Cooking Healthy Chinese Food

Happy Chinese New Year

Tonight I am cooking a stir fry of baby bok choy, onions and mushrooms and a sprinkle of black sesame seeds. This will be the bed to put my orange chicken thighs on top.

 Sesame seeds are an excellent source of many essential minerals as well as a very good source of vitamin B1 (thiamin) and dietary fiber. The nutrients found in sesame seeds may contribute to cardiovascular health, reduce inflammation, support respiratory health, protect against colon cancer and osteoporosis as well as other conditions. Depending upon the variety, sesame seeds come in many different colors, including white, yellow, black and red.

Black sesame seeds are an excellent source of magnesium and calcium. A 1/4 cup serving of provides 126 mg of magnesium, or 32 percent of the Recommended Daily Value (DV), and 351 mg of calcium (35 percent of the DV). That's slightly more than you find in a cup of milk, however, the calcium is located in the hull of the seeds, so hulled versions offer much less calcium.
 

Magnesium and calcium are important essential minerals that help regulate blood pressure, reduce the likelihood of developing tension and migraine headaches (triggered by blood vessel spasms), reduce the occurrence of airway spasms in asthmatics and regulate sleep patterns, especially in women suffering from menopause-induced sleep disturbances.

A 1/4 cup serving of black sesame seeds provides almost 1.5 milligrams (mg), or 74 percent of the DV, for the trace mineral copper, and 2.8 mg (about 19 percent of the DV) for zinc. These minerals are needed in very small quantities, but are essential for human health. Copper plays a role in the anti-inflammatory process which is beneficial for reducing some of the swelling and pain characteristic of inflammatory diseases. Copper also is needed to activate an enzyme necessary for building collagen and elastin, which provide structure and elasticity to bones and joints.

Low dietary intakes of the trace mineral zinc (low circulating levels in the bloodstream) is associated with a depressed immune system as well as loss of bone and decreased bone density of the hip and spine. Consuming zinc-rich foods, such as black sesame seeds, reduces the risk of suffering from bone fractures caused by reduced bone density (common among the elderly) or osteoporosis. Optimal zinc intake may reduce the frequency and length of the common cold because it keeps the immune system healthy.

Black sesame seeds help lower serum cholesterol levels (which contributes to cardiovascular health) in several ways. They contain two unique substances known as sesamin and sesamolin. These substances belong to a group of fibers called lignans (flaxseeds are another rich source of lignans). Lignans are rich in dietary fiber and have a cholesterol-lowering effect.

Black sesame seeds are rich in phytosterols. Phytosterols are plant compounds very similar in structure (chemical) to cholesterol. Consuming more dietary phytosterols not only decreases blood cholesterol levels but reduces the risk of developing certain types of cancer. Sesame seeds offer the highest phytosterol content (400 to 413 mg per 100 grams or 3.5 ounces) of all nuts and seeds.

Healthy Life

Suzanne

Celiac Brain: The Top Ten Physical Complaints from Celiac Patien...

I am sharing this post from Dr. Powell. The original post came from Jefferson Adams who writes for Celiac.com. http://www.celiacbrain.blogspot.ca/2015/01/the-top-ten-physical-complaints-from.html

1. Osteopenia/Osteoporosis—a full 52% of patients with celiac disease suffer from osteopenia/osteoporosis.
2. Anemia—about one in three celiacs (34%) suffer from anemia.
3. Cryptogenic hypertransaminasemia—nearly one-third (29%) of people with celiac disease, have what is called cryptogenic hypertransaminasemia.
4. Diarrhea is, in fact, a common gastrointestinal symptom of celiac disease, but believe it or not, only 27% of people with symptomatic celiac disease experienced diarrhea.
5. Bloating—20% of celiacs complained of bloating prior to diagnosis.
6. Aphthous stomatitis—18% of people with symptomatic celiac disease had canker sores as one of their symptoms.
7. Alternating bowel habit—15% of celiacs with symptoms have alternating bowel habit
8. Constipation—13% of celiacs have constipation as a symptom.
9. Gastroesophageal reflux disease—About 12% of people with celiac disease suffer from gastroesophageal reflux disease.
10. Recurrent miscarriages—just over one in ten (12%) people with celiac disease experience recurrent miscarriages

If we have any of the top10 complaints we should get the test from https://www.enterolab.com/default.aspx

The reason is that when we get tested and it turns out positive, we are more likely to adhere to the diet. Dr. Powell recommends the genetic testing which I did and had the result that said I was prone to celiac disease. It seems to run in my family and because of that my children follow a gluten free diet.

This is what Dr. Powell says:

I recommend everyone get a simple test from www.enterolab.com called "genetics". This genetic test, and no other that I know of, tests for celiac disease and gluten sensitivity. (I have tried all available testing methods and combination of testing methods and find them prone to interpretive errors. Except the genetic test available at www.enterolab.com).

Why do I recommend that everyone get this test?

1. There are at least 200 diseases associated with gluten sensitivity, according to the NEJM, so I can't tell without testing. 
2. Because those that are undiagnosed have high morbidity and mortality, leading to a 400% increased risk of dying by age 65! This morbidity and mortality is unnecessary. 
3. Most people need to see a black and white test result to be motivated to do the grain free diet which is the only treatment to treat the bowel and the the extra gastrointestinal illnesses.

Why would I recommend a gene test if one could have the gene for a condition and not have the disease?

The study of Epigenetics has helped us to understand where genetics is useful. If you were conceived and born in North America, after 1942, and you find you do carry one or more genes for celiac or gluten sensitivity, your genetics is "on". And you can modify how the gene is expressed. 

 

This isn't some fad diet but a life long adherence to eating gluten free and also choosing healthy choices. Not all food labelled gluten free are healthy.

Healthy life

Suzanne

Vitamin D proven more effective than both anti viral and vaccines at preventing the flu

This is a good article that I am printing verbatim. Taking vitamin D in a timely fashion will help to prevent a cold from taking hold.
This came from this website http://www.worldhealth.net/forum/thread/99358/vitamin-d-proven-more-effective-than-bo/?page=1

The risk of children suffering from flu can be reduced by 50% if they take vitamin D, doctors in Japan have found. The finding has implications for flu epidemics since vitamin D, which is naturally produced by the human body when exposed to direct sunlight, has no significant side effects, costs little and can be several times more effective than anti-viral drugs or vaccines according to research in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Only one in ten children, aged six to 15 years, taking the sunshine vitamin in a clinical trial came down with flu compared with one in five given a dummy tablet. Mitsuyoshi Urashima, the Japanese doctor who led the trial, told The Times that vitamin D was more effective than vaccines in preventing flu.

Vitamin D was found to be even more effective when the comparison left out children who were already given extra vitamin D by their parents, outside the trial. Taking the sunshine vitamin was then shown to reduce the risk of flu to a third of what it would otherwise be.

Dr. Damien Downing, a doctor and medical consultant has publicly stated that governments "do like" epidemics as a chance to impose their will. The London based doctor has been advising patients to increase their vitamin D intake rather than get the vaccine.

You might be shocked to know that there are many physicians in both Canada and the United States who prescribe as much as 50,000 IU of vitamin D daily as a treatment for a long list of chronic diseases.

Dr. John Cannell, MD, suggests high-dose vitamin D (50,000 IU) be consumed for three days at the first sign of a cold or the flu. If you have an infection, the truth is you need more vitamin D. That’s a given. In other words, vitamin D acts as a natural antibiotic. It works against every type of microbe (viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites).

Vitamin D deficiency is common during the winter months, especially in countries far north of the equator. Vitamin D acts as an immune system modulator, preventing excessive production of inflammatory cytokines and increasing macrophage (a type of white cell) activity. Vitamin D also stimulates the production of potent anti-microbial peptides in other white blood cells and in epithelial cells lining the respiratory tract, protecting the lungs from infection.

50 Percent Reduction In Flu Infections Using Vitamin D

Altogether 354 children took part in the trial. Vitamin D was found to protect against influenza A but not against the less common influenza B.

The trial, which was double blind, randomised, and fully controlled scientifically, was conducted by doctors and scientists from Jikei University School of Medicine in Tokyo, Japan.

The children were given a daily dose of 1200 IUs (international units) of vitamin D over a period of three months. In the first month children in the group taking the vitamin became ill just as often as those taking the dummy tablet. But by the second month, when the vitamin level in the children’s blood was higher, the advantage of the vitamin was clear.

The Japanese scientists, writing in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, say that the anti-viral drugs zanamivir and oseltamivir reduce risk of flu infection by 8 percent in children who have been exposed to infection, compared with a 50 percent or greater reduction with vitamin D.

Anti-virals are typically more effective than vaccines for the influenza virus which suggests that both forms of medical intervention would consistently fail in similar studies when pitted against vitamin D.

Anti-virals are also too expensive, and possibly too toxic, to be given to the population as a whole whereas vitamin D has additional benefits. The sunshine vitamin not only prevents bone fractures but is also believed to reduce risks of cancer, heart disease, diabetes and other illness, including various bacterial as well as viral infections.

The Japanese finding supports a theory that low blood levels of the sunshine vitamin occurring in winter explain why flu epidemics generally peak between December and March.

Vitamin D activates the innate immune system, enabling the body to produce several proteins such as defensin and cathelicidin which trigger cell activity and disable viruses.

Dr John Oxford, professor of virology at Queen Mary School of Medicine, London, said: “This is a timely study. It will be noticed by scientists. It fits in with the seasonal pattern of flu. There is an increasing background of solid science that makes the vitamin D story credible. ”

Dose and Vitamin D Levels Are Critical

Researchers have recently pinpointed the mechanism behind vitamin D3's ability to enhance the immune system and why it is so critical to our health.

- Vitamin D is not a vitamin, but a steroid hormone precursor, which has profound effects on innate immunity.

- The amount of vitamin D in most food and nearly all multivitamins is literally inconsequential.

- The correct daily dose of vitamin D for adults is approximately 5,000 IU/day, not the 200 to 600 IU recommended by the Institute of Medicine, the National Institutes of Medicine and the FDA.

- The only blood test to determine vitamin D adequacy is a 25-hydroxy-vitamin D, not the 1,25-di-hydroxy-vitamin D test many physicians now order.

- Healthy vitamin D blood levels are between 70 and 90 ng/ml, levels obtained by fewer than 5% of Americans.

- The mechanism of action of vitamin D in infection, dramatically increasing the body’s production of broad-spectrum natural antibiotics (anti-microbial peptides or AMP), suggests pharmaceutical doses of vitamin D (1,000 IU per pound of body weight per day for several days) will effectively treat not only influenza and the common cold, but help treat a host of other seasonal infections, including meningitis, septicemia, and pneumonia, in both children and adults.

Sources:
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
ajcn.nutrition.org
mydoctor.ca
timesonline.co.uk

Taking large doses of vitamin D at the first sign of cold plus large doses of vitamin C and zinc will help to prevent the virus from replicating.
Healthy life
Suzanne

Fast food versus healthy food

 Is healthy food prohibitively expensive?

Sure, high-end healthy food options are more expensive than junk food. That’s why so many refer to the Whole Foods grocery chain as “Whole Paycheck”. You’ve probably noticed that organic veggies cost more than non-organic. It’s really a bummer that it costs less for food that hurts us, and more for food that helps us.
If you’ve ever eaten fast food, you know you can go to the drive-through of the nearest one and get a surprising amount of food for about 20 bucks, all without having to lift a finger to do any cooking. Of course, that food is also pretty awful for your health.
So, before we surrender to the golden arches, let’s take that $20 and think about what you could buy with it.
At most grocery stores you could get a small bag of rice, two cans of beans, two green bell peppers, a couple of onions, a head of garlic, a bottle of spice, and a pound of grass-fed ground beef. With all of that, you could make a pot of chili that would feed a family of three for at least two meals. This would pack a far more nutritious bang for your bucks, even leaving plenty of rice from that bag left for other meals as well.

Junk Food is Making Poor People Dumb

Most folks know that a bad diet and minimal exercise is the fast track to disease and an early death. But did you know that junk food can actually lower your IQ too?
While this may seem like a no-brainer (pun intended) for health conscious folks, for those who are blasé about their food choices, these findings just may be a bit of a surprise.
An American study, published in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health in 2010, showed that children who consume junk food before the age of three may end up having lower IQs than children who ate home-cooked meals with fruit and vegetables. (source)
A second 2012 study from the University of Adelaide in Australia, examined the eating habits of more than 7,000 children at six months, 15 months and two years, and  measured their IQ at eight years of age. They found those who were breastfed at six months and had a homemade diet, featuring home-cooked foods, had an IQ that was up to two points higher. (source)
Yet another study from the University of London observed 5,000 Scottish children, ages 3-5 years old, to determine whether fast food vs. home-cooked foods actually affected cognitive development. They found hat not only was more home-cooked food linked to higher IQ, but also it was the higher social-economic groups that typically provided higher quality for their children. (source)
This final study explains a subtle but important fact: those with more financial means seem to have an easier time feeding their children healthy foods.
There’s the conundrum. Healthy living does not have to be expensive, but having more money certainly seems to help. Yes, it will take a bit of extra thought and effort, however the long-term payoff of smart lifestyle choices is a more deeply rewarding, healthy life.
Here are…

3 simple ways to be healthy on a tight budget

 #1 – Make better food choices.

Organic produce and pasture-raised meats may be unaffordable for some folks, but that doesn’t mean you need to subsist on tv dinners and Twinkies on the sofa. It’s really not a simple choice between either junk food or healthy food. There’s a whole range of choices across an entire spectrum of healthiness.
Rather than feeling defeated by your budget, work smartly to see how you can optimize your choices and make the most of what you’ve got. Plan out your meals each week rather than making rash, last-minute decisions – which often result in a trip thru the drive-through or a call for cheap takeout.

#2 – Do cost-free exercise.

When it comes to physical activity, you clearly do not have to spend money on a fancy gym membership to get a good workout on a regular basis. Walking, jogging, dancing, gardening, and many other activities don’t cost a thing. Many community centers have free or low-cost exercise classes too.
You do, however, have to have the willpower to make it happen. So, get up and move – every day.

#3 – Learn to cook.

It can be challenging to turn away from the convenience of junk and fast food, but the fact of the matter is, that home-cooked meals are far healthier and don’t have to be complicated or expensive.
That said, if you don’t cook yet, learning to cook is the keystone to you reclaiming your healthy life.
If you are a complete newbie in the kitchen, start simply and go from there. Learn to scramble eggs, use a slow cooker, and steam veggies. Make a big salad and dress it with some lemon and olive oil. Teach yourself how to roast a chicken.
Then, as often as possible, sit down with family or friends to share your meals – because families that eat together are healthier, smarter, and happier too! (source)
When you know your way around the kitchen, you’ll easily see just how far you can stretch your food dollars into delicious and nutritious homemade meals.

I loved watching James Barber who was a Canadian cook. He had a television show called the Urban Peasant. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJIwtaQ1a5A
He always said by the time you ordered food from the take out, you could make your own food. I have many of his cookbooks and have found this to be true. A few ingredients when you know how to cook can make a tasty meal.
Always have canned salmon, it makes quick and easy salmon patties. Vegetables can be frozen but I usually have carrots and cabbage and onions to stir fry and if you are really short on time a safe starch such as white basmati rice can be filling. Having grass fed ground beef in freezer taken out the night before and used to make Indian Meatballs so quick and easy. I serve then with Saag Faux Paneer and some rice.

Here is the recipe for the Vegan Saag Paneer

2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 tablespoons ginger root, finely chopped

1 1/2 cups tomato sauce

1 tablespoon garam masala

1 tablespoon ground coriander

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 1/2 teaspoons salt (separated into 1 tsp and 1/2 tsp)

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 15-ounce can light coconut milk

1 box frozen chopped spinach

1 6-ounce bag baby spinach leaves

2 packages tofu cut into cubes (optional)

fresh cilantro, chopped for garnish (optional)

cooked rice for serving

Instructions

Add all ingredients EXCEPT for fresh spinach, tofu, peas and 1/2 teaspoon of 1. salt to slow cooker

2. Set to low and cook for 4 hours.

3. At about 3 hours and 30 minutes, add in fresh spinach and stir

4. When fresh spinach is wilted, puree entire mixture with a handheld immersion blender until creamy.

5. Next fold in tofu cubes, frozen peas and remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt

6. Put lid back on slow cooker and let tofu and peas warm up.

7. Serve over rice and chopped cilantro.

8. Keeps well in the fridge for leftovers and freezes great!

Can be made on the stove top and not use the tofu and peas.

Healthy life

Suzanne

Not Milk

Here is an article at Natural News about the hazards of drinking milk. We are the only mammals who drink the milk of another mammal past the age of 2.
http://www.naturalnews.com/z047633_cows_milk_premature_death_osteoporosis.html

Healthy Life
Suzanne

Eating for Health.

There’s a hidden sickness at large in the world today that is afflicting many of us and which is causing our bodies to deteriorate at a much faster rate than Nature ever intended...
...And it’s getting worse year on year.
It’s a problem that affects the young and the old alike and makes no distinction between the rich or the poor... and yet it receives NO publicity and NO government awareness campaigns with high profile celebrities.
Diagnosis rates in hospitals for this sickness have soared 44 per cent over the past 5 years, and yet the shocking truth is that most of us are walking around not even aware that we’re affected... until later on in life when it begins to manifest itself in a string of chronic and degenerative health problems – ranging from Alzheimer’s, arthritis, heart disease and even cancer. 
But by then it’s too late to do anything about it...
  
So, what is this insidious, invisible epidemic that’s sweeping the nation? Malnutrition.  Yep, you read it right. Many of us are suffering from malnutrition. For most of us that means that our bodies are starved of the essential vitamins and nutrients that fuel our ‘engines’ and all our moving parts. 

“But how can this be when there is so much food available to us? Surely the problem is that we’re eating TOO MUCH food? After all, aren’t we going through an obesity epidemic?”

This is exactly right – which makes the situation all the more serious. Not only are we MALNOURISHED, but 75 per cent of the population is clinically OBESE... and that’s a double-whammy time bomb just waiting to explode.
We’re literally eating ourselves sick with the WRONG kind of food which is high in additives, salt, sugar and trans-fats – and low in the essential nutrients that are essential for the body to function properly.
And we’ve been doing so for the last 50 years at least - which means that a whole generation has grown up not knowing any better!
We are all bombarded with adverts for so-called healthy food products, but how many of us read what's on the label or ever think to question the claims?  How many of us actually know whether these products are delivering any nutritional value whatsoever?
For example, every day we're told that eating cereal products will lower our cholesterol and prevent heart disease - but how many of us realize that these products are crammed with high levels of salt and sugar and contain virtually no nutrients whatsoever? You are better off eating the card board that it came in.
One fact alone was enough to make me avoid margarine for life and anything else that is hydrogenated (this means hydrogen is added, changing the molecular structure of the substance). Margarine is just ONE MOLECULE away from being PLASTIC....
Why not try this for yourself: purchase a tub of margarine and leave it in your garage or shaded area.
Within a couple of days you will note a couple of things: no flies, not even those pesky fruit flies will go near it (that should tell you something) ...
It does not rot or smell differently.. because it has no nutritional value, nothing will grow on it...even those teeny weeny microorganisms will not find a home to grow.

Why? Because it is nearly plastic. Would you melt your Tupperware and spread that on your toast?
DO NOT EAT MARGARINE!!!!!

 The problem stems from the fact that:
• We eat too much processed foods.
• We’re eating less home-cooked food and more convenience food.
• We’re eating more take out food than ever before
• We’re eating later in the day which means we don’t digest our food properly
• We skip meals or grab a sandwich on the run
. . . and that’s just storing up trouble for the future.
The problem is that even if you THINK you’re eating a healthy diet, your body may still be deficient in vital vitamins or minerals that, if allowed to go uncorrected over months, years even decades, can lead to a whole host of degenerative heath problems
.

Here's just a few startling facts for you: 

·         Avocados, for example, are a powerful Super Food renowned for their cholesterol-lowering properties and ability to maintain cardiovascular health. What is more, according to the latest research findings from Dr Steven M. D’Ambrosio and his associates at Ohio State University, in the US, it appears that phytochemicals extracted from the popular Haas avocado are able to destroy oral cancer cells as well as prevent pre-cancerous cells from developing into cancer.

·         Two tablespoons of CHIA seeds contain more fibre than a serving of the constipation remedy Metamucil and delivers 3,050mg of omega-3s – that’s the equivalent of more than five flax oil capsules, or ten fish oil capsules. With its high content of chlorogenic and caffeic acid as well, this recently discovered this superfood also aids glucose metabolism and weight control among its huge list of other super health-boosting benefits. 

·         Eat your bananas! The fact that bananas are an excellent source of vitamin B6 and vitamin C, dietary fibre, manganese and potassium is just the start of what you need to know about them. Potassium, for example, is necessary for maintaining normal blood pressure and heart function so a banana a day can help to prevent high blood pressure and protect against atherosclerosis.

·         In addition, research indicates that the potassium found in bananas may do wonders for our bone strength by counteracting the increased urinary calcium loss caused by a high-salt diet. Bananas have also long been recognized for their antacid effects that protect against stomach ulcers and ulcer damage. PLUS, the Tryptophan found in bananas has the additional benefit of being a natural mood enhancer so can help if you suffer from PMT or depression. 

·         The humble apple is perhaps the greatest Super Food of them all. A compound it contains called procyanidin B-2 has been found to play a key role in inhibiting age-related problems, preventing wrinkles and promoting hair growth. French researchers have found that a flavanoid called phloridzin, which is found only in apples, may protect post-menopausal women from osteoporosis and may also increase bone density. Numerous studies have also shown that eating apples can help prevent many different kinds of cancer, asthma, diabetes, high blood pressure and weight gain!

·         Dr. Ben Kim says eating 2 apples a day will help with weight loss.  http://drbenkim.com/welcome-message.html

How many of us do not live in fear of illness, decline and early death, wincing at the thought of cancer or heart attacks or coping with Alzheimer’s? 

Then surely adding a banana to our breakfast, an avocado to our Tuesday lunch and a portion of kale and oily fish once a week is a ‘no brainer’ in order to avoid all three. 

The World Health Organization (WHO) has revealed that 85 per cent of adult cancers are entirely avoidable and, of these, around half are related to nutritional deficiencies in the Western diet. A recent government report showed how nearly 70,000 premature deaths could be prevented each year by simply improving the UK's diet.
Another study carried out by Brigham Young University professor Steven Aldana, published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, March, 2005, found that a combination of 30 minutes of cardio exercise a day along with a switch to a healthier diet dropped the participants’ health risks for diabetes, cancer, and heart disease dramatically in just 6 weeks. 

Let us all be mindful when we choose our food for the day. Planning our lunches that we take to work or making food on Sunday in preparation for the week goes a long way to being healthier.

Walking is great exercise and with a few sprints added in for the cardio and you will help keep the blood flowing rather than stagnating.

Choose your food wisely. More to come on this topic.

Healthy life.

Suzanne