I learned from Macrobiotics — which is a Japanese style of cooking and eating — to chew food thoroughly. This relates to the unhurried way the Spanish take their meals, too. Chewing food completely sets up the first stage of digestion. Many suffer from various digestive problems in the US. Chewing food with care reaps benefits.
Inan era dominated by pharmaceutical solutions, there is a rising consciousness about the incredible healing and preventive powers of food. As the age-old saying goes, “Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food.” But how does this translate in today’s world? Can we really use nutrition as a potent tool against sickness and disease? How does one curate a diet that supports health, longevity, and wellness? In this series, we are talking to nutritionists, dietitians, medical professionals, holistic health experts, and anyone with authoritative knowledge on the subject. As a part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Robin Keuneke.
Robin Keuneke is a natural foods chef, fine artist, and the former food editor for Total Health Magazine. She is the author of Total Breast Health: Power Foods for Prevention and Wellness, a Publisher’s Weekly Best Book of the Year, and coauthor with Thomas J. Slaga of The Detox Revolution: A Powerful Program for Boosting Your Body’s Ability to Fight Cancer and Other Diseases. For her latest book, The Iberian Table: Healthy Cooking Secrets from the Land of Longevity — Introduction to the Spanish Mediterranean Diet, Keuneke created over 100 recipes for the American home cook based on the delicious and nutritious Spanish Mediterranean diet. Her next book, Basque to Barcelona and Stories Along the Way, is a collection of historical fiction around the theme of Spanish culinary pursuits.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive into the main focus of our interview, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory?
Asa child, I spent time surrounded by nature and women who knew how to cook. Adored women, who shaped my sense of self. Grandmother, Mother… and lovely great aunts. My older second cousin, Nancy (my mom’s generation) made an epic chocolate cake when I was 13 during a blizzard…. I walked to her house in magical weather. I must also tell you about my great aunt Helen — a gentle soul who prepared tiny lamb chops for me when I was a finicky 6 year old. I cherish my memories of Helen and her sister Francis. (We never forget those who made a fuss over us when we were children, do we?) But my passion for cooking began with my mother, and my maternal grandmother Edith — both marvelous home cooks who made cooking seem easy.
What or who inspired you to pursue your career? We’d love to hear the story.
While living in NYC, when I took classes at The Macrobiotic Institute and The Natural Gourmet School, I studied painting and fell in love with the natural foods cooking scene. Young chefs were jazzed about Saturday’s green market at Union Square. I went to the Macro and Macro-inspired restaurants in NYC, and learned about artistic freedom. I carry these precepts into my kitchen and recipe development. My first book, Total Breast Health: Power Foods for Protection and Wellness, followed closely on the heels of my holistic cooking classes and revealed to me that I was a nutrition research ‘nerd.’ Even today, I continue to be excited by new studies extolling the virtues of the Mediterranean diet and extra virgin olive oil.
My macrobiotic cooking classes centered around healing. Though I was there to learn life-extending cookery, people in my classes were dealing with illness. Serious illness. They were battling Parkinson’s disease, cancer and more. They were my heroes, in particular a young woman whom I will always remember. If heaven exists, Carol is there.
Nearly everyone I met had stories of healing. Just by eliminating processed foods and eating brown rice, vegetables and fish, their so-called minor conditions such as eczema were eliminated, and in some cases, remission from cancer. Or deaths from cancer were delayed, as with my friend Carol. Through these lovely people battling for their lives, I learned that gratitude extends life. A philosophy I carry with me to this day.
It has been said that our mistakes can sometimes be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Hmmm… I don’t waste energy mulling over mistakes. That’s not to say I think I am perfect. So I exercise a sense of responsibility in life, for my actions and my health. Regarding cooking, I have made a paella or two that has not been ideal.
You are a successful leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
Well, thanks. I don’t demand perfection. I try to empower people with inclusion and respect. We all are evolving … whether it be our cooking skills, or skills in improving our character, we are all evolving. Nourishment is my ethos. If we can’t nourish ourselves, how can we nourish others? I want everyone who meets me or reads The Iberian Table: Healthy Cooking Secrets From the Land of Longevity — Introduction to the Spanish Mediterranean Diet, to take away that life-extending cooking is possible. Health begins in the kitchen.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? How do you think that might help people?
After writing The Iberian Table, my third book on health, I feel my contributions to the field of health are complete. One cannot do better than Spain’s version of the Mediterranean diet. I will be developing recipes in this arena for the rest of my life, and sharing them via social media. Which brings me back to answering your question. My writing continues. In fact, I loved exploring Spanish culture in The Iberian Table, so my new book is a collection of short stories, focusing on Spanish culinary history. Basque to Barcelona and Stories along the Way allows me to dive deeper into other subjects that intrigue me. Human psychology and behavior, to name two.
OK, thank you for all of that. Let’s now shift to the core focus of our interview about cultivating wellness through proper nutrition and diet. To begin, can you tell our readers a bit about why you are an authority on the topic of nutrition?
I researched and wrote three books on healthy cooking. I live the lifestyle. I have traveled to many places in the world, and my ‘on the ground research’ allowed me to observe cultures that cooked and ate the healthiest. Did diet extend their lives? What I learned is unique. In addition, my instincts for healthy cooking have always been in place, and have been honed over the last 30 years. Indeed, after I began The Iberian Table, reports started coming in that the Spanish are among the longest living in the world.
We all know that it’s important to eat more vegetables, eat less sugar, etc. But while we know it intellectually, it’s often difficult to put it into practice and make it a part of our daily habits. In your opinion what are the main blockages that prevent us from taking the information that we all know, and integrating it into our lives?
We can’t expect medical doctors to be schooled in cooking and nutrition. Health begins in our kitchen. For insights, we look to cultures with long life and take our cue on how to eat from them. In 2021, UK’s Money Magazine ranked Spain as the healthiest country in the world. The article points out that the Spanish eat a Mediterranean diet high in omega-3 fats and protein. According to The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, by 2040, Spain will become the country with the longest lifespan, surpassing every other country, including Japan.
I have been eating Spain’s version of the Mediterranean diet for over ten years. There are so many great Spanish recipes yet to be discovered! Just this morning, while planning a holiday menu, I was reminded of the Canary Islands’ Rojo Picon Sauce. Ingredients are rich in protective nutrients and life-giving extra virgin olive oil. Rojo Picon Sauce can be served with potatoes, protein, bread and/or julienne vegetable sticks. It can even sauce a burger. Here’s the recipe I use:
Canary Islands Rojo Picon Sauce
Grind 2 cloves of garlic, 1 tsp. ground cumin, 1 tsp. Pimentón de la Vera (Smoky Spanish paprika), and 1 red chili, stem removed, in the base of a mortar and pestle. A paste will form. Add 1 fresh cayenne or 1 dried red chili — stem removed. After ingredients are ground into paste, add 1 Tbsp. sherry vinegar. Combine. Continue to mash and add 1 cup olive oil, pausing every few moments to allow the oil to incorporate into the mash. A chunky sauce will emerge.
From your professional perspective, do you believe that nutrition plays a pivotal role in supporting the body’s natural healing processes and overall well-being, particularly in cases of chronic diseases? We’re interested in hearing your insights on the connection between a holistic approach to diet and its benefits for individuals facing health challenges.
What I have already shared, about The Macrobiotic Center in NYC, speaks to this. However, I left Macrobiotics because it was low in fats. Our bodies need life-giving fats. Macro works initially, because people clean up their diets but for the long term, the body thrives on healthy fats. As reported in The Iberian Table: Healthy Cooking Secrets from The Land of Longevity — Introduction to the Spanish Mediterranean Diet, the Spanish inclusion of an abundance of olive oil provides heart-healthy monounsaturated fats and has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that can prevent damage to your cells and blood vessels. The many studies in the book’s bibliography speak to this.
Based on your research or experience could you share with us five examples of foods or dietary patterns that have demonstrated remarkable potential in preventing, reducing, or managing specific health conditions? If you can, it would be insightful if you could provide real-life examples of their curative properties.
1 . The findings of Dr. Ramon Estruch’s PREDIMED study were so dramatic that his research was published on the cover of the New York Times. Estruch found that when extra virgin olive oil is consumed as part of the Mediterranean diet, coronary heart disease was reversed so efficiently and quickly, that researchers were ethically forced to halt the study, to make sure the control group without adequate EVOO could add more to their diets, to reap the same benefits. PREDIMED also discovered that the Mediterranean diet with EVOO slows the progression of invasive breast cancer dramatically.
2 . Some readers might be thinking, “I thought low fat was best.” The ‘new’ DASH diet confuses, telling people to include low-fat dairy. The Spanish enjoy generous intake of EVOO and full-fat cheese. What’s more, high intake of olive oil boosts metabolism — the Spanish are slender. Their high fat way keeps its population from binging.
Consider the study: “The dairy fat paradox: Whole dairy products may be healthier than we thought.” (Sepideh Soltani and Mohammadreza Vafa. Med J Islam Repub Iran. 2017 Dec 18; 31:110.) In it, Dr. Mozaffarian stated, “In the absence of any evidence for the superior effects of low-fat dairy and some evidence that there may be better benefits of whole-fat dairy products for diabetes, why are we recommending only low-fat dairy? We should be telling people to have a variety of dairy products and remove the recommendation about fat content.”
3 . The myth that eggs are not healthy needs clarifying, too. There is a generous intake of eggs in Spain. Through the years, I saw repeated studies reporting no association between egg intake and blood levels of cholesterol. Eggs are an inexpensive source of essential nutrients and protein. Spain’s national dish is made from eggs — tortilla de Espanola. The oldest woman in the world was Spanish. Maria Branyas ate mostly eggs and vegetables, and just died in 2024 at 117.
4 . Americans are faddish. Let me comment on the Keto Diet. The Spanish — who eat a diet that frequently includes bread and potatoes — are thin. Let’s take a look just at potatoes. Potatoes contain vitamin C, B6, Potassium…and Choline, vital for healthy brains, nerves and muscle. Choline attaches to fat, to make phospholipids, the building block of cell walls! Hello, again! Life-extending fats.
5 . I learned from Macrobiotics — which is a Japanese style of cooking and eating — to chew food thoroughly. This relates to the unhurried way the Spanish take their meals, too. Chewing food completely sets up the first stage of digestion. Many suffer from various digestive problems in the US. Chewing food with care reaps benefits.
Do experts generally agree that merely choosing healthy foods isn’t sufficient, but that understanding how to consume them is key to unlocking their full health benefits? (For example, skins on/off, or cooked/raw, or whole grain/refined grain) Could you provide advice on how to approach this and sidestep common errors or misconceptions?
There is always more to learn. Some things we intuit — a jacketed potato for example, has more nutrients. There is ‘new buzz’ that resistant starch is formed when rice and pasta are allowed to cool overnight in the refrigerator and eaten as leftovers. This type of starch is not fully absorbed.
With the recent prominence of nutrition’s integration into healthcare, what’s your perspective on the collaborative approach between medical professionals, health coaches, and nutrition experts when it comes to delivering holistic patient care? Can you please explain?
What we are eating here in America is making us sick. Chronic disease caused by diet. Cardiovascular disease takes more lives of American women than any other disease. Obesity rates are soaring in the US. The population of every state in our country is 30% obese, when in 1990, it was 15%. Diabetes is rampant.
In 2017, the European Food Safety Authority updated its position on MSG, recommending limitations according to body weight to help prevent headaches and high blood pressure. This act will hopefully bring awareness that MSG (found in many take-out foods) can weaken hearts. Ultra-processed foods are under scrutiny, too. Throughout the fall of 2024, the faculty of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health will share policy recommendations on eliminating ultra-processed Foods. Ultra-processed Foods are designed to make people addicted, just as the tobacco industry was doing. So, in this sense, government oversight may help. Perhaps advertising the ‘deliciousness’ of ultra-processed foods such as sugary cereal will be ruled out. Children see the commercials, and demand these ‘foods’. At the very least, policy will bring focus to the issue of ultra-processed foods taking lives and setting children up for obesity.
This movement of nutrition integrated into healthcare will hopefully inspire medical professionals, health coaches, and nutrition experts such as myself to communicate even more to patients, clients and readers to gain tips on food selection and healthy cooking. Investing in nutrition science is another recommendation from Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health. For all of this, I remain hopeful that Americans will get the help we need.
It’s been suggested that using ‘food as medicine’ has the potential to reduce healthcare costs by preventing disease severity. However, there’s concern about the affordability of healthier food options. What solutions do you believe could make nutritious choices accessible to everyone, ensuring that food truly becomes a form of medicine for all?
When I studied at the Macrobiotic Center, I had a teacher who was brilliant: Shizuko Yamamoto. Her contributions chronicle the development of macrobiotics worldwide. Shizuko had a recipe for pickles, and said they were integral for “every type of healing”. Many at The Center made them and swore they helped. It is a combination of various Julienned vegetables or just one (daikon radish) with sea salt. The process can just take overnight. Protective enzymes develop, enriching gut microbiomes. When the 2020 study of European countries reported that for each gram of pickled vegetables eaten, the risk for Covid mortality decreased 36 percent, I thought of Shizuko. Simple steps to improve gut microbiomes boosts immunity.
Food & Society at the Aspen Institute and the Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation of Harvard Law School (CHLPI) released the Food is Medicine Research Action Plan outlining a comprehensive set of recommendations to expand and strengthen research on nutrition interventions in health care. This will include programs aimed towards people (for example) in need of food stamps. The goal will be to lower access to ultra-processed foods.
Everyone’s body is unique, and what works for one might not work for another. How does one navigate the vast array of nutritional advice available today to curate a diet tailored to individual needs, ensuring health and longevity?
I admit, the subject is confusing. The vast array of trendy diets that get covered, and all the new super supplements, etc. sidetrack. Keep things simple. Spain’s version of the Mediterranean diet has been nutrition’s best-kept secret.
As our understanding of the intricate link between food and health continues to evolve, we’re curious to know which emerging trends or breakthroughs in nutritional science excite you the most. How do you envision these advancements shaping the future of healthcare?
I’m most excited about the many reports extolling the virtues of using more extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO), whether in cooking or adding it unheated to food. Switching from less-healthful oils to EVOO has remarkable benefits, including:
- reduces risk of cardiac problems and developing coronary artery disease;
- reduces incidence of invasive breast cancer up to 68 percent;
- helps stabilize blood pressure and keep it normal; and many more benefits that you’ll find in The Iberian Table.
How can we better educate the public about the medicinal properties of food, and what role do professionals like you play in this educational journey?
Introducing people to the nutritional properties of food through books is an important role to be played by health book researchers/writers. Total Breast Health: Power Foods for Protection and Wellness, my first book, opened the door to the medicinal properties of food. My second book, coauthored with nutrition scientist Thomas J. Slaga (former scientific director at the AMC Cancer Research Center), Detox Revolution: A Powerful New Program for Boosting Your Body’s Ability to Fight Cancer & Other Diseases, focuses on discussion of specific foods linked to detoxification of cancer genes, cardiovascular disease, and more. Many of the foods that the Spanish eat help to detoxify the body. The Iberian Table opens the door to this world and so much more.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
Articles about the book and clips from reviews can be found at theiberiantable.com. On Instagram, @theiberiantable, you’ll find evocative photographs, some basic recipes to try, and reels demonstrating how to make them. The Iberian Table Facebook page (facebook.com/theiberiantable) features photographs, tips from the book for how to eat more healthfully, and some very lively cooking demonstration videos.
Thank you for these excellent insights, and we greatly appreciate the time you spent with us. We wish you continued success and good health!
About the Interviewer: Wanda Malhotra is a wellness entrepreneur, lifestyle journalist, and the CEO of Crunchy Mama Box, a mission-driven platform promoting conscious living. CMB empowers individuals with educational resources and vetted products to help them make informed choices. Passionate about social causes like environmental preservation and animal welfare, Wanda writes about clean beauty, wellness, nutrition, social impact and sustainability, simplifying wellness with curated resources. Join Wanda and the Crunchy Mama Box community in embracing a healthier, more sustainable lifestyle at CrunchyMamaBox.com.
