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Health 2 Know - June 2008

Eggplant Lasagna

June 25th 2008 02:59
When you have the cravings for lasagna but you need to cut off the cheese and diary products, you now can do so with this recipe below.

The tender slices of eggplant take the place of pasta in this lasagna, making it quite high in fiber. This recipe includes many flavorful and healthful herbs and spices, including oregano—a powerful source of antioxidants. This dish can be assembled ahead of time and baked just before serving.



Eggplant Lasagna Makes 8 servings
Recipe extracted from Cancer Project
Image extracted from aweightlifted.blogs.com


Ingredients

1 large eggplant
vegetable oil spray
1 batch Simple Marinara, or 1 25-ounce jar commercial marinara
1 1/2 cups water, divided
1 large onion, chopped (about 2 cups)
2 packages (10 ounces each) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, or 4 pounds fresh spinach, chopped
2 teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup whole-wheat flour
1 teaspoon soy sauce (optional)
3 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
4 cups sliced mushrooms (about 3/4 pound)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 deg F.

Cut eggplant into 1/4-inch slices (there should be about 12 slices). Arrange in a single layer on a lightly vegetable oil sprayed baking sheet. Bake 20 minutes, then turn and cook second side 15 minutes. Eggplant should be tender when pierced with a fork. Remove from oven and reduce heat to 350 deg F.


Spread half the marinara in a large casserole dish and top with half the eggplant slices.

Heat 1/2 cup water in a large non-stick skillet. Add onion and cook over high heat, stirring often until all the liquid has evaporated. Add 1/4 cup water and stir to loosen any stuck bits of onion, then continue cooking and stirring until all the liquid evaporates again. Repeat this process twice more. Reduce heat to medium and add spinach, basil, oregano, garlic powder, nutmeg, and salt. Cook, stirring often, until spinach is hot, about 3 minutes, then stir in flour. Cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Spread half the spinach evenly over the eggplant slices.

Heat remaining 1/4 cup water and soy sauce, if using, in a large non-stick skillet. Add garlic and cook 1 minute. Add mushrooms, thyme, and black pepper. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until mushrooms are browned, about 5 minutes. Spread in casserole dish over spinach.

Top mushrooms with remaining eggplant slices, remaining spinach, and remaining marinara.

Bake at 350 deg F until heated through, about 40 minutes.

Serve with polenta or sourdough bread and a green salad.

Nutrition Information
Per serving (1/8 of recipe):
107 calories
1 g fat
0.2 g saturated fat
8% calories from fat
0 mg cholesterol

5.4 g protein
23.6 g carbohydrate
8.5 g sugar
6.8 g fiber

715 mg sodium
110 mg calcium
3.1 mg iron
11.8 mg vitamin C
3645 mcg beta-carotene
4.2 mg vitamin E

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What happen to our memories?

June 17th 2008 07:05

Today I’ve just received an email from my friends introducing a nifty little program that helps you to store your all sorts of passwords… which could be thousands of them if you kept joining a lot of sites, etc.

But if you look into the recent years of the technology savvy items that has made many busy people a lot handier to manage their things, have you realised that there are more and more people relying on their memory and turn to these little nifty gadgets?

Not to say that it is a bad thing (it’s actually pretty cool) to have such technology enable to help everyone around and easy everyone’s life in this busy world, it is actually a good thing… that is why technology was created at the first place… but because of that we have started to depend on the tools in our hands rather than what we are capable of (actually a lot of stuffs we can be very capable of) doing with our own body.

Take it for instance, motored transportations, and another obvious thing for the very computer oriented individuals: Do you realised that your fingers are a lot weaker these days (especially when you hold on a pen / pencil), and more over, you can’t even spell a word properly without depending on the spell checker?

What will our body become? Some always have the imagination of very advance beings having big heads and skinny body, but when we even start to rely on the tools and technology to remember things for us… what would we become?

Just a sudden thought… Comments and debates are most welcome!

(p/s: if you want to know what program my friends talked about it is Roboform)

Image extracted from adweek.com
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Citrus Basil Salad Recipe

June 17th 2008 01:49
If you are tired with those full cream thousand island mayonnaise salads, try this for a different refreshing flavour with oranges!


The orange in this tangy salad provides flavor and vitamin C—a potent antioxidant—which scavenges free radicals that may otherwise lead to cancer development.

Citrus Basil Salad makes 4 servings
recipe extracted from Cancer Project


Ingredients

1 orange, peeled and cut into chunks
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into chunks
1 cup sugar snap peas, cut in half
1 cucumber, peeled and cut into chunks
8 fresh basil leaves, sliced
1 tablespoon seasoned rice vinegar
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste

Directions

In a medium bowl, mix together orange, bell pepper, peas, cucumber, and basil. Sprinkle with vinegar and season with black pepper. Toss and serve.

Nutrition Information
Per serving (1/4 of recipe):
45 calories
0.3 g fat
0 g saturated fat
5.5% calories from fat
0 mg cholesterol

1.7 g protein
9.9 g carbohydrate
6.7 g sugar
2.5 g fiber

62 mg sodium
34 mg calcium
0.8 mg iron
87 mg vitamin C
702 mcg beta-carotene
0.6 mg vitamin E

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Previous post I was giving out an introduction about asthma, this post we talk about what causes and who is at risk of asthma.

Article extracted and compiled from Health and Beauty Malaysia 2008
Image extracted from Yahoo


In our email interview with Prof. Dr. Jessie, a consultant Paediatrician and Respiratory Paediatrician in Malaysia, she mentioned that no one is really sure why a person has asthma. It is something that runs in families so there is a genetic predisposition.

However, even if no one else in the family has asthma, a person may still develop asthma and even if everyone else in your family has asthma any family member may not necessary have it.

Dr. Jessie also stated that in predisposed individuals, something happens to “switch on” the asthma but no one is sure what this switch is. It may be an allergen or it may be an infection or it may be pollutants. Although animal dander may worsen asthma in someone who already has asthma, children raised in farming communities and exposed to animals actually have lower incidence of asthma.

“Some infections may ‘switch on’ the asthma and some may actually protect you from developing asthma by influencing your immune system. Although pollution has been implicated in asthma, some more heavily polluted areas have lover rates of asthma. (eg East Germany vs. West Germany). It may also vary from individual to individual. The origins of asthma are still a puzzle.” Dr. Jessie said.

International study of Asthma and Allergy in Childhood (ISAAC) indicates that on a global basis the prevalence of asthma may have reached a plateau. For example in Malaysia, ISAAC figures for the Klang Valley (in Kuala Lumpur and surrounding area) showed the prevalence I n13 – 14 year olds to have risen from 13.9% in 1995 and 16.1% in 2001. However this increase was not as great in another 2 centres – Alor Setar (northern west peninsular Malaysia) where it recorded 10.2% in 1995 and 10.6% in 2001, and Kota Bahru (northern east peninsular Malaysia) that recorded 8.6% in 1995 and 9% in 2001.

Therefore you cannot pin point the source of the culprit to asthma as it all involved in environment, lifestyle and individual genetics.
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Last month in May we had World Asthma day, unfortunately I didn’t have enough time to read through and pull the articles out. I also have a lot of friends, including my family members, who had minor to major asthmatic problems. Therefore when I came across this article, it’s really useful and should be shared among other readers to know and how to coup with asthma problems.

Recent reports about Asthma
According to the Global Burden of Asthma Report in 2004, asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases in the world. It is estimated that around 300 million people in the world currently have asthma.

More about Asthma
Asthma is a chronic respiratory illness that affects your airways; that is, the passages that carry air in and out of your lungs. An asthma sufferer’s airways can sometimes become inflamed and constricted in response to triggers in the environment. The reaction also causes excess amounts of mucous to collect inside the airways.

As the airways constrict, they cause symptoms such as chest tightness and shortness of breath, as well as wheezing and coughing. It also includes, prolonged expiration during breathing out, and paradoxical pulse (weaker during inhalation and stronger during exhalation). In some patients, the symptoms are particularly acute at night and early morning.

An asthma attack can get to severe that the body’s major organs may begin to be deprived of oxygen. This can show sings to the asthma sufferers when they torn to blue, suffer severe chest pains and even lose consciousness.

Severe attacks that do not respond to regular treatments should be considered life threatening. These attacks can sometimes lead to death.

Personal Note:
My nephew has minor asthma problems and whenever he starts coughing uncontrollably especially after food this can also lead to vomit and shortness of breath, followed by unconscious. Therefore children that has asthmatic background are advised not to gobble up their food and we as guardians / parents need to discipline then about eating a mouthful a time with proper chewing.

Next post I will include what causes asthma and who is at risk. Do stay tuned!

Article extracted and compiled from Health and Beauty 2008
Image extracted from Yahoo

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Every time you hear about whole grains you’d remember the dry, high fibre bread that you’d least want to put your mouth in… urgh… many may opt for the smooth floor buns instead.

But in a recent study of obese adults at risk of heart disease in February 2008, researchers at Pennsylvania State University found that those who trimmed calories and increased their whole grain intake shed more belly fat and lowered their blood levels of C – reactive protein or CRP.

A Summary About CRP
CRP is a marker of chronic, low-level inflammation in the blood vessels, and both abdominal fat and CRP, in excess, are linked to heart attack and stroke.

In contrast, dieters in the study who mainly ate refined grains, like white bread, where able to loose weight, but they trimmed less fat from the middle and showed no change in CRP. The findings offer yet more incentive for people to opt for whole grains over highly processed versions, according to the researchers.

So bread lovers, if you have been toning every part of your body accept your “spare tire” (as many Asians like to put it), perhaps you should look into what sort of bread you are taking at the moment.

Article extracted from Health and Beauty Malaysia 2008
Image extracted from dkimages.com
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Veggies not fruits for diabetics

June 10th 2008 00:29
Remember a lot of people kept saying that eating the most natural food, like loads and fruits and vegetables is really good for health? Well, not for diabetic patients though.

Scientists report that vegetables rich in fibre, antioxidants and magnesium, with a low glycemic index, canreduce the risk of type-2 diabetes.

Fruits however were not found to deliver the same benefits. Consumption of 428 grams of vegetables per day (about 8 servings) was associated with a 28 percent lower risk of Type-2 diabetics.

To find out more, please visit the organic center website.


(Article extracted from Health & Beauty Malaysia)
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Recently we have been receiving so many advertisements about how good nano engineered health products is good for you – for example the recent Anlene nano-calcium. It does sound good as it said to help the body to absorb better to improve one’s health.

But check this out – Nanomaterial have been banned.

(Article extracted from Health & Beauty Malaysia)

In January 2008, the UK-based Soil Association has become the first organisation in the world to ban man-made nanomaterials from its certified organic products such as cosmetics, food and clothing, claiming the new technology poses a serious threat to human health.

Nanotechnology involves manipulating material at the molecular level and substances may behave in unpredictable ways and take on new properties.

The Soil Association says there is insufficient evidence about the impact of nanotechnology on the environment and human health. Many well-known companies are already developing and introducing these superfine particles into their products and none of these products are required to have labelling to warn consumers.

Professor Vyvyan Howard, nanotechnology researcher at the University of Ulster, said, “The term nanotechnology covers a vast range of applications. But in the areas of health and beauty and food, more research must be done. There is considerable evidence than nanoparticles are toxic and potentially hazardous.”
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Genetic link to smoking addiction

June 6th 2008 12:13

Recently we have just celebrated No Tobacco Day, and there was a recent report from the BBC News that scientists have identified genetic variations that raise the risk of lung cancer for smokers and former smokers. There is some evidence to suggest that they may make carriers more addicted to tobacco.

The research teams, which were involved, pinpointed 2 key areas of variation on chromosome 15. the variants are common in the population - but they only raise lung cancer risk in those who have smoked.

Current or former smokers who carry 2 copies of both variants, one from each parent - about 15% of the total have a raised risk of 70 - 80%.

Thgose who carry one copy of each variant have a raised risk of around 28%.

Dr. Lesley Walker, of the charity Cancer Research UK, said," to know that smoking greatly increases the risk of lung cancer - causing 9 out of 10 cases of the disease".

This research tells us there are some smokers who are even more vulnerable to lung cancer because of their genetic profile.

(Article extracted from Health & Beauty Malaysia)

Personal Note:
Smokers out there, this doesn't mean that you can blame it all on your "heritance" and puff it anyway, but to know that not only that you are more vulnerable to lung cancer if you have family history of smokers, you are jeopardising your off-springs knowing that smoking doesn't only carries tar in your lungs, it carries a vulnerable link in your DNA.

To know more about Tobacco Day, please visit the link below:
World No Tobacco Day – Second Hand Smoke Danger
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