Prime Time - Jane Fonda [47]
Food Labels
You may think you are buying whole grain breads when you see packages that say “whole wheat” or “multigrain,” but it’s not necessarily so. If you are shopping for bread, pancake mix, or other grain-based foods, you need “whole wheat” or “whole rye,” for example, to be the only grain listed in the ingredients. When you see the term “made with whole grain,” the food is not 100 percent whole grain. Don’t waste your money on foods made with “unbleached but refined flour.” And forget about the ice creams, yogurts, juice drinks, and even waters that claim to contain fiber. These are not the kinds of real fiber you get from whole grains, beans, fruits, and vegetables. There is no solid scientific evidence that the mostly purified, processed, powdered versions of fiber that are being added to foods have the same benefits.
Food labels always list the ingredients in descending order of amount, so if sugar or refined, enriched flour is the first or second ingredient, you know that the food, whatever it is, is best avoided. You should also avoid products that contain such questionable additives as nitrites, saccharin, acesulfame potassium, artificial colorings (such as Red 40 or Yellow 5), and synthetic preservatives such as BHA and BHT.
FRUITS AND VEGETABLES
Fruits and vegetables, which are excellent sources of dietary fiber, should be a major part of our daily supply of energy. In order to ensure that we are getting the necessary vitamins, minerals, and micronutrients we need at this stage of life, our supply of healthy carbs shouldn’t all be beige (that is, from the whole grains, nuts, breads, etc.).
Try to eat five to ten servings of different colored fresh fruits and vegetables every day. (Don’t freak! As Jane Brody points out, one serving consists of only “half a cup of cut‑up or cooked vegetables, one cup of fresh greens, half a cup of cooked dried beans, or, if you must, six ounces of vegetable juice.”2) Why is color important? Because colorful foods are usually rich in nutrients. Dark leafy vegetables, such as kale, spinach, and broccoli; dark purple fruits, such as blueberries and blackberries; and dark orange fruits and vegetables are among the richest in nutrients and antioxidants. Containing vitamins C and E, beta-carotene, and selenium, these foods are real scavengers of free radicals. Beta-carotene is the precursor of vitamin A, which is critical to healthy eyes and skin and can help fight infection. Since older people should not take vitamin A supplements because vitamin A builds up in the liver and can cause toxicity, it is especially important that we eat plenty of these foods. One study has shown that women who eat large amounts of fruits and vegetables are at lower risk of obesity. Provided they are not loaded with butter or high-calorie dressings and sauces, the dietary bulk of fresh fruits and vegetables can fill your stomach and curb your appetite. They can also reduce your cholesterol level and help curb constipation.
Eating by Color
Look at this list of colors and think about how to get at least four or five of these foods—these colors—into yourself every day. (Please note that the foods themselves are far better, with fewer calories, than fruit juices or dried fruits and vegetables.)
RED: tomatoes, pink grapefruit, watermelon, red peppers, red apples, blood oranges, cranberries, red grapes, cherries, red pears, pomegranates, raspberries, strawberries, red onions, rhubarb, beets, radishes, radicchio
BLUE/PURPLE: purple grapes, purple plums, prunes, blueberries, blackberries, black currants, black olives, eggplant, purple Belgian endive, purple peppers, black salsify
YELLOW/ORANGE: yellow apples, apricots, gooseberries, cantaloupe, carrots, yellow figs, grapefruit, golden kiwifruit, lemons, mangoes, nectarines, oranges, papayas, peaches, yellow pears, persimmons, pineapples,