Artichokes with Lemon

Artichokes with Lemon. Oil on canvas. 26 x 18 inches (65 x 46 cm). $700. 

Good news for artichoke lovers! Medical science has decreed that this tasty vegetable has tons of antioxidants, aids digestion, strengthens your liver and gallbladder, and reduces cholesterol. This last is especially good news to me, because I have been on a strict cholesterol-lowering regimen from my Spanish physician. When we learned mine was a trifle elevated, he told me I had to start drinking more red wine and eating more dark chocolate. I mentioned that I’d heard Spanish ham was also good for lowering cholesterol. “Yes, it is,” he said. “Not all ham, of course.” We shared a little chuckle; how silly was that notion? “No,” he went on, “the only ham that lowers cholesterol is the best ham, jamon Iberico, from pigs that are raised on an acorn diet. You see, because their diet is strictly vegetarian, they do not generate cholesterol. So it is very good for you.” 

That almost seemed to make sense, until I reflected that other animals – cows, for instance – also have a strictly vegetarian diet, and they’re positively bursting with cholesterol. But who was I to argue with my physician? I promised to increase my consumption of jamon Iberico, vino tinto and chocolate negro. I also started eating oatmeal every morning. Eventually my cholesterol levels dropped to the point where there was no more talk about going on medication. Was it the oatmeal, the wine, the chocolate or the ham that did the trick? Who knows? Who cares? I’m doing my best to include all of them in my diet. And now I’m adding artichokes to this rigorous regimen. Let’s face it, they’re a lot more fun to eat than Lipitor.

Originally published June 12, 2011