I read another of those endless, nagging magazine reports reminding me that age, food and fitness have a correlation. Eat well, exercise regularly and live longer. Yes, yes, I know. Even the fast food giant McDonald’s gets it, which is why they’re offering healthier menu options. But wait. We don’t know everything about our bodies. New findings tell us there’s more we can do to live longer. Besides genomes we are also composed of epigenomes, “a complex network of switches or tags that govern whether genes are turned on or off.” (“The New Science of Living Longer,” by Arlene Weintraub, More, November 2013, pg.98-99)
Contrary to common sense, this epigenetic system doesn’t slow down with age. It speeds up and in doing so, it increases the chances for gene switches to malfunction, opening the door to cancer and other diseases. The good news is that foods which contain suforaphane, a substance found in broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, kale and cabbage, can have a positive effect on these switches. Most nutritive of all are broccoli sprouts, “very young broccoli plants that taste a bit like radishes.” (Ibid pg. 100) They are sold at farmer’s markets and natural food stores and whether eaten raw or stir fried, they won’t lose their food value.
The more we learn about our bodies, the more I doubt any claims about intelligent design. What all-knowing person would create knees and hips that so easily malfunction? In fact, the whole skeletal structure looks iffy to me. And don’t get me started about the windpipe being next to the esophagus.
Learning about our bodies does lead me to an eternal question, though. If I’m designed to power up on veggies, how come I have such a sweet tooth, huh? Tell me that.
(Courtesy of yahoo.com)
