Issue 120

5109 Kali Era, Sarvajit Year, Margasira/Pushyam month
2065 Vikramarka Era, Sarvajit Year, Margasira/Pushyam month
1929 Salivahana Era, Sarvajit Year, Margasira/Pushyam month
2007 AD, December

Contents

Home

Management
AJIN

TSJ

MS

Vegetarian Links

Disclaimer

Soliciataion

Contact

VPC

More Links

Vedah

Diet and Exercise

Coffee and Tea
Tea and Parkinson's
Broccoli
Fasting
Honey for Coughs
Green Tea and Prostate Cancer

Miscellaneous

Prostate Screening for Obese Men
Maternal deaths linked to obesity
Parents of Obese Children
Flu Season
Sun and Cancer
Mouse Fear is Genetic
Caesareans 'May Harm Lung Growth'
Obesity and Gum Disease
Bedwetting and Cognitive Impairment
New Sterilization Method for Women

Recipes

Vegan Fruit Cake Recipe
Vegan Eggnog
Spicy Vegetarian Gumbo with Greens
Moroccan Couscous with Chickpeas and Peppers
Vegan Fudge

Diet and Exercise

Coffee and Tea
Findings, based on an analysis of 13 previous studies, suggest that coffee and tea may be protective against kidney cancer. While milk, soda and juice seem to have no effect one way or the other. Across the studies, people who drank three or more cups of coffee a day were 16 percent less likely to develop kidney cancer than those who averaged less than a cup per day. And those who sipped just one 8-ounce cup of tea each day had a 15 percent lower risk of the disease than non-drinkers. The findings appear in the International Journal of Cancer. Coffee and tea consumption were linked to a lower risk of kidney cancer even when the researchers accounted for a number of factors known to affect people's risk of the disease, such as obesity, smoking and high blood pressure.

Tea and Parkinson's
A new study being published in the December 15th issue of Biological Psychiatry shares new data that indicates the consumption of green tea, widely touted to have beneficial effects on health, also protect brain cells." The authors investigated the effects of green tea polyphenols, a group of naturally occurring chemical substances found in plants that have antioxidant properties, in an animal model of Parkinson’s disease, a progressive, degenerative disorder of the central nervous system, resulting from the loss of dopamine-producing brain cells, and there is presently no cure.

Broccoli
The compound sulforaphane whose natural precursors are found at high levels in broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables has been hailed for its chemopreventive powers against cancer. Now sulforaphane has demonstrated new skills in treating a genetic skin blistering disorder called epidermolysis bullosa simplex (EBS), according to a report at the American Society for Cell Biology 47th Annual Meeting.

Fasting
New research suggests that "clean living" habits may help your heart, such as fasting for one day each month. People who skipped meals once a month were about 40 percent less likely to be diagnosed with clogged arteries than those who did not regularly fast. Mormons and most religions in the world support fasting on a regular basis. However, it is important to note that fasting resets the metabolic rate, slowing it down to adjust to less food and forcing the body to store calories as soon as people resume eating. But other doctors cautioned that skipping meals is not advised for diabetics -- it could cause dangerous swings in blood sugar.

Fasting once a month might be good for your heart. That's the finding of a study presented at a meeting of the American Heart Association. The study looked at data from the Intermountain Health Collaborative Study on over 4,600 patients who had chest X-rays to check for blocked heart arteries between 1994 and 2002. Patients who fasted once a month were about 40 percent less likely to have clogged arteries than those who didn't, the researchers found. They saw the difference in heart risks even after taking into consideration other risk factors such as weight, age, diabetes, and other conditions. The researchers theorize that skipping meals for a day may force the body to burn fat reserves and gives the body a break from producing insulin, possibly helping insulin receptors to work better. However, the researchers say their findings do not prove that fasting prevents heart disease; they say it could be that the people who fasted control their eating habits better. They also warn that fasting is not a good idea for diabetics, and that it is not a good way for dieters to lose weight.

Honey for Coughs
A study published in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine compared the effectiveness of honey, cough medicine and no treatment, and found that the honey before bed seemed to work best at calming coughs and helping children sleep. The researchers say the honey may work by coating and soothing children's throats. Note: Some doctors warn that honey should not be given to children under a year old because it carries the risk of botulism.

Green Tea and Prostate Cancer
A few cups of green tea every day may prevent prostate cancer from spreading, says a Japanese study, which was conducted between 1990 and 2004, looked at about 50,000 Japanese men aged 40 to 69. Researchers found that the men who drank five or more cups of green tea per day halved their risk of developing progressive prostate compared with those who drank one a cup or less. The researchers say a substance called catechin found in green tea may inhibit the growth of cancer cells or reduce testosterone.

Miscellaneous

Prostate Screening for Obese Men
Standard screening tests for prostate cancer may miss some cases of the disease in obese men. A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggest that higher blood volumes in obese men can mean lower concentrations of prostate-specific antigen (PSA), even when cancer is present. The study looked at more than 13,000 men who had surgery for prostate cancer. Those men who had a body mass index (BMI) of 35 or more had PSA concentrations 11% to 21% lower than the men whose BMIs were normal.

Maternal deaths linked to obesity
Obesity is the fastest growing cause of women dying in pregnancy or childbirth in the UK, a report shows. More than half the 294 women who died during or after pregnancy between 2003 and 2005 were overweight or obese. The Confidential Enquiries into Maternal Deaths (CEMACH) report calls for more support and advice for obese women before and during pregnancy. The figures suggest that a modest amount of extra weight in pregnancy carries little extra risk, but obesity poses a significant problem.

Parents of Obese Children
A survey found that many Americans whose children are obese or overweight do not see them that way. That is worrisome because obese children run the risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, cholesterol problems and other ailments more commonly found in adults. And overweight children are likely to grow up to be overweight adults. Obesity in children isn't as easy to identify as in adults. When a child's BMI is higher than the 95th percentile for children who are the same age and gender, the child is considered obese.

Flu Season
By varying air temperature and humidity in the guinea pigs’ quarters, scientists discovered that flu transmission was excellent at 41 degrees. It declined as the temperature rose until, by 86 degrees, the virus was not transmitted at all. The virus was transmitted best at a low humidity, 20 percent, and not transmitted at all when the humidity reached 80 percent. The animals also released viruses nearly two days longer at 41 degrees than at a typical room temperature of 68 degrees. Flu viruses spread through the air, unlike cold viruses, which primarily spread by direct contact when people touch surfaces that had been touched by someone with a cold or shake hands with someone who is infected, for example. Flu viruses are more stable in cold air, and low humidity also helps the virus particles remain in the air. That is because the viruses float in the air in little respiratory droplets. When the air is humid, those droplets pick up water, grow larger and fall to the ground.

Sun and Cancer
Researchers found lung cancer rates were highest in countries furthest from the equator, where exposure to sunlight is lowest. It is thought vitamin D - generated by exposure to sunlight - can halt tumor growth by promoting the factors responsible for cell death in the body. The University of California, San Diego study appears in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. Experts warn that exposure to sunlight is still the major cause of skin cancer - a disease that is on the increase around the world. They found smoking was most strongly associated with lung cancer rates - accounting for up to 85% of all cases.

Chronic exposure to the sun increases the risk of an individual developing skin cancer because UV light from the sun can cause genetic mutations that enable cells in the skin to grow in an uncontrolled manner. Hope for a new sunscreen that can prevent and treat UV light–induced skin cancers has been provided by a new study in a mouse model of the disease by Mohammad Athar and colleagues at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York.

Mouse Fear is Genetic
Using genetic engineering, scientists at Tokyo University say they have successfully switched off the rodents' instinct to cower at the smell or presence of cats - showing that fear is genetically hardwired and not learned through experience, as commonly believed. The findings, published in the science magazine Nature last month, should help researchers shed further light on how the brain processes information about the outside world.

Caesareans 'May Harm Lung Growth'
Babies born by elective Caesarean section are much more likely to develop breathing problems, a Danish study examining 34,000 deliveries suggests. Researchers found they were up to four times more likely to have respiratory problems than those born naturally, or by emergency Caesarean section. The babies may miss out on hormonal and physiological changes during labour which help mature the lungs, they say. The University of Aarhus study features in the British Medical Journal.

Obesity and Gum Disease
As many as 40% of adults worldwide have periodontal disease, and tests on mice hint that obesity makes us vulnerable to the bacteria which cause it. Boston University scientists reported in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that fat mice had a "blunted" immune system. This may mean obese humans are more at risk from all bacterial infections. Links between gum disease and other more serious illnesses continue to emerge. There have even been suggestions of a relationship between gum disease and heart disease risk.

Bedwetting and Cognitive Impairment
Children who regularly wet the bed at night score worse on multiple measures of cognitive performance than do non-bedwetting children, researchers reported here at the International Children's Continence Society (ICCS) meeting. Cognitive function refers to abilities such as intelligence, short-term memory and attention focus.

Patients in the enuretic group had an average of five bedwetting episodes per week. These children also had poorer scores than the comparison group on standardized tests of intelligence, focused attention, and short-term memory. The chronic bedwetters also had worse retention ability and long-term memory and a lower learning speed and reaction.
However, 6 months of treatment with desmopressin, a drug that increases urine concentration and decreases urine production, plus bladder re-training significantly improved all measures of cognitive function. Sleep-awakening ability and brainstem function, which has also been shown to be impaired in children with primary nocturnal enuresis, were also restored to normal after treatment.

New Sterilization Method for Women
An advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration recommended the approval of a new method for sterilizing women that would give them another option to tubal ligation. The alternative procedure recommended takes about 15 minutes to complete and involves using radio signals to create a lesion inside the fallopian tube. A catheter delivers a soft material smaller than a grain of rice into the tube. Healthy tissue then grows on and around the material to create a permanent blockage. Patients are typically able to return to work within a day. The device, called Adiana, is made by Hologic Inc. of Bedford, Mass. The company markets the product as a low-risk procedure that can be performed in the doctor's office. Overall, about 700,000 women in the U.S. elect to have their tubes tied each year, which typically occurs in a hospital operating room.

Recipes

Vegan Fruit Cake Recipe
INGREDIENTS: 2 tsp egg replacer; 4 tbsp water; 1/4 cup margarine; 1/2 cup sugar; 6 ounces candied fruit mix; 1 1/4 cup water or orange juice; 1 3/5 cup flour; 1 tsp baking powder; 1/2 tsp baking soda; 1 tsp allspice.
PREPARATION: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Briefly whip the Egg Replacer in 4 tablespoons water until fluffy. Place margarine, sugar, dried fruit, whipped Egg Replacer and 1-1/4 cup water (or orange juice) in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and allow cooling for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and allspice together. Mix in boiled mixture and transfer to a greased loaf tin or a greased 8inch diameter cake tin. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool in tin.

Vegan Eggnog
INGREDIENTS: 4 cups soy milk; 1 tbsp instant vanilla pudding powder (make sure it's vegan); 1 cup nondairy whipping cream or heavy cream; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 1/4 tsp salt; 1/4 tsp nutmeg; 1/4 tsp cinnamon.
PREPARATION: Whisk together half of the soy milk and instant pudding untill thickened. Add the remaining soy milk and the cream and mix well. Add the remaining ingredients, except cinnamon. Allow to chill overnnight before serving, and sprinkle with cinnamon just before serving.

Spicy Vegetarian Gumbo with Greens
INGREDIENTS: 2 pounds collard greens, stems removed and chopped; 2 cups water; 14 cup vegetable oil + 2 tbsp; 1/4 cup flour; 2 onions, diced; 1 green bell pepper, diced; 4 stalks celery, chopped; 3 or 4 tomatoes, chopped; 1/4 cup hot sauce; 1 tsp file powder; 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (or to taste); 1/2 tsp thyme; 1/2 tsp oregano; 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped; 3 cloves garlic, minced; 6 cups vegetable broth; 2 bay leaves; 1 1/2 cups chopped okra; 1 16 ounce can kidney beans; salt and pepper to taste; 1 1/2 cups rice, pre-cooked
PREPARATION: In a large soup pot, boil the greens in two cups water for about ten minutes. Cover and allow to steam for 5 to 10 more minutes. Reserve the cooking water. In a separate small pot, whisk together the 1/4 cup oil and flour over low heat to form a roux, stirring continuously for about 10 to 15 minutes. Once it turns a dark reddish brown, remove from the heat and set aside. In a large soup or stockpot, sautee the onions, bell pepper, celery and tomatoes for a few minutes in the 2 tablespoons of oil, until just soft. Reduce the heat and add the hot sauce, file powder, cayenne, thyme, oregano, parsley and garlic and cook, stirring for one or two more minutes. Add the four and oil roux and the vegetable broth and stir well to combine. Add the cooking water from the collard greens and the bay leaves. Bring to a simmer, and allow to cook for 15 minutes. Add the collard greens, okra, kidney beans, and rice and cook for 5 more minutes. Remove bay leaves before serving.

Moroccan Couscous with Chickpeas and Peppers
INGREDIENTS: 1 sweet potato, chopped; 1 zucchini, sliced; 2 cloves garlic, minced; 1 tbsp olive oil; 1/4 cup water; 1 15 ounce can chickpeas; 2 red or yellow bell peppers; 1 tsp cumin; 1/2 tsp ground allspice; 1/2 tsp ginger; 1/2 tsp paprika; dash cayenne pepper; dash cinnamon; 1/4 tsp nutmeg; 1/4 tsp salt; 2 cups couscous, uncooked; water; 1/2 cup pine nuts (optional); 1/2 cup raisins.
PREPARATION: Sautee the sweet potato, zucchini and garlic in olive oil until just barely tender, about 5 minutes. Add chickpeas, bell peppers, water and spices. Cover and allow to simmer for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. In a large saucepan, cover the couscous with water. Bring to a boil, then cover, remove from heat, and allow to sit for about 15 minutes, or until couscous becomes light and fluffy when mixed. Pour the beans and peppers over the couscous and serve hot.

Vegan Fudge
INGREDIENTS: 6 tablespoons margarine; 3 1/2 cups powdered (confectioners) sugar; 1/2 cup cocoa; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 1/4 cup soymilk; 1 cup chopped nuts (optional).
PREPARATION: Lightly grease a 5x9 inch loaf pan using a little of the margarine. Place the remaining margarine, sugar, cocoa, vanilla and soy milk in a heatproof mixing bowl or the upper part of a double broiler. Place the bowl or broiler over simmering water and stir until smooth. Add the nuts if desired. Pour the mixture quickly into the prepared pan. Chill thoroughly and cut into squares. Makes 2 to 3 dozen squares.

Health and Nutrition

Issue 120