Sweet Secrets

Anderson Cooper's AC/360 has continued to capture my attention each night on CNN with a brief segment on "The Secrets to Living A Long Life." Dan Buettner is still in Ikaria exploring the tiny island and its people to see just what they consume to live such long lives. Tonight's feature was about the honey they eat. There are apparently 3 different kinds of honey on the island that have varying textures, tastes and healing qualities. There was no where I could find the names of the types of honey or where they could be purchased in the United States. Perhaps the Ikarians keep it all to themselves!

The honey/sweetener conversation is one that is frequent in my household. My husband probably has the biggest sweet tooth in the family and it is always in the back of my mind that someday he is going to become a diabetic. In an effort to get him off all the sugar, I bought some raw honey that I thought might appeal to him. No such luck. It sits on the shelf virtually untouched. Here you can see the jar with the brand name on it. Below is what it looks like inside. The stuff on the top isn't very tasty, but is supposedly loaded with good things for our bodies.

My daughter still uses the artificial stuff and thinks I am the nut case in the family. I prefer to leave the bees alone. They are becoming too scarce and I suspect that our society's obsession with pesticides and herbicides might be to blame. Agave nectar is my preferred sweetener, but I would love to sample the Ikarian honey. If anyone knows how I can find it, please leave a comment.


The Ikarians also favor herbal teas. They gather wild herbs in the afternoon and steep them for an evening tea. They consist primarily of wild mint, spleenwort, purple sage, rosemary and artemisia. Each of these herbs has its own healing properties, but they are all diuretics, which seem to have a dual benefit. First they lower blood pressure and second they naturally detoxify the body. Just add in a little of the Ikarian honey with your tea and you have the perfect brew for a long, healthy life!

Today I had:
Breakfast: Green smoothie of banana, apple, pear, grapes and kale.
Lunch: Citrus Avocado Salad with spinach, pink grapefruit, mineola, Mandarin orange, avocado, sprouts, and my usual agave nectar, Dijon mustard, lemon juice and olive oil dressing.
Supper: Chopped mixed vegetables: corn, tomatoes, celery, carrots, shallots, adzuki bean sprouts, red bell pepper with lemon juice, olive oil and sea salt.

The Body Flex routine continues and I am seeing the results in my clothes.

Secrets to Living a Long Life

Tonight on CNN, Anderson Cooper's co-anchor, Erica Hill, had a short segment on the Secrets to Living a Long Life. Erica did an interview with Dan Buettner, author of The Blue Zones, from the Greek island of Ikaria where the people there routinely live well into their 90s. Tonight's installment focused on a man who is a Greek Orthodox priest in his village. He is in his 90s and attributes his longevity to a plant-based diet. Dan specifically talked about how the priest eats wild greens! He walked down the road and in the space of 5 feet, found 5 or 6 different plants that were growing wild that the priest eats. I think I'll keep up my foraging! Maybe I will move to a Greek island too! I bet that helps towards living a long, happy life.

While I have not read Mr. Buettner's book, I have been hearing about his study of long-lived communities around the world. It seems we can learn a lot about what constitutes good health from these people. You can find out your life expectancy by taking his survey at his Longevity Calculator. If I continue my current lifestyle, I can expect to live into my 90s.

Today I ate:

Breakfast: Ruby Red Ambrosia...juice of beet, carrot, celery, lemon, ginger root, and apple.

Lunch: Lettuce wraps with romaine, cucumber, carrots, and a little avocado.

Supper: Citrus Avocado Salad with romaine, pink grapefruit, orange, Mandarin orange, avocado, sprouts and a dressing of lemon juice, Dijon mustard, agave nectar and olive oil.

Snack: Raw flax seed cracker.

Did not do my Body Flex today. Joints are still very painful.