Problem with most healthy foods is that they are not as delicious as their cousins that live on the dark side. Newman in Seinfeld was spot on; steamed broccoli does taste exactly like ‘vile weed.’ Unfortunately, it’s also good for you.
There is only one way out. Make healthy food as delicious as junk food. Because if you have to use your willpower every time you eat your veggies, you will not be able to sustain it for long periods. If you add spices to your diet, not only do the ‘vile weeds’ taste better, it turns out that the spices used in combination have immense benefits of their own.
I recently saw this podcast where Dr. Kanchan Koya (molecular biologist at the Harvard Medical School) and Prof. Tim Spector (professor of genetic epidemiology at King’s College London) speak to Jonathan Wolf about how even small quantities of spices in our daily diet can make a huge difference.
Prof. Tim Spector and Jonathan Wolf are the cofounders of ZOE, a health science company. They have great stuff in all formats – articles, newsletters, vidoes, podcasts. Do follow them, they offer literally life changing advice on health and nutrition. (This is not a paid promotion. I am not getting any compensation. I am recommending them simply because of their great content.)
Here are some of the main points of the podcast.
- A teaspoon of the spice blend added to junk food like a hamburger caused reduction in several bio markers of inflammation right after the meal.
- Even a single meal of Indian curry can lead to improvement in the gut microbiome.
- Chillies reduce microbiome that cause inflammation and increase bacteria associated with good health, good metabolism, and weight loss.
- Spicy = chilly/hot is a myth. Chilly food is spicy; spicy food may or may not be hot/chilly.
- Spices work best in unison where different chemicals act in synergy to produce a marked improvement. For instance, the beneficial chemical in turmeric is curcumin. Taken in isolation, curcumin is cleared away quickly by the liver. But when combined with piperine that is found in black pepper, the process is slowed down. So a pinch of black pepper in your Turmeric Latte should do the trick.
- The bioavailability of beneficial chemicals in spices is markedly improved when they are heated in a fat base like oil or ghee. This is exactly what is done in traditional recipes from Asia, South America, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East. Even greater benefits can be obtained if you sprinkle the same spices after the dish has been cooked, so the chemicals that are lost due to heat are also available and you get the best of both worlds.
- Cinamon reduces blood sugar spikes and lowers LDL cholesterol, ginger is effective in inflammation management and digestion while sucking on a clove is effective for reducing toothache. I grew up with these remedies as given, passed down through generations. Great to see that they are getting validated through proper research and clinical trials.
These are just the main points, do watch the full video for a complete account.
Great thing about spices is that when taken in small quantities, they have all the benefits and no side effects. An Indian curry cooked in healthy oil a couple of times a week should make your gut microbiome dance with joy.
Scandanavian crime shows on Netflix are killing it
I am a big fan of high quality series that span over years, like Better Call Saul or Game of Thrones. The problem is not all of them are able to maintain the high standards throughout. They start off well but then lose steam or plot or both. In a popular TV series that ran for several seasons, most of the main characters were replaced by the last season and the plot changed directions more often than a proton in the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) travelling at 0.9999c.
A better alternative is a limited series with 6-8 episodes. The length is long enough to go in some detail and the short span leaves the viewer wanting for more. Some of the Scandanavian crime shows on Netflix are klling it. I particularly liked Deadwind with Pihla Viitala and Lauri Tikanen in the lead. Pihla in particular, expresses a whole gamut of human emotions through microexpressions. If anyone ever wrote an article about ‘the power of microexpressions in acting‘, it would prominently feature Pihla Viitala.
I have to mention The Night Agent. There have been a zillion movies and TV series about the CIA and yet, if a series is able to keep you on the edge of your seat till the end, that’s something.
Also notable are Borgen, The Valhalla Murders, Diplomat, and Criminal in three versions: UK, Spain, and France.
Then there is Griselda. Amazing performance by Sofía Vergara as the Columbian drug lord Griselda Blanco. The whole series rests on her shoulders and she does not disappoint. So nice to see her in a multidimensional role that does justice to her immense talent.
If you are wondering why I have not mentioned True Detective Season 4, I am waiting for all episodes to drop to ensure a continuous viewing. Watching Jodie Foster at work is an activity best done without interruptions. The series set really high standards with phenomenal performances by Woody Harrelson, Matthew McConaughey, and Mahershala Ali appearing in previous seasons. I am curious to see how Jodie’s character compares and/or contrasts with her unforgettable portrayal of Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs. (True Detective is streaming on JioCinema in India.)
If you can, do watch the BBC mini series Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1979) and Smiley’s People (1982) where Sir Alec Guinness plays embodies George Smiley, the ultimate spy created by John le Carré. BBC should just rebrand both series as ‘A Masterclass in Acting’ and re-release them. (Bonus is Sir Patric Stewart’s cameo appearance as Karla. No dialogues, just his powerful demeanour.)
Kindle
When I first installed the Kindle app on my phone, I was blown away by the interface that was so sleek compared to the Kindle device (Oooh, shiny!). I thought I would never use the slower Kindle device again. Boy, was I wrong! It’s too easy to get distracted on the phone to get any serious reading done. Reading does not require ultra fast processing and responsive app. Turning pages is a slow process. How much RAM does a physical book have/need?
When the penny finally dropped, I started using the Kindle device again.
