Issue 121

5109 Kali Era, Sarvajit Year, Pushyam/Magham month
2065 Vikramarka Era, Sarvajit Year, Pushyam/Magham month
1929 Salivahana Era, Sarvajit Year, Pushyam/Magham month
2008 AD, January

Contents

Home

Management
AJIN

TSJ

MS

Vegetarian Links

Disclaimer

Soliciataion

Contact

VPC

More Links

Vedah

Diet and Exercise

Super Carrot
Garlic
Healthy Habits

Miscellaneous

Pollution
Copper and Silver
Synthetic Life
Magnetic Therapy
Vibrational Medicine
Smoking Cessation
Climate Change

Recipes

Vegetarian Chinese Scallion Pancakes
Vegetarian Potstickers

Diet and Exercise

Super Carrot
Scientists in the US say they have created a genetically-engineered carrot that provides extra calcium. They hope that adding the vegetable to a normal diet could help ward off conditions such as brittle bone disease and osteoporosis. Someone eating the new carrot absorbs 41% more calcium than if they ate the old, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences study suggests. The calcium-charged vegetable still needs to go through many safety trials.

Dairy foods are the primary dietary source of calcium but some are allergic to these while others are told to avoid consuming too much due to their high fat content. A gene has been altered in the carrot which allows the calcium within it to cross more easily over the plant membranes.

The orange color of carrot is the result of Dutch cultivation in the 17th Century, when patriotic growers turned a vegetable which was then purple into the color of the national flag.
Nor is it the first vegetable to receive a healthy makeover.

Genetic engineering is being used to develop potatoes with more starch and less water so that they absorb less oil when fried, producing healthier chips or crisps. Work is also being carried out on broccoli so that it contains more sulforaphane, a chemical which may help people ward off cancer.

Garlic
In a study published online in Food and Chemical Toxicology, researchers suggest that such populations exposed to arsenic can be protected from its toxic effects with the pungent spice garlic. They have shown in animal studies that garlic overcomes the drawback of existing therapeutic agents used to combat arsenic-induced toxicity. Garlic contains a host of sulfur-bearing organic compounds that easily penetrate through the human cell membrane and bind to arsenic. This converts arsenic into a less toxic form that the body can easily pass out with urine.

Healthy Habits
Doing exercise, eating sufficient fruit and vegetables and not smoking can add as much as 14 years to your life, a study has found, once again. Research involving 20,000 people over a decade found those who failed on all criteria were four times more likely to have died than those who succeeded. The Public Library of Science Medicine study suggests many could increase their lifespan through simple changes. By not smoking, drinking in moderation or not drinking at all, taking regular physical activity and eating a diet rich in fruit and vegetables, people can improve their chances of living longer.

Miscellaneous
Pollution
Diesel emissions continue to plague the Southland and are creating what air-pollution officials call an "unacceptably high" rate of cancer risk for residents, according to a study released in January by the region's air-quality agency. While the region's air has less toxic contamination now compared with seven years ago, the pollution is bad enough that 1,200 of every million residents in pockets of Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties are at risk of developing cancer from breathing the bad air. The cancer risk around the ports -- where trucks, trains and ships spew diesel pollution -- is much higher at 2,900 cancers per million. The biggest problem areas are around the Los Angeles and Long Beach harbors, where the industry of shipping and moving goods relies on diesel to fuel trucks, trains and ships. High levels of toxic air contamination were also found throughout the transportation corridor of South Los Angeles as well as in the Burbank and Fontana regions -- where heavy car and truck traffic spew toxic emissions. The findings were detailed in a study that involved testing for 33 toxic air pollutants over a year at 10 locations throughout the jurisdiction covered by the AQMD.

Copper and Silver
In a British study published last year, drug-resistant staph germs survived for three days on stainless steel plates kept at room temperature, but the researchers found no sign of the germs on pure copper after 90 minutes.

Synthetic Life
A team of 17 researchers at the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) has created the largest man-made DNA structure by synthesizing and assembling the 582,970 base pair genome of a bacterium, Mycoplasma genitalium JCVI-1.0. This work, published online in the journal Science by Dan Gibson, Ph.D., et al, is the second of three key steps toward the team's goal of creating a fully synthetic organism. In the next step, which is ongoing at the JCVI, the team will attempt to create a living bacterial cell based entirely on the synthetically made genome. The team achieved this technical feat by chemically making DNA fragments in the lab and developing new methods for the assembly and reproduction of the DNA segments. After several years of work perfecting chemical assembly, the team found they could use homologous recombination (a process that cells use to repair damage to their chromosomes) in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae to rapidly build the entire bacterial chromosome from large subassemblies.

Magnetic Therapy
The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, part of the National Institute of Health, commissioned a five-year, $875,000 study into the effectiveness of static magnets on microcirculation. Microcirculation is the movement of blood through the smallest of blood vessels. The purpose of the study was to determine if the dominant claim by companies selling magnets - that the magnets enhance blood flow - was true or not. Due to consumer acceptance and almost zero regulation, the magnetic product for health care industry is now worth £2.5 billion.

Vibrational Medicine
The basic principle of vibrational medicine (VM) is that the body is made up of molecules all of which 'vibrate' at temperatures above absolute zero and with numerous multi dimensional energy ineractions continually taking place. Proponents of VM say that at the core of all diseases is an imbalance of bioenergetic communications.

Smoking Cessation
Cigarette smoking is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Smoking is the leading preventable cause of disease and premature death in the United States, with more than 438,000 U.S. deaths annually attributable to smoking. Patients who smoke cigarettes should be counseled to quit. CHANTIX® was approved in May of 2006 in the U.S. as an aid to smoking cessation.
Based upon post-marketing reports first reflected in a November 2007 labeling update, Pfizer today updated the CHANTIX label in the U.S. to include a warning that patients who are attempting to quit smoking with CHANTIX should be observed for serious neuropsychiatric symptoms, including changes in behavior, agitation, depressed mood, suicidal ideation and suicidal behavior.

Climate Change
Some of the predicted impacts of climate change listed in the IPCC report include:
-Water availability will increase to 10 to 40% at high latitudes and in some wet tropical areas.
-Water availability will decrease by 10 to 30% in some dry regions at mid latitudes and in the dry tropics.
-More areas affected by drought.
-Increased risk of flood
-Changes to ecosystems due to wildfire, the ocean becoming more acidic, flooding and drought.
-Globally food production is predicted to increase with warming of 1 to 30C but above this it will decrease.
-Health effects including increased frequency of cardio-respiratory diseases due to higher concentrations of ground level ozone, increased diarrhoeal disease, increases in malnutrition and consequent disorders, and increased deaths, disease and injury due to heat waves, floods, storms, fires and droughts.
-Altered spatial distribution of some infectious disease vectors

Recipes

Vegetarian Chinese Scallion Pancakes
INGREDIENTS: 4 cups flour, 1 1/2 cups cold water; 3 tbsp shortening; 1/4 tsp salt; 2 large bunches green onions, sliced; oil for frying; soy sauce for dipping.
PREPARATION: Mix together the flour and water until dough is formed. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for a few minutes. Place in a bowl, cover and set aside for 30 minutes. Roll out the dough to a 1/8-inch thickness. Spread a thin layer of shortening on the top, sprinkle with salt, and then press a layer of green onions into the dough. Roll into a ball, then roll out a small ball onto a floured surface to a 1/8 inch thickness, pushing any green onions that escape back into the dough. Fry in 1/4 inch of vegetable oil in a skillet. Cook for approximately 3 minutes on one side then flip and cook for 2 more minutes before placing the pancakes onto a paper towel-lined plate. Salt to taste and serve immediately. http://vegetarian.about.com/od/breakfastrecipe1/r/scallionpancake.htm?nl=1

Vegetarian Potstickers
INGREDIENTS: 1/2 pound firm tofu; 1/2 cup finely shredded carrot; 1/2 cup finely chopped bok choy; 1/4 cup finely chopped water chestnuts; 1/4 cup finely chopped bamboo shoots; 1/4 cup finely chopped garlic chives; 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced; 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce; 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 1 package potsticker or gyoza wrappers; 2 tablespoons oil for frying the dumplings
PREPARATION: Drain the tofu, cut into cubes and mash. Wash and prepare the vegetables. Combine the tofu with the remainder of the ingredients and seasonings. Lay out one of the gyoza wrappers in front of you. Dip your finger in the water and moisten the edges of the wrapper. Place a heaping teaspoon of filling in the middle of the wrapper. Fold the gyoza wrapper over the filling and pinch the edges to seal it shut. (You may want to use a cornstarch/water mixture to make this easier). Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet or wok.When oil is ready, carefully add the dumplings and cook on high heat until golden brown (about 1 minute). Without turning the dumplings over, add 1/2 cup of water and cover. Cook for about 1 minute to cook the raw filling and then uncover and continue cooking until most of the liquid is absorbed. Serve the potstickers with the burnt side on top, with potsticker dipping sauce or soy sauce mixed with minced ginger for dipping.
http://chinesefood.about.com/od/vegetarianrecipes/r/vegpotstickers.htm?nl=1

Health and Nutrition

Issue 121