Food for Thought
Shushana Castle is changing the way we look at food and disease, and counting presidents and global gurus among her converts.
SHUSHAN CASTLE GREW in Houston, eating healthy meals prepared by her mother and studying The Wall Street Journal with her stock-analyst father. Those early experiences laid the foundation for her future as a top bond trader — and, more recently, as an expert in how to eat for longevity. She’s made an impact in popular thinking about physical and spiritual health, counting Deepak Chopra among her fans. The writer-researcher sees a link between body and soul; eating better food, without Big Agriculture setting the world’s diet, means a healthier planet — and a people harmonizing with their environment.
Author of books on the chemistry of food — Rethink Food and The Meaty Truth — Castle, 56, explains that after years on Wall Street, her career “pivoted, because I wanted to make a direct difference in the world.” Castle went on to earn a masters in environmental management and water, and got involved with global environmental groups.
After interviewing experts galore, the consensus was that all diseases start with inflammation, and healthy living can be as easy as avoiding inflammatory foods like meat and dairy. Physicians reaffirmed the need for her books. “I began to create a resource describing the how and why of food and diseases,” says Castle.
First came Rethink Food, with insights from docs and athletes on how to eat for the prevention and reversal of diseases. Her second book, also co-written with Amy-Lee Goodman, The Meaty Truth, was born from Castle’s views on climate change caused by agricultural practices. Think growth hormones and factory farming.
“Traveling the world and getting to know people in many countries, I discovered... one underlying solution for cures for cancer, diabetes and other diseases,” says Castle, a vegan. “I saw so much suffering with diseases, which I know are mostly preventable through our food choices.”
The mother of three grown sons gleaned that the American Medical Association and the American Pediatric Association approve of a diet with zero meat and dairy for excellent health. “I learned from doctors at Harvard and Cornell that the food pyramid was designed by the meat and dairy industries,” she says.
Castle receives tons of emails from grateful readers. “I receive endless letters from people describing how they took out inflammatory and acidic foods, and their diseases went into remission.” She’s heard from cancer survivors who went into remission without medical treatment.
Her work has also gotten notice from President Bill Clinton, who invited her to round-tables with Bill Gates, Queen Noor and other leaders to discuss water remediation and food scarcity. But perhaps most validating is Deepak Chopra’s recent endorsement. “He posted a 14-minute recommendation of both books,” she says. “He [said] they are extremely beneficial to excellent health and peak performance.”
Not one to sit still — except for a daily meditation — Castle, an avid hiker, is penning another book and producing documentaries, working with Oscar winners dedicated to helping protect the global environment. “I thrive while multitasking,” she says. “And I have a wild passion for making a real difference.”
Heart Strings
Singer-songwriter and guitarist Aaron Kaufman uses music to heal — and to help at-risk kids find their voices
Despite being the son of two artists and the winner of a NPR songwriting award and a BMI John Lennon scholarship, singer-songwriter Aaron Kaufman worked briefly as an analyst for Target in Minnesota after graduating from Carleton College. And at another point he was “determined” to find a teaching job in China, but a Houston nonprofit had other plans for the self-taught guitarist, whose voice has been compared to Justin Timberlake’s and who cites influences from Bon Iver to ’90s R&B.
“My mom read a New York Times article about a nonprofit down here called Purple Songs Can Fly,” he remembers. The Connecticut native applied for an internship and ventured southward in 2008 to take the unpaid summer gig, which involved writing and recording songs with young patients (and their siblings) at Texas Children’s and sending them home with a CD at the end of their hospital visit.
When he returned to Minnesota, he missed the work. Serendipitously, Purple Songs Can Fly asked Kaufman back to Houston. One thing led to another, and he connected with Music Doing Good, a nonprofit that provides music education outside of school settings. The 6-year-old org named him media producer in 2012.
Kaufman wears a lot of hats, from working with the marketing team to audio-visual work. “Nonprofit wasn’t necessarily what I thought I’d be doing, but it’s very powerful and rewarding to bring music opportunities to at-risk students in Houston schools,” he says.
In addition to doling out funds — 74 scholarships last year alone — and placing instruments in the hands of students who need them, Music Doing Good conducts ongoing outreach. One such effort is a year-long program in which kids from underserved neighborhoods study one genre of music and put on a musical at year’s end. “They help write the show and work with musicians, then they perform at the Hobby Center,” says Kaufman. “Kids who have no choir in school are standing on a premiere stage, and they pack the house!” Kaufman himself works in the studio, helping kids record songs and preparing for a bi-annual benefit concert to raise funds for the program.
And it’s not just about preparing kids for possible music careers, as many won’t choose that path. It goes deeper, and impacts all students. “Music education is essential to their thinking,” he says.
When he’s not collaborating with co-workers and students, the yogi is writing and pitching songs in Nashville, Los Angeles and New York. “I’m finishing up songs and mastering them at Sugar Hill Studios,” he says.
He plays about 40 shows a year, including private house concerts and the occasional yoga class. “My music has a flow to it that fits very well with yoga,” he says. “Intimate shows — just me and my acoustic guitar — are my favorite thing, like playing in patients’ hospital rooms. I don’t play an 8-year-old’s favorite music, but it helps develop a sense of intimacy and quiet.”