Category: health care

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Age is a state of mind – and health

Age and health were discussed in the last post and my point was primarily that we don’t know how many tomorrow’s we have so getting priorities done sooner rather than later is important. I feel better now than I did at age 38. The age stands out in my memory because I had trouble standing, trouble walking, trouble not having severe migraines, and even as a dietitian with knowledge regarding weight loss strategies and research, I had trouble losing weight no matter how hard I tried with diet and exercise. Eventually I learned about the need for adequate iodine to counteract body stores of bromide, chloride and fluoride and I started losing weight fairly easily. There is more to that story bit the point is simply that it is difficult to feel young when your body is exhausted and in chronic pain – no matter how many birthdays you’ve celebrated.

At a young age I learned that lesson – when I was four – my eldest sister died that year of cancer/leukemia. I only have two memories of her. In one she was laying in her bed because that is all she had energy for, but she was entertaining me with a beanbag frog and a ping-pong ball – somehow she made it seem like the frog was eating the ping-pong ball and swallowing it – I don’t know if at age 13 she could just hide it or if there was a rip in the cloth frog. It was one of a set that my mother had made – anyone who has had summer fun in a frog pond would know that they can seem both easy to catch because there are so many at times sitting on lily pads and that they are hard to catch because they seem to see you from any direction and leap away in time. A bean bag game makes catching them a lot easier.

In the other memory she was laying in a box with her teddy bear and I was told that she was going away into the ground- or something like that – and my age four self knew she had been sick but I couldn’t understand why her teddy bear was sick too. I was young, it is a wordless memory so I don’t really know what I was told. I don’t think I understood at the time she wasn’t just asleep and eventually over time when I realized she wasn’t coming back to her normal bed the memory fragment gave me comfort because I knew she had her teddy bear with her wherever she was. Life is a circle. The beanbag frog didn’t go away and it was a favorite for me because it always reminded me of my big sister and her playing with me even though she was tired and laying in her bed.

Frogs represent life in an obvious way because you can watch them grow from tiny tadpoles into little tiny limbed frogs and eventually large ones who sit on lilypads chirping their twilight songs or leaping and swimming and eating flies. We all have a place in an equal opportunity circle of life.

Unfortunately fo frogs and other amphibians they are our Canaries in a coalmine. Their delicate skin and life cycle that spends so much time in watery habitats makes them particularly susceptible to pollutants and their health, population count,  and frequency of birth defects are an early warning of environmental toxicity.

Enjoy everyday and every moment – trite but true – today is a present, a gift to enjoy. Having health and having a healthy environment are not guaranteed and we all have to work together to protect both for future generations of children and amphibians and even flies – we all have a place in the cycle of life. Amphibians and insects are also part of the diet of some birds such as Sandhill Cranes. (Sandhill Cranes)

Sandhill Cranes in flight.
Sandhill Cranes in a corn field before spring planting of a new crop.

 

Near death experience survivors from around the world have similar stories to tell about their experience- in their many different languages. As a toddler I had a traumatic experience that I think was a near death, lack of oxygen, experience and based on the others tales of another state of consciousness I do believe that we have an energy form and that there is somewhere my sister is still in existence in energy form – as well as in my two brief memories- may we all coexist in peace.

*Nrf2 promoting foods may not be beneficial in some cases of drug resistant leukemia – the resistant cancer cells use it to protect themselves from oxidative stress. (http://www.pnas.org/content/107/16/7479.full) Research is being advanced in targeting the NRF2 pathways used by the resistant cancer cells – in coordination with other drugs. Inhibiting the Nrf2 pathways can be very toxic to other areas of the body. (https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/809638) Having the Nrf2 promoting foods in the diet as a preventative before cancer occurs would be also protecting against other inflammatory conditions.

Disclosure: This information is being shared for educational purposes within the guidelines of Fair Use. While I am a Registered Dietitian this information is not intended to provide individualized health care guidance. Please seek an individual health care professional for individualized health care guidance. Thanks.

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Thinking about art and clean air

For an Easter treat I went to an art museum and after seeing three floors of great artwork from around the world and across time, I was exhausted.

My long time favorite was right outside near where I parked – Easter was a good day to find a good parking spot. The Thinker, a sculpture by Auguste Rodin, has always had a lot to ponder:

There were many exquisite works of art and beautiful household furnishings, costumes and painfully thought provoking works of modern art or photography. Flash photography was not allowed and standing too close to the images for photography was not allowed as the camera still makes a small flash of light even without the flash. The museum lighting was dim to help protect the works of art and these images have been photo edited to increase the light level.

The most meaningful work of art for the sake of our shared future and children’s future was among the photographs. My shadow and reflections of other artworks are captured on the tranquil looking image – of smog. “Unhealthy Air for Sensitive People,” San Fernando Valley, 1984, by Victor Landweber:

“Unhealthy Air for Sensitive People,” San Fernando Valley, 1984, Chronographic Print, – Victor Landweber, American Born, 1943 “…While appealing, the work documents smog in Los Angeles, a problem arising from the approximately four million people that call the city home.”

Some works of art had an inner glow – stained glass windows with a religious theme from 1890 by John La Farge, American artist (1835-1910), (dia.org, link for more information):

 

The architecture of the building and gift shop featuring original works of art by local and international artists are well worth a visit for their own sake.

It was a beautiful and thought provoking visit to The Detroit Institute of Art – what legacy do we want to leave the future to think about? Clean air? Faith and Hope? Beautiful architecture and flowers? Or smog?

It is a lot to think about.

The Thinker, by August Rodin, at The Detroit Institute of Art. Detroit, Michigan.

Information about smog: (Causes and Effects of Smog, conserve-energy-future.com)

Having adequate B vitamins which are important for all aspects of metabolism and energy production in the body may help reduce the harmful health effects of breathing smog-laden air: (Could a Daily Vitamin Curb Smog’s Health Effects? webMD.com)

Disclosure: This information is being provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of Fair Use. While I am a Registered Dietitian it is not intended to provide individualized health  care guidance.. Please seek an individual health care professional  individualized health care guidance.

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Gumbo File – anti-inflammatory and possibly anti-cancer

This information about the health benefits and history of the spice currently known as Gumbo File was added/expanded at the end of a recipe  that I was typing up because the notes were hard to read:

 but the Gumbo File information became part of the NRF2 promoting diet story (NRF2 links) that I’ve been writing about occasionally since last December.  It may not be clear what my goals are but foremost is my own health and if it helps me than as someone wiht public health experience I know that many others are suffering chronic illness or are trying to help family members. So my sharing my notes helps me keep the information more organized than having it in the original messy handwritten note-book, and online the information may be able to help others with individual health or with health research. Good luck, and DYOR – do your own research or fine a health professional to check on the safety of using the information for your own needs.

The Sassafras Tree is part of the cinnamon/camphor plant family and research has progressed to a patent request for making an anti-cancer extract from the camphor family plants. The preliminary research obtained a little over 8% of the Sassafras Leaves contained the beneficial cinnamon phytonutrient extract they hope to make anti-cancer treatments with.  (including cinnamon, Cinnamomum Kennedy, hairy leaves camphor, linalyl burmannii, sassafras) “” [0056] sassafras aboveground 5kg, pulverized and extracted…to obtain cinnamon plant extracts 412g, a yield of 8.24%” –  https://patents.google.com/patent/CN103520279B/en)

In the diet and menu plan world the whole food is used in larger quantities or more frequently as a preventative support of everyday health – aka baking larger amounts into cookies than might be typically used in a batch gumbo soup. For years I rarely wrote down my recipes but people would ask about my ‘recipe’ and I usually didn’t have one. Once you learn the basic ratios of a type of food or baked good it is easy to create with whatever is available. I started taking notes though while creating so that I could write a recipe that might be able to be repeated by myself or someone else. The create from scratch occasionally isn’t as good as the familiar standard.  My notes are easier to read once typed.

That recipe is typed on a different website on a page about recipe modification, see G84.2: Spicy Molasses Cookies:  https://effectivecare.info/g8-cookies-%26-bean-soup

~~from the recipe post about the Gumbo File and Pomegranate extract variation of the Spicy Molasses Cookies – turns out Sassafras Leaves were a Native American innovation and had been the second most important export from the colonies during the 17th century (tobacco was the largest export crop) – so maybe it is time to harvest more Sassafras Leaves again:

Gumbo File is the Acadian name for a powdered preparation of dried Sassafras Leaves that was used by Native Americans and was commonly known as the Choctaw Spice. It was widely used for a portion of the U.S. history and became the second largest export with tobacco being the largest export crop in the 17th century. It became less popular in the 20th century when it was discovered that a chemical, safrole in the essential oil of the tree bark and sassafras root was cancerogenic. Gumbo File is still healthy though because it does not contain as much of the chemical. Beneficial nutrients include the terpenes, myrcene and linalool, which both have anti-inflammatory benefits and sedative (sleep inducing) effects and myracene may also help reduce pain (analgesic). It has been traditionally thought to be helpful to prevent kidney stones from forming, and it may be due to a diuretic effect. It also is thought to help reduce high blood pressure and relieve arthritis pain. [link]

The amount typically used in a soup or stew is far less than the amount I used in this cookie recipe as an egg replacer. Only a half teaspoon to a teaspoon tends to be added to a batch of soup, best added at the end of the cooking time, it thickens the broth slightly to a creamier texture but can become more gelatinous (slimy/shiny/sticky) if overcooked. The three tablespoons dissolved in a cup and a half of liquid made a gelatinous thickened mixture that was more of a thick gravy texture with a shiny, thicker in places texture. It mixed into the cookie dough easily though.

Tapioca starch also produces a shiny gelatinous effect in gravy or fruit sauces compared to corn starch. Once chilled it makes a ‘resistant starch’ [resistant starch, definitive guide] that is turned into other beneficial nutrients in our digestive system by some types of beneficial bacteria. I’m not sure if the Gumbo File starch is similar to tapioca starch in ‘resistant starch’ content.

Root beer is named after the sassafras root which was the traditional way the beverage was made. Now Root Beer that is still made with actual Sassafras Root uses root that has the safrole oil extracted. Sassafras root tea tastes like Root Beer. The ground dried leaves are described as tasting like the herbs thyme or savory, or slightly like Root Beer or eucalyptus. [link] I can confirm that the root makes a Root Beer flavor as I’ve tried a tea made with actual dug up in the forest Sassafras root. It was a tree commonly found in my backyard and surrounding woods as a child. The tree leaves are interesting as they have different shapes – a right and left mitten shape and a mitten with two thumbs and as a plain oval shape (Sassafras Leaves, images).

So cookies with an anti-inflammatory benefit – I did feel sleepy this afternoon after making them however and only added this interesting section on the health benefits of Gumbo File after waking up. –

They may also have anti-cancer benefits due to the Sassafras plant being part of the cinnamomum/camphor plant family. Cinnamon phytonutrients include aldehydes which in addition to terpenes an other types of phytonutrients can promote the production of the NRF2 gene and protein which has many roles in the immune system including anti-cancer benefits. (“Cinnamomum – camphor plants (including cinnamon, Cinnamomum Kennedy, hairy leaves camphor, linalyl burmannii, sassafras) “” [0056] sassafras aboveground 5kg, pulverized and extracted…to obtain cinnamon plant extracts 412g, a yield of 8.24%” –  https://patents.google.com/patent/CN103520279B/en)

Disclosure: This information is being 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 care guidance. Please see an individual  health care professional for individualized health care guidance.

Additional references/resources:

What are the Uses and Health Benefits of Sassafras albidum (Sassafras)? – medicinal properties include antiseptic, carminative (reduce gassiness), analgesic, anti-inflammatory, aromatic, diaphoretic (inducing sweating), diuretic, stimulant, pain-killer.  *the root and the leaves have different medicinal effects.

What are the Uses and Health Benefits of Sassafras albidum (Sassafras)?

Herbs at a Glance, Christa Sinadinos, The Northwest School For Botanical Studies http://www.herbaleducation.net/herbs-glance

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Malaria, climate, and vector control

Climate changes that lead to an increase in warm and wet conditions and flooding can increase risk for malaria. Modern methods of vector control have focused on insecticides but more traditional methods involved drainage of wet areas or containers that might be a breeding area for the mosquitoes that can carry the disease.

Regarding treatment or herbal preventatives, there is a plant that has been found effective as a whole herbal product or as an extract. Use of the whole plant may be more effective due to synergistic – additive – benefits of the various phytochemicals found in the plant. The extract artemisinin is used in combination with two other chemicals and is sold as a pharmaceutical treatment for malaria however availability can be a problem in areas where the infectious disease is common such as Sub Saharan Africa and resistance to the treatment is developing in some types of the malaria infection. (WHO Q & A on artemisinin resistance)

The plant however feasibly could be grown in nearby northern Africa as it is native to the region. The plant is commonly known as wormwood or Chinese Absinthe. It has traditionally also been used in the production of the alcoholic beverage called Absinthe. Some of the other phytochemicals that might have synergistic medicinal benefits include terpenes, flavonoids, coumarines, and beta-caryopyllene which can act as a non-euphoria inducing CB2 receptor agonist (more on beta-caryophyllene: mybiohack). Coumarines are used in cardiovascular disease treatments. 

The Artemesia group all likely have artemisinin content. The absenthium species also has thujone which has mental effects and can lead to seizures if taken in excess. It inhibits GABA activity, which is calming within the brain. Artemesia annua, Sweet Wormwood, or Sweet Annie, is the species used for tea, or to extract artemisinin. It is less bitter and does not have the thujone. 

So use of the whole plant in the form of dried, ground or crumbled leaves makes good sense for the synergistic – additive- benefits of the herbal medicinal plant rather than having a limited supply of one specific extracted phytonutrient – the artemisinin.  Use of the dried leaves has been found beneficial for the treatment of malaria either in the form of a tea or in a prepared capsule of the powder. About ten grams per day in a powdered capsule or made into a tea with a liter of water is mentioned as beneficial treatment for active cases of malaria when used several days in a row: (Absinthe chinoise/Chinese Absinthe – reference is in French – an auto-translation into English for those without the function available: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1U7YWQvePd83RezWVylCdzrhIC3hu_n9bJfqUg0eIzFQ/edit?usp=sharing)

Less, 3-7 grams made into an infusion, or strong tea,  is recommended as a safe amount for thujone content, if Artemesia absenthium is used.

https://twitter.com/thornytexan/status/1447107077260914688?t=iIM5V8g6y478lm2rRU8KHQ&s=19

Malaria is a disease that can be treated but which also can cause relapses and which frequently leads to death. It is a leading cause of death in problem areas which include Sub-Saharan Africa. (WHO malaria report 2017) Going into business in nearby regions to produce herbal tea leave or powdered capsules of the dried leaves of wormwood/Chinese Absinthe, or Sweet Wormwood makes sense from a life saving perspective and possible as a cost saving perspective.

The herbal plant phytonutrients may also be beneficial as a preventative if taken regularly instead of waiting until malaria infections are present. If grown in a nearby region and processed as dried whole leaves production facilities could be fairly simple compared to the chemical processing to make an extract of only the artemisinin portion of the whole leaves. If some of the wormwood/Chinese Absinthe crop was also used to produce an alcoholic Absinthe then that might also subsidize the production of the plant for use as an herbal medication in the form of tea leaves or powdered capsules.

Another simple solution to help reduce malaria in areas where it is more of a risk is to reduce the amount of wet areas where mosquitoes grow as larva. Drain ditches and empty any old containers that collect water because they may also be breeding space for infectious mosquito larva. Insecticides on bednets or sprayed on the interior of housing is placing young and pregnant and chronically ill people more at risk from the toxic insecticides and are only helpful against insects that are already present. Draining breeding areas of water prevents mosquitoes from multiplying in the first place.

Health tips for controlling mosquitoe populations in areas where they may carry diseases such as malaria, yellow fever or zika:  http://mosquitopundit.net/mosquitopundit-blog.html

 

Malaria and climate change

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.

Additional Resources: