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The Farmers’ Market

It was overcast this morning but not too damp for a visit to the farmers’ market. We’re stuck between winter tubers and spring greens but it’s good to visit with the people who actually grow the food. I got a bunch of carrots, some green onions, spinach, broccoli, snap peas, and a bundle of asparagus. You’ll see them on next week’s menu.

Wandering about, I sampled Fuji apples (nice and sweet), and artisan olives (for which I haven’t quite developed a taste). Visited with Katie, an ambitious girl who offers prepared foods, like her 36-hour chili. It made her laugh that I won the church chili cook-off by adding some beans to her chili sauce. (I was short on time and yes, it was great and I took all the credit.)

Calcification: The Aging Factor

I bought the spinach, broccoli, and asparagus because of a book I read last night, Calcification: The Aging Factor. Much of the public’s disease knowledge, unfortunately, comes from drug company marketing. So if a disease lacks a profitable drug to market, we may remain unaware until someone we know is diagnosed. Calcification is such a sleeper disease. Calcification goes hand-in-hand with osteoporosis; if the body can’t store calcium in your bone, it may store it in your soft tissue. Kidney stones, bone spurs, and cataracts are examples. Calcium deposits, also cause arteriosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, a serious coronary condition. (But different from atherosclerosis, where fatty deposits build up in the arteries. The goal of this blog is to minimize our risk for both conditions.)

Like most chronic diseases, the exact mechanism behind calcification has not been discovered, so doctors don’t give preventative guidance. The author of this book does give some suggestions that may help:

The calcium problem: Americans, especially older women, are counseled to eat calcium-rich dairy products and take calcium pills to prevent osteoporosis. One fact should cause us to reconsider this guidance: Other nations eating traditional diets consume far less calcium yet have superior bone health (as measured by hip fracture rates). It may be better, the author suggests, to get our calcium from plant sources, especially leafy green vegetables.
Bad diet: A diet of processed foods (62% of calories in the US) and animal products (25% of calories) is acid producing. Because the result is way too acidic, the body must use calcium from our bones to buffer the acid. The resulting calcium compound overloads the elimination process so is deposited in soft tissue. Better diet: A plant-based diet of fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds and whole grains (just 13% of the modern American diet)—that is sparing of meat and dairy—is alkaline and counteracts excess acid so inhibits bone calcium removal. Bottom line: Eat whole foods.
Mineral imbalance: Calcification is worsened if our diet is high in phosphorous (found in processed foods and cola drinks) and low in magnesium (found in nuts, whole grains, and leafy greens). So eating a plant-based diet also restores mineral balance.
Vitamin insufficiency: Most are unaware of this, but the body needs vitamin K (found in dark leafy greens and cruciferous vegetables like cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts) to build strong bone. It also needs vitamin D (freely available from the sun except during winter in northern climes).
Exercise: Strong muscles make for strong bones—they’re connected. To put your calcium in the right place, live a muscular lifestyle.

Menu #6

This week’s menu didn’t follow the exact course because I got busy doing tax returns and forgot to make the lentil soup, which was my assignment. (I’ll make it after I get this post up.) Last night (Friday) we went to the local Mexican food place and had shrimp tacos. Old friends were there so we had a good time. Knowing of this blog, they all looked at my plate as they left. The rice was white, but I reminded that one meal a week one can eat whatever delights. (Why don't more restaurants offer whole-grain rice?) The week’s menu didn’t go as planned, but this was the plan:

Monday

Cauliflower with cheese sauce.
Spinach salad (the beautiful wife makes a great salad, using whatever’s at hand).

Tuesday

Bean, lentil, and ham soup (fortunately, we had soup left over from last week).

Wednesday

Salmon (using Rik’s recipe from last week’s comments, we baked it with Dijon mustard, encrusted with Panko crumbs, butter, and Italian herbs).
Asparagus (steamed).
Wild rice (we started too late and the rice takes almost an hour to cook, so we’ll save it for next week).

Thursday

Leftover soup.
Cornbread.
Salad (a simple salad, spinach with tomato, avocado, and green onions).

Please comment: What did you eat this week that was extra healthy? Please share.