Music for the New Year
- At December 06, 2010
- By Katherine
- In Articles
- 0
Music and Poetry for the New Year!
Music and poetry can move us in ways so mysterious, all we know is we feel better after hearing it…
A few of my personal favorites To Start the Day…
“Your Are the New Day” by the King’s Singers
“When You Wish Upon A Star” by Linda Rondstadt
“My Favorite Things” scene in Sound of Music sung by Julie Andrews
“Zip-A-Dee–Doo-Dah” with Uncle Remus
Some Favorite Poems and Verses from the
National Cathedral New Years’ Retreat…
Let us not look back in anger
Nor forward in fear,
But around in awareness.
by James Thurber
I will be truthful.
I will suffer no injustice.
I will be free from fear.
I will not use force.
I will be of good will to all.
by Mahatma Gandhi
In the Middle of the Road
In the middle of the road there was a stone
there was a stone in the middle of the road
there was a stone
in the middle of the road there was a stone.
Never should I forget this event
in the life of my fatiqued retinas.
Never should I forget that in the middle of the road
there was a stone
there was a stone in the middle of the road
in the middle of the road there was a stone.
by Carlos Drummond de Andrade (trans by Elizabeth Bishop)
QUESTION: What are some of the stones in the road that you experienced this past year?
The Place I Want to Get Back To
is where
in the pinewoods
in the moments between
the darkness
and first light
two deer
came walking down the hill
and when they saw me
they said to each other, okay,
this one is okay,
let’s see who she is
and why she is sitting
on the ground like that,
so quiet,as if
asleep, or in a dream,
but, anyway, harmless;
and so they come
on their slender legs
and gazed upon me
not unlike the way
I go out to the dunes and look
and look and look
into the faces of the flowers;
and then one of them leaned forward
and nuzzled my hand, and what can my life
bring me that could exceed that brief moment?
For twenty years
I have gone every day to the same woods,
not waiting, exactly, just lingering,
Such gifts, bestowed,
can’t be repeated.
If you want to talk about this
come to visit. I live in the house
near the corner, which I have named
Gratitude.
by Mary Oliver from “Thirst”
Celebration
Brilliant, this day – a young virtuoso of a day.
Morning shadow cut by sharpest scissors,
deft hands. And every prodigy of green –
whether it’s ferns or lichens or needles
or impatient points of buds on spindly bushes –
greener than ever before. And the way the conifers
hold new cones to the light for the blessing,
a festive right, and sing the oceanic chant the wind
transcribes for them!
A day that shines in the cold
like a first-prize brass band swinging along
the street
of a coal-dusty village, wholly at odds
with the claims of reasonable gloom.
by Denise Levertov from “This Great Unknowing Last Poems”
Otherwise
I got out of bed
on two strong legs,
It might have been
otherwise, I ate
cereal, sweet
milk, ripe, flawless peach. It might
have been otherwise,
I took the dog uphill
to the birch wood.
All morning I did the work I love.
At noon I lay down
with my mate. It might
have been otherwise,
We ate dinner together
at a table with silver
candlesticks. It might
have been otherwise.
I slept in a bed
in a room with paintings
on the walls, and
planned another day
just like this day.
But one day, I know,
it will be otherwise.
by Jane Kenyon from “Otherwise”
QUESTION: What are some special moments, people, places last year – or in your life – you’ll always cherish?
The Poet’s Occasional Alternative
I was going to write a poem
I made a pie instead. It took
about the same amount of time
of course the pie was a final
draft. A poem would have had some
distance to go. Days and weeks and
much crumpled paper
the pie already had a talking
tumbling audience among small
trucks and a fire engine on
the kitchen floor
everybody will like this pie
it will have apples and cranberries
dried apricots in it. Many friends
will say why in the world did you
make only one
This does not happen with poems
Because of unreportable
sadness I decided to
settle this morning for a re-
sponsive eatership. I do not
want to wait a week a year a
generation for the right
consumer to come along
by Grace Paley from “Begin Again: Collected Poems”
The Goose
Do you want to know why I am alive today?
I will tell you.
Early on, during the food shortage,
Some of us were miraculously presented
Each with a goose that laid a golden egg.
Myself, I killed the cackling thing and I ate it.
Alas, many and many of the other recipients
Died of gold-dust poisoning.
by Muriel Spark from “All the Poems of Muriel Spark”
QUESTIONS: Think back on choices you have made this year… Was there a time you chose immediate gratification over delayed gratification or vice versa?… Was there a time when you made an unconventionalor creative choice?
Crossing the Threshold Into the New Year
- At December 06, 2010
- By Katherine
- In Articles
- 0
What are your hopes, dreams and desires for 2012? The new year is an important time to consider the year that has past and to begin moving intentionally into the future.
One New Year, I attended an inspiring National Cathedral College – sponsored event, “Crossing the Threshold: A Contemplative New Year Retreat.” I have tried to describe and re-create the experience for you so that perhaps you can try the exercise yourself and come up with your own plan for the coming year.
A Plan For 2012
To start… with help from our personal calendars, the group of us reviewed the previous year’s important people, events, places, and ideas. Using poetry, music, art, prayer and time for personal reflection, I and the other participants analyzed what made us happy last year. What were our achievements? What were the bumps in the road? What would we like to do more of – or less of – this new year?
We then moved mindfully across the threshold into a new year filled with ideas, possibilities and plans! We analyzed people who will continue to be important, ideas to explore, places to spend time, important events and things to carry over from last year to this year. Most importantly, as a result of 2 days’ exploration, each of us decided on one “Summary word” for the new year (mine was focusing on feeling GRATEFUL – as opposed to focusing on disappointments or bumps in the road) and one important goal to achieve this coming year (mine is FEARLESSLY diving into a new year filled with rewarding work and love) , along with other goals.
Funny, many people chose LOSING WEIGHT, IMPROVING DIET, BEGINNING EXERCISE, IMPROVING HEALTH, or GETTING OFF MEDICATIONS as their goal for the year. I was touched by this. At the same time that I am grateful that I have achieved these goals for myself (it hasn’t always been easy) and have helped hundreds of others do the same, I felt anxious to find a way to help the others achieve these critical – but ACHIEVABLE – health goals. As you know, I feel passionate about helping people achieve their health and weight goals and feel terrible when I know someone else is miserable or feels hopeless about their bodies or their health. And, as you know, I am here for you, my friends, family, colleagues and clients. So please reach out and contact me.
As usual, everything I experience benefits (or irritates!) people I encounter. So, as I have been working with people this year and visiting friends, we’ve discussed similar passages. What was important last year? What do you feel good about? What would you like to change for this new year to come? What is your goal for the new year? I believe it is crucial that you give these questions serious thought so that you can live a happy, mindful and purposeful life.
Feeling A “Sense of Urgency”
An important aspect to making major changes in the world or in your own personal habits is to feel a SENSE OF URGENCY about your goal. A sense of urgency, according to The Dalai Lama – and scholars in this important field of psychological research, can be achieved by reminding yourself of your positive vision for your own success, but also pondering the negative consequences of not making a particular behavior change (a little fear can be a good thing – but just a little). For instance, in the morning as you’re considering two options: getting out of bed to exercise OR sleeping just a little longer, OR when you get home from work and you’re deciding to plop in front of the TV to zone out or go out and take a walk, you could think… “Do I want to feel good today or do I want to feel crummy today?” “Do I want to achieve my weight loss goal or will I accept being the same weight and having the same health problems for another year?” “Do I want to stop taking these darn medications or will I be taking them forever – and even increasing the dosage. What will my doctor say?” “What kind of example am I setting for my children, my spouse? Is this a behavior I can be proud of?” etc. You get the idea…
Achieving Increased Happiness
Outlining the consequenses of your actions and acting on your long term goals (as opposed to momentary desires) helps you grow as a person and become a happier person, according to scientific research. It actually increases your general happiness level.
Usually, when we do something that feels good momentarily, such as grab a coffee cake at the coffee shop when we originally just planned on buying coffee, or buy an extravagant meal, a piece of jewelry, a new suit, our happiness level may increase – but only temporarily. It goes back to the same level it did before once the newness of the item or the temporary experience wears off – and nothing changes in our lives. We may even become more depressed as we continue to “give-in” to these unfulfilling momentary desires and continue into a downward spiral.
If, instead, we say to ourselves, “I’d be better off going home and eating something healthy as I want to lose weight, lower my cholesterol, etc,” or “I really don’t need that coffee cake, and I’ll feel terrible after eating it,” or“That necklace is beautiful, but I really have all the jewelry I need and I could use the money for something more important,” or “That new suit is very sharp and I’ll look great in it, but will it really change my life?” Another more obvious example might be a drug addict relapsing. It feels great momentarily, but the feeling doesn’t last.
When you make a more thoughtful decision, which contributes to your longterm health – physical, psychological or financial – you are more likely to achieve your life’s hopes, dreams and goals, you can actually increase your happiness level, feel happier more often and grow as a person.
It takes effort to train your mind to work this way, but this is how we become better people and we advance as a society.
Music and Poetry
Music and poetry can move us in ways so mysterious, all we know after hearing something is that we feel so much better. I’ve made some selections that have made a difference for me and hope you enjoy them too.
Music and Poetry for the New Year
Creating a Vision for Success
Another influential behavior is creating a vision of how you’d like to be.
Having a vision guides you to your goal. Your powerful imagination, through visual imagery, can be harnessed to change your mental or physiological state. Visualization can create what you want in your life, as in the self-fulfilling prophecy. If you can envision yourself successful, you’re more likely to get it.
On the other hand, if you always assume you’ll be unsuccessful, you probably will! Many elite athletes use visualization just before they perform and swear by its ability to take them over the top to win. The downhill skier, for instance, will envision himself running the course successfully with all its twists, turns, and most difficult maneuvers until his triumph at the finish line.
The mind is a strong tool and can destroy and heal. Research shows cancer often occurs about six to 18 months after the death of a loved one. Prolonged feelings of helplessness and loss cause distress in the body, dampen the immune system’s ability to fight disease and allow diseases from colds to cancer to prosper.
But just as strongly as the mind can work negatively on the body, it can also work positively. Visualization can aid in healing and has been used successfully with people suffering from terminal illness. Many doctors have reported an increased rate of cancer remission when visualization therapy is used. The patient actually creates the positive image in his mind of the cancer shrinking and this aids in his recovery.
You already use visualization every day, but you’re probably not aware of it; daydreams, memories, and inner talk are all forms of visualization. This discussion – and future lessons – are about creating your own positive visions while rejecting the old deep-seated negative, limited, or stressful visions which may automatically pop into your mind and be a cause of mental and physical distress. These old attitudes make your situation worse and can even create negative results. But you can harness the pictures in your head in a more conscious way, change them, and create a better life for yourself.
This doesn’t mean simply “willing” yourself to lose weight or feel better, or “positive thinking.” Visualization involves the whole mind and body and effects you at a deeper more meaningful level. It involves a process of discovery, of exploring and changing attitudes and coping mechanisms you’ve had your entire life. In the process of using visualization to achieve your goals, you may begin to discover how you have been holding yourself back, keeping yourself from achieving complete satisfaction with life through old fears and negative concepts.
In today’s visualization lesson and in future lessons, you’ll learn to create what you want in your life: love, fulfillment, harmony, rewarding work, beauty, prosperity, good health, and a thinner, more energetic you; the way you were meant to be, and maybe even the you who you haven’t seen in a while!
Visualization Exercise
To begin, first create the image of how you would like to be: thinner? healthier? sexier? more energetic? more confident?
Then visualize yourself doing something you’d enjoy with your new self: walking jauntily through a garden, your favorite street downtown, or through your neighborhood. See yourself energetically walking up a hill or a flight of stairs with a smile on your face, enjoying yourself and the fresh air.
Use all your senses. What colors are you wearing or experiencing? Are you wearing a navy suit, a red t-shirt with jogging shorts, a black evening dress or tuxedo?…
What sounds are you hearing? Are cars buzzing by, birds chirping, children playing, or waves crashing against the sand?…
What are the smells? Do you smell salty air, fumes from automobiles, flowers in the garden?… Be specific;
Make your vision as real as possible, as if it is actually happening.
Bridget Jones is Not Fat
- At December 06, 2010
- By Katherine
- In Articles
- 0
Bridget Jones looks just fine to me.
I’m more than glad to let pop psychologists and movie critics hold forth on Bridget Jones’ complicated relationship with her family, men, and her career. But I do have a few words to say about another complex relationship she has: with her waistline. Bridget Jones, to put the matter simply, is not fat!
Almost everyone who has read a newspaper or watched TV in recent weeks has heard actress Renee Zellweger declare that one of the central challenges she faced in preparing to play Bridget Jones was putting on enough pounds to be the fictional British scatterbrain. Reviewers have talked about her cellulite — and her big butt careening down a fire pole. While watching the movie, I was stunned to find a normal body on Zellweger. Though, in the movie she was repeatedly referred to as chubby or fat.
I kept finding myself thinking, but she’s not fat! And, sure enough, my hunch was confirmed when I read in Us Magazine (May 7 – 14, 2001) that the 5’5″ Zellweger said she gained 20 pounds above her “normal” 110 to a “whopping” 130 to play Bridget.
Only when she reached 130 pounds, Zellweger said, could she play the chunky Jones. The truth is 130 pounds would be a perfectly acceptable weight for anyone 5’5″. According to guidelines established by the National Institutes of Health , a person who is 5’5″ and 130 pounds has an ideal body mass index of 21.6. Not until she exceeds 150 — a body mass index of 25 — would she be considered overweight by American standards.
Based on those standards, 60% of Americans are more overweight (and have fatter butts!) than Bridget Jones. It’s enough to give one an inferiority complex. In fact, Zellweger’s self-described “normal” weight of 100 to 110 pounds is considered underweight and her “fat” Bridget Jones weight is right in the middle of the range of 115 – 150 pounds, which is considered healthy for anyone at 5’5″. Clearly one could say that all of this is just movies and Hollywood stuff, but it is important to get beyond false notions of weight and body appearance.
We all need to better understand acceptable weight ranges and not get distracted and discouraged by impossible standards: such as those created by recent photographs of the once again razor-thin Zellweger exulting that she is back to her “normal” weight. I think it’s important to bring this matter to light as these impossible standards lead to extreme dieting and eating disorders.
Besides, over half of Americans are overweight, and nearly 30 percent are dangerously obese — fat to the point where their weight threatens their health and survival. These people, agree most experts, need to get the message about losing weight.
Any woman at 5’5″, 130 pounds is not among them.
Bridget Jones may be batty, she might be flighty, she might have plenty of problems. But needing to lose weight is not one of them.
Michel Richard: Citronelle’s Master Chef
- At December 06, 2010
- By Katherine
- In Articles
- 0
by Katherine E. Tallmadge
The Georgetowner
It’s a busy weekday afternoon in late November at Michel Richard’s Citronelle. The steady flow of customers is clearly warming the exuberant Richard’s heart. An assortment of elegantly dressed businessmen and women, tourists, and VIP’s stride through the restaurant and settle into tables where they prepare for an unforgettable dining experience.
From the moment you enter Citronelle, it is apparent that Michel Richard had a hand in the design. It is California fresh and bright, with accents of French glamour and a touch of Richard whimsy. The main dining area is covered in the warm, earth tones of Provence.
But the visitors come here less to bask in Citronelle’s decor — though beautiful it is — than to experience extraordinary cuisine that will be prepared by one of the nation’s — if not the world’s — great chefs and his staff.
In the enormous, glassed – in exhibition kitchen, Richard is presiding intensely over a plate, as several specialty chefs scurry back and forth with the dish’s various components. Like an artist with a palette, Richard takes an ingredient here, an ingredient there, places it just so, and voila! Each plate is an art piece worthy of a master. When it’s finally presented at the table, it’s difficult to disturb the arrangement. But worth it. Each deconstructionist bite carries a variety of textures and a symphony of flavors. This is not any ordinary culinary experience.
“I must give my customers the best,” says maestro Richard. “I want my customers to feel good, feel respected. I want them to feel like they’re coming to a second home, where they’re being taken care of by people who care.”
Richard (pronounced Ree-char) exudes perfection, attention to detail, and a need to please. His heart and talents seem boundless. He is widely regarded by his customers and colleagues as a genius.
“He’s D.C.’s new star,” says Francois Dionot, founder and director of the internationally respected French cooking school, L’Academie de Cuisine, in Bethesda.
“In my book, he has replaced Jean-Louis Palladin in Washington,” says Dionot, referring to Washington’s beloved and critically acclaimed chef formerly of Jean-Louis at the Watergate, who now has restaurants in Las Vegas and New York City.
Richard’s style is light, fresh and intelligent, focusing on innovative combinations, witty presentation and always an element of texture. Richard was a pioneer in creating the revolutionary French/California cuisine that is now so prevalent on the West Coast.
Richard says his life’s pivotal moment — when he knew he wanted to be a chef — occurred at the age of eight. He spent two weeks in the kitchen of a family friend’s restaurant. “The well-dressed ladies in the dining room, the white hats, aprons, and all the food — I fell it love with it,” he says.
But it was at age 14, when “God made me a chef,” he says. At fourteen, Richard apprenticed in a restaurant-run patisserie in Champagne, France. Three years later he moved to Paris when he quickly rose to the top position at Gaston Lenotre’s esteemed pastry shop.
But like many other chefs of his generation who came of age during the Paul Bocuse era, Richard wanted to move to America. The opportunity came in 1974 when Lenotre opened a pastry shop in the U.S. Unfortunately, America was not yet ready for Lenotre’s sophisticated French fare and the patisserie closed.
But Richard was not ready to move back to France. In 1975, he moved to Santa Fe to run a pastry shop serving simple meals. A year later he bought the shop and found the rewards of ownership creatively energizing and financially rewarding. But his talents were too large for Santa Fe.
“Santa Fe was not a dream for an ambitious young chef,” he says.
In 1977 he moved to Los Angeles and opened Michel Richard to instant success. He began traveling back and forth to France eating, learning, and cooking in three star Michelin-rated restaurants.
In 1987 Richard opened Citrus, adapting his native French cuisine to the tastes of Southern California. The critically acclaimed Citrus put Richard on the culinary map. In 1987, Traveler’s Magazine voted Citrus “The Best Restaurant in the United States,” and in 1988, Richard was inducted into the James Beard Foundation’s “Who’s Who in American Food and Wine.”
Next, Richard opened Citronelle in 1988 at an astonishing location in the Santa Barbara Inn Hotel overlooking the Pacific Ocean. But even this dream-like venue was not enough to quiet his ambitions.
Richard opened Citronelle in Georgetown in 1994 after years of attracting the glamorous and powerful to his West Coast restaurants. Four years after opening the D.C. restaurant, Richard decided to focus all of his efforts in Washington. So, in early 1998, Citronelle underwent a $2 million renovation and Richard moved from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C. to direct the kitchen full time. He now considers Georgetown his flagship restaurant.
Some may wonder why Richard chose Washington over New York City. For Richard, the answer is easy.
“I love the sophistication of Washington. It’s a piece of Europe — I feel like I’m in Paris — L’Enfant designed the town after all!” explains Richard. Though Richard says the move from Los Angeles was easy for him, his wife didn’t share those views and their marriage came to a crisis when she insisted they stay in Los Angeles.
“She complained I would work too many hours,” says Richard. But they both decided to throw themselves into Washington life and they moved their four children to the area. “We love each other too much,” says Richard.
Since opening Georgetown’s Citronelle, Richard has won more culinary awards. He was a nominee for the James Beard Chef of the Year Award for 1996. That same year he received the prestigious Five Star Fleur de Lis Award. Conde Nast Traveler magazine recently named Citronelle one of the “World’s Most Exciting Restaurants,” an honor shared by only 50 establishments worldwide, and only eight in the United States.
Richard travels the world in search of new ingredients and inspiration. He sleeps with a note pad by his bed because it’s not unusual for him to wake at 4 a.m. with a brilliant idea for a recipe. “Food is what I think about all the time,” he says. He considers himself a modern French chef, with access to ingredients from all over the world and a variety of cultures. “My pot is a melting pot of cultures and flavors,” he says.
But he can only be a great chef if he has superior ingredients, he says. And he makes the effort to find them because “it’s so fabulous every morning to get the ingredients– it makes me feel so good!”
“But it`s a fight,” he admits, as he describes the live scallops he buys at $5.00 a piece. Or the “unusually fragile and flavorful” Santa Barbara shrimp which must be flown out the same day they’re caught for him to use them the very next day. Richard wouldn’t consider using anything frozen. Everything must be fresh, seasonal and perfectly prepared. “The haricot verts aren’t cooked until they’re ordered!” he says.
His perfection is applied down to the smallest of details. Even the ground pepper is specially chosen for its sweetness (“sawak” from Indonesia) and ground at the last minute. He uses four different types of salt. And garlic is carefully roasted and sliced just before serving to prevent oxidation. Spices and herbs are roasted, ground and prepared in his kitchen “at the last second” for maximum flavor.
Richard uses unusual and exotic ingredients daily. Instead of lemon on his sauteed Santa Barbara Shrimp, he incorporated kumquat, because it is more “delicate” and gives him “more control” over the result. He uses $60.00 8-oz. bottles of olive oil, because it’s “the best oil in the world,” and one whiff of its fruity aroma tells you why.
Among top chefs, Richard is renowned as a genius with ingredients. He uses surprising combinations of textures — such as crunchiness and silkiness, and flavors — such as salty and sweet, with stunning results.
“Michelle started the trend for food having enormous contrast of texture,” says L’Academie de Cuisine’s Dionot. “His obsession with crunchiness and presentation are his trademarks.”
Richard’s training as a pastry chef gave him an appreciation for presentation. He’s one of the few chefs who started as a pastry chef. Pastry is more of a presentation than other courses and always has something crunchy with it. Most cooking never had those fine details, but Richard is one of the country’s innovators, says Dionot. “He made an impact and brought it to Washington.”
An astute businessman, Richard has plenty of ideas for improving his restaurant. He has designed a small sidewalk cafe for 30th Street that would be the new entrance to Citronelle as opposed to entering through the hotel lobby of the Latham Hotel on M Street.
“The neighborhood asked for a certain design and we think they’ll like what we came up with,” says a hopeful Richard. He admits they may not do much business outside, but he says it will be important for the restaurant’s “visibility.”
It’s ironic that a famous chef like Michel Richard would be concerned about curbside appeal but it is this attention to detail that makes Citronelle such an extraordinary restaurant, unmatched in its range and quality.
Katherine Tallmadge is a nutrition consultant, writer and speaker in Washington, D.C.
MICHEL RICHARD CITRONELLE: INNOVATING THROUGHOUT THE DAY
Washington received a new reason for a wake-up call recently when Michel Richard Citronelle began serving breakfast, making it one of the nation’s few five star restaurants to offer the morning meal.
As with everything else at Citronelle this is no blase affair. Richard has created some eye-opening dishes that include Lobster Hash with Tomato and Basil Hollandaise; a Chive Omelet with Smoked Salmon, Asparagus and Creme Fraiche and an extremely popular, non-fat Chicken Sausage.
Richard’s command of pastries makes for wonderfully delicate croissants as well as Toast d’Brioche and Pain aux Raisins et Pomme.
The same elegant service that the restaurant is known for at lunch and dinner is also standard for breakfast including the specially designed Bernardaud China and Christoffle Silver.
“Breakfast does not need to be boring,” says Richard. “It’s the most important meal of the day and I want my customers to enjoy their food as much in the morning as they do in the evening.”
Other recent innovations at Michel Richard Citronelle include the restaurant switching to fixed price options at dinner rather than a la carte. Guest are able to choose from three dinner menu ranging from $35 to $65 to $100 per person.
The change allows the restaurant to better showcase its range with more numerous courses and seasonally appropriate fare. Richard loves the fixed price approach because it lets the kitchen guide the patron through the day’s best work and prevents the temptation of intimidated diners from ordering a “green salad with dressing on the side.”
The really adventurous may want to consider an evening at the Chef’s Table where, for parties of six or more, Richard will dazzle you with specially prepared dishes in the midst of the hyper-activity of a world-class kitchen. The cost is $150 per person excluding wine but Richard guarantees he will prepare food to “your heart’s desire.”
And finally, the restaurant is open for the holidays including Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve. The special New Year’s Eve dinner is $200 per person. There can be no better way to celebrate a new year than to enjoy the wonderful food and atmosphere at Michel Richard Citronelle.
The Quiet Force Behind France’s Cultural Diplomacy
- At December 06, 2010
- By Katherine
- In Articles
- 0
by Katherine E. Tallmadge
The Washington Diplomat
I
Earlier this year, Francis Layrle was asked to prepare a nice, cozy dinner for fifty. This was not some random assortment of Washingtonians. Rather it was a collection of the city’s heaviest hitters, including Alan Greenspan, Katharine Graham, Jim Hoagland, Larry Summers, and Michel Camdesus. All had been enticed to the French ambassador’s residence for a private dinner.
Mindful of the notion that the best way to the hearts and minds of the world’s most powerful is through their stomachs, the French embassy goes all out to provide unforgettable meals. Great food and fine wine are the aphrodisiacs the French apply to nourish diplomatic relationships. They soften the mood and lull guests into a state of food-induced receptivity, a wonderful way to make a diplomatic point or to advance a commercial endeavor. And at this seductive culinary ritual, no one can touch the French.
The quiet, unnoticed man at the center of France’s cultural diplomacy most evenings is Francis Layrle, arguably the most important diplomat at the French embassy. He’s certainly been here the longest. While ambassadors have come and gone, Layrle, the 47-year-old Chef de Cuisine, has created a four-star empire unmatched by any restaurant in Washington, and perhaps the United States.
But Layrle does not take reservations. Dinners are tightly restricted to those exclusive and prestigious few: invitation only. He’s so good and so few have had the opportunity to experience his creative talents, he is virtually unknown in Washington, unless you’re high on Washington’s A-list, a world power broker, international artiste, or movie star.
From Layrle’s command post at the French Ambassador’s residence in Washington’s tony Kalorama neighborhood, he is the master of one of the most glamorous dining rooms in Washington. He has been pleasing some of the planet’s most demanding palettes and ample egos for 25 years. Guests at his table have included American secretaries of state from Kissinger to Albright, French presidents from D’Estaing to Chirac, and such luminaries as Catherine Deneuve and Yves Montand. Last year, President Jacque Chirac awarded him the Chevalier de L’Ordre National du Merite, for distinguished service to his country — a high distinction usually reserved for businessmen and public servants — and almost unheard of for a chef. This is an illustration of the premium the French place on Layrle’s contribution to its diplomatic mission and success in the United States.
In his chef whites and jeans, Layrle’s simple and relaxed attitude belies his star status. On this night, he and his two assistants are concluding preparations for the embassy’s elegant black tie dinner for 50. The kitchen is surprisingly subdued given that such a grand affair is looming. This reflects Layrle’s quiet confidence, and vast experience. Just another day at the office.
Tonight’s menu reflects Layrle’s Gascony roots and French sensibilities: Consomme Henri IV with black truffle quenelles and golden chanterelle mushrooms, foie gras with winter fruit garnish and port wine reduction, muscovy duck breasts with mandarines and blood oranges, and chocolate fondant with vanilla spice ice cream over caramelized pistachio nuts.
The day-long cooking ritual and the mouth-watering results illustrate Layrle’s uncompromising perfectionism, organization, and creativity. The preparations began when most of the guests were still eating breakfast, with Layrle and his sous chef, Vincent Riviere, and assistant Marie Mondueri, nonchalantly dividing and sharing tasks. A seasoned team, Layrle and his assistants make everything look easy. But it’s taken years to achieve this level of skill and execution. The morning cooking began with Layrle refining the hen consumme, Riviere sauteeing and roasting duck bones for the duck’s mandarines sauce, and Mondueri preparing the creme anglaise, which would eventually become the evening’s ice cream.
Every kitchen has a distinct personality, which usually emanates from the executive chef. Layrle maintains an open and respectful atmosphere. Jokes and banter are exchanged with occasional swells of soft laughter. There’s some family talk about who’s just had babies, who’s out of a job. Layrle takes the occasional cigarette break in his tiny, cramped institutional office, noting his daughter’s distaste for the habit. Visits and phone calls from advice-seeking chefs and family members are handled with ease. Madame Bujon de L’Estang, the ambassador’s wife, pokes her head downstairs a couple of times to confer with Layrle.
But these minor distraction don’t interrupt the pace. By early evening, virtually everything has been prepared but there will be a last minute rush of final touches when the guests arrive at 8:00 p.m. With a little time to spare before show time, Layrle goes upstairs to check the wines from the embassy’s extensive wine cellar. A Chateau Suduiraut 1989 with the Foie Gras (valued at $50/bottle), Chateau La Conseillante 1988 with the duck ($75/bottle), and Champagne Louis Goederer with dessert. Perfect.
Finally, the concierge announces the first guests have arrived. Layrle and his team commence the final intense preparations. For a perfect meal such as this, much must be saved for the last minute.
Upstairs, as the guests are greeted warmly by Ambassador Francois Bujon de L’Estang and his wife and served Champagn Rose. Downstairs, Layrle directs his team quietly but intensely: Riviere sautees large shrimps in olive oil with a touch of rosemary until they are perfectly cooked and remain tender. Mondueri fetches the silver platters on which greens are spread before Layrle arranges the shrimp with toothpicks on top. The trays are immediately whisked upstairs by efficient waiters in black tie. More trays are assembled, some with duck proccuitto. They disappear as quickly as they’re assembled.
Each course proceeds in this fashion. The consomme, foie gras, caneton aux mandarines, and the fondant au chocolat, are quickly heated, plated, and whisked upstairs at a frenetic, yet organized pace, with hardly a word spoken.
This high level of entertaining is crucial for the French embassy and Layrle was the quiet and unassuming star of the evening. While Greenspan, Graham, and Summers may not have been aware of who was responsible for their astonishing meal, their hosts certainly were.
“He’s in the top category of French chefs around the world,” says Ambassador Bujon de L’Estang, whose references to Layrle are laced with superlatives.
“The ambassador likes to think he’s the most important person in the embassy, but I know the most important person is the chef,” says Bujon de L’Estang, a self-described gourmand.
The ambassador’s wife underscores the importance of Layrle’s contribution.
“When Francis is in charge, I never have to worry. Everything will be perfect,” says Mrs. Bujon de L’Estang, who helps Layrle design the menus.
“People are expecting to have a very good meal and to experience French style,” says Mrs. Bujon de L’Estang. “Everybody expects more from France,” she explains.
II
French diplomats from across the ages have recognized the importance of entertaining with fine food and wine, celebrating this as an integral, even critical, component of diplomacy:
An ambassador’s “table should be served neatly, plentifully, and with taste,” said Francois de Callieres, a celebrated 18th century French diplomat.
“He should give frequent entertainments and parties to the chief personages of the Court and even to the Prince himself. A good table is the best and easiest way of keeping himself well informed. The natural effect of good eating and drinking is the inauguration of friendships and the creation of familiarity, and when people are a trifle warmed by wine they often disclose secrets of importance,” said Callieres, author of De la maniere de negocier avec les Souverains.
The French embassy in Washington has taken Callieres’ sage advice to heart. No other embassy in town is more effective at using culture and food to seduce visitors, introduce views and products, sell lifestyles and opinions, and quietly push policies to the powerful and influential.
The embassy conducts its cultural diplomacy on two fronts. First, there is the public outreach which is advanced by a blizzard of public events at the Maison Francais, a large theater and ballroom showcasing French art, music, and culture. The embassy also publishes a glitzy magazine, called “France,” which showcases the French lifestyle.
Most critically, the embassy is engaged in intense private diplomacy which centers around a number of dinners and receptions at the residence. Here, VIP guests are ushered into the astonishing Tudor mansion, served a four – star meal for the ages, lubricated with rare and unusual French wines, and seduced by the full panoply of French culture and tradition.
No embassy is better at this one – two punch of public and private diplomacy. And while the public events are truly impressive, it is the private diplomacy that is especially effective at laying the foundation for cordial relations and serious deal-making with Washington’s power elite And it is in the realm of this private diplomacy that France’s remarkable chef, Francis Layrle, looms large.
“The most important weapon the French ambassador has is his chef,” says Jacqueline Grapin, president of the European Institute, a European American think tank based in Washington. “He entertains the most important people in Washington and their weaknesses are obviously fine French cuisine.”
Grapin adds that having a good lunch or dinner and a fine wine is the beginning of mutual understanding. Entertaining is a way for the ambassador to showcase French culture and for the guests to feel closer to France, thus narrowing the cultural gap that separates Americans and the French.
“I am always impressed that people that go to the embassy feel much closer to France and French culture,” says Grapin.
The ambassador acknowledges that the embassy has become very accomplished in its entertaining, but fears this sometimes obscures the more prosaic diplomatic work it does. But he is in no hurry to alter the embassy’s strong entertainment traditions. He says France is particularly well known for food, quality of living, and elegance, so the entertaining they do must reflect this.
“Entertaining is only part of what we do but we attach a lot of importance to it,” says Bujon de L’Estang. “We are perfectionists. Either we do things very well or we don’t do them at all,” he says.
Everyone who attended last year’s Washington Opera Ball will acknowledge that the French can turn entertainment into a rare art form. It was hailed as one of the most unforgettable opera balls ever. Designed by Christian Lacroix, it was a stunningly elegant display of art, style, and haute couture.
But most of the entertaining at the embassy is less spectacular, more intimate, and more finely calibrated to appeal to the power elite.
“France occupies a certain role in the world and it’s important that social life practiced by the embassy live up to that role,” says Jim Hoagland, Washington Post associate editor and syndicated columnist.
Hoagland cites Layrle as a key ingredient to France’s successful entertaining.
“Francis has established himself as a major figure not only in Washington’s culinary world, but in that all important sense of style we’ve come to expect at the French embassy. As an executive chef, he certainly does more than cook. Francis helps Ambassador Bujon make the residence a real home that a guest enjoys visiting,” says Hoagland.
III
Sitting in his tiny basement office in the French Ambassador’s residence on an early spring day, Layrle is friendly, engaging, and refreshingly unaffected. Serene, even subdued, Layrle is very modest and needs significant prompting before he will recount his many years at the top of French haute cuisine.
A well-built 5’10”, Laryrle has an olive Mediteranean complexion, dark eyes, and thick salt and pepper hair. His casual bearing reflects his pastoral roots. He was raised on his family’s farm in Gascony, in southwest France, in a large extended family. He enjoyed cooking with his grandmother, but never intended to become a professional chef. At age 16 he entered the Pyrenees Culinary School in Southwest France to get into management and become an entrepreneur like his father, but he soon gravitated toward cooking.
“I got along well with the chefs and discovered a love for every aspect of cooking,” says Layrle.
After he graduated, he went to work in the country’s different regions. A key objective of French cooking is to highlight each region’s distinctive products, their unique produce, wines, and cheeses. Layrle embraces this tradition enthusiastically.
“Every region has its own identity,” says Layrle, “It was the best way to discover my country and its heritage.”
Layrle worked in two- and three – star restaurants in Alsace and Provence for a year. He then returned to Gascony where he worked with Maurice Conscuella, who trained at the world-famous restaurant, La Pyramide, owned by Fernand Point, the father of French nouvelle cuisine. There, Layrle says, he learned more than cooking.
“Sensibility for a chef is more essential than technique. All five senses: sound, touch, smell, sight, and finally the palette, will inform you better on the evolution of a dish instead of the strict observation of the culinary rules,” says Layrle, in heavily accented French in his most esoteric French chef – style.
When Layrle was summoned to do his year of French military service, the general of the army in Toulouse hand-picked the 20-year-old to be his chef. They got along famously.
“It was a fabulous time for me,” says Layrle, “I had the chance to work with someone with a very open mind. We were such a great team that the general became eager to invite people to his table,” says Layrle.
As his military service was coming to a close, the general told Layrle about a job at the French embassy in Washington. The general bought Layrle a train ticket to Paris where he traveled to meet the ambassador. Just hours after the meeting, he was cooking the ambassador’s family a luncheon of cheese souffle, veal saute a l’ancienne, and profiteroles with chocolate. They must have appreciated the meal because three weeks later he was in Washington working at the embassy. He has been here ever since.
Layrle relishes the freedom to be creative, try new products, and never repeat a dish. The ambassadors he has served under have been wise enough to give him that freedom and have only asked that he prepare meals that reflect the best of France’s culinary traditions.
Layrle draws his inspiration from the masters of 17th, 18th, and 19th century French cuisine: Bonnefons, La Varenne, and Menon. “They were geniuses. They had fantastic imagination,” says Layrle.
Layrle scours the United States and Europe for the best suppliers of everything.
“There is excellent product here in the United States, but it’s hard to find,” says Layrle, adding he is more than willing to look far afield to find the very best.
He buys fresh wild game from Scotland, foie gras from France, “real” Dover Sole from Dover, fresh produce, eggs and poultry from the Amish. Of course, being French, everything he buys must be organic, free range, hormone- and pesticide – free. His suppliers consider him demanding, but are willing to go the extra mile for him because he is unfailingly cordial and enjoys experimenting with their new products. He was one of the first French chefs to try Ostrich. But he doesn’t tolerate anything but the best. He recently fired his supplier of haricots verts when a shipment came too dry.
“I can function as long as I have fantastic product. Then I have more imagination and an appetite to do things,” says Layrle. He believes in a cooking style which respects each individual ingredient so it stands out and maintains its own flavor.
“The respect of the true taste of things guides you to make simple dishes,” says Layrle. “Some chefs use too many ingredients. I like simple things. If there’s one too many elements it can upset the balance. Then you no longer respect the product,” says Layrle.
His obsession with good products has earned him many devotees among chefs in the area, who have benefited from his exhaustive research and experimentation. When Jean-Louis Palladin and Daniel Boulud — celebrated four-star chefs today — first came to Washington 20 years ago, it was Layrle they turned to to help them get started.
“It was fantastic to have Francis help us,” says Palladin, formerly of Jean-Louis at the Watergate.
“After that we became very good friends and one, two, three times a week, I was at the French embassy to take coffee with him and to see what he was doing,” says Palladin.
The highly-awarded Boulud also praises Layrle.
“Francis was the man who could explain everything about how to get started as a chef in Washington,” says Boulud, who was recently in Washington signing his new book, “Daniel Boulud’s Cafe Boulud Cookbook.”
Layrle reflects on the success of his friends Jean-Louis and Daniel, and muses about striking out on his own. He has had many offers to leave the embassy and start his own restaurant, even an offer to be head chef at the Reagan White House, but something always holds him back.
“It’s a lot of sacrifice to run a restaurant. You have to give up your family life,” says Layrle wistfully. “I want a normal life.”
Layrle lives with his wife, Catherine, and 14 year old daughter, Magali, in Glen Echo Maryland. Magali enjoys the time with her dad, especially cooking together.
“We like having him around,” says Magali. “If he was in a restaurant we wouldn’t have the family life we have now,” says Magali.
Nonetheless, his friends think he should strike out on his own and enjoy the professional and financial opportunities that would come from having his own restaurant.
“While it’s very good for the ambassador, in a way it’s sad Francis is at the embassy. He could own a restaurant and be the number one chef in Washington,” says Palladin.
But Palladin, who owns the restaurants Palladin, in New York City, and Napa Restaurant in Las Vegas, sympathizes with his friend’s choice as well.
“Francis wants to live his life the way he wants to live his life. He’s laid back. He’s been able to avoid the tough time of owning a restaurant and for him, it’s fantastic. He’s cooking the best food in the world for the lucky ambassador,” says Palladin.
Layrle also leaves this possibility open, but is not anxious to join the rough and tumble world of the overworked celebrity chef, where losing some control over his dishes is inevitable and his ideals of perfection would be eroded by the press of business. Layrle is not interested in that kind of compromise.
IV
It is a Wednesday morning in February and one of France’s legendary artists, Marcel Marceau, is in town for a rare engagement at the Kennedy Center. The French embassy has seized on his visit to do a little cultural diplomacy. Not surprisingly, a small private luncheon at the residence has been arranged for Marceau. This is the perfect excuse to invite a select group over and impress them with French art de vivre.
Layrle has been called upon to prepare a very special meal and has decided to serve Asian – French fusion cuisine. The first course, he explains, is designed to produce a “burst of flavor.” He is making a lobster and sea urchin consomme with an infusion of lemongrass and garlic. It will be poured over sauteed greens, grilled scallops and steamed lobster.
The main course is sauteed artichoke hearts, mushrooms, and sweetbreads with partridge breast, foie gras and truffle juice.
The fresh wild partridge arrived from Scotland yesterday and Layrle has spent hours patiently picking out bead-sized gun pellets from the 20 tiny carcasses. He admits his work is greatly increased by using wild game, “but it’s much more interesting to work with,” he explains.
“I don’t want domesticated. The wild ones have so much more flavor. They’re tender and young — and guaranteed organic,” says Layrle.
He moves on to the fresh black truffles which will be used in a light sauce over the partridge and foie gras. He closes his eyes and takes a whiff.
“It’s going to be exquisite. The truffles are powerful,” he says.
The dessert today will be apple, apricot and pear beignets with granny smith apple sorbet: a delightful balance of tart and sweet, crunchy and creamy, hot and cold. Long lengths of peeled apple skin are deep fried, sprinkled with powdered sugar and used as a whimsical garnish atop each dollop of freshly made sorbet.
The wines selected are Les Clous 1996 from Aubert de Villaine with the consomme, Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru 1993 with the partridge.
The meal is a spectacular success, an intoxicating blend of subtle flavors and textures. The guest of honor, Marceau, calls for Layrle and offers his warmest compliments.
“What I like is to please. I don’t want to impress,” says Layrle as he plans his next masterpiece.
Turning On Your Healthy Genes: Genetics in Motion
- At December 06, 2010
- By Katherine
- In Articles
- 0
by Katherine E. Tallmadge
The Washington Post
Okay, it’s not a cure for cancer. But researchers plumbing the human genome have identified genes that play key roles in the killer epidemic of obesity and related diseases.
- Researchers have discovered “healthy” genes which, when activated, clear fat and sugar from the blood stream quickly and efficiently. The genes can be turned on by as little as a single bout of exercise. Conversely, being sedentary for a mere 24 hours turns down the genes’ activity.
A growing body of research is giving scientists a better understanding of why a sedentary lifestyle is correlated with so many chronic diseases. These findings clearly demonstrate that people have the ability, with regular exercise, to effectively turn on genes which will allow them to live healthier lives. The findings help explain why if people don’t exercise, obesity and disease will be the likely results.
“A sedentary lifestyle actually prevents the expression of some healthy genes,” said Frank W. Booth, professor of physiology at the University of Missouri Medical School in Columbia at a recent USDA-sponsored conference in Washington.
- “Keeping these genes activated may help prevent heart disease and insulin resistance or diabetes,” says Booth. “Higher blood levels of fat and sugar increase a person’s risk for these diseases.”
The two genes are referred to as “metabolic” genes. They respond to exercise very rapidly by making proteins which help transfer the food you eat into your muscles for fuel.
The Lipoprotein Lipase gene is one example. It makes the enzyme lipoprotein lipase (LPL). LPL breaks down the fat in your blood after a meal — called triglycerides — into fatty acids. The fatty acids are then taken up by the muscle and burned as fuel. But if you haven’t exercised during the preceding 24 hours, and LPL is not present or is present in lower quantities, the triglycerides stay in the blood at higher levels and for longer periods. This could possibly lead to atherosclerosis — clogging and hardening of the arteries — and obesity, because the excess triglycerides get stored in fat cells instead of going into the muscles to be burned as fuel.
In a study reported in the American Journal of Physiology last year, researchers had men use a bicycle with one leg, the sedentary second leg served as the “control” in the experiment. They found LPL increased, and fat uptake doubled in the exercised leg as compared to the unexercised leg.
Similar results were found in other studies reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and The American Journal of Physiology last year. When men and women ate high fat meals 16 or 17 hours after exercising, clearance of blood triglyceride and very low density lipoprotein, VLDL (a form of “bad” cholesterol) was significantly faster.
High levels of LPL has several benefits. Scientists suspect LPL lowers triglycerides. LPL also lowers VLDL and increases blood levels of “good” cholesterol, called high density lipoprotein (HDL).
In another one-leg cycling study, the blood coming out of the exercised leg’s vein had more HDL than the unexercised leg. Researchers suspect the LPL in the muscle actually produces HDL.
But the positive effects of LPL are fleeting. After a mere 24 hours of being sedentary, fat -clearing slows. After a week without exercise, even in highly trained athletes, fat – clearing rates return to the levels of a chronically sedentary person.
Another example of a “healthy” metabolic gene is GLUT4. After a single bout of exercise, this gene makes the protein, GLUT4. GLUT4 transfers blood sugar to the muscle so it is burned as fuel.
In a study reported in the Journal of Applied Physiology last year, researchers showed that glucose uptake into the skeletal muscle is directly related to GLUT4 protein concentration in exercising human muscle. As GLUT4 levels increase, more blood glucose is taken into the muscle. GLUT4 causes a smaller rise of glucose and insulin after a meal thereby lowering insulin resistance, and probably the likelihood of diabetes.
“Any time you have a rapid removal of glucose and insulin from the blood, you are lowering insulin resistance,” said Booth.
- Researchers have known for years that exercise lowers blood glucose and insulin levels, but the underlying biological reasons weren’t understood. Scientists are getting closer to understanding why exercise makes such a positive difference.
Testing aerobically trained athletes revealed significantly lower blood glucose and insulin levels after a meal and exercise. No surprise there. But when these athletes weren’t allowed to exercise for just 10 days, their blood glucose and insulin levels increased dramatically after meals. They became more insulin resistant, more diabetic – like. Remarkably, after the sedentary period, all it took was just one exercise bout to return them back to the healthier, exercise levels of blood glucose and insulin.
Researchers see the same effect in obese people. Although obesity increases the risk for insulin resistance and type II diabetes, a study reported in the Annals of Internal Medicine in 1999 showed that cardiovascularly fit obese people with a BMI above 27 cut their diabetes rate in half. The study showed even obese people received an independent effect from exercise.
Experts today believe part of the reason for this improvement is the activation of the GLUT4 gene. The gene responds to exercise very rapidly. An active skeletal muscle needs greater glucose removal from the blood to the muscle for energy or storage to prepare for the next exercise bout.
The activation of the LPL and GLUT4 genes, the researchers surmise, may help explain why people who exercise at least 30 minutes per day experience 30% to 40% less diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.
Of course, the implication of all of this isn’t much comfort to those who hope the genetic revolution will liberate us from the annoying realities of weight control and personal health. The bottom line remains this:
- To control your weight and reduce risk for obesity-related diseases, you need to exercise regularly. And if you don’t, you’re increasing that risk.
But now we have proof that it’s true.
Calcium & Weight Loss
- At December 02, 2010
- By Katherine
- In Articles
- 0
Revised from original Content, The Washington Post, Wednesday, June 30, 2004; Page F01
Is it possible that one of my favorite food groups-milk and milk products-not only provides crucial nutrients but can also help people maintain and lose weight? The answer, while not yet conclusive, looks encouraging. New studies are finding that calcium, particularly when in milk products, may help shed unwanted pounds and body fat.
This is doubly important news because many people slash milk products from their diets to lose weight. The research is showing that move is not only a mistake for your bones, blood pressure and overall health (which nutrition experts have been saying for years), it may also make weight loss more difficult.
Uncovering the calcium-weight loss connection was, like many scientific discoveries, a case of serendipity. In the 1980s, scientists researching the positive effects of calcium on blood pressure found that people on higher-calcium diets not only lowered their blood pressure but also lost weight. The connection wasn’t taken seriously at the time. But when large government-funded studies found links between calcium intake and body weight, researchers decided it was worth looking into.
Since 2000, observational and clinical studies of men, women and children have consistently shown that people eating diets containing calcium’s recommended dietary allowance of 1,000 to 1,300 milligrams per day have lower body weights and lower body fat. In fact, it’s been calculated that with 300 more milligrams of calcium daily, adults will weigh about seven pounds lighter than they would without the calcium.
All of the biological mechanisms aren’t completely understood. But, after many years of animal studies, the scientists, led by Michael Zemel, director of the Nutrition Institute at the University of Tennessee, have formulated the primary reason for this weight loss. When there isn’t enough calcium in the diet, the body responds by releasing hormones to help conserve as much calcium as possible for critical bodily functions (heartbeat, for one). One of these hormones, calcitriol, tells arterial muscle to contract, which increases blood pressure. But calcitriol also acts on fat cells.
“Calcitriol sends the fat cells a message to start making more fat and sends another message to slow down the process of fat breakdown and oxidation,” says Zemel, co-author of “The Calcium Key” (Wiley, 2004). Since high calcium levels have been the norm through evolution, the body assumes that food is scarce and conserves when calcium is low in the diet.
The result is that we become more efficient at storing calories as body fat, so when we cut calories to lose weight, a low-calcium diet makes it harder to break down body fat. Higher-calcium intakes (in which the body senses, rightly or wrongly, that there is plenty of food around) cause lower calcitriol levels and increased fat breakdown. So weight loss is harder for people who don’t consume enough calcium, which is the case for average Americans, most of whom consume one half the daily calcium requirement.
In the first human clinical study of the calcium and weight loss connection, Zemel and his colleagues found that the amount of calcium and its food source made a huge difference in weight loss results.
In the study published in Obesity Research in April, three groups of people ate low-calorie diets containing 35 percent fat, 49 percent carbohydrates and 16 percent protein. The first group, which ate 400 to 500 milligrams a day of calcium ( an amount of calcium typical for many Americans and less than the minimum requirement) lost an average of 15 pounds in six months. While eating the same diet with an additional 800 milligrams of calcium from a supplement, the second group lost 19 pounds. But while eating a diet high in milk products containing about 1,200 milligrams of dietary calcium per day (not from a supplement), the third group lost 24 pounds. Fat loss followed a similar pattern. The people on the high-dairy diet lost a higher percentage of body fat, maintained more lean muscle and (a finding that surprised the researchers) lost more belly fat, known as a risk factor for diabetes and heart disease. In fact, the high-dairy group significantly improved its insulin sensitivity, but it isn’t known whether that was a dairy effect or the result of the weight loss, which alone improves insulin sensitivity.
Why milk products produced more weight and fat loss than calcium supplements isn’t completely understood. But there are some theories. One theory is that milk products are simply satiating – that is they provide a feeling of fullness for relatively few calories, and over time that can cause us to eat fewer overall calories. Another theory is that milk products have many biologically active compounds, similar to the phytochemicals in plants, which work synergistically to produce a more powerful effect than a single compound, like calcium alone. And milk products also contain unusually high levels of an amino acid (the building block of protein) called leucine.
“Leucine plays a unique role in stimulating protein synthesis and is very important for maintaining lean muscle mass, especially during weight loss,” says Donald Layman, protein researcher and professor of nutrition at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. “If you eat a higher-protein diet, with high levels of leucine coming from dairy products, during weight loss you’ll lose 80 percent body fat as opposed to the usual 60 percent body fat.”
Until more human clinical research can verify these findings, remember that calcium or milk products won’t cause you to lose weight alone. Calories still count. But while this research is being verified, it can only help to include three milk servings a day. Studies show people who consume more milk products have diets higher in many beneficial nutrients such as calcium, protein, vitamins A and D, riboflavin, phosphorous, potassium and magnesium.
Strategies
Calcium experts recommend three to four servings of high-calcium milk product, containing about 300 milligrams of calcium per serving, per day. About 1 cup of milk, 1 cup of yogurt or 1 – 1/2 (ounces of hard cheese are the best examples. Here are some sources provided in The Calcium Key (Wiley, 2004):
The High-Dairy Calcium Guide **
Food Amount Calories Calcium (g)
Buttermilk 8 oz 91 264
Nonfat Milk 8 oz 86 301
Alpine Lace Reduced Fat Cheddar Cheese 1.5 oz 105 300
Brie Cheese 1.5 oz 142 78
Cheddar Cheese 1.5 oz 171 307
2% Cottage Cheese 1 cup 203 155
Hard Parmesan 1 oz 111 336
Plain, nonfat Yogurt 1 cup 127 451
Lowfat Fruit Yogurt 1 cup 225 313
**Excerpted from The Calcium Key (Wiley, 2004)
Other tips:
* Check the Nutrition Facts Panel on your food label. A good source of calcium contains at least 30 percent of your daily requirement. Also, check the calories and saturated fat: How many calories or saturated fat grams does it take to get more calcium from the food? For people watching their health or weight, the more nutrient-dense, calorie-poor and the lower in saturated fat, the better.
* If you’re lactose intolerant, remember that yogurt is usually tolerated and cheese contains virtually no lactose. You can also try lactose-reduced products or drink smaller amounts of regular milk products through the day.
* If you’re a vegan, protein expert Donald Layman says the equivalent of one cup of dairy milk would be 1-1/2 cups of calcium-fortified soy milk, in terms of its leucine content, though no studies have been published on the weight loss benefits of soy milk.
-Katherine Tallmadge
See also: How to Have Yours Each Day
A Chocolate A Day?
- At December 02, 2010
- By Katherine
- In Articles
- 0
By Katherine Tallmadge, M.A., R.D.
Is it true that a chocolate a day will keep the doctor away? That’s what many chocolate companies would like you to believe in their Valentine’s Day advertisements. While it looks like cocoa has many health benefits, the chocolates you buy from your local stores may not impart those benefits.
The cacao bean, grown mainly in Latin America, Africa and Asia, is loaded with beneficial compounds. In fact, its early uses, dating back 3,000 years were mainly medicinal. They have ranged from curing fatigue, angina, constipation, dental problems (tartar removal), dysentery, gout, an “overheated” heart, skin eruptions, fevers, and seizures. One doctor in the 1500s found it made people “extraordinarily fat” if used frequently and so it was prescribed for the thin and weak, according to an article in The Journal of Nutrition. It has been highly prized for centuries, which is reflected in its scientific name, Theobroma cacao, meaning “Food of the Gods.”
Eurpoeans discovered cocoa in the 1500s and over the next few centuries, chocolate, which we know and love so well was born. In this century, chocolate (processed cocoa with added fat, milk and sugar) has been enjoyed for its melt-in-your mouth texture and flavor, with its health giving properties largely forgotten by the civilized world, until recently.
In 1997, Harvard professor Norman K. Hollenberg published a landmark epidemiological study focused on cocoa. He found that high blood pressure was a rarity among Panama’s Kuna Indians who also didn’t experience the typical age-related increases. He at first attributed it to genetic protection. But, when the Kunas migrated to Panama City, their blood pressure increased, pointing to an environmental cause. Upon examination, Hollenberg found the Kunas drank large amounts of indigenous, unprocessed cocoa. Subsequent experiments conducted by Hollenberg and others, have found that cocoa, if high in flavanols, the beneficial plant compounds scientists believe impart most of cocoa’s benefits, relaxes the blood vessels, an important protection against hypertension and heart disease.
In the past five years, cocoa research has intensified, mainly due to the largess of companies like Mars, Inc, most famous for Milky Ways and M&Ms. What’s striking is that candy companies, such as Mars and Nestle’s, have hired respected nutrition scientists and have been largely responsible for the advancement of cocoa research. Mars has collaborated with such institutions as Harvard, the University of California at Davis, and even the United States Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service. Through their research and others, many interesting discoveries about cocoa’s health benefits have been made.
The flavanols in cocoa help maintain a healthy vascular system, relax blood vessels, they reduce blood clotting – an aspirin-like affect –reduce oxidative damage, and improve blood flow. A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found cocoa also reduces inflammation. All of which reduces heart disease risk.
There has been some suggestion that flavanols can be used to treat vascular diseases like dementia, pre-eclampsia in pregnant women, and anything related to blood flow. Emerging research is looking into cancer as well.
But what about that chocolate bar in your vending machine? Are there any health benefits there? The answer: probably not much.
Most research about chocolate’s health benefits have used unsweetened cocoa or specially formulated high-flavanol chocolate. Unfortunately, these compounds are rarely in the chocolate we eat in 21st century America. Flavanols impart a bitter taste so they’ve been removed from most popular products to improve their flavor.
Most of the flavanols are in the cocoa beans and the level decreases with each processing step when it goes from the bean, to the cocoa powder and ultimately a finished chocolate product.
Since flavanols and their health benefits are a new discovery, chocolate companies are just beginning to see if there are ways to keep flavanols consistently high, but still have a tasty, popular product.
Katherine’s Chocolate for Health Tips:
If you’re eating chocolate for health benefits, you’ll need to be very discriminating in your selections.
You’ll get more flavanols, and therefore health benefits, with less processing. The first choice is cocoa, which isn’t Dutch processed – as when cocoa is “Dutch processed with alkali” the flavanols are reduced. Look for chocolate which has the highest percentage of cocoa as possible and to save calories, look for chocolate with lower fat and sugar levels. In general, cocoa is your best first choice. Second choice is a semisweet or bittersweet chocolate with a high cocoa percentage. Some chocolates go as high as 85% cocoa, but legally can be as low as 35%. I recommend no more than an ounce a day, which may be about 110 – 150 calories, depending on the chocolate. Any more than that and you’re probably going to take in too many calories for weight control.
The numbers:
Type of Chocolate Mg Flavonols Calories
1.3 oz Dark Chocolate Bars, Average*: 82 mg 187
1.3 oz Milk Chocolate Bars, Average*: 42 mg 198
1 TBSP Unsweetened Cocoa Powder, Average*: 75 mg 12
*USDA’s Nutrient Data Laboratory
Katherine’s Hot Cocoa:
1 tsp unsweetened cocoa
1 tsp honey
1 cup Skim Milk or 1% Milk or Soy Milk
Heat in microwave for 2 – 3 minutes and stir to blend the chocolate.
Contains approximately 25 mg flavanols and 115 calories (zero saturated fat), depending on the milk used
COPYRIGHT BY KATHERINE TALLMADGE 2005. PLEASE DO NOT DISTRIBUTE WITHOUT PERMISSION. Katherine@KatherineTallmadge.com