Cooking the RealAge (R) Way

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY 1 JUN 2003

Roizen and La Puma, who previously joined forces on The RealAge Diet, feature more than 80 recipes full of fresh produce and whole grains. As Roizen originally posited in 1999's RealAge, biological age can differ from chronological age; here the authors argue that eating certain types of foods, particularly healthy fats, whole grains and vegetables and fruits, will slow, halt or even reverse the aging process. (Eating an ounce of nuts per day, for example,"keeps the average 55-year-old man 3.3 years younger.") The authors encourage readers to increase their"Kitchen IQ"--purchasing and using a steamer,"retraining" themselves to like healthy fats and preparing more than one meal at time are a few of the strategies. Divided by season, and prefaced by a comprehensive explanation of the healthiest foods available at different times of year, the book includes recipes such as Roasted Pepper and Fresh Mozzarella Panini, Cajun Couscous-Crusted Monkfish and Apricot Breakfast Polenta. Information about healthy cooking methods and uses for produce, herbs and spices are also incorporated. The book is repetitive in spots (that handful of nuts reappears often) and the authors are not specific enough about the studies they reference. They may also underestimate the ease of getting the family on board, and their recommendations for eating out--bring fresh vegetables to snack on, have your dishes specially prepared--may be a trifle unrealistic. Little mention is made of the role exercise can, and should, play in a healthy lifestyle, and red-meat lovers are out of luck. Buy for the healthy and very appealing recipes; consider skimming the text, which makes big promises and seems to turn a blind eye to the inevitability of natural aging.