Food & Wine – Page 4 – The Tarbabys Blog

Nine foods to lower cholesterol – and some may surprise you

The Telegraph

Nine foods to lower cholesterol – and some may surprise you

Boudicca Fox-Leonard – November 6, 2023

If you always swerve the cheese course out of concern for your cholesterol, then it might be time to change tactics.

The long-standing fear has been that saturated fats in cheese increase the level of LDL (or “bad”) cholesterol in our blood, which is associated with an increased risk of heart attack and stroke. Now some experts believe cheese has been wrongly demonised and that it might actually be beneficial for health. Recent research suggests that the beneficial microbes and nutrients in cheese might inhibit the uptake of its unhealthier elements.

It’s not the only food that’s been re-evaluated after being long associated with raising bad cholesterol. Others include shellfish and eggs.

What is cholesterol?

Cholesterol is the waxy substance found in your blood that is important in the making of certain hormones and healthy cells.

“We can make about two thirds typically of what we need and the last third comes from our diet,” explains dietitian Dr Duane Mellor of the British Dietetic Association.

The difference between HDL (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol, sometimes called “good” cholesterol, and LDL (low-density lipoprotein) is that the former absorbs cholesterol in the blood and carries it back to the liver. The liver then flushes it from the body. High levels of HDL cholesterol can lower your risk for heart disease and stroke. LDL, on the other hand, takes cholesterol directly to your arteries.

Oily fish has long been praised for its health benefits – getty

Other fats can block your arteries, too

“In simple terms, LDL pushes cholesterol into the body and HDL is a way of getting it out of the body,” says Dr Mellor.

When measuring our risk of developing heart disease, the focus used to be on LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol levels and total cholesterol levels. But our blood also contains a type of fat called triglycerides (found in fat cells), which can also contribute to narrowed arteries.

“It’s now understood that as well as LDL, other types of “bad” fats are also important to consider when thinking about someone’s risk of developing cardiovascular disease,” says Bahee Van de Bor, a paediatric dietitian.

Carrying excess weight, eating a lot of fatty and sugary foods or drinking too much alcohol can all lead to high triglyceride levels. This is because triglycerides are made to store extra calories.

Not all saturated fat is bad for your heart

The new research concerning cheese shows that not every saturated fat behaves the same. Dr Mellor says: “It’s possible that because dairy products come from herbivores they have all sorts of odd-chain fatty acids which may actually be good, so we can’t say all saturated fat is bad,”

However, he adds: “What we can say is that too much of it and your calorie intake will be too high and that’s something to be mindful of.

A healthier approach is to think about eating small amounts. “The main things that are going to drive cholesterol up are eating too many calories, gaining weight and putting on fat, because that’s what your body will then make the cholesterol from.”

Reducing your meat intake will also make room for other foods on your plate, many of which have been shown to actually help lower your cholesterol level. As well as cheese, here are eight more to try…

They can be difficult to know how to cook well, but worth the effort from the perspective of both taste and health. Some animal studies suggest including aubergine may help lower low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. These effects are likely to be because of the fibre as well as the antioxidant content of aubergine, including nasunin, the major component of the pigment in eggplant. “The soluble fibre in them is good. It stops you recycling your own cholesterol that would normally be reabsorbed in the gut,” says Dr Mellor. Soluble fibre binds cholesterol particles to it in the small intestine, preventing them from entering your bloodstream and travelling to other parts of the body. Instead, cholesterol will exit the body through the faeces.

For the most health impact, avoid frying them: “Doing that means you’re getting a lot of energy that way which isn’t good from the weight side of things.” Instead roast them with a sensible amount of oil.

Last eaten most likely in an Indian restaurant, this pointy green vegetable, also known as lady’s fingers or bhindi, is cultivated worldwide and available increasingly in mainstream supermarkets. Researchers have found that a gel in okra called mucilage can help lower cholesterol by binding to it during digestion. This helps cholesterol leave the body through stools.

Okra’s polyphenols content has also been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease. One four-year study in 1,100 people showed that those who ate a diet rich in polyphenols had lower inflammatory markers associated with heart disease.

A healthy food that doesn’t hurt your wallet. Human studies have found that lentils may improve cholesterol levels in people with diabetes. Rich in fibre that can help stop the reabsorption of cholesterol into the bloodstream they also contain folate, iron and vitamin B1, which support your heart health.

Dr Mellor advises opting for red lentils. “They’re easy to use and you can part-substitute the mince in a dish like bolognese, helping you to reduce meat consumption while maintaining protein and iron intake. As well as the dietary benefits there are the financial ones too, because they are much cheaper.”

If you’re looking for a healthy snack, then it has to be nuts.

It’s not entirely clear why, but it’s thought that the “good” fats in nuts – both monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats – lower bad cholesterol levels. They contain fibre as well as plant sterols, a substance that can help lower cholesterol. Nuts are also a source of L-arginine, which research suggests may lower blood pressure, improve cholesterol and improve overall blood vessel health.

“A lot of the research is sponsored by the almond growers of California, but it seems to be a class effect,” says Dr Mellor. “The only one that’s not going to be as good is a chestnut because that’s a starchy nut. It’s not a true nut.”

If you go for a hazelnut, walnuts, pecans and almonds, they’re all thought to have a similar effect, as do seeds like chia. “The key thing is not to have salted roast peanuts, because they’re not the healthiest. It’s best to have a fresh nut.”

A type of fibre called beta-glucan present in oats and barley has been found to lower blood cholesterol in studies, says Dr Stacey Lockyer, senior nutrition scientist at the British Nutrition Foundation.

When you eat beta-glucan, it forms a gel that binds to cholesterol-rich bile acids in the intestines. This helps limit the amount of cholesterol that is absorbed from the gut into your blood. Your liver then has to take more cholesterol out of your blood to make more bile, which lowers your blood cholesterol.

“The healthiest way to have them is as a simple porridge with a little bit of fresh or dried fruit,” says Dr Mellor. “The key thing is not to add lots of syrups and chocolate sprinkles and all sorts of things people do. Keep it as simple as possible.”

Tofu, made from condensed soy milk, may have been discovered during the Han dynasty (202 BC – AD 220) and became a popular choice for Buddhist monks who didn’t want to eat meat or fish. Modern researchers have studied soybeans to understand their effect on cholesterol, with scientists noting that soybeans with increased levels of the protein beta-conglycinin compared with the protein glycinin were better able to regulate cholesterol metabolism and inhibit fatty acid oxidation. It is thought that eating soybeans with higher levels of beta-conglycinin may help to maintain healthy liver and cardiovascular function.

“A harder one to sell to people,” says Dr Mellor, as tofu isn’t a traditional food in the UK. “You can scramble it like an egg that works quite well. Or you can toss it into a stir fry with a load of vegetables and serve it with noodles. It does taste better when fried, or you can put it into a curry sauce. The key thing is that you add it into a sauce early so it can take on the flavours of the sauce,” says Dr Mellor.

Of the reason tofu is a cholesterol buster, he says: “It seems to be the phytoestrogens, these plant-like mimicking hormones that tend to alter the way the cholesterol is absorbed.”

It’s a myth that tofu has a feminising effect, he adds: “Otherwise vast swathes of the world that eat plots of tofu, would have different characteristics. But it does tend to have a beneficial effect on cardiovascular risks.”

The omega-3 fats found in oily fish can help lower harmful blood triglycerides. “It seems to be beneficial in helping lower triglycerides and increasing the good cholesterol,” says Dr Mellor. Oily fish includes herring, mackerel, pilchards, sardines, salmon, trout and fresh tuna. “I’d probably go for something simple and not too salty like sardines in tomato sauce which you can have on a piece of toast as a quick and easy meal,” says Dr Mellor. “It’s an alternative to a bacon sandwich and healthier.”

When it comes to having healthy cholesterol levels the vitamins and fibre in vegetables are key. “It’s not quite as simple as antioxidants, but they contain a range of things like Vitamin C and E, which help keep the cholesterol in its healthy state,” says Dr Mellor.

The brassica family has been associated with healthy cholesterol because of its levels of soluble fibre. In particular, studies have shown a diet rich in high glucoraphanin broccoli reduces plasma LDL cholesterol. Other cholesterol-busting vegetables to consider include spinach, Brussels sprouts and collard greens.

“The science isn’t 100 per cent but it is thought that having a range of these different plants will nourish your gut microbiome that has a role in your body handling fats and lipids, not necessarily cholesterol but triglycerides.”

‘Sandwich generation’ is in a jam and struggling with caregiving costs, survey shows

Yahoo! Finance

‘Sandwich generation’ is in a jam and struggling with caregiving costs, survey shows

Dylan Croll – November 4, 2023

Meeting basic living expenses is tough enough when you go it alone. But what about when you have someone else to look after?

According to New York Life’s new Wealth Watch Survey, nearly half of the “sandwich generation” – folks with children and elderly family members to look after – report being unable to meet basic living expenses, like food or medical care, in the last year due to caregiving costs.

Of those surveyed, 90% say they’ve made a “lifestyle change or financial decision” due to the cost of caregiving.

The study, which surveyed 1,003 sandwich generation adults between Aug. 31 and Sept. 10, shows how unprepared they are for the expenses of caregiving. It also reveals how they’re adapting.

“People should care because you can be individually financially healthy, have your bills under control, have adequate emergency savings,” said Suzanne Schmitt, head of financial wellness at New York Life. “But you’re one caregiving event away from having your own finances challenged.”

Portrait of happy and healthy young Asian woman and her mother in the kitchen, home insurance and wellness concept — Is the so-called sandwich generation under financial siege? (Photo: Getty Creative) (BlessedSelections via Getty Images)

The study also reports a demographic shift in those who make up the Sandwich Generation. Millennials, 27-42 years old, are increasingly becoming caregivers. In 2023, the study reported, 66% of self-reported caregivers were millennials while 23% were Gen Xers. Meanwhile, in 2020, merely 39% of caregivers were millennials and 40% were Gen Xers, between the ages of 43 – 58.

Men are also playing a more active role in caregiving, according to the study. For instance, in 2023, 45% of self-reported caregivers were women while 55% were men. That’s in stark contrast to 2020, when 64% of self-reported caregivers were women and 36% were men.

“Males as a result likely of the pandemic are more willing to admit to providing care and are more apt to be pulled into the act of household caregiving for children and also older loved ones,” said Schmitt.

Though more men are becoming caregivers, women still bear a notable financial and emotional load from caregiving. The study found that 72% of men “said they would be able to afford providing the same level of care for their loved ones for at least another year before adjusting their financial plan” while only 54% of women said the same. And the report finds that 50% of women say that caregiving negatively impacts their mental health compared to 39% of men.

Women also continue to spend more hours per week caregiving than men, according to the study.

“Women historically have underreported caregiving, because it’s often just seen by many women as something they simply do,” Schmitt said. “Picking up prescriptions, managing medications, doing grocery shopping, doing cooking.”

Happy African American senior man in wheelchair talking to his daughter who is visiting him in nursing home. — Family caregivers are struggling to make ends meet. (Photo: Getty Creative) (Drazen Zigic via Getty Images)

Meanwhile, the sandwich generation as a whole is struggling to make ends meet as they care for children and the elderly. The study finds that 40% say they “made a financial decision they regret due to mental strain from caregiving.” More than 50% say they’ve “made a sacrifice” when it comes to financial security due to caregiving needs. Of those that have made a financial change due to caregiving responsibilities, 34% reported cutting back on expenses, 26% reported contributing less to their emergency savings, and 26% reported taking on more debt.

On the other hand, the sandwich generations’ financial struggles have also made them more far-sighted. For instance, over 3 in 4 agree that “the experience of caring for their aging relative led them to purchase or explore purchasing financial protection products,” according to the survey. New York Life also reports that 34% of study respondents plan to pay for future caregiving costs by paying more out of their own budget, 28% say they plan to do so by working overtime in their jobs, 27% say they will do so by spending the retirement savings of those they will be caring for.

The sandwich generation is also saving money for their children to take care of them. According to the study, 42% say they’ve put aside $43,136.67 on average.

“As a silver lining in all of this we believe that younger people are starting to have those thoughts and internal dialogue and conversations with spouses and partners earlier in life,” Schmitt said. “Where they simply have more time to save more runway to consider products and solutions, and ultimately be proactive in putting a plan in place before they find themselves in this care.”

Americans are still putting way too much food into landfills. Local officials seek EPA’s help

Associated Press

Americans are still putting way too much food into landfills. Local officials seek EPA’s help

Melina Walling – October 31, 2023

Shredded organic materials are piled up before being taken to a anaerobic digester at a GreenWaste Zanker Resource Recovery Facility in San Jose, Calif., Friday, Oct. 27, 2023. For the first time since the 1990s, the EPA updated its ranking of preferred strategies for waste reduction, ranging from preventing wasted food altogether (by not producing or buying it in the first place) to composting or anaerobic digestion, a process by which food waste can be turned into energy in the form of biogas. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

A truck loaded with organic material exits a GreenWaste Zanker Resource Recovery Facility with the generators that will convert biogas into electricity at rear in San Jose, Calif., Friday, Oct. 27, 2023. For the first time since the 1990s, the EPA updated its ranking of preferred strategies for waste reduction, ranging from preventing wasted food altogether (by not producing or buying it in the first place) to composting or anaerobic digestion, a process by which food waste can be turned into energy in the form of biogas. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Generators that will convert biogas into electricity sit at a GreenWaste Zanker Resource Recovery Facility in San Jose, Calif., Friday, Oct. 27, 2023. For the first time since the 1990s, the EPA updated its ranking of preferred strategies for waste reduction, ranging from preventing wasted food altogether (by not producing or buying it in the first place) to composting or anaerobic digestion, a process by which food waste can be turned into energy in the form of biogas. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

CHICAGO (AP) — More than one-third of the food produced in the U.S. is never eaten. Much of it ends up in landfills, where it generates tons of methane that hastens climate change. That’s why more than 50 local officials signed onto a letter Tuesday calling on the Environmental Protection Agency to help municipal governments cut food waste in their communities.

The letter came on the heels of two recent reports from the EPA on the scope of America’s food waste problem and the damage that results from it. The local officials pressed the agency to expand grant funding and technical help for landfill alternatives. They also urged the agency to update landfill standards to require better prevention, detection and reduction of methane emissions, something scientists already have the technology to do but which can be challenging to implement since food waste breaks down and starts generating methane quickly.

Tackling food waste is a daunting challenge that the U.S. has taken on before. In 2015, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the EPA set a goal of cutting food waste in half by 2030, but the country has made little progress, said Claudia Fabiano, who works on food waste management for the EPA.

“We’ve got a long way to go,” Fabiano said.

Researchers say the EPA reports provide sorely needed information. One report found that 58% of methane emissions from landfills come from food waste, a major issue because methane is responsible for about a quarter of global warming and has significantly more warming potential than carbon dioxide.

With the extent of the problem clearly defined, some elected leaders and researchers alike hope to take action. But they say it will take not just investment of resources but also a major mindset shift from the public. Farmers may need to change some practices, manufacturers will need to rethink how they package and market goods, and individuals need to find ways to keep food from going to waste.

So for the first time since the 1990s, the EPA updated its ranking of preferred strategies for waste reduction, ranging from preventing wasted food altogether (by not producing or buying it in the first place) to composting or anaerobic digestion, a process by which food waste can be turned into biogas inside a reactor. Prevention remains the top strategy, but the new ranking includes more nuances comparing the options so communities can decide how to prioritize their investments.

But reducing waste requires a big psychological change and lifestyle shift from individuals no matter what. Researchers say households are responsible for at least 40% of food waste in the U.S.

It’s a more urgent problem than ever, said Weslynne Ashton, a professor of environmental management and sustainability at the Illinois Institute of Technology who was not involved with the EPA reports. Americans have been conditioned to expect abundance at grocery stores and on their plates, and it’s expensive to pull all that food out of the waste stream.

“I think it is possible to get zero organic waste into landfills,” Ashton said. “But it means that we need an infrastructure to enable that in different locations within cities and more rural regions. It means we need incentives both for households as well as for commercial institutions.”

With the problem clearly defined and quantified, it remains to be seen whether communities and states will get extra help or guidance from the federal level — and how much change they can make either way. The EPA has recently channeled some money from the Inflation Reduction Act toward supporting recycling, which did include some funding for organics waste, but those are relatively new programs.

Some local governments have been working on this issue for a while. California began requiring every jurisdiction to provide organic waste collection services starting in 2022. But others don’t have as much of a head start. Chicago, for instance, just launched a city-wide composting pilot program two weeks ago that set up free food waste drop-off points around the city. But prospective users have to transport their food scraps themselves.

Ning Ai, an associate professor of urban planning and policy at the University of Illinois Chicago, said the report could be bolstered by more specific information about how different communities can adopt localized solutions, since preventing food waste might look different in rural and urban areas or in different parts of the country. But she was also impressed that the report highlighted tradeoffs of environmental impacts between air, water and land, something she said is not often as aggressively documented.

“These two reports, as well as some of the older ones, that definitely shows up as a boost to the national momentum to waste reduction,” said Ai, who was not involved with the EPA’s research.

Read more of AP’s climate coverage at http://www.apnews.com/climate-and-environment

Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. See more about AP’s climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

SC wastes more food than any other state, new study shows. Here’s why and how much

The Island Packet

SC wastes more food than any other state, new study shows. Here’s why and how much

Sarah Claire McDonald – November 1, 2023

With the coming months bringing seasonal food fads and festive holidays, food waste has the potential to be much more prominent around this time of year.

After Cherry Digital, a communications agency, surveyed 3,200 Americans to find out how much was thrown away this past year, it was discovered that U.S. households waste about $907 worth of food annually.

Food waste comes in to Re-Soil, near Elgin, and is composted over a 15 day period.

As for South Carolina, the reported estimation was much higher than the nation’s.

Residents in households around the Palmetto State were reported to waste over $1,300 worth of food each year, according to survey data from the study.

After the findings were broken down state-by-state, the survey found that South Carolinians were the most wasteful overall, getting rid of $1,304.68 worth of food each year.

The least-wasteful state in the U.S. is West Virginia, the study states. This state’s residents reportedly only throw away $404.90 worth of their annual groceries.

Although this could in part be due to wasted leftovers, there could be another issue afoot.

The survey shows that only one-quarter of people know what the “use-by date” actually means for peak product quality.

According to the findings, the survey displayed that 30.4% of individuals believed that this date means the last date the product was edible, 22% thought that it meant that it was the last date the food product could be displayed and sold in a store and 21% believed that it meant the date that the product would be at its best flavor and quality, which is the meaning behind a “best-by date.”

According to the United States Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA FSIS), examples of commonly used phrases and their meaning include:

A “Best if Used By/Before” date indicates when a product will be of its best flavor or quality. It is not a purchase or safety date.
A “Sell-By” date tells the store how long to display the product for sale for inventory management. It is not a safety date.
A “Use-By” date is the last date recommended for the use of the product while at peak quality. It is not a safety date except for when used on infant formula as described below.
A “Freeze-By” date indicates when a product should be frozen to maintain peak quality. It is not a purchase or safety date.

The survey also discovered that, for food wasted, 51.1% of people believe that best before dates on fruits and vegetables should be ignored as “it’s easy to tell if something has gone bad,” as detailed by its findings. The study also discovered that the foods Americans would most likely throw away are dairy products at 46.6%, 22.3% for meat, fish at 19.2%, bread at 5.1% and vegetables at 8.5%.

Discarded rotten fruit left for waste after a market.

For those who don’t want their uneaten or unused food to go to waste, your local community may have several food drives, food banks and community help centers that will take all kinds of donations, especially around the holidays.

Although there could be several others, Feeding America’s website lets its users search for nearby affiliated food banks to donate. This website can be found online at https://www.feedingamerica.org/find-food-bank.

More than 50 officials call on the EPA to help local governments cut food waste in their communities

Salon

More than 50 officials call on the EPA to help local governments cut food waste in their communities

Joy Saha – November 1, 2023

Person Throwing Pizza In Garbage Getty Images/Andrey Popov

On Tuesday, more than 50 local officials penned a letter urging the Environmental Protection Agency to phase out food waste disposal in landfills by 2040 to cut emissions of the potent greenhouse gas methane, Reuters reported.The letter came in the wake of two reports from the EPA that spotlights America’s food waste crisis and its detrimental environmental consequences. More than one-third of the food produced in the U.S. is never consumed. Much of that waste ends up in landfills, where it generates astounding amounts of toxic methane.

Food waste causes 58% of the methane emissions that come from landfills, the EPA said in an Oct. 19 report that calculated those emissions for the first time. The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the EPA set a goal in 2015 to cut food waste in half by 2030. But very little progress has been made and the EPA has been criticized for “under-investing in the issue,” Reuters said.

“Without fast action on methane, local governments will increasingly face the impacts of warming temperatures, sea level rise, and extreme weather events,” the officials said in their joint letter to the agency. They also called on the EPA to update landfill standards to “require better prevention, detection and reduction of methane emissions,” per ABC News. Landfills are responsible for about 14% of U.S. methane emissions, the EPA also found. Reuters added that compared to carbon dioxide, another powerful greenhouse gas, methane is 28 times stronger over a 100-year period.

My centenarian dad lived to be 101. Here are his lifestyle tips I’m following to live a long life, too.

Insider

My centenarian dad lived to be 101. Here are his lifestyle tips I’m following to live a long life, too.

Louisa Rogers – October 29, 2023

My centenarian father lived a very healthy life but recently died at 101.
His practices mirrored Blue Zone principles: eating in moderation, exercising, and reducing stress.
I hope to live as long as him, so I’ve incorporated these habits into my life to be healthy.

For as long as I knew him, my father, who died a year ago at 101, lived a very healthy, active life. He ran every morning until he was 70, kept his stress level to a minimum, and enjoyed close bonds with family and friends — three of the principles described by Dan Buettner in his book “The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who’ve Lived the Longest.”

Louisa Rogers and her father sitting next to each other and smiling. Louisa has dyed blue short hair, dark eyes, and wears a black cardigan, pink t-shirt, and wears a scarf with a snakeskin print knotted around her neck. Her dad has white hair brushed to the left side, dark eyes, and wears dark-rimmed glasses. He looks off to the viewer's left side and wears a blue polo shirt and tan open sweater. — The author with her father.Courtesy of Louisa Rogers

Because I also hope to live to become a centenarian, I’m following his example. I’ve incorporated many of the practices I saw him live out — and a few others — into my life.

Eat and drink in moderation

“Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper,” Daddy used to intone. He always ate his smallest meal in the early evening. At mealtimes, he followed another rule of Blue Zoners: Stop eating when you’re 80% full.

While I have a history of overeating, I’ve learned to eat healthily and moderately most of the time — I eat a 90% plant-based diet with occasional fish, and I indulge in junk food sparingly. I do tend to have my main meal in the evening, but it’s typically a simple one-pot dish.

As for alcohol, many centenarians do enjoy a glass of wine, but they don’t overdo it. My father, however, was a heavy drinker until the last five years of his life, when, after serious catheter surgery, his doctor ordered him to stop drinking. I have two glasses of wine at night, and I think of it as my guilty pleasure.

Exercise frequently

My father was a hiker, backpacker, and runner, starting in his college years. At 70, he switched from running outdoors to using an exercise bicycle and a treadmill.

I began running during college with my dad and slowly expanded into loving exercise of all kinds; I call myself an “adult-onset fitness lover.” Being physically active, especially outdoors, gives me great pleasure, whether I’m walking long-distance routes in different parts of the world (my husband, Barry, and I walked the 540-mile Camino de Santiago), riding my bike, or paddleboarding.

I also find ways to incorporate physical activity into my daily routine, like many centenarians, who often don’t exercise in the modern sense but incorporate movement into their daily lives. And unlike my dad, who lived in the suburbs, I live in walkable communities — I split my time between Mexico and California — so I rarely drive, and it’s easy to get a lot of walking in each day.

Reduce stress

While my father had a great deal of loss in his life — he outlived not only my mother and two later wives but also two of his five children — he was very resilient. He kept marrying, which was not always easy for me, but now I realize it helped him avoid loneliness, which a surgeon general advisory says is about as deadly as smoking.

As for me, a few years ago I told a friend, “I don’t do Christmas stress.” Gradually, that attitude has expanded into the rest of my life. It’s not always that simple, of course. Naturally, I sometimes experience stressful events, but I’ve learned to mitigate it through walking or other exercise, talking to a friend, journaling, and meditating.

Have a sense of purpose

Centenarians know why they want to get up in the morning. I never asked my dad what his purpose was, but he was very engaged in life. After 9/11, for example, he joined an interfaith group made up of Christians, Jews, and Muslims, and later went to the Middle East on a peace delegation. When he was 80, he volunteered to build houses in Honduras.

I love connecting with people, learning, and being creative. I write, cook, and paint. During the parts of the year when we’re living in Mexico, I also speak Spanish and spend a lot of time volunteering.

Maintain strong connections with family and friends

My dad lived in Pennsylvania. Though none of his children lived in the same state, we visited often and were in frequent contact by phone.

For 30 years, he met with a group of friends every month, and they all shared about their lives and reflected on current issues or a book they’d read.

I don’t live near my family members, either, but I’m in regular touch with them. And while I have friends in both communities where we live, I also regularly “prospect” for new ones because I’ve seen that close connections can unexpectedly end through moves, irreconcilable differences, or death.

Nurture a sense of spirituality

Unlike most centenarians, my dad did not have a strong faith. I’m not a traditional believer, either, but I act as though I am. Call it the placebo effect. I write notes to God and ask for help when I’m struggling, and somehow, it works.

There are no guarantees, of course. Plenty of fit people die young. Still, there’s no harm in improving my chances, especially since I enjoy these activities anyway and they add to my quality of life. What have I got to lose?

San Diego ranks as most expensive US city with LA and Santa Barbara in the top five

USA Today

San Diego ranks as most expensive US city with LA and Santa Barbara in the top five

Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY – October 28, 2023

A new report may show a new reason why California is called the Golden State.

San Diego was ranked the most expensive city in the nation to live in by U.S. News and World Report’s 2023-2024 list followed by Los Angeles.

The city landed that title through multiple metrics including its inflation rate and the cost of gas. The report also considered living costs from annual housing costs, median gross rent and high fees associated with homeownership.

The report said home prices exceed the national median sale price and added that many in San Diego’s downtown area must pay homeowners association fees to maintain living in housing complexes.

“Living in San Diego is not particularly affordable,” the report reads. “San Diegans are willing to pay these elevated prices, though, often referring to the cost-of-living differences as the ‘sunshine tax,’ or the price of enjoying a year-round temperate climate.”

Los Angeles was ranked the second most expensive city, followed by Honolulu and Miami. California actually made up seven of the top ten spots in the report and around half of the top 25. New York City, the most populated U.S. town, earned the 11th spot.

According to the report, the cities at the top of the list require the most amount of wealth in order to live comfortably.

What are the most expensive cities in the US?

These are the 25 most expensive American cities according to the U.S. News & World Report. For information on each city’s various qualities like value and quality of life, click here.

#1 – San Diego
#2 – Los Angeles
#3 – Honolulu
#4 – Miami
#5 – Santa Barbara, Calif.
#6 – San Francisco
#7 – Salinas, Calif.
#8 – Santa Rosa, Calif.
#9 – San Juan, Puerto Rico
#10 – Vallejo and Fairfield, Calif.
#11 – New York City
#12 – Boston
#13 – Seattle
#14 – San Jose, Calif.
#15 – Sacramento, Calif.
#16 – Denver
#17 – Stockton, Calif.
#18 – Washington, D.C.
#19 – Modesto, Calif
#20 – Fresno, Calif.
#21 – Portland
#22 – New Haven, Conn.
#23 – Boulder, Colo.
#24 – Trenton, N.J.
#25 – Eugene, Ore.

Orkin ranking: Chicago holds rattiest city for 9th straight year as LA takes #2 spot from New York

Report ranks pricey cities on four indexes

U.S. News & World categorizes the rankings of each city on the following indexes:

Quality of Life Index – 36%
Value Index – 23%
Desirability Index – 22%
Job Market Index – 19%

Scientists warn of ‘silent pandemic’ stirring across the globe: ‘[This] could cause 10 million deaths per year by 2050’

The Cool Down

Scientists warn of ‘silent pandemic’ stirring across the globe: ‘[This] could cause 10 million deaths per year by 2050’

Leo Collis – October 7, 2023

After the coronavirus pandemic, the world is on high alert for the next global health emergency.

Scientists are now warning about the risk to humans from the food production network, and factory farms are among the most concerning areas that could spawn the next virus.

What’s happening?

At the Compassion in World Farming event in London in May 2023, scientists, policymakers, and farmers met to discuss challenges within the industry and potential threats to human health.

Among the issues discussed was the use of antibiotics in factory farming, which has been found to lead to a potential problem when humans eat meat.

“Most antibiotic resistance in human medicine is actually due to the human use of antibiotics,” scientific adviser at the Alliance to Save Our Antibiotics Cóilín Nunan told Euronews.green. “However, there is clear evidence that the farm use of antibiotics is also contributing, not just to antibiotic resistance in farm animals, but also to infections in humans.”

With animals kept in close quarters on factory farms, hygiene standards are poor, and disease spreads more easily, so antibiotic use is frequent.

Why is this a concern?

The World Health Organization has described antimicrobial resistance (AMR) as a “silent pandemic” and one of the top 10 global public health threats. Bacterial AMR has already been estimated to kill 1.3 million people a year.

If antibiotics are overused in farming, it could impact humans higher up the food chain as bacteria develop resistance to the drugs and multiply.

“If some of the bacteria have developed resistance, then these bacteria are unaffected by the antibiotic and can continue to proliferate, spreading from human to human, or from animal to animal, or from animal to human,” Nunan explained, per Euronews.green.

Nunan also described how animals fed antibiotics could end up with resistant bacteria in their gut at slaughter, leading to potential contamination of the carcass. This can spread to humans when handled or when undercooked meat is eaten.

Further, resistant bacteria can also enter the food system via animal manure, which is used to fertilize crops.

How can we prevent a “silent pandemic”?

Controlling AMR is essential, as experts predict it “could cause up to 10 million deaths a year by 2050,” per Euronews.green.

Nunan noted that better animal husbandry, such as providing animals with more space and improving hygiene, is one of the keys to preventing the spread of disease and, thus, the overuse of antibiotics. But there are already positive changes happening in the farming industry.

The EU has banned all forms of routine antibiotics on farms and the use of antibiotics to make up for poor farm husbandry.

The U.K. has also seen a 55% decrease in antibiotic use on farms since 2014, Euronews.green reported.

Consumer choices like buying responsibly sourced meat can also make a difference and discourage cheap and intensive farming methods that lead to animal disease and potential problems later on in the food chain.

Years in the making, this rock star’s winery is a new ‘focal point’ in Arizona wine country

AZ Central – The Arizona Republic

Years in the making, this rock star’s winery is a new ‘focal point’ in Arizona wine country

Richard Ruelas, Arizona Republic – October 2, 2023

For years, before Cottonwood became a destination for wine fans, the plot of land sat abandoned. It was as if no one had use for a parcel on a hill with soaring views of the Verde Valley.

When Maynard James Keenan saw it, he knew it was the perfect spot to showcase not only his wines, but that also could, quite literally, elevate the state’s wine industry as a whole.

Keenan has planted an eye-catching vineyard on the steep hillside. Two wineries on the site, one partly open-air and the other with large windows, will let spectators spy a hint of the winemaking process. And he has built a trattoria offering pastas and pizzas designed to pair with his wines, meant to be enjoyed on the expansive patio that offers sweeping views over Old Town Cottonwood and the Verde Valley.

“That’s where I stood…and said, ‘this is the view,’” Keenan said pointing to the patio during a late September tour of the facility, days before Merkin Vineyards Hilltop Winery & Trattoria’s scheduled opening.

To get to the restaurant, visitors can take a staircase. Or ride the motorized tram up the 50 feet to the top.

Keenan started planning to build on the land nearly eight years ago. In 2016, as he showed a Republic photographer and reporter the tasting room, Merkin Osteria, on Main Street in Old Town Cottonwood he was opening, he walked them up the hill to show off the vacated building where he eventually planned to build a winery.

That plan has come to fruition. Keenan expects the completed Merkin Vineyards facility to serve as gateway for the Arizona wine industry, spilling customers out onto Main Street to try the other tasting rooms that “don’t have the budget to build something insane like this.”

Keenan, who is the singer for the bands, Tool, A Perfect Circle and Puscifer, has a flair for the theatrical. And the largely open-air facility was designed to attract the eye.

“The attention is the initial foot in the door, but recognition is the goal,” Keenan said. Once someone has wandered into his funhouse, Keenan expects to seriously hook them with his wine. “Recognition has legs,” Keenan said. “That has longevity, the staying power.”

How to visit: Everything to know before you go to Maynard James Keenan’s new Arizona winery and trattoria

A town revitalized by innovative winemakers

This Merkin Vineyards project converted a property that had previously been used by the Cottonwood chapter of the Freemasons. That group intentionally designed its building to be insular. Keenan, with a $1.9 million loan taken out by a company he controls, has transformed it into an open-air showpiece.

The Masonic lodge closed in 2005, consolidating with the Sedona chapter amid declining membership. The building and parcel of land would sit vacant.

At the time, Old Town Cottonwood was known for its rock shops and antique stores. There wasn’t much at night, other than a thriving methamphetamine trade that centered around a run-down motel on Main Street.

In 2010, Cottonwood started courting area wineries to open tasting rooms in the area. That effort, coupled with a methamphetamine crackdown, revived the street. It’s now dotted with restaurants, shops and nightlife. The former drug den on the north end of Main Street converted to a boutique hotel called the Iron Horse Inn.

Some businesses started looking at the site on top of Verde Heights Road, seeing if they could make a project feasible, said G. Krishan Ginige, president of Southwestern Environmental Consultants, who was hired for initial consultations. All the businesses that looked at the land were related to wine, Ginige said, and none pursued it very far.

Part of the reason was the unique topography. “It’s a huge site with a very small footprint on top,” Ginige said during a phone interview.

Making the site work economically would mean figuring out what to do with the land on the hillside, Ginige said.

Keenan was the only one who came to Ginige with the idea of planting a vineyard there, he said. And that presented its own challenges.

Ginige said his company spent about two months trying to figure out how to create a vineyard on the steep hillside that would be both practical, economical and stable. He studied other hillside vineyards, including some in Italy, but couldn’t find an exact parallel. “It’s not something you see in any other place,” he said.

One hillside vineyard was Keenan’s own Judith’s Block in Jerome, also along a steep grade. That Keenan already had a similar vineyard planted let him know it could be done and made him somewhat exasperated that the new project was taking so long to engineer.

Keenan also knew he was setting himself up with another vineyard, like Judith’s Block, that couldn’t be harvested using machines.

“It’s so hard to farm. Hand-picked, hand-sorted, hand pruned,” he said. “All those fun words.”

Merkin Vineyards wine bottles available for purchase at the Merkin Vineyards Hilltop Trattoria on Sept. 25, 2023, in Cottonwood.

Keenan also wanted to build two wineries on the land on top of the hill, one for his Merkin Vineyards line and another for his higher-end Caduceus Cellars. With so little usable land on top of the hill, Ginige said, the answer came from digging the building 10 feet into the hillside and holding them up with concrete pillars set deep into the mountainside.

Doing so keeps the wineries well insulated. Keenan said it is a hedge to protect the wine in the fermenting tanks and barrel room in case of a long-term power failure.

The building that held the Masonic Lodge became the restaurant, said Reynold Radoccia of Architecture Works Green, the architect on the project. Though it had to be reconfigured. The Masons built it in 1952 with few windows, Radoccia said.

“The Masons weren’t necessarily interested in the great views of the Verde Valley,” he said. “They required more privacy in their building.”

Radoccia said he tried to honor the construction style in the new building, attempting to mimic the style to honor the history.

Then there was the tram, a conveyance on fixed track similar to what was built to transport miners in another era of the Verde Valley.

Keenan thought of a tram early on in the project. He did not want his winery to tower above Main Street. Instead, he wanted to be a part of it. So, he envisioned a tram that would take visitors from Main Street up the hill, giving the winery something of an amusement park vibe.

Cottonwood Mayor Tim Elinski said adding that tram has expanded the footprint of Old Town Cottonwood. “Before, I didn’t think about (that site) being in Old Town,” he said. “But, now it’s a focal point. He’s done a great job of punctuating it.”

The project attracted no words of protest as it went through the required zoning hearings, , a measure of the city’s support.

“Really, the entire community has wrapped its arms around the wine industry,” Elinski said.

The Merkin Winery will replace the previous one housed in an anonymous industrial building off Old Highway 279, south of the city. The Caduceus Cellars winery will add capacity to the previous “bunker” Keenan had built alongside his home near Jerome.

The restaurant will replace the Merkin Osteria that had been on Main Street. That building will be converted to a fried chicken restaurant that will pour wine from another Keenan project, Four Eight WineWorks.

Grapes are grown on terraces on a hill in Old Town Cottonwood at Merkin Vineyards on Sept. 25, 2023, in Cottonwood.

A winery for connoisseurs and casual drinkers alike

Keenan said he thought the facility would appeal to people with disparate types of wine knowledge.

The casual tourists, including the ones who might not believe Arizona can grow wine grapes, will be able to see proof with a thriving vineyard on the hillside, Keenan said.

Wine aficionados, from the hilltop view, will recognize the similarities between this area and other wine regions around the country and world. It’s a similarity Keenan himself recognized when he first moved to northern Arizona.

And for those with the means and desire, Keenan will offer a $199-a-person food and wine tasting experience in an exclusive room where he hopes aficionados will note the unique characteristics of the state’s wines. The Ventura Room experience will offer the only opportunity for guests to tour the winery and taste and buy Caduceus Cellars wines with the grapes grown on the hillside vineyard.

Grapes for other Caduceus and Merkin wines come from vineyards in the Verde Valley and Willcox.

Although the price might be high by Cottonwood standards, Keenan said the omakase-style tasting experience can stand alongside tourist offerings in Sedona. And he’s not worried about shooting too high.

“Every time someone’s tried to raise the bar, it’s worked,” Keenan said.

Everything in service to the wine

On a late September afternoon, Keenan walked through his trattoria as staff were being trained. His pizza chef, an 18-year-old named Kai Miller brought out pies with blistered crusts from the wood-fired oven. Keenan looked at a margarita pizza and mocked exasperation. “What is this?” he yelled, channeling his inner Gordan Ramsey, the chef from television’s “Kitchen Nightmares.” Miller showed no reaction as he strolled back into the kitchen.

Miller, a former state wrestling champion, came to Keenan’s attention through a clinic for the team Keenan held at his Brazilian jiu-jitsu studio. Instead of ending up a trainer, Miller said he had a passion for pizza and was hired.

Merkin Vineyards owner and winemaker Maynard James Keenan (left) poses for a photo with 18-year-old chef Kai Miller at the Merkin Vineyards Trattoria on Sept. 25, 2023, in Cottonwood.

The menu at the trattoria mirrors the one at the former Merkin Osteria on Main Street. Vegetables and herbs will largely come from a farm Keenan has at a property near Jerome and a greenhouse on the hilltop Merkin Vineyards site.

As Keenan settled in a booth and ate and praised the pizza, one of his restaurant managers brought something new out from the kitchen — calamari, lightly breaded and fried.

Keenan said he liked the dish, but said that it didn’t fit the overall mission of the restaurant. Not unless the calamari came directly from the Verde River. “It’s not really what we do here,” he said.

Keenan said he’s not aiming to merely create an Italian restaurant, but a place that celebrates what can be grown in Arizona. And one that compliments the Arizona wine that will be served alongside it.

For Keenan, this project was intended to be a winery, first and foremost. Everything else — the food, the gelato stand, the tram, the view — is in service to the wine.

“We do wine,” Kennan said. Everything else “is literally there to support what we all know is the cornerstone of what we’re doing in Arizona, which is wine.”

Details: Merkin Vineyards Hilltop Winery & Trattoria, 770 N. Verde Heights Drive, Cottonwood. 928-639-1001, merkinvineyards.org.

What Wines to Pair With Different Foods

She Knows

What Wines to Pair With Different Foods

Kenzie Mastroe – October 2, 2023

Choosing a wine to pair with your meal is an intimidating task. Selecting a wine whose flavors complement your dish can heighten your entire dining experience or ruin it if you choose a poor pairing. So how are you supposed to know how to choose the best wine for different types of dishes? Well, the good news is, there is no right or wrong answer. If it tastes good to you, then you chose a good pairing, but if you want to have some baseline knowledge in your back pocket for the next time you’re out having a fancy dinner, then we’ve got all of the info you need.

We recently spoke to Martha Cisneros, a sommelier, wine educator, and founder of Wine Divaa, to put together a handy guide to choosing the perfect wine. Growing up in Mexico, wine wasn’t as common as beer or tequila at the dinner table, but when Cisneros studied abroad in Madrid, she fell in love with wine and has now dedicated her career to sharing the joy of wine with her audience and showcasing the talented and brilliant winemakers in the Hispanic community.

More from SheKnows

The 5 Most Underrated Mexican Wines You’re Not Drinking, But Should

“If I am in a French restaurant, and I am going to be having French dish, I’m going to want a French wine,” Cisneros told SheKnows. “My rule of thumb is if they grow together, they go together.” Cisneros added, “I am also very into adventurous pairings. I like to try, for instance, French food with Mexican wine or the other way around. But that’s better for when you’re a little more comfortable.”

Cisneros’ main rule of “if it grows together, it goes together,” is simple enough to remember but if you want to take things a step further, we asked Cisneros for her top wine recommendations for different types of dishes so you can maximize the flavor potential of your meal and impress everyone else at the dinner table.

Carb-heavy meals

Click here to read the full article.

First up, we asked Cisneros about the best wines to pair with dishes like pasta, rice, bread, or potatoes as a base. “You know, it really depends more on the type of sauce or flavors added to your pasta or rice or risotto,” Cisneros explains. For acidic or tomato-based dishes, Cisneros suggests going with a chianti. “Or even for something like pizza, I would always go with something Italian, maybe even a Brunello.”

If your dish is more on the creamy side, Cisneros recommends a Côtes-du-Rhône white.

Steak

The best wine to pair with steak is going to depend on how the steak is prepared and what it is served with. “For something simple like a grilled steak, I would go with something like a zinfandel from Lodi, California or a Primitivo from Sicily. The zinfandel is going to enhance the smokiness and create a wonderful experience,” Cisneros says. “If the steak has a chimichurri sauce or something similar, a Malbec would be a great choice.”

White meat

As a general rule of thumb, white meat usually pairs nicely with white wines. “For something like a roast chicken or grilled chicken, I would go with a Sauvignon Blanc,” Cisneros says.

Seafood

“I am a pescatarian,” Cisneros reveals. “That’s what I eat every day so this is my favorite one and I love to pair seafood with Greek wines.” Specifically, Cisneros prefers Assyrtiko. “It’s a grape that comes from Greece and has the perfect medium body and crispness and the perfect acidity to bring out the flavors of the seafood.” If you can’t find a Greek Assyrtiko, Cisneros has another suggestion, “Vinho Verde from Portugal is another great option because it offers a liveliness and crispness that pairs perfectly with seafood.”

Cheese

Wine and cheese are a classic pairing but the type of cheese you’re eating makes all the difference. “For something buttery and creamy like brie, champagne is the obvious choice,” Cisneros explains. “For harder, salty cheeses like parmesan, prosecco is the perfect pairing.”

Sweets

Last but certainly not least, when you want to finish your meal with a little something sweet, Cisneros recommends a Zinfandel for chocolatey treats but adds that “as a general rule of thumb, you just want to match the level of sweetness.”