Eat Well, Last Longer

By Shaun Dowling

Active and energetic octogenarian Shaun Dowling shares his recipes for a long and healthy life.

Numerous studies have shown that our longevity owes much to our living standards, the amount of exercise we do, the lack of stress and also to our genes, but equally importantly to our diet This book shows what food is good for you, why it is good for you and how much you need. It includes over 100 simple and delicious calorie counted or costed recipes designed to help you eat well and last longer.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Feb 12, 2020
• ISBN: 9781728397054

Shaun Dowling

Shaun Dowling, now in his eighties, was taught to cook in the last war by his grandmother when he was only 11, when his mother was away as an ambulance driver and his father needed his food. He was inspired to write this book after his wife died when he realised that many men of his generation had never learnt to cook. Shaun has also written an eclectic range of books on Health, nutrition, retirement, investment and language teaching.

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© 2020 Shaun Dowling. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

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ISBN: 978-1-7283-9717-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-7283-9705-4 (e)

Published by AuthorHouse 01/06/2020

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Contents

INTRODUCTION

Chapter 1   UNDERSTANDING NUTRITION

CALORIES

MACRONUTRIENTS

Carbohydrates

Fats

Protein

MICRONUTRIENTS

Calcium (Ca)

Magnesium (Mg)

Potassium (K)

Sodium (Na) and Chloride (Cl)

Iron (Fe)

Trace Minerals

VITAMINS

Vitamin A

Vitamin B1, Thiamine

B2. Riboflavin

B3. Niacin

B6. Pyridoxine

B12. Cobalamin

B7. Biotin

B5. Pantothenic Acid

B9. Folate

Vitamin C

Vitamin D

Vitamin E

Vitamin K

Excess intake of micronutrients

FIBRE CONTENT

ACID AND ALKALI

OXIDATION AND

ANTI-OXIDANTS

LOSS OF NUTRITION

Chapter 2   HOW MUCH DO WE NEED?

UK and US Government Recommendations

Hypothetical Diet for an Adult Male

The Eatwell Plate

Chapter 3   THE COMPOSITION OF FOODS

CEREALS

DAIRY PRODUCTS

EGGS

FATS

MEAT AND POULTRY

FISH

VEGETABLES

HERBS AND SPICES

FRUIT

SOUPS AND SAUCES

SUGAR AND PRESERVES

NUTS AND SEEDS

BEVERAGES

ALCOHOL

Footnote to Vitamins and Minerals

Chapter 4   HIGH PROTEIN FOODS

Chapter 5   LOW CALORIE RECIPES

SALADS

TOASTED RECIPES

THICK SOUPS

MAIN LOW CALORIE RECIPES

Chapter 6   LOW COST RECIPES

SALADS

TOASTED RECIPES

THICK SOUPS

MAIN LOW COST RECIPES

REFERENCES AND SOURCES

INTRODUCTION

N umerous studies have shown that our longevity owes much to our living standards, the amount of exercise we do, the lack of stress and also to our genes, but equally importantly to our diet. This book shows what food is good for you, why it is good for you and how much you need.

It starts off setting out, as simply as possible, what ingredients in our food are nutritious and provide energy, then goes on to show the official recommendations in the UK and USA as to how much food we need, according to our age and sex. Then follows a series of tables showing the nutritional and calorific value, and also the cost of 204 staple foods, so that you can look up and see whether the food you eat is good for you.

The second half of the books shows, firstly which are high protein foods, then shows a selection of over 100 recipes, split in two categories, low calorie and low cost. The recipes are uncomplicated. They are not going to be suitable for a Masterchef competition, but they are simple, quick to prepare and limit the number of ingredients. They allow you to alter the recipes, particularly the vegetables, and to add herbs, spices and other condiments to suit your taste. So you don’t get lost in selecting your recipes, there is an index at the back.

CHAPTER 1

UNDERSTANDING NUTRITION

A ll of us eat to live and could possibly go without food for three or four weeks, but we should be completely dehydrated without water after 3 days.

In theory the body works like a machine, burning up fuel in the form of protein, fats, carbohydrates and water in order to keep it going. Specific amounts of food are needed at regular intervals to undertake a wide range of functions inside the body. Most of us are far less active than primitive man, who had to survive harsh winters, lack of food and animal predators, but we live two or three times as long, protected in housing and better fed. We no longer live on meat, herbs, berries, and eggs but eat a much more refined diet, which provides both advantages and disadvantages.

In the following chapter we describe the content of our food in terms of calories, macronutrients, micronutrients and fibre, and whether they are acidic, alkaline and antioxidant. The section on macronutrients covers carbohydrates, fats and protein. The section on micronutrients covers vitamins and minerals which are present in only minute quantities in our food.

CALORIES

The fuel we need to provide energy is expressed in calories. One calorie is the amount of energy required to heat 1 gram of water by 1 degree centigrade. You will see the calorific values of many foods shown on the labels as Kcal per 100 grams. Just to confuse matters, the labels also show the value in Kjoules or KJ which is the international standard of measurement and these you should ignore. All calories in this book, and also in any calorie counter you may buy in the UK, show the values in Kcal.

An average male aged 19-64, on light sedentary work, is said to use up around 2500 calories a day, and women about 2000. Both men and women need less as they get older. As we raise our activity levels, the amount of calories we burn up increases sharply, as we can see from the Table 1 below. This shows calorific consumption for selected activities.

Table 1

Calorific Consumption per hour for Selected Activities

(Physiology Exercise, Morehouse and Miller)

The calories we need is not only affected by age, sex and activity, but also by the state of our health, our body shape, our metabolic rate, the outside temperature and the clothes we wear. An arctic explorer, for example, in very cold conditions is said to burn up around 6000 calories per day, about the same as an Olympic endurance athlete.

MACRONUTRIENTS

Carbohydrates

Our main source of energy is derived from the consumption of carbohydrates, which are the easiest to digest and the quickest to provide body fuel. Carbohydrates take the form of single, double and multi sugars (polysaccharides) together with cellulose. The single sugars, glucose and fructose, found in fruits and vegetables, can be digested the quickest. Double sugars are found in sucrose (sugar), lactose (milk) and maltose (beer) whilst multi-sugars are mainly found in grains, cereals, bread and potatoes.

In the digestive process, the sugars go to the liver; they are converted into glucose and stored as glycogen. Glycogen