Maggie Moon - The Telomere Diet and Cookbook

TELOMERE

DIET & COOKBOOK

A cutting-edge holistic guide to living younger longer! Youll savor the doable and delicious recipes and menus designed with your telomeres in mind for the healthiest life possible.

Kathie Madonna Swift, MS, RDN, Food as Medicine program director, Center for Mind-Body Medicine

The Telomere Diet and Cookbook offers a new angle for applying the science of healthy eating and living. Maggie Moon provides nourishing whole-food recipes to promote healthy aging and protect our DNA. While the concept is relatively new, this book offers cutting-edge information and practical recommendations for staying ahead of the curve.

Kelly Morrow, MS, RDN, FAND, Bastyr University and the Bastyr Center for Natural Health

Maggie Moon takes the emerging and somewhat complex topic of telomeres and provides easy-to-understand information as well as practical and delectable ideas about how to put them into play. For anyone interested in scientifically soundyet forward-thinking and holisticapproaches to aging, this innovative guide may be like having the fountain of youth on your bookshelf!

Mary Purdy, MS, RDN, speaker, author, functional nutrition practitioner, and past chair of Dietitians in Integrative and Functional Medicine

Maggie Moon helps us improve our health span by explaining the emerging science on telomeres and aging in her latest book, The Telomere Diet and Cookbook. Her unique plant-forward diet plan and delicious recipes will help put you on the path to optimal aging.

Christine Rosenbloom, PhD, RDN, FAND, author of Food & Fitness After 50

The intersection of telomeres and nutrition is fascinating and complicated. Dietitian author Moon expertly navigates this subject in a relatable way and provides absolutely delicious recipes along the way.

Ginger Hultin, MS, RDN, CSO, owner of the concierge nutrition practice Champagne Nutrition

The Telomere Diet and Cookbook provides an excellent primer on an emerging scientific area of study on how our diet and lifestyle choices can impact our longevity. Maggie Moon, renowned registered dietitian, breaks down complex science into understandable terms and offers simple advice along with delicious recipes for keeping our telomeres healthy.

Linda Cornish, founder and president, Seafood Nutrition Partnership

For Fred, the one I want to grow old with.

TELOMERE

DIET & COOKBOOK

A Scientific Approach to Slow Your Genetic
Aging and Live a Longer, Healthier Life

MAGGIE MOON, MS, RD

Text copyright 2019 Maggie Moon. Design and concept copyright

2019 Ulysses Press and its licensors. All rights reserved. Any unauthorized duplication in whole or in part or dissemination of this edition by any means (including but not limited to photocopying, electronic devices, digital versions, and the internet) will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Published in the United States by:

Ulysses Press

P.O. Box 3440

Berkeley, CA 94703

www.ulyssespress.com

ISBN: 978-1-61243-961-7

Acquisitions editor: Casie Vogel

Managing editor: Claire Chun

Editor: Susan Lang

Proofreader: Kate St. Clair

Cover design: David Hastings

Layout: Jake Flaherty

IMPORTANT NOTE TO READERS: This book has been written and published for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to serve as medical advice or to be any form of medical treatment. You should always consult with your physician before altering or changing any aspect of your medical treatment. Do not stop or change any prescription medications without the guidance and advice of your physician. Any use of the information in this book is made on the readers good judgment and is the readers sole responsibility. This book is not intended to diagnose or treat any medical condition and is not a substitute for a physician. This book is independently authored and published and no sponsorship or endorsement of this book by, and no affiliation with, any trademarked brands or other products mentioned within is claimed or suggested. All trademarks that appear in ingredient lists and elsewhere in this book belong to their respective owners and are used here for informational purposes only. The author and publisher encourage readers to patronize the quality brands mentioned in this book.

Contents

Introduction

The Telomere Diet and Cookbook is a practical, evidence-based guide to living more years in good health, by way of the kitchen. The exciting discovery of how the telomeres in every single one of our cells work reveals a new way to understand the systemic whole-body process of aging. The latest science on telomeres exposes how the way we eat, sleep, respond to stress, and interact with others may impact how we age: everyday habits can accelerate or slow down aging.

As life expectancies rise worldwide, it has become apparent that while some people thrive as they age, many others spend years unduly burdened by preventable chronic disease. Think of someone you know who is your same chronological age but whose vitality is more like someone much younger or older than you. This is the difference between health span and life span. While aging is complicated, telomeres offer a new window into understanding it. Research suggests those with healthier telomeres live longer and in better health.

In 2009, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to a team of scientists for uncovering how telomeres and the enzyme telomerase protect chromosomes. The scientific community has continued to study and learn more about telomeres ever since. This book explains the best available science on the intersection of telomeres, nutrition, and health in understandable terms. Then it puts that exciting emerging research in the larger context of established credible nutrition science. The result is a plant-based, but not plant-exclusive, eating pattern based on a variety of wholesome foods such as vegetables, fruit, nuts, beans, seafood, whole grains, tea, and more.

Most importantly, this book provides practical tips and tools to apply the research findings to your everyday life. To bring it all together, the book offers a simple step-by-step starter program for your best telomere health. The program is holistic in its lifestyle approach. It provides detailed meal plans and shopping lists, including when its OK to seek out supplements, as well as specific guidance on exercise, stress reduction, and healthy sleep.

All the great-tasting, inflammation-busting, antioxidant-rich recipes you need to get started are included. The book features recipes for breakfasts, entres, snacks, sides, desserts, and drinks. Youll find familiar comfort foods with a healthy twist, so theres no need to give up your favorite flavors. Youll also find dishes inspired by global cuisines and healthy eating trends that bring modern variety to your table. Thankfully, on-trend does not mean fussy: the recipes have the home cook in mind and are designed to maximize flavor and minimize effort. Developed by yours truly, a culinary schooltrained registered dietitian, the recipes offer the best of both worlds: they were made to taste great and are nutritionist approved!

My goal is to get you eating wholesome foods for telomere health as quickly and effectively as possible. But I also want you to understand and easily find the science behind the recommendations on specific nutrients, foods, and eating patterns. Therefore, the book is organized for you to skip right to an action plan, but also makes it easy to find the science.