Last week my friend Jean and I attended the Del Mar Fall Home Decorating & Remodeling Show, and the Healthy Living Festival at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. Although we quickly made our way through the decorating and remodeling displays, we spent quite a bit of time at the Healthy Living Festival, which was filled with mostly senior citizens.
There were more than 100 display booths, and many spots where medical tests and screenings were administered.
We first listened to a lecture on the importance of a proper acid/alkaline balance by Sherry Brescia, a consultant and writer. One of the first things she said was that, “Nothing is more important then what we put in our mouths.”
It was like my sister Louise was at the podium. Louise has been preaching the benefits of eating a proper diet for close to 500 years. Lips that touched sugar would never touch hers. Neither would sodas, or anything with caffeine, white flour, white rice or anything beginning with low-fat or non-fat.
Sherry said our blood should be slightly alkaline. Under the list of the most alkaline products are asparagus, beet greens, broccoli, brussel sprouts, collard greens, cucumbers, endive, garlic, grapefruit, all types of greens, fresh herbs, vegetable juice, leeks, lemons, limes, mangoes, olive oil, onions, radishes, herbal tea, watercress and watermelon. There are nearly 120 things listed in the alkaline category.
On the “very acidic” list there are artificial sweeteners, aspartame, bacon, baked goods, beef, beer, biscuits, cakes, candy, hard cheese, all kinds of chips, chocolate, couscous, crab, cranberries, custard, deli meat, donuts, sweetened fruit juice, gravy, hot dogs, ice cream, liquor, lobster, homogenized milk, pasta, white flour, peanuts, pie, pork, all kinds of processed food, sausage, shellfish and shrimp.
My husband used to say we should spit out “everything that tastes good!”
There are two ways to check to see if you have correct alkaline numbers: urine test and blood test. The numbers should read about 7.4.
According to Ms. Brescia, we should eat a diet of at least 50 to 60 percent alkaline foods.
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Dr. William Nordquist spoke on gum disease. Multiple diseases and cognitive problems are the result of gum disease. “The more missing teeth you have the more memory loss you have,” he said. “Periodontal disease is also related to diabetes and depression.
“Change your diet if you want to be happy in the last two decades of your life,” he said. “Indigenous populations didn’t have cavities or crooked teeth until they were introduced to sugar.”
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The Senior Olympics group for San Diego had an enthusiastic number of volunteers at the fair. It all sounded so good I thought I might join. Then I remembered how long it has been since I did any running, or played basketball.
Their motto is: “Remember you do NOT grow old because you play the games. You grow old because you STOP playing the games.”
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The day after the fair Jean and I were given tickets to the San Diego Symphony. We had a delightful afternoon. Jahja Ling marks his ninth season as music director of the San Diego Symphony. Again, the audience was mostly elderly.
He is the first and only conductor of Chinese descent who holds a music director position with a major orchestra in the U.S.
It was thrilling to be at the performance in the beautiful Symphony Towers. The program included the works of Ottorino Respighi, Franz Joseph Haydn and Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The latter was my favorite because it featured Garrick Ohisson at the piano.
The screen over his piano allowed us to see his hands as he played. His fingers flew over the keys.
Forty years ago Jean was the office manager for the symphony. When she looked through the names of the current orchestra she spotted three musicians she knew: trombone player George Johnston, violinist Otto Felct, and cellist Michael Deatherage. We know they aren’t youngsters anymore either.
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