Poor neglected blog :P

I am sorry to say that it will be neglected a little longer... moving to the US is taking EVERY spare second I have.

But I will be back!  Write down your questions, thoughts, musings... we'll have a go at them when we're in America :)

Peace and love to you all!
d

Hide but don't seek!

I know my posts can revolve around feeding picky kids more often than not, but hey - you write what you know, right?  Lasagna has become one of my new favorite hiding grounds.  I would like to say I make it fairly often, but truth is it's a lot of work.  I can't eat wheat noodles (well, I can, but no one wants to be around for the aftermath of that experience) so I have to cook two separate kinds.  I've come to really like the wholegrain spelt Biona lasagna sheets, but whoa - they are a serious pain in the ass to deal with.  So, if like me you have had your non-wheat noodles turn into one big sticky gelatinous mound, here's what I do - first, I get a big pot of water in a full rolling boil.  Then I put no more than two of the lasagna noodles/sheets in at a time, letting them cook until they are al dente.  I have a bowl of cool water standing by.  When they're done, I fish the noodles out with tongs and put them into the cool water bath for a few minutes while I put the next noodles on.  The cooled noodles go onto a plate until I'm ready for them.  I don't shake them off, I purposely leave a bit of water on them to keep them from sticking to the plate/other noodles.  It takes a while and is definitely a lot more effort but it's well worth it in the end.  Especially if you're not a big fan of trying to un-do a Gordian knot of lasagna!

Here's where I take a shortcut to make up for all that noodle effort - while I'm cooking the beef I throw in chopped up leftover veggies.  Some of the ones I've thrown in?  Spinach, beetroot, kale, carrot, peppers (no hot ones), sweet potato, broccoli... the list is endless really, limited only by imagination and what's in the fridge.  Into an oiled baking dish I layer lasagna noodles, a small amount of ricotta cheese, the beef and veg mix, and tomato sauce.  The top layer of noodles gets the last of the sauce and a bit of cheese.  Into the oven until cheese is nice and browned and there ya go.

Warning - beetroot can make the noodles a bit pink.  I got called out on this last time but convinced the boys it was just the tomato sauce.

Get me some cauliflower!

http://ohmyveggies.com/20-unexpected-ways-to-use-cauliflower/

Kiersten, you are my new cauliflower hero - I cannot wait to try some of these!  But boo - I just ran out of cauliflower....

Waste not, yeah - you know the rest!

It drives me bonkers to have to throw out food.  A trait passed on to me by my grandmother perhaps?  She threw nothing out.  Until we snuck it out behind her back.  Like the time we were cleaning out cabinets and found tomato sauce dated 1976.  It was 1991 at the time.  Can't blame her though, raising kids in tough times in tougher circumstances it became second nature to find some way to re-use. 

So what's my reason?  I don't really have one.  It just makes me feel like such a waster.  To that end, I have become more creative with foods that are about to go off or that I've just made too darn much of. 

My favorite go-to recycled food?  Potato cakes!  The kids love them so there's a no-brainer.  I've even started to purposely cook too many potatoes on those days I do mash to have the leftovers available.  I'm lucky in this respect - I used to "hide" cauliflower in the potato, then  mash it all together with some pink Himalayan salt and garlic powder.  But as my crew have gotten older (and taller) they can see what's in the pot.  As it turns out, they like the potato so much they don't mind the cauliflower.  Tomas even asks for it!

To make them: (apologies - I have to guess at amounts.  Throw in this and that - you know how I roll...) 
About 3 cups mashed potato (if I can get organic I leave some of the skin on)
1/2 to 3/4 cup grated cheese
1 egg
salt to taste
garlic powder to taste (optional)

Put all ingredients into a mixing bowl and get your hands in there - smash, mash, pretend you're a kid again playing with mud pies :)  Take a small amount, a little bigger than a golf ball, into your hands and work it flat.  Place on a pre-oiled/sprayed baking tray and bake in a 350F/180C oven until golden/brown and crispy-looking.  Alternately you can heat oil in a frying pan and fry them like hash browns, but I find that they tend to absorb a lot of oil this way.  If you leave them baking until they are good and brown, they are just as delicious!

Here's another creation from my Frankenstein kitchen that surprised me with it's yummy-ness:  zucchini (courgette) and peaches.  Peaches were on sale for really cheap, so you know I stocked up!  Unfortunately, to get here to Ireland they have to be picked early so they tend to all ripen/over-ripen at once.  I peeled and froze a good few for smoothies and then just got sick of peeling.  In the fridge were a couple of courgettes that needed to be used as well so here's what I did:

Scrub courgettes well and thinly slice.  Heat a wok with a small amount of olive oil.  Throw in courgette and let them get good and browned (stir/flip to put the bottom ones on top).  Toss in some chopped garlic (your choice how much), salt to taste.  When the courgettes are browned, throw in two peeled and roughly chopped peaches.  Continue to cook only until the peaches are incorporated into the mix and heated up.  Cook too much and they just go to mush.  Enjoy!

I would love to hear about your creations!

Spit and such...

I finally got my results back from the DNA sample that I sent in!  There are pages and PAGES of info to sort through, but it is really interesting and fascinating.  I am mostly of Northern European ancestry, specifically French/German (I know- German, right?  But certain "tribes" are grouped together according to original peoples' arrangements, before migration and splits.  The British and Irish are grouped together.  This is the only place THAT'S gonna happen!)  then in descending order I am Native American, sub-Sahara African with some Cuban, Argentinian and Balkan thrown in for good measure.  And I only share 2.6% of my DNA with Neanderthals.  Average for European descent is 2.7%.  So much for the hairy knuckle theory...

As far as genetic risk factors go, I'm in pretty good shape.  I have a copy of a variant associated with development of Alzheimer's.  No, this does not mean that I will succumb to it.  It means that I have a genetic variation sometimes found in people with Alzheimer's.  I had the good fortune to know two of my great-grandmothers who lived to ripe old ages and were both sharp as flippin' tacks to the end.  I am not worried.

Now here's something that I found quite interesting - there's a relatively new feature on the site that calculates how much of your weight comes from single nucleotide polymorphisms, or SNiPs for short.  Think back to your high school/secondary school days and basic biology.  DNA is made up of four bases: adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C), and thymine (T).  The sequence of these bases determines the information available for building and maintaining an organism, similar to the way in which letters of the alphabet appear in a certain order to form words and sentences.

DNA bases pair up with each other, A with T and C with G, to form units called base pairs. Each base is also attached to a sugar molecule and a phosphate molecule. Together, a base, sugar, and phosphate are called a nucleotide. Nucleotides are arranged in two long strands that form a spiral called a double helix. The structure of the double helix is somewhat like a ladder, with the base pairs forming the ladder’s rungs and the sugar and phosphate molecules forming the vertical sidepieces of the ladder.

Within the nucleotide, there are subtle changes occurring from individual to individual, and these are the SNiPs.  Scientists and geneticists use these SNiPs as markers for determining susceptibility to drugs and environmental toxins, locating and tracking genes associated with disease, and risk of developing certain diseases.

SNiPs are common, occurring about once in every 300 sequences, amounting to roughly 10 million SNiPs in the human genome.  What I didn't realize, or think about, was how that amount could translate into body weight.  Something so small, how could it make a difference?  But hey - enough of them get together and guess what?  4.76 pounds of my total body weight can be attributed to SNiPs!  Almost 5 POUNDS OF SNiPs!  Are you kidding me?  Can I blame them for the muffin top I can't seem to get rid of completely!?!?!

All kidding aside, lucky for me, none of the polymorphisms are known to lead to problems.  They're just harmless little anomalies.

23 and me also gives you the choice to make contact with others who could be related to you.  I've had a couple of contacts made, but we haven't progressed yet to comparing family trees.  Donna, I'll be in touch - you are the Guillot tree master! :)

SAMe 23?

I don't know what the results will bring, but my curiosity finally got the better of me and I did it - I sent in my spit:

https://www.23andme.com/en-eu/  (this is the link for the European site, which I automatically get sent to. Try https://www.23andme.com for US)

I'd read about this kit ages ago in my CAM Journal (Complementary and Alternative Medicine).  The article was positive in most aspects except one - the results required further interpretation by geneticists or a nutritionist with a strong genetics background, as what you got was basically raw genetic data.

Imagine my surprise when, about a month ago, I was watching television and on comes an advert for 23andMe, offering these self-test kits to the general public!  They've re-vamped the way they present the interpretations, and it's now readily accessible and readable.  And an added bonus - you get to know how close your DNA is to Neanderthal DNA!  That may not excite some of you, but for me perhaps it will explain the copious amounts of knuckle and toe hair I battle with :)

But seriously, I want to know where my genetic strengths and weaknesses lie.  I like to be informed so I can make choices based on that information.  It's how the name of this blog came about.  Health begins with me.  Gather the info and make the choices best for you based on what you know.

Without going too scientifical (I know it's not a real word but it's really fun to say) I am hoping to find out - either from the results or from an independent review of the raw data - what my ability to process vitamin B12 is and what specific form(s) of B12 work best for me.  There are several detoxification pathways working in the body, one of which is methylation.  In order for methylation to proceed, methyl donors are required.  The major methyl donor in the body is S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe).  A lack of B12 inhibits SAMe synthesis, as well as the synthesis of folate.  Also, B12 is a co-factor  for the enzyme methionine synthase, which converts homocysteine to methionine, completing the circle of methyl donors.  But - if B12 is deficient, the reaction is inhibited, potentially leading to hyperhomocysteinemia (a mouthful, fer sure, but it's just a fancy name for high homocysteine levels).  Hyperhomocysteinemia is increasingly associated with chronic illness and cardiovascular disease.

Why bring all of this up you ask?  Methylation is one of the detox pathways vital for the safe handling of estrogen.  Unmethylated estrogen metabolites are potentially damaging to DNA.  As a woman skipping along in the years (ok, getting "older") I want to know that my body can safely handle estrogen load because of the risks associated with high estrogen and cancer development.  I want to know that my body can handle not only my own estrogens (which naturally decrease with age) but also those known as exogenous estrogens  - the ones encountered in the everyday environment through plastics, pesticides, car exhaust, solvents, birth control, oh the list goes on...

And I want to know how close I am to a Neanderthal :)

Booking It

I love books.  And by that, I mean I LOVE BOOKS!  James took me to the Trinity College reading room in Dublin on our way to see The Book of Kells and I thought I would come completely unglued.  All I could do was stand there, slack-jawed and probably drooling a little.  I didn't even know where to start - I think I know now how sugar-addicted kids feel when they walk into a candy store.

Given the choice and without my kids in tow I would happily spend hours in a bookstore just wandering the shelves and reading random passages.  But you ask - what on earth does all this have to do with a health blog?  Well, dear reader, COOKBOOKS are also on my list of loves.  I get a lot of ideas and inspiration from recipes online, but there's just nothing like holding a BOOK, flipping it open to the appropriate page, propping it open to follow the recipe, darting back and forth from book to cook, getting splashes and splotches on the pages with my favorite recipes.... With that said, here is my new favorite cookbook:

Not surprisingly, I have started by trying out the sweet stuff.  Although I don't have a huge sweet tooth, I do have a weakness for chocolate.  Especially reese's peanut butter cups.  Which, until recently, was not a problem because they were not available in Ireland.  Then, suddenly, there they were - mocking me.  And now they come in packs of three AS IF TWO was NOT enough!  I made myself sick a couple of times because of course I couldn't leave that third one alone after consuming its pack mates.  So imagine my joy when flipping through this book I come across a recipe for almond butter cups!  How could I not give them a try?  I was not disappointed - I think they are fan-flippin-tastic.  They are not, however, a majority hit.  The house is divided in its opinion.  Cool - more for me!  Here's how mine came out:

The recipe made 12.  There's 4 left.  I made them yesterday.  Need I say more?

Reprinted from Ryland Peters and Small "Sugar-Free Snacks & Treats: Deliciously tempting bites that are free from refined sugars"

Almond Butter Cups
makes 12 large or 24 mini cups

215 ml/1 cup coconut oil
60 g/ 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
4 tbsp agave syrup
1 tbsp stevia (or 2 more tbsp agave)  **** I only used the original 4 tbsp and found them sweet
dash of vanilla extract
4-5 tbsp almond butter
1 tsp nutritional yeast
pinch of sea salt if using unsalted almond butter

Put the coconut oil in a saucepan over low heat and allow to melt.  Stir in the cocoa powder, agave syrup, stevia if using, and vanilla extract until you have smooth liquid chocolate.  Divide one third of the mixture between the muffin cases and put the whole muffin pan in the freezer until the mixture has solidified - about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, mix the almond butter, nutritional yeast and salt, if needed, in a bowl.
Remove the muffin pan from the freezer and place a generous teaspoon of the almond-yeast mixture in the center of each base of frozen chocolate, then flatten it slightly with your fingers.  Pour the remaining melted chocolate over the almond-yeast mixture.  Put the whole muffin pan in the freezer again un til the mixture has solidified - about 10 minutes.
Remove the almond butter cups from the freezer just before serving to get them at their most firm and crisp.  If you store them in the freezer or refrigerator, they will keep for 3-4 weeks (unless you devour them before!).

Beet It!

I have had a lifelong love of beets/beetroot/whatever you want to call it.  As a kid I asked for them all the time - the canned ones, can you imagine?  I had no idea what the fresh ones were like.  My sister Angie thinks they taste like dirt, but since I was always eating mud pies anyway I guess my taste buds were primed!

Every Friday in the spring/summer there's a Farmer's Market in Kinvara.  First stall on the left is Anna Nolan, who we call the vegetable lady.  She's actually there year-round with seasonal fruit and veg.  This time of year she has fresh beets coming in.  She even saves me some of the better green tops cuz she knows I love those too!

As much as I love beets, I get bored with eating them the same way, so out comes my inner kitchen witch and I get to experimenting again.  My latest?  Peel and thinly slice beetroot, then place in a glass cooking dish.  Throw in some balsamic vinegar, a bit of red wine, cover with foil and bake at 180C/350F until you can pierce them with a fork.  If you don't want to use wine, I would try a juice like cranberry, pomegranate, or cherry.  We had them as a side with dinner one night, and next day I mixed the leftovers with a spoon of Greek yogurt - just as yummy as the night before!  Good thing my kids weren't home.  I can pretty much imagine their comments on some of the weird shit I eat.

One of the first things I learned in my Iridology studies were the health tendencies of the 3 major iris colours - brown, blue and mixed.  Brown irises are prone to blood and liver disorders and impurities. Beets are a rich source of the phytonutrient betalain, which is essential for phase 2 liver detoxification support. I am a firm believer in listening to the signals your body sends you, which includes cravings. Even if you're craving junk it will tell you something about what's going on.  I know I've kind of jumped around with my thoughts but I guess it comes down to this:  your body will tell you what it needs, like me with the beets.  And I am here to help interpret those signals when they get a bit fuzzy or when things go haywire.

I haven't been successful yet with getting the boys to eat beets, but they will drink beet juice (mixed with other juices, even beet juice kinda tastes like dirt).  Especially since I told them that beets will make the toilet water turn pink when they go for a poo.  I'm learning to speak boy.  Special treat? Vampire ice lollies (popsicles)!  Mix orange, apple, pomegranate and beet juice and pour into molds, let freeze overnight.

Any of you have beet recipes you'd like to share?

Comfort Food

I was determined to post more often.  To not let it go so long between posts.  I told myself, "Every post doesn't have to be so researched and thought out, you can put up fun recipes or random thoughts you know".  With that in mind, I was all set.

Then I got a phone call.

A good friend was losing her battle with breast cancer.  The same cancer that she had already gotten under control.  It was back and it was vicious.  The latest prognosis was two weeks.

Suddenly I didn't feel like writing any more.  I was angry, I was sad, I was heartbroken, I was devastated for her husband and all the people in her life who loved her.  I thought a lot about life and death.  All the cliches came to mind, the things I've said to my own kids:  "She'll always be in your heart, she's gone to a better place, you'll be together again someday," blah ba di blah the list goes on.... None of it made any difference.

She hung on a little over two weeks.

I needed to gieve, and in my grief I wanted comfort food.  But not the kind that makes me feel worse for eating it.  I wanted something that would nourish my body and soul and make me feel a little better about something that seems so unfair, so unjust, so unkind.  Here's what I came up with: coconut sweet potato and spinach:

I don't have an exact recipe, but here's how it played out - melt a tablespoon of coconut oil in a frying pan over medium heat.  Add one diced sweet potato (I peel mine because I can't get organic here) and let cook until it starts to turn soft.  You will have to add more coconut oil and a bit of water along the way to keep it from sticking.  Cover the pan with a lid to speed things up if necessary.  Once the sweet potato starts to soften, throw in a handful or two of spinach and cook just until wilted.  Season with your choice - I used chopped garlic and ginger, pink Himalayan salt, and a dash of cumin.

Hmmmm... I might make this again today.  But for now I'm off to have a gluten free chocolate chip cookie, thanks to Julie Fontenot Landry for the recipe.

RIP Susan...

Free Radical Thinking

When I was in college the theater department put on a production of Neil Simon's "Brighton Beach Memoirs".  I remember a bit where the family were sitting at the kitchen table.  The mother was asking them if they'd heard about a neighbor, with the son pointing out that she whispered the word "cancer".  To her, if she spoke it out loud it would become too much of a reality and work its way into their lives.  Well, I think you would be hard pressed to find someone today who hasn't experienced cancer in their own lives or in the lives of loved ones.  It has become so commonplace that it's just accepted most of the time that this is what happens.  But hold on - hit the brakes - when did this become the norm?  When did we become so accepting of cancer as a reality?

The mom may have whispered, but I tell you, cancer does not whisper - it SHOUTS!  It disrupts everything it touches and turns your life and your body inside out and upside down.  It even creates its own blood supply from existing vessels (angiogenesis), diverting blood from organs to itself.  As a cancerous tumor grows, it sheds cells that travel to other areas of the body and from there can create new growth (metastases).

Now, this is all very broad and general.  Cancer, like the person it forms in, is unique to each individual.  At its core, cancer is an abnormality in development of cells (dysplasia) which is often the precursor to neoplasm ("new growth" aka tumor).  The human body tries its best to keep a tight rein on internal processes, but for whatever reason (they vary tremendously from person to person, and sometimes no answer can be found) sometimes the process of cell division goes a bit haywire, resulting in the start of a cancerous formation.

I just read an interesting article about Nobel laureate Dr. James Watson, the co-discoverer of the double-helix structure of DNA.  The prevalent view of inflammatory diseases (including cancer) to date has been that an excess of intracellular oxidation leading to high levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) causes inflammation which kills/alters healthy cells.  Dr. Watson is proposing that it is actually a lack of ROS that is the cause.

Ok, here's where we back up ten and talk about ROS, more commonly known as free radicals.  ROS are produced as by-products of metabolic processes.  What makes them free radicals is the presence of an unpaired electron.  Nature strives for balance, and free radicals look for other molecules to pair up their electrons.  One of the downsides about free radicals is that in interacting with other molecules to gain stability, they convert that target molecule into a radical. This starts a chain reaction that continues until two free radicals meet up to form a strong (covalent) bond.

ROS, like acid/alkaline and pH levels, are kept in a delicate balance by the body and are a necessary part of cellular actions.  Immune system cells (neutrophils and phagocytes) use ROS to destroy invaders.  Dr. Watson refers to how, within the endoplasmic reticulum of the cell, the ROS hydrogen peroxide helps forge chemical bonds which stabilizes proteins as they fold.  Without sufficient ROS, proteins emerge unfolded and this, he proposes, is what causes the inflammation that harms the pancreas (and possibly other organs).  Proteins have to be dealt with somehow, and if they make it to the bowel the breakdown process that occurs can result in fermentation, causing bloating, gas, cramps, and poor absorption of nutrients.

I should note too that Dr. Watson strongly recommends exercise as a necessary component in the treatment of type 2 diabetes and other inflammatory conditions, as exercise produces ROS and healthy, functioning proteins.  He also stresses that he is not a physician, just a scientist with a novel idea about the treatment of diabetes.

So - why did I put all this out there for you?  This article got me thinking:  what if ROS are getting the same treatment that saturated (and by knock-on effect, most) fat was given not so long ago? What if in trying to treat disease, reduce inflammation, combat aging, etc. we have swung the pendulum too far?  Are we putting too much emphasis on anti-oxidant consumption and therefore not allowing the ROS to do their jobs?  I was taught that anti-oxidants are important for immune function (among other things) but what if we're consuming too many - are we keeping neutrophils and phagocytes from doing their jobs?  Are we effectively knocking out two of the first responders of the immune system, allowing invaders to progress further into the body before they are recognized as dangerous?

I have no scientific proof to back up any of these thoughts, and neither does Dr. Watson.  Not at this point anyway.  It just got me thinking, and I wanted to share my thoughts with you.  What do you think?

Mwah aah aah...

Did the title come across as a mad scientist laugh?  That was the intention as I've been a bit of a cooking mad scientist this week.  I love experimenting with food even when sometimes the results are, as my eldest would say, "an epic fail".  Among those failures are some pretty resounding successes, at least I think so!  

My latest experiment?  Different types of hummus using doTerra lemon essential oil in the mix.  My favorite?  This one:

1 can organic chick peas (or cook your own from scratch, you show off :))

3 cloves garlic

1 heaping tablespoon light tahini

Juice of 1 lemon + 2 to 3 drops doTerra lemon essential oil

salt to taste

2 tablespoons raw apple cider vinegar

a good glug of cold pressed hemp seed oil

5-6 red jalapenos

1 tablespoon of the liquid from the jalapenos

1 scoop powdered spirulina

Place all ingredients into a blender and whiz till smooth.  If you need more liquid, choose from vinegar, oil or jalapeno juice.

The result is this crazy green stuff that looks altogether suspect but tastes divine.  Something about the lemon oil imparts and almost minty flavor into the mix.  I find that I've been craving hummus lately.  Maybe I'm going through a detox period and my body wants the lectins to bind with toxins for a quick exit!

I just got a new phone and am still getting used to the camera.  This isn't the best photo, but here goes:

Please, as well, excuse the poor composition - I had to crop out the "Cars" logo on my kid's bowl!

Anyone have any out of the ordinary/unusual hummus recipes to share?  The lab awaits!

Mardi Gras there, Pancake Tuesday here

Since it's Pancake Tuesday here I want to share my favorite pancake recipe, made this morning and enjoyed by all (including Cubbles the dog who got a bit, of course).  These are made with buckwheat, which, contrary to its name, contains no wheat.  It comes from the seed, or groat, of the plant and is naturally gluten-free.  Buckwheat is a great source of fiber, magnesium, copper and manganese.

I often double this recipe and use the extras as part of school lunches or afternoon snacks!

Buckwheat Pancakes:

Ingredients:

1 cup buckwheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon coconut sugar (optional)
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon dried ginger
1.5 to 2 tablespoons milled chia seeds
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk *
2 tablespoons melted coconut oil

Directions:

Mix dry ingredients together.  Add milk, egg and coconut oil, mixing well after each addition.
Preheat skillet over medium-medium high heat with either butter or coconut oil melting in it while it heats.  Pour batter onto hot skillet - your choice:  make either one large pancake or 2-3 smaller ones (I find it easier to manage 3 small ones)  Cook until bubbles break on surface, turn and cook until brown on other side.

*Start with one cup of milk, then add in bit by bit until you have a batter that's not too thick and not too thin.  Because I have added chia seeds to the original recipe, a little more milk is needed to compensate for the swelling of the seeds.  I use rice milk, but have also made these with vanilla almond milk and buttermilk, all have tasted great!

Inflammation Information

We started to go off on a tangent about inflammation in that last post, so I thought it might be good to talk a bit about it.  I didn't mean to give the impression in the comments that inflammation is all bad. Far from it.  The inflammatory process is a very necessary part of everyday function, and without it we would not last long.  The immune system cannot fully function without the inflammatory component.  But if your regulation of inflammation doesn't function properly, or when systemic imbalances lead to a loss of control, this is when the inflammatory process can continue without a shut down time and become destructive - think chronic inflammatory disorders like eczema, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn's, asthma, etc...

To understand inflammation is to also understand the immune system.  The immune system has two components:  innate immunity and acquired immunity.  Innate immunity is a general protection from invading organisms and toxins - think skin, stomach acid, digestive enzymes, phagocytes ("eating" cells) - what you are born with.   Acquired immunity is the learned response to outside influence, the training if you will, that T and B cells undergo in order to produce antibodies the next time that same influence is encountered.

With regards to T cells, there are two types called TH1 and TH2 (T-Helper Cells 1 and 2) that "help" both B and other T cells to destroy invaders.  They release proteins called cytokines, with TH2 releasing pro-inflammatory cytokines and TH1 releasing anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-parasitic signals.  Peak production of TH2 occurs during the night and early morning, which explains why immuno-inflammatory disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis and asthma often "kick up" during this time.

Problems occur when your body becomes locked into a TH2 state and fails to return to TH1.  TH1 response is vital for the transformation of certain immature immune cells into NK (natural killer) cells that play a huge part in the inactivation of infected and mutated cells.  Failure to return to TH1 from TH2 lowers the number of NK cells and creates an environment conducive to the continuation of infectious diseases as well as pro-inflammatory conditions.  The body gets locked into an inflammatory repeating pattern.

What precipitates a TH1 to TH2 shift?  There are several factors that are thought to contribute - nutritional deficiency, stress, excessive exercise, food and/or sleep deprivation, exposure to carbamate and organophosphate insecticides, and steroid intake are a few.

So what can you do about it if you find yourself in an inflammatory state?  Increase your intake of nutrients beneficial to the immune system and possessing anti-inflammatory properties:  vitamin A preferably in the form of carotenes (orange, yellow and red vegetables and fruit), vitamin C, vitamin E, the B vitamins (they work better in a complex together), iron, zinc, selenium and high quality protein.  To increase your NK cell activity:  quit smoking, increase green vegetable intake, eat regular small meals, maintain a healthy body weight, sleep more than 7 hours per night, take regular moderate excercise, drink plenty of fresh water and utilize deep breathing and relaxation exercises.

Warm your bones soup!

This is one of the best soups I have ever come across, reprinted (and slightly amended) from Keith Kenny's "Cookability".  The best part - not having to peel the squash!

Ingredients:

• 1 butternut squash
• 2 medium sized carrots
• 1 medium sized onion
• Juice of 1/2 lime
• 1 chili, diced or 1 tablespoon dried chili flakes
• 400 ml coconut milk (full fat)
• 3 tbsps. olive oil
• 2 low-salt chicken or vegetable stock cubes
• Pink himalayan or sea salt and pepper

Directions:

Prepare the squash by removing the top and bottom ends.  Cut the body from the neck and cut the body in tow.  Scoop out the seeds with a spoon and rinse away any excess pulp.  

Don't peel the squash.  Chop the squash, onion and carrots into cubes of roughly the same size.  Dice your chili.

Preheat a large pot and add 3 tbsp. of olive oil on a high heat.  Throw all veg into the pot with a pinch of salt and pepper along with the lime juice.  Crumble in two chicken stock cubes and saute the flavors together for 3 to 4 minutes.

Add 1 liter of boiling water and leave to simmer for 15 minutes*, or until all vegetables are soft.  If the liquid is reduced just add another 1/2 liter of boiling water.  Add the coconut milk, stir and bring back to boil before removing from heat.  Blitz soup with a hand blender or food processor until you achieve a smooth consistency.

*The original recipe called for a liter and a half of water, but I found it to come out too thin.  I put in a bit less than a liter and then added if it was getting too low.  Also, I simmered for more like 30 minutes before my veggies were tender.

Righteous indignation and genetic mutations

Pffffftttttt..... That's the closest approximation I can make to the sound of the wind being taken out of my sails.  Let me back up a bit and explain.

First off, I apologize for taking so long to get another post out.  I've been sick.  Way more sick than I wanted to admit.  I was really sick while in Louisiana but didn't want to admit it (big suprise, right?) because I was so happy to see my family.  We get back to Ireland and once the nasty cough started to subside there was a nastier sinus infection hiding behind it.  Complete with migraines.  I swear though, I am coming to the tail end of it.  Grapefruit seed extract seems to be doing the butt-kicking!

Back to the sails.  Here's how they filled:  I was thinking about what my next post would be when I came across an article in one of the national newspapers here.  The headline read something like "Cancer down to 'bad luck'", citing an article in the journal "Science"(a reputable medical journal) published on January 2nd.  The newspaper article proceeded to say that it doesn't really matter what you do with your life, how you live it or how you take care of yourself, because cancer is a result of bad luck down to random genetic mutations.  I was LIVID!  (That's the righteous indignation part).  "This article is telling people you can sit on your ass, eat ice cream and smoke 20 packs of cigarettes a day cause in the end it doesn't matter - it's all if you're UNLUCKY!?!?!?" I proclaimed rather loudly to my husband James.  I started looking up the backgrounds on the researchers and trying to find out who exactly was behind this particular bit.

Johns Hopkins University/Hospital is the source of the article, at least that's where the two scientists who wrote it are based.  Specifically, they worked in conjunction with the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center.  I visited the web page for the center, as well as a few cancer groups listed as benefactors for the study.  Nowhere on their sites could I find any information on who their major donors are.  This always makes me a little suspicious.  Every big charity has big benefactors. Who exactly is funding this research and what exactly is THEIR agenda?

Now, I know Johns Hopkins has a sterling reputation, but over the years I've come across bits and pieces from their research departments that struck me as suspect.  I don't have any examples to hand, and I don't have any proof that shady characters are backing some of this research in order to further their own interests (big pharma, anyone?)  But that's another post for another time, where I think we should also talk about the research "gold standard" and how it's become rather tarnished...

Next I wanted to read the full text of the journal article and decide for myself what I thought of the methods and results.  Guess what?  You gotta PAY to read the full text, you can only get the abstract free, which I'm guessing is what the person who wrote the newspaper article did.  Because if you only read the abstract (a very brief synopsis of the findings) it does indeed sound like the  researchers were saying cancer is all bad luck.  Here's the abstract link if you want to read it: http://www.sciencemag.org/content/347/6217/78.abstract?sid=f686a451-0e00-4e99-830e-50a2990b84c9

I am my father's daughter.  I'm not gonna pay to read the flippin' article either!  What's the internet for if you can't find what you need?  After a bit of digging, I found a really good article where the researchers explain their findings using simple analogies.  And - pffffftttt... there goes the wind...the newspaper article only touched on the bad luck aspect (completely irresponsible journalism if ya ask me!)  Here's the interview: http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/media/releases/bad_luck_of_random_mutations_plays_predominant_role_in_cancer_study_shows

As much as they explain themselves, though, there's still a few things that bother me - for one, I don't think or feel like they're saying anything new.  I know most of the time with this blog I'm preaching to the choir, because most of you reading it are already health conscious and on a taking-good-care-of-yourself path.  So here's where I'm coming from with the nothing new - genetic mutations happen fairly frequently in your body.  Think of them as typos, and also know that your body has a really good spelling auto-correct.  That these mutations occur in the cells that divide more rapidly and frequently - is that really such a big surprise?  Doesn't it make sense that the faster things go the more chance there is for a bit of a slip-up?  You know what it makes me think of - do you remember that "I Love Lucy" episode where she went to work in the chocolate factory?  Everything was going great while the conveyor belt was moving at a nice slow pace.  But when the boss man decided to speed things up?  I'm cracking up thinking of poor Lucy with her cheeks and hat full of chocolates!

I'm bothered too that the article makes it seem like there's not a damn thing you can do about what happens in your body.  That's not the case.  There is a relatively new field of study, and if you haven't read up on it yet you might be as fascinated as I am by the research coming from the field of nutrigenomics, the branch of science which studies the relationship between nutrition and genetics. Why do some people get completely wired on caffeine and others fall asleep?  Why does zinc supplementation shorten the length of a cold in some and have no effect on others?

Human beings are more than 99.9% genetically identical. Small changes in the sequence of nucleotides (building blocks of DNA, the letters that make up the genetic code) may occur in the remaining 0.1%. These changes are usually referred to as single nucleotide polymorphisms, or SNPs. These can cause differences in the character or amount of protein encoded by a given gene, thus affecting individual metabolic pathways.  It boils down to this - if you know you have an impaired metabolic pathway, then you can choose which foods/supplements you can effectively assimilate for the maximum nutritional benefit.  No use really taking a bunch of supplements if you can't process them.  Although you will create some really expensive poo :)