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IN THIS ISSUE:

Extra Fat Leads to Extra Health Problems

Posted Jan 20, 2013

Extra body fat increases a person’s risk of diabetes, heart attack, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, kidney and liver failure, amputation, blindness, early death and a long list of other problems nobody wants. Research tells us that. But how does it actually happen? The Gazette-Mail asked medical experts to explain, in plain language.

“Start with this fact,” Dr. Sally Swisher said. “If you eat more sugar than you burn with exercise, your body generates fat.”

Swisher is a neurologist and bariatric doctor at Charleston’s Medical Weight Loss and Skin Care Clinic.

The body turns food into glucose, she explained. It’s straightforward, almost mathematical. Your muscle cells use most of the glucose for fuel. If you exercise a lot, your muscles burn up a lot of glucose. If you’re a couch potato, your glucose doesn’t burn up – and the body converts it into fat.

Globs of sunny yellow fat – unused glucose – float through your arteries in your blood to the organ or tissues where they are deposited.

“Picture your arteries coming out of your heart like big rivers,” Swisher said. “The farther they are from the heart, the smaller they get, and the easier it is for fat to clog them up. By the time arteries get to your feet and hands, they’re tiny.”

Fat cells float through these arteries. Along the way, they are deposited on tissue and organs. When fat finds a home in an organ, it can cause problems. If enough fat is deposited, it causes big problems.

That’s an “extremely simplified version of the way it happens,” Swisher said.

Inside the arteries, fat aggravates the walls as it floats along, then inflames them, Swisher said. “Fat cells slip underneath the inflamed lining. That constricts the artery. It used to be called hardening of the arteries.”

If the inner artery wall becomes harder and rougher, the blood has a harder time getting through, and blood clots are more likely to form.

“There is bad fat and good fat,” Swisher said. Exercise generates good fat, known as HDL cholesterol. It lowers all kinds of health risks. Bad fat – called triglycerides and LDL cholesterol – inflames artery walls. “It’s not just innocent baby fat,” Swisher said.

“When we are children, our bodies create the number of fat cells we will have for the rest of our lives, research shows,” she said. “If people have too many fat cells when they reach adulthood, they are more likely to have trouble with weight for the rest of their lives.”

What damage can it cause?

Extra weight can raise a person’s risk of many different kinds of problems:

Heart failure: “A hundred extra pounds makes your heart muscle thicken, just like any muscle working overtime,” Swisher said. “A bigger heart eventually leads to heart failure.”

A heart has to work extra hard to pump blood through a large body. The strain can cause a heart attack or stroke.

Fat can be especially dangerous inside arteries that supply the heart. It interferes with heart function and can set off heart attacks.

Sleep apnea, which is almost always caused by obesity, Swisher said. “Obese people often have fat in the back of their throats. When they lie down, the weight of their chest is on top of them. They don’t have enough oxygen, so they wake up tired, or their spouse hears them struggling to breathe.”

Diabetes: Belly fat has a lot to do with Type 2 diabetes, which used to be called “adult onset” diabetes. Thirty years ago, people under 20 almost never got it. Now it is showing up in obese teenagers and children.

Type 2 diabetes – 90 to 95 percent of all diabetes – can be prevented with exercise and healthy diet.

Parkersburg native Dr. Frank Schwartz, who directs the diabetes/ endocrine program at Ohio University, explains the role fat plays in diabetes:

Glucose (digested sugar) can’t enter the cells to provide fuel without insulin, a hormone secreted by the pancreas. Insulin interacts with the glucose and lets it enter the cells, like a key that opens the door to the cell. But fat secretes hormones that can keep the key from working.

When glucose can’t enter the cells, that’s called insulin resistance. The more fat, the more interference. The more interference, the more insulin resistance.

When glucose cannot enter the muscle cells, a person has diabetes. Digested sugar stays in the person’s bloodstream and his or her blood sugar goes up. The body converts much of the sugar into fat.

Type 2 diabetes can start in the body 10 years before a person feels symptoms, research says. If a 30-year-old develops diabetes, it might have started at age 20. When a 15-year-old develops diabetes, it might have started at age 5.

Physical activity counteracts insulin resistance and increases the amount of glucose that can reach the cells. “That’s a major reason why physical activity can prevent diabetes or help make it better,” Swisher said.

Amputation: When little arteries get clogged with fat, circulation is cut off to the body parts farthest from the heart: including feet and hands. They don’t heal well from infection and may get ulcers and gangrene. “That puts you at risk of amputation,” Swisher said.

Kidney failure: “If small arteries leading to the kidneys get clogged, your body tries to overcome it, but after awhile, your kidneys just quit working,” Swisher said. After that, a person needs expensive, time-consuming dialysis – often four hours a day, three days a week, running the entire blood supply through a cleaning machine.

Stroke: Diabetics are more likely to have strokes, caused by constriction of small brain arteries. “That leads to clogging of the carotid arteries, which leads to strokes,” Swisher said. Plaques of inflamed cells and fat build up inside the artery.

“People in their 30s and 40s with high cholesterol who smoke can have a premature stroke,” she said. “If we don’t get a grip on this, it’s a matter of time till teenagers start having heart attacks and strokes.”

Alzheimer’s disease: In 2008, researchers found that obese people are twice as likely to get Alzheimer’s as healthy-weight people are. Healthy-weight people with a “spare tire” are twice as likely to get dementia as healthy-weight people with no spare tire, they found. Nobody knows yet why that happens.

Liver disease: Fat deposited on the liver can lead to cirrhosis of the liver. Obesity causes more liver failure than alcoholism does, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Cancer: Estrogen is stored in fat, so excess fat creates higher estrogen levels in the blood. “Extra estrogen in the blood also puts you at risk of cancers of the breast and uterus,” Swisher said. The lining of the uterus may also get thicker with excess weight, which can cause cancer.

“Colon cancer is also related to obesity, though nobody knows why,” she said.

Sexual dysfunction: Diabetes causes impotence in men, and very obese young women often don’t ovulate. “They’re infertile and have high insulin levels,” Swisher said. “If they lose weight, they can become fertile again. Doctors joke that pregnancy is a side effect of weight loss.”

Incontinence: “If a woman has 50 or 60 extra pounds, and she rides a bike or just sneezes, the pressure of the belly against the bladder can force urine out,” Swisher said. A woman can undergo surgery to lift the bladder – or she can lose weight, making the surgery unnecessary.

Musculoskeletal problems and arthritis: “If weight-bearing joints carry too much weight: knees, feet and, to a lesser extent, hips, the amount of arthritis accelerates as you get older,” Swisher said. “Overweight people don’t get over it as easily. Rehab is harder.”

Blindness: Diabetes also can cause blindness. Fat clogs the artery leading to the retina, and “that can cause stroke in the eye,” Swisher said. Young overweight girls can also go blind with “false tumor” condition, she said, in which fat creates pressure inside the skull, causing severe headaches. The bulge in the optic nerve may resemble a brain tumor.

“None of these things has to happen,” Swisher said. “That’s the important thing to remember. It’s possible to prevent them all with exercise and diet. It’s within most people’s reach.

“If I were queen of the world,” she said, “the first thing I’d do is take control of school lunches and get kids outside playing every day again.”

KATE LONG | Sunday Gazette-Mail I have patients lift this rubber model of five pounds of fat when theyre disappointed that they only lost five pounds, said Dr. Sally Swisher, neurologist and bariatric doctor at Charleston Medical Weight Loss and Skin Care Clinic. They feel how heavy it is and realize that five pounds is a wonderful thing not to have to carry around anymore.

Reach Kate Long at 304-348-1798 or katelong@wvgazette.com.

This story was written with the help of the Dennis A. Hunt Fund for Health Journalism, administered by the California Endowment Health Journalism Fellowships at the USC’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.

Extra body fat increases a person's risk of diabetes, heart attack, stroke, Alzheimer's disease, kidney and liver failure, amputation, blindness, early death and a long list of other problems nobody wants. Research tells us that. But how does it actually happen? The Gazette-Mail asked medical experts to explain, in plain language.

"Start with this fact," Dr. Sally Swisher said. "If you eat more sugar than you burn with exercise, your body generates fat."

Swisher is a neurologist and bariatric doctor at Charleston's Medical Weight Loss and Skin Care Clinic.

The body turns food into glucose, she explained. It's straightforward, almost mathematical. Your muscle cells use most of the glucose for fuel. If you exercise a lot, your muscles burn up a lot of glucose. If you're a couch potato, your glucose doesn't burn up - and the body converts it into fat.

Globs of sunny yellow fat - unused glucose - float through your arteries in your blood to the organ or tissues where they are deposited.

"Picture your arteries coming out of your heart like big rivers," Swisher said. "The farther they are from the heart, the smaller they get, and the easier it is for fat to clog them up. By the time arteries get to your feet and hands, they're tiny."

Fat cells float through these arteries. Along the way, they are deposited on tissue and organs. When fat finds a home in an organ, it can cause problems. If enough fat is deposited, it causes big problems.

That's an "extremely simplified version of the way it happens," Swisher said.

Inside the arteries, fat aggravates the walls as it floats along, then inflames them, Swisher said. "Fat cells slip underneath the inflamed lining. That constricts the artery. It used to be called hardening of the arteries."

If the inner artery wall becomes harder and rougher, the blood has a harder time getting through, and blood clots are more likely to form.

"There is bad fat and good fat," Swisher said. Exercise generates good fat, known as HDL cholesterol. It lowers all kinds of health risks. Bad fat - called triglycerides and LDL cholesterol - inflames artery walls. "It's not just innocent baby fat," Swisher said.

"When we are children, our bodies create the number of fat cells we will have for the rest of our lives, research shows," she said. "If people have too many fat cells when they reach adulthood, they are more likely to have trouble with weight for the rest of their lives."

What damage can it cause?

Extra weight can raise a person's risk of many different kinds of problems:

Heart failure: "A hundred extra pounds makes your heart muscle thicken, just like any muscle working overtime," Swisher said. "A bigger heart eventually leads to heart failure."

A heart has to work extra hard to pump blood through a large body. The strain can cause a heart attack or stroke.

Fat can be especially dangerous inside arteries that supply the heart. It interferes with heart function and can set off heart attacks.

Sleep apnea, which is almost always caused by obesity, Swisher said. "Obese people often have fat in the back of their throats. When they lie down, the weight of their chest is on top of them. They don't have enough oxygen, so they wake up tired, or their spouse hears them struggling to breathe."

Diabetes: Belly fat has a lot to do with Type 2 diabetes, which used to be called "adult onset" diabetes. Thirty years ago, people under 20 almost never got it. Now it is showing up in obese teenagers and children.

Type 2 diabetes - 90 to 95 percent of all diabetes - can be prevented with exercise and healthy diet.

Parkersburg native Dr. Frank Schwartz, who directs the diabetes/ endocrine program at Ohio University, explains the role fat plays in diabetes:

Glucose (digested sugar) can't enter the cells to provide fuel without insulin, a hormone secreted by the pancreas. Insulin interacts with the glucose and lets it enter the cells, like a key that opens the door to the cell. But fat secretes hormones that can keep the key from working.

When glucose can't enter the cells, that's called insulin resistance. The more fat, the more interference. The more interference, the more insulin resistance.

When glucose cannot enter the muscle cells, a person has diabetes. Digested sugar stays in the person's bloodstream and his or her blood sugar goes up. The body converts much of the sugar into fat.

Type 2 diabetes can start in the body 10 years before a person feels symptoms, research says. If a 30-year-old develops diabetes, it might have started at age 20. When a 15-year-old develops diabetes, it might have started at age 5.

Physical activity counteracts insulin resistance and increases the amount of glucose that can reach the cells. "That's a major reason why physical activity can prevent diabetes or help make it better," Swisher said.

Amputation: When little arteries get clogged with fat, circulation is cut off to the body parts farthest from the heart: including feet and hands. They don't heal well from infection and may get ulcers and gangrene. "That puts you at risk of amputation," Swisher said.

Kidney failure: "If small arteries leading to the kidneys get clogged, your body tries to overcome it, but after awhile, your kidneys just quit working," Swisher said. After that, a person needs expensive, time-consuming dialysis - often four hours a day, three days a week, running the entire blood supply through a cleaning machine.

Stroke: Diabetics are more likely to have strokes, caused by constriction of small brain arteries. "That leads to clogging of the carotid arteries, which leads to strokes," Swisher said. Plaques of inflamed cells and fat build up inside the artery.

"People in their 30s and 40s with high cholesterol who smoke can have a premature stroke," she said. "If we don't get a grip on this, it's a matter of time till teenagers start having heart attacks and strokes."

Alzheimer's disease: In 2008, researchers found that obese people are twice as likely to get Alzheimer's as healthy-weight people are. Healthy-weight people with a "spare tire" are twice as likely to get dementia as healthy-weight people with no spare tire, they found. Nobody knows yet why that happens.

Liver disease: Fat deposited on the liver can lead to cirrhosis of the liver. Obesity causes more liver failure than alcoholism does, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Cancer: Estrogen is stored in fat, so excess fat creates higher estrogen levels in the blood. "Extra estrogen in the blood also puts you at risk of cancers of the breast and uterus," Swisher said. The lining of the uterus may also get thicker with excess weight, which can cause cancer.

"Colon cancer is also related to obesity, though nobody knows why," she said.

Sexual dysfunction: Diabetes causes impotence in men, and very obese young women often don't ovulate. "They're infertile and have high insulin levels," Swisher said. "If they lose weight, they can become fertile again. Doctors joke that pregnancy is a side effect of weight loss."

Incontinence: "If a woman has 50 or 60 extra pounds, and she rides a bike or just sneezes, the pressure of the belly against the bladder can force urine out," Swisher said. A woman can undergo surgery to lift the bladder - or she can lose weight, making the surgery unnecessary.

Musculoskeletal problems and arthritis: "If weight-bearing joints carry too much weight: knees, feet and, to a lesser extent, hips, the amount of arthritis accelerates as you get older," Swisher said. "Overweight people don't get over it as easily. Rehab is harder."

Blindness: Diabetes also can cause blindness. Fat clogs the artery leading to the retina, and "that can cause stroke in the eye," Swisher said. Young overweight girls can also go blind with "false tumor" condition, she said, in which fat creates pressure inside the skull, causing severe headaches. The bulge in the optic nerve may resemble a brain tumor.

"None of these things has to happen," Swisher said. "That's the important thing to remember. It's possible to prevent them all with exercise and diet. It's within most people's reach.

"If I were queen of the world," she said, "the first thing I'd do is take control of school lunches and get kids outside playing every day again."

KATE LONG | Sunday Gazette-Mail I have patients lift this rubber model of five pounds of fat when theyre disappointed that they only lost five pounds, said Dr. Sally Swisher, neurologist and bariatric doctor at Charleston Medical Weight Loss and Skin Care Clinic. They feel how heavy it is and realize that five pounds is a wonderful thing not to have to carry around anymore.

Reach Kate Long at 304-348-1798 or katelong@wvgazette.com.

This story was written with the help of the Dennis A. Hunt Fund for Health Journalism, administered by the California Endowment Health Journalism Fellowships at the USC's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.

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Abdominal Pain- When to Worry

Posted June 27, 2012

Abdominal pain is a pain that you feel anywhere between your chest and groin. This is often referred to as the stomach region or belly.

Pain in the abdomen can originate from any organs related to digestion — the end of the esophagus, stomach, small and large intestines, liver, gallbladder, and pancreas, said Dr Wadah Aljoudi, General Surgeon, Zulekha Hospital, Dubai.

“However, the pain may start from somewhere else — like your chest or pelvic area. You may also have a generalised infection such as the flu or sore throat that affects many parts of your body.” In infants, prolonged unexplained crying (Colic) may be caused by abdominal pain that may end with the passage of gas or stool. Colic is often worse in the evening.

Abdominal pain may actually be caused by an organ in the chest like the lungs (for example pneumonia) or the heart (like a heart attack). Or, it may stem from a muscle strain in the abdomin.

Cancers of the colon and other gastrointestinal areas are serious but uncommon causes of abdominal pain. Other more unusual causes of abdominal pain include a type of emotional upset called somatization disorder, reflected as physical discomfort (including recurrent abdominal pain). Strep throat in children can cause abdominal pain.

More worrisome signs include pain that occurs more often, lasts longer (more than 24 hours), or has a fever with it. Kidney stones and gallstones are common causes of this type of belly pain.

For mild pains

–Sip water or other clear fluids –Avoid solid food for the first few hours. If you have been vomitting, wait six hours.

If the pain is high up in your abdomen and occurs after meals, antacids may provide some relief. Avoid citrus, high fat foods, fried or greasy foods, tomato products, caffeine, alcohol, and carbonated beverages.

Call your healthcare provider if:

–You are currently being treated for cancer.

–You are unable to pass stool, especially if you are also vomiting.

–You are vomiting blood or have blood in your stool.

–You have chest, neck or shoulder pain.

–You have sudden sharp stomach pain.

–You have pain in or between your shoulder blades with nausea.

–Your belly is rigid, hard and tender to touch.

–You are having difficulty breathing.

news@khaleejtimes.com

©2012 the Khaleej Times (Dubai, United Arab Emirates)

Visit the Khaleej Times (Dubai, United Arab Emirates) at www.khaleejtimes.com

Distributed by MCT Information Services

Abdominal pain is a pain that you feel anywhere between your chest and groin. This is often referred to as the stomach region or belly.

Pain in the abdomen can originate from any organs related to digestion -- the end of the esophagus, stomach, small and large intestines, liver, gallbladder, and pancreas, said Dr Wadah Aljoudi, General Surgeon, Zulekha Hospital, Dubai.

"However, the pain may start from somewhere else -- like your chest or pelvic area. You may also have a generalised infection such as the flu or sore throat that affects many parts of your body." In infants, prolonged unexplained crying (Colic) may be caused by abdominal pain that may end with the passage of gas or stool. Colic is often worse in the evening.

Abdominal pain may actually be caused by an organ in the chest like the lungs (for example pneumonia) or the heart (like a heart attack). Or, it may stem from a muscle strain in the abdomin.

Cancers of the colon and other gastrointestinal areas are serious but uncommon causes of abdominal pain. Other more unusual causes of abdominal pain include a type of emotional upset called somatization disorder, reflected as physical discomfort (including recurrent abdominal pain). Strep throat in children can cause abdominal pain.

More worrisome signs include pain that occurs more often, lasts longer (more than 24 hours), or has a fever with it. Kidney stones and gallstones are common causes of this type of belly pain.

For mild pains

--Sip water or other clear fluids --Avoid solid food for the first few hours. If you have been vomitting, wait six hours.

If the pain is high up in your abdomen and occurs after meals, antacids may provide some relief. Avoid citrus, high fat foods, fried or greasy foods, tomato products, caffeine, alcohol, and carbonated beverages.

Call your healthcare provider if:

--You are currently being treated for cancer.

--You are unable to pass stool, especially if you are also vomiting.

--You are vomiting blood or have blood in your stool.

--You have chest, neck or shoulder pain.

--You have sudden sharp stomach pain.

--You have pain in or between your shoulder blades with nausea.

--Your belly is rigid, hard and tender to touch.

--You are having difficulty breathing.

news@khaleejtimes.com

©2012 the Khaleej Times (Dubai, United Arab Emirates)

Visit the Khaleej Times (Dubai, United Arab Emirates) at www.khaleejtimes.com

Distributed by MCT Information Services

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Women More Likely to Die from Heart Attacks

Posted March 16, 2012

A new study out of Florida finds women are less likely to get immediate treatment for heart attacks and are more likely to die in the hospital than men.

The Lakeland Regional Medical Center in Florida tracked 1.1 million patients. Women had a 15 percent chance of dying of a heart attack in the hospital compared to men’s 10 percent. One of the reasons for the higher numbers among women, 42 percent of women never experienced the classic heart attack symptom of chest pain or pressure.

“Women often present with suddenly feeling tired, fatigue, nausea, reduced exercise tolerance, rather vague,” said Dr. Ed Fry, cardiologist at St. Vincent Heart Center.

Dr. Fry said one of the reasons for the different symptoms is because women have smaller blood vessels than men. It’s something he and his colleagues are studying at St. Vincent’s Heart Center.

Cynthia Haverstick is a heart attack survivor. She said her symptoms weren’t very clear.

“I wouldn’t be able to breathe properly, I would tire easily, I had trouble lifting things. I just figured it was me and it would go away eventually.”

Haverstick said it all hit her what was going on. In May 2010, it was confirmed.

“Once I realized what was going on and I got to the hospital, they confirmed I had a heart attack.”

Dr. Fry said it’s important to talk to your primary care doctor and know your own risks. There are things you can do right now to help. Know your family history, exercise and watch your weight. Know your cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar and if you’re pre-diabetic or diabetic. Most importantly, he said you shouldn’t smoke and if you do, quit.

“We know smoking is one of the most serious risk factors and one of the most modifiable risk factors.”

Cynthia admits she is a typical mom and said she’s lucky there was no permanent damage to her heart.

“We think of everyone else and often time put ourselves on the bottom of the list.”

©2012 WXIN-TV (Indianapolis)

Visit WXIN-TV (Indianapolis) at www.fox59.com

A new study out of Florida finds women are less likely to get immediate treatment for heart attacks and are more likely to die in the hospital than men.

The Lakeland Regional Medical Center in Florida tracked 1.1 million patients. Women had a 15 percent chance of dying of a heart attack in the hospital compared to men's 10 percent. One of the reasons for the higher numbers among women, 42 percent of women never experienced the classic heart attack symptom of chest pain or pressure.

"Women often present with suddenly feeling tired, fatigue, nausea, reduced exercise tolerance, rather vague," said Dr. Ed Fry, cardiologist at St. Vincent Heart Center.

Dr. Fry said one of the reasons for the different symptoms is because women have smaller blood vessels than men. It's something he and his colleagues are studying at St. Vincent's Heart Center.

Cynthia Haverstick is a heart attack survivor. She said her symptoms weren't very clear.

"I wouldn't be able to breathe properly, I would tire easily, I had trouble lifting things. I just figured it was me and it would go away eventually."

Haverstick said it all hit her what was going on. In May 2010, it was confirmed.

"Once I realized what was going on and I got to the hospital, they confirmed I had a heart attack."

Dr. Fry said it's important to talk to your primary care doctor and know your own risks. There are things you can do right now to help. Know your family history, exercise and watch your weight. Know your cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar and if you're pre-diabetic or diabetic. Most importantly, he said you shouldn't smoke and if you do, quit.

"We know smoking is one of the most serious risk factors and one of the most modifiable risk factors."

Cynthia admits she is a typical mom and said she's lucky there was no permanent damage to her heart.

"We think of everyone else and often time put ourselves on the bottom of the list."

©2012 WXIN-TV (Indianapolis)

Visit WXIN-TV (Indianapolis) at www.fox59.com

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Flutter in Chest May Be AFib

Posted Mar 8, 2012

That fluttering, flopping or racing in your chest could be caused by more than a new romance.

Atrial fibrillation, or AFib, is the most common type of heart rhythm abnormality (arrhythmia). It interferes with your heart’s natural pacemaker, often causing palpitations which feel like a “flutter” of the heart.

This can interfere with the way that the heart pumps blood. It is most common in patients over the age of 65 and in those with thyroid disease, high blood pressure, coronary artery disease and other medical conditions.

Symptoms of AFib can include trouble breathing, sweating, fainting, dizziness, pressure or pain in the chest, and fatigue or weakness.

However, many may have little or no signs at all, so it is important to see a physician if you are experiencing even one of these symptoms.

Once a patient is diagnosed with AFib, there are several options to help control the arrhythmia and prevent stroke, generally first through prescription medications.

If this is ineffective, other procedures available include electrical cardioversion, which can restore regular heartbeat through an electric shock to the heart done under anesthesia.

Electrical cardioversion, however, does not prevent against future arrhythmia. Maintaining a normal rhythm may require anti- arrhythmic drugs.

Catheter ablation uses flexible wires, under X-ray guidance, to deliver bursts of radiofrequency to affected areas of the heart, thereby restoring the heart’s electrical signals.

Symptoms of an arrhythmia or other cardiac concerns should not be ignored. Often times your physician can treat these with both dietary and lifestyle changes, helping you to feel better in time to enjoy your new romance.

That fluttering, flopping or racing in your chest could be caused by more than a new romance.

Atrial fibrillation, or AFib, is the most common type of heart rhythm abnormality (arrhythmia). It interferes with your heart's natural pacemaker, often causing palpitations which feel like a "flutter" of the heart.

This can interfere with the way that the heart pumps blood. It is most common in patients over the age of 65 and in those with thyroid disease, high blood pressure, coronary artery disease and other medical conditions.

Symptoms of AFib can include trouble breathing, sweating, fainting, dizziness, pressure or pain in the chest, and fatigue or weakness.

However, many may have little or no signs at all, so it is important to see a physician if you are experiencing even one of these symptoms.

Once a patient is diagnosed with AFib, there are several options to help control the arrhythmia and prevent stroke, generally first through prescription medications.

If this is ineffective, other procedures available include electrical cardioversion, which can restore regular heartbeat through an electric shock to the heart done under anesthesia.

Electrical cardioversion, however, does not prevent against future arrhythmia. Maintaining a normal rhythm may require anti- arrhythmic drugs.

Catheter ablation uses flexible wires, under X-ray guidance, to deliver bursts of radiofrequency to affected areas of the heart, thereby restoring the heart's electrical signals.

Symptoms of an arrhythmia or other cardiac concerns should not be ignored. Often times your physician can treat these with both dietary and lifestyle changes, helping you to feel better in time to enjoy your new romance.

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More Women Affected By Heart Disease Than Men

Posted Feb 27, 2012

Ideal cardiovascular health means maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

More women than men die of cardiovascular disease each year, according to the American Heart Association (AHA). Additionally, women are less likely to receive appropriate treatment after a heart attack, then men.

For women, generally the primary caregiver, personal health concerns are often put on hold as family and loved ones tend to take priority.

Due to this, improper diet, not enough exercise, and daily stresses become the norm, put themselves at high risk for developing health problems increasing the risk for heart attack at stroke.

More than 400,000 deaths for women in the U.S. are caused by cardiovascular disease each year, according to AHA.

Metabolic syndrome is a medical term used when a person has three of more risk factors which increases their risk to developing coronary artery disease (CAD), stroke, and type-2 diabetes, or other vascular diseases, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI).

Provided by the AHA, risk factors of metabolic syndrome include: the waist being greater than 35 inches; triglycerides higher than 150 mg/dL; HDL (good cholesterol) less than 50 mg/dL; blood pressure higher than 130/85 mm Hg; fasting blood glucose higher than 100 mg/dL.

Dr. Michael S. Fenster, M.D. interventional cardiologist with Hernando Heart Clinic in Brooksville, advised women at risk can experience warning signs in many different ways.

“For women and men, the most common warning sign is a discomfort in the center of the chest lasting more than a few minutes. It may come and go, often in relation to exertion or stress. It can manifest as an uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain,” advised Fenster.

Sometimes the discomfort can be felt in one or both arms, as well as the back, neck, jaw or stomach, he added.

“Some women experience a shortness of breath, that may or may not include chest pain,” Fenster said. “Additionally, breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea or feeling light-headed are possible. What is important to realize is that many women present without these ‘classical’ symptoms. These atypical symptoms may range from a general ill feeling to severe shortness of breath or abdominal pain.”

Women who are at high risk for heart disease are those who have existing coronary artery disease, such as stents, bypass surgery, and/or history of heart attack, stroke. Additionally, blocked arteries in the legs, abdominal aortic aneurysm, chronic kidney disease, and diabetes are included in a person being at high risk, advised the AHA.

“Stroke warning signs include sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, predominant to one side of the body,” said Fenster.

Sudden severe headache without a known cause, being confused or having trouble speaking are also warning signs to stroke, he added.

“Some may experience sudden vision problems in one or both eyes, trouble walking which includes dizziness or loss of balance and coordination,” Fenster said.

At risk women are those who currently smoke, have a poor diet, lack regular physical activity and cannot complete a treadmill exercise test, overweight (BMI over 25 kg/m2), family history of heart or vascular disease, high blood pressure, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, metabolic syndrome, and pregnancy complications such as high blood pressure, diabetes, delivering a pre-term infant, according to the AHA.

Leading a healthy lifestyle is considered having blood pressure less than 120/80 mm Hg; total cholesterol less than 200 mg/dL and not on medicine for cholesterol; fasting blood glucose less than 100 mg/dL and not on medicine for blood glucose; BMI less than 25 kg/m2; never smoked or quit for one year or more; performs 150 minutes of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise per week; eats a diet of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, high-fiber foods, and fish (oily preferred) twice a week or more; limiting saturated fats, cholesterol, alcohol, sodium, sugar, and avoids trans-fatty acids, according to the AHA.

For women who are trying to lose weight, 60 to 90 minutes per day of moderate exercise, advises the AHA.

Cardiac rehabilitation or a physician-guided exercise program is advised for women with recent heart problems (heart attack, stroke, or other cardiac condition).

If you or someone you know begins to experience any or a combination of warning signs for heart attack or stroke, the American Heart Association advises to call 9-1-1 immediately, as “every second counts”.

Dr. Michael S. Fenster, M.D., interventional cardiologist with Hernando Heart Clinic located at 14540 Cortez Boulevard, Suite 119 in Brooksville. His office can be reached at (352) 597-3368.

This is a two part series, look next week in Hernando Today’s Health & Fitness section, Thursday, for the second part in “Promoting Healthy Hearts in Women”.

©2012 the Hernando Today (Brooksville, Fla.)

Visit the Hernando Today (Brooksville, Fla.) at www.HernandoToday.com

Ideal cardiovascular health means maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

More women than men die of cardiovascular disease each year, according to the American Heart Association (AHA). Additionally, women are less likely to receive appropriate treatment after a heart attack, then men.

For women, generally the primary caregiver, personal health concerns are often put on hold as family and loved ones tend to take priority.

Due to this, improper diet, not enough exercise, and daily stresses become the norm, put themselves at high risk for developing health problems increasing the risk for heart attack at stroke.

More than 400,000 deaths for women in the U.S. are caused by cardiovascular disease each year, according to AHA.

Metabolic syndrome is a medical term used when a person has three of more risk factors which increases their risk to developing coronary artery disease (CAD), stroke, and type-2 diabetes, or other vascular diseases, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI).

Provided by the AHA, risk factors of metabolic syndrome include: the waist being greater than 35 inches; triglycerides higher than 150 mg/dL; HDL (good cholesterol) less than 50 mg/dL; blood pressure higher than 130/85 mm Hg; fasting blood glucose higher than 100 mg/dL.

Dr. Michael S. Fenster, M.D. interventional cardiologist with Hernando Heart Clinic in Brooksville, advised women at risk can experience warning signs in many different ways.

"For women and men, the most common warning sign is a discomfort in the center of the chest lasting more than a few minutes. It may come and go, often in relation to exertion or stress. It can manifest as an uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain," advised Fenster.

Sometimes the discomfort can be felt in one or both arms, as well as the back, neck, jaw or stomach, he added.

"Some women experience a shortness of breath, that may or may not include chest pain," Fenster said. "Additionally, breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea or feeling light-headed are possible. What is important to realize is that many women present without these 'classical' symptoms. These atypical symptoms may range from a general ill feeling to severe shortness of breath or abdominal pain."

Women who are at high risk for heart disease are those who have existing coronary artery disease, such as stents, bypass surgery, and/or history of heart attack, stroke. Additionally, blocked arteries in the legs, abdominal aortic aneurysm, chronic kidney disease, and diabetes are included in a person being at high risk, advised the AHA.

"Stroke warning signs include sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, predominant to one side of the body," said Fenster.

Sudden severe headache without a known cause, being confused or having trouble speaking are also warning signs to stroke, he added.

"Some may experience sudden vision problems in one or both eyes, trouble walking which includes dizziness or loss of balance and coordination," Fenster said.

At risk women are those who currently smoke, have a poor diet, lack regular physical activity and cannot complete a treadmill exercise test, overweight (BMI over 25 kg/m2), family history of heart or vascular disease, high blood pressure, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, metabolic syndrome, and pregnancy complications such as high blood pressure, diabetes, delivering a pre-term infant, according to the AHA.

Leading a healthy lifestyle is considered having blood pressure less than 120/80 mm Hg; total cholesterol less than 200 mg/dL and not on medicine for cholesterol; fasting blood glucose less than 100 mg/dL and not on medicine for blood glucose; BMI less than 25 kg/m2; never smoked or quit for one year or more; performs 150 minutes of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise per week; eats a diet of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, high-fiber foods, and fish (oily preferred) twice a week or more; limiting saturated fats, cholesterol, alcohol, sodium, sugar, and avoids trans-fatty acids, according to the AHA.

For women who are trying to lose weight, 60 to 90 minutes per day of moderate exercise, advises the AHA.

Cardiac rehabilitation or a physician-guided exercise program is advised for women with recent heart problems (heart attack, stroke, or other cardiac condition).

If you or someone you know begins to experience any or a combination of warning signs for heart attack or stroke, the American Heart Association advises to call 9-1-1 immediately, as "every second counts".

Dr. Michael S. Fenster, M.D., interventional cardiologist with Hernando Heart Clinic located at 14540 Cortez Boulevard, Suite 119 in Brooksville. His office can be reached at (352) 597-3368.

This is a two part series, look next week in Hernando Today's Health & Fitness section, Thursday, for the second part in "Promoting Healthy Hearts in Women".

©2012 the Hernando Today (Brooksville, Fla.)

Visit the Hernando Today (Brooksville, Fla.) at www.HernandoToday.com

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A ‘Broken Heart’ Can Be Real

Posted Feb 14, 2012

In September, Joseph Lyon, 96, died the day after his wife, Ann Lyon, 93. Inseparable for 74 years of marriage, the Lyons were both bedridden at their Memphis home, and Joseph told his family he was hanging on to life only for her.

Did he die of a broken heart?

Their son, Joseph Lyon Jr., thinks in some sense he did.

“They had always taken care of one another,” he said. “I think he made a decision.”

People can die of a condition known as “broken heart syndrome,” which researchers in Little Rock have found to be much more common in women than men.

In the first large-scale study of it, researchers found women suffer from it 7.5 times more often than men, according to Dr. Abhishek Deshmukh, a cardiology fellow at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences who led the study, which was presented at the American Heart Association conference in Orlando in November.

The syndrome appears as heart-attacklike symptoms that occur during sudden or continuing stress and may be triggered by a death, an emotional breakup or a major surprise, including good news, such as winning the lottery.

Using a 2007 national database of 6,230 cases, the study found that 89 percent of the patients were women and that women older than 55 were almost three times more likely to develop it than younger women. Most patients recover in a week or two, but 2 percent die.

“It’s fair to say a woman’s heart is more vulnerable than a man’s heart,” said Deshmukh, “but we don’t know why.” Stressful events can spur a rush of adrenaline and other stress hormones that cause the heart to swell and impair its functions. Some research has found more adrenaline receptors on cells in men’s hearts, said Deshmukh, possibly making men less vulnerable to the surge.

It’s not uncommon in elderly couples for a wife or husband to die shortly after the other, said Michael Escamilla, executive director of Kirby Pines Retirement Community, especially in cases where people dedicate their lives to caring for their sick spouses. “Then the spouse is no longer there. They’ve lost their purpose,” he said.

Patients with the condition typically have chest pains and shortness of breath, as with a heart attack, and may pass out, said Dr. Dan Otten, a cardiologist with the Stern Cardiovascular Foundation in Germantown. Their EKGs may be abnormal, but their arteries are not blocked, he said. Instead, doctors find “the apex of the heart can become enlarged and looks like a balloon while the base is normal,” he said. “It looks like a vase with a round basket and narrow neck.”

In fact, Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy is a medical name given for the condition by Japanese doctors who named it after the word for “octopus trap,” because the heart looks like the octopus traps used by fisherman. He said treatment is usually with some of the same drugs used for congestive heart failure, such as ACE inhibitors and beta blockers.

Elizabeth Vines, 65, of Germantown was diagnosed with it in 2010. She awoke one day feeling a little pain across her chest and a shoulder. That night she felt it again, went to the emergency room, was placed in intensive care and spent three days in the hospital. Afterward, she said her doctor told her that what happened to her was rare, she had no blockage and not to worry because it would probably never happen again.

“It was crazy,” she said. She could think of nothing in particular that provoked it. But Vines noted four surgeries in the past few years, none heart-related, and her long recoveries from them might have taken a toll.

Otten said there is no way to prevent the syndrome. Most people cannot escape life’s pressures and heartbreaks.

“If a parent dies, I can’t tell people to control their grief,” he said.

— Barbara Bradley: (901) 529-2370

©2012 The Commercial Appeal (Memphis, Tenn.)

In September, Joseph Lyon, 96, died the day after his wife, Ann Lyon, 93. Inseparable for 74 years of marriage, the Lyons were both bedridden at their Memphis home, and Joseph told his family he was hanging on to life only for her.

Did he die of a broken heart?

Their son, Joseph Lyon Jr., thinks in some sense he did.

"They had always taken care of one another," he said. "I think he made a decision."

People can die of a condition known as "broken heart syndrome," which researchers in Little Rock have found to be much more common in women than men.

In the first large-scale study of it, researchers found women suffer from it 7.5 times more often than men, according to Dr. Abhishek Deshmukh, a cardiology fellow at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences who led the study, which was presented at the American Heart Association conference in Orlando in November.

The syndrome appears as heart-attacklike symptoms that occur during sudden or continuing stress and may be triggered by a death, an emotional breakup or a major surprise, including good news, such as winning the lottery.

Using a 2007 national database of 6,230 cases, the study found that 89 percent of the patients were women and that women older than 55 were almost three times more likely to develop it than younger women. Most patients recover in a week or two, but 2 percent die.

"It's fair to say a woman's heart is more vulnerable than a man's heart," said Deshmukh, "but we don't know why." Stressful events can spur a rush of adrenaline and other stress hormones that cause the heart to swell and impair its functions. Some research has found more adrenaline receptors on cells in men's hearts, said Deshmukh, possibly making men less vulnerable to the surge.

It's not uncommon in elderly couples for a wife or husband to die shortly after the other, said Michael Escamilla, executive director of Kirby Pines Retirement Community, especially in cases where people dedicate their lives to caring for their sick spouses. "Then the spouse is no longer there. They've lost their purpose," he said.

Patients with the condition typically have chest pains and shortness of breath, as with a heart attack, and may pass out, said Dr. Dan Otten, a cardiologist with the Stern Cardiovascular Foundation in Germantown. Their EKGs may be abnormal, but their arteries are not blocked, he said. Instead, doctors find "the apex of the heart can become enlarged and looks like a balloon while the base is normal," he said. "It looks like a vase with a round basket and narrow neck."

In fact, Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy is a medical name given for the condition by Japanese doctors who named it after the word for "octopus trap," because the heart looks like the octopus traps used by fisherman. He said treatment is usually with some of the same drugs used for congestive heart failure, such as ACE inhibitors and beta blockers.

Elizabeth Vines, 65, of Germantown was diagnosed with it in 2010. She awoke one day feeling a little pain across her chest and a shoulder. That night she felt it again, went to the emergency room, was placed in intensive care and spent three days in the hospital. Afterward, she said her doctor told her that what happened to her was rare, she had no blockage and not to worry because it would probably never happen again.

"It was crazy," she said. She could think of nothing in particular that provoked it. But Vines noted four surgeries in the past few years, none heart-related, and her long recoveries from them might have taken a toll.

Otten said there is no way to prevent the syndrome. Most people cannot escape life's pressures and heartbreaks.

"If a parent dies, I can't tell people to control their grief," he said.

-- Barbara Bradley: (901) 529-2370

©2012 The Commercial Appeal (Memphis, Tenn.)

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Heart Awareness Month

Posted Feb 4, 2012

February is Heart Awareness Month, and Friday marks National Wear Red Day to raise awareness about heart disease, such as how to recognize it, treat it and prevent it.

Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women, according to the American Heart Association.

Jean Julius, a registered nurse with the Owensboro Medical Health System HealthPark, said a person can improve heart health by not smoking, avoiding secondhand smoke, staying active by walking every day and eating a healthy, balanced diet with less salt.

“You should also check your blood pressure often,” Julius said. “If you’re on blood pressure medicine, then a physician checks you regularly. Other than that, get it checked once a year, but as we age, the blood pressure goes higher.”

Recommended blood pressure is 120 over 80.

According to the AHA, more women now die from coronary disease in the United States each year than do men. One theory is that the disease has progressed further without a woman being aware of it. Women, historically, don’t visit cardiologists as much as men.

“Men have that heavy feeling in their chest, like an elephant is sitting on it,” Julius said. “That’s not always true with women. They feel tired, fatigued and a shortness of breath.

“Women may feel nauseated or an ache in the chest. They think that’s indigestion, which men do also. And just like in men, the pain radiates to the jaw, neck and shoulders. That’s a sign that you should respond right away.”

At that point, a person should call 911 and not go to a clinic.

“As soon as EMT’s arrive, they’ll be in communication with the emergency room,” Julius said. “When you get there, there will be no waiting in the waiting room, you’ll be seen immediately.”

Julius said it’s better to be on the safe side and go to the ER and find out you didn’t have a heart attack than not going when you did have one. Blockages prevent oxygen in the blood from getting where it needs to go.

“The lack of circulation of blood to the heart muscle is what’s causing the pain,” she said.

Women also tend to have higher cholesterol than men. Additionally, high triglycerides tend to more negatively affect women in terms of causing blockages and heart attacks.

Fat in the artery is called plaque, and plaque adheres to an artery wall, building up and slowly eroding into the artery. Women are more prone to erosion, meaning the plaque erodes into the bloodstream, creating the likelihood that it will lodge somewhere to cause a blood clot, and block the blood flow, causing a heart attack.

Rich Suwanski, 691-7315

©2012 the Messenger-Inquirer (Owensboro, Ky.)

Visit the Messenger-Inquirer (Owensboro, Ky.) at www.messenger-inquirer.com

Distributed by MCT Information Services

February is Heart Awareness Month, and Friday marks National Wear Red Day to raise awareness about heart disease, such as how to recognize it, treat it and prevent it.

Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women, according to the American Heart Association.

Jean Julius, a registered nurse with the Owensboro Medical Health System HealthPark, said a person can improve heart health by not smoking, avoiding secondhand smoke, staying active by walking every day and eating a healthy, balanced diet with less salt.

"You should also check your blood pressure often," Julius said. "If you're on blood pressure medicine, then a physician checks you regularly. Other than that, get it checked once a year, but as we age, the blood pressure goes higher."

Recommended blood pressure is 120 over 80.

According to the AHA, more women now die from coronary disease in the United States each year than do men. One theory is that the disease has progressed further without a woman being aware of it. Women, historically, don't visit cardiologists as much as men.

"Men have that heavy feeling in their chest, like an elephant is sitting on it," Julius said. "That's not always true with women. They feel tired, fatigued and a shortness of breath.

"Women may feel nauseated or an ache in the chest. They think that's indigestion, which men do also. And just like in men, the pain radiates to the jaw, neck and shoulders. That's a sign that you should respond right away."

At that point, a person should call 911 and not go to a clinic.

"As soon as EMT's arrive, they'll be in communication with the emergency room," Julius said. "When you get there, there will be no waiting in the waiting room, you'll be seen immediately."

Julius said it's better to be on the safe side and go to the ER and find out you didn't have a heart attack than not going when you did have one. Blockages prevent oxygen in the blood from getting where it needs to go.

"The lack of circulation of blood to the heart muscle is what's causing the pain," she said.

Women also tend to have higher cholesterol than men. Additionally, high triglycerides tend to more negatively affect women in terms of causing blockages and heart attacks.

Fat in the artery is called plaque, and plaque adheres to an artery wall, building up and slowly eroding into the artery. Women are more prone to erosion, meaning the plaque erodes into the bloodstream, creating the likelihood that it will lodge somewhere to cause a blood clot, and block the blood flow, causing a heart attack.

Rich Suwanski, 691-7315

©2012 the Messenger-Inquirer (Owensboro, Ky.)

Visit the Messenger-Inquirer (Owensboro, Ky.) at www.messenger-inquirer.com



Distributed by MCT Information Services

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Live Healthy for Beautiful Skin

Posted Jan 20, 2012

Health resolutions have some spectacular side effects — glowing skin, shiny hair and a boost of confidence.

So there’s no shame in making beauty a top priority in 2012. Beauty and better health go hand-in-hand.

“Think about taking care of your skin as an organ — people forget about that,” said Dr. Kelli Lovelace , a dermatologist at the Tulsa Dermatology Clinic. “It’s important to drink water and have a healthy diet.”

Avoiding the sun and checking the skin for irregularities are Lovelace’s top recommendations to her patients.

“The No. 1 thing people need to do is wear sunscreen. It needs to be a 30 SPF, and it needs to be (applied) every day — even in the winter, even on cloudy days,” she said. “It’s important for people to know to apply it to the face, neck, chest and the back of the hands and arms.”

Lovelace said the 30 SPF recommendation comes from the American Academy of Dermatology because “most people don’t use enough sunscreen to get the SPF (protection) listed on the bottle.”

And another no-no for skin health is the tanning bed, she said.

“We know it’s not safe, so you need to stop using those indoor beds,” Lovelace said.

Remedies for aging skin Many people are concerned with repairing the damage from the sun and years of lackluster care. Yet they are overwhelmed by the thousands of products on the market that claim to be anti-aging and anti-wrinkling.

Lovelace said for selecting a product, the key word is “retinol.”

“I don’t feel it’s necessary to spend hundreds of dollars on products because there are a lot of good products at the drugstore,” she said.

A product containing retinol “encourages new collagen and elastic growth” in the skin, she said.

“They can lighten dark spots and encourage new growth within the collagen fibers. The only warning I have is if patients have sensitive skin, they need to be aware of the side effects,” Lovelace said.

“People always want to know about eye creams, and the most important thing about eyes is to keep them well moisturized,” she said. “Also you need to make sure that the skin around them is being protected. If you can tolerate a sunscreen around the eyes, that’s fine. But maybe you need to get an actual eye cream with a lower-strength sunscreen.”

And wear eye protection, too.

“Wear sunglasses with UV protection,” Lovelace said.

Winter is a good time to concentrate on sun spots and dark spots because sun exposure is more limited, she said.

For dark spot correction, bleaches have become available recently at many beauty counters and in other over-the-counter products, she said.

But before you shell out a lot of cash, Lovelace said the ingredients are possibly no different from those in products you already have.

“It’s a powerful antioxidant and exfoliate, so really that’s all it does,” she said of some popular age spot correctors. “You’re spending $50 for that, and all it’s doing is exfoliating, which is what retinol does. It’s not that it doesn’t work, but there are lots of different ways to get to that same endpoint.”

Beauty inside-out

To dietitians, who often consult clients with skin problems, beauty “starts from the inside out,” said Rene Norman, a registered and licensed dietitian with Nutrition Consultants of Tulsa.

“Nothing ages you more than skin that doesn’t look good,” Norman said.

Starting with the basics is crucial — and that means more fruits and vegetables.

“If people are looking for skin health, incorporating fruits and vegetables is very important — and including as many colors as possible because they contain naturally occurring antioxidants,” Norman said. “Those are the chemicals in the food that slow down the aging process.”

Norman recommends seven to nine servings of fruits and vegetables a day — and she knows that amount might seem daunting.

“It sounds like a whole bushel,” she said. “But half a cup of chopped fruits or vegetables is a serving, so is a very small apple. A large apple is usually two.”

By adding a few elements to a green salad, you are getting up to four servings at once.

“Two greens and a non-starchy vegetable, and there you go,” said Norman.

Water is essential for skin health — and Norman has a good guide on getting enough.

“The rule of thumb is to take your healthy body weight (actual or aspired weight) and divide it by two, and that’s how many ounces you need on a quiet day,” she said. “If you’re exercising you need to replace what you’re sweating off.” Sunscreens Shopping for the perfect anti-aging product is a tough task these days because of myriad products on the market.

But before you spend a fortune, dermatologist Dr. Kelli Lovelace said learning the ingredients on the label is helpful.

“Be careful not to expect too much,” she said. “When you turn it over and read the back, sometimes it’s just a sunscreen product. Because it is anti-aging to use sunscreen, they’re not lying — it’s just a little misleading.”

Products that contain caffeine, retinol, vitamins and antioxidants are good, but “you have to have a realistic expectation about what they will offer,” she said. “You should probably look at those products as an adjunctive to your daily skin care, which should be using sunscreen.”

Beauty foods

Some foods will help you maintain healthy skin, Tulsa dietitian Rene Norman says.

Anti-inflammatory: These foods tend to slow the aging process, she said — the richest being fish-based omega-3 fats, such as salmon, tuna, lake trout, sardines and mackerel. Also, extra virgin olive oil, expeller-pressed canola oil and flax seeds.

Healthy fats: Nuts, avocados, salmon, tuna, sardines, and olive and canola oils are helpful in creating healthy cells, which promote healthy skin.

Vitamin A: Norman credits vitamin A with “healthy skin both on the outside and the linings of the blood vessels and organs inside your body.” Fruits and vegetables have pre-vitamin A beta-carotene. Norman says to eat vitamin A foods with a little fat for it to absorb.

Vitamins C, zinc and copper: These help form elastin for your skin. Vitamin C is abundant in tomatoes, berries, peppers, citrus, leafy greens, broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts. Zinc is in lean meats, poultry and oysters. Copper is found in organ meats, especially liver, but also in sunflower seeds, peanuts and mushrooms.

Food to avoid Sugar: Norman said that high fructose corn syrup and other refined carbohydrates (white bread, snack cakes, chips) elevate insulin levels, which result in high testosterone levels that promote acne.

Sources: Nutrition Consultants of Tulsa, the American Dietetic Association’s “Complete Guide to Food and Nutrition,” WebMD, Natural Medicine’sComprehensive Database, and the Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity

Kim Brown 918-581-8474 kim.brown@tulsaworld.com

©2012 Tulsa World (Tulsa, Okla.)

Visit Tulsa World (Tulsa, Okla.) at www.tulsaworld.com

Health resolutions have some spectacular side effects -- glowing skin, shiny hair and a boost of confidence.

So there's no shame in making beauty a top priority in 2012. Beauty and better health go hand-in-hand.

"Think about taking care of your skin as an organ -- people forget about that," said Dr. Kelli Lovelace , a dermatologist at the Tulsa Dermatology Clinic. "It's important to drink water and have a healthy diet."

Avoiding the sun and checking the skin for irregularities are Lovelace's top recommendations to her patients.

"The No. 1 thing people need to do is wear sunscreen. It needs to be a 30 SPF, and it needs to be (applied) every day -- even in the winter, even on cloudy days," she said. "It's important for people to know to apply it to the face, neck, chest and the back of the hands and arms."

Lovelace said the 30 SPF recommendation comes from the American Academy of Dermatology because "most people don't use enough sunscreen to get the SPF (protection) listed on the bottle."

And another no-no for skin health is the tanning bed, she said.

"We know it's not safe, so you need to stop using those indoor beds," Lovelace said.

Remedies for aging skin Many people are concerned with repairing the damage from the sun and years of lackluster care. Yet they are overwhelmed by the thousands of products on the market that claim to be anti-aging and anti-wrinkling.

Lovelace said for selecting a product, the key word is "retinol."

"I don't feel it's necessary to spend hundreds of dollars on products because there are a lot of good products at the drugstore," she said.

A product containing retinol "encourages new collagen and elastic growth" in the skin, she said.

"They can lighten dark spots and encourage new growth within the collagen fibers. The only warning I have is if patients have sensitive skin, they need to be aware of the side effects," Lovelace said.



"People always want to know about eye creams, and the most important thing about eyes is to keep them well moisturized," she said. "Also you need to make sure that the skin around them is being protected. If you can tolerate a sunscreen around the eyes, that's fine. But maybe you need to get an actual eye cream with a lower-strength sunscreen."

And wear eye protection, too.

"Wear sunglasses with UV protection," Lovelace said.

Winter is a good time to concentrate on sun spots and dark spots because sun exposure is more limited, she said.

For dark spot correction, bleaches have become available recently at many beauty counters and in other over-the-counter products, she said.

But before you shell out a lot of cash, Lovelace said the ingredients are possibly no different from those in products you already have.

"It's a powerful antioxidant and exfoliate, so really that's all it does," she said of some popular age spot correctors. "You're spending $50 for that, and all it's doing is exfoliating, which is what retinol does. It's not that it doesn't work, but there are lots of different ways to get to that same endpoint."

Beauty inside-out

To dietitians, who often consult clients with skin problems, beauty "starts from the inside out," said Rene Norman, a registered and licensed dietitian with Nutrition Consultants of Tulsa.

"Nothing ages you more than skin that doesn't look good," Norman said.

Starting with the basics is crucial -- and that means more fruits and vegetables.

"If people are looking for skin health, incorporating fruits and vegetables is very important -- and including as many colors as possible because they contain naturally occurring antioxidants," Norman said. "Those are the chemicals in the food that slow down the aging process."

Norman recommends seven to nine servings of fruits and vegetables a day -- and she knows that amount might seem daunting.

"It sounds like a whole bushel," she said. "But half a cup of chopped fruits or vegetables is a serving, so is a very small apple. A large apple is usually two."

By adding a few elements to a green salad, you are getting up to four servings at once.

"Two greens and a non-starchy vegetable, and there you go," said Norman.

Water is essential for skin health -- and Norman has a good guide on getting enough.

"The rule of thumb is to take your healthy body weight (actual or aspired weight) and divide it by two, and that's how many ounces you need on a quiet day," she said. "If you're exercising you need to replace what you're sweating off." Sunscreens Shopping for the perfect anti-aging product is a tough task these days because of myriad products on the market.

But before you spend a fortune, dermatologist Dr. Kelli Lovelace said learning the ingredients on the label is helpful.

"Be careful not to expect too much," she said. "When you turn it over and read the back, sometimes it's just a sunscreen product. Because it is anti-aging to use sunscreen, they're not lying -- it's just a little misleading."

Products that contain caffeine, retinol, vitamins and antioxidants are good, but "you have to have a realistic expectation about what they will offer," she said. "You should probably look at those products as an adjunctive to your daily skin care, which should be using sunscreen."

Beauty foods

Some foods will help you maintain healthy skin, Tulsa dietitian Rene Norman says.

Anti-inflammatory: These foods tend to slow the aging process, she said -- the richest being fish-based omega-3 fats, such as salmon, tuna, lake trout, sardines and mackerel. Also, extra virgin olive oil, expeller-pressed canola oil and flax seeds.

Healthy fats: Nuts, avocados, salmon, tuna, sardines, and olive and canola oils are helpful in creating healthy cells, which promote healthy skin.

Vitamin A: Norman credits vitamin A with "healthy skin both on the outside and the linings of the blood vessels and organs inside your body." Fruits and vegetables have pre-vitamin A beta-carotene. Norman says to eat vitamin A foods with a little fat for it to absorb.

Vitamins C, zinc and copper: These help form elastin for your skin. Vitamin C is abundant in tomatoes, berries, peppers, citrus, leafy greens, broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts. Zinc is in lean meats, poultry and oysters. Copper is found in organ meats, especially liver, but also in sunflower seeds, peanuts and mushrooms.

Food to avoid Sugar: Norman said that high fructose corn syrup and other refined carbohydrates (white bread, snack cakes, chips) elevate insulin levels, which result in high testosterone levels that promote acne.

Sources: Nutrition Consultants of Tulsa, the American Dietetic Association's "Complete Guide to Food and Nutrition," WebMD, Natural Medicine'sComprehensive Database, and the Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity

Kim Brown 918-581-8474 kim.brown@tulsaworld.com

©2012 Tulsa World (Tulsa, Okla.)

Visit Tulsa World (Tulsa, Okla.) at www.tulsaworld.com

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Stay Healthy in Each Decade of Life

Posted Jan 18, 2012

To keep your car running for as long as possible you have to treat it properly: service at regular intervals, use quality fuels and keep it clean.

So why would you treat your body, itself the ultimate machine, any less carefully?

Alas, too many of us do. A recent University of Miami study found that heart disease risk factors, such as high cholesterol levels and artery inflammation, can start as early as age 3.

In the United States, 19 percent of children 2 to 18 are obese and 30 percent are overweight, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“By the fourth grade, 13 percent of American children already have abnormally elevated cholesterol, with a total cholesterol of 200 or higher,” said Dr. Steven E. Lipshultz, one of the study’s authors and the chairman of the pediatrics department at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. The numbers are disproportionately higher among Hispanic and African-American children who tended to have higher inflammation levels and lower levels of HDL, the “good” cholesterol.

“There are three really important pieces that go into exercising across the ages from childhood to the 90s: the need to do aerobics, strengthening and stretching exercises,” said Dr. Neva Kirk-Sanchez, an associate professor in the department of physical therapy at the University of Miami.

Here, then, is a lifetime guide to good health.

Birth-9

Good nutrition begins at birth.

— Breast feed your newborn.

“In long-term studies, breast feeding truly does benefit children, including lowering cholesterol levels and having lower weight and a lower prevalence of Type 2 diabetes.”

The official recommendation is to breast feed baby for the first year, with breast milk the exclusive source of nourishment for the first six months.

— Limit fat to 30 percent of a child’s total calories after age 2. After age 2, switch from whole milk to non-fat milk and have your toddler drink lots of water.

— Limit fruit juices, even 100-percent fruit juices, to no more than four ounces per day for ages 2-21.

–Trans fats should be avoided and TV time should be limited to one to two hours “of quality programming” per day, he said. “Avoid ever putting a TV in a child’s bedroom.”

— Lower sodium intake. “It’s never too early to limit sodium in a child’s diet,” Lipshultz said. “Elevated blood pressure is a major contributor to heart disease.”

— Begin blood pressure checks at age 3.

— Tests to screen for cholesterol should begin by age 9 to 11 and again at 17 for all children.

Children and adolescents should have at least one hour or more of physical exercise every day, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Aerobic activity such as running, brisk walking and playing sports should make up the majority of the exercise.

Children 10 and under don’t need formal muscle strengthening programs, such as weight lifting, as the development of muscles begins at puberty, but muscle strengthening should be done via fun activities, such as playing on the jungle gym, swimming or gymnastics.

10-19

— Exercise, exercise, exercise — at least an hour daily, and include bone strengthening activities such as jumping rope and running games like tag or sports.

“Ninety percent of bone mass is acquired by girls by 19 and boys by 20, so childhood and early adolescence is the most important time for building bone health,” Lipshultz said. “Physical activity patterns established in childhood are carried forward in adulthood. Exercising and unlimited playtime will incorporate lifelong habits that will help the child live longer.”

— Start weight training at around age 14 or the onset of puberty, said Garrett Ratleff, personal training manager for South Beach’s Crunch. “Supervised weight training will have an effect on their body, especially if they are playing sports,” he said.

— Monitor diets. This is a time when children begin making some of their own food choices and salts, fats and sugars are tasty temptations that can lead to trouble.

“Encourage whole foods high in dietary fiber — brown rice, oatmeal, popcorn and encourage fresh fruit and vegetables at every meal,” Lipshultz said. “If you are concerned that your child is overweight, don’t wait until the next checkup to discuss ways to improve a child’s weight and diet and activity levels.”

–Don’t begin smoking and avoid smoke, period. Exposure contributes to heart and lung disease.

20-29

— The Cars had it right: Shake it up. “This is a time you should be exploring and trying different types of workouts,” Ratleff said. “At 20, your body is resilient, you don’t have to worry about injuring yourself as much.”

This is the time to consider that 5K, half marathon or full marathon. Three to six days a week of moderate to intensive aerobic activity for 20 to 60 minutes should be a goal, along with two to five days of strength training.

— Work all the major muscle groups, the legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms. If you can’t afford a gym, or class, then run, swim, bike, dance, or walk briskly around the neighborhood. Push-ups, crunches, squats and other strength activities can be done around the house or in the office. Find a wall and push against it or do dips from the back of your chair.

If you can do more than 300 minutes a week of moderate intensity activity or 150 minutes of vigorous activity you should see improvements in health.

— If you have a disability, consult with a doctor or physical therapist to see what kind of activities are suitable for you. You can also visit the National Center on Physical Activity and Disability at www.ncpad.org.

30-39

Careers and raising children often get in the way of an exercise program but there are ways around the obstacle.

— “Be more efficient in your workouts in the gym, or wherever you do it,” Ratleff recommends. Interval training — sets with multiple reps and tempo — works all the muscle groups and gets the heart rate up in an hour’s time.

— Consider classes, like a boot camp, dance, step, Pilates, kickboxing or any other creative group workout. A Masters swimming group is another fun option.

“The social support in these groups is very helpful,” Kirk-Sanchez said.

— Women should absolutely begin a weight-lifting program, or some other form of strength resistance training, in this decade if they haven’t done so during their 20s to ward off bone density loss, which starts about this time.

“Osteoporosis is a risk so if you want to delay that, start weight training,” Ratleff said.

— If you haven’t begun regular dental visits, which generally suggests twice-yearly cleanings and exams, begin now. The American Dental Association has identified an association between maternal periodontal disease and preterm delivery, preeclampsia and low birth weight infants. Later, periodontal disease can lead to cardiovascular disease.

40-49

— Stretching becomes more important as flexibility lessens. Devote more time to warming up and the post-workout stretch, Kirk-Sanchez suggests. “Don’t just walk out the door and sprint down the street. You need to adapt to the aging body and warm up,” she said.

Avoid injuries. “When you are 40 and injured you can be out for a month; in your 20s, you’re usually out for a week,” Ratleff said. Consider a certified trainer in the gym.

— Workout videos are another option for those who need some guidance but like to work out in the home. Jane Fonda, who launched the home video workout revolution in the ’80s with her tapes, is back with a new series of Prime Time DVDs that offer toning, sculpting and stretching routines designed for adults. The Dancing With the Stars pros also have DVD workouts, including one that promises Ballroom Buns & Abs.

— For women, it’s the pre-menopause period. Estrogen levels start to drop and fat storage around the abdomen goes up. Strength training and cardio remain important. For men, lean muscle mass is good for posture and a boost in the metabolism.

50-59

— If beginning an exercise program, “Start slowly and listen to the body if anything painful needs to be addressed,” Kirk-Sanchez said. Maintain at least 30 minutes of moderate activity daily and strengthening two to three days per week.

Tissues tend to get less flexible with age. Chronic problems like arthritis and obesity are often felt at this time but it is not too late to begin a program. “People very easily take the medications their doctor prescribes but are much less eager to do exercise.

“For all the chronic conditions exercise is known to prevent, you have to consider the exercise prescription just as important as taking your pills,” she said.

— Break it up. While 30 minutes of sustained moderate to vigorous activity is best in the younger years, at this stage you can break up the activities into 10-minute blocks. A brisk 10-minute walk, three times a day, five days a week, will help you hit the required 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise.

60-69

— The retirement years (for some) lead to more time for exercise. Circuit training, swimming, cardio walking are good options, along with resistance training. Resistance bands are as viable as weights if you don’t have access to a gym.

Stretching, longer warm-ups and safety is paramount.

— Balance exercises should be added to the program. Stand on one leg, practice walking on a line or navigate through an obstacle course. Tai-Chi and yoga classes are great options for balance exercises.

“All of the sensory systems tend to decline a little in the older population, but maintaining good muscles and a healthy nervous system is much easier in those who exercise regularly,” Kirk-Sanchez said.

70-79

— Don’t forget the trunk. The core muscle group in the abdomen area helps the body maintain balance and accomplish tasks, like rising from the bed or a chair. “When older people have trouble getting out of bed that’s generally because abdominal and hip strength has declined — it’s the Use it or Lose It philosophy,” Kirk-Sanchez said.

Modified sit-ups, while seated in a chair, or crunches could help tone the tummy and help with balance.

— Forget cultural fallacies. “In Hispanic women, especially, they feel as they get older they shouldn’t exercise, but the opposite is true. They must exercise to fend off chronic diseases that come up, such as osteoporosis and diabetes,” Kirk-Sanchez said.

80 and older

— The same lessons apply. Exercise. Ratleff recalled an instructor who once counseled, “You’re never too old to do a squat.”

“You see seniors who are hunched over, posture will go quickly if you lose muscle mass and bone density,” he said.

— Consider two days of low-impact exercise, like walking or Tai-Chi. A half hour of circuit training. Trunk rotations to keep the body limber to ward off injuries from falls, which can be life-threatening.

— Many hospitals and centers offer free exercise programs, such as Baptist Health’s mall walkers program at Dadeland Mall which incorporates activities like stretching and toning exercises to music with group walking.

“Even in the 90s people can make big improvements in their ability to get up and walk around,” Kirk-Sanchez said. “Exercise has an effect on cognition, normal aging memory. It’s not only the blood flow, but the biochemistry in the brain. There are changes in the brain in response to exercise across the life span.”

©2012 The Miami Herald

Visit The Miami Herald at www.miamiherald.com

To keep your car running for as long as possible you have to treat it properly: service at regular intervals, use quality fuels and keep it clean.

So why would you treat your body, itself the ultimate machine, any less carefully?

Alas, too many of us do. A recent University of Miami study found that heart disease risk factors, such as high cholesterol levels and artery inflammation, can start as early as age 3.

In the United States, 19 percent of children 2 to 18 are obese and 30 percent are overweight, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"By the fourth grade, 13 percent of American children already have abnormally elevated cholesterol, with a total cholesterol of 200 or higher," said Dr. Steven E. Lipshultz, one of the study's authors and the chairman of the pediatrics department at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. The numbers are disproportionately higher among Hispanic and African-American children who tended to have higher inflammation levels and lower levels of HDL, the "good" cholesterol.

"There are three really important pieces that go into exercising across the ages from childhood to the 90s: the need to do aerobics, strengthening and stretching exercises," said Dr. Neva Kirk-Sanchez, an associate professor in the department of physical therapy at the University of Miami.

Here, then, is a lifetime guide to good health.

Birth-9

Good nutrition begins at birth.

-- Breast feed your newborn.

"In long-term studies, breast feeding truly does benefit children, including lowering cholesterol levels and having lower weight and a lower prevalence of Type 2 diabetes."

The official recommendation is to breast feed baby for the first year, with breast milk the exclusive source of nourishment for the first six months.

-- Limit fat to 30 percent of a child's total calories after age 2. After age 2, switch from whole milk to non-fat milk and have your toddler drink lots of water.

-- Limit fruit juices, even 100-percent fruit juices, to no more than four ounces per day for ages 2-21.

--Trans fats should be avoided and TV time should be limited to one to two hours "of quality programming" per day, he said. "Avoid ever putting a TV in a child's bedroom."

-- Lower sodium intake. "It's never too early to limit sodium in a child's diet," Lipshultz said. "Elevated blood pressure is a major contributor to heart disease."

-- Begin blood pressure checks at age 3.

-- Tests to screen for cholesterol should begin by age 9 to 11 and again at 17 for all children.

Children and adolescents should have at least one hour or more of physical exercise every day, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Aerobic activity such as running, brisk walking and playing sports should make up the majority of the exercise.

Children 10 and under don't need formal muscle strengthening programs, such as weight lifting, as the development of muscles begins at puberty, but muscle strengthening should be done via fun activities, such as playing on the jungle gym, swimming or gymnastics.

10-19

-- Exercise, exercise, exercise -- at least an hour daily, and include bone strengthening activities such as jumping rope and running games like tag or sports.

"Ninety percent of bone mass is acquired by girls by 19 and boys by 20, so childhood and early adolescence is the most important time for building bone health," Lipshultz said. "Physical activity patterns established in childhood are carried forward in adulthood. Exercising and unlimited playtime will incorporate lifelong habits that will help the child live longer."

-- Start weight training at around age 14 or the onset of puberty, said Garrett Ratleff, personal training manager for South Beach's Crunch. "Supervised weight training will have an effect on their body, especially if they are playing sports," he said.

-- Monitor diets. This is a time when children begin making some of their own food choices and salts, fats and sugars are tasty temptations that can lead to trouble.

"Encourage whole foods high in dietary fiber -- brown rice, oatmeal, popcorn and encourage fresh fruit and vegetables at every meal," Lipshultz said. "If you are concerned that your child is overweight, don't wait until the next checkup to discuss ways to improve a child's weight and diet and activity levels."

--Don't begin smoking and avoid smoke, period. Exposure contributes to heart and lung disease.

20-29

-- The Cars had it right: Shake it up. "This is a time you should be exploring and trying different types of workouts," Ratleff said. "At 20, your body is resilient, you don't have to worry about injuring yourself as much."

This is the time to consider that 5K, half marathon or full marathon. Three to six days a week of moderate to intensive aerobic activity for 20 to 60 minutes should be a goal, along with two to five days of strength training.

-- Work all the major muscle groups, the legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms. If you can't afford a gym, or class, then run, swim, bike, dance, or walk briskly around the neighborhood. Push-ups, crunches, squats and other strength activities can be done around the house or in the office. Find a wall and push against it or do dips from the back of your chair.

If you can do more than 300 minutes a week of moderate intensity activity or 150 minutes of vigorous activity you should see improvements in health.

-- If you have a disability, consult with a doctor or physical therapist to see what kind of activities are suitable for you. You can also visit the National Center on Physical Activity and Disability at www.ncpad.org.

30-39

Careers and raising children often get in the way of an exercise program but there are ways around the obstacle.

-- "Be more efficient in your workouts in the gym, or wherever you do it," Ratleff recommends. Interval training -- sets with multiple reps and tempo -- works all the muscle groups and gets the heart rate up in an hour's time.

-- Consider classes, like a boot camp, dance, step, Pilates, kickboxing or any other creative group workout. A Masters swimming group is another fun option.

"The social support in these groups is very helpful,'' Kirk-Sanchez said.

-- Women should absolutely begin a weight-lifting program, or some other form of strength resistance training, in this decade if they haven't done so during their 20s to ward off bone density loss, which starts about this time.

"Osteoporosis is a risk so if you want to delay that, start weight training," Ratleff said.

-- If you haven't begun regular dental visits, which generally suggests twice-yearly cleanings and exams, begin now. The American Dental Association has identified an association between maternal periodontal disease and preterm delivery, preeclampsia and low birth weight infants. Later, periodontal disease can lead to cardiovascular disease.

40-49

-- Stretching becomes more important as flexibility lessens. Devote more time to warming up and the post-workout stretch, Kirk-Sanchez suggests. "Don't just walk out the door and sprint down the street. You need to adapt to the aging body and warm up," she said.

Avoid injuries. "When you are 40 and injured you can be out for a month; in your 20s, you're usually out for a week," Ratleff said. Consider a certified trainer in the gym.

-- Workout videos are another option for those who need some guidance but like to work out in the home. Jane Fonda, who launched the home video workout revolution in the '80s with her tapes, is back with a new series of Prime Time DVDs that offer toning, sculpting and stretching routines designed for adults. The Dancing With the Stars pros also have DVD workouts, including one that promises Ballroom Buns & Abs.

-- For women, it's the pre-menopause period. Estrogen levels start to drop and fat storage around the abdomen goes up. Strength training and cardio remain important. For men, lean muscle mass is good for posture and a boost in the metabolism.

50-59

-- If beginning an exercise program, "Start slowly and listen to the body if anything painful needs to be addressed," Kirk-Sanchez said. Maintain at least 30 minutes of moderate activity daily and strengthening two to three days per week.

Tissues tend to get less flexible with age. Chronic problems like arthritis and obesity are often felt at this time but it is not too late to begin a program. "People very easily take the medications their doctor prescribes but are much less eager to do exercise.

"For all the chronic conditions exercise is known to prevent, you have to consider the exercise prescription just as important as taking your pills," she said.

-- Break it up. While 30 minutes of sustained moderate to vigorous activity is best in the younger years, at this stage you can break up the activities into 10-minute blocks. A brisk 10-minute walk, three times a day, five days a week, will help you hit the required 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise.

60-69

-- The retirement years (for some) lead to more time for exercise. Circuit training, swimming, cardio walking are good options, along with resistance training. Resistance bands are as viable as weights if you don't have access to a gym.

Stretching, longer warm-ups and safety is paramount.

-- Balance exercises should be added to the program. Stand on one leg, practice walking on a line or navigate through an obstacle course. Tai-Chi and yoga classes are great options for balance exercises.

"All of the sensory systems tend to decline a little in the older population, but maintaining good muscles and a healthy nervous system is much easier in those who exercise regularly," Kirk-Sanchez said.

70-79

-- Don't forget the trunk. The core muscle group in the abdomen area helps the body maintain balance and accomplish tasks, like rising from the bed or a chair. "When older people have trouble getting out of bed that's generally because abdominal and hip strength has declined -- it's the Use it or Lose It philosophy," Kirk-Sanchez said.

Modified sit-ups, while seated in a chair, or crunches could help tone the tummy and help with balance.

-- Forget cultural fallacies. "In Hispanic women, especially, they feel as they get older they shouldn't exercise, but the opposite is true. They must exercise to fend off chronic diseases that come up, such as osteoporosis and diabetes," Kirk-Sanchez said.

80 and older

-- The same lessons apply. Exercise. Ratleff recalled an instructor who once counseled, "You're never too old to do a squat."

"You see seniors who are hunched over, posture will go quickly if you lose muscle mass and bone density," he said.

-- Consider two days of low-impact exercise, like walking or Tai-Chi. A half hour of circuit training. Trunk rotations to keep the body limber to ward off injuries from falls, which can be life-threatening.

-- Many hospitals and centers offer free exercise programs, such as Baptist Health's mall walkers program at Dadeland Mall which incorporates activities like stretching and toning exercises to music with group walking.

"Even in the 90s people can make big improvements in their ability to get up and walk around," Kirk-Sanchez said. "Exercise has an effect on cognition, normal aging memory. It's not only the blood flow, but the biochemistry in the brain. There are changes in the brain in response to exercise across the life span."

©2012 The Miami Herald

Visit The Miami Herald at www.miamiherald.com

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Maximize Veggie Vitamins

Posted November 28, 2011

Vegetables are healthy food bristling with vitamins, minerals and carbohydrates and they should be on everyone’s plate everyday.

Each type of vegetable offers its own nutritive substances and people can cover their nutritional needs by eating a variety of them, said Silke Restemeyer of the German nutrition organization. Thus, an A (as in aubergine) to Z (as in zucchini) approach is best for getting the most out of the wide variety of vegetables.

Nutritionists warn, however, that vegetables can lose a lot of their nutritional value when they are cooked. They agree that steaming is the best way to prepare them, but they also note that of the recommended five portions of vegetables and fruits a person should eat, at least one should be raw or in a salad.

“Basically, uncooked vegetables are the richest in vital substances,” said Restemeyer.

But of course, people can eat whatever tastes best to them. For some that means lightly steamed, while others would rather have them stewed, braised, grilled or roasted. And while one person likes them well-seasoned, another prefers them in a cream sauce.

Heat is what causes vegetables to lose their nutrients, but there is a big difference between the extent to which they are lost depending on the cooking method used.

“Among the most nutrient-preserving ways to cook vegetables are steaming, cooking them in their own juices or with just a little bit of water, wine or broth,” said Margret Morlo of an association in Germany devoted to nutrition and diet.

The reason is not solely that many vitamins, including C and B1, as well as all minerals are water-soluble and because these methods use little water the vitamins and minerals remain in the food. Usually, they are steamed at a low temperature and only until the vegetables are al dente. Steaming them at a high heat for too long destroys their nutritional content.

Vegetables such as carrots retain a similar amount of their nutrients when they are cooked in water. This can be done in a steamer or in a regular pot with a vegetable sieve. Another way to preserve nutrients is to cook the vegetables in hot oil in a skillet or wok until the vegetables are al dente.

Yet another alternative is to marinate the vegetables and then grill them or roast them in the oven for 30 minutes, said Carsten Voigt of an association for cooks in Germany. “These methods are equally as protective of the nutrients and you obtain a delicious roasted flavour,” he said.

The cooking methods that cause the greatest loss of nutrients are slow cooking in a lot of liquid at high temperatures – 75 to 95 degrees Celsius – and classic simmering. Shorter cooking times mean fewer vitamins are lost compared with longer cooking times, said Voigt. In addition, cooking experts recommend using as little liquid as possible because the more liquid in the pot, the greater amount of minerals lost.

For the same reason vegetables shouldn’t be cut in small pieces or peeled before being prepared. “Removing the peel is a shame because it contains the highest vitamin content and the most flavour,” said Voigt.

There are a few other tricks that can minimize the loss of nutrients. “The lid should be tightly closed and seldom opened when cooking vegetables so that as little of the nutrients as possible can evaporate,” said Morlo. The water remaining in the pot, along with any nutrients that it has absorbed, can be used in a sauce or broth poured over the vegetables.

Cooks also should be aware that not every way to cook vegetables is appropriate for every type of vegetable. Firm vegetables such as beetroot are best suited for cooking, while soft vegetables such as broccoli should be steamed. The question of whether to cook a vegetable or eat it raw also depends on the type.

Some vegetables such as cabbage become more digestible when cooked. Raw green beans, for example, must be cooked for 10 minutes at 100 degrees Celsius to neutralise a protein that can be toxic if consumed by humans. In addition there are nutrients in plants that the body can make better use of when cooked. These include secondary nutrients such as lycopene in tomatoes.

Ripeness is another factor in ensuring that vegetables have as many nutrients as possible. They are at their peak in terms of nutrition when they are ripe and fresh. Finally, vegetables should be stored in a cool, dry and dark place.

Vegetables are healthy food bristling with vitamins, minerals and carbohydrates and they should be on everyone's plate everyday.

Each type of vegetable offers its own nutritive substances and people can cover their nutritional needs by eating a variety of them, said Silke Restemeyer of the German nutrition organization. Thus, an A (as in aubergine) to Z (as in zucchini) approach is best for getting the most out of the wide variety of vegetables.

Nutritionists warn, however, that vegetables can lose a lot of their nutritional value when they are cooked. They agree that steaming is the best way to prepare them, but they also note that of the recommended five portions of vegetables and fruits a person should eat, at least one should be raw or in a salad.

"Basically, uncooked vegetables are the richest in vital substances," said Restemeyer.

But of course, people can eat whatever tastes best to them. For some that means lightly steamed, while others would rather have them stewed, braised, grilled or roasted. And while one person likes them well-seasoned, another prefers them in a cream sauce.

Heat is what causes vegetables to lose their nutrients, but there is a big difference between the extent to which they are lost depending on the cooking method used.

"Among the most nutrient-preserving ways to cook vegetables are steaming, cooking them in their own juices or with just a little bit of water, wine or broth," said Margret Morlo of an association in Germany devoted to nutrition and diet.

The reason is not solely that many vitamins, including C and B1, as well as all minerals are water-soluble and because these methods use little water the vitamins and minerals remain in the food. Usually, they are steamed at a low temperature and only until the vegetables are al dente. Steaming them at a high heat for too long destroys their nutritional content.

Vegetables such as carrots retain a similar amount of their nutrients when they are cooked in water. This can be done in a steamer or in a regular pot with a vegetable sieve. Another way to preserve nutrients is to cook the vegetables in hot oil in a skillet or wok until the vegetables are al dente.

Yet another alternative is to marinate the vegetables and then grill them or roast them in the oven for 30 minutes, said Carsten Voigt of an association for cooks in Germany. "These methods are equally as protective of the nutrients and you obtain a delicious roasted flavour," he said.

The cooking methods that cause the greatest loss of nutrients are slow cooking in a lot of liquid at high temperatures - 75 to 95 degrees Celsius - and classic simmering. Shorter cooking times mean fewer vitamins are lost compared with longer cooking times, said Voigt. In addition, cooking experts recommend using as little liquid as possible because the more liquid in the pot, the greater amount of minerals lost.

For the same reason vegetables shouldn't be cut in small pieces or peeled before being prepared. "Removing the peel is a shame because it contains the highest vitamin content and the most flavour," said Voigt.

There are a few other tricks that can minimize the loss of nutrients. "The lid should be tightly closed and seldom opened when cooking vegetables so that as little of the nutrients as possible can evaporate," said Morlo. The water remaining in the pot, along with any nutrients that it has absorbed, can be used in a sauce or broth poured over the vegetables.

Cooks also should be aware that not every way to cook vegetables is appropriate for every type of vegetable. Firm vegetables such as beetroot are best suited for cooking, while soft vegetables such as broccoli should be steamed. The question of whether to cook a vegetable or eat it raw also depends on the type.

Some vegetables such as cabbage become more digestible when cooked. Raw green beans, for example, must be cooked for 10 minutes at 100 degrees Celsius to neutralise a protein that can be toxic if consumed by humans. In addition there are nutrients in plants that the body can make better use of when cooked. These include secondary nutrients such as lycopene in tomatoes.

Ripeness is another factor in ensuring that vegetables have as many nutrients as possible. They are at their peak in terms of nutrition when they are ripe and fresh. Finally, vegetables should be stored in a cool, dry and dark place.

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Non-Traditional Holiday Favorites

Posted Nov 22, 2011

Want to add a little drama to your otherwise relaxing Thanksgiving Day? Show up without that canned green bean casserole with the fried onion thingies on top.

Fireworks will follow for sure, but be forewarned: You might be demoted to bringing the canned cranberry sauce next year — or banished to the kiddie table.

Few things are cemented into Thanksgiving tradition like green bean casserole. When people talk about their holiday feast foods, that soupy concoction always seems to rank right up there with the turkey and mashed potatoes. Sometimes it comes before the mashed potatoes.

Some things in life cannot be explained.

However, all holiday dinner staples — green beans, sweet potatoes, cranberries or stuffing — have delicious alter egos. There are lots of dishes that break with tradition and offer fresh tastes and new versions of our favorites.

Love sweet potatoes? Save them for dessert. Try them mashed in moist mini cakes with creamy caramel sauce and pecans. Not big on the canned cranberry sauce? You will be once you use it to make simple but festive vinaigrette with some basic ingredients — oil and balsamic vinegar, orange juice, and a little salt and sugar.

Stuffing is an easy one to alter. Everyone seems to have her own signature recipe, and if you don’t, the list of ingredients is long enough to tailor one to your own tastes.

For starters, use a variety of breads, like rye, French, plain old white or even cornbread. Then add chopped veggies like celery, carrots and onions. Apples, figs or pears show up in lots of stuffing recipes, as do spices such as sage and fennel.

For even more flavor, use pork sausage or lower-fat turkey sausage.

Then there’s the green bean casserole, or the G.B.C., as Tom Parfitt, culinary specialist with the University of Richmond’s Center for Culinary Arts, has heard it lovingly referred to.

Yes, it’s so popular it’s been given a hip street name.

“It’s just one of those weird casseroles that people love,” he said.

Parfitt admits he’s never had the G.B.C. that many people make, with the canned green beans, canned cream of mushroom soup and crunchy fried onions. He’s not knocking anyone’s tastes, but he said a fresh, healthy version of G.B.C. — using fresh green beans, crispy fried leeks and mushrooms in a homemade sauce — is easier to make than you think.

Getting people to look beyond the traditional dishes can be tough, he said, though he’s encouraged by the masses who are beginning to adopt healthier cooking habits and eating fresh ingredients, even during the holidays.

“The trend is moving toward more local fare and perimeter grocery shopping,” he said, “not down the aisles where all of the bar-code food is.”

Parfitt’s G.B.C. recipe involves cooked fresh green beans, which he puts into a roux of sauteed mushrooms and herbs, flour, chicken stock and half-and-half. He tops the mixture with fried leeks, cheddar cheese and panko breadcrumbs.

But you could always forgo the G.B.C. altogether.

If you’re looking for something completely different, try a celery casserole. Crunchy water chestnuts and slivered almonds are combined with diced celery and mushrooms, then submerged in a homemade white sauce and topped with buttery breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese.

You still have a warm, satisfying saucy casserole that’s got crunch and substance — and nary a single green bean.

This Thanksgiving, be bold. Buck tradition and Grandma’s wishes and take everyone’s taste buds on a ride by trying something new.

Or at least make room on the table for something new next to the turkey and you-know-what. And keep your rightful seat among the grown-ups.

hprestidge@timesdispatch.com (804) 649-6945

Baby Sweet Potato Cakes with Pecans and Caramel Sauce

Makes 12 to 15 cakes

½ cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs at room temperature

1¼ cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

½ teaspoon EACH: salt, ginger and cinnamon

1 15-ounce can sweet potatoes, drained and mashed

1/3 cup buttermilk

½ cup chopped pecans

For sauce:

½ cup butter

¾ cup brown sugar

1 cup heavy cream

½ teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 12-count muffin tin.

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each.

In a small bowl, combine flour and baking soda. Add half of the flour mixture to butter mixture, and blend, making sure to scrape the sides of the bowl as you go. Add the other half of the flour mixture. Add vanilla, salt and spices, mashed sweet potatoes and buttermilk. Mixture will contain slight chunks of the sweet potatoes.

Spoon mixture into muffin tins, filling each nearly all of the way to the top. Bake for 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove cakes from pan and let cool on a wire rack.

In the meantime, combine butter, brown sugar, cream and vanilla in a saucepan over low-medium heat. Whisk until butter melts and mixture begins to bubble.

Take off heat and let cool for a few minutes.

To serve, sprinkle pecans over cakes and drizzle with caramel sauce.

Adapted from Southern Living

Cranberry Vinaigrette

Makes about 2/3 cup

½ cup canned whole-berry cranberry sauce

¼ cup orange juice

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoon peeled, minced fresh ginger

¼ teaspoon salt

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk until ingredients have emulsified. Serve over salad.

Adapted from Cooking Light

Celery Casserole

Makes 4 to 6 servings

3 cups diced celery

¼ cup slivered almonds

½ cup chopped or sliced water chestnuts

1 cup sliced mushrooms

¼ cup PLUS 4 tablespoon butter, divided

3 tablespoons flour (or more to suit)

1 cup chicken broth

¾ cup half-and-half

½ cup breadcrumbs

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-by-9-inch baking dish or use nonstick cooking spray.

Add celery to a pot on the stove with just enough water to cover and boil until fork tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Drain and combine with almonds, water chestnuts and mushrooms in the baking dish.

Over low-medium heat, melt ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon of butter and add flour to make a roux. Add chicken broth and half-and-half and stir. (You can add more flour, by tablespoons, if you’d like a thicker sauce.)

Pour sauce over celery mixture.

Back on the stovetop, melt 3 tablespoons butter with breadcrumbs and blend. Pour breadcrumbs over celery mixture and top with Parmesan cheese.

Bake for 25 minutes.

Adapted from Southern Living

Fig & Almond Stuffing

Makes 10 to 12 servings

1 12-ounce loaf peasant bread, cut into cubes

1½ cups sliced almonds

2 cups figs, stemmed and coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons EACH: chopped sage and parsley

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for greasing pan

1 onion, finely chopped

3 celery ribs, chopped

2 large carrots, chopped

1 fennel bulb, cored and finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon fennel seeds, finely chopped

8 large eggs

2½ cups vegetable stock

Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.

Spread bread cubes on a large baking sheet and toast for about 15 minutes, stirring once. Spread the almonds on a second baking sheet and toast for 5 minutes, until lightly browned. Transfer the bread and almonds to a large bowl and add the figs, sage and parsley.

In a large skillet, melt the butter. Add onion, celery, carrots, fennel, garlic and fennel seeds and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened, about five minutes. Let cool, then scrape the vegetables into the bowl with the bread mixture. Stir in eggs and stock and season with salt and pepper.

Spread the stuffing mix into the buttered baking dish and cover with foil. Bake 30 minutes, until heated through. Uncover and bake for about 10 to 15 minutes more, until the top is lightly browned. Serve hot.

Adapted from Food & Wine magazine

Fresh G.B.C.

Makes 6 servings

1 pound green beans, washed and ends snipped off

2 leeks, cleaned and cut into thin rings

Canola oil for frying leeks

2 tablespoons butter

8 ounces mushrooms, chopped

½ teaspoon thyme leaves, chopped

2 cloves garlic

2 tablespoons flour

1 cup chicken stock

1 cup half-and-half

Salt and pepper to taste

1 cup cheddar cheese

¼ cup panko breadcrumbs

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil with several pinches of salt. Add green beans and cook for about 5 minutes, until they turn bright green. Once cooked, drain and rinse the beans until they are cooled. Set aside.

In a medium skillet, add canola oil to a depth of about one inch and heat. Add the leeks and cook until they are crisp. Remove from oil and put onto a paper towel-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt.

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat and add mushrooms and thyme. Cook until mushrooms are soft and begin to take on color. Add garlic and cook for a minute or less, being careful not to let garlic burn.

Add flour and cook for about a minute, stirring the whole time. Add stock and half-and-half and stir. Cook for 5 minutes, or until the mixture thickens and no longer tastes of flour, stirring frequently. Season with salt and pepper.

Mix green beans into the mushroom sauce and transfer to a casserole dish. Top with cheese, breadcrumbs and fried leeks. Bake for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted, breadcrumbs are brown and sauce is bubbling.

Tom Parfitt, culinary specialist, University of Richmond’s Center for Culinary Arts

©2011 the Richmond Times-Dispatch (Richmond, Va.)

Want to add a little drama to your otherwise relaxing Thanksgiving Day? Show up without that canned green bean casserole with the fried onion thingies on top.

Fireworks will follow for sure, but be forewarned: You might be demoted to bringing the canned cranberry sauce next year -- or banished to the kiddie table.

Few things are cemented into Thanksgiving tradition like green bean casserole. When people talk about their holiday feast foods, that soupy concoction always seems to rank right up there with the turkey and mashed potatoes. Sometimes it comes before the mashed potatoes.

Some things in life cannot be explained.

However, all holiday dinner staples -- green beans, sweet potatoes, cranberries or stuffing -- have delicious alter egos. There are lots of dishes that break with tradition and offer fresh tastes and new versions of our favorites.

Love sweet potatoes? Save them for dessert. Try them mashed in moist mini cakes with creamy caramel sauce and pecans. Not big on the canned cranberry sauce? You will be once you use it to make simple but festive vinaigrette with some basic ingredients -- oil and balsamic vinegar, orange juice, and a little salt and sugar.

Stuffing is an easy one to alter. Everyone seems to have her own signature recipe, and if you don't, the list of ingredients is long enough to tailor one to your own tastes.

For starters, use a variety of breads, like rye, French, plain old white or even cornbread. Then add chopped veggies like celery, carrots and onions. Apples, figs or pears show up in lots of stuffing recipes, as do spices such as sage and fennel.

For even more flavor, use pork sausage or lower-fat turkey sausage.

Then there's the green bean casserole, or the G.B.C., as Tom Parfitt, culinary specialist with the University of Richmond's Center for Culinary Arts, has heard it lovingly referred to.

Yes, it's so popular it's been given a hip street name.

"It's just one of those weird casseroles that people love," he said.

Parfitt admits he's never had the G.B.C. that many people make, with the canned green beans, canned cream of mushroom soup and crunchy fried onions. He's not knocking anyone's tastes, but he said a fresh, healthy version of G.B.C. -- using fresh green beans, crispy fried leeks and mushrooms in a homemade sauce -- is easier to make than you think.

Getting people to look beyond the traditional dishes can be tough, he said, though he's encouraged by the masses who are beginning to adopt healthier cooking habits and eating fresh ingredients, even during the holidays.

"The trend is moving toward more local fare and perimeter grocery shopping," he said, "not down the aisles where all of the bar-code food is."

Parfitt's G.B.C. recipe involves cooked fresh green beans, which he puts into a roux of sauteed mushrooms and herbs, flour, chicken stock and half-and-half. He tops the mixture with fried leeks, cheddar cheese and panko breadcrumbs.

But you could always forgo the G.B.C. altogether.

If you're looking for something completely different, try a celery casserole. Crunchy water chestnuts and slivered almonds are combined with diced celery and mushrooms, then submerged in a homemade white sauce and topped with buttery breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese.

You still have a warm, satisfying saucy casserole that's got crunch and substance -- and nary a single green bean.

This Thanksgiving, be bold. Buck tradition and Grandma's wishes and take everyone's taste buds on a ride by trying something new.

Or at least make room on the table for something new next to the turkey and you-know-what. And keep your rightful seat among the grown-ups.

hprestidge@timesdispatch.com (804) 649-6945

Baby Sweet Potato Cakes with Pecans and Caramel Sauce

Makes 12 to 15 cakes

½ cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs at room temperature

1¼ cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

½ teaspoon EACH: salt, ginger and cinnamon

1 15-ounce can sweet potatoes, drained and mashed

1/3 cup buttermilk

½ cup chopped pecans

For sauce:

½ cup butter

¾ cup brown sugar

1 cup heavy cream

½ teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 12-count muffin tin.

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each.

In a small bowl, combine flour and baking soda. Add half of the flour mixture to butter mixture, and blend, making sure to scrape the sides of the bowl as you go. Add the other half of the flour mixture. Add vanilla, salt and spices, mashed sweet potatoes and buttermilk. Mixture will contain slight chunks of the sweet potatoes.

Spoon mixture into muffin tins, filling each nearly all of the way to the top. Bake for 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove cakes from pan and let cool on a wire rack.

In the meantime, combine butter, brown sugar, cream and vanilla in a saucepan over low-medium heat. Whisk until butter melts and mixture begins to bubble.

Take off heat and let cool for a few minutes.

To serve, sprinkle pecans over cakes and drizzle with caramel sauce.

Adapted from Southern Living

Cranberry Vinaigrette

Makes about 2/3 cup

½ cup canned whole-berry cranberry sauce

¼ cup orange juice

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoon peeled, minced fresh ginger

¼ teaspoon salt

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk until ingredients have emulsified. Serve over salad.

Adapted from Cooking Light

Celery Casserole

Makes 4 to 6 servings

3 cups diced celery

¼ cup slivered almonds

½ cup chopped or sliced water chestnuts

1 cup sliced mushrooms

¼ cup PLUS 4 tablespoon butter, divided

3 tablespoons flour (or more to suit)

1 cup chicken broth

¾ cup half-and-half

½ cup breadcrumbs

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-by-9-inch baking dish or use nonstick cooking spray.

Add celery to a pot on the stove with just enough water to cover and boil until fork tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Drain and combine with almonds, water chestnuts and mushrooms in the baking dish.

Over low-medium heat, melt ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon of butter and add flour to make a roux. Add chicken broth and half-and-half and stir. (You can add more flour, by tablespoons, if you'd like a thicker sauce.)

Pour sauce over celery mixture.

Back on the stovetop, melt 3 tablespoons butter with breadcrumbs and blend. Pour breadcrumbs over celery mixture and top with Parmesan cheese.

Bake for 25 minutes.

Adapted from Southern Living

Fig & Almond Stuffing

Makes 10 to 12 servings

1 12-ounce loaf peasant bread, cut into cubes

1½ cups sliced almonds

2 cups figs, stemmed and coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons EACH: chopped sage and parsley

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for greasing pan

1 onion, finely chopped

3 celery ribs, chopped

2 large carrots, chopped

1 fennel bulb, cored and finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon fennel seeds, finely chopped

8 large eggs

2½ cups vegetable stock

Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.

Spread bread cubes on a large baking sheet and toast for about 15 minutes, stirring once. Spread the almonds on a second baking sheet and toast for 5 minutes, until lightly browned. Transfer the bread and almonds to a large bowl and add the figs, sage and parsley.

In a large skillet, melt the butter. Add onion, celery, carrots, fennel, garlic and fennel seeds and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened, about five minutes. Let cool, then scrape the vegetables into the bowl with the bread mixture. Stir in eggs and stock and season with salt and pepper.

Spread the stuffing mix into the buttered baking dish and cover with foil. Bake 30 minutes, until heated through. Uncover and bake for about 10 to 15 minutes more, until the top is lightly browned. Serve hot.

Adapted from Food & Wine magazine

Fresh G.B.C.

Makes 6 servings

1 pound green beans, washed and ends snipped off

2 leeks, cleaned and cut into thin rings

Canola oil for frying leeks

2 tablespoons butter

8 ounces mushrooms, chopped

½ teaspoon thyme leaves, chopped

2 cloves garlic

2 tablespoons flour

1 cup chicken stock

1 cup half-and-half

Salt and pepper to taste

1 cup cheddar cheese

¼ cup panko breadcrumbs

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil with several pinches of salt. Add green beans and cook for about 5 minutes, until they turn bright green. Once cooked, drain and rinse the beans until they are cooled. Set aside.

In a medium skillet, add canola oil to a depth of about one inch and heat. Add the leeks and cook until they are crisp. Remove from oil and put onto a paper towel-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt.

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat and add mushrooms and thyme. Cook until mushrooms are soft and begin to take on color. Add garlic and cook for a minute or less, being careful not to let garlic burn.

Add flour and cook for about a minute, stirring the whole time. Add stock and half-and-half and stir. Cook for 5 minutes, or until the mixture thickens and no longer tastes of flour, stirring frequently. Season with salt and pepper.

Mix green beans into the mushroom sauce and transfer to a casserole dish. Top with cheese, breadcrumbs and fried leeks. Bake for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted, breadcrumbs are brown and sauce is bubbling.

Tom Parfitt, culinary specialist, University of Richmond's Center for Culinary Arts

©2011 the Richmond Times-Dispatch (Richmond, Va.)

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Quesadillas Can Be Healthy and Quick

Posted Nov 21, 2011

You can whip up a quick Southwestern dinner without all the fat found in tacos and burritos by making quesadillas. Though quesadillas usually are served as an appetizer, these are large and filling enough for supper.

This recipe uses flour tortillas filled with a savory bean mixture, melted Monterey Jack cheese and ham. Once prepared, they only take 2 minutes to cook under a broiler.

Jicama is a root vegetable with a thin brown skin and white crunchy flesh. Served raw or cooked, it retains its crisp water-chestnut-like texture.

While in an open market in Mexico City, I tasted sliced jicama with a squeeze of lemon. It’s a refreshing and tasty snack. If jicama is difficult to find, simply add a green salad to the meal.

This meal contains a total of 553 calories per serving with 24 percent of calories from fat.

Helpful Hints:

-Minced garlic can be found in jars in the produce section of the market.

-Cannellini or navy beans can be used instead of pinto beans.

-Look for low-sodium canned beans and rinse them before using.

-Make sure the pimento are completely drained.

Countdown:

-Prepare jicama, set aside.

-Preheat broiler.

-Prepare quesadillas.

Wine suggestion: An extra-rich quesadilla like this would be nicely matched by a rich, red petite sirah. Since you’re doing Mexican, you might seek out a Mexican petite sirah.

QUICK QUESADILLAS

1 teaspoon minced garlic

2 tablespoons diced red onion

1/2 cup drained, sliced canned pimento

1/2 cup rinsed and drained canned pinto beans

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 8-inch flour tortillas

1/2 cup diced low-fat ham

1/2 cup shredded reduced-fat Monterey Jack cheese

Combine garlic, onion, pimento and beans in a food processor and puree. (Or mash beans with fork, chop pimento and mix together with garlic and onion.) Add salt and pepper to taste.

Spread 2 tortillas with bean mixture. Sprinkle ham and cheese on top.

Cover each prepared tortilla with one of the 2 remaining tortillas.

Place the tortillas on a foil lined baking tray. Broil 5 inches from the heat for 1 minute. Remove from the broiler and turn quesadillas over with a spatula. Return to the broiler for 1 minute. Watch to make sure they don’t burn. Cut each tortilla in half and serve. Makes 2 servings.

Per serving: 500 calories (27 percent from fat), 14.9 g fat (5.6 g saturated, 5.9 g monounsaturated), 25 mg cholesterol, 22.1 g protein, 69.6 g carbohydrates, 7.1 g fiber, 1170 mg sodium.

JICAMA STICKS

1 small jicama (about 2 cups cut into sticks)

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Peel jicama. Cut into 4 1/2-inch slices. Cut the slices into 1/2-inch sticks. Toss with lemon juice. Divide between two dinner plates. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste and chopped cilantro. Makes 2 servings.

Per serving: 53 calories (2 percent from fat), 0.1 g fat (0 g saturated, 0 g monounsaturated), no cholesterol, 1.0 g protein, 12.8 g carbohydrates, 8.5 g fiber, 6 mg sodium.

SHOPPING LIST

Here are the ingredients you’ll need for tonight’s Dinner in Minutes.

To buy: 1 package 8-inch flour tortillas, 1 small jar/can pimentos, 1 small can pinto beans, 1 small package low-fat ham, 1 small package reduced-fat shredded Monterey Jack cheese, 1 small jicama, 1 lemon and 1 small bunch fresh cilantro.

Staples: Minced garlic, red onion, salt and black peppercorns.

Linda Gassenheimer is the author of 14 cookbooks including her newest, “The Flavors of the Florida Keys” and “Mix ‘n Match Meals in Minutes for People with Diabetes.”

You can whip up a quick Southwestern dinner without all the fat found in tacos and burritos by making quesadillas. Though quesadillas usually are served as an appetizer, these are large and filling enough for supper.

This recipe uses flour tortillas filled with a savory bean mixture, melted Monterey Jack cheese and ham. Once prepared, they only take 2 minutes to cook under a broiler.

Jicama is a root vegetable with a thin brown skin and white crunchy flesh. Served raw or cooked, it retains its crisp water-chestnut-like texture.

While in an open market in Mexico City, I tasted sliced jicama with a squeeze of lemon. It's a refreshing and tasty snack. If jicama is difficult to find, simply add a green salad to the meal.

This meal contains a total of 553 calories per serving with 24 percent of calories from fat.

Helpful Hints:

-Minced garlic can be found in jars in the produce section of the market.

-Cannellini or navy beans can be used instead of pinto beans.

-Look for low-sodium canned beans and rinse them before using.

-Make sure the pimento are completely drained.

Countdown:

-Prepare jicama, set aside.

-Preheat broiler.

-Prepare quesadillas.

Wine suggestion: An extra-rich quesadilla like this would be nicely matched by a rich, red petite sirah. Since you're doing Mexican, you might seek out a Mexican petite sirah.

QUICK QUESADILLAS

1 teaspoon minced garlic

2 tablespoons diced red onion

1/2 cup drained, sliced canned pimento

1/2 cup rinsed and drained canned pinto beans

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 8-inch flour tortillas

1/2 cup diced low-fat ham

1/2 cup shredded reduced-fat Monterey Jack cheese

Combine garlic, onion, pimento and beans in a food processor and puree. (Or mash beans with fork, chop pimento and mix together with garlic and onion.) Add salt and pepper to taste.

Spread 2 tortillas with bean mixture. Sprinkle ham and cheese on top.

Cover each prepared tortilla with one of the 2 remaining tortillas.

Place the tortillas on a foil lined baking tray. Broil 5 inches from the heat for 1 minute. Remove from the broiler and turn quesadillas over with a spatula. Return to the broiler for 1 minute. Watch to make sure they don't burn. Cut each tortilla in half and serve. Makes 2 servings.

Per serving: 500 calories (27 percent from fat), 14.9 g fat (5.6 g saturated, 5.9 g monounsaturated), 25 mg cholesterol, 22.1 g protein, 69.6 g carbohydrates, 7.1 g fiber, 1170 mg sodium.

JICAMA STICKS

1 small jicama (about 2 cups cut into sticks)

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Peel jicama. Cut into 4 1/2-inch slices. Cut the slices into 1/2-inch sticks. Toss with lemon juice. Divide between two dinner plates. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste and chopped cilantro. Makes 2 servings.

Per serving: 53 calories (2 percent from fat), 0.1 g fat (0 g saturated, 0 g monounsaturated), no cholesterol, 1.0 g protein, 12.8 g carbohydrates, 8.5 g fiber, 6 mg sodium.

SHOPPING LIST

Here are the ingredients you'll need for tonight's Dinner in Minutes.

To buy: 1 package 8-inch flour tortillas, 1 small jar/can pimentos, 1 small can pinto beans, 1 small package low-fat ham, 1 small package reduced-fat shredded Monterey Jack cheese, 1 small jicama, 1 lemon and 1 small bunch fresh cilantro.

Staples: Minced garlic, red onion, salt and black peppercorns.

Linda Gassenheimer is the author of 14 cookbooks including her newest, "The Flavors of the Florida Keys" and "Mix 'n Match Meals in Minutes for People with Diabetes."

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Holiday Sides with a Lighter Twist

Posted Nov 15, 2011

CIABATTA STUFFING WITH CHESTNUTS AND RAISINS

Italian Ciabatta bread is studded with chestnuts and raisins. This recipe is perfect for the bread stuffing lovers, but with a little Mediterranean flair.

Ingredients

10 cup (1-inch) cubed ciabatta bread (about 14 ounces)

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 1/2 cups chopped celery

1 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups peeled bottled chestnuts, finely chopped

1/2 cup golden raisins

3 cups fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth

1 large egg, lightly beaten

Cooking spray

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Arrange bread in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until golden. Place bread in a large bowl.

3. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add celery and next 6 ingredients (through salt) to pan; cook 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally. Add celery mixture, chestnuts, and raisins to bread; toss well. Combine chicken broth and egg, stirring with a whisk. Add broth mixture to bread mixture, tossing gently to combine. Spoon bread mixture into a 13 x 9-inch glass or ceramic baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes or until top is lightly browned.

GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE WITH MADEIRA MUSHROOMS

Here’s a deliciously updated version of the classic, with fresh green beans and wine-infused mushrooms. We just had to keep the fried onion topping, which is arguably the best part.

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds green beans, trimmed and halved crosswise

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 cups chopped sweet onion

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

8 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced

1 (8-ounce) package presliced button mushrooms

1/3 cup Madeira wine or dry sherry

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth

1 cup (about 2 ounces) canned fried onions (such as French’s)

1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Place beans into a large saucepan of boiling water; cook 4 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water; drain well. Place beans in a large bowl; set aside.

3. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion and thyme to pan; saute 4 minutes or until onion is tender, stirring occasionally. Add mushrooms; saute 10 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates, stirring frequently. Stir in wine, salt, and pepper; cook 2 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates. Stir in flour; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Gradually stir in chicken broth; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute or until thick, stirring constantly. Add mushroom mixture to green beans; toss well. Place green bean mixture in a 2-quart glass or ceramic baking dish. Combine fried onions and grated cheese in a small bowl. Top green bean mixture evenly with fried onion mixture. Bake at 425 degrees for 17 minutes or until top is lightly browned.

TWICE-ROASTED SWEET POTATOES WITH CHIPOTLE

Twice-baked sweet potatoes get mixed with a spicy-smoky chipotle butter that balances the sugar. Look for similar-sized sweet potatoes so they’ll cook at an even rate. To make ahead, stuff the potato halves, cover, and refrigerate up to one day. Set out at room temperature as the oven preheats to take the chill off.

Ingredients

6 medium sweet potatoes, unpeeled (about 3 1/2 pounds)

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 tablespoon finely chopped chipotle chiles, canned in adobo sauce

1 teaspoon adobo sauce

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 green onions

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Pierce potatoes with a fork; place on a baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until done. Cool slightly. Cut each potato in half lengthwise; scoop out pulp, leaving a 1/4-inch-thick shell. Combine potato pulp, butter, chiles, adobo, and salt in a food processor. Finely chop white bottom part of onions; add to pulp mixture. (Reserve green onion tops.) Pulse mixture 5 times to combine.

3. Arrange potato shells on baking sheet. Spoon potato mixture into shells. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes or until hot. Thinly slice green top part of onions, and sprinkle over potatoes.

For more healthy Thanksgiving sides go to CookingLight.com

© 2011, Cooking Light

CIABATTA STUFFING WITH CHESTNUTS AND RAISINS

Italian Ciabatta bread is studded with chestnuts and raisins. This recipe is perfect for the bread stuffing lovers, but with a little Mediterranean flair.

Ingredients

10 cup (1-inch) cubed ciabatta bread (about 14 ounces)

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 1/2 cups chopped celery

1 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups peeled bottled chestnuts, finely chopped

1/2 cup golden raisins

3 cups fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth

1 large egg, lightly beaten

Cooking spray

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Arrange bread in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until golden. Place bread in a large bowl.

3. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add celery and next 6 ingredients (through salt) to pan; cook 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally. Add celery mixture, chestnuts, and raisins to bread; toss well. Combine chicken broth and egg, stirring with a whisk. Add broth mixture to bread mixture, tossing gently to combine. Spoon bread mixture into a 13 x 9-inch glass or ceramic baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes or until top is lightly browned.

GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE WITH MADEIRA MUSHROOMS

Here's a deliciously updated version of the classic, with fresh green beans and wine-infused mushrooms. We just had to keep the fried onion topping, which is arguably the best part.

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds green beans, trimmed and halved crosswise

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 cups chopped sweet onion

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

8 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced

1 (8-ounce) package presliced button mushrooms

1/3 cup Madeira wine or dry sherry

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth

1 cup (about 2 ounces) canned fried onions (such as French's)

1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Place beans into a large saucepan of boiling water; cook 4 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water; drain well. Place beans in a large bowl; set aside.

3. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion and thyme to pan; saute 4 minutes or until onion is tender, stirring occasionally. Add mushrooms; saute 10 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates, stirring frequently. Stir in wine, salt, and pepper; cook 2 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates. Stir in flour; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Gradually stir in chicken broth; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute or until thick, stirring constantly. Add mushroom mixture to green beans; toss well. Place green bean mixture in a 2-quart glass or ceramic baking dish. Combine fried onions and grated cheese in a small bowl. Top green bean mixture evenly with fried onion mixture. Bake at 425 degrees for 17 minutes or until top is lightly browned.

TWICE-ROASTED SWEET POTATOES WITH CHIPOTLE

Twice-baked sweet potatoes get mixed with a spicy-smoky chipotle butter that balances the sugar. Look for similar-sized sweet potatoes so they'll cook at an even rate. To make ahead, stuff the potato halves, cover, and refrigerate up to one day. Set out at room temperature as the oven preheats to take the chill off.

Ingredients

6 medium sweet potatoes, unpeeled (about 3 1/2 pounds)

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 tablespoon finely chopped chipotle chiles, canned in adobo sauce

1 teaspoon adobo sauce

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 green onions

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Pierce potatoes with a fork; place on a baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until done. Cool slightly. Cut each potato in half lengthwise; scoop out pulp, leaving a 1/4-inch-thick shell. Combine potato pulp, butter, chiles, adobo, and salt in a food processor. Finely chop white bottom part of onions; add to pulp mixture. (Reserve green onion tops.) Pulse mixture 5 times to combine.

3. Arrange potato shells on baking sheet. Spoon potato mixture into shells. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes or until hot. Thinly slice green top part of onions, and sprinkle over potatoes.

For more healthy Thanksgiving sides go to CookingLight.com

© 2011, Cooking Light

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How To Measure Fat Loss Accurately

Posted July 6, 2011

Losing inches from your chest, thighs, arms, hips, waist and buttocks is a clear sign of fat loss and fitness progress. Here’s how to use a tape measure correctly:

Use a plastic tape measure. Cloth varieties can stretch out over time and give you distorted measurements.

Position the tape correctly. Don’t pull the tape in tightly to get a smaller measurement. “Make sure the tape is snug, does not compress your skin and is parallel to the floor,” says Maria Kinirons, director of food and nutrition for Weight Watchers North America. Wear thin fabrics – or better yet, nothing at all.

Breathe normally. Don’t suck your breath in or exhale forcefully when measuring your waist or chest.

Look straight ahead. Stand tall with your feet together – or slightly apart if you’re measuring your thighs – preferably in front of a full-length mirror so you can see the tape’s position. Don’t slouch down to look at your reading. For the most accurate results, ask a family member or friend to help.

Take monthly measurements. Don’t measure too often: readings can change from day to day – and even at different points in a single day – based on what you eat and drink. Pick one day a month and measure yourself first thing in the morning. If you’re female, don’t schedule this just before or during your period, when you tend to be more bloated.

Measure at the right place. For your chest, measure around the largest spot, generally at the nipple line. Waist: just above your hipbones, roughly at your belly button. Hips: the widest part of your buttocks. Arms: about three inches above your elbow, at the largest point. Thighs: the biggest part of your upper legs.

Losing inches from your chest, thighs, arms, hips, waist and buttocks is a clear sign of fat loss and fitness progress. Here's how to use a tape measure correctly:

Use a plastic tape measure. Cloth varieties can stretch out over time and give you distorted measurements.

Position the tape correctly. Don't pull the tape in tightly to get a smaller measurement. "Make sure the tape is snug, does not compress your skin and is parallel to the floor," says Maria Kinirons, director of food and nutrition for Weight Watchers North America. Wear thin fabrics - or better yet, nothing at all.

Breathe normally. Don't suck your breath in or exhale forcefully when measuring your waist or chest.

Look straight ahead. Stand tall with your feet together - or slightly apart if you're measuring your thighs - preferably in front of a full-length mirror so you can see the tape's position. Don't slouch down to look at your reading. For the most accurate results, ask a family member or friend to help.

Take monthly measurements. Don't measure too often: readings can change from day to day - and even at different points in a single day - based on what you eat and drink. Pick one day a month and measure yourself first thing in the morning. If you're female, don't schedule this just before or during your period, when you tend to be more bloated.

Measure at the right place. For your chest, measure around the largest spot, generally at the nipple line. Waist: just above your hipbones, roughly at your belly button. Hips: the widest part of your buttocks. Arms: about three inches above your elbow, at the largest point. Thighs: the biggest part of your upper legs.

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CSAs Change the Way You Eat

Posted July 5, 2011

The box of organic salad greens, radishes and broccoli that Marge Amberson picks up each week from East Henderson Farm has revolutionized her diet and shopping habits. She tried the crop share last year, then re-upped for another season.

“The flavor is very fresh; the food is not trucked halfway across the country. There’s still dirt on it sometimes,” she said. Her family is eating more healthful meals, and she loves to visit the farm near her home in Henderson, Minn.

Amberson is riding a trend that’s rapidly gaining momentum.

To join a CSA, a consumer pays a farmer for a weekly share of the crops, usually $300 to $600 per growing season. The concept started in Europe and Japan, then took root in the United States as a fringe movement in the 1980s.

“In the early days, we had to educate everybody about everything: the importance of buying local food, what you could expect to get, local food as a concept,” said Verna Kragnes, a founding farmer at Philadelphia Community Farm in Osceola, Wis., which is in its 22nd season. “Now it’s practically a household word.”

With obesity, heart disease and diabetes now national epidemics, the potential for CSAs to improve diets and ultimately health has caught the attention of health professionals. HealthPartners, an insurance and health care provider, is studying the impact of CSAs on eating habits. Early results suggest that most people who sign up for CSAs eat more vegetables and a greater variety of them, said Nancy Sherwood, senior research investigator.

Variety can be a mixed blessing for many CSA members. Some weeks the boxes can be heavy on veggies unfamiliar to many tables, such as kohlrabi, garlic scapes and bok choy. “Farmers started to realize they had to provide recipes and take input on what to raise,” said Brian DeVore, staff member at the Land Stewardship Project.

But being introduced to new vegetables is part of what many consumers like about CSAs.

“We’ve learned to eat things we never would have tried,” said Judy Goebel of Richfield, a member of Philadelphia Community Farm for more than 15 years. “Like arugula. The first few times, I wasn’t so sure. Now I’m crazy about the stuff.”

Amberson said she tried kale for the first time last year after finding it in her CSA box. “It’s a great way to introduce new vegetables into our lives,” she said. Her household is eating healthier since joining a CSA, in part because “I hate to waste anything. Last year, we’d have two or three vegetable servings at dinner when normally we’d have one.”

As the CSA movement matures, some farmers are experimenting with different models, such as Gardens of Eagan’s new prepaid CSA card. Instead of picking up boxes of that week’s harvest packed by the farmer, members pay $50 for a card that they can redeem for $55 worth of vegetables of their choice from the farm’s booths at two farmers markets.

“Fifteen years ago, we were hearing the same things you hear now – that you get things you don’t like or don’t know what to do with,” said farm manager Linda Halley. “If you split a share, you have the complications of splitting. It’s a responsibility you have to do every week, even if you go on vacation.”

The card was appealing to first-time CSA member Julie McGill of Bloomington, Minn. “This is a good option for our family,” she said. “We’re not always in town on weekends, and I don’t like throwing food away.”

While the early CSA farms were located in rural areas, most of their members were located in trend-setting urban neighborhoods. Now CSA participation appears to be spreading not only to the suburbs and but also to outstate Minnesota.

“Originally, it was a city thing,” DeVore said. “The conventional wisdom was that there wasn’t demand in Rochester or St. Cloud. Now more CSAs are finding their markets closer to home. Some are not even bothering to deliver to the Twin Cities.”

Meanwhile, in the urban core, more CSA members are getting crops grown right in their neighborhoods, with some farmers operating on vacant lots, underused land and even parking lots.

“On the supply side, there’s been a growth of farmers,” DeVore said. “The hard-core group has started mentoring beginning farmers, and those interns are now striking out on their own.”

For Josh Reinitz, who grew up on a dairy farm and worked at a downtown desk job before moving back to what was left of that family farm several years ago, CSA farming is a new way of supporting an old agricultural model: small-scale sustainable farming.

On the plus side, it allows his family to enjoy “an ideal lifestyle. We work hard, but it’s wholesome, valuable work,” he said. “I like the diversity of growing a lot of different crops.” The downside is 12-hour workdays, six days a week, during peak season. “It’s a lifestyle, not a job,” he said. “I have found a passion for it.”

Over the past decade, the number of Twin Cities-area residents getting their food through community-supported agriculture, or CSAs, has nearly tripled, to more than 11,000 people. Twenty years ago, there were two CSA farms. This year there are 81, according to the Land Stewardship Project, which publishes a directory.

“In the last three or four years, there’s been an explosion in new CSAs,” said Laurie Haugen-Eitzman. She and her husband, David, have operated Big Woods Farm in Nerstrand, Minn., for 19 growing seasons.

CSA farming is complex, said Haugen-Eitzman. “You have to have enough food for your members every week.”

Those members share not only the farmers’ crops but also the risk. “If a hailstorm wipes out everything, there might not be much for a couple weeks,” she said.

But DeVore said the surge of CSA farmers has provided some insurance in case of crop failures.

“Now, if one farmer gets his tomatoes hailed out, another farmer who lucked out can help.”

The box of organic salad greens, radishes and broccoli that Marge Amberson picks up each week from East Henderson Farm has revolutionized her diet and shopping habits. She tried the crop share last year, then re-upped for another season.

"The flavor is very fresh; the food is not trucked halfway across the country. There's still dirt on it sometimes," she said. Her family is eating more healthful meals, and she loves to visit the farm near her home in Henderson, Minn.

Amberson is riding a trend that's rapidly gaining momentum.

To join a CSA, a consumer pays a farmer for a weekly share of the crops, usually $300 to $600 per growing season. The concept started in Europe and Japan, then took root in the United States as a fringe movement in the 1980s.

"In the early days, we had to educate everybody about everything: the importance of buying local food, what you could expect to get, local food as a concept," said Verna Kragnes, a founding farmer at Philadelphia Community Farm in Osceola, Wis., which is in its 22nd season. "Now it's practically a household word."

With obesity, heart disease and diabetes now national epidemics, the potential for CSAs to improve diets and ultimately health has caught the attention of health professionals. HealthPartners, an insurance and health care provider, is studying the impact of CSAs on eating habits. Early results suggest that most people who sign up for CSAs eat more vegetables and a greater variety of them, said Nancy Sherwood, senior research investigator.

Variety can be a mixed blessing for many CSA members. Some weeks the boxes can be heavy on veggies unfamiliar to many tables, such as kohlrabi, garlic scapes and bok choy. "Farmers started to realize they had to provide recipes and take input on what to raise," said Brian DeVore, staff member at the Land Stewardship Project.

But being introduced to new vegetables is part of what many consumers like about CSAs.

"We've learned to eat things we never would have tried," said Judy Goebel of Richfield, a member of Philadelphia Community Farm for more than 15 years. "Like arugula. The first few times, I wasn't so sure. Now I'm crazy about the stuff."

Amberson said she tried kale for the first time last year after finding it in her CSA box. "It's a great way to introduce new vegetables into our lives," she said. Her household is eating healthier since joining a CSA, in part because "I hate to waste anything. Last year, we'd have two or three vegetable servings at dinner when normally we'd have one."

As the CSA movement matures, some farmers are experimenting with different models, such as Gardens of Eagan's new prepaid CSA card. Instead of picking up boxes of that week's harvest packed by the farmer, members pay $50 for a card that they can redeem for $55 worth of vegetables of their choice from the farm's booths at two farmers markets.

"Fifteen years ago, we were hearing the same things you hear now - that you get things you don't like or don't know what to do with," said farm manager Linda Halley. "If you split a share, you have the complications of splitting. It's a responsibility you have to do every week, even if you go on vacation."

The card was appealing to first-time CSA member Julie McGill of Bloomington, Minn. "This is a good option for our family," she said. "We're not always in town on weekends, and I don't like throwing food away."

While the early CSA farms were located in rural areas, most of their members were located in trend-setting urban neighborhoods. Now CSA participation appears to be spreading not only to the suburbs and but also to outstate Minnesota.

"Originally, it was a city thing," DeVore said. "The conventional wisdom was that there wasn't demand in Rochester or St. Cloud. Now more CSAs are finding their markets closer to home. Some are not even bothering to deliver to the Twin Cities."

Meanwhile, in the urban core, more CSA members are getting crops grown right in their neighborhoods, with some farmers operating on vacant lots, underused land and even parking lots.

"On the supply side, there's been a growth of farmers," DeVore said. "The hard-core group has started mentoring beginning farmers, and those interns are now striking out on their own."

For Josh Reinitz, who grew up on a dairy farm and worked at a downtown desk job before moving back to what was left of that family farm several years ago, CSA farming is a new way of supporting an old agricultural model: small-scale sustainable farming.

On the plus side, it allows his family to enjoy "an ideal lifestyle. We work hard, but it's wholesome, valuable work," he said. "I like the diversity of growing a lot of different crops." The downside is 12-hour workdays, six days a week, during peak season. "It's a lifestyle, not a job," he said. "I have found a passion for it."

Over the past decade, the number of Twin Cities-area residents getting their food through community-supported agriculture, or CSAs, has nearly tripled, to more than 11,000 people. Twenty years ago, there were two CSA farms. This year there are 81, according to the Land Stewardship Project, which publishes a directory.

"In the last three or four years, there's been an explosion in new CSAs," said Laurie Haugen-Eitzman. She and her husband, David, have operated Big Woods Farm in Nerstrand, Minn., for 19 growing seasons.

CSA farming is complex, said Haugen-Eitzman. "You have to have enough food for your members every week."

Those members share not only the farmers' crops but also the risk. "If a hailstorm wipes out everything, there might not be much for a couple weeks," she said.

But DeVore said the surge of CSA farmers has provided some insurance in case of crop failures.

"Now, if one farmer gets his tomatoes hailed out, another farmer who lucked out can help."

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Children Who Survive Cancer Face Higher Risk of Future Cancer

Posted July 4, 2011

In another study underscoring the daunting risks facing survivors of childhood cancer, scientists at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital report that about 1 in 10 of the survivors will go on to fight second tumors and many will develop third and fourth cancers.

The study, published Monday in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, is the first to enumerate the risks facing adults who survived cancer as children.

It highlights the need for vigilant screening of the survivors, said Dr. Greg Armstrong, an assistant member at St. Jude’s department of epidemiology and cancer control and the principal investigator on the study.

“It’s hard to know what the future holds for this group, but it is concerning,” Armstrong said.

As long-term, overall survival rates for childhood cancer have soared to 80 percent because of research at St. Jude and elsewhere, scientists have shown heightened interest in the myriad health issues confronting the growing population of survivors.

Their primary tool has been the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study, a federally funded project for which St. Jude is the coordinating institution. The 14,358 survivors enrolled in it had been diagnosed between 1970 and 1986, when they were 20 or younger.

The findings reported Monday are from the latest of 170 studies generated by the survivor project. Last year, Armstrong and other researchers reported that survivors of childhood cancer who contract either basal or squamous-cell skin cancer face an almost one-in-five chance of developing a more aggressive type of tumor within 15 years.

The latest study showed that 1,382, or 9.6 percent of the individuals in the survivor project, developed new tumors unrelated to their original cancers. Of that group, 386, or about 30 percent, developed third tumors, while 153 had four or more.

“Now that these childhood-cancer survivors are aging, we’re seeing that they are at extremely high risk for a third and fourth cancer,” Armstrong said.

The median age of the survivor group was 32, well before the stage in life when rates of prostate, breast and other cancers surge in the general population.

The reasons for the elevated risks likely include the radiation therapy that 70 percent of the survivors’ group underwent, Armstrong said. More recent treatment methods rely less on heavy radiation.

But other factors play a role as well, he said. For one thing, survivors afflicted with multiple cancers might be genetically predisposed to the disease, or particularly vulnerable to the effects of radiation.

Armstrong said the study makes all too clear the need for survivors to get frequent cancer screenings. For instance, women who received chest radiation to fight childhood tumors should begin getting regular mammograms by age 25 — 15 years before those in the general population generally start receiving them.

Additional cancers aren’t the only threats facing survivors of childhood tumors. Another recent study led by St. Jude investigators showed that sleep and fatigue problems can sharply reduce the cognitive abilities of survivors.

“The difficulty with the cancer survivors is they’re already at risk for neuro-cognitive problems because they’ve had radiation to the brain and chemotherapy,” said Kevin Krull, an associate member of the department of epidemiology and cancer control at St. Jude and the study’s corresponding author. “When you add sleep difficulties on top of that, it significantly exacerbates the problem.”

Tom Charlier: (901) 529-2572

To see more of The Commercial Appeal or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.commercialappeal.com.

Copyright © 2011, The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, Tenn.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

In another study underscoring the daunting risks facing survivors of childhood cancer, scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital report that about 1 in 10 of the survivors will go on to fight second tumors and many will develop third and fourth cancers.

The study, published Monday in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, is the first to enumerate the risks facing adults who survived cancer as children.

It highlights the need for vigilant screening of the survivors, said Dr. Greg Armstrong, an assistant member at St. Jude's department of epidemiology and cancer control and the principal investigator on the study.

"It's hard to know what the future holds for this group, but it is concerning," Armstrong said.

As long-term, overall survival rates for childhood cancer have soared to 80 percent because of research at St. Jude and elsewhere, scientists have shown heightened interest in the myriad health issues confronting the growing population of survivors.

Their primary tool has been the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study, a federally funded project for which St. Jude is the coordinating institution. The 14,358 survivors enrolled in it had been diagnosed between 1970 and 1986, when they were 20 or younger.

The findings reported Monday are from the latest of 170 studies generated by the survivor project. Last year, Armstrong and other researchers reported that survivors of childhood cancer who contract either basal or squamous-cell skin cancer face an almost one-in-five chance of developing a more aggressive type of tumor within 15 years.

The latest study showed that 1,382, or 9.6 percent of the individuals in the survivor project, developed new tumors unrelated to their original cancers. Of that group, 386, or about 30 percent, developed third tumors, while 153 had four or more.

"Now that these childhood-cancer survivors are aging, we're seeing that they are at extremely high risk for a third and fourth cancer," Armstrong said.

The median age of the survivor group was 32, well before the stage in life when rates of prostate, breast and other cancers surge in the general population.

The reasons for the elevated risks likely include the radiation therapy that 70 percent of the survivors' group underwent, Armstrong said. More recent treatment methods rely less on heavy radiation.

But other factors play a role as well, he said. For one thing, survivors afflicted with multiple cancers might be genetically predisposed to the disease, or particularly vulnerable to the effects of radiation.

Armstrong said the study makes all too clear the need for survivors to get frequent cancer screenings. For instance, women who received chest radiation to fight childhood tumors should begin getting regular mammograms by age 25 -- 15 years before those in the general population generally start receiving them.

Additional cancers aren't the only threats facing survivors of childhood tumors. Another recent study led by St. Jude investigators showed that sleep and fatigue problems can sharply reduce the cognitive abilities of survivors.

"The difficulty with the cancer survivors is they're already at risk for neuro-cognitive problems because they've had radiation to the brain and chemotherapy," said Kevin Krull, an associate member of the department of epidemiology and cancer control at St. Jude and the study's corresponding author. "When you add sleep difficulties on top of that, it significantly exacerbates the problem."

Tom Charlier: (901) 529-2572

To see more of The Commercial Appeal or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.commercialappeal.com.

Copyright © 2011, The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, Tenn.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

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Smokers Could Benefit from CT Scans

Posted July 2, 2011

Screenings could be recommended for current and former smokers after an unprecedented study found a 20 percent reduction in lung-cancer deaths after CT scans.

Some say the research puts CT scans for smokers on par with, or even ahead of, mammography as a way to prevent death by finding cancer early.

Others are sounding a more cautious note, saying the study is positive but demands more investigation before widespread screening is offered.

Independent experts who offer recommendations on what screenings the government and others should support are evaluating the issue and are expected to make a decision sometime next year.

How soon, or whether, lung-cancer screening will be made widely available to current and former smokers remains uncertain.

Some hospitals, including the University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center in Cleveland, already offer the low-dose CT (computerized tomography) scans for patients willing to pay out of pocket. Others, including Ohio State University Medical Center, have plans to follow suit.

The study, which appears this week in the New England Journal of Medicine, is the first of its magnitude to support screening and is serving as a catalyst for much discussion and debate.

An estimated 94 million current and former smokers are at elevated risk for developing lung cancer, which is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States.

The American Cancer Society estimates that 221,130 people will discover they have the disease this year and that 156,940 people will die of lung cancer this year. But if the cancer is found early, the chance of survival is much higher.

The researchers who led the effort are working to analyze the cost-effectiveness of screening. CT scan charges vary, but they often cost a few hundred dollars or more.

Aside from cost, the main concern is that false-positive screening results, which are common, will lead to unnecessary problems for patients, from anxiety and missed work days to serious complications from invasive procedures.

But the potential for lives saved outweighs those risks, said Laurie Fenton Ambrose, president and CEO of the Lung Cancer Alliance, based in Washington, D.C.

“Simply put, it’s watershed,” she said. “The question ‘to screen or not to screen?’ has been answered.”

The patient-advocacy group launched the website www.screenforlungcancer.org this week, and estimates that 70,000 lives a year could be saved through screening heavy smokers.

The National Cancer Institute study included 53,454 current and former smokers who smoked at least a pack a day for 30 years, or a similarly risky amount. About half underwent CT scans three times a year; the other half had chest X-rays, which have been repeatedly refuted as a good screening method.

The researchers found that there were significantly fewer deaths in the CT group: 247 per 100,000 person years (a calculation scientists use to assess risk), compared with 309 in the X-ray group.

“This is an incredibly encouraging study, but I think delving into every previous tobacco user in the past would probably need a little more data, a little more confirmation,” said Dr. Joseph Hofmeister, an oncologist with Columbus Oncology Associates, which is affiliated with Riverside Methodist Hospital.

Lung-cancer screening currently isn’t covered by the government or private payers.

At the Seidman Cancer Center, screenings are being offered for $99.

“I think (the study) should really change practice,” said Dr. Stanton Gerson, an oncologist at Seidman.

Gerson cautioned that patients should seek out a well-established program for screening and that only those who fit the study profile ~should be considered for screening.

Dr. Patrick Nana-Sinkam, a pulmonologist at the OSU Medical Center, said after decades of debate on lung-cancer screening, this study is being met with tremendous enthusiasm.

He agreed that the cost analysis is an important piece of the research and said that screening should remain a personal decision and one that is carefully discussed by the patient and doctor.

mcrane@dispatch.com

To see more of The Columbus Dispatch, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.columbusdispatch.com.

Screenings could be recommended for current and former smokers after an unprecedented study found a 20 percent reduction in lung-cancer deaths after CT scans.

Some say the research puts CT scans for smokers on par with, or even ahead of, mammography as a way to prevent death by finding cancer early.

Others are sounding a more cautious note, saying the study is positive but demands more investigation before widespread screening is offered.

Independent experts who offer recommendations on what screenings the government and others should support are evaluating the issue and are expected to make a decision sometime next year.

How soon, or whether, lung-cancer screening will be made widely available to current and former smokers remains uncertain.

Some hospitals, including the University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center in Cleveland, already offer the low-dose CT (computerized tomography) scans for patients willing to pay out of pocket. Others, including Ohio State University Medical Center, have plans to follow suit.

The study, which appears this week in the New England Journal of Medicine, is the first of its magnitude to support screening and is serving as a catalyst for much discussion and debate.

An estimated 94 million current and former smokers are at elevated risk for developing lung cancer, which is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States.

The American Cancer Society estimates that 221,130 people will discover they have the disease this year and that 156,940 people will die of lung cancer this year. But if the cancer is found early, the chance of survival is much higher.

The researchers who led the effort are working to analyze the cost-effectiveness of screening. CT scan charges vary, but they often cost a few hundred dollars or more.

Aside from cost, the main concern is that false-positive screening results, which are common, will lead to unnecessary problems for patients, from anxiety and missed work days to serious complications from invasive procedures.

But the potential for lives saved outweighs those risks, said Laurie Fenton Ambrose, president and CEO of the Lung Cancer Alliance, based in Washington, D.C.

"Simply put, it's watershed," she said. "The question 'to screen or not to screen?' has been answered."

The patient-advocacy group launched the website www.screenforlungcancer.org this week, and estimates that 70,000 lives a year could be saved through screening heavy smokers.

The National Cancer Institute study included 53,454 current and former smokers who smoked at least a pack a day for 30 years, or a similarly risky amount. About half underwent CT scans three times a year; the other half had chest X-rays, which have been repeatedly refuted as a good screening method.

The researchers found that there were significantly fewer deaths in the CT group: 247 per 100,000 person years (a calculation scientists use to assess risk), compared with 309 in the X-ray group.

"This is an incredibly encouraging study, but I think delving into every previous tobacco user in the past would probably need a little more data, a little more confirmation," said Dr. Joseph Hofmeister, an oncologist with Columbus Oncology Associates, which is affiliated with Riverside Methodist Hospital.

Lung-cancer screening currently isn't covered by the government or private payers.

At the Seidman Cancer Center, screenings are being offered for $99.

"I think (the study) should really change practice," said Dr. Stanton Gerson, an oncologist at Seidman.

Gerson cautioned that patients should seek out a well-established program for screening and that only those who fit the study profile ~should be considered for screening.

Dr. Patrick Nana-Sinkam, a pulmonologist at the OSU Medical Center, said after decades of debate on lung-cancer screening, this study is being met with tremendous enthusiasm.

He agreed that the cost analysis is an important piece of the research and said that screening should remain a personal decision and one that is carefully discussed by the patient and doctor.

mcrane@dispatch.com

To see more of The Columbus Dispatch, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.columbusdispatch.com.

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‘Grow A Row’ Project Helps Food Pantry

Posted June 30, 2011

In a modern-day take on the victory gardens of World War II, Hamilton and Wenham families are growing extra veggies in their gardens this spring for the local food pantry.

The “Grow a Row” project of Hamilton-Wenham Green, a citizens group focused on sustainability, kicked off this week and has 25 participants so far. Local families have agreed to plant an extra row of tomatoes, lettuce and/or carrots, and donate the produce to Acord Food Pantry in Hamilton.

Over the course of the summer, they hope to donate 300 pounds of produce to Acord, said Greg Horner, president of Hamilton-Wenham Green.

“People have been very enthusiastic about this program,” Horner said. “It really hit a nerve, combining an interest in growing food with the awareness of a need that’s out there. … It’s neighbors helping neighbors. It feels even better than just buying something at the store and bringing it in (to donate).”

Acord Food Pantry in downtown Hamilton is open twice a week, distributing food to residents of Hamilton, Wenham, Ipswich, Topsfield, Essex and Manchester-by-the-Sea.

While the nonprofit is grateful for the produce they receive from Green Meadows Farm in Hamilton and Appleton Farms in Ipswich, there is always a need for the basics, said Deby Baker, Acord’s managing director.

“One of the things Acord is really trying to focus on is nutrition,” Baker said. “We are always looking for the basics — things we may not get from some of the other farms. It’s important to round out people’s diets with that.”

When Horner overheard Baker say one day that she’d “kill for tomatoes,” he got to work, starting 200 tomato seedlings in his 3-year-old daughter’s bedroom this spring.

Fifty of those seedlings are now distributed among Hamilton-Wenham Green members in the “Grow a Row” program. Other members have committed to dedicate a portion of their garden for Acord or tuck an extra plant in an unused corner of their yard.

“We have a mix of people who have been gardening for years and others who are brand-new to this,” Horner said.

The program is not limited to residents of Hamilton or Wenham, he said.

Throughout the summer, Hamilton-Wenham Green will provide tips on fertilizing, pruning and other gardening support for participants. At a May 16 kickoff event, the group distributed carrot, lettuce and tomato seeds donated by Corliss Brothers in Ipswich and High Mowing Seeds in Vermont.

This summer is the program’s pilot, and, if successful, they hope to expand it next year, Horner said.

Acord Pantry, founded in 1991, serves approximately 160 households per month, Baker said. Fresh produce will complement the canned goods, dairy items, bread and frozen meat Acord gives to patrons.

“This is going to be such an amazing thing,” Baker said. “When Greg (Horner) came to me with the idea, I said ‘Wow, that would be fantastic.’ I’m so genuinely surprised at all the outpouring from the community, as always.”

Staff writer Bethany Bray can be reached at bbray@salemnews.com and on Twitter @SNewsBethany.

GROW A ROW

For more information on Hamilton-Wenham Green and the “Grow a Row” program, or to sign up, visit hwgreen.org

For more information on the Acord Food Pantry in Hamilton, visit acordfoodpantry.org or call 978-468-7424.

To see more of The Salem News or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.salemnews.com/.

Copyright © 2011, The Salem News, Beverly, Mass.

In a modern-day take on the victory gardens of World War II, Hamilton and Wenham families are growing extra veggies in their gardens this spring for the local food pantry.

The "Grow a Row" project of Hamilton-Wenham Green, a citizens group focused on sustainability, kicked off this week and has 25 participants so far. Local families have agreed to plant an extra row of tomatoes, lettuce and/or carrots, and donate the produce to Acord Food Pantry in Hamilton.

Over the course of the summer, they hope to donate 300 pounds of produce to Acord, said Greg Horner, president of Hamilton-Wenham Green.

"People have been very enthusiastic about this program," Horner said. "It really hit a nerve, combining an interest in growing food with the awareness of a need that's out there. ... It's neighbors helping neighbors. It feels even better than just buying something at the store and bringing it in (to donate)."

Acord Food Pantry in downtown Hamilton is open twice a week, distributing food to residents of Hamilton, Wenham, Ipswich, Topsfield, Essex and Manchester-by-the-Sea.

While the nonprofit is grateful for the produce they receive from Green Meadows Farm in Hamilton and Appleton Farms in Ipswich, there is always a need for the basics, said Deby Baker, Acord's managing director.

"One of the things Acord is really trying to focus on is nutrition," Baker said. "We are always looking for the basics -- things we may not get from some of the other farms. It's important to round out people's diets with that."

When Horner overheard Baker say one day that she'd "kill for tomatoes," he got to work, starting 200 tomato seedlings in his 3-year-old daughter's bedroom this spring.

Fifty of those seedlings are now distributed among Hamilton-Wenham Green members in the "Grow a Row" program. Other members have committed to dedicate a portion of their garden for Acord or tuck an extra plant in an unused corner of their yard.

"We have a mix of people who have been gardening for years and others who are brand-new to this," Horner said.

The program is not limited to residents of Hamilton or Wenham, he said.

Throughout the summer, Hamilton-Wenham Green will provide tips on fertilizing, pruning and other gardening support for participants. At a May 16 kickoff event, the group distributed carrot, lettuce and tomato seeds donated by Corliss Brothers in Ipswich and High Mowing Seeds in Vermont.

This summer is the program's pilot, and, if successful, they hope to expand it next year, Horner said.

Acord Pantry, founded in 1991, serves approximately 160 households per month, Baker said. Fresh produce will complement the canned goods, dairy items, bread and frozen meat Acord gives to patrons.

"This is going to be such an amazing thing," Baker said. "When Greg (Horner) came to me with the idea, I said 'Wow, that would be fantastic.' I'm so genuinely surprised at all the outpouring from the community, as always."

Staff writer Bethany Bray can be reached at bbray@salemnews.com and on Twitter @SNewsBethany.

GROW A ROW

For more information on Hamilton-Wenham Green and the "Grow a Row" program, or to sign up, visit hwgreen.org

For more information on the Acord Food Pantry in Hamilton, visit acordfoodpantry.org or call 978-468-7424.

To see more of The Salem News or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.salemnews.com/.

Copyright © 2011, The Salem News, Beverly, Mass.

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CSAs Growing Fresh Local Produce

Posted June 27, 2011

The box of organic salad greens, radishes and broccoli that Marge Amberson picks up each week from East Henderson Farm has revolutionized her diet and shopping habits. She tried the crop share last year, then re-upped for another season.

“The flavor is very fresh; the food is not trucked halfway across the country. There’s still dirt on it sometimes,” she said. Her family is eating more healthful meals, and she loves to visit the farm near her home in Henderson, Minn.

Amberson is riding a trend that’s rapidly gaining momentum. Over the past decade, the number of Twin Cities-area residents getting their food through community-supported agriculture (CSA) has nearly tripled, to more than 11,000 people. Twenty years ago, there were two CSA farms. This year there are 81, according to the Land Stewardship Project, which publishes a directory.

“In the last three or four years, there’s been an explosion in new CSAs,” said Laurie Haugen-Eitzman. She and her husband, David, have operated Big Woods Farm in Nerstrand, Minn., for 19 growing seasons.

To join a CSA, a consumer pays a farmer for a weekly share of the crops, usually $300 to $600 per growing season. The concept started in Europe and Japan, then took root in the United States as a fringe movement in the 1980s.

“In the early days, we had to educate everybody about everything: the importance of buying local food, what you could expect to get, local food as a concept,” said Verna Kragnes, a founding farmer at Philadelphia Community Farm in Osceola, Wis., which is in its 22nd season. “Now it’s practically a household word.”

With obesity, heart disease and diabetes now national epidemics, the potential for CSAs to improve diets and ultimately health has caught the attention of health professionals. HealthPartners, an insurance and health care provider, is studying the impact of CSAs on eating habits. Early results suggest that most people who sign up for CSAs eat more vegetables and a greater variety of them, said Nancy Sherwood, senior research investigator.

Variety can be a mixed blessing for many CSA members. Some weeks the boxes can be heavy on veggies unfamiliar to many tables, such as kohlrabi, garlic scapes and bok choy. “Farmers started to realize they had to provide recipes and take input on what to raise,” said Brian DeVore, staff member at the Land Stewardship Project.

But being introduced to new vegetables is part of what many consumers like about CSAs.

“We’ve learned to eat things we never would have tried,” said Judy Goebel of Richfield, a member of Philadelphia Community Farm for more than 15 years. “Like arugula. The first few times, I wasn’t so sure. Now I’m crazy about the stuff.”

Amberson said she tried kale for the first time last year after finding it in her CSA box. “It’s a great way to introduce new vegetables into our lives,” she said. Her household is eating healthier since joining a CSA, in part because “I hate to waste anything. Last year, we’d have two or three vegetable servings at dinner when normally we’d have one.”

As the CSA movement matures, some farmers are experimenting with different models, such as Gardens of Eagan’s new prepaid CSA card. Instead of picking up boxes of that week’s harvest packed by the farmer, members pay $50 for a card that they can redeem for $55 worth of vegetables of their choice from the farm’s booths at two farmers markets.

“Fifteen years ago, we were hearing the same things you hear now — that you get things you don’t like or don’t know what to do with,” said farm manager Linda Halley. “If you split a share, you have the complications of splitting. It’s a responsibility you have to do every week, even if you go on vacation.”

The card was appealing to first-time CSA member Julie McGill of Bloomington. “This is a good option for our family,” she said. “We’re not always in town on weekends, and I don’t like throwing food away.”

While the early CSA farms were located in rural areas, most of their members were located in trend-setting urban neighborhoods. Now CSA participation appears to be spreading not only to the suburbs and but also to outstate Minnesota.

“Originally, it was a city thing,” DeVore said. “The conventional wisdom was that there wasn’t demand in Rochester or St. Cloud. Now more CSAs are finding their markets closer to home. Some are not even bothering to deliver to the Twin Cities.”

Meanwhile, in the urban core, more CSA members are getting crops grown right in their neighborhoods, with some farmers operating on vacant lots, underused land and even parking lots.

“On the supply side, there’s been a growth of farmers,” DeVore said. “The hard-core group has started mentoring beginning farmers, and those interns are now striking out on their own.”

For Josh Reinitz, who grew up on a dairy farm and worked at a downtown desk job before moving back to what was left of that family farm several years ago, CSA farming is a new way of supporting an old agricultural model: small-scale sustainable farming.

On the plus side, it allows his family to enjoy “an ideal lifestyle. We work hard, but it’s wholesome, valuable work,” he said. “I like the diversity of growing a lot of different crops.” The downside is 12-hour workdays, six days a week, during peak season. “It’s a lifestyle, not a job,” he said. “I have found a passion for it.”

CSA farming is complex, said Haugen-Eitzman. “You have to have enough food for your members every week.”

Those members share not only the farmers’ crops but also the risk. “If a hailstorm wipes out everything, there might not be much for a couple weeks,” she said.

But DeVore said the surge of CSA farmers has provided some insurance in case of crop failures.

“Now, if one farmer gets his tomatoes hailed out, another farmer who lucked out can help.”

Kim Palmer –612-673-4784

To see more of the Star Tribune, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.startribune.com/.

Copyright © 2011, Star Tribune, Minneapolis

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com.

The box of organic salad greens, radishes and broccoli that Marge Amberson picks up each week from East Henderson Farm has revolutionized her diet and shopping habits. She tried the crop share last year, then re-upped for another season.

"The flavor is very fresh; the food is not trucked halfway across the country. There's still dirt on it sometimes," she said. Her family is eating more healthful meals, and she loves to visit the farm near her home in Henderson, Minn.

Amberson is riding a trend that's rapidly gaining momentum. Over the past decade, the number of Twin Cities-area residents getting their food through community-supported agriculture (CSA) has nearly tripled, to more than 11,000 people. Twenty years ago, there were two CSA farms. This year there are 81, according to the Land Stewardship Project, which publishes a directory.

"In the last three or four years, there's been an explosion in new CSAs," said Laurie Haugen-Eitzman. She and her husband, David, have operated Big Woods Farm in Nerstrand, Minn., for 19 growing seasons.

To join a CSA, a consumer pays a farmer for a weekly share of the crops, usually $300 to $600 per growing season. The concept started in Europe and Japan, then took root in the United States as a fringe movement in the 1980s.

"In the early days, we had to educate everybody about everything: the importance of buying local food, what you could expect to get, local food as a concept," said Verna Kragnes, a founding farmer at Philadelphia Community Farm in Osceola, Wis., which is in its 22nd season. "Now it's practically a household word."

With obesity, heart disease and diabetes now national epidemics, the potential for CSAs to improve diets and ultimately health has caught the attention of health professionals. HealthPartners, an insurance and health care provider, is studying the impact of CSAs on eating habits. Early results suggest that most people who sign up for CSAs eat more vegetables and a greater variety of them, said Nancy Sherwood, senior research investigator.

Variety can be a mixed blessing for many CSA members. Some weeks the boxes can be heavy on veggies unfamiliar to many tables, such as kohlrabi, garlic scapes and bok choy. "Farmers started to realize they had to provide recipes and take input on what to raise," said Brian DeVore, staff member at the Land Stewardship Project.

But being introduced to new vegetables is part of what many consumers like about CSAs.

"We've learned to eat things we never would have tried," said Judy Goebel of Richfield, a member of Philadelphia Community Farm for more than 15 years. "Like arugula. The first few times, I wasn't so sure. Now I'm crazy about the stuff."

Amberson said she tried kale for the first time last year after finding it in her CSA box. "It's a great way to introduce new vegetables into our lives," she said. Her household is eating healthier since joining a CSA, in part because "I hate to waste anything. Last year, we'd have two or three vegetable servings at dinner when normally we'd have one."

As the CSA movement matures, some farmers are experimenting with different models, such as Gardens of Eagan's new prepaid CSA card. Instead of picking up boxes of that week's harvest packed by the farmer, members pay $50 for a card that they can redeem for $55 worth of vegetables of their choice from the farm's booths at two farmers markets.

"Fifteen years ago, we were hearing the same things you hear now -- that you get things you don't like or don't know what to do with," said farm manager Linda Halley. "If you split a share, you have the complications of splitting. It's a responsibility you have to do every week, even if you go on vacation."

The card was appealing to first-time CSA member Julie McGill of Bloomington. "This is a good option for our family," she said. "We're not always in town on weekends, and I don't like throwing food away."

While the early CSA farms were located in rural areas, most of their members were located in trend-setting urban neighborhoods. Now CSA participation appears to be spreading not only to the suburbs and but also to outstate Minnesota.

"Originally, it was a city thing," DeVore said. "The conventional wisdom was that there wasn't demand in Rochester or St. Cloud. Now more CSAs are finding their markets closer to home. Some are not even bothering to deliver to the Twin Cities."

Meanwhile, in the urban core, more CSA members are getting crops grown right in their neighborhoods, with some farmers operating on vacant lots, underused land and even parking lots.

"On the supply side, there's been a growth of farmers," DeVore said. "The hard-core group has started mentoring beginning farmers, and those interns are now striking out on their own."

For Josh Reinitz, who grew up on a dairy farm and worked at a downtown desk job before moving back to what was left of that family farm several years ago, CSA farming is a new way of supporting an old agricultural model: small-scale sustainable farming.

On the plus side, it allows his family to enjoy "an ideal lifestyle. We work hard, but it's wholesome, valuable work," he said. "I like the diversity of growing a lot of different crops." The downside is 12-hour workdays, six days a week, during peak season. "It's a lifestyle, not a job," he said. "I have found a passion for it."

CSA farming is complex, said Haugen-Eitzman. "You have to have enough food for your members every week."

Those members share not only the farmers' crops but also the risk. "If a hailstorm wipes out everything, there might not be much for a couple weeks," she said.

But DeVore said the surge of CSA farmers has provided some insurance in case of crop failures.

"Now, if one farmer gets his tomatoes hailed out, another farmer who lucked out can help."

Kim Palmer --612-673-4784

To see more of the Star Tribune, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.startribune.com/.

Copyright © 2011, Star Tribune, Minneapolis

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com.

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Radiation – Different Types, Different Risks

Posted June 26, 2011

It is entirely possible that life on Earth exists thanks to radiation.

One of the theories on the origins of life on our planet says that ultraviolet radiation, along with lightning and volcanoes on ancient Earth, provided the zap of energy needed for non-organic molecules like methane and ammonia, to combine into more complex organic molecules that include the basic building blocks of life, like nucleotides and amino acids.

Of course, as life slowly kickstarted from the combinations of these simple organic molecules into single-cell organisms, and then multicellular ones, the very radiation that helped trigger the process became poisonous to the evolving and rapidly more complex life-forms.

Where radiation once provided energy to simple molecules, it now disrupted the more complicated bonds within more complex organisms.

Strangely enough, the problem was also the solution. UV radiation itself came to the rescue by causing oxygen in the atmosphere to combine and become ozone.

The ozone layer now protects us from being bombarded by UV radiation that can cause unsustainable levels of mutation in all living creatures on Earth.

However, that does not mean that Earth is a radiation-free zone.

The fact is, radiation is present everywhere in our environment.

It comes from the soil, the stones, the sun, and from many of the essential technological items we use in our daily lives.

According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, we are all exposed to an average of about 2.4 milliSievert (mSv) of natural background radiation a year.

However, this amount can vary by several hundred per cent depending on where you live.

The World Nuclear Association (WNA) reports that the highest level of known background radiation exposure is at the city of Ramsar in northern Iran.

The people who live there receive an annual radiation dose of up to 260 mSv.

The area with the largest populations affected by high natural background radiation are the states of Kerala and Madras in India, where some 140,000 people are exposed to over 30 mSv of background radiation a year.

Other areas with unusually high background radiation doses can be found in China, Brazil and Australia, among others.

However, there has been no evidence to date that the people living in these areas have a higher incidence of cancer or genetic mutations than any other community.

Harmful or not?

Most people will be familiar with man-made radiation sources like nuclear power plants and medical imaging equipment, like X-ray machines and CT scanners.

But are you aware that your mobile phone, microwave oven, television and laptop are also among the many sources of man-made radiation?

Radiation in this context is basically the emission of energy in the form of electromagnetic waves or subatomic particles.

Mobile phones, cordless phones, television sets, and radios all emit radiofrequency waves that help transmit information to and from those devices.

Laptops that are WiFi-enabled, also emit these waves that enable us to surf the Internet, while microwave ovens make use of microwaves to heat up and cook our food.

In this modern, technology-dependent era, we are literally surrounded by all these electromagnetic waves that are essential to our lives.

So, the question is: are they harmful to us?

According to a statement released by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) last month, there is “limited” scientific evidence to show that there is an association between the usage of mobile phones and two types of rare cancer — gliomas and acoustic neuromas, but “inadequate” evidence to link mobile phone usage with other types of cancer.

This followed the gathering of a group of independent scientists at the IARC to analyse the available scientific literature on the possible cancer-causing effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic waves.

The scientists concluded that while studies have shown that there is a possibility that the radiofrequency electromagnetic waves from mobile phones can cause gliomas and acoustic neuromas, those same studies were not able to rule out the possibility that these findings were due to chance or some other bias in their research methods or analysis.

Based on this, the IARC, which is part of the World Health Organisation (WHO), has classified radiofrequency electromagnetic waves as “possibly carcinogenic to humans”.

Although gliomas (a type of brain cancer) and acoustic neuromas (a tumour that grows on the nerve running from the ear to the brain) are quite rare, the worry is that so much of the world’s population, including young children and teenagers, use mobile phones, and would risk exposing themselves to these two cancers.

However, generally speaking, radiofrequency electromagnetic waves are classified under non-ionising radiation, along with visible light, infrared and microwaves. (See The Energy Spectrum)

This means that the energy emitted by these low-frequency waves is not strong enough to ionise, or cause electrons to break their bonds within atoms or molecules. These waves are only able to provide more energy to the atoms or molecules they encounter, and cause them to vibrate or move around within their bonds.

Therefore, non-ionising radiation is mostly considered not harmful to living beings, except in certain cases of excessive exposure.

International guidelines for industries manufacturing devices which emit non-ionising radiation are available from the International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection (ICNIRP).

This non-profit commission is officially recognised by WHO and the International Labour Organisation as the international independent advisory body for non-ionising radiation protection.

Ionising radiation

The other, more dangerous type of radiation is ionising radiation.

This high-frequency radiation gives out enough energy to break the bonds of electrons in atoms or molecules to create charged particles and free radicals.

There are three main kinds of ionising radiation: alpha particles, beta particles, and gamma rays.

Alpha particles consist of two protons and two neutrons, and are positively charged.

Beta particles are essentially electrons, which are negatively charged.

Gamma rays are pure electromagnetic waves or photons.

Because they are charged, alpha and beta particles can interact directly with atoms and molecules, and disrupt them.

However, they are also easily blocked, as paper is sufficient to halt the progression of alpha particles, while beta particles can be stopped by aluminium.

Gamma rays have a more indirect effect on atoms and molecules as they are not charged, but they can penetrate through anything less thick than heavy concrete.

With high enough dosages, ionising radiation can cause the breaking up and mutation of our DNA, and disruption of our cellular function.

However, the dosage required to cause these conditions is far more than what any average human being is likely to be exposed to, except in highly unusual circumstances, like a nuclear meltdown.

In cases like nuclear bombings and large nuclear power plant explosions, the amount of radiation released is usually sufficient to cause instant radiation poisoning.

Longer-term exposure with smaller doses can result in cancer or genetic diseases in the next generation.

As catastrophes like nuclear bombings and nuclear power plant accidents are thankfully, rare, this leaves the main area of concern as long-term exposure.

Common exposure

In our day-to-day lives, exposure to ionising radiation usually comes in the form of medical imaging — X-rays and CT scans.

At the very least, many of us would have undergone at least a chest X-ray, whether for a general medical check-up for employment or insurance purposes, or as an investigative procedure for a suspected disease.

Chest X-rays are so common and give the lowest radiation dose that they are often used as a standard comparison for the amount of radiation exposure a patient gets.

One chest X-ray is equivalent to 0.02 mSv of radiation dose, which is about the same as three months’ worth of natural radiation exposure.

Imaging different parts of the body results in larger radiation doses, which can go up to the equivalent of 1,000 chest X-rays for a whole body CT scan.

However, despite resulting in increasing radiation exposure, it is generally argued that the benefits obtained from being able to see inside the body for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes far outweigh the small risk of developing cancer from the procedure.

Of course, imaging procedures should only be carried out for a justifiable medical reason, and must be approved by a qualified radiologist, who will judge the necessity of the procedure.

In addition, for cancer cases, fire is used to fight fire, as the very instrument that can cause cancer is also used to destroy cancer cells.

This forms the basis of radiotherapy, which uses radiation to kill off cancer cells.

The reason for this is that, as the patient will die without treatment, it is better to try to save their lives through controlled use of radiation, rather than just letting them die.

An increasingly common use of imaging outside the hospital is the soft X-ray airport scanner.

According to the United Kingdom Health Protection Agency, a full body scan by one of these machines will give a radiation dose of 0.02 to 0.03 microSievert.

Allowing for two to three scans per examination, this means a person would receive a dose equivalent to about one hour’s worth of natural background radiation (about 0.1 microSievert) for one round through the machine.

The agency compares this to flying at 35,000 feet in an aeroplane, where passengers on the plane would receive the same amount of radiation from cosmic rays in the space of one minute.

To see more of the Asia News Network, go to http://www.asianewsnet.net/home/

Copyright © 2011, The Star, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia / Asia News Network

It is entirely possible that life on Earth exists thanks to radiation.

One of the theories on the origins of life on our planet says that ultraviolet radiation, along with lightning and volcanoes on ancient Earth, provided the zap of energy needed for non-organic molecules like methane and ammonia, to combine into more complex organic molecules that include the basic building blocks of life, like nucleotides and amino acids.

Of course, as life slowly kickstarted from the combinations of these simple organic molecules into single-cell organisms, and then multicellular ones, the very radiation that helped trigger the process became poisonous to the evolving and rapidly more complex life-forms.

Where radiation once provided energy to simple molecules, it now disrupted the more complicated bonds within more complex organisms.

Strangely enough, the problem was also the solution. UV radiation itself came to the rescue by causing oxygen in the atmosphere to combine and become ozone.

The ozone layer now protects us from being bombarded by UV radiation that can cause unsustainable levels of mutation in all living creatures on Earth.

However, that does not mean that Earth is a radiation-free zone.

The fact is, radiation is present everywhere in our environment.

It comes from the soil, the stones, the sun, and from many of the essential technological items we use in our daily lives.

According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, we are all exposed to an average of about 2.4 milliSievert (mSv) of natural background radiation a year.

However, this amount can vary by several hundred per cent depending on where you live.

The World Nuclear Association (WNA) reports that the highest level of known background radiation exposure is at the city of Ramsar in northern Iran.

The people who live there receive an annual radiation dose of up to 260 mSv.

The area with the largest populations affected by high natural background radiation are the states of Kerala and Madras in India, where some 140,000 people are exposed to over 30 mSv of background radiation a year.

Other areas with unusually high background radiation doses can be found in China, Brazil and Australia, among others.

However, there has been no evidence to date that the people living in these areas have a higher incidence of cancer or genetic mutations than any other community.

Harmful or not?

Most people will be familiar with man-made radiation sources like nuclear power plants and medical imaging equipment, like X-ray machines and CT scanners.

But are you aware that your mobile phone, microwave oven, television and laptop are also among the many sources of man-made radiation?

Radiation in this context is basically the emission of energy in the form of electromagnetic waves or subatomic particles.

Mobile phones, cordless phones, television sets, and radios all emit radiofrequency waves that help transmit information to and from those devices.

Laptops that are WiFi-enabled, also emit these waves that enable us to surf the Internet, while microwave ovens make use of microwaves to heat up and cook our food.

In this modern, technology-dependent era, we are literally surrounded by all these electromagnetic waves that are essential to our lives.

So, the question is: are they harmful to us?

According to a statement released by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) last month, there is "limited" scientific evidence to show that there is an association between the usage of mobile phones and two types of rare cancer -- gliomas and acoustic neuromas, but "inadequate" evidence to link mobile phone usage with other types of cancer.

This followed the gathering of a group of independent scientists at the IARC to analyse the available scientific literature on the possible cancer-causing effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic waves.

The scientists concluded that while studies have shown that there is a possibility that the radiofrequency electromagnetic waves from mobile phones can cause gliomas and acoustic neuromas, those same studies were not able to rule out the possibility that these findings were due to chance or some other bias in their research methods or analysis.

Based on this, the IARC, which is part of the World Health Organisation (WHO), has classified radiofrequency electromagnetic waves as "possibly carcinogenic to humans".

Although gliomas (a type of brain cancer) and acoustic neuromas (a tumour that grows on the nerve running from the ear to the brain) are quite rare, the worry is that so much of the world's population, including young children and teenagers, use mobile phones, and would risk exposing themselves to these two cancers.

However, generally speaking, radiofrequency electromagnetic waves are classified under non-ionising radiation, along with visible light, infrared and microwaves. (See The Energy Spectrum)

This means that the energy emitted by these low-frequency waves is not strong enough to ionise, or cause electrons to break their bonds within atoms or molecules. These waves are only able to provide more energy to the atoms or molecules they encounter, and cause them to vibrate or move around within their bonds.

Therefore, non-ionising radiation is mostly considered not harmful to living beings, except in certain cases of excessive exposure.

International guidelines for industries manufacturing devices which emit non-ionising radiation are available from the International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection (ICNIRP).

This non-profit commission is officially recognised by WHO and the International Labour Organisation as the international independent advisory body for non-ionising radiation protection.

Ionising radiation

The other, more dangerous type of radiation is ionising radiation.

This high-frequency radiation gives out enough energy to break the bonds of electrons in atoms or molecules to create charged particles and free radicals.

There are three main kinds of ionising radiation: alpha particles, beta particles, and gamma rays.

Alpha particles consist of two protons and two neutrons, and are positively charged.

Beta particles are essentially electrons, which are negatively charged.

Gamma rays are pure electromagnetic waves or photons.

Because they are charged, alpha and beta particles can interact directly with atoms and molecules, and disrupt them.

However, they are also easily blocked, as paper is sufficient to halt the progression of alpha particles, while beta particles can be stopped by aluminium.

Gamma rays have a more indirect effect on atoms and molecules as they are not charged, but they can penetrate through anything less thick than heavy concrete.

With high enough dosages, ionising radiation can cause the breaking up and mutation of our DNA, and disruption of our cellular function.

However, the dosage required to cause these conditions is far more than what any average human being is likely to be exposed to, except in highly unusual circumstances, like a nuclear meltdown.

In cases like nuclear bombings and large nuclear power plant explosions, the amount of radiation released is usually sufficient to cause instant radiation poisoning.

Longer-term exposure with smaller doses can result in cancer or genetic diseases in the next generation.

As catastrophes like nuclear bombings and nuclear power plant accidents are thankfully, rare, this leaves the main area of concern as long-term exposure.

Common exposure

In our day-to-day lives, exposure to ionising radiation usually comes in the form of medical imaging -- X-rays and CT scans.

At the very least, many of us would have undergone at least a chest X-ray, whether for a general medical check-up for employment or insurance purposes, or as an investigative procedure for a suspected disease.

Chest X-rays are so common and give the lowest radiation dose that they are often used as a standard comparison for the amount of radiation exposure a patient gets.

One chest X-ray is equivalent to 0.02 mSv of radiation dose, which is about the same as three months' worth of natural radiation exposure.

Imaging different parts of the body results in larger radiation doses, which can go up to the equivalent of 1,000 chest X-rays for a whole body CT scan.

However, despite resulting in increasing radiation exposure, it is generally argued that the benefits obtained from being able to see inside the body for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes far outweigh the small risk of developing cancer from the procedure.

Of course, imaging procedures should only be carried out for a justifiable medical reason, and must be approved by a qualified radiologist, who will judge the necessity of the procedure.

In addition, for cancer cases, fire is used to fight fire, as the very instrument that can cause cancer is also used to destroy cancer cells.

This forms the basis of radiotherapy, which uses radiation to kill off cancer cells.

The reason for this is that, as the patient will die without treatment, it is better to try to save their lives through controlled use of radiation, rather than just letting them die.

An increasingly common use of imaging outside the hospital is the soft X-ray airport scanner.

According to the United Kingdom Health Protection Agency, a full body scan by one of these machines will give a radiation dose of 0.02 to 0.03 microSievert.

Allowing for two to three scans per examination, this means a person would receive a dose equivalent to about one hour's worth of natural background radiation (about 0.1 microSievert) for one round through the machine.

The agency compares this to flying at 35,000 feet in an aeroplane, where passengers on the plane would receive the same amount of radiation from cosmic rays in the space of one minute.

To see more of the Asia News Network, go to http://www.asianewsnet.net/home/

Copyright © 2011, The Star, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia / Asia News Network

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Time to Be Lyme Aware

Posted April 15, 2011

In retrospect, Jennifer Mankoff, now 37, believes she was infected with Lyme disease either during a trip to Ligonier in 2005 or while hiking in Frick Park in the fall of 2006.

She got a rash, one whose cause was never diagnosed, after the Ligonier trip, and she actually picked a tick off her leg after the hike in Frick Park.

Either way, the Shadyside woman, an associate professor in Carnegie Mellon’s Human-Computer Interaction Institute, got sick later in 2006. She’s not exactly sure when the symptoms started, but she was so ill that she had friends come stay with her when her husband had to travel in December.

Lyme disease is caused by a bacteria carried by ticks most commonly referred to as deer ticks, although entomologists now identify them as blacklegged ticks. They have been infected as larvae and nymphs, which feed on birds or small mammals. Adult ticks prefer deer. Any stage can feed on humans, potentially passing on the disease. It is the most common tick-borne illness in North America and Europe, and, says Lyme disease researcher Andrew J. Nowalk of Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, it is a “devastating disease for patients who have it.”

On the move

The infection, once located primarily in New England and the mid-Atlantic and north-central states, is moving westward through Pennsylvania.

In 2009, according to a state-by-state report issued by the CDC, Pennsylvania had 4,950 confirmed cases plus 772 probable ones. That’s up from 3,985 cases in 2004.

But those numbers are deceptive, say both Stephen Ostroff, director of the Pennsylvania Bureau of Epidemiology and acting state physician general, and Kevin Griffith, medical epidemiologist officer in the CDC’s Division of Vector-Borne Diseases.

There are several reasons for the statistics besides a simple spread of the Lyme bacteria. They include a change in the CDC reporting procedure that has led to increased surveillance, Dr. Griffith said; what Dr. Ostroff calls “a greater recognition and appreciation” that has led to more testing and identification of Lyme; and an increase of people moving into previously wooded, high-risk areas.

The CDC also has recently changed the definition of a positive Western blot, the test used to confirm the presence of Lyme antibodies in the blood, which also could lead to more reported cases.

Nevertheless, Dr. Ostroff sees a geographic spread of the Lyme bacteria.

“When you look at it nationally, the numbers are increasing, and we also see — and this is the case in Pennsylvania as well — a westward movement,” he said. “Previously, the overwhelming proportion of cases being reported were from the southeast [part of the state], but increasingly, we’re seeing [them] in the central and northeast.”

According to a county-by-county report from the Department of Health, Cameron County in the north-central part of the state had an incidence rate of 267.0 cases per 100,000 residents in 2006-08. To the west, Elk County had an incidence rate of 171.3, while to the south, Clearfield County’s rate was 81.4.

“How far west and when this will spread, I believe, is only a matter of time,” Dr. Ostroff added. “It’s inevitable it will continue to increase in areas that haven’t been as heavily impacted as other areas of the state have been.”

There is some disagreement over whether the spread already has begun in southwestern Pennsylvania.

Erick Bergquist, an infectious disease consultant for Excela Health in Westmoreland, Indiana and Armstrong counties, is seeing more cases but says the reasons are “increasing awareness of the public and their physicians to Lyme disease” and the CDC’s change in the blot test.

Similarly, Dr. Nowalk cites both greater awareness of Lyme and a spread of the Lyme bacteria as reasons for an increase of two to three times the number of cases — he estimates a total of 60 or 70 — seen by Children’s Hospital last year. He also said experts believe the “true number” of Lyme cases is two to three times greater than that reported.

“We’re definitely seeing more cases from areas where we had not seen them before,” he said, citing Frick Park and Washington County. “Butler County, Beaver County, the DuBois area, they really have a very high rate. Enough people are concentrated near deer and deer ticks that we see a lot of cases from just north of this area.”

But Nalini Rao, chief of the division of infectious diseases, UPMC Shadyside, said she hasn’t seen a “tremendous increase in cases.”

The Allegheny County Health Department’s official numbers also are fairly insignificant, ranging over the past seven years from a low of 14 cases in 2008 to 32 in 2005. There were 18 cases reported last year.

Those numbers, however, do not mean the cases of Lyme actually were contracted within the county’s borders. Rather, according to department spokesman Guillermo Cole, they mean in each case that a county resident contracted the disease and that it was reported to the state health department, which listed it in the Allegheny County totals, according to the state’s procedure for reporting infectious diseases.

Mr. Cole said he suspects the disease-bearing ticks can be found throughout the county.

“I’ve never been told of any particular hot spots, [but] you can pretty much get this wherever there’s woods, and woods are pretty much anywhere in Allegheny County.”

Symptoms and treatment

Symptoms of Lyme disease can range from a rash that looks like a bull’s-eye (erythema migrans) to flu-like complaints to nervous system problems like facial paralysis and cardiac ailments like heart block to arthritis.

It is treated and, especially if diagnosed early, easily cured with antibiotics.

“The later the diagnosis, the longer the duration of antibiotics you’ll need,” said Dr. Nowalk, a specialist in pediatric infectious diseases and assistant professor of pediatrics at Children’s and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

How long a duration is a matter of some controversy that can be traced to the fact that some symptoms can linger for a very, very long time. “There can be a lot of damage or symptoms that can last months or even years,” Dr. Nowalk said.

Some doctors believe those lingering symptoms mean the treatable form of the disease has developed into an untreatable autoimmune disorder they call post-Lyme disease syndrome.

Other physicians and groups call the lingering ailment chronic Lyme disease, and some of them advocate very long and varied courses of antibiotics. In some cases, insurance companies have denied coverage of that treatment.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend two, two- to four-week courses of antibiotics, citing three federally funded studies that showed longer courses were not beneficial and had been linked to serious complications.

Most of the doctors contacted for this article said they use the CDC guidelines.

One woman’s story

The woods are where Jen Mankoff likes to bushwhack, bird watch and pick seed pods with her children, who both have had what she termed “controversial” diagnoses of Lyme disease that did not meet the CDC’s definition of positive antibodies tests. Her 13-year-old golden retriever, Demi, also has been treated for it three times, most recently this year.

But her children have not been as badly affected as Ms. Mankoff. In January 2007, she started keeping a diary that included symptoms of what much later was diagnosed as Lyme disease. They included:

— Cold or flu symptoms every couple of weeks;

— Inability to sleep;

— Hearing problems;

— Persistent exhaustion;

— A “locked jaw” that made chewing difficult; and

— Shooting pains in her neck and shoulder.

During this period, she had a mononucleosis test, a CT scan, and a chest X-ray. All were negative. She saw several doctors, but none of them tested her for Lyme disease. “I go in the woods; I travel to New York,” she said. “I should be suspected.” She had had a rash after her Ligonier visit, but it didn’t have the bull’s-eye shape.

Finally, thinking the neck and shoulder pains might be a repetitive strain injury, she went to a massage therapist who asked if she had been tested for Lyme.

Ms. Mankoff found a doctor who gave her both an ELISA antibodies test and a confimatory Western blot. Both tests came up “clearcut CDC positive” for Lyme disease, she said.

Meanwhile, she continued having symptoms such as headaches and signs of a weakened immune system.

She went to an infectious disease doctor, who prescribed a three-week course of antibiotics. When she was no better, she went to a different doctor, who prescribed six weeks of intravenous antibiotics.

She still was symptomatic after the six weeks of IV treatment, but the doctor refused to continue the drugs. She had the catheter pulled out on Christmas Eve 2007 and went on to try everything from “yoga to acupuncture.” She said the two doctors who had treated her with antibiotics told her either the symptoms would go away or that she had an incurable autoimmune disease.

“Meanwhile, I was getting sicker and sicker and sicker,” she said.

Then she read science and health writer Pamela Weintraub’s “Cure Unknown: Inside the Lyme Epidemic,” which detailed the controversy, and “switched sides.”

She found a doctor willing to do long-term therapy, Daniel J. Cameron, of Mount Kisco, N.Y., a well-known Lyme disease doctor who says he treats both acute patients with “simple oral antibiotics” and chronic patients who need varied courses of drugs among the hundreds he sees each year. Another local doctor was available for consultation.

“There’s certain people who are chronically ill,” Dr. Cameron said. “I feel that quite a few respond to antibiotics, and that’s a reason to treat. There are always some people who will fail treatment. Too many people stop prematurely before trying an alternative antibiotic.”

With Dr. Cameron doing the majority of the treatments, Ms. Mankoff said she took antibiotics for about 18 months, until October 2009, when her symptoms were relieved. “I’ve been off them ever since.”

But Ms. Mankoff, who managed to get tenure during those 18 months while also needing a term off on disability leave, says she still thinks her health may be compromised by her experience with Lyme disease.

“I’m way better [but] I’m still symptomatic at times. … I just hope I don’t have a serious relapse.”

Pohla Smith: psmith@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1228.

To see more of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.post-gazette.com.

Copyright © 2011, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

In retrospect, Jennifer Mankoff, now 37, believes she was infected with Lyme disease either during a trip to Ligonier in 2005 or while hiking in Frick Park in the fall of 2006.

She got a rash, one whose cause was never diagnosed, after the Ligonier trip, and she actually picked a tick off her leg after the hike in Frick Park.

Either way, the Shadyside woman, an associate professor in Carnegie Mellon's Human-Computer Interaction Institute, got sick later in 2006. She's not exactly sure when the symptoms started, but she was so ill that she had friends come stay with her when her husband had to travel in December.

Lyme disease is caused by a bacteria carried by ticks most commonly referred to as deer ticks, although entomologists now identify them as blacklegged ticks. They have been infected as larvae and nymphs, which feed on birds or small mammals. Adult ticks prefer deer. Any stage can feed on humans, potentially passing on the disease. It is the most common tick-borne illness in North America and Europe, and, says Lyme disease researcher Andrew J. Nowalk of Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, it is a "devastating disease for patients who have it."

On the move

The infection, once located primarily in New England and the mid-Atlantic and north-central states, is moving westward through Pennsylvania.

In 2009, according to a state-by-state report issued by the CDC, Pennsylvania had 4,950 confirmed cases plus 772 probable ones. That's up from 3,985 cases in 2004.

But those numbers are deceptive, say both Stephen Ostroff, director of the Pennsylvania Bureau of Epidemiology and acting state physician general, and Kevin Griffith, medical epidemiologist officer in the CDC's Division of Vector-Borne Diseases.

There are several reasons for the statistics besides a simple spread of the Lyme bacteria. They include a change in the CDC reporting procedure that has led to increased surveillance, Dr. Griffith said; what Dr. Ostroff calls "a greater recognition and appreciation" that has led to more testing and identification of Lyme; and an increase of people moving into previously wooded, high-risk areas.

The CDC also has recently changed the definition of a positive Western blot, the test used to confirm the presence of Lyme antibodies in the blood, which also could lead to more reported cases.

Nevertheless, Dr. Ostroff sees a geographic spread of the Lyme bacteria.

"When you look at it nationally, the numbers are increasing, and we also see -- and this is the case in Pennsylvania as well -- a westward movement," he said. "Previously, the overwhelming proportion of cases being reported were from the southeast [part of the state], but increasingly, we're seeing [them] in the central and northeast."

According to a county-by-county report from the Department of Health, Cameron County in the north-central part of the state had an incidence rate of 267.0 cases per 100,000 residents in 2006-08. To the west, Elk County had an incidence rate of 171.3, while to the south, Clearfield County's rate was 81.4.

"How far west and when this will spread, I believe, is only a matter of time," Dr. Ostroff added. "It's inevitable it will continue to increase in areas that haven't been as heavily impacted as other areas of the state have been."

There is some disagreement over whether the spread already has begun in southwestern Pennsylvania.

Erick Bergquist, an infectious disease consultant for Excela Health in Westmoreland, Indiana and Armstrong counties, is seeing more cases but says the reasons are "increasing awareness of the public and their physicians to Lyme disease" and the CDC's change in the blot test.

Similarly, Dr. Nowalk cites both greater awareness of Lyme and a spread of the Lyme bacteria as reasons for an increase of two to three times the number of cases -- he estimates a total of 60 or 70 -- seen by Children's Hospital last year. He also said experts believe the "true number" of Lyme cases is two to three times greater than that reported.

"We're definitely seeing more cases from areas where we had not seen them before," he said, citing Frick Park and Washington County. "Butler County, Beaver County, the DuBois area, they really have a very high rate. Enough people are concentrated near deer and deer ticks that we see a lot of cases from just north of this area."

But Nalini Rao, chief of the division of infectious diseases, UPMC Shadyside, said she hasn't seen a "tremendous increase in cases."

The Allegheny County Health Department's official numbers also are fairly insignificant, ranging over the past seven years from a low of 14 cases in 2008 to 32 in 2005. There were 18 cases reported last year.

Those numbers, however, do not mean the cases of Lyme actually were contracted within the county's borders. Rather, according to department spokesman Guillermo Cole, they mean in each case that a county resident contracted the disease and that it was reported to the state health department, which listed it in the Allegheny County totals, according to the state's procedure for reporting infectious diseases.

Mr. Cole said he suspects the disease-bearing ticks can be found throughout the county.

"I've never been told of any particular hot spots, [but] you can pretty much get this wherever there's woods, and woods are pretty much anywhere in Allegheny County."

Symptoms and treatment

Symptoms of Lyme disease can range from a rash that looks like a bull's-eye (erythema migrans) to flu-like complaints to nervous system problems like facial paralysis and cardiac ailments like heart block to arthritis.

It is treated and, especially if diagnosed early, easily cured with antibiotics.

"The later the diagnosis, the longer the duration of antibiotics you'll need," said Dr. Nowalk, a specialist in pediatric infectious diseases and assistant professor of pediatrics at Children's and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

How long a duration is a matter of some controversy that can be traced to the fact that some symptoms can linger for a very, very long time. "There can be a lot of damage or symptoms that can last months or even years," Dr. Nowalk said.

Some doctors believe those lingering symptoms mean the treatable form of the disease has developed into an untreatable autoimmune disorder they call post-Lyme disease syndrome.

Other physicians and groups call the lingering ailment chronic Lyme disease, and some of them advocate very long and varied courses of antibiotics. In some cases, insurance companies have denied coverage of that treatment.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend two, two- to four-week courses of antibiotics, citing three federally funded studies that showed longer courses were not beneficial and had been linked to serious complications.

Most of the doctors contacted for this article said they use the CDC guidelines.

One woman's story

The woods are where Jen Mankoff likes to bushwhack, bird watch and pick seed pods with her children, who both have had what she termed "controversial" diagnoses of Lyme disease that did not meet the CDC's definition of positive antibodies tests. Her 13-year-old golden retriever, Demi, also has been treated for it three times, most recently this year.

But her children have not been as badly affected as Ms. Mankoff. In January 2007, she started keeping a diary that included symptoms of what much later was diagnosed as Lyme disease. They included:

-- Cold or flu symptoms every couple of weeks;

-- Inability to sleep;

-- Hearing problems;

-- Persistent exhaustion;

-- A "locked jaw" that made chewing difficult; and

-- Shooting pains in her neck and shoulder.

During this period, she had a mononucleosis test, a CT scan, and a chest X-ray. All were negative. She saw several doctors, but none of them tested her for Lyme disease. "I go in the woods; I travel to New York," she said. "I should be suspected." She had had a rash after her Ligonier visit, but it didn't have the bull's-eye shape.

Finally, thinking the neck and shoulder pains might be a repetitive strain injury, she went to a massage therapist who asked if she had been tested for Lyme.

Ms. Mankoff found a doctor who gave her both an ELISA antibodies test and a confimatory Western blot. Both tests came up "clearcut CDC positive" for Lyme disease, she said.

Meanwhile, she continued having symptoms such as headaches and signs of a weakened immune system.

She went to an infectious disease doctor, who prescribed a three-week course of antibiotics. When she was no better, she went to a different doctor, who prescribed six weeks of intravenous antibiotics.

She still was symptomatic after the six weeks of IV treatment, but the doctor refused to continue the drugs. She had the catheter pulled out on Christmas Eve 2007 and went on to try everything from "yoga to acupuncture." She said the two doctors who had treated her with antibiotics told her either the symptoms would go away or that she had an incurable autoimmune disease.

"Meanwhile, I was getting sicker and sicker and sicker," she said.

Then she read science and health writer Pamela Weintraub's "Cure Unknown: Inside the Lyme Epidemic," which detailed the controversy, and "switched sides."

She found a doctor willing to do long-term therapy, Daniel J. Cameron, of Mount Kisco, N.Y., a well-known Lyme disease doctor who says he treats both acute patients with "simple oral antibiotics" and chronic patients who need varied courses of drugs among the hundreds he sees each year. Another local doctor was available for consultation.

"There's certain people who are chronically ill," Dr. Cameron said. "I feel that quite a few respond to antibiotics, and that's a reason to treat. There are always some people who will fail treatment. Too many people stop prematurely before trying an alternative antibiotic."

With Dr. Cameron doing the majority of the treatments, Ms. Mankoff said she took antibiotics for about 18 months, until October 2009, when her symptoms were relieved. "I've been off them ever since."

But Ms. Mankoff, who managed to get tenure during those 18 months while also needing a term off on disability leave, says she still thinks her health may be compromised by her experience with Lyme disease.

"I'm way better [but] I'm still symptomatic at times. ... I just hope I don't have a serious relapse."

Pohla Smith: psmith@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1228.

To see more of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.post-gazette.com.



Copyright © 2011, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

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Test Urban Garden Soil for Lead, Chemicals

Posted Mar 27, 2011

DETROIT – With remnants of once-legal lead paint, leaded gasoline and other pollutants from the nation’s industrial past tainting land in U.S. cities, soil researchers warn that the growing number of urban farmers and community gardeners need to test their dirt and take steps to make sure it’s safe.

They point to cities like Indianapolis, where nine out of 10 urban gardens tested by one researcher had problems with lead in the soil. Or the Boston area, where a recent study suggests that even clean, trucked-in soil can end up contaminated, perhaps by windblown dust or dirt splatted by rain, in a few short years.

Agriculture and other experts say such problems don’t outweigh the benefits of urban gardening, but those growing food should make sure their soil has been tested and take appropriate steps to address pollution so their fruits and vegetables are safe.

“You can control these things once you’re cognizant of them,” said Nicholas Basta, a soil and environmental chemistry professor at Ohio State University. “But nobody can underestimate the benefits of . . . fresh-grown food.”

While lead paint and leaded gasoline were outlawed decades ago, experts say lead remains the biggest problem for urban growers when it comes to soil contamination. While most plants don’t draw up lead from the dirt, there’s a danger – especially to children – from soil tracked indoors or left on food that isn’t washed well.

Other concerns are cancer-causing chemicals such as arsenic, once used to treat lumber and put off by coal-burning plants, and polyaromatic hydrocarbons, a byproduct of burning materials like oil, coal, wood and garbage.

Tim Beckman, 44, had been gardening on the east side of Indianapolis for more than 15 years before he saw researcher Gabriel Filippelli on public access TV and asked him to test his dirt. The results were somewhat of a relief: Low lead levels where he gardens. But other parts of Beckman’s yard had extremely high levels, and he’s since reconsidered where he lets his chickens roam.

Beckman said the test results weren’t a surprise. His neighborhood is mostly made up of homes built in the 1940s, when lead paint was in wide use.

“I probably should have been more aware of it at the time, but it (the TV show) was one of those ‘ah-ha moments,’” Beckman said.

Filippelli, an earth sciences professor at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, said Beckman’s test results were typical of what he sees around the city: Lead levels were higher in soil near the street, where cars burning leaded gasoline once drove, and near the area where water runs off the house, known as the drip line. Based on tests at about 60 gardens around the city, Filippelli said about 90 percent need some kind of work to make gardening safe.

Beckman said the tests made him think about steps, such as putting down mulch near the house, to keep dust from lead-tainted areas from blowing into his garden beds. With the planting season approaching, other alternatives for gardeners include trucking in clean soil that can be placed on top of potentially contaminated land to create raised beds and moving their plants away from contaminated areas.

While no one knows exactly how many urban residents are growing food, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates there are thousands of community gardens nationwide. The American Community Gardening Association said it has more than 2,600 active listings in its online database and has seen a steady increase in people inquiring about community gardening in recent years.

In the Boston suburbs of Roxbury and Dorchester, where four out of five backyard gardens tested had high lead levels, new research has suggested that a one-time fix isn’t enough to keep soil safe. The nonprofit Food Project installed raised beds filled with freshly composted soil, but tests showed the lead content in some tripled in just four years. Researchers say that while more study is needed, the early results suggest growers need to change the way they think about city soil and test not only when they first plant but as years go by.

“It’s not a static situation,” said one of the researchers, Daniel Brabander, an associate professor at Wellesley College. “It’s very prudent to characterize it at the start, but depending on neighborhood where you’re doing this, it is evolving.”

The Food Project has recommended growers also take simple yet potentially effective steps to reduce exposure to contaminated soil by washing their hands after gardening, washing vegetables thoroughly and trying not to track soil indoors.

Murray McBride, director of Cornell Waste Management Institute, said its analysis of garden beds in New York City generally has been encouraging, with one pilot study of 44 gardens finding less than 10 percent had high lead levels in the soil. He said efforts there to bring in clean soil and compost for raised beds may be why lead was less of a problem.

A lack of standard practices as urban agriculture expands has made the problem difficult to assess. Dave Weatherspoon, an associate professor at Michigan State University who studies food issues in Detroit, where urban farming is taking off, said more research is needed to provide a better understanding of what soil contamination could mean for crops and what should be done about it.

“We don’t want people to feel that their food isn’t safe,” Weatherspoon said. “That is the worst thing that can happen to the U.S. food system.”

DETROIT - With remnants of once-legal lead paint, leaded gasoline and other pollutants from the nation's industrial past tainting land in U.S. cities, soil researchers warn that the growing number of urban farmers and community gardeners need to test their dirt and take steps to make sure it's safe.

They point to cities like Indianapolis, where nine out of 10 urban gardens tested by one researcher had problems with lead in the soil. Or the Boston area, where a recent study suggests that even clean, trucked-in soil can end up contaminated, perhaps by windblown dust or dirt splatted by rain, in a few short years.

Agriculture and other experts say such problems don't outweigh the benefits of urban gardening, but those growing food should make sure their soil has been tested and take appropriate steps to address pollution so their fruits and vegetables are safe.

"You can control these things once you're cognizant of them," said Nicholas Basta, a soil and environmental chemistry professor at Ohio State University. "But nobody can underestimate the benefits of . . . fresh-grown food."

While lead paint and leaded gasoline were outlawed decades ago, experts say lead remains the biggest problem for urban growers when it comes to soil contamination. While most plants don't draw up lead from the dirt, there's a danger - especially to children - from soil tracked indoors or left on food that isn't washed well.

Other concerns are cancer-causing chemicals such as arsenic, once used to treat lumber and put off by coal-burning plants, and polyaromatic hydrocarbons, a byproduct of burning materials like oil, coal, wood and garbage.

Tim Beckman, 44, had been gardening on the east side of Indianapolis for more than 15 years before he saw researcher Gabriel Filippelli on public access TV and asked him to test his dirt. The results were somewhat of a relief: Low lead levels where he gardens. But other parts of Beckman's yard had extremely high levels, and he's since reconsidered where he lets his chickens roam.

Beckman said the test results weren't a surprise. His neighborhood is mostly made up of homes built in the 1940s, when lead paint was in wide use.

"I probably should have been more aware of it at the time, but it (the TV show) was one of those 'ah-ha moments,'" Beckman said.

Filippelli, an earth sciences professor at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, said Beckman's test results were typical of what he sees around the city: Lead levels were higher in soil near the street, where cars burning leaded gasoline once drove, and near the area where water runs off the house, known as the drip line. Based on tests at about 60 gardens around the city, Filippelli said about 90 percent need some kind of work to make gardening safe.

Beckman said the tests made him think about steps, such as putting down mulch near the house, to keep dust from lead-tainted areas from blowing into his garden beds. With the planting season approaching, other alternatives for gardeners include trucking in clean soil that can be placed on top of potentially contaminated land to create raised beds and moving their plants away from contaminated areas.

While no one knows exactly how many urban residents are growing food, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates there are thousands of community gardens nationwide. The American Community Gardening Association said it has more than 2,600 active listings in its online database and has seen a steady increase in people inquiring about community gardening in recent years.

In the Boston suburbs of Roxbury and Dorchester, where four out of five backyard gardens tested had high lead levels, new research has suggested that a one-time fix isn't enough to keep soil safe. The nonprofit Food Project installed raised beds filled with freshly composted soil, but tests showed the lead content in some tripled in just four years. Researchers say that while more study is needed, the early results suggest growers need to change the way they think about city soil and test not only when they first plant but as years go by.

"It's not a static situation," said one of the researchers, Daniel Brabander, an associate professor at Wellesley College. "It's very prudent to characterize it at the start, but depending on neighborhood where you're doing this, it is evolving."

The Food Project has recommended growers also take simple yet potentially effective steps to reduce exposure to contaminated soil by washing their hands after gardening, washing vegetables thoroughly and trying not to track soil indoors.

Murray McBride, director of Cornell Waste Management Institute, said its analysis of garden beds in New York City generally has been encouraging, with one pilot study of 44 gardens finding less than 10 percent had high lead levels in the soil. He said efforts there to bring in clean soil and compost for raised beds may be why lead was less of a problem.

A lack of standard practices as urban agriculture expands has made the problem difficult to assess. Dave Weatherspoon, an associate professor at Michigan State University who studies food issues in Detroit, where urban farming is taking off, said more research is needed to provide a better understanding of what soil contamination could mean for crops and what should be done about it.

"We don't want people to feel that their food isn't safe," Weatherspoon said. "That is the worst thing that can happen to the U.S. food system."

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Kids Learn How to Grow Veggies

Posted Feb 10, 2011

The ground is still covered in snow and ice, and temperatures are in the single digits, but local fourth-graders are getting a taste of early spring planting with the Veggie U program.

“I like how we can play with the dirt and see how the plants grow,” said Caitie Nicholson, a fourth-grader of Chestnut Elementary School in Painesville.

Caitie’s teacher, Tamra Stokes, introduced them to Veggie U, a program that studies soil, planting, nutrition and plant anatomy.

The nonprofit program is from the Culinary Vegetable Institute in Milan, Ohio, whose goal is to change the eating habits of children by teaching them about agriculture and healthy food choices.

“We are teaching kids about plants, from seed to harvest,” Stokes said.

So far, her class has tasted fresh fruit and vegetables, planted seeds and constructed worm farms. Monday morning, the students were conducting various plant experiments from the Veggie U curriculum.

Stokes said the kids’ favorite part of the program is playing with the dirt.

When the students were asked about the different vegetables they enjoyed, most said popcorn shoots, celery and spinach.

“I told them about the cartoon character Popeye and how spinach makes you strong,” Stokes said.

She hopes that the kids make healthier choices by selecting fresh food rather than food out of a can.

Veggie U is new to the school district this year and began through an initiative from ACHIEVE Lake County, a Lake County General Health District community health advocate organization.

ACHIEVE partnered with the Ohio Department of Health to place Veggie U kits in more than 10 fourth-grade classrooms in Lake County school districts, such as Painesville, Madison, Kirtland, Fairport and Willoughby-Eastlake.

The curriculum was designed by teachers to meet federal standards of the No Child Left Behind initiative, according to a news release.

The program was funded by a grant from the Ohio Department of Health, but only for the 2010-2011 school year.

“There is no current funding at this time,” ACHIEVE spokeswoman Tori Luyster said. “We are trying to see what we can do for next year.”

Luyster said the program teaches kids the importance of nutrition.

“It’s one of the initiatives ACHIEVE is trying to do — to get people to eat better,” she said.

Stokes said she likes the program for her students, but hopes it starts in the spring rather than the fall, if it continues next year.

There is no natural light for the plants to grow in the classroom because of the outside environment, Stokes said.

The students don’t seem deterred as they rushed around the classroom checking on their experiments and recording the results in their notebooks.

“I like how we get to see how well the plants are going to grow,” Carlos Navarro said.

Ciera Rapascky said she now likes Veggie U a lot more than she did at first.

“I like that you can plant seeds, watch them grow and then pick the vegetables and eat them,” she said.

To see more of The News-Herald or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.news-herald.com/.

Copyright © 2011, The News-Herald, Willoughby, Ohio

The ground is still covered in snow and ice, and temperatures are in the single digits, but local fourth-graders are getting a taste of early spring planting with the Veggie U program.

"I like how we can play with the dirt and see how the plants grow," said Caitie Nicholson, a fourth-grader of Chestnut Elementary School in Painesville.

Caitie's teacher, Tamra Stokes, introduced them to Veggie U, a program that studies soil, planting, nutrition and plant anatomy.

The nonprofit program is from the Culinary Vegetable Institute in Milan, Ohio, whose goal is to change the eating habits of children by teaching them about agriculture and healthy food choices.

"We are teaching kids about plants, from seed to harvest," Stokes said.

So far, her class has tasted fresh fruit and vegetables, planted seeds and constructed worm farms. Monday morning, the students were conducting various plant experiments from the Veggie U curriculum.

Stokes said the kids' favorite part of the program is playing with the dirt.

When the students were asked about the different vegetables they enjoyed, most said popcorn shoots, celery and spinach.

"I told them about the cartoon character Popeye and how spinach makes you strong," Stokes said.

She hopes that the kids make healthier choices by selecting fresh food rather than food out of a can.

Veggie U is new to the school district this year and began through an initiative from ACHIEVE Lake County, a Lake County General Health District community health advocate organization.

ACHIEVE partnered with the Ohio Department of Health to place Veggie U kits in more than 10 fourth-grade classrooms in Lake County school districts, such as Painesville, Madison, Kirtland, Fairport and Willoughby-Eastlake.

The curriculum was designed by teachers to meet federal standards of the No Child Left Behind initiative, according to a news release.

The program was funded by a grant from the Ohio Department of Health, but only for the 2010-2011 school year.

"There is no current funding at this time," ACHIEVE spokeswoman Tori Luyster said. "We are trying to see what we can do for next year."

Luyster said the program teaches kids the importance of nutrition.

"It's one of the initiatives ACHIEVE is trying to do -- to get people to eat better," she said.

Stokes said she likes the program for her students, but hopes it starts in the spring rather than the fall, if it continues next year.

There is no natural light for the plants to grow in the classroom because of the outside environment, Stokes said.

The students don't seem deterred as they rushed around the classroom checking on their experiments and recording the results in their notebooks.

"I like how we get to see how well the plants are going to grow," Carlos Navarro said.

Ciera Rapascky said she now likes Veggie U a lot more than she did at first.

"I like that you can plant seeds, watch them grow and then pick the vegetables and eat them," she said.

To see more of The News-Herald or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.news-herald.com/.

Copyright © 2011, The News-Herald, Willoughby, Ohio

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Storing Root Veggies

Posted Feb 6, 2011

They’re at the root of the hearty winter meal.

In past centuries the mainstay of the human diet, root vegetables are regaining popularity nationwide for their versatility and flavor.

Cooks have moved far beyond basic potatoes and onions. The Food Channel predicted the rise of root vegetables – particularly in upscale side dishes – as a major restaurant trend for 2011. Chefs, already enamored with heirloom beets, are rediscovering the joys of turnips, parsnips and other old-time favorites.

“Really big so far this year are yellow or golden turnips,” said Suzanne Ashworth of Del Rio Botanical, a West Sacramento, Calif., organic farm that caters to many local restaurants’ chefs. “They’re doing for turnips what yellow potatoes did for potatoes – they’re sweeter and they look like they’re pre-buttered.”

Recently, Bon Appetit magazine announced, “We dig root vegetables.”

Taste restaurant in Plymouth, Calif., has paired roast turnips with its grilled filet mignon. Mulvaney’s B&L in midtown Sacramento serves roasted roots with short-rib ravioli. The Waterboy, also in midtown, offers celery root (celeriac) mashed potatoes alongside its fried chicken – and stuffs that versatile root inside pasta.

New cookbooks such as “Recipes From the Root Cellar: 250 Fresh Ways To Enjoy Winter Vegetables” by Andrea Chesman (Storey Publishing, $18.95, 387 pages) and “The Complete Root Cellar Book” by Steve Maxwell and Jennifer Mac Kenzie (Robert Rose, $24.95, 256 pages) are tapping roots in new ways.

Why all the attention? Root vegetables are nutritional powerhouses, packed with vitamins and flavor. At grocery stores and farmers markets, they’re relatively cheap. They can be stored for weeks or even months. And, of course, they’re fresh just in time for comforting winter meals.

Chesman, who lives in rural Vermont, appreciates root vegetables for their longevity and versatility.

“Roasting is the best thing to do to root vegetables,” she said in a phone interview. “It brings out their natural sugars.”

Roasting is easy: Peel and cut roots into 1-inch wedges or cubes. (Baby beets, turnips and carrots can be left whole.) Spread them out in a single layer on a baking sheet. Drizzle with a little olive oil, then season with salt and pepper. Add some thyme, oregano or other herbs if desired. Roast for 45 minutes to an hour at 350 degrees or until fork tender.

“People make the mistake of cutting pieces too big and crowding the sheet pan,” Chesman said. “You really want to use a sheet pan (instead of a large baking dish) with a shallow rim. You don’t need much oil; you can drain any excess on paper towels before serving.

“The only bad thing about roasting – they shrink so much! You fill the whole pan and end up with just a little.”

Root vegetables can also be cooked alongside a beef, pork or lamb roast. And Chesman suggested serving roasted roots with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar or her new favorite, pomegranate molasses.

Roasting takes time, but root veggies can be quick, too. “What surprised me is that I discovered I could shred just about any root vegetable and cook it quickly in a skillet as a stir-fry,” Chesman said. “It was ready in just 10 minutes.”

Cubes of turnip or rutabaga can be added to soups or stews to thicken the broth and boost the nutrients. Another hint: A teaspoon of sugar brings out the flavor in boiled turnips and rutabagas.

Interest in heirloom vegetables has taken root with consumers of these underground staples. Novel twists on old favorites are particularly popular.

Each January, for example, Del Rio Botanical includes gold turnips and purple carrots in its community-supported agriculture, or CSA, boxes, introducing home cooks to unusual variations.

“Purple, gold or white carrots – any color but orange is hot,” Ashworth said. “Purple carrots are a little higher in beta carotene and antioxidants, too. The important point is eating carrots.”

Beets also remain popular. In winter, restaurants replace tomato salad plates with mixed beet combos. But chefs tend to gravitate toward non-red varieties.

“All red beets bleed,” Ashworth explained. “They turn everything shocking pink and just seem to drool red all over the plate. Golden beets, white beets, even (two-toned) Chioggia beets do much better.”

Among the unusual roots catching on with top chefs are celeriac, sunchokes, yacon and crosne du Japon.

“Celeriac has been underappreciated for a long time,” Ashworth said. “It’s great mixed with mashed potatoes. Jerusalem artichokes (sunchokes) have a good following already. Yacon – an ancient Peruvian vegetable – is gaining interest, too. We’re getting requests for crosne du Japon.”

Yacon is similar to jicama, the Mexican yam bean.

Definitely one of the more unusual root vegetables, crosne du Japon – also called Japanese or Chinese artichoke or knotroot – looks like puffy caterpillars. A member of the mint family, it’s no relation to artichokes, globe or Jerusalem but is very popular in France and Asia. It’s part of Chinese New Year celebrations as red-dyed “chorogi,” which means “longevity.” Eating it is considered good luck.

As a side dish, almost all root vegetables are good boiled and mashed, with or without potatoes.

Said Chesman, “Just serve them with a little salt and lots of butter.”

GET TO THE ROOTS

Beet: A common vegetable since 800 B.C., the beet gets its red color from betalain – as do bougainvillea and amaranth – but this nutritious root also comes in gold, white and striped varieties. The Romans, who considered the beet an aphrodisiac, spread its use throughout their empire. For best flavor, choose small or medium beets that are firm.

Carrot: High in the antioxidant beta carotene, carrots come in multiple colors, including red, white, yellow and purple. In the 16th century, the Dutch developed the first orange carrot (in honor of their royal House of Orange). First cultivated in Afghanistan, carrots became a favorite for romance in ancient Greece, where the name meant “love charm.” Settlers in Jamestown brought carrots to America in 1607. China now ranks as the world’s top carrot producer, followed by Russia and the United States.

Celeriac: The root of the celery plant with a parsley-like flavor, this creamy, white-fleshed vegetable – favored by French cooks – mixes well with mashed potatoes or as an addition to soups and stews. Don’t overcook; it quickly turns mushy. Look for roots with the fewest knobs (they’re easier to peel).

Jicama: A member of the bean family, jicama is also called the Mexican yam bean or Chinese turnip, reflecting its broad range. The crunchy raw white flesh doesn’t discolor, making it a favorite for vegetable platters and salad bars, but it also is good when stir-fried as a substitute for water chestnuts. Look for tubers with smooth, unblemished skin.

Parsnip: A versatile cousin of carrots and celery with a peppery flavor, the parsnip came to the United States with German colonists. Parsnips, which must be cooked, are often boiled, then mashed like potatoes, but can also be steamed, roasted, sauteed, pureed or deep-fried as chips. Frost in the field improves their flavor. Choose shorter, firm parsnips for the best taste.

Radish: Members of the mustard family, these roots range from the familiar little round garnish varieties to foot-long hot daikons. Crunchy when fresh, they also taste great roasted. Horseradish ranks among America’s favorite roots; we consume 24 million pounds annually.

Rutabaga: Actually a cross between the cabbage and the turnip, this vegetable gets its name from the Swedish word “rotabagge,” meaning “round root.” Also called “Swedish turnip,” it usually has light yellow, fine-grained flesh and more sugar than its turnip relatives. The farther north it’s grown, the sweeter the rutabaga. Use like turnips.

Salsify: Nicknamed oyster plant, this root vegetable has a taste and texture faintly similar to shellfish. Black salsify (a native of Spain) looks like a big, brown carrot while white varieties have pale, thin, forked roots. Popular in Europe since the 16th century, they’re treated like parsnips. Don’t overcook; salsify gets mushy quickly.

Sunchoke: Also called Jerusalem artichoke and very high in iron, this is the tuberous root of a sunflower variety with a nutty taste like artichoke heart. Native to both North America and North Africa, sunchokes became popular in France 400 years ago. Bland and crunchy when raw, sunchokes benefit from roasting to bring out their flavor. They can be eaten with or without the peel.

Turnip: Before potatoes immigrated to Europe from the Americas, turnips were the staple of many diets, particularly in the Middle Ages. Persians considered turnips a cure for the common cold. A member of the cabbage family, turnips taste sweetest when fresh; choose small to medium, firm turnips for best flavor. They’re also rich in vitamin C.

ROOTING AROUND: THE GROCERY, THE KITCHEN

Shopping: Look for root vegetables with firm flesh and smooth skin. Avoid any that have mushy spots. Smaller veggies usually taste sweeter.

Storage: Kept at 32 to 40 degrees, root cellars allow long-term storage (up to four months) of most root vegetables. But in Sacramento, with daytime temperatures above 40 degrees, root vegetables keep best in the refrigerator. Wrap in paper towels, then place inside a plastic bag and store in the refrigerator’s crisper. Most will keep crisp two to four weeks; age turns turnips and rutabagas bitter.

Store turnips and beets with their leaves, which can be used as greens. Trim carrot tops back to 1 inch before storing. Remove radish, parsnip and salsify leaves before storing.

Peeling: Peel to remove any dirt, feeder roots or wax (used to inhibit mold if commercially shipped).

To peel celeriac or jicama, slice off the top and bottom. Stand upright on one end. Using a sharp knife, slice off the peel vertically from the sides. Put peeled celeriac in water with lemon juice to keep it white.

Baby beets and carrots can be cooked unpeeled, but scrub first to remove dirt. Well-scrubbed sunchokes can be left unpeeled, too. To scrub, use a soft-bristle brush.

BEETS IN SOUR CREAM

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 1 hour

Serves 4

From “Recipes from the Root Cellar” by Andrea Chesman.

Note: The prep time does not include the cool time for the beets.

Three tablespoons minced red onion may be substituted for the shallot. Also, the beets may be boiled instead of roasted. Boil gently for 40 minutes or until fork-tender. Drain, let cool and peel.

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 pounds beets

1shallot, minced

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar or more to taste

1 cup sour cream

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wrap beets individually in aluminum foil. Roast for 50 to 60 minutes until fork-tender. Unwrap and let cool.

Peel beets and cut into 1/2- inch cubes. Transfer to a bowl with minced shallot. Mix in vinegar and sour cream. Add salt, pepper to taste. Serve or refrigerate up to 8 hours.

Per serving: 206 cal.; 5 g pro.; 21 g carb.; 12 g fat (8 sat., 4 monounsat., 0 olyunsat.); 26 mg chol.; 154 mg sod.; 1 g fiber; 0 g sugar; 52 percent calories from fat.

—

TURNIP SALAD

Prep time: 35 minutes

Standing time: 1 hour total

Serves 6

From “Recipes From the Root Cellar.”

Note: Harissa is a North African chile paste. Hot sauce or other chile paste may be substituted.

INGREDIENTS

6 turnips, peeled and shredded

2 carrots, peeled and shredded

1/4 cup minced red onion

2 mandarins or tangerines, peeled, seeded, chopped

Salt to taste

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons lime juice

1/2 to 2 teaspoons harissa, divided use

Freshly ground black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

Combine turnips, carrots, onion and mandarins in a large bowl. Sprinkle with salt and mix well. Set aside for 30 minutes.

Combine oil, lime juice and 1/2 teaspoon harissa. Mix well. Season with salt, pepper and more harissa to taste. Pour dressing over vegetables and toss to coat. Let sit another 30 minutes for flavors to meld.

Per serving: 140 cal.; 2 g pro.; 14 g carb.; 9 g fat (1 sat., 7 monounsat., 1 polyunsat.); 0 mg chol.; 290 mg sod.; 4 g fiber; 9 g sugar; 56 percent calories from fat.

—

PARSNIP LATKES

Prep time: 30 minutes Cook time: 20 minutes

Makes 15 to 18 three-inch latkes

Note: Prep time does not include 30-minute standing time for the parsnips. Cook time is for the latkes cooked in 4 batches.

From Roots Restaurant and Cellar, Milwaukee.

INGREDIENTS

1 pound parsnips, peeled and grated

2 tablespoons salt

1/2 cup minced leek (just white part)

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 tablespoon fresh chopped thyme

Freshly cracked black pepper

1/2 cup olive oil

Creme fra

They're at the root of the hearty winter meal.

In past centuries the mainstay of the human diet, root vegetables are regaining popularity nationwide for their versatility and flavor.

Cooks have moved far beyond basic potatoes and onions. The Food Channel predicted the rise of root vegetables - particularly in upscale side dishes - as a major restaurant trend for 2011. Chefs, already enamored with heirloom beets, are rediscovering the joys of turnips, parsnips and other old-time favorites.

"Really big so far this year are yellow or golden turnips," said Suzanne Ashworth of Del Rio Botanical, a West Sacramento, Calif., organic farm that caters to many local restaurants' chefs. "They're doing for turnips what yellow potatoes did for potatoes - they're sweeter and they look like they're pre-buttered."

Recently, Bon Appetit magazine announced, "We dig root vegetables."

Taste restaurant in Plymouth, Calif., has paired roast turnips with its grilled filet mignon. Mulvaney's B&L in midtown Sacramento serves roasted roots with short-rib ravioli. The Waterboy, also in midtown, offers celery root (celeriac) mashed potatoes alongside its fried chicken - and stuffs that versatile root inside pasta.

New cookbooks such as "Recipes From the Root Cellar: 250 Fresh Ways To Enjoy Winter Vegetables" by Andrea Chesman (Storey Publishing, $18.95, 387 pages) and "The Complete Root Cellar Book" by Steve Maxwell and Jennifer Mac Kenzie (Robert Rose, $24.95, 256 pages) are tapping roots in new ways.

Why all the attention? Root vegetables are nutritional powerhouses, packed with vitamins and flavor. At grocery stores and farmers markets, they're relatively cheap. They can be stored for weeks or even months. And, of course, they're fresh just in time for comforting winter meals.

Chesman, who lives in rural Vermont, appreciates root vegetables for their longevity and versatility.

"Roasting is the best thing to do to root vegetables," she said in a phone interview. "It brings out their natural sugars."

Roasting is easy: Peel and cut roots into 1-inch wedges or cubes. (Baby beets, turnips and carrots can be left whole.) Spread them out in a single layer on a baking sheet. Drizzle with a little olive oil, then season with salt and pepper. Add some thyme, oregano or other herbs if desired. Roast for 45 minutes to an hour at 350 degrees or until fork tender.

"People make the mistake of cutting pieces too big and crowding the sheet pan," Chesman said. "You really want to use a sheet pan (instead of a large baking dish) with a shallow rim. You don't need much oil; you can drain any excess on paper towels before serving.

"The only bad thing about roasting - they shrink so much! You fill the whole pan and end up with just a little."

Root vegetables can also be cooked alongside a beef, pork or lamb roast. And Chesman suggested serving roasted roots with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar or her new favorite, pomegranate molasses.

Roasting takes time, but root veggies can be quick, too. "What surprised me is that I discovered I could shred just about any root vegetable and cook it quickly in a skillet as a stir-fry," Chesman said. "It was ready in just 10 minutes."

Cubes of turnip or rutabaga can be added to soups or stews to thicken the broth and boost the nutrients. Another hint: A teaspoon of sugar brings out the flavor in boiled turnips and rutabagas.

Interest in heirloom vegetables has taken root with consumers of these underground staples. Novel twists on old favorites are particularly popular.

Each January, for example, Del Rio Botanical includes gold turnips and purple carrots in its community-supported agriculture, or CSA, boxes, introducing home cooks to unusual variations.

"Purple, gold or white carrots - any color but orange is hot," Ashworth said. "Purple carrots are a little higher in beta carotene and antioxidants, too. The important point is eating carrots."

Beets also remain popular. In winter, restaurants replace tomato salad plates with mixed beet combos. But chefs tend to gravitate toward non-red varieties.

"All red beets bleed," Ashworth explained. "They turn everything shocking pink and just seem to drool red all over the plate. Golden beets, white beets, even (two-toned) Chioggia beets do much better."

Among the unusual roots catching on with top chefs are celeriac, sunchokes, yacon and crosne du Japon.

"Celeriac has been underappreciated for a long time," Ashworth said. "It's great mixed with mashed potatoes. Jerusalem artichokes (sunchokes) have a good following already. Yacon - an ancient Peruvian vegetable - is gaining interest, too. We're getting requests for crosne du Japon."

Yacon is similar to jicama, the Mexican yam bean.

Definitely one of the more unusual root vegetables, crosne du Japon - also called Japanese or Chinese artichoke or knotroot - looks like puffy caterpillars. A member of the mint family, it's no relation to artichokes, globe or Jerusalem but is very popular in France and Asia. It's part of Chinese New Year celebrations as red-dyed "chorogi," which means "longevity." Eating it is considered good luck.

As a side dish, almost all root vegetables are good boiled and mashed, with or without potatoes.

Said Chesman, "Just serve them with a little salt and lots of butter."

GET TO THE ROOTS

Beet: A common vegetable since 800 B.C., the beet gets its red color from betalain - as do bougainvillea and amaranth - but this nutritious root also comes in gold, white and striped varieties. The Romans, who considered the beet an aphrodisiac, spread its use throughout their empire. For best flavor, choose small or medium beets that are firm.

Carrot: High in the antioxidant beta carotene, carrots come in multiple colors, including red, white, yellow and purple. In the 16th century, the Dutch developed the first orange carrot (in honor of their royal House of Orange). First cultivated in Afghanistan, carrots became a favorite for romance in ancient Greece, where the name meant "love charm." Settlers in Jamestown brought carrots to America in 1607. China now ranks as the world's top carrot producer, followed by Russia and the United States.

Celeriac: The root of the celery plant with a parsley-like flavor, this creamy, white-fleshed vegetable - favored by French cooks - mixes well with mashed potatoes or as an addition to soups and stews. Don't overcook; it quickly turns mushy. Look for roots with the fewest knobs (they're easier to peel).

Jicama: A member of the bean family, jicama is also called the Mexican yam bean or Chinese turnip, reflecting its broad range. The crunchy raw white flesh doesn't discolor, making it a favorite for vegetable platters and salad bars, but it also is good when stir-fried as a substitute for water chestnuts. Look for tubers with smooth, unblemished skin.

Parsnip: A versatile cousin of carrots and celery with a peppery flavor, the parsnip came to the United States with German colonists. Parsnips, which must be cooked, are often boiled, then mashed like potatoes, but can also be steamed, roasted, sauteed, pureed or deep-fried as chips. Frost in the field improves their flavor. Choose shorter, firm parsnips for the best taste.

Radish: Members of the mustard family, these roots range from the familiar little round garnish varieties to foot-long hot daikons. Crunchy when fresh, they also taste great roasted. Horseradish ranks among America's favorite roots; we consume 24 million pounds annually.

Rutabaga: Actually a cross between the cabbage and the turnip, this vegetable gets its name from the Swedish word "rotabagge," meaning "round root." Also called "Swedish turnip," it usually has light yellow, fine-grained flesh and more sugar than its turnip relatives. The farther north it's grown, the sweeter the rutabaga. Use like turnips.

Salsify: Nicknamed oyster plant, this root vegetable has a taste and texture faintly similar to shellfish. Black salsify (a native of Spain) looks like a big, brown carrot while white varieties have pale, thin, forked roots. Popular in Europe since the 16th century, they're treated like parsnips. Don't overcook; salsify gets mushy quickly.

Sunchoke: Also called Jerusalem artichoke and very high in iron, this is the tuberous root of a sunflower variety with a nutty taste like artichoke heart. Native to both North America and North Africa, sunchokes became popular in France 400 years ago. Bland and crunchy when raw, sunchokes benefit from roasting to bring out their flavor. They can be eaten with or without the peel.

Turnip: Before potatoes immigrated to Europe from the Americas, turnips were the staple of many diets, particularly in the Middle Ages. Persians considered turnips a cure for the common cold. A member of the cabbage family, turnips taste sweetest when fresh; choose small to medium, firm turnips for best flavor. They're also rich in vitamin C.

ROOTING AROUND: THE GROCERY, THE KITCHEN

Shopping: Look for root vegetables with firm flesh and smooth skin. Avoid any that have mushy spots. Smaller veggies usually taste sweeter.

Storage: Kept at 32 to 40 degrees, root cellars allow long-term storage (up to four months) of most root vegetables. But in Sacramento, with daytime temperatures above 40 degrees, root vegetables keep best in the refrigerator. Wrap in paper towels, then place inside a plastic bag and store in the refrigerator's crisper. Most will keep crisp two to four weeks; age turns turnips and rutabagas bitter.

Store turnips and beets with their leaves, which can be used as greens. Trim carrot tops back to 1 inch before storing. Remove radish, parsnip and salsify leaves before storing.

Peeling: Peel to remove any dirt, feeder roots or wax (used to inhibit mold if commercially shipped).

To peel celeriac or jicama, slice off the top and bottom. Stand upright on one end. Using a sharp knife, slice off the peel vertically from the sides. Put peeled celeriac in water with lemon juice to keep it white.

Baby beets and carrots can be cooked unpeeled, but scrub first to remove dirt. Well-scrubbed sunchokes can be left unpeeled, too. To scrub, use a soft-bristle brush.

BEETS IN SOUR CREAM

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 1 hour

Serves 4

From "Recipes from the Root Cellar" by Andrea Chesman.

Note: The prep time does not include the cool time for the beets.

Three tablespoons minced red onion may be substituted for the shallot. Also, the beets may be boiled instead of roasted. Boil gently for 40 minutes or until fork-tender. Drain, let cool and peel.

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 pounds beets

1shallot, minced

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar or more to taste

1 cup sour cream

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wrap beets individually in aluminum foil. Roast for 50 to 60 minutes until fork-tender. Unwrap and let cool.

Peel beets and cut into 1/2- inch cubes. Transfer to a bowl with minced shallot. Mix in vinegar and sour cream. Add salt, pepper to taste. Serve or refrigerate up to 8 hours.

Per serving: 206 cal.; 5 g pro.; 21 g carb.; 12 g fat (8 sat., 4 monounsat., 0 olyunsat.); 26 mg chol.; 154 mg sod.; 1 g fiber; 0 g sugar; 52 percent calories from fat.

---

TURNIP SALAD

Prep time: 35 minutes

Standing time: 1 hour total

Serves 6

From "Recipes From the Root Cellar."

Note: Harissa is a North African chile paste. Hot sauce or other chile paste may be substituted.

INGREDIENTS

6 turnips, peeled and shredded

2 carrots, peeled and shredded

1/4 cup minced red onion

2 mandarins or tangerines, peeled, seeded, chopped

Salt to taste

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons lime juice

1/2 to 2 teaspoons harissa, divided use

Freshly ground black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

Combine turnips, carrots, onion and mandarins in a large bowl. Sprinkle with salt and mix well. Set aside for 30 minutes.

Combine oil, lime juice and 1/2 teaspoon harissa. Mix well. Season with salt, pepper and more harissa to taste. Pour dressing over vegetables and toss to coat. Let sit another 30 minutes for flavors to meld.

Per serving: 140 cal.; 2 g pro.; 14 g carb.; 9 g fat (1 sat., 7 monounsat., 1 polyunsat.); 0 mg chol.; 290 mg sod.; 4 g fiber; 9 g sugar; 56 percent calories from fat.

---

PARSNIP LATKES

Prep time: 30 minutes Cook time: 20 minutes

Makes 15 to 18 three-inch latkes

Note: Prep time does not include 30-minute standing time for the parsnips. Cook time is for the latkes cooked in 4 batches.

From Roots Restaurant and Cellar, Milwaukee.

INGREDIENTS

1 pound parsnips, peeled and grated

2 tablespoons salt

1/2 cup minced leek (just white part)

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 tablespoon fresh chopped thyme

Freshly cracked black pepper

1/2 cup olive oil

Creme fra

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Back to top

Genetics and Heart Health

Posted Jan 26, 2011

We’re forever reminded that our heart health is in our control. Just take a walk down the cereal aisle or have a chat with your doctor about your smoking habit.

It’s true that much of what we choose to do or opt not to do (exercising, for example) has a direct and scientifically proven impact on cardiovascular health.

But there’s also a whole lot that’s out of our control. There are vegetarian marathon runners who have to take pills every day to lower their blood pressure and cholesterol.

Some studies have shown that as many as half of cases involving coronary artery disease are not explained by lifestyle-associated risk factors, said Amy Sturm, a cardiovascular genetic counselor at Ohio State University Medical Center.

People with family members who at a young age had heart attacks or unstable angina — a condition in which the heart does not get enough blood — are considered at increased risk and should be more closely monitored by their doctors, said Dr. Aref Amro, an interventional cardiologist at Doctors Hospital.

“Family history is a very important risk factor for heart disease,” he said.

Any type of serious cardiovascular event in a person’s 40s and 50s (or earlier) is considered a sign that the problem is something they might have passed along to their children, Amro said.

Anyone with immediate family members who have had coronary artery disease should be aware of symptoms, including chest pain and shortness of breath, Amro said. Risk factors, such as high cholesterol, should be lowered with lifestyle changes and medication if necessary, he said.

“They need really to take extra precautions in order to make sure they don’t end up with similar circumstances like their family members,” he said.

Amro recalled a patient who suffered a heart attack in his early 50s. He was a postal carrier who walked as many as 15 miles a day, didn’t smoke and had normal blood pressure.

“He could not come to grips with how such a healthy individual gets a heart attack. I think the only (answer) for him is a family history,” Amro said. “It was really a struggle to convince that man how he ended up with a heart attack despite having such a healthy lifestyle.”

For coronary artery disease, scientists haven’t identified a single genetic mutation to test for, nothing along the lines of common mutations for breast cancer, Sturm said.

“The family history is your best genetic test,” Strum said. “We feel like we’re maybe five or 10 years behind the progress in cancer genetics.”

But much work is being done in the area, and Ohio State has started a special high-risk family heart clinic to help identify biological markers and genetic links.

People who are seen in the clinic also undergo advanced screenings including detailed lipid profiling and imaging to identify problems in the heart and blood vessels.

The hope is that work done here and elsewhere will lead to better treatments, Sturm said.

In addition to playing a role in coronary artery disease, genetics contribute greatly to the risk of other cardiovascular problems, including aneurysms and cardiomyopathy, both of which can lead to sudden death.

Identifying patterns in families and the gene responsible for the disease can save lives and calm fears for those who discover they don’t carry the predisposition, Sturm said.

Janet Graves, a teacher in Springfield, eventually found her way to the OSU clinic after a 9-year-old cousin suffered a heart attack at school.

The child’s heart attack led to the identification of a particularly catastrophic genetic predisposition to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

“Your likelihood of immediately dying is huge,” Graves said.

Cardiomyopathy, a disease of the heart muscle, primarily weakens the left ventricle, which is the main pumping chamber of the heart. People who suffer from it may develop heart failure.

The problem was something the family had long suspected — several of Graves’ family members, including a 17-year-old and 19-year-old, had died suddenly.

Graves, 45, has never had heart trouble, but because she carries the mutation, she now takes medication and had a defibrillator implanted last year.

“I feel very fortunate,” she said. “It’s manageable and treatable, and I would much rather know than not know.”

mcrane@dispatch.com

To see more of The Columbus Dispatch, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.columbusdispatch.com.

We're forever reminded that our heart health is in our control. Just take a walk down the cereal aisle or have a chat with your doctor about your smoking habit.

It's true that much of what we choose to do or opt not to do (exercising, for example) has a direct and scientifically proven impact on cardiovascular health.

But there's also a whole lot that's out of our control. There are vegetarian marathon runners who have to take pills every day to lower their blood pressure and cholesterol.

Some studies have shown that as many as half of cases involving coronary artery disease are not explained by lifestyle-associated risk factors, said Amy Sturm, a cardiovascular genetic counselor at Ohio State University Medical Center.

People with family members who at a young age had heart attacks or unstable angina -- a condition in which the heart does not get enough blood -- are considered at increased risk and should be more closely monitored by their doctors, said Dr. Aref Amro, an interventional cardiologist at Doctors Hospital.

"Family history is a very important risk factor for heart disease," he said.

Any type of serious cardiovascular event in a person's 40s and 50s (or earlier) is considered a sign that the problem is something they might have passed along to their children, Amro said.

Anyone with immediate family members who have had coronary artery disease should be aware of symptoms, including chest pain and shortness of breath, Amro said. Risk factors, such as high cholesterol, should be lowered with lifestyle changes and medication if necessary, he said.

"They need really to take extra precautions in order to make sure they don't end up with similar circumstances like their family members," he said.

Amro recalled a patient who suffered a heart attack in his early 50s. He was a postal carrier who walked as many as 15 miles a day, didn't smoke and had normal blood pressure.

"He could not come to grips with how such a healthy individual gets a heart attack. I think the only (answer) for him is a family history," Amro said. "It was really a struggle to convince that man how he ended up with a heart attack despite having such a healthy lifestyle."

For coronary artery disease, scientists haven't identified a single genetic mutation to test for, nothing along the lines of common mutations for breast cancer, Sturm said.

"The family history is your best genetic test," Strum said. "We feel like we're maybe five or 10 years behind the progress in cancer genetics."

But much work is being done in the area, and Ohio State has started a special high-risk family heart clinic to help identify biological markers and genetic links.

People who are seen in the clinic also undergo advanced screenings including detailed lipid profiling and imaging to identify problems in the heart and blood vessels.

The hope is that work done here and elsewhere will lead to better treatments, Sturm said.

In addition to playing a role in coronary artery disease, genetics contribute greatly to the risk of other cardiovascular problems, including aneurysms and cardiomyopathy, both of which can lead to sudden death.

Identifying patterns in families and the gene responsible for the disease can save lives and calm fears for those who discover they don't carry the predisposition, Sturm said.

Janet Graves, a teacher in Springfield, eventually found her way to the OSU clinic after a 9-year-old cousin suffered a heart attack at school.

The child's heart attack led to the identification of a particularly catastrophic genetic predisposition to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

"Your likelihood of immediately dying is huge," Graves said.

Cardiomyopathy, a disease of the heart muscle, primarily weakens the left ventricle, which is the main pumping chamber of the heart. People who suffer from it may develop heart failure.

The problem was something the family had long suspected -- several of Graves' family members, including a 17-year-old and 19-year-old, had died suddenly.

Graves, 45, has never had heart trouble, but because she carries the mutation, she now takes medication and had a defibrillator implanted last year.

"I feel very fortunate," she said. "It's manageable and treatable, and I would much rather know than not know."

mcrane@dispatch.com

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