Vocabulary

 

zone	wheat	longevity
grain	replace	whole-grain
gut	fiber	generate
elixir	intestine	antioxidant
grass	pigment	sideshow
scrub	artery	grass-fed
heap	wedge	common denominator
mild	satiate	life expectancy

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Video

 

 
 
 
 

Transcript

 
Diane, as you know, is away this morning, but before she left, she had a chance to explore a fascinating issue: the secret to a longer, healthier life.

Diane: So this week we decided to take a look at health secrets from around the world. Health and longevity and the diets and lifestyles that make for longer lives.

Dan Buettner wrote a best-selling book about it. It’s called The Blue Zones. We love it when he comes by to tell us the secrets of the longest lived communities in the world.

Today it’s Sardinia.

Dan: That’s right, which is in the middle of the Mediterranean. And we know that people who eat a Mediterranean diet live about six years longer than people who don’t.

Sardinians have two types of bread: a flat bread called carte da musaca,; made of durum wheat, which is the wheat me make our pasta out of.

The point is, it’s a whole-grain bread.

And then their leaven bread is actually risen with a type of bacteria the replaces bad bacteria in your gut and actually generates some vitamins.

Diane: So their getting fiber in their bread, and they’re also getting a kind of healthy, intestinal bacteria?

Dan: Exactly right.

This is the closest thing to a longevity elixir you’ll ever find. This is Sardinian carnanau. This has the highest level of antioxidants of any wine in the world, any known wine.

Diane: This isn’t just red wine; this is the darkest, red wine you can get, which is the most hit you can get for a healthy heart, chemicals?

Dan: We know all those healthy chemicals exist in the pigment. This is so dark, the Italians call it vino negro, which means “black wine”.

And another thing we just learned — and this is a secret you haven’t heard before — it’s so important to drink your wine with your meal.

If you’re eating a Mediterranean diet and drinking wine, you literally create polyphenols, those antioxidants that scrub your arteries. So that’s an important point to watch.

Diane: So drink the wine with the food. This you can buy?

Dan: Yes, you can buy this anywhere in America, especially wine shops.

Diane: We know about the Mediterranean vegetables and the fruits, but you’re saying it’s not just that . . . it’s which vegetables, which fruits?

Dan: It doesn’t really matter which vegetables, which fruits. The point is to sideshow meat.

Meat is a once a week celebration, not something you heap on your plate several times a day.

The other thing we found in Blue Zones around the world: they didn’t eat a lot of fish. The longest lived diets don’t include a lot of fish.

If you’re going to include protein in your diet, I suggest this cheese that the Sardinians eat.

Diane: So you’re saying that Sardinians tend to have a wedge of cheese, a piece of that high fiber bread for breakfast, and meat just once a week on Sundays?

Dan: That’s it. The important thing to realize about this cheese that makes it special is that it comes from grass-fed sheep.

When you get products from grass-fed animals, they are high in omega-3 fatty acids; not the omega-6 fatty acids you get from grain-fed animals.

So here you get high, omega-3 fatty acids that’s really sharp, so you only need a little bit to get that satiated feeling.

You don’t need an inch of it like you need with milder cheeses.

Diane: Finally nuts. As long as I’ve known you, you’ve been saying to me is that the one common denominator of these pockets of people living really long and healthy lives: nuts.

Dan: This is amazing. We know that people who eat two ounces of nuts, about a handful, four times a week, live two years longer than people who don’t eat nuts.

Easy formula: two-four-two: two ounces, four times a week, two years of life expectancy.

Diane: Okay, here it is: the dark wine, the whole-wheat bread, the fruits and vegetables, the nuts and meat once a week.

And we’ll live forever.

Dan: Well you’ll live another six years.

*     *     *     *     *     *     *

 

Questions

 
Blueberries, Raspberries, Blackberries. Only people in Sardinia and the Mediterranean region live long, healthy lives. Is this correct or incorrect?

Kale, Leafy-Green Vegetables. Do Sardinians bake and eat normal bread or is it special?

Onions, Garlic, Chives, Leeks. In this case, all red wine are the same, in terms of their health properties. True or false? Why is darker wine healthier?

Mushrooms. Is there a certain way to drink wine? How should people drink wine?

Yogurt, Kefir, Butter, Ghee. What does Dan say about meat and fish?

Walnuts, Almonds, Pecans, Pistachios. Cheese is all the same everywhere. Yes or no? How is healthy cheese different?

Beans, Peas, Chickpeas, Lentils. Are nuts only a junk food snack?
 
 
 
Fermented Vegetables, Kimchee, Sauerkraut. Shows featuring health, fitness and nutrition are popular on TV. There are lots of books, magazines, articles, consultants on health, nutrition and fitness. Yes or no?

Sprouts. Have you heard about the health benefits of these foods?

Olives, Olive Oil. Are there foods in your country that are particularly healthy?

Orange, Tangerine, Lemon, Lime. What are the commercial implications of these findings?

Carrot, Beet, Turnip, Radish. What might happen in the future?

Apple, Pear, Peach, Plum, Apricot. What should people (and governments and businesses) do?