This doc's got the right prescription for a healthy life

PRIME – February 2013 By Debbie Gardner debbieg@thereminder.com Is there any good news about aging? According to wellness educator and nationally known nutrition expert Dr. Ann Kulze, there is, and it's right at the end of your fork. "The good news is healthy aging and being good to your heart absolutely does pay off," said Kulze, who will be appearing in Western Massachusetts as the keynote speaker for the American Heart Association's Go Red for Women luncheon on Feb. 8. She spoke to PRIME during a telephone interview from the offices of her Charleston, S.C., consulting practice, Just Wellness, LLC. With an undergraduate degree in food science and human nutrition from Clemson University and an MD from the Medical University of South Carolina, this family physician, wife and mother, who said she inherited her fascination with nutrition from her surgeon father, not only understands the research about proper eating, she's seen it in action in her own medical practice. Kulze is the author of the "Eat Right for Life" series of nutrition guides – the most recent of which, "Eat Right on the Go" was published in late 2012. Since publishing her first guide, she has shared nutritional insights on TV with Dr. Oz, on the Oprah and Friends and CNN radio programs, online through WebMD and with readers nationwide through popular magazines such as Woman's World, Prevention and Redbook. Kulze maintains that Americans who want to age well truly need look no further than their everyday food choices. "Currently in America, we have 50 percent of our adult population that has some degree of measurable metabolic dysfunction," Kulze said, adding that by metabolic dysfunction she meant the insulin resistance condition that is a precursor to type 2 diabetes. This condition, she said, "Turns fat cells into fat magnets and increases [incidences of] Alzheimer's disease, heart disease, stroke, the list goes on and on. "I had a regular [family] practice for 18 years [and] saw diseases in patients I knew would be prevented if their diet and lifestyle were different," Kulze continued, adding that her frustration at the time it took to educate patients about lifestyle changes were what ultimately led to her career in nutrition education. According to Kulze, who now spreads her nutrition know-how across the country through motivational lectures and webinars, the two things PRIME readers should be "all over" are "being good to your heart and taking charge of your youth." In a nutshell, she said that means working to keep the body's arteries healthy, minimizing diet-induced systemic inflammation that can damage organs, and maintaining the body's insulin sensitivity through a properly operating metabolic system.

It all starts with carbohydrates

Her simple steps to healthy aging through nutrition start, she said, with fixing our carbohydrate choices – the breads, pastas, cereals and starchy vegetables we all fill up on. "This is where we are the most off track," Kulze said. "What has emerged over the past decade is that the reality [is] the way you do your carbs is the most powerful nutritional determinant of your metabolic health. It is weight control, it is cardiovascular health, and it is not getting gas." Beyond those givens, Kulze said people with poor metabolic health are prone to personal energy crises, often considered the scourge of aging. "Metabolic health is all about producing energy," Kulze said, adding that with poor carbohydrate choices individuals frequently experience chronic "fatigue and loss of quality of life." "It also impacts brain function [because] the brain is a massive user of fuel to do what it needs to do," she said. In order to "do your carbs right," Kulze said individuals need to break the white habit. "Get the bad carbs out, the white flour, white rice, white potatoes, white sugar and sweets," she said. "Replace them with good carbs, your fruits, vegetables, whole grains and beans." When it comes to adding fruits and vegetables to your diet, Kulze suggests "eating a ton," of these health-friendly carbs, up to four cups per day. "It's part of the carb story, but so important I pull it out because fruits and vegetables are so vital to disease protection," she said, adding that the more brightly and deeply colored choices in those categories offer the biggest punch in anti-inflammatory phytochemicals.

Fast fat facts/

The second step, Kulze said, is to "give yourself an oil change" by making smarter choices about the types of fats in your diet. Most people are already aware that they should avoid trans-fats in their diet, substances Kulze calls "literally toxic molecules" when it comes to heart and metabolic health. But they are often less concerned, she said, with "the four-legged fats [that come through consuming] red meats – beef, pork and lamb – and cow products such as whole milk and butter." These naturally saturated fats are not any better for metabolic health, she noted. Kulze is also wary of individuals consuming too many of what we often think of as friendly fats – corn, safflower, sunflower, cottonseed, peanut and soybean oil products, all rich sources of Omega 6, a substance known to promote disease-inducing inflammation in the body. In their place, Kulze said individuals should rely on monounsaturated oils such as extra virgin olive oil, canola oil, nuts and seeds, and avocados. They should also strive to include at least one serving of a food rich in Omega 3 – which is found in oily fish such as tuna and salmon, walnuts, flaxseed, wheat germ and specially bred Omega 3 eggs – daily.

Picking the right proteins, drinks

When it comes to choosing healthy proteins, Kulze said it's often easier to memorize the short list of bad choices than the long list of good ones. "The two unhealthy protein groups are red meat, especially processed and fatty cuts, and whole dairy products," she said. To keep properly hydrated, she said individuals need to again kick the white sugar habit. "Sugary beverages have emerged as the most fattening and metabolic disturbing form of calories on the planet," Kulze said. "The biggest thing to [learn] is to avoid sugary beverages like the plague – the sodas, fruit drinks, energy drinks and dessert coffees." In their place, she said we should all be quenching our thirsts with "clean water, skim or 1 percent milk, fruit juices and freshly brewed teas of all types or freshly brewed coffee. "I think tea is especially good for an aging population, for bone health, weight control, immune function . if you are not incorporating freshly brewed tea into your diet, you should do that," Kulze said. She reiterated that the type of tea didn't matter, as long as it was consumed shortly after brewing, when it contains the most beneficial substances. "All teas, green, white, oolong and black have antioxidants," she noted. "If you twist my arm, green and white might have an edge for health benefits."

Surprising spice facts

Another area Kulze said people often overlook when they're thinking about healthy eating is the spice rack. Not only can a pinch of this, or a pinch of that adds a flavor boost to your new eating regime, they also pack a hefty nutritional punch. She noted that her spice superstars – the ones she suggests healthy eaters reach for first to flavor foods – include rosemary, ginger, turmeric and curry because "they have such potent anti- inflammatory and antioxidant properties." The final piece of eating right advice is something Kulze said people need to hear over and over again. Exercise really is a fountain of youth for the body and brain. "Physical activity is huge," she said. "The reality is, it's the nutritional piece [of the puzzle] that takes time for people to learn."

Dr. Ann's dinnertime redo

Yet, even if we start trying to make healthier food choices at meals, Kulze said there is still a huge flaw in the pick-up-and-go, get-it fast American food ritual that has to be fixed. This busy, working mother of four said to truly get America back to healthy, disease-preventative eating, we need to get back into the kitchen. "People are consuming foods prepared by the hands of others and by machines at record numbers," she pointed out. She cited the example of a recent sports potluck dinner she attended with her daughter. "I was aghast. I made a bean salad from scratch, it took me 10 minutes and was absolutely delicious, [but] I would say 90 percent of the foods brought to this dinner were picked up from fast food restaurants or frozen foods they cooked [and brought]. "Less than 10 percent [of the dishes] were prepared from scratch," she lamented. "We have to get people back into their homes and making their own foods." She cited the growing incidences of children exhibiting adult diseases such as type 2 diabetes as a wake-up call to parents – and grandparents – to begin examining their own food habits. "We need children to see parents [and grandparents] modeling healthy eating," she said. "If grandma is taking care of you and is responsible for the food she is serving, she needs to know what is a healthy diet to feed [her] grandkids." Kulze offers several free resources to help individuals start taking charge of their nutrition and "Eat Right for Life." They are available on her website, www.drannwellness.com.