Really good flavor in today’s batch of soup – notes for the virtual record:
I didn’t measure anything in measuring cups or spoons, so roughly, to one basic batch of soup which includes onion, garlic, celery, carrot, sweet potato and today, pinto beans green beans – written in the order that they are added to the cooking time process:
I also used several large bay leaves,
approximately 1 tablespoon of Rosemary,
2 tablespoons of ground Cumin,
2 tablespoons of ground Coriander,
1-2 Tablespoons of Tamarind Powder dissolved in some cold water in a small bowl – it tends to clump
1 generous teaspoon Oregano
1 generous teaspoon Sage
All of the ingredients would likely have health benefits and contain beneficial phytonutrients and other vitamins and minerals.
I’ve mentioned a few in the past but haven’t mentioned Tamarind Powder/fruit paste. It has been shown to have medicinal benefits and adds a slightly sweet tartness to foods. It also contains some beneficial fibers which is likely why it tends to clump when I add it directly to a batch of hot soup. It can be purchased as a paste or a dry powder. If purchased in a more whole form the small seeds need to be removed before use. It is a common ingredient in India and can be found in Indian food grocery stores. The paste dissolves better in the hot liquid or sometimes is used to make a sweetened beverage. While the powder may be easier to dissolve in a small bowl where you can continue stir more vigorously until no lumps remain. Tamarind Seed Powder: (1)
Polyphenols in Tamarind Seed Powder have been found beneficial for promoting Nrf2 and reducing oxidative stress. The seeds are edible and are dried and used similarly to lentils/beans. (2) The powder I used is called Tamarind Powder and may just contain the dried fruit. The fruit pulp, leftover from processing, was analyzed and found to contain yellow flavonoids and polyphenols, (3), both of which are in a group of phytonutrients that may promote our own production of Nrf2 – which can help a variety of chronic health conditions. See this previous post for more information about the potential health benefits and phytonutrients that may promote Nrf2: Nrf2 helps activate beneficial genes that are protective against inflammatory conditions.
Disclaimer: Opinions are my own and the information is provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of fair use. While I am a Registered Dietitian this information is not intended to provide individual health guidance. Please see a health professional for individual health care purposes.
Nurhanani Razali, Sarni Mat Junit, Azhar Ariffin, Nur Siti Fatimah Ramli and Azlina Abdul Aziz, Polyphenols from the extract and fraction of T. indica seeds protected HepG2 cells against oxidative stress, BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine (2015) 15:438. https://bmccomplementalternmed.biomedcentral.com/track/pdf/10.1186/s12906-015-0963-2
Larissa Morais Ribeiro da Silva, Evania Altina Teixeira de Figueiredo, Nagila Maria Pontes Silva Ricardo, Icaro Gusmao Pinto Vieira, Raimundo Wilane de Figueiredo, Isabella Montenegro Brasil, Carmen L. Gomes., Quantification of bioactive compounds in pulps and by-products of tropical fruits from Brazil., Food Chemistry 143 (2014) 398–404. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/82174064.pdf
Regarding the question of school shootings and increasing safety the question of what to control may need to include questions of who and when. It has been said that guns don’t kill people, people kill people and that is true but people can be more lethal to themselves and others when guns are more readily available. Nations such as Australia had a significant reduction in the number of suicide by gun after increasing gun regulations. So the question of who might be answered with more help for those at risk of suicide and the question of when might be answered with sleepless teens.
A very simple change in timing of high school and university class schedules has been recommended as research suggests attendance and grades are improved with a later start to the young adult’s school day and also it may help with reducing impulsiveness and suicide risk. (page 89-93, When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing, Daniel H. Pink, Riverhead Books, New York, 2018) (penguinrandomhouse.com/when-the-scientific-secrets-of-perfect-timing) The book includes a range of tips and research examples about our bodies biological clock and best time to achieve more of our goals.
Sleep deprivation has been associated with oxidative stress in the brain, reduced memory ability and decision making ability. While modifying the schedule of young adult education would have some difficylty for adult caregivers and school personnel the strategy has helped increase grades and reduce dropout rates in the few places it has been tried.
Making guns less accessible has been found to reduce suicide rate in countries where it has been tried but gun access is only part of the issue. Helping reduce the number of young adults and others with suicidal tendencies is also important and modifying schooling for young adults might be a strategy that could help. The nation of Iceland has a large number of guns per capita(average number of an item per average citizen) and yet they have a much lower rate of gun violence then in the U.S.. they also have an education system that is very supportive of extracurricular activities for students. Funding is provided to support groups of sports or other interest groups and all students are encouraged to participate in some extracurricular activity.
Addition, May 18, 2018: The mental and physical benefits of adequate sleep for adolescents is also discussed in the book Nurtureshock.
Disclaimer: Opinions are my own and the information is provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of fair use. While I am a Registered Dietitian this information is not intended to provide individual health guidance. Please see a health professional for individual health care purposes.
What do imaginary goods, virtual cats and superstition have to do with each other? – Economics. ‘Imaginary goods’ is a term used by an Austrian economic theorist from the 1800’s, Carl Menger, to describe goods that might be sold but which did not meet all the criteria of a ‘goods‘ – a thing of value which could be sold or purchased. Imaginary goods could also be sold but they did not meet all of his criteria for ‘goods‘ because their value was more transient – in the imagination of the buyer and/or seller rather than clearly apparent to any normal consumer of goods. (Principles of Economics, by Carl Menger, a translation in English)
As I’ve been working on devising ways to make pomegranate peel edible I’ve been thinking about the idea of a market or demand for a good versus the actual value of the good. You can’t sell something of value if no one considers it valuable even if it fits the criteria of being ‘goods‘ – fulfilling human needs; while it recently was brought to my attention, a refresher course having grown up in era of ‘Pet Rocks,” that some people will pay for anything if it is popular – if other people are bidding on the item too. I was astonished as a child that anyone would pay real money for a rock in a box just because it was called a ‘Pet Rock‘ – just go outside, find a rock, stick it in a box – there you go, your very own ‘pet rock‘ captured from its wilderness and tamed for your own enjoyment. The current trend that was brought to my attention is less solid but requires an imagination – virtual cats, bred to have unique characteristics, the bidding is based on the uniqueness of the characteristics (investopedia.com) – my thought, too much time or too much money, and too little space for a real pet cat.
People need love and affection as it promotes oxytocin and dopamine which are hormones that promote positive feelings.
For those with limited room in their lives for an expensive virtual cat, consider going outside and looking for a wild rock to tame instead.
Bringing this back around to the New Year’s Day topic of good luck black-eyed peas and the following day’s topic of superstition – Carl Menger includes in his examples of imaginary goods items that might be considered good luck charms and also medications that aren’t effective.
Pomegranate peel might be effective but until there is proof that it is effective there might not be a market of consumers willing to pay for it let alone even try it. So Master Chef Challenge – Pomegranate Peel -> make it appetizing and if people also feel good after eating it then they will return for seconds -> thus creating a market that hadn’t previously been known.
Carl Menger’s four criteria for what makes something a consumer ‘good’:
“If a thing is to become a good, or in other words, if it is to
acquire goods-character, all four of the following prerequisites
must be simultaneously present:
A human need.
Such properties as render the thing capable of being brought into a causal connection with the satisfaction of this need.
According to his theory something can lose its value as a consumer good if it stops fulfilling any one of those four criteria, to paraphrase – if we
stop needing it because the problem it solved no longer exists,
the thing no longer works to solve the original problem
we forget that the thing is useful for fulfilling the need,
the thing is no longer something humans have access to (the WiFi goes out and the virtual cat breeding stops functioning) :
“Hence a thing loses its goods-character:
(1) if, owing to a change in human needs, the particular needs disappear that the thing is capable of satisfying,
(2) whenever the capacity of the thing to be placed in a causal connection with the satisfaction of human needs is lost as the result of a change in its own properties,
(3) if knowledge of the causal connection between the thing and the satisfaction of human needs disappears, or
(4) if men lose command of it so completely that they can no longer apply it directly to the satisfaction of their needs and have no means of reestablishing their power to do so.” -pages 52-53 (Principles of Economics, by Carl Menger, a translation in English)
So for those who may have forgotten (reason #3, causal connection), – caring for living people or pets can help one’s own health through increased oxytocin, dopamine and reduced oxidative stress.
If owning a real pet is not possible due to housing issues visiting a local Humane Society type agency and volunteering to help care for the shelter animals is generally possible and appreciated. If money isn’t a problem hiring a human for a service that involves touch such as a manicure is helping others by providing money for jobs and providing oxidative stress reducing touch from the hands-on service. If owning a real pet or hiring human hands-on service isn’t possible then oxytocin, dopamine and possibly even reduction in oxidative stress may be provided by a caring relationship with a houseplant that cleans the air of toxins (ferns and other types), or by enjoying looking at art objects that have to do with nature or possible the touch of a smooth natural object such as a rock or crystal or wooden object.
While my search of oxidative stress and art didn’t turn up the link I was looking for it did find a review of research on male infertility, oxidative stress, antioxidants (vitamin E, C and CoQ10) and ART, assisted reproductive techniques, while it doesn’t mention iodine it’s worth saving for reference and smoking is mentioned as risk: http://ccf.org/reproductiveresearchcenter/docs/agradoc261.pdf
Smoking increases intake of formaldehyde as well as other toxins. There are also other common sources of formaldehyde in modern living environments. Tips for reducing risk of formaldehyde exposure and links for the houseplants that help detoxify indoor air from formaldehyde and other common volatile chemicals are included in an older post, Formaldehyde (volatile – chemicals that might be easily released from plastics or carpets into the air – ie “new car smell”).
The topic on nature and art and oxidative stress is discussed with links in the section Art – Food for the Eyes on another website, effectivecare.info, 10. Food Helps Too.
Returning to the Master Chef Challenge – Pomegranate Peel,
– it is helping my mood and health more consistently than the 1/2 cup of pomegranate seeds did but it is quite acidic. I’ve taken to using a couple spoonfuls in my bean soup instead of the lime juice or apple cider vinegar that I had been adding as a digestive aid. I’ve also tried it on salads in place of lime juice.
As a beverage I occasionally have the original blend of approximately 3 ounces of the pomegranate extract/soup stock with about 3 ounces of water and 1 ounce of cherry juice with four pinches of Baking Soda (sodium bicarbonate) to make it less acidic. Sugar is inflammatory in itself so I’v stopped using much of it. After the review of the blueberry/rhubarb jam recipe I bought some blueberries and will try a combination of the pomegranate extract with the less acidic fruit. Cherry juice is also acidic. Blueberry juice concentrate is available in specialty stores but I wasn’t at one. The Baking Soda may be too much sodium or something in the pomegranate extract or the level of acidity it adds to the diet may have a diuretic effect like coffee – so like many things in life – it’s not perfect. But being sick isn’t either.
When you start thinking about food as fuel and as your body’s natural medicine cabinet then taste is something that can be acquired and adapted to suit the needs of health – but first the mind has to overpower the habit of “I always eat what my family ate, or what I got used to at college, or whatever my friends are eating.” Social settings and food are very strongly linked and it can be viewed as rude to refuse an offer of food that is being offered – sometimes life isn’t perfect either.
Good luck and best wishes all you Master Chefs out in virtual reader land – I know you can take on whatever culinary challenges you choose.
If at the beginning of 2017 someone predicted that I would successfully be using pomegranate peel, baker’s cocoa, cardamom, and leafy green herbs and vegetables instead of medical marijuana for my autoimmune health condition I might have thought they were imagining things – but Carl Menger was right we have to know the causal connection between a good and a problem it might solve before we go to the effort to purchase, prepare, and use the good for solving that problem/need (health care improvement in my case). pages 51-58, (Principles of Economics, by Carl Menger, a translation in English).
A tastes better than it looks salad – Blueberry Pomegranate Avocado Quinoa Salad.
Bring two and a half cups of water to a boil and add one cup quinoa (or amaranth or cracked wheat for a more traditional tabouli like salad). Cook for twenty minutes at a simmer. Stir occasionally to keep it from sticking to the saucepan. Once the water is fully absorbed remove the pan from the heat and add about (all of the following ingredients are estimates except for the avocado- this is a first try) one tablespoon coconut oil and stir into the hot cooked cereal. Add about one cup of frozen or fresh blueberries, 1/2 cup frozen or fresh pomegranate seeds, 1/4 cup pomegranate peel extract, one chopped ripe avocado, one tablespoon dried tarragon and one tablespoon dried basil (or more if fresh is available), and 1/4 cup chopped walnuts. Stir the mixture thoroughly. The cereal will turn purplish color from the blueberries. Serve a cup or so of the mixture over a plate of chopped salad greens and top with a pretty 1/8th cup of fresh or frozen pomegranate seeds.
I always add salt to taste at the table. We taste only the salt on the surface of food, not what has been cooked into a food or stirred into a mixture as much.
The flavors and textures work well together, sweet and tanginess from the fruit, creaminess from the avocado, quinoa and coconut oil. Tarragon adds flavor, the basil is milder and wasn’t noticeable in the amount I added here. Tarragon has a slightly minty flavor. The walnut is a stronger flavor and the crunch and flavor balance with the flavor of the blueberries and crunch of the pomegranate seeds. This was a success flavor and texture-wise no matter what it looks like and it would be nutritionally balanced with protein, essential fats and carbohydrates and plenty of fiber and trace nutrients and antioxidants. Walnuts and blueberries have both been found effective for cardiovascular health and male health issues.
Disclaimer: Opinions are my own and the information is provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of fair use. While I am a Registered Dietitian this information is not intended to provide individual health guidance. Please see a health professional for individual health care purposes.
I’ve been experimenting with making pomegranate peel extract and it may be the best part medicinally but is quite acidic and quite bitter. Mary Poppins sang that a spoonful of sugar helped the medicine go down and she is on to something. Medicinal herbs may be the bitter ones. Sugar does help with the taste, but excess amounts of it can help worsen inflammation, so just a spoonful is important. Diluting with extra water and adding a concentrated fruit juice also helped with flavor.
I’m taking notes but am still in the testing phase so this is a summary – yes it seems possible to make an extract from the peel and inner membrane part of the pomegranate. The taste is something that a sick person would tolerate because feeling better is worth a lot including drinking something not very good as quickly as possible. However the healthy person is still likely to prefer the pomegranate juice or juicy crunch of the seeds. If there are seasonal issues one simple experiment worked well – the juicy seeds freeze quite nicely so making a large batch of peel and membrane extract could include simply freezing the seeds for later use in salads or as a sweet and tangy treat. The juice is also tart but the peel extract I made was more acidic than coffee I added baking soda to make it less acidic and easier for the digestive system to tolerate.
The extract did help more of my symptoms than the seeds do. I’ve had early signs of finger numbness, possibly Raynaud’s Disease/Syndrome, which doesn’t really have any treatments. The extract helped restore feeling to my fingers but it was temporary, just that day so the larger quantity of the treatment mentioned in the last post on this topic which used 1 – 10 grams/kilogram for 8 weeks for hepatocellular carcinoma might be best spread out through the day for someone with a more severe illness. Half a cup per day for someone less ill and a half a cup every three to four hours throughout the hours spent awake for someone who is more severely ill might be what helps symptoms. If every cell of the body needs the substances, every hour of the twenty-four, then one dose one time per day might leave the body under-treated for most of the 24 hours and only relieve symptoms for a few hours.
Raynaud’s Syndrome/Disease is referred to by both names. It was mentioned in the search engine results but the article is only available as an Abstract which doesn’t mention any specific conditions: (1). The condition is discussed in an full text available article on oxidative stress and Nrf2. It mentions green tea extracts and Gingko biloba as possibly helping reduce oxidative stress: Review Article: Oxidative Damage and Antioxidative Therapy in Systemic Sclerosis, (2).
Gingko biloba is also mentioned along with Raynaud’s Disease in this article. A standard dosage is mentioned as being used once or twice per day: “The standard clinical dose of EGb 761 is 120 mg (~1.7 mg/kg) once or twice daily;” Egb is a standardized formulation that contains a certain amount of the active phytonutrients of the Gingko biloba herb which are called gingkolides. It is a traditional herb that was used in cooking and as a medicine in Chinese and Japanese history for conditions such as asthma or as a cough medicine. In the discussion of Future Directions for research the authors suggest more study of dosing as the amount used in preclinical trials was significantly more than used in many clinical trials, “(100 mg/kg compared to <2 mg/kg, respectively),” although some used a larger dose, (300 mg daily). (3).
I do take a capsule of Gingko biloba daily but not the Egb formulation. The dose I have been using is 60 mg standardized to include “24% Gingko Flavoglycosides = 14.4 mg and 6% Terpene Lactones = 3.6 mg” – which suggests it is a fairly low dose compared to some of the research studies that used 100-300 mg of the Egb formulation. (3)The Egb formulation also includes flavanoids which include one that has been found to help increase Nrf2:
“Beyond oxidant scavenging, the flavonoid isorhamnetin was able to upregulate antioxidant enzymes through Nrf2 activation.63″ (3).
Take home point – clinical trials are a lot of work and accurate dosing, both amount used, concentration of the active phytonutrients, and frequency the dose is used throughout the day, and how large the patient is, are all important factors for effectiveness of the herbal preparation at relieving symptoms of a disease or preventing chronic illness.
Disclaimer: Opinions are my own and the information is provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of fair use. While I am a Registered Dietitian this information is not intended to provide individual health guidance. Please see a health professional for individual health care purposes.
DaigoSumi, AikoManji, YasuhiroShinkai, TakashiToyama, YoshitoKumagai., Activation of the Nrf2 pathway, but decreased γ-glutamylcysteine synthetase heavy subunit chain levels and caspase-3-dependent apoptosis during exposure of primary mouse hepatocytes to diphenylarsinic acid., Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, Vol. 223, Issue 3, 15 September 2007, Pages 218-224. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0041008X07002633 (1)
Bogna Grygiel-Górniak and Mariusz Puszczewicz,Review Article: Oxidative Damage and Antioxidative Therapy in Systemic Sclerosis, Mediators of Inflammation, vol 2014 (2014), Article ID 389582, 11 pages. https://www.hindawi.com/journals/mi/2014/389582/. (2)
Kevin M. Nash and Zahoor A. Shah., Current Perspectives on the Beneficial Role of Ginkgo biloba in Neurological and Cerebrovascular Disorders.,Integr Med Insights. 2015; 10: 1–9.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4640423/ (3)
