CAN YOU IMPROVE BRAIN FUNCTION?

Concert in Blue Flat Minor, Study.    © by Ruth Zachary

Experts now say the brain can continue to add new functions and regenerate new cells even when you get older. DHA is advised as a nutritional supplement for your brain. It is one of the building blocks. As with the body, EXERCISE is crucial for the brain, in order to make the best use of nutrients you are so careful to make available for excellent functioning. Physical exercise improves circulation in the brain as well as strengthening the body.

Some activities advised to keep your brain active include:

            Do some activities every day that are beyond your usual comfort zone.

            Memorize long lists, which helps your memory to continue working, or even improve.

            Playing a musical instrument involves different parts of the brain, and helps children in school

                       to make new mental connections in other subjects, such as mathematics.

            Try activities with your non-dominant hand, such as writing with your left hand if you are
                        right handed, or brushing your teeth with your left hand.

            Dancing helps the brain, as learning the steps cross-trains all parts of the brain.

            Games like Scrabble, puzzles, and many more, challenge the mind.

            Do get enough rest for optimal mental functioning.

All Writing and images shown on this blog are the © Copyright of Ruth Zachary, unless otherwise attributed.

A FINE FETTLE OF FISH

One of the First Genetically Engineered Animal Foods- Salmon

This week a group supporting the labeling of GMO foods  (-http://www.JustLabelIt.org/takeaction) was encouraging  concerned consumers to contact the FDA about plans to approve genetically engineered salmon, stressing,“We have no time to lose.”

“The FDA is preparing to approve genetically engineered salmon, which would be the first genetically engineered animal on supermarket shelves in the United States. The salmon is engineered to produce growth hormones year-round that cause the fish to grow at twice the normal rate. The government already requires labels to tell us if fish is wild-caught or farm-raised -- don't we also have a right to know if our salmon is genetically engineered? Without labels, we'll never know.”

“As consumers, I think we have a right to know how the food we buy is produced, including whether it's genetically engineered. Otherwise, we can't decide what's best for us and our families.” By the author of the letter from the JustLabelIt Organization.

Many countries in the world are modifying foods to make them more resistant to cold, or to accept more powerful pesticides so that plants will survive harsher conditions or pests, and in order to produce greater crop yields. However, the United States is one of the few developed nations that does not require the labeling of genetically engineered foods. Even China and Russia label them!  

It is becoming ever more apparent that Human bodily chemistry is unbelievably complex, and it is monstrous to hide a GMO in a protein source which is also in a major source of Essential Fatty Acids (Omega 6). This GMO change will pass along growth hormones to children as well as to adults without any recourse unless people have the information so they have a choice.

If readers would like to contact the FDA to weigh in on this issue, the contact Information is included below.

Google- Search for FDA GMO info

Contact  the FDA

ConsumerInfo@fda.hhs.gov

Consumer Health Information

Room 5377, Building 32

10903 New Hampshire Ave.

Silver Spring, MD 20993 

The FDA has a well organized web site and blog, featuring topics from A to Z. I recommend checking it out. It contains a lot of information, including the article below, taken from their site. 
 

Graphic from the FDA Web Site explaining the difference between Genetic Engineering and controlled pollination or cross- breeding different species of plants and animals.

FDA's Role in Regulating Safety of GE Foods

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

Foods from genetically engineered (GE) organisms, also known as biotech foods and referred to by some as food from genetically modified organisms (GMOs), have been in our food supply for about 20 years.

Genetic engineering refers to certain methods that scientists use to introduce new traits or characteristics to an organism. For example, plants may be genetically engineered to produce characteristics that enhance the growth or nutritional value of food crops.

Using a science-based approach, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates foods and ingredients made from genetically engineered plants to help ensure that they are safe to eat.

Since people have been modifying plants for thousands of years through breeding and selection, FDA uses the term "genetically engineered," or "GE," to distinguish plants that have been modified using modern biotechnology from those modified through traditional breeding.

FDA regulates food from GE crops in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is responsible for protecting agriculture from pests and disease, including making sure that all new GE plant varieties pose no pest risk to other plants. EPA regulates pesticides, including those bioengineered into food  to make them more resistant to  climate extremes.

Other Threats to Wild Salmon.
Oil Companies are seeking to drill for petroleum products along the major waterways in Alaska where a major source of Wild (Pink) Salmon are harvested.

Writing of the first article is the Copyright© of Ruth Zachary. The Article about the FDA's Role in Regulating Safety of GE Foods was taken from the FDA website and blog.

MORE ABOUT THE ONION FAMILY (ALLIUMS)

Garlic from my garden, 2006                     Photo by © Ruth Zachary

Continued from the previous post -  Part 2 of Alliums.

LEEKS are tall, mild flavored alliums. They have one bulb on a single stalk, but are rich in phytonutrients, stored in the stalk and leaves. To use the leaves, buy the smallest leeks you can find. Leeks do not have a long shelf life.

             

Prepare as soon as you can after bringing them home. Cut in 1/8 inch slices, and add to greens in a stir-fry and then add the bulbs a few minutes  later. A common recipe is Potato-leek soup. Leeks are also good as a sauted dish, or in soups or pot roasts. Leeks can be frozen in pint sized freezer bags for later use. p. 65 Eating on the Wild Side

ONIONS, RED,YELLOW Many onion varieties used to be available until about 70 years ago. They were pungent and potent, offering a wide range of phytonutrients and antioxidants. Around the 1940s, and 50s sweeter varieties were grown, which originated from a variety growing  on the island of Corsica in the Mediterranean.

           

One of the most beneficial phytonutrients in onions is quercetin. This may be antiviral, antibacterial, and anti carcinogen. Most cooking processes actually increases the quercetin content. Just don’t pour off the cooking water, but use it in the soup or stew.

            

Medicinal values were also reduced. In a 2004 test-tube study, extracts of strongly flavored onions destrowed 95 percent of human cancer cells of the liver and colon.

Western Yellow onions have more antioxidants than many other popular varieties 1. pg. 58-59 Eating on the Wild Side by Jo Robinson.

             

Some people react to eating raw onions. In some cases, onions can cause heartburn, because of a complex carbohydrate  intolerance. This can run in families. Such people with these sensitivities can’t eat onions without taking an over the counter remedy, such as Beano to supply a missing enzyme.

            

 Sweet onions may be the best choice if to be eaten raw. Red onions that are wide and flat are more sweet. The papery outer skin retains moisture and flavor. The skins retain a lot of nutrients, and they can be added to soup stock. Yellow onion skins can be wrapped in cheesecloth, and pulled out easily. They will turn the soup a golden color. Hot red onions are round or oblong and bring tears to your eyes. Hot onions are those with more nutrients. To chop or slice onions, put vinegar on your cutting board, or cut them under running water to reduce the fumes. If to be eaten on sandwiches or salad, slice pungent more nutritious varieties thin, so they appear transparent.

             

Bags of onions will last about two weeks if stored in a cool dark pantry. Do not freeze or store where the temperature drops below freezing. Some onions can be stored on the refrigerator shelf in a covered container, if cut, for instance. The crisper drawer is too humid.

             

Use pungent varieties in cooking to obtain the most nutrients. Onions can be added to the cooking pot as soon as sliced or chopped, without losing any nutrients. Cooking yellow and red onions tames their firery heat. Five to ten minutes is enough. Longer, and the flavor tends to diminish. Therefore, add onions to a dish as a last step. Heat left-overs only to eating temperature and not to boiling. Nuking also reduces the flavor.

             

Onions were used in soldier’s diet in the Civil war, and they were also used as field dressings. Onions, used in a prescribed manner, are more effective against the flu than Tamiflu vaccine.

SCALLIONS – Green Onions, spring onions, or salad onions. They have slim white bulbs,

dark green tubular leaves.. They have 140 times more phytonutrients than common white onions. Use them in preference to onions. They should be eaten soon after purchased or harvested. Store in a micro perforated plastic bag.

*SHALLOTS Shallots look like large bulbs of garlic. They have from two to four cloves inside.

They are colored mahogany, rose, gray or amber. Sometimes scallions are used instead of shallots, because of the cost, but they are high in nutritional value. Asian markets however, often have shallots at the same price as onions. Most large supermarkets carry them in season. The mild but complex flavor complements egg dishes, soups, cream soups, sauces and stir-fries. Saute them in olive oil and serve over fresh salmon, halibut or tuna. (Tuna is a fish that may contain mercury or other heavy metals.) Shallots contain six times more phytonutrients than most onion varieties. On a refrigerator shelf, shallots will last about a month.

            Shallots grow well in a home garden. Buy them through vegetable and seed catalogues,

early in the season.

CHIVES-There are two types of chives, onion chives and garlic chives, both native to the old and new hemispheres.

            

Onion chives. In the US, onion chives are most familiar. They have long tubular bright green leaves and have a mild onion flavor. They are great in omelets or as a garnish for soups. Chives often brighten sour cream for mashed potatoes. They are usually eaten raw.

            Grow them near your kitchen, and clip them off, leaving about four inches of green.

Use in salad dishes, or other recipes. If you buy seeds, be sure they are not wheatgrass seeds.

             

Garlic chives have flat straplike leaves. They are more popular in Asia, and are often called Chinese or Asian chives. They are usually sautéed. They are used in spring rolls, stir-frys, hot and sour soup,  and in many meat and seafood recipes. Usually available in Asian markets.

Garlic chives have more antioxidants than the hottest red onions. They should be used soon after harvest, but they can be stored in a microperferated bag.They are all greens and no bulb. They are used to treat many maladies, including fatigue and disorders of the kidney, liver and digestive tract.

 Garlic seeds are the main means of propagation.

Most of this information was taken from Eating on the Wild Side by Jo Robinson. 


Images on this blog are the © of Ruth Zachary. 

THE BENEFICIAL ONION FAMILY

ALLIUMS (onions) grow all over the world, and over 100 varieties were used by Native American hunter gatherers for food or medicine to treat many kinds of illnesses. They even protected fields    of alliums growing in their territories. The alliums growing at the southern end of Lake Michigan could be smelled for miles, and was called Shikako or “Skunk Place,” from which came the name for Chicago.

            Wild alliums are more pungent than domestic varieties. (P. 48 Eating on the Wild Side.)

Alliums have not been cultivated to be less pungent and more sweet. This is why they still contain
most of the benefits their wild varieties possess.

Garlic Amidst the Raspberries.  Photograph                                                © by Ruth Zachary

*GARLIC was used for thousands of years as a performance enhancing substance. Athletes used them to enhance their endurance before competing in Olympics. During the Black Death French priests ate garlic and onions as part of their diet, and were more resistant to disease than English Priests who scorned the bad smelling “peasant food.”

            

            Some people react to raw garlic (Allicin) Also, do not give your dog any kinds of onion varieties in leftover food. They are not something their species has adapted to.

            Egyptians used 22 different garlic preparations to treat conditions ranging from fatigue to cancer. (1) see p 48 of Eating on the Wild Side.

             

            Garlic was used by Russian medics during WWII in a similar way as penicillin. In 2009 onions and garlic were being rationed as a part of the army diet, as a protection against the H1N1 flu. One milligram of allicin, from garlic is equivalent to 15 IU of penicillin, although the benefit of eating garlic is not the same. However garlic is more effective at killing bacteria. (1) see p 49 – 50 of Eating on the Wild Side. Garlic is more effective against cancer than cruciferous vegetables.

            NOTE: The benefits from garlic can be destroyed by poor preparation. Alliicin is produced by mixing two separate compounds in garlic, allicin and alliinase,  requiring that it be crushed and the two substances blended together. This can happen when chewing. It must be kept away from the heat for 10 minutes. Once it has been mixed and rested for 10 minutes, the Allicin can be heated and is effective in various recipes.

           However, heating after crushing or slicing garlic can destroy it. Microwaving destroys 90 percent of its cancer fighting ability. 

            The usual variety of garlic in the supermarket is the California Silverskin. Another is the Spanish Roja, a hardneck variety, with more of a rich garlicky flavor, not just hot. Farmer’s markets may carry both softnecck garlic and hardneck garlic. The latter is closer genetically to wild garlic and has more of its medicinal qualities. Hardneck has a hollow stub projecting from the top. The bulb has a single row of cloves circling the stem extending down to the roots. Softneck garlic has several concentric rows of cloves, smaller ones near the center. This is also heavier and plumper. Hardneck varieties have a smaller yield per acre and are more perishable, less desirable for mass production.

            Freeze dried garlic and other alliums retain most of their beneficial nutrients, but fresh garlic is the most economical choice.

            Store fresh garlic outside the refrigerator, but out of the light and with air circulation. Storing it increases its pungency and alicin content as much as tenfold. Store it in the frig but not in the crisper drawer. It needs to be dry or it will sprout.

           Most of the information for this topic was taken from  Eating on the Wild Side, by Jo Robinson.