Tag: Health

The secret to longevity? Alain’s champion breakfast – Italian cuisine reinvented by Gordon Ramsay

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The secret to longevity? We should ask Alain Peyrot, 78 years old and with the body of a twenty-year-old in gym: six-pack abs, X-Men-style biceps, an energy and a smile that just looking at him makes you envious. And he makes you look at him. In fact, he seems to have made it a mission since he has become a social phenomenon with almost 200 thousand followers on Instagram and TikTok where, with the name Alain Gustaveposts videos of his super workouts and his busy, busy days.

The Secret of Longevity by Alain Gustave

After a life as an entrepreneur in the real estate sector, He now lives retired in his house in the mountains outside Lucerne, and leads a life extremely marked by physical activity, and in reality not only by that. He wakes up at six in the summer and a little later in the winter, then he shaves and always takes a cold shower. regardless of the season (he says it helps to have “discipline” and to stock up on energy for the day), then at 8 – and never later – the first training session begins: push-ups and sit-ups.

Instagram photo @alaingustave

Alain Gustave’s Breakfast of Champions

Between showering and training, Alain Gustave eats a very large breakfast. In a recent video entirely dedicated to the story of his typical day, he explained that he eats salty food for breakfast: usually two hard boiled or fried eggs, combined with a piece of cheese, a coffee with a little honey (but only exceptionally), dried fruit (usually almonds) and a protein shake. In short, a rich breakfast, but if you look closely, well thought out: dried fruit slows down the absorption of fats such as those contained in fried eggs or cheese (as well as sugars), and provides the body with good fats that are good for the heart and mineral salts such as calcium that are particularly needed during old age. The surplus of proteins that Alain Gustave allows himself with the smoothie is then justified by the amount of physical activity he does during the day: Proteins, in fact, are essential to provide the energy needed for such intense activity but also to promote post-workout muscle repair. If Alain added a slice of bread to this mix, his breakfast would be fully balanced: the carbohydrates would provide him with energy and the fibers they contain would also promote intestinal well-being.

The light dinner of longevity

But it is very likely that this over-seventy-year-old with the body of a twenty-year-old does it without specifying it, since he appears to be very careful about his health. This is also confirmed by the fact that he makes a textbook dinner: in the same video he says that in the evening always eat light, generally lots of vegetables, few fats and few carbohydrates, also to sleep better.

The perfect day

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Glycemic spikes: how to avoid them in summer? The expert speaks – Italian cuisine reinvented by Gordon Ramsay

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In summer, between holidays, afternoons in the sun and dinners on the beach, it is easier to take risks glycemic peaks by dint of ice creams, aperitifs with lots of snacks, lazy breakfasts full of sweets. Let’s first explain what it means.

Blood glucose levels, or glycemia, are not constant over time, but follow a curvilinear trend. The glycemic curve appears to be influenced by multiple factors: general state of health, absence or presence of pathologies, composition of the meal and distance from it. Blood glucose levels are measured 8 hours after the last meal (this is why blood tests are usually done on an empty stomach in the morning) and the optimal ones are from 70 to 100 mg/dl. For values above 100 mg/dl, we refer to a condition of hyperglycemia. For values below 70 mg/dl, we speak of hypoglycemia.

A blood glucose concentration higher than the reference values, for a healthy person, is a condition present in various pathologies, such as diabetes. However Even non-diabetic people can develop high blood sugar, but subject to conditions or pathologies that involve risk factors (for example, infections, inflammation, hyperthyroidism, pancreatitis, physical stress and pharmacological treatments). Even for a healthy person, it is of fundamental importance to keep blood sugar levels under control periodically: prolonged hyper- or hypoglycemic conditions, if not treated, can lead to important health problems and cause long-term complications. Glycemic peaks can be favored by an unbalanced dietrich in sugars, saturated and trans fats, and refined carbohydrates.

But these peaks can be kept under control even in summer, with a few small precautions: these are suggested to us by Romina Cervigni, scientific director of the Valter Longo Foundation.

How to avoid blood sugar spikes in summer

1. Watch out for breakfast

Breakfast is one of the meals with the greatest risk for the development of a glycemic peak: compared to sweets and snacks, it is better a full mealconsisting of a source of low-glycemic carbohydrates (such as whole-grain bread or cereal or rye bread), a source of sugars (such as no-sugar-added jam or honey), a source of good fats (such as a handful of nuts or a single-ingredient spread), and a source of protein (such as a yogurt or plant-based drink).

2. Fruit

Recommended a daily intake of 150 gramswhich correspond to a medium-sized fruit, combined, for example, with a handful of nuts such as walnuts, almonds and hazelnuts. The fats added with dried fruit allow you to modulate the rapid absorption of sugars from fresh fruit. Some fruits are more sugary than others, such as grapes, mandarins, bananas, figs and persimmons, but it is also true that in the recommended quantities and combinations, and in the context of a healthy and balanced diet, you can choose your own favorite fruit without too many problems.

3. Sweets

Their consumption should be moderate: it would be appropriate to consume them as part of a low glycemic index meal, which also contains proteins and complex carbohydrates, capable of mitigating the glycemic peak caused by sweets. By the same principle, they should go limit so-called ultra-processed foodsi.e. industrially processed: they are often low in fiber and rich in sugar, fat and salt.

4. Ice cream

It contains added sugars such as sucrose, glucose and fructose, in addition to those from milk and fruit. In fruit ice creams on the market, the average amount of sugar is about 25%, while in cream ice creams, the percentage is slightly lower, about 20%, but it is compensated by a higher fat content. The advice is to buy artisanal ice creams prepared with seasonal ingredientspossibly of organic origin, and to possibly eat them at the end of the meal as a substitute for fruit (and never together), avoiding the addition of biscuit garnishes or industrial toppings, which are particularly rich in simple sugars.

5. Vegetables

In controlling blood sugar, it is very important that each meal contains a portion of vegetablesbecause the fiber it contains slows down the absorption of carbohydrates and simple sugars.

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Acne and nutrition: foods to avoid according to the dermatologist – Italian cuisine reinvented by Gordon Ramsay

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Raise your hand if you don’t have a whole series of clichés in mind about acne and nutrition, from the foods that cause it to “grandmother’s” solutions to cure it. But acne is serious, a skin problem that can cause psychological distress, blemishes and scarringand which therefore must be addressed with the help of a dermatologist.

This is why we asked the doctor Ines Mordente, surgeon, specialist in dermatology and specialized in acne, to clarify. In SOS Acne. The Skin Doctoron Real Time (channel 31, every Wednesday at 9.20pm), Ines Mordente meets patients with various dermatological problems, to guide them in the treatment of their skin pathologies.

Acne and nutrition: interview with Dr. Ines Mordente

Doctor, are there really foods that cause acne?
«Scientific literature tells us that some foods, those with a high glycemic index, increase the risk in acne-prone skin. It would therefore be good practice to avoid sugary, fried and cured foods. But, in particular, one type of food seems to promote acne.”

Which?
«Milk and dairy products, which seem to favor the production of sebum. Better to avoid them for those with acne-prone skin.”

But also the lactose-free ones?
«Yes, because the problem seems to be above all the presence of some proteins. Better to replace cow’s milk with vegetable drinks, such as almond or soy drinks, but always making sure that it has no added sugars.”

And the chocolate? It is said to cause acne. Is this really true or is it just a cliché?
«The problem is not dark chocolate, but milk chocolate, precisely because of the discussion we made before. In addition to containing milk, this chocolate contains many sugars: sweets have a high glycemic index. When we don’t eat properly, the bacteria naturally present in our body go into “dysbiosis”, which is an alteration in the composition and gene expression of the colonic microbiota with an increase in pro-inflammatory forms to the detriment of anti-inflammatory ones. The bacteria, however, must remain in synergy.”

Otherwise what happens?
«The symptoms of dysbiosis at the intestinal level are swelling and the sensation of air in the body, produced by unwanted bacterial fermentation. At a skin level, flushing (redness) or the appearance of acne, but also allergic dermatitis and some forms of eczema.”

So, which foods are best to choose to keep acne away?
«Antioxidant and detox substances are needed, with vitamin C and E, iron, zinc and copper to promote the natural balance of the skin and skin appendages. They are all nutrients that our Mediterranean diet provides us, which is varied and contains fruit, vegetables, fish, white meats and pasta. In the correct doses, it is a balanced diet that helps us to biochemically improve the blood sugar level.”

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