Nutrition

h4>By: Jason Stevenson

Five years after telling a bunch of angry apes to keep their filthy paws off him, Charlton Heston starred in Soylent Green. In the film, a megacorporation solves a starving world’s need for nutritious food by turning the dead into dinner. This is complete science fiction, of course: Most of us are so short on key nutrients we couldn’t possibly be someone’s square meal.

In fact, studies show that 77 percent of men don’t take in enough magnesium, that many of us are deficient in vitamin D, and that the vitamin B12 in our diets may be undermined by a common heartburn medication. And we haven’t even mentioned our problems with potassium and iodine.

It’s time to play catch-up. Follow our advice, and a cannibal will never call you junk food.

Iodine

Your thyroid gland requires iodine to produce the hormones T3 and T4, both of which help control how efficiently you burn calories. That means insufficient iodine may cause you to gain weight and feel fatigued.

The shortfall: Since iodized salt is an important source of the element, you might assume you’re swimming in the stuff. But when University of Texas at Arlington researchers tested 88 samples of table salt, they found that half contained less than the FDA-recommended amount of iodine. And you’re not making up the difference with all the salt hiding in processed foods—U.S. manufacturers aren’t required to use iodized salt. The result is that we’ve been sliding toward iodine deficiency since the 1970s.

Hit the mark: Sprinkling more salt on top of an already sodium-packed diet isn’t a great idea, but iodine can also be found in a nearly sodium-free source: milk. Animal feed is fortified with the element, meaning it travels from cows to your cereal bowl. Not a milk man? Eat at least one serving of eggs or yogurt a day; both are good sources of iodine.

Potassium

Without this essential mineral, your heart couldn’t beat, your muscles wouldn’t contract, and your brain couldn’t comprehend this sentence. Why? Potassium helps your cells use glucose for energy.

The shortfall: Despite potassium’s can’t-live-without-it importance, nutrition surveys indicate that young men consume just 60 percent to 70 percent of the recommended 4,700 mg a day. To make matters worse, most guys load up on sodium: High sodium can boost blood pressure, while normal potassium levels work to lower it, says Lydia A. L. Bazzano, M.D., Ph.D., an assistant professor of epidemiology at Tulane University.

Hit the mark: Half an avocado contains nearly 500 mg potassium, while one banana boasts roughly 400 mg. Not a fan of either fruit? Pick up some potatoes—a single large spud is packed with 1,600 mg.

Vitamin B12

Consider B12 the guardian of your gray matter: In a British study, older people with the lowest levels of B12 lost brain volume at a faster rate over a span of 5 years than those with the highest levels.

The shortfall: Even though most men do consume the daily quota of 2.4 micrograms, the stats don’t tell the whole story. “We’re seeing an increase in B12 deficiencies due to interactions with medications,” says Katherine Tucker, Ph.D., director of a USDA program at Tufts University. The culprits: acid-blocking drugs, such as Prilosec, and the diabetes medication metformin.

Hit the mark: You’ll find B12 in lamb and salmon, but the most accessible source may be fortified cereals. That’s because the B12 in meat is bound to proteins, and your stomach must produce acid to release and absorb it. Eat a bowl of 100 percent B12-boosted cereal and milk every morning and you’ll be covered, even if you take the occasional acid-blocking med. However, if you pop Prilosec on a regular basis or are on metformin, talk to your doctor about tracking your B12 levels and possibly taking an additional supplement.

Magnesium

This lightweight mineral is a tireless multitasker: It’s involved in more than 300 bodily processes. Plus, a study in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition found that low levels of magnesium may increase your blood levels of C-reactive protein, a key marker of heart disease.

The shortfall: Nutrition surveys reveal that men consume only about 80 percent of the recommended 400 milligrams (mg) of magnesium a day. “We’re just barely getting by,” says Dana King, M.D., a professor of family medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina. “Without enough magnesium, every cell in your body has to struggle to generate energy.”

Hit the mark: Fortify your diet with more magnesium-rich foods, such as halibut and navy beans. Then hit the supplement aisle: Few men can reach 400 mg through diet alone, so Dr. King recommends ingesting some insurance in the form of a 250 mg supplement. One caveat: Scrutinize the ingredients list. You want a product that uses magnesium citrate, the form best absorbed by your body.

Vitamin D

This vitamin’s biggest claim to fame is its role in strengthening your skeleton. But vitamin D isn’t a one-trick nutrient: A study in Circulation found that people deficient in D were up to 80 percent more likely to suffer a heart attack or stroke. The reason? D may reduce inflammation in your arteries.

The shortfall: Vitamin D is created in your body when the sun’s ultraviolet B rays penetrate your skin. Problem is, the vitamin D you stockpile during sunnier months is often depleted by winter, especially if you live in the northern half of the United States, where UVB rays are less intense from November through February. Case in point: When Boston University researchers measured the vitamin D status of young adults at the end of winter, 36 percent of them were found to be deficient.

Hit the mark: First, ask your doctor to test your blood levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D. “You need to be above 30 nanograms per milliliter,” says Michael Holick, M.D., Ph.D., a professor of medicine at Boston University. Come up short? Take 1,400 IU of vitamin D daily from a supplement and a multivitamin. That’s about seven times the recommended daily intake for men, but it takes that much to boost blood levels of D, says Dr. Holick.

5 New Foods that Build Muscle

Watch what you eat, sure—but don’t watch reruns. A boring diet is hard to stick with. “There is no one set of foods you must always choose from in order to make your abs show,” says nutritionist Alan Aragon, M.S.

Edam Cheese

If you like . . . Muenster cheese

Try: Edam cheese

Why: This Dutch cheese is semifirm, unlike the semisoft Muenster, and has more protein, fewer calories, and a richer, nuttier flavor.

How to prepare it: Cube the Edam and eat it with a fresh pear. Better yet, try it in a grilled-cheese sandwich with apple slices and stone-ground mustard.

Buckwheat

If you like . . . Oatmeal

Try: Buckwheat

Why: Buckwheat may have more disease-fighting antioxidants than oats, barley, or wheat germ, according to a 2008 Turkish study.

How to prepare it: For two new ways to start your day, try Bob’s Red Mill buckwheat pancake mix ($4 for 26 ounces) or organic creamy buckwheat cereal ($5 for 18 ounces). bobsredmill.com

Goat

If you like . . . Steak

Try: Goat

Why: Pound for pound, goat has less than half the calories of porterhouse steak, and a few more grams of protein.

How to prepare it: Try it barbecued kebab-style, finished with a squeeze of lemon and some chopped rosemary. Or slow-roast a bone-in cut for a hearty winter meal. No goat at your market? Try thymeforgoat.com.

Persimmon

If you like . . . Apple

Try: Persimmon

Why: This sweet Asian fruit is a better source of vitamin C than your average apple.

How to prepare it: The most common persimmons are always deep orange and should be very soft when ripe. To eat one, cut it in half and spoon out the goods. Served chilled, it’s a tasty dessert.

Bok Choy

If you like . . . Broccoli

Try: Bok choy

Why: Like broccoli, this leafy vegetable has a crunch—and less than half the calories and carbohydrates of its cruciferous cousin.

How to prepare it: Separate, wash, and dry the leaves of one head of baby bok choy. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil on medium high. Saute the leaves with a thinly sliced garlic clove for about 5 minutes or until tender.

5 Foods to Give You Superhuman Powers

By: Tamar Haspel

When it comes to superheros, how do you stack up? Have abs like Christian Bale in Batman Begins? Relax—that’s a rubber-coated Kevlar chest piece. Recognize any kindred spirits among the Fantastic Four? Who wouldn’t want Mr. Fantastic’s flexibility, the calorie-burning skills of the Human Torch, or boulder shoulders like the Thing’s? (What if the Invisible Woman were in your bedroom right now, looking you over—would she like what she saw?)

Back to reality. Unless North Korea starts acting peevish, our source of radiation to produce mutant powers remains limited. We derive our power from exercise and food—and that means real food, not that tub of yellow, greasy popcorn at the multiplex. A Marvel-ous physique and super health are well within reach—you just have to know what to reach for.

X-Ray Vision

Superman squandered his x-rays peering through brick walls instead of Lois Lane’s flimsy feminist veneer. To keep your perception sharp, you need two key things: lutein and zeaxanthin, which sound like villains but aren’t.

Macular tissue—the clump of photoreceptors on each retina—degenerates faster than the rest of the eye, and as it does, you no longer see clearly, so “you lose the ability to read and to drive,” says Steve Pratt, M.D., author of SuperFoods Rx. “There’s a big smudge in the center of everything.”

Researchers at Heinrich Heine University in Germany found that lutein and zeaxanthin help filter blue light, which may wreck macular tissue. “People with high levels of these two phytonutrients are at lower risk of both macular degeneration and cataracts,” Dr. Pratt says.

Your secret source: Dr. Pratt recommends 12 milligrams (mg) a day of the two nutrients combined, or ½ to ¾ cup of cooked spinach, one of the best sources. Cooking concentrates the greens and their powers; to get 12 mg from raw spinach, you’d be munching forever—and using too much dressing.

Superhuman Strength

You can’t build shoulders and biceps like the Hulk’s unless you have a great special-effects department in your basement. But you can make the most of your workouts by eating at the right time. You probably already have the “guzzle a protein shake immediately after a workout” thing down. (And if you don’t, start now; you have a 60-minute window for maximum protein uptake and glycogen restoration after exercise.) The rest of the day, make sure you take in the calories and protein you need for muscle growth.

Your secret source: Bulk up on lean meat, nuts, and cheese. Researchers at the University of Connecticut found that cutting carbs can change body composition better than cutting fat can. In a 6-week study, normal-weight men who trimmed calories by following an old-school low-carb diet traded 7.4 pounds of fat mass for 2.4 pounds of lean muscle.

Lead researcher Jeff Volek, Ph.D., R.D., an assistant professor of kinesiology, attributes the boosted burn to a reduction in insulin levels. “The effects are more pronounced when the diet is only slightly restricted in energy,” he says.

That means there’s no need to be all crazy about cutting carb calories. Just be sensible: Skip the cookies before bedtime.

Mental Firepower

What would Batman be without his deductive powers? Just a lonely, frustrated millionaire in a cape. You, on the other hand, can stay sharp (and maybe make your own millions) by getting enough niacin.

A study at Chicago’s Rush Institute for Healthy Aging found that people with diets high in niacin had a lower risk of both Alzheimer’s and age-related cognitive decline. The study was done on people 65 and over, but lead researcher Martha Morris, Sc.D., says, “Some studies show that niacin is important for DNA synthesis and repair, as well as for normal brain functioning. One could surmise that people of all ages should make sure they eat a diet that includes niacin-rich foods.”

In the study, the top 20 percent of niacin consumers, who got 20 to 48 mg a day from food, had an 80 percent reduction in Alzheimer’s risk.

Your secret source: Look to fish and poultry. Four ounces of chicken breast has 15 mg; 4 ounces of swordfish has 13 mg. Oddly, foods high in tryptophan (the stuff that seems to shut down your brain after Thanksgiving dinner) can add to your niacin intake, too; the body uses tryptophan to make niacin when it needs a fresh supply. So even though turkey breast contains only 6 mg niacin per 3 ounces, it’s another good source.

Invisibility

Now you see him, now you…well, see less of him—no disfiguring accident required. George Fahey, Ph.D., a professor of animal sciences at the University of Illinois, studies pig stomachs for clues to men’s stomachs. He has established that compounds called oligosaccharides and resistant starches aren’t digested completely and so have fewer calories than we think.

But are men pigs? Depends who you ask, but Fahey says our digestive systems are similar. If pigs don’t digest it, men won’t either.

Your secret source: Smart dieting is easier than you think, Fahey says. Artichokes, onions, shallots, bananas, and beans have fewer absorbable calories than standard measures show—i.e., consequence-free food. Beans and peas are particularly high in resistant starches: “A conservative estimate is that people extract approximately a third fewer calories from beans than the label says,” according to Fahey. Sadly, oligosaccharides and resistant starches haven’t yet been found in prime rib or cheesecake.

Eternal Youth

Superheroes are on call 24-7, in perpetuity. No old age, no retirement, no condo in Florida. What’s the secret? “Keep your biological age lower than your chronological age,” Dr. Pratt says.

One way to do that is by getting your astaxanthin, the potent carotenoid that gives salmon its orangey color. Astaxanthin acts as an antioxidant, neutralizing free radicals. Just as oxidation eats away at your car’s quarter panels, free radicals age your cells. Astaxanthin is Rust-Oleum for your body.

“While there aren’t any clinical human studies yet,” says Dr. Pratt, “astaxanthin is showing promise in the fight to slow biological aging.” It may also help fight cancer and atherosclerosis, and have anti-inflammatory and UV-protective properties.

Your secret source: Dr. Pratt recommends 3 ounces of salmon 4 days a week. Salmon caught in the wild has up to 80 percent more astaxanthin than the farmed kind. The wild variety should be easy to find now, because it’s just coming off its peak season. (Other sources include shrimp, crab, and trout.)

Besides astaxanthin, salmon contains omega-3 fatty acids, which lower your risk of heart disease—particularly helpful, because not dying is the ultimate superhero power.