This is not another horror story about killing yourself with breakfast! Today, a list of foods that are supposed to make you live longer. The happy seven, from Eating Well Magazine:
Chocolate --
Blueberries--
Fish--
Nuts--
Wine--
Olive Oil--
Yogurt
Why are these good for us?
Chocolate provides flavanols. Actually, it’s cocoa that we’re looking for here, in order to get the flavanols without the fat. Flavanols help preserve the healthy function of blood vessels, thereby lowering the risk of blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, kidney disease and dementia. So, this is not meant to encourage us to shove a ton of Fannie May down our respective pie holes and become morbidly obese in the interest of improved health. Have a bracing cup of cocoa instead.
Blueberries and other berries have compounds that mitigate inflammation and oxidative damage, Translation: good against age related deficits in memory and motor function. Berries are berry good for you.
Fish provides omega-3 fats, and that’s good to protect against cholesterol buildup. I believe that you don’t get the whole healthy kick if you order a deep fried fish sammich and a giant fries chaser. That deep fried thing, along with the white bread and special fishy sauce, tends to work against you.
Nuts provide unsaturated fats, lots of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Put away the Ruffles and substitute Planters.
Wine, particularly red wine, works against heart disease, diabetes and age related memory loss. By the way, as soon as they said "wine", they said "moderation".
Olive oil does the good stuff that nuts do. Bell peppers, sautéed in olive oil. Oooooo…so good. Healthy, too.
Yogurt is kinda iffy here. A bunch of old Russians claimed in the '70's that yogurt was the secret to their longevity. Science has only proved up on the calcium being helpful and the good bacteria helps you have happy intestines. Happy intestines make for happy...I don't know, but I'm sure it's a good thing. Eat blueberry yogurt and do a double dipper here.
Bon appetit!
