1. Functional Age: Vital capacity, breath holding time, maximal oxygen consumption (VO2 max), kidney function (creatine clearance), diameter of pupil of eye, visual accommodation, hearing, level of DHEA hormone in, tests of mental function .

2. Predictive Value for Remaining Life Expectancy: Vital capacity, heart size, systolic pressure, hand-grip strength, presence or absence of autoantibodies in, immune-function tests, reaction time.

3. Segmental Aging (Aging if individual parts of, or systems in, the body) and/or disease Susceptibility: Glucose-tolerance test; levels of cho9lesterol, LDL, HDL, triglycerides, and homocysteine;  systolic pressure; level of parathyroid hormone.

These measurements are good indications not only of health (and absence of disease) but also of one’s longevity potential (and “relative” aging versus one’s chronological age.)

I highly recommend this very sensible and practical “guidebook.” Of course, I have always been a big fan of Dr. Roy Walford’s work (The 120 Year Diet), from which this table has been adapted from. IMHO, Dr. Walford’s book, and Dr. Fuhrman’s Eat to Live are the best references one can read (and re-read) relating to nutrition and health.

“Fat that accumulates around your waist seems to be more biologically active as it secretes inflammatory proteins that contribute to atherosclerotic plaque buildup, whereas fat around your hips doesn’t appear to increase risk for cardiovascular disease at all,” according to senior author Dr. J. de Lemos said. “We think the key message for people is to prevent accumulation of central fat early on in their lives. To do so, they will need to develop lifelong dietary and exercise habits that prevent the development of the ‘pot belly.”

It has two cutting boards, fine and medium. For breakfast this morning, I diced papaya and apple in the “fine” cutter, with excellent results. I also made a huge pot of veggie soup this afternoon, and it saved a lot of prep time.

It’s convenient, simple to use, and easy to clean. It’s one tool I know I’m going to use daily, for my salads, soups, and breakfast fruit bowls. Hopefully it lasts a long time under daily use.

. . . . . . . . . . .

Update: after a few days of  heavy use, it broke. Nice concept, but it didn’t last under serious heavy use. To use it successfully, you need to precut the veggies (onions, for example) into manageable sizes. You can’t put huge pieces of hard root veggies in it and not expect the plastic hinge to crack under the load. I can’t recommend this tool… Nice concept though.

Ok, time to go back to basics, i.e., a well-sharpened knife.

This time I bought a couple of bottles of apple cider vinegar and made 3 preparations. The first batch I used using dried figs (100 grams of figs) and poured some vinegar into the Blendtec container and blended at the highest speed setting. I used the same amount of raisins on the second bottle. With the remaining liquid I made a separate batch of garlic-flavored vinegar. Excellent for salad dressings or as a “steak sauce.” Yesterday, I used the fig vinegar (which was quite thick and syrupy, BTW) as a delicious sauce for a raw portabello “steak.”

If it’s too flavorful or strong for your taste, you can dilute it (prior to pouring it over a salad) in a small sauce container or cup with a little bit of orange or apple juice.

Here are some recipes I’ve developed recently (ingredients are measured in grams), except the liquid measure (in cups). I use the Tanita KD160 Kitchen Scale with a tare function, which makes things easier.

Pinky’s Delight: 1/2 c soymilk + 70g flowering kale, 71g orange, 259g watermelon, 90g frozen strawberry, 29g medjool dates = 292 calories

Walepa’s Wonder: 1/2 c soymilk + 200g red leaf  lettuce, 257g watermelon, 110g frozen strawberry, 200 papaya, 17 medjool dates = 327 calories (makes about 32 ounces).

Pomwalepa Power Potion: 1/2 c pomegranate juice + 359g watermelon, 289g red leaf lettuce, 19g noor dates, 136g frozen papaya, 12g walnut = 412 calories (makes about 32 ounces).

According to Daniel Kirschenbaum Ph.D., one of the foremost experts in the application of cognitive therapy to weight management, self monitoring is the single most important aspect of effective weight control: “The studies show that when people write down at least 75 percent of their eating and exercising behaviors they often succeed in losing weight and maintaining weight loss. Writing down very little of these critical aspects of weight control usually results in very minimal or temporary success.”

I think that learning this habit is so effective that the behavior of monitoring itself can be effectively used as an initial goal, rather than immediately adopting a weight loss goal in pounds. Only when the act of monitoring has become a habit can we then choose what weight goal to strive for. These are two discreet goals that can be “unlinked” and treated as organic (and sequential) stages in the change process. The information gathered from the monitoring process can then be used to strengthen the resolve to lose the weight and/or adapt a more nutritious diet. In most instances, the mere act of “neutrally” recording and paying attention to what we eat (without judgement) causes a positive change in our eating behavior.

A basic approach to developing mastery over this ability is the discipline of creating a food journal. For people disconnected with true hunger (i.e., those who use food primarily for emotional, social, or recreational purposes), a journal that identifies the qualitative aspects of hunger or appetite is very useful. The quality of the hunger, the time of day, the amount and type of food, all the way to keeping track of calories and/or nutrients that one eats can all contribute to understanding the dynamics of our eating behavior. Most often, the mere act of observing and noting the behavior is enough to change the behavior.

Monitoring can also be treated as an intermediate step; it is sometimes beneficial for a person not to “change the diet” as much as merely to observe what one consumes over a period of time. In the past I have organized groups to post their food intake in a site like Basecamp, where folks can see what everyone else is doing, and provide social support for each other. This can be very effective in developing a consciousness about food, and has the power to shape our behavior over the long run. A lot of times people become hopeless in their repeated attempts to lose weight, and bite off more than they can chew. Monitoring (as an individual or social activity), as a discipline and skill, installs accountability and provides feedback on our eating behavior. We measure so we can ultimately manage what needs our attention.

Depending on an individual’s psychological profile or “wiring,” monitoring can function as an outlet or activity for imposing or restoring order into an otherwise chaotic or stressful life. Of course, it can also become a burden — one more thing that has to be done. However, when done as a ritual (with the accompanying visual or tactile positive reinforcement, over a period of time) it can serve as an effective “infrastructure” for moving our goals forward.