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TERAPROOF:User:margaretjenningsDate:10/03/2010Time:15:55:49Edition:12/03/2010FeelgoodXH1203Page:11Zone:XHXH - V1Understanding the building blocks of the body, PART 2: FATS11Roz CrowleyWHILE we don’t need alot of them, we requirefats to help in the constructionof cells, particularly nerve tissue,to keep red blood cells healthy and movethem around the body.For those who exercise to extremes, fatsthat come from plant sources can help theimmune system and even raise themetabolic rate.Omega fatty acids found in oily fish areessential for:■ good brain function■ learning■ mood regulation■ dealing with cholesterol.As vitamins A, D, E and K are fat solubleonly, we need fats to process theirbenefits. We need just 10g of fat per dayto do all this, but the bad news is that amere 12g of butter or a 30g lamb chop(including the fat) will deliver that in onesitting. However, we don’t have to cutthem out completely and pure butter ispreferable to some margarines which containhydrogenated fats.With the winter we have just had, someof us were glad to have a little padding tokeep us warm, but fats contain the highestnumber of caloriesper gram of the threefood groups, doublingthe amountfound in carbohydrates.If our visible fat isechoed in our organswe are in trouble.Biopsies done of thelivers and hearts ofobese patients showingfatty deposits aredisturbing.But not all fats are bad.The healthiest source is from plants inthe form of oils such as olive and sunflowerseed, and from seeds and nuts. Thefat content of some nuts is higher pergram than of fatty meat, so we are back tothe old chestnut of balance.Olive oil is a fat, oily fish is fatty andboth are excellent for health. However,while high in fat, they also bring to thetable omega oils which are heart protectiveas long as they are also not used inexcess. No matter how good for us, westill have to watch quantities.WE MUST:Cut visible fat off meat before eating,including from ham, rashers, steak, lamb.There is also invisible fat in meat which iswhy we shouldn’t eat even lean meat inlarge quantities.Keep pork products to a minimum andwatch the content of the Irish breakfastchoosing either sausage, black pudding orrashers, not all three.Eat stewed apple withpork dishes to help digestthe hidden fat andhave chutney andpickled gherkinstyle productson theFeelgoodEXERCISECAUTIONside. Horseradish sauce, if not too creamyor processed, helps to digest beef.■ Eat fish twice a week and the oilier thebetter — mackerel, canned or fresh sardines,fresh tuna and swordfish, herrings,fresh salmon, but any fish has good oils.■ Eat hemp, flax, sunflower, pumpkinand sesame seeds, soybeans, walnuts, seaweed,wild birds,venison, chicken,eggs, which all havedifferent types ofbeneficial oily fats.Eat a tablespoon ofseeds a day in salads,added to soups andas snacks. Use a tablespoonof olive oila day on bread andto finish soups andvegetables to gainthe best benefit fromthem. We lose out when we cook it.■ Cut down (not out) on butter, replacingwith olive oil which has added benefits.Cut down on cream and save as atreat.■ Save biscuits, cakes, creamy-filledchocolates for monthly treats. Replacewith a small amount of dark chocolate,which can help lower blood pressure,boost brain power and liftdepression.■ Read labels and avoid foods thatare high in saturated fats and hydrogenatedfats.WE MUST NOT:Deep fry foods and if we do, we mustnot overheat or re-use the oil. Keep deepfrying as a treat and throw out the oil afterwards.It may not be economical, butworth it when we save on the healthproblems caused by the toxic chemicalscreated when oil changes its chemicalcomposition with heat and re-use. This isanother key to obesity and continuing researchon what goes on in the body whenit has to process already highly processedfood is likely to deliver further confirmationthat fresh food is best.■ Eat too many saturated fats. These arethe ones to avoid and are found in manycommercially produced conveniencefoods.■ Eat fried foods, crisp or burnt fat, hydrogenatedfats or trans fats which arefound in commercial cooking oil used indeep fat fryers as they last longer thanhealthier oils. Stir fry instead using a littlewater with olive oil to part steam thefood.FRIDAY, MARCH 12, 2010HOME COMFORTSTHE book Great British Food, newly publishedby chefs at London’s Canteen restaurant is doingwhat many Irish restaurateurs and foodproducers have been doing for the last 20years — bringing back a sense of pride in nationalcuisine.This is comfort food which at the same timemanages not to be stodgy.For Patrick’s Day I like the idea of their eggsflorentine, pictured, which introduces somegreen to the start of our nationalday.A recipe for piccalilliuses seasonalcauliflower withgreen beans, redpepper, onion andsome spices andmustard seedsto flavour them.There is a goodrecipe for parsley sauce, which is deliciouswith bacon and cabbage, and their carrot cakehas healthy walnuts and sunflower oil as wellas plenty of grated carrot. In hardback on texturedpaper, the photographs are enticing.Fair value from Ebury Press, 21.GOING GREENST PATRICK’S DAY is a good excuse to eatgreen foods. Start the day with the Eggs Florentine,above, using a bed of spinach under apoached egg on a toasted muffin.Follow for lunch with a pea soup. This iseasy to make by slowly cooking a choppedonion in butter or olive oil with a choppedpotato, then adding frozen peas and somegood chicken or vegetable stock and bringingto the boil. Add a splash of milk and liquidiseor mash. Serve topped with toasted golden linseedsand a blob of yoghurt.Later in the day, after the parade and a briskwalk, make a quick sauce for pasta by liquidisinggreen olives with olive oil and adding someparmesan cheese in whateverproportion you fancy.Try 200g olives to200ml olive oil, 40gparmesan and a halfclove of garlic. Heatgently before addingthe cooked pasta to thesaucepan. Finish with moreparmesan.Purslane, also known as pigweed, looks a bitlike shamrock and is delicious as a salad on itsown or mixed with other leaves. It can also beblanched and returned to the saucepan witholive oil for an easy sauce for pasta rice oradded to stock to make a green soup.To keep fat content low, change the proportionsof meat to cabbage on the traditional baconand cabbage plate. Use iron-rich curly kaleas an alternative to cabbage, though cabbagehas huge health benefits too. Cook in a littlewater in a saucepan with the lid on or use asteamer, or cook in the bacon water.To catch up on vitamin C in this tough weather,we can be forgiven for importing fruit andit’s hard to beat kiwis for versatility. They alsohelp to digest fats, so a goodidea to eat after bacon andcabbage. Liquidise with apassion fruit and use as asauce for a warm sponge oras a dip for shortbread biscuits.
TERAPROOF:User:margaretjenningsDate:10/03/2010Time:15:59:29Edition:12/03/2010FeelgoodXH1203Page:12Zone:XH12Dr Niamh HoustonFAMILYDr Niamh Houston is aGP with a specialinterest in integrativemedicine. If you have aquestion about your child’shealth email it tofeelgood@examiner.ieor send a letter toFeelgoodIrish ExaminerCity QuarterLapps QuayCorkQI’M very concerned about mynephew who seems to bewithdrawn and not his usualself. I’ve discovered recentlythat he smokes ‘pot’ regularly.He says he’s not addicted and that he usesit now and again just to help him relax.Are there any long-term health effectsfrom using cannabis?A. Many people, especially teenagers, seecannabis as a harmless substance that helpsyou relax and “chill” not like alcohol andcigarettes that are bad for your health. Yetthere is growing evidence to show thatteenagers and young adults who usecannabis long term are more likely to havehallucinations, delusions or signs of psychosisthan short-term users, or people who’venever smoked marijuana.Regular use of this drug can double therisk of developing a psychotic episode orlong-term schizophrenia. Over the past fewyears research strongly suggests there is aclear link between early cannabis use andlater mental health problems, especially inthose with a genetic vulnerability. Also,adolescents who use cannabis daily are fivetimes more likely to develop depression andanxiety in later life.Around one in 10 cannabis users has unpleasantexperiences, including confusion,anxiety and paranoia. These feelings are usuallyonly temporary, but the effect can bemore long-lasting than users realise.Cannabis can interfere with a person’scapacity to concentrate, their short-termmemory and reduce motivation. Users aremore than twice as likely to be the cause ofa fatal car crash.The brain is still developing in the teenageyears up to the early 20s. Any substance thataffects neurological development has the potentialto lead to long-term psychological effects.Cannabis has some of the features ofaddictive drugs such as tolerance (having totake more to get the same effect), withdrawalsymptoms including craving, sleep problems,aggression, irritability, poor appetiteand restlessness. Skunk (stronger type ofcannabis) may be used as a substitute for ecstasyor LSD.There are about 400 chemical compoundsin an average cannabis plant, the main psycho-activecompounds rapidly enter theblood-stream and are transported directly tothe brain and other parts of the body. Thesecompounds tend to build up in fatty tissuesthroughout the body, so it takes a long timeto be excreted in the urine. This is whycannabis can be detected in urine up to 56days after it has last been used.Cannabis is classified as a Schedule 1 drugunder the Misuse of Drugs Act.■ www.talktofrank.com is an excellentwebsite■ Also www.drugs.ie, www.addictionireland.ieXH - V1Any substance that affectsneurological development has thepotential to lead to long-termpsychological effectsQ. Is sex during pregnancy safe or not?After a long time trying, I’m pregnant,and don’t want to do anything that willput the baby at risk. Can sex duringpregnancy cause a miscarriage?A. As long as your pregnancy is proceedingnormally you can have sex as often asyou like. Some women find that during thefirst trimester hormonal changes, fatigueand nausea can sap the desire for sex. Duringthe second trimester, increased bloodflow to your sexual organs and breasts canhelp rekindle your enthusiasm for sex. Bythe third trimester, weight gain, back painand other symptoms once again can dampenthe desire. There’s more to sex than intercourse— if you don’t want to have sex orit is difficult, try cuddling, kissing or massage.It is a common concern that sex duringpregnancy can cause a miscarriage, especiallyin the first trimester. Early miscarriagesare usually related to chromosomalabnormalities or other problems in the developingbaby. Sex isn’t a concern as yourbaby is protected by amniotic fluid in youruterus, as well as a plug of mucous thatPicture: GettyImagesblocks the cervix during pregnancy.As long as you’re comfortable, most sexualpositions do not pose a threat during pregnancy.But if you receive oral sex, make sureyour partner doesn’t blow air into yourvagina. There is a small risk that a burst ofair may block a blood vessel (air embolism),which could potentially be a life-threateningcondition for you and your baby. Generally,anal sex isn’t recommended during pregnancy,it may allow infection-causing bacteriato spread from the rectum to the vagina.You would be advised to avoid sex duringpregnancy if you’re at risk of pre-termlabour, have unexplained vaginal bleeding,are leaking amniotic fluid, have placentiaprevia (the placenta partly or completelycovers your cervix) or if your cervix beginsto open prematurely (cervical incompetence).After birth, whether vaginally or by caesariansection, allow your body to heal.Wait four to six weeks before resuming intercourse.This allows time for your cervixto close and any tears or a repaired episiotomyto heal.NOTE: The information contained in Dr Houston’s column is not a substitute for medical advice. Always consult a doctor firstCatherineShanahanMUM’S WORLDHE who said men represent the triumph ofmind over morals and women the triumphof matter over mind failed to point out theeffect this fundamental difference canhave on choice of children’s reading material.The mother, with firm focus on didactics,is a fan of Aesop, where virtue is awinner and evil rues the day. The BoyWho Cried Wolf is a personal favourite —the honest man’s salutary tale.The father also likes fables, but of abrand where the moral is hazy. His tastefor the tasteless is reflected during a visitto the local library. His choice of titlesounds not unlike the material kept wellout of reach at the video store.“Lemmy goes Diving” features theeponymous Lemmy, a young lad with attitudein spades. During a dive, he unearthssome treasure which he is about to claim— when Bully Boy McCoy arrives on thescene to try put his nemesis to shame.There is pulling and pushing andscratching and swearing and tearing andbiting galore until, out of nowhere, Lemmythrows a punch and bursts open bully-boy’snose.The damage inflicted by Lemmy’s haymakeris plain for all to see. Bully Boy Mc-Coy winces in pain as Lemmy dances withglee and scoops up his treasure to take tothe surface leaving bully-boy to the mercyof the sea.The upshot of victory is fabulous wealth— we see Lemmy with a suitcase of ‘seriousmoney’. Gratuitous violence equalsgood fortune is the moral of this little story.That night as her children bed down, themother picks up the book. Weary from along day at work, she thanks the Lord forlarge print and illustrations that cut downon text. Her happiness is somewhat curtailedas Lemmy lands a right hook. She isdownright perturbed when her son cheershim on, with “BASH HIM” “TAKE THAT”“BOOF!”Granddad drops by the next day andchances upon the same text. He smothersa snigger as he reads to his grandson andLemmy lets fly with his fist. He spots thatthe book is on loan and wonders whomade the selection. His enjoys Lemmy’santics as much as his grandchild, even ifhis morals are open to question.It is true, the mother thinks, that thepublic library is the most dangerous placein town. Let a man lose and God knowswhat he’ll choose to bring back into yourhome.In search of an answer, she seeks out thefather and asks what informed his choice.“I’m surprised you should ask,” he said.“It’s in my nature, as the scorpion said tothe frog.”FeelgoodFRIDAY, MARCH 12, 2010
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