PURPLE POWER!!

HERE is a place to read more about PURPLE sweet potatoes!! Not only are they beautiful and unique, they also pack a huge antioxidant punch (think the antioxidant that makes blueberries blue) and are LOW on the glycemic index scale, so they are less likely to pack on the pounds and they wont spike insulin levels in the blood!

This is GREAT news for anyone who loves sweet potato fries! Now you can make up a batch at home for your next get-together and have all the flavor and more healthy properties! Not to mention the fact that their color is a great conversation starter. The link I have above has several recipes for you to try :)

Like plain old french fries better but avoid them due to carbs? Try purple peruvian potatoes from your local supermarket. They aren't sweet potatoes... they're regular old fashioned potatoes but with the same antioxidants and decreased gylcemic impact of the purple sweet potatoes. Buy a batch and cut them up, sprinkle with olive oil & salt & rosemary, bake at 350 for 20 minutes and VOILA! A lovely, TASTY, nutritional snack!

LESS EQUALS LONGER?

THIS ARTICLE talks about a new study just released that studied the effects of a calorically restrictive diet in monkeys. The results: it increased overall life expectancy and decreased the rates of disease!! CRAZY!

Calorically restrictive = 30% less calories than their average body requirement.

This is only one of many studies confirming the positive effects of a moderately calorically restrictive, but STILL NUTRITIONALLY COMPLETE, diet. If you think about it, this makes a lot of sense. If you eat foods that are not calorically dense, like fruits and vegetables, you can eat a whole bunch of food with a lot of vitamins and minerals without consuming a lot of calories. It takes a whole lot of pounds of vegetables to eat 2,000 calories in one day!

Moral of the study: if you can make the commitment, eating 30% fewer calories may have some long-term anti-aging benefits if you make sure you have a nutritionally complete and varied diet. Being a vegetarian or vegan can make this jump a lot easier, since the bulk of fresh fruits and veggies can keep you fuller longer.

NOTE: Do NOT start a new eating plan without consulting your MD. And be careful! Excessive calorie restriction can cause a ton of health problems (loosing your teeth, osteoporosis, CARDIAC ARREST!) and the last thing you want is an eating disorder (highest rate of death for ALL mental disorders, not to mention the misery of obsessing over nothing but food 24/7), so BE CAREFUL if you are looking to reduce your calories.