Keep an eye on how often you pee—pale urine, six to seven times a day, or every two to three hours, is good. You want it to be “basically like a Chablis, a Riesling, Pinot Grigio, or champagne-colored,” John Higgins, a sports cardiologist at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth, in Houston, told me. “If you notice the urine is getting darker, like a Chardonnay- or Sauvignon Blanc–type of thing, that generally means you are dehydrated.”
Studies point to the health benefits of beans, backing up what people in blue zones have long known, Buettner said. The soluble fiber in beans can cut cholesterol and help prevent type 2 diabetes by stabilizing blood sugar. A 2001 study found eating beans four times a week cut heart disease by 22%. A 2004 study found people lived approximately eight more years for every 20-gram intake of legumes — that’s about an ounce.
So far, it’s been a pleasant summer. We have had temps in the 80’s until recently.
What happens in the summer when it starts getting hot?
BEER happens. Willpower gone. There’s beer in the house.
I’ve been holding steady at 172 for a few months. But the arrival of beer weather does concern me.
The Boss has been working tirelessly in the yard and it looks the best it has in years. New shrubs, flowers, perennials and rose bushes were added this year. As for me, I try to find plants that I can’t kill. Meet Pepper Plant #4.
Readers with sharp eyes will note this tiny thing already has two peppers. Yeah, I cheated and bought a plant that already had fruit. I still remember the horrors of my last Pepper Plant 08.02.18. So I cheated. Pepper Plants #3 and #2 are in a pot and about twice the size of #4. No fruits yet, but I remain hopeful.
There’s basil on the patio too. I taught myself how to prune basil properly and hopefully I’ve learned something from watching hours of basil pruning videos on YouTube. Upon careful inspection today the plant needs to be pruned. So tonight’s meal will be Pasta with Vegetables, Olive oil, and Garlic. I don’t think I’ve ever written this recipe down but One Rotisserie Chicken, 50 Meals – #6 Pasta with Chicken, Vegetables, Oiive Oil and Garlic is close enough. No chicken or squash tonight. I’m heading down the broccoli route with lots of fresh basil and garlic. Go 4 cloves. Or more.
The basil is healthy and my new pepper plant has peppers. Hopefully this summer will be better than The Tomato Plant – 2014 Final Update. My basil didn’t’ do well that year either.
Time for a beer and to give thanks for not living in Texas anymore.
The study, published online Wednesday in the journal Cell Metabolism, found eating a snack high in fat and sugar every day alters the reward circuits in human brains to create lasting preferences.
Fatty and sugary foods train your brain to hate healthier options: Yale study — New York Post, March 22, 2023
HT to Sally Feltner for the original post. Link to the original post is provided above. I’ve also credited the New York Post because I’m not sure who wrote the sentence I’ve quoted.
What I am sure about is my cerebral reward circuits still function very well if I have to choose between a piece of fruit or a cup of ice cream. Or a piece of pizza versus a salad. Or french fries rather than a plain baked potato.
I enjoyed tracking my meals this week and learned a lot.
I no longer need to track consumption like I have in the past. The habit and behavioral changes have stuck around.
My snack last night was grapes and crackers. They found my mouth after I posted.
The very ripe spotted bananas seemed to ripen faster when residing in the same bowl as the once rock hard green avocados that are now ripe enough to eat hence fajitas for dinner tonight.
After 47 years as a cardiologist with 200,000 patient visits, I can firmly say that vegans are my healthiest patients. I certainly agree with you it is not easy. My position is that 90% vegan which is 19 of 21 meals a week will do just fine. Foods should be, prior to preparation, ideally organic and unprocessed whole foods exactly as they grow up out of the ground and in the field.
H Robert Silverstein, MD, FACC
I found this quote in the comments section of an online article years ago. The 90% Solution has been my targeted balance of meals ever since. Yet the older I get the more I realize things are never that simple nor easy. Life is never simple nor easy. Too many of us don’t know what we don’t know.
More Things I’ve Learned About Myself
Over time I’ve revealed more personal information. At first I hesitated to share personal details about my journey. Now I’m much more relaxed about my privacy than in the past.
My personal journal remains my primary journal. My blogs have become journals as well. They’re all me. Remember what is here is only a part of me.
I write differently in my personal journal than I do in my public journals.
For the first time I’ve taken a deeper dive into where I’ve been in this blog. Some of what I discovered surprised me. I sometimes don’t follow my own advice. It is always easier to say rather than to do. It’s been quite some time since I posted Keep a Journal/Food Diary. I can’t remember the last time I tracked my meals.
When The Boss is away I listen to more jazz when working.
I’ve taught myself how to write more in my journals during the day when taking work breaks.
Today’s Meals
Breakfast – Buttered whole wheat toast, oatmeal with raisins, milk
garyskitchen.net 