(If you don’t want to read all of this, scroll to the bottom for my summary.)

Correlation analyses on the individual ethnic groups were as follows: Greek-born Australians with a low intake of milk and coffee, but a high intake of legumes, mousaka, eggplant dip, garlic, low fat yogurt and polyunsaturated oil had the least skin wrinkling (Table 4). Greek elderly living in rural Greece with a low intake of milk, processed meat, pudding and dessert, fat spread (mainly butter), but a high intake of green leafy vegetables, broad beans and cheese had the least skin damage. Certain foods were negatively associated (protective) with skin wrinkling amongst Anglo-Celtic Australians: sardines, cheese, asparagus, celery, vegetable juice, cherries, grapes, melon, apple, fruit salad, jam, multigrain bread, prunes and tea. Swedish elderly with a low intake of roast beef, meat soup, fried potato, canteloup, grapes, canned fruit, ice cream, cakes and pastries, jam and soft drink, but a high intake of egg, skimmed milk, yogurt, lima bean and spinach pie had better skin.

Overall, our finding suggest that subjects with a higher intake of vegetables, olive oil and monounsaturated fat and legumes, but a lower intake of milk/milk products, butter, margarine and sugar products had less skin wrinkling in a sun-exposed site. There may be covariance between food categories in which a cuisine may operate on skin biology.

In particular, full-fat milk (as opposed to skim milk, cheese and yogurt), red meat (especially processed meat), potatoes, soft drinks/cordials and cakes/pastries were associated with extensive skin wrinkling. In contrast, eggs, yogurt, legumes (especially broad and lima beans), vegetables (especially green leafy/spinach, eggplant, asparagus, celery, onions/leeks and garlic), nuts, olives, cherries, grapes, melon, dried fruits/prunes, apples/pears, multigrain bread, jam, tea and water were associated with less photoaging. Three food groups, namely dried fruits (prunes), apples and tea, explained 34% of variance amongst ACA.

In this study, legume consumption also appeared to be protective against actinic damage; this may be partly explained by their phytoestrogen content. Phytoestrogens have recently been identified to act as antioxidants

This study illustrates that skin wrinkling in a sun-exposed site in older people of various ethnic backgrounds may be influenced by the types of foods consumed. Correlation and regression analyses on the minor food groups and food items for each ethnic group identified the following foods to be positively associated with cutaneous actinic skin damage: full-fat milk (as opposed to skim milk, cheese and yogurt), red meat (especially processed meat), potatoes, soft drinks/cordials, cakes/pastries. Negative associations were found with eggs, yogurt, legumes (especially broad and lima beans), vegetables (especially green leafy/spinach, eggplant, asparagus, celery, onions/leeks, garlic), nuts, olives, cherries, melon, dried fruits/prunes, apples/pears, multigrain bread, jam, tea and water. Three food groups, namely dried fruits, apples and tea, explained 34% of variance amongst ACA. For nutrients, higher intakes of total fat, especially monounsaturated fat, vitamin C, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, zinc and retinol were correlated with less actinic skin damage.

An intervention study is needed to investigate whether cutaneous actinic damage could be prevented in part with higher intakes of vegetables (especially green leafy, garlic/onions, celery), legumes, olive oil, total fat (mainly monounsaturated), apples/pears, prunes, tea and possibly fish, cherries, melons, minerals, vitamin C and retinol.

Fascinating- motivating, teensy weensy bit confusing. They say that milk products are bad but yogurt and cheese are good?

To break it down for you, here is the summary from this article of what food will do which:

Wrinkles

• milk, full-fat milk (not skim milk)
• fat spread (mainly butter) butter, margarine
• coffee
• red meat (especially processed meat), roast beef, processed meat, meat soup,
• pudding, ice cream, cakes and pastries, and other desserts/sugar product
• fried potato, potatoes (?)
• cantaloupe (?) (Knock, knock, who’s there? Cantaloupe. Cantaloupe who? Cantaloupe with you tonight. Let’s get married in June!)
• grapes, (?)
• canned fruit,
• jam
• soft drink/cordial

Basically: milk, coffee, red meat, butter, margarine, and SUGAR will make you wrinkle like a little prune face.

Smooth Beautiful Skin

• Top three: apples, tea, dried fruits
• green leafy vegetables
• vegetables especially spinach, eggplant, asparagus, celery, onions, leeks, and garlic.
• vegetable juice
• water
• legumes (especially broad beans and lima beans)
• Fruit including: Cherries, grapes (???), melon, apple, prunes, pears, fruit salad, and dried fruits.
• olive oil, and other monounsaturated fats including nuts and olives
• polyunsaturated oil (??)
• yogurt, low fat yogurt
• cheese (?)
• sardines,
• eggs
• multigrain bread,
• mousaka,
• eggplant dip,
• jam? (I have this on good authority that this is bad for your skin. See above list. What gives?)

Basically: to look like a little Adonis or Aphrodite:

Drink tea, water, and vegetable juice,

Eat lots of vegetables, legumes, and fruit especially apples, (we’re still unsure about grapes and melons), get most of your fat from plant sources, but feel free to include some fish and some yogurt and maybe cheese (although yogurt and cheese are milk products, ahem.)

My two cents about tea: choose your tea carefully, event the small amount of caffeine in green tea is not good for people with reactive hypoglycemia. Also, tea is often decaffeinated using chemicals that aren’t good for you, so look into it. “Caffeine stimulates the production of adrenaline. So does reactive hypoglycemia. Therefore, caffeine in the diet can make symptoms worse because the production of adrenaline is increased.”

I need to do something to feel healthier. Since limiting my food intake doesn’t work for me, I’ve decided to ADD to my food intake! My goal is to eat 9 servings of vegetables a day. I did this once years ago for three days and my skin GLOWED. It was an amazing and very noticeable difference. I looked SO healthy. I don’t know why I stopped doing it, but I’ve wanted to do it again ever since.

Here’s a list from Healthy Eating Made Easy that you can print out of what a serving of vegetables is.

VEGETABLE SERVINGS: SIZES

* Asparagus, canned 7 spears
* Asparagus, fresh 5 spears
* Avocado Half
* Aubergine One-third of a large one
* Baby sweetcorn 6
* Baked beans 3 tbsp (1/2 cup)
* Broad beans 3 heaped tbsp (1/2 cup)
* Broccoli 2 large florets
* Brussels sprouts 8
* Cabbage 3 heaped tbsp shredded, (1/2 cup)
* Carrots 1 large
* Celery 3 sticks
* Cherry tomatoes 7
* Chickpeas See Pulses
* Courgette Half a large one
* Curly kale 4 tbsp (1/2 cup)
* Eggplant One-third of a large one
* French beans 4 heaped tbsp (1/2 cup)
* Kidney beans See Pulses
* Lentils See pulses
* Mixed salad Cereal bowl full (1 cup)
* Mushrooms, button 14
* Onion 1 medium
* Parsnip 1 large
* Peas, fresh, frozen or canned 3 heaped tbsp (1/2 cup)
* Potatoes Never count towards your daily vegetable servings, in any form
* Pulses, cooked: kidney beans, chickpeas, lentils etc 3 heaped tbsp (1/2 cup)
* Salad leaves, lettuce etc Cereal bowl full (1 cup)
* Scallions 8
* Snowpeas Handful
* Spinach, cooked 2 heaped tbsp (1/2 cup)
* Spring onions 8
* Sugarsnap peas Handful
* Sweetcorn, fresh, frozen or canned 3 heaped tbsp (1/2 cup)
* Tomato 1 medium
* Vegetable soup 1 serving of fresh or canned soup
* Vegetable sticks Handful of mixed - celery, pepper, carrot etc
* Zucchini Half a large one

When I did this before, I drank V-8, and ate large salads full of vegetables on beds of greens. I’m not sure, but I might not have counted the greens which may mean I was getting more than 9 servings of vegetables. I’ll try out the true 9 servings and let you know if my face glows again.

Click here to check out Kathy Smith’s fitness blog.

She is pro women’s sports, pro exercising and eating healthy, pro women of all shapes and sizes, and anti-deprivation. So, I think she’s my kind of gal. I found many of her posts to be really inspiring (even though some also link to her products.)

Check out what she says about deprivation:

“I’ve noticed that most people get caught up in that vicious cycle of dieting and then blowing the diet. It usually goes like this: You’re unhappy with the way you look and feel. You seek a diet that promises instant weight loss through complete control of what, when, and how you eat. Soon you discover that you can’t stick with it, and you end up right back where you started…

“To be successful, you have to move out of a diet mentality. Most plans don’t take into account what food really means to us. They don’t consider how the flavor and color and texture and presentation of food can give us so much pleasure. They don’t consider how eating foods that you don’t like leaves you unsatisfied.

“It was a good reminder for me today that, as I support others in their efforts to lose weight, choosing foods you truly love and that also enhance your physiological well-being are the key to becoming an independent eater.”

Well said, Kathy! And a timely reminder for me as I was about to launch into diet-like behavior by eating a protein shake on a regular basis, rather than a really yummy breakfast. My diet like thoughts may help explain why I was eating cake mix out of the package with a spoon this week. (I know, pretty image.)

When I just decide to eat really delicious and mostly healthy food, I end up eating a very healthy, balanced diet. (It doesn’t necessarily make me lose weight, but I do feel and look healthier.) But if I start thinking that I need to get thinner and then focus on that goal, the fearful gorging begins.

Breathe in, deep breath. I’m letting go of needing to look a certain way. That won’t guarantee me love. People of all shapes and sizes are loved. (I’m already loved, why am I trying to get all thin to get love?) Just focus on moving my awesome body and eating very delicious, mostly healthy food. Breath out…

It’s an interesting issue that I’ve been thinking about for a long time and I’m not sure yet if my life is matching up with my values. I’m still working it out. And like Alicia Silverstone says, it’s not all or nothing.

Here’s a list of what I think of animal rights and what I do:

Eating

I think that it is ok to eat animals and animal products, but not ok to be cruel to them. I don’t think raising or eating factory raised animals is ok.

What I do: I only buy fish or birds to eat. I try and buy “organic” “free range” birds and wild caught fish, but it’s really hard to tell how the animals were actually treated. It might be easier just to be vegetarian. I eat eggs but only “cage free” eggs. I buy eggs from birds raised on small farms when I come across them, even if they cost more.

The book In Defense of Food has reasonable and balanced guidelines for eating in a way that is healthy for us and the earth. He doesn’t advocate vegetarianism, but does advocate eating heavy on the vegis and light on the animals. This is more of an ecological way of looking at animal rights rather than caring about individual animals as much, but he is against eating factory raised animals.

Animals I wouldn’t eat even if I were starving. They are part of my tribe.

Hunting

Watching animals die at factories on Peta is like watching animals die on the discovery channel. It’s a harsh world in some ways, but should we contribute to that? With our human ingenuity we have really pushed cruelty over the top when it comes to killing other animals, simply due to efficiency. To bring our behavior more in balance with the rest of nature, I think we should at least be as ineffective as other predators and hunt for food we eat. (We, like wolves, are predators- see our forward facing eyes and motions.)

What I do: My behavior isn’t in line with this belief because I don’t hunt. I did go hunting with my dad and older brothers when I was a kid. They taught me how to shoot a gun. I loved hunting until they actually shot a deer. Then I cried and cried and cried.

Food I didn’t have to hunt for.

Clothing

I’m allergic to wool. I have very few shoes. A couple pairs are leather. I keep my shoes for so long (decades) that I don’t feel bad about that. If everyone had my shoe habits, very few cows would need to be killed for leather. So, I guess moderation is my general principle here. I’d definitely be willing to buy shoes made out of other materials too.

I think it’s alright to buy any kind of animal made products at a thrift store because buying them at a thrift store doesn’t contribute to the industry that makes those products.

Pets and feral animals

I have a friend who is a vegan AND a biologist. She thinks that feral cats should be killed because they upset the native bird population. It’s an interesting way of looking at the issue. As a biologist, she is looking at the population as a whole, but as a vegan, there must be some concern for the individual animals. (I think it can be successfully argued that you can raise and eat meat on small farms and other ways that are in balance with the environment.) Interesting.

I think it is horrifying to kill feral cats. I think a good thing to do with them is to catch them and spay or neuter them. Growing up, we adopted stray cats that wondered into our yard and spayed or neutered them. Last year my mom caught feral cats in her neighborhood in traps, got them spayed or neutered, and then released them back into her neighborhood. So, when it comes to these cats, I think of them as individuals, but when it comes to hunting, I’m ok with hunting for food because I’m thinking of the effect on the population overall and how it balances out ecologically.

I’m not saying either of these ways of thinking are better. I’m just thinking through this and noticing these interesting inconsistencies.

Feral cat in my mom’s backyard, neutered but not killed, and still on the prowl.

Animal Testing

Cosmetics: Absolutely not ok with me. I try and make sure I only buy things that haven’t been tested on animals. To survive, I can understand eating other animals, but for the sake of looking cuter?? No way.

Medical testing

This one is tricky. There is A LOT of lab work being done on animals in research centers and universities. I would never do this work. Does this make me a hypocrite for using the medicine that comes out of this work? My Granddad is on three medications for Alzheimer’s right now. I’m glad this medicine exists. It seems likely that it was tested on animals. What do you think about using this medicine?

I went to a lecture at the university I was working at. What they found out was facinating and might help humans a lot, but when I heard how they figured it out using lab animals, I wanted to cry and retch. After seeing that presentation I thought, maybe it isn’t so tricky. Maybe the sum total of what we’ve gained by dissecting creatures physically and dissecting reality into it’s component bits in our Western intellectual tradition does not equal what we would have if we lived and thought more holistically.

Granddad who I love very much who is helped by medication probably tested on other animals.

What do you think about these issues? I would love to hear from you.

Thoughts? Insights that makes any of this more clear? Any of your own inconsistencies that you notice?

He writes about the history of food in America and how the idea of what we should eat has been taken over by well intentioned scientists and self-interested industry. We now have a near mono-culture of soybeans and corn. He talks about all the concessions that the USDA has made in their labeling and reccomendations because of industry pressure. I think I just found a consession he didn’t mention.

My friend Laura over at Starling Fitness lists the oils that the USDA reccomends which include soybean oil and corn oil. Those are our surplus crops, but I highly doubt we need ever more of those products in our body. Very interesting… I wonder if someone out there on the internet has already unravled this mystery.

I couldn’t find the spot on where the USDA recommends these oils. I did find a page where they are listed. They use vague language about the oils, so maybe they are trying to avoid industry wrath without lying.

Oils come from many different plants and from fish. Some common oils are:

• canola oil
• corn oil
• cottonseed oil
• olive oil
• safflower oil
• soybean oil
• sunflower oil

I highly recommend In Defense of Food.  You can listen to Michael Pollan’s six minutes of advice about nutrition and read an excerpt from his book on NPR, and listen to the more interesting and longer interview he did about the content of his book The Omnivore’s Dilemma.

What are your Christmas stories? I don’t even know if I have Christmas stories… let’s see…
About 8 years old: Some one rings the bell. We open the door, there is a big box almost as tall as my head in wrapping paper! The top is open! 4 kids jumping up and down and screaming! I pull out a cheerleader barbie doll from the box. Pure excitement. Our moms are embarrassed.  They look at each other. I don’t care. What food is in there?!!

About 6 years old? A man knocks on the door. I answer. I’m in my pink nightgown and robe. The man asks in a strained voice if my dad is home. He is wearing a dark jacket. He has dark hair. I am innocent. I walk up to my parent’s bedroom to tell my dad that someone is at the door for him. I am first startled when I turn around and find that the man has followed me up the stares and is standing behind me in the hall. Uh oh, maybe I should have shut the door. He yells at my dad. They move into the living room. He knocks my dad into the Christmas tree. He knocks our Christmas tree down. Hey! You knocked our Christmas tree down! I think someone calls the police. Later, I feel somewhat sorry for that man. He looked so sad.

I heard you’re looking for a new place?

Why? You found something? Oh let me tell you. The old owner, she die. Now her children, one in Austin, one in Santa Monica, they sell house. People come and look, but no one buy. Is good for me. [looks up] please just one more month, two! No one buy, too expensive! Two million! Old house! But beautiful view, That’s why. Two million! One for him, one for her. I get tired of counting one, one, one, oh too much money I have in my purse! I lost track! Million, never work again.

Oh, daughter, she no eat. She not hungry. She only smoke, oh and drink black coffee. Smoke in one hand, coffee in other. And she have… beer. but no eat. I say, you want some food. She say, no Ester, no. She sits with her head in her hand, like this, poor baby. Poor baby! I try and help. I say, I do some laundry for you? She say, thank you ester. I have pajamas and my bedding. I say, OK.

Her mother, I help her. She die in March, just 4 days, she be 100. 100! She beautiful! Her face, beautiful, and so sweet. She intelligent. books! books, books, books, But her memory gone. She say only, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba. She look a person up all the way down to feet, up! ba, ba, ba, ba bery intelligent, first woman scientist here. I put my hand (she puts her hand on my shoulder) and she [she puts her hand on her shoulder and presses her face against it.] like this. Oh bery sweet.

Daughter look more old!

Nother surprise! Almost 100. No poo poo pee pee in pants. No. Never! Before she die, poo poo 4 times in bed, but never before that. She just uh uh, and I help like this to bathroom, take pants down, I say you up now? unh unh! No, she poo poo. Never diaper! Never! And her face, pink, and she take…[she motions]

earrings and necklace?

yeah, she take and put everyday, here, here, and I close lid. So sweet. I put my hand (she puts her hand on my shoulder) and she [she puts her hand on her shoulder and presses her face against it.] like this. Oh bery sweet.

So, I bery sad. I come out of my house. I live behind. I see the big house, I think oh, Margaret, my baby! But she 100. That’s too much. So, life.

But, no emergency. Maybe soon. You let me know. you tell people, Ester, she’s honest. She’s responsible.

Now, I look for job in the afternoon. I have my son, he’s in graduate school, and my daughter, she In graduate school, and I try to help out. I need one more job. I clean house, but now, I’m tired. They say, oh Ester, I don’t need cleaning today. I say, call, say no need. Gas is too expensive. I call and say, you need cleaning, say oh, my son and husband gone, not today, Ester.

My partner gone today, so I clean all the buildings, up, down. The worst is the classrooms and bathrooms on the first floor. Oh. today, throw up everywhere. in the sink, on the floor. the poo poo here, there, there. oh. Someone write in poo poo on mirror! Oh… I cry. not angry just, I try and make look so nice. oh. I think public can get in down there, maybe not someone from here.

Well, with job here I leave at 1 1:30, nice! So, I look for nother job. You hear? You tell, Ester honest, Ester responsible. I need more money, well, everybody need more money! But, now I think, Ester need more money!

…consider that all those calculations of what is “in my interest” and what will benefit me and what I can “afford” grow tiresome. When we live rightly, decision by decision, the heart sings even when the rational mind disagrees and the ego protests. Besides, human wisdom is limited. Despite our machinations, we are ultimately unsuccessful at avoiding pain, loss and death. For animals, plants, and humans alike, there is more to life than not dying.

- Charles Eisenstein

This is the tail end of an article about the ethics of eating meat. He argues that it’s ethical because we are all going to die and the real question is how the animal was treated while it was alive. I admire vegetarians and feel like a hyporite when I meat, because I sure as hell don’t want someone to eat me! But, I still eat meat. I just haven’t managed to find a way to feel healthy and energetic without it. I eat meat less often than I used to and I’m down to birds and seafood. i think every little bit helps.

This article promted me to decide to take another step. I will work towards only eating farm raised or hunted creatures rather than factory raised creatures. I already only eat farm raised free range eggs and highly encourage you to do so as well. (More ethical and all you have to give up is a few more cents.) I do encourage you to buy your eggs from a local farmer if you have the chance as the label “free range” in the grocery store has a variety of meanings.

The article can be found here.

* Only exercise if I feel like exercising.
* If I feel like moving, let myself move! (I just discovered this one!)

These decisions are about noticing how I feel and completely trusting that what I want to do is alright. What would taste good to me? What do I really want right now? Do I want to lay in bed for an hour, or go on a walk in the park, or take a long hot shower, or do an exercise tape I haven’t done in years and then stop after 14 minutes, or go running and then sprint on some blocks juse for fun?

It’s a huge leap of faith! You mean, I could just eat whatever I want to?? Really? Me? :) And still be alive and stuff? And not weigh 300 pounds and stuff?

You mean, I could just, like, exercise when I want to?? And then like, lay around or dance in my living room if I want to? Like I’m just some kind of animal? ;)

Here I am deciding to let myself eat whatever I desire and move when, if and how I desire to. (Sounds very hedonistic no? Scary to inner puritan, no?) When I first made the decision to NEVER DIET AGAIN, about 2 years ago, I ate hot pockets everyday for about a month. Then I went through a licorice phase. I gained 25 pounds!

And then I eventually, blessedly, stopped obsessing about food.

I stopped eating more than I wanted to at parties because I knew, but really knew that I could eat more later if I felt like it. I stopped finishing all my chips if I wasn’t in the mood for chips, because I knew, I mean really knew that I could have more chips if ever I wanted to. I mean, it is amazingly freeing to stop obsessing about food. You of the long time dieters know how much brain energy goes into thinking about food. Imagine my relief.

You know which countries don’t have more depressed woman than men? The countries where women don’t diet.

But! You say, I don’t want to gain 25 pounds and have my arteries clogged with hot pockets! I know, I know, me neither. But I was even more sick of dieting or even being hyper alert about eating “healthy.” I made a full committment to never diet again whatever the results, and the results were not leading to many health goals at first, but strangely, I think this process of following my desires has now led me on a journey of having health and energy. Tune in tomorrow for the super secret of my success. Wait, that sounds too cheeky. Tune in tomorrow for the super secrets of my ordinary life of being fairly healthy and freeing up my brain to think about whatever I want to think about!

After both services, hot, sticky and ready to be done, I dutifully arrived at our after-service, pass-the-torch-to-new-leadership party. Activity swirled around me. I found myself reflexively greeting a new comer while thinking, “You are doing it again. Let someone else make him feel welcome. .. But I don’t want him to feel sad… Wait until someone else greets him and walk away.”

I didn’t help get the food ready, I was the first one to fill my plate, and I took the best spot in the kitchen. I let other people greet the new people and carry on interesting conversation and when I was done eating, I took the best spot in the livingroom. There I sprawled with the breeze from outside blowing on me and made minimal efforts at conversation. I had officially turned into Red from the 70’s show! (Picture a dad coming home, always taking the best spot and drinking a beer while watching TV.) (Wow, now that I think about it, I went from traditional mom to traditional dad.) One of our needier members came over and asked if the seat next to me was taken. (Damn kids.)I said it was. She sat on my lap. I said she was light enough but too warm. She said she could take a hint. “Good” I thought as she walked over to the other side of the room.