If you use your noggin, you'll eat for your brain as well as your heart

The On Health newsletter from Consumer Reports explores "8 Power Foods for Your Brain," concluding leafy greens, such as fresh spinach sauteed in olive oil, above, may improve brain health "because of their high levels of vitamin K, folate (a B vitamin), and the antioxidants beta carotene and lutein.

Editor's note: We buy a lot of high-quality produce, and canned and fresh fish  from Costco Wholesale so an April newsletter from Consumer Reports was welcome news.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Just when I thought a heart-healthy Mediterranean diet was the only one I needed, Consumer Reports said I can do more to reduce my risk of Alzheimer's disease. 

"The MIND diet is a hybrid of the heart-healthy Mediterranean and blood-pressure-lowering DASH diets," according to On Health, a newsletter from Consumer Reports.

(MIND stands for Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay).

That's a mouthful, but in layman's terms, MIND limits red meat, butter and stick margarine, pastries and sweets, fried and fast food, and cheese.

A few foods play a starring role, according to "8 Power Foods for Your Brain" in the April 2016 edition of the newsletter.

They are vegetables/leafy greens, nuts, berries, beans, fish/poultry, olive oil, whole grains and wine (one glass a day).

Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix contains a lot of leafy greens, here dressed with extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar. At Costco Wholesale in Teterboro, a 1-pound container of the organic salad mix was $4.29 on Friday, as it has been for a few weeks, but the new Costco Wholesale Business Center in Hackensack charged me $4.79 for the same spring mix on Tuesday.

Consumer Reports says leafy greens improve brain health, but the article doesn't mention eggs or sweet potatoes.

The omega 3 fats in fish  "may improve learning and memory by increasing the brain's ability to send and receive messages," Consumer Reports says. Organic whole wheat shells from Whole Foods Market, above, are wonderful with sardines and anchovies from Costco Wholesale. Below, wild caught white bass ($2.99 a pound at H Mart in Little Ferry) with sweet peppers, tomatoes and fresh herbs baked in aluminum-foil packages.

Follow this diet for sex past 90

The September-October 2009 issue of AARP The Magazine has a remarkable story on the longevity of the people who live on the isolated Greek island of Ikaria.

Of course, some of the reasons revolve around their diet: wild greens, with more antioxidants than red wine; herbal teas, which lower blood pressure; goat's milk, rich in a blood-pressure-lowering hormone as well as antibacterial compounds; a Mediterranean diet high in whole grains, fruits, vegetables, olive oil and fish; Greek honey, which has health benefits not found in American honey; and home-baked sourdough bread, which may stave off diabetes.

They also walk everywhere and have strong social connections.

"Over centuries with no outside influences," the article says, "island natives developed a distinctive outlook on life, including relentless optimism and a propensity for partying, both of which reduce stress. Ikarians go to bed well after midnight, sleep late, and take daily naps. Based on our interviews, we have reason to believe that most Ikarians over 90 are sexually active."

Read the whole story on the magazine's Web site:

http://www.aarpmagazine.org/health/more_good_years.html

Here is why Julia Child is irrelevant

A new movie partly inspired by her life is bringing renewed attention to Julia Child, the late and, to some, lamented French television chef and cookbook author. But to me and thousands of others who watch what they eat, her kitchen techniques and her recipes have long been passe.

I am sure there are many people who still eat this way: three courses of cholesterol-laden food, including gooey desserts, all made with large quantities of butter and heavy cream. I not only gave up cooking with butter or cream 15 to 20 years ago, but devote most of my time and energy to finding pure ingredients and then cooking them as quickly and simply as possible. How many people spend an hour or two preparing dinner? How many use recipes with a dozen or more steps and a list of ingredients as long as your arm?

Mine is the Mediterranean diet: heavy on fish, fruit, vegetables and olive oil. I drink a glass of wine with dinner two or three days a week. A salad and great bread must be part of my meal. My idea of dessert is low-fat organic yogurt with honey.

Who needs Julia Child?

I only have to look at my mother, who spent hours in the kitchen every day and put a great meal on the table every night, while withstanding my father's third-degree on the whereabouts of leftovers. A meatless meal and another of fish were weekly occurrences. She didn't mix meat and milk because we observed the kosher laws.

A plate of cut lettuce, cucumbers and celery was placed on the table every day or we had a big salad. She made her own string cheese and baklava. And starting in 1958, she self-published a cookbook of her Sephardic recipes, following up with two new editions. In short, I only have to look at the life of Grace Sasson if I need to be inspired about food.