a sweat and grab a glass of water to rehydrate, take a second to say thanks. According to the United Nations, more than 1 billion (yes, billion) people lack safe, clean drinking water, and more than 2 and a half billion don’t have access to adequate sanitation.

But for those of us who have clean water, water can be a wonderful thing. Water, the most vital of vital nutrients, varies in mineral composition from place to place. The Blue Zone scientist Gianni Pes discovered that the water in Nicoya, Costa Rica, is particularly rich in calcium.

Last week, deep in the University of San Jose’s archives, we found a map showing water hardness (calcium and magnesium content) in different regions of Costa Rica. We noticed that here in Nicoya, water is the hardest. To confirm this, we tested the drinking water in 20 different areas throughout Nicoya. The result: The water is off-the-charts hard in this area—at least 500 parts per million!

The World Health Organization has studied so-called “hard” water and found that water with more minerals (hard water) affords its drinkers some health benefits, specifically in terms of their cardiovascular health. While scientists don’t fully understand the reasons populations drinking hard water show lower rates of cardiovascular mortality, it is important to note that calcium and magnesium in water seem to offer added protection for one’s heart.

So be sure to stay hydrated – not everyone has clean water at their fingertips.