Friday, 1 March 2019

March 2019: headaches

Headaches can be divided into two types: primary and secondary. About the details opinions differ: there are nearly as many categories as there are websites.   
Primary ones can be tension, migraine or cluster headaches.
Secondary ones are always due to an underlying problem. This might be something in the head or neck, infected teeth, meningitis, concussion, hangover, or excess of medications.
See [1].
Here we are only talking about ‘normal’ headaches - ones which you can safely deal with yourself. To find out which kinds call for medical attention, see [2]. 

If you have a headache regularly, start by keeping a diary, so that you can identify triggers. Common offenders are sweeteners/sugar, monosodium glutamate (MSG), alcohol, caffeine or -withdrawal (tea, chocolate also contain this!), tyramine (ham, bacon, some cheeses), nitrites/nitrates (salami, hot dogs), sulfites, nuts. Non-food causes include eye strain, lack of sleep, carbon monoxide, low/high blood pressure, bright/flashing lights, smells, noise, stress/trauma, electromagnetic fields (mobile phone), energy-saving light bulbs, and prescribed medications - including the very ones used to treat a migraine headache .......

For tension headaches, see [3].
If you tend to have migraines, see [4]. 
For cluster headaches, see [5].
If you think you might have a sinus pressure headache, look at [6].
If your headache is due to medication, or medication withdrawal, it's called a Medication Overuse Headache, MOH. For the very best way to prevent these, use the above advise! See also [7].
Then there is neuralgia, see [8].
For children’s headaches, see [9].
This site shows you when your child needs to see a doctor [10].
And have you thought of MSG, a very common food additive? See [11].

To finish off, see [12] for some good sites with more general headache remedies.


SOW:
broad beans, early beet, early carrots, parsnips, early Brussels, main crop peas, radish, spinach (or spinach beet, better value than proper spinach), chard, turnip, lettuce, early/summer cabbage, spring onions, early cauli, bulb onions, beet, celery (late March).
Plant: potatoes, onion sets, shallots, asparagus, Jerusalem artichokes.
And check https://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/what-do-march for what else you can do in March. 

EAT:
veg: purple sprouting broccoli, kale, cavolo nero, squash, cauli, spring greens, radishes, rhubarb, leeks, carrots, spring onions, salad leaves, parsnips, cabbage, chicory, sorrel, swede, beet, brussels, rocket, turnips, celeriac, Jerusalem artichokes, watercress.
fish: dab, whiting, red gurnard, grey mullet, mussels, oysters, clams, mackerel, herring, megrim, scallops.
meat: rabbit, turkey, wood pigeon, beef, mutton, pork, venison.

RECIPES

SCRUMPTIOUS GREEN SOUP
Plenty of radish tops, onion, garlic clove, butter, cumin, sour cream*, plus if you like, 1tsp curry powder, walnut oil. 
Sauté onion, garlic, cumin and curry powder in the butter. After ab. a minute, add 1l stock/water, bring to the boil. Add radish tops and cook for ab. 5 mins, whizz. Add sour cream, take off the heat and put some walnut oil on top if you have it. Yum!

PUMPKIN CURRY SAUCE
220g pumpkin purée, 1/2 onion, (2 garlic cloves), 1tblsp olive oil, 1 tin (ab. 350g) coconut milk or 1tblsp coconut flakes, 1/4tsp cardamon, 1/2tsp cumin, 1/4tsp nutmeg, 1/8tsp cinnamon, 1/8tsp paprika, 1/8tsp cayenne, coriander, salt, pepper to taste; chives and pumpkin seeds to serve.
Mince the garlic and finely chop the onion. Sauté for 3-4 minutes till soft. Add the coconut flakes, pumpkin purée, and all the spices except for salt and pepper. Add water so that the thickness is right for a sauce. Cook until everything is warmed through. Season. Garnish with pumpkin seeds and chives.
You can make this well before the occasion, and of course the recipe can be adjusted to the state of your cupboard and your tastebuds.

BEANBURGERS PARSONAGE. You can halve this recipe, but they’re very easy to freeze. 
200g cooked beans any type; 40g (frugally collected) bread crumbs, 1 egg, 35g flour, 1tblsp soy sauce, 50cm tomato puree from a tube, 30ml grated mild cheese, pepper. Plus herbs/spices of your liking, such as: 1/2tsp paprika powder, 1/4tsp ginger, 1tsp cumin, 1tsp masala or curry powder, garlic, coriander, cayenne/chilli powder, etc. Salt may not be necessary if you use soy. Parsley or chives.
Drain the beans. Mash very well. Mix everything, make into patties, fry on both sides, top with the chopped greens, done! 

SAUTEED CABBAGE for 6 
Small head white cabbage incl. outer green leaves, butter, 1 chilli pepper, 1 onion, some lime juice. 
Slice the cabbage as thinly as possible, discarding the core. Slice onion and chilli. Sauté all this in the butter for 10-15 mins very, very slowly. Keep the lid on! You may well have to add a tiny bit of water early on, so it won’t burn. Stir occasionally. When the cabbage is tender enough and just starting to brown: done! Season if necessary. Add some lime juice.

*Full-fat if you can find it. It’s much better for you than half-half or worse. See the Thought for October 2017.
For more March recipes, see other years (click on 2019 on the right hand side, and then on March). 
We also have an alphabetical index of subjects, which you will see if you click on this month, in the top right hand corner.
Next month: fatigue.






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March 2018: no worries....?






NO WORRIES ....?

Worrying can be good, if it motivates us to take action and solve problems. But very often it isn’t like that. 
We worry about things which we can’t do anything about. Or we worry too much about tiny details. “Is this enough?” “What shall I give them?” “What can I wear?” “Will they like the present?”
And when you worry too much, it becomes counterproductive. Chronic worry causes tension, sleepless nights, bad work, and may even lead to anxiety attacks.
Telling yourself to stop worrying is like trying not to think of a pink elephant. The harder you try, the worse it gets. 
But how can we change - just a little bit? 

1) Make a list of things you worry about. Just having it written down helps.

2) Cut back - should you really be doing all this? If something doesn’t get done, does it matter? Just say no - if others can say it, so can you.

3) Ask for help. You know, many people actually like it if you ask them for help, if you say you can’t cope alone. They might not do a job in the same way you do, but so what?

4) Learn to delegate. Try with small jobs first. Noone does things perfectly, not even you!

5) If you really can’t help worrying, worry regularly. For the same period, like 15 minutes, every day, indulge in worrying as much as you like. When time is up, postpone all your worries until next day, same time. Or if an anxious thought comes into your head during the day, just make a brief note for later. Remind yourself that you’ll have time to think about it later, so there’s no need to worry about it right now.

6) Accept imperfection, especially in the small stuff.

7) Guided relaxation (1) and meditation (2) are a good idea, especially for the long term.

8) Move! Walking outdoors is ideal, but any form of exercise is good. When you exercise, endorphins will trigger positive feelings in your body, similar to that of morphine.  

9) Eat healthily. Worry sucks energy and increases production of pro-inflammatory chemicals. To counteract this, enjoy whole or minimally-processed anti-inflammatory foods such as whole grains, dark leafy greens, nuts, garlic/onions, ginger, turmeric, olive oil, beetroot and berries. 
Avoid stimulating foods like caffeine and sugar, also - especially! - in the form of corn syrup, dextrose, fructose, golden syrup, maltose, and sucrose. All of these increase anxiety, exacerbate insomnia and in the case of sugar, cause excessive blood sugar fluctuations. See (3).

And have a look at


SOW:
broad beans, early beet, early carrots, parsnips, early Brussels, main crop peas, radish, spinach (or spinach beet, better value than proper spinach), chard, turnip, lettuce, early/summer cabbage, spring onions, early cauli, bulb onions, beet, celery (late March).
Plant: potatoes, onion sets, shallots, asparagus, Jerusalem artichokes.

EAT:
veg: purple sprouting broccoli, kale, cavolo nero, squash, cauli, spring greens, radishes, rhubarb, leeks, carrots, spring onions, salad leaves, parsnips, cabbage, chicory, sorrel, swede, beet, brussels, rocket, turnips, celeriac, Jerusalem artichokes, watercress.
fish: dab, whiting, red gurnard, grey mullet, mussels, oysters, clams, mackerel, herring, megrim, scallops.
meat: rabbit, turkey, wood pigeon, beef, mutton, pork, venison.

By the way, have you ever though of joining a box scheme? Fresh veg delivered to your house every week. It’s local, it’s cheaper and most likely organic. You can find them at http://www.bigbarn.co.uk/.

NB! Spring is in the air (Ahem. Sorry!), and so is hayfever. Here are some ideas about what you can do yourself:


RECIPES
MASHED TURNIPS with SAGE
2 turnips and 2 floury potatoes, 3 tblsp butter, 1 chopped onion, 2 chopped tblsp sage, ab. 200ml milk, salt and freshly ground pepper.
Peel and cube the turnips and potatoes; put in some cold salted water. Bring to a boil and simmer until soft and tender, about 20 mins. Sauté the onion with the sage until the sage is fragrant and the butter begins to brown. Season. Drain turnips and potatoes. Add the milk and roughly mash. If you prefer a smooth texture, use a blender. Taste, season if necessary.
If you like, you can use a different proportion of turnips and potatoes.

SAUTEED KALE
Chop kale and onion finely. Heat some fat, add both vegetables, stir, cover, and fry like that on a very low fire for a few minutes. Then add a little bit of water and cover again. Let cook till kale and onion are soft enough for your liking, take off the cover and sauté some more till any water left has disappeared. Add seasalt or soy sauce, serve.
SPICED PEANUT PARSNIP SOUP for 2
This is an unusual soup. You either like it (I did!), or you don’t (hubby). If you don’t, just use it as a sauce on a rice-and-vegetable dish. It’s best if your peanut butter doesn’t have sugar in it.
200g parsnips cut into chunks, 1 large onion, 2 garlic cloves, 2 cm fresh ginger root, 2 tblsp grated coconut, 2 tblsp peanut butter, 1 tsp ground cumin, 45g coriander leaves, plenty of chilli powder or cayenne, grated zest of 1 orange and some pumpkin seeds if you like. 
Cut the parsnips, onion, ginger and garlic into chunks and roast in an 200°C over for 20 minutes (or carefully sauté on top). Put in a pan, add 720ml water and cook till all is soft.
Mix with the peanut butter, coconut, chili, cumin and coriander and blend, keeping some coriander for on top.  Add more water if needed. Serve sprinkled with coriander (pumpkin seeds) and zest. 

BREAM WITH BASIL BALSAMIC
Score sides of a whole bream and pack cuts with a roughly pounded mix of 3 tblsp balsamic vinegar, a garlic clove and a handful of basil per fish. Roast for 20 mins or until flaking off the bone at 190ºC. Serve with peas.

For more recipes see March issues from former years - click on March 2018 on the right hand side. Or go to https://thoughtforfoodaw.wordpress.com, which still has eight recipes for this year. 
We also have an alphabetical index of subjects, which you will see if you click on this month, in the top right hand corner.




Next month: fish forever? To see this now, go to https://thoughtforfoodaw.wordpress.com and scroll down.





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March 2017: osteoporosis




  


While osteoporosis can have multiple causes and is partly inherited, lifestyle changes, made early, can prevent osteoporosis later. Diet and exercise will even slow down bone loss after it’s been diagnosed.
Osteoporosis is not caused by loss of bone mineral itself, but by loss of the collagen scaffolding on which the minerals should be deposited. This network provides resistance against fracture. Unfortunately, ageing and disease affect it.
There are two types:
Postmenopausal osteoporosis commonly affects women after the menopause, when they are producing less oestrogen. Bone material starts breaking down, often resulting in fractures of the wrist and spine.
Senile osteoporosis happens after age 70. The hard outer layers and the spongy interior of bones get thinner, which may cause hip and spinal fractures.
Men, too, can get it, and one of the causes can be medications. For how and why, see [0].

CAUSES:
  • Milk and osteoporosis are linked but not in the way most people have been led to believe. Milk can actually be a cause of osteoporosis [1]! 
  • Too much animal protein in general, can leach calcium from our bones [2]. 
  • A high-acid diet, which is common and easily avoided [3]. Foods that promote low body pH levels, such as refined foods, sugar, coffee, soft drinks, table salt etc., also leach calcium out of our bones. If we don’t eat enough vegetables or fruit; if we have stress, hyperinsulinemia or poor digestion, our bodies will become too acidic. 
  • Medications may cause osteoporosis [4]. One of them being Fosamax, an osteoporosis prevention drug …. [5]. Contraceptives, immunosuppressants, PPIs, hypothyroidism drugs and many others, also weaken bones. See [6].
  • Fluoride in drinking water. Fluoride collects in the bones, and although technically it increases bone mass and density, the evidence is very strong that fluoride intake can actually double the incidence of hip fractures [7].
  • Lack of essential fatty acids. Gamma Linolenic Acid we can get from the oils of evening primrose, hemp, blackcurrant seed and borage seed; also from oats, barley, spirulina, avocados and peanuts. Eicosapentaenoic Acid is in coldwater fatty fish and shellfish [8].
  • Lack of weight-bearing exercise.
  • Insufficient nutrients: magnesium and vitamin D3 [9], phosphorus [10], vitamin K [11] and boron [12] in our diet. However, if we eat plenty of vegetables, nuts and seeds, (fatty) fish eggs and whole foods, we need not worry in that respect.
  • Smoking!
PREVENTION:

Milk is not the friend we thought it was.
”To assume that osteoporosis is due to calcium deficiency is like assuming that infection is due to penicillin deficiency .... it's not that our bodies don't get enough calcium, rather that they excrete too much of what they already have .... The most important culprit is almost certainly the overconsumption of protein. High-protein foods such as meat, eggs and dairy make excessive demands on the kidneys, which in turn leach calcium from the body. One solution, then, isn't to increase our calcium intake, but to reduce our consumption of protein, so our bones don't have to surrender so much calcium. Astonishingly, according to this newer, more critical view, dairy products almost certainly help to cause, rather than prevent, osteoporosis.” [1]
So instead of drinking lots of milk, it’s best to:
- consume fresh and organic greens, plenty of root vegetables; fruits
- avoid simple carbohydrates
- make soup stock [13]
- have colloidal minerals or mineral rich herbs
- plenty of pure water
- onions and blackstrap molasses [14].
Avoid "white foods": white sugar, white flour, white pasta, white rice and any foods containing them. Choose whole grains such as whole wheat, barley, spelt, quinoa, kamut or brown rice; and pasta or bread made with any of those [3].
Varying weight-bearing exercises are very important: walking, aerobics, tennis, jogging, bouncing and ballroom dancing - do them all, if you can! See also [15]. 


And what to do once you have it? 
1) The ‘prevention’ diet also helps slow down bone loss when it seems too late [3].
2) Keep moving - but carefully [16].
3) Plenty of drugs are promoted for the management of osteoporosis but they have many and serious side effects and even the benefits are questionable [17]. University of Illinois researchers are saying that an effective strategy to keep bones strong should be to simply increase dietary calcium and vitamin D or take supplements. "For many people, prescription bone-building medicines should be a last resort.” [18] 

See also [19].

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SOW:
broad beans, early carrots, early Brussels, parsnips, main crop peas, radish, spinach (or spinach beet, better value than proper spinach), chard, turnip, lettuce, early/summer cabbage, spring onions, early cauli, bulb onions, beet, celery (late March).
Plant: potatoes, onion sets, shallots, asparagus, Jerusalem artichokes.

EAT:
veg: purple sprouting broccoli, kale, cavolo nero, squash, cauli, spring greens, radishes, rhubarb, leeks, carrots, spring onions, salad leaves, parsnips, cabbage, chicory, sorrel, swede, beet, brussels, rocket, turnips, celeriac, Jerusalem artichokes, watercress.
fish: dab, red gurnard, grey mullet, mussels, oysters, clams, mackerel, herring, megrim, scallops.
meat: rabbit, turkey, wood pigeon, beef, mutton, pork, venison.


RECIPES

Purple sprouting broccoli is, of course, flavour of the month. Plenty of recipes using that here: [20].

ROASTED COLEY ON CAVOLO NERO 
600g pollack/coley/colin fillets (or cod if you must ...), 4-8 sliced black olives, 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, 300g tomatoes, 400g shredded cavolo, (25g capers), chopped chives and parsley.
Preheat oven to 200°C. Place fish on a greased tray. Mix together olives, oil and capers if you use them. Season and spoon over the fish; add tomatoes. Bake for 15–20 mins. Meanwhile, boil cavolo nero for ab. 8 mins. Drain, return to pan. Stir in herbs and fish juice. Divide between 4 plates and top with fish and tomatoes.

NETTLE SOUP (yes, we've had this before, but every year it's a bit different!)
4 large handfuls of nettle tops, 1 large onion, 50g butter, 2 potatoes, 1l stock, 1- 2 tblsp crème fraîche, seasoning, nutmeg.
Strip nettles from thicker stalks, wash. Melt butter and simmer chopped onion until golden. Add nettles and quite finely chopped potatoes and cook for 2-3 mins. Add stock, simmer for 15-20 mins. Liquidize, add seasoning, grated nutmeg and serve with a whirl of crème fraîche.
For the health benefits of nettles, see www.healthbenefitstimes.com/health-benefits-of-stinging-nettles/.
SPRING GREENS with BLACK PEPPER and CREME FRAICHE
600g trimmed spring greens, 6 tbsp crème fraîche, sea salt, freshly ground black pepper and cumin if you have/like it. 
Cut spring greens in half lengthways. Bring wide, shallow pan of salted water to the boil and add the greens. Bring back to the boil and cook briefly, about 1-2 mins, drain (or longer if you like your veg well done!). Mix crème fraîche in a pan with a sprinkle of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and bring almost to the boil. Carefully add the greens so they don’t overlap too much and reheat gently. Stir the cabbage into the creme, sprinkle with pepper, serve immediately.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH stuffed with MUSHROOMS, STILTON and THYME, serves 2 
One 800g butternut squash, 200g mushrooms, 1 large red onion, 100g stilton, 15g thyme, garlic.
Pre-heat oven to 200°C. Cut squashes in half, deseed and make 4 cuts halfway down in the fleshy part. Drizzle with oil, season and place in oven skin side down for at least 50 mins. Chop mushrooms, onion, thyme garlic. Saute onions and mushrooms in a tsp of butter and plenty of olive oil, cook slowly for 8-10 mins until soft. Add garlic and thyme, cook for a min. When squash is ready, scoop out 6 tsp flesh from each squash and add to the stuffing, also the crumbled Stilton. Put stuffing into squashes. Put in oven for 15 mins until brown on top. Or cook for 10 mins and finish on the grill.

For more March recipes see former years. 




Next month: pre-, pro-, syn- and antibiotics.


[5]  Fosamax works by destroying osteoclasts, the cells that remove old bone so your osteoblasts can build new bone in its place. Since old bone is not removed, the result is denser but not stronger bones. See also https://www.drugwatch.com/fosamax/, https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/osteoporosis-drugs-good-medicine-or-big-pharma-scam/ and http://www.huffingtonpost.com/loren-fishman-md/osteoporosis-drugs-the-ba_b_852494.html.
[8]  Essential fatty acids enhance calcium absorption, reduce excretion and increase calcium deposition in the bone.
[11] See http://www.lifeextension.com/magazine/2008/3/Protecting-Bone-And-Arterial-Health-With-Vitamin-K2/Page-01 and https://authoritynutrition.com/vitamin-k2/. You can get vitamin K from egg yolk, organ meat, and fermented, hard and aged cheeses. Other fermented foods like sauerkraut and the Japanese condiments miso and natto are particularly beneficial.
[14] Onions and blackstrap molasses are excellent foods to help prevent osteoporosis. They also can improve matters once you have it. Onion increases bone density. Blackstrap has an ideal calcium-magnesium ratio: we need lots of magnesium to help absorb similarly large quantities of calcium. Both of these minerals aid development of bones.
[17] Including, ironically, an increase in bone problems such as hip fractures and jaw necrosis.





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