Monthly Archives: July 2011

Add depth with fresh herbs - Petoskey News

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Add depth with fresh herbs – Petoskey News

It’s a way to add flavor and depth to your meals with minimal effort.

Fresh herbs — such as basil, mint and dill — are convenient, affordable and are bountiful this time of year at area farms and farmers markets.

“Having a variety of herbs on hand can help with different foods that you eat on a regular basis and make it so these foods aren’t the same old, same old each time,” said Michael Everts, a chef and farmer for Blackbird Gardens in Petoskey.

The farm grows a variety of herbs and Everts encourages his clients to try fresh herbs grown on area farms, as opposed to those found on grocery store shelves.

He said once the whole leaves of herbs are cut down, the leaves are exposed to oxygen and can lose flavor. He added that customers often have no way of knowing how old herbs are, unless they are able to ask the farmer or pick them themselves.

And while Everts does believe dry herbs do have their place in cooking, he noted that fresh herbs have richer and more subtle flavors, so those making the switch from dried to fresh will have to make adjustments.

“If you’re working with fresh herbs, it just doesn’t work the same way as with dried,” he said. “With fresh, you can use more, but add them right at the end with minimal heat.”

During the summer months, Everts said the most popular herb sold at his farm is basil, followed by cilantro, parsley and dill.

“We sell a ton of basil and cilantro this time of year,” Everts said. “Basil loves the heat and grows quickly and goes well in a number of dishes that are popular during the warmer months. Cilantro is used in a lot of Hispanic and Asian cuisines, and is extremely versatile.”

One of Everts favorite ways to incorporate basil is to make a simple pesto that can be served with pasta, on sandwiches and even as the base for a dip or spread.

“Pesto and the Italian influence on our cuisine is just huge,” he said. “And the mixture of garlic, basil and cheese is a big favorite in our culture.”

Basic Basil Pesto
 
2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
2 cloves of garlic
1/4 cup of pine nuts, lightly toasted
1/2 to 2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, divided
Salt and black pepper to taste
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

 Combine the basil, garlic and toasted pine nuts in a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Add oil, more or less depending on the texture you want, and process until fully incorporated and smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a bowl and stir in cheese.
Pesto can be frozen. If freezing, transfer to an air-tight container and drizzle some oil over the top. It can also be frozen in ice cube trays and then transferred to an airtight container or bag for storage.

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Cooking up Stress and Anxiety

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Cooking up Stress and Anxiety

Gone are the days when people think of cooking as a task that should be done “only by women.” In the past, women were traditionally relied upon to cook the meals for the family, do the dishes and clean the house, and be in-charge of just about every domestic task there is. But times have changed and women now play very different roles in society unlike what women of the previous decades were accustomed to. This change in gender roles has affected both women and men — especially in terms of taking the lead kitchen. Today, both men and women now appreciate the art of cooking. People with exceptional culinary skills are highly compensated. For that reason, it is no wonder that the stress that used to part and parcel of cooking is now experienced by both men and women. Food, after all, is about pleasing the senses of people who partake of one’s kitchen creations.

Cooking and stress are not often associated with each other. The word “cooking” easily connotes gustatory pleasures and not stress which is often linked to one’s work at the office or to problems at home.

But it should not be a surprise to know that stress and anxiety now affect the men and women who do the cooking as much as the salesman who tries to meet his daily quotas or the manager who faces enormous organizational challenges.

In restaurants, for example, there are now more male cooks or chefs. These kitchen experts follow a so-called “chef’s ladder” that defines the rankings and specific tasks of each person in the kitchen. There is the head chef or “Chef de Cuisine” who visualizes the dishes in accordance with the restaurant concept of dining. Next would be the Executive Chef, who actually runs the whole kitchen, manage the costs, hire and fire staff, revamp the menu, do certain administrative tasks. Under them would be the Sous Chef who make the daily specials, takes inventory, watches over the staff, and does the hands-on work in the kitchen. Also called the “Expediter”, the Sous Chef makes sure that the food gets to the table in a timely manner, a task that requires coordination and time management. With the same level as the sous chef, the pastry chef is in-charge of the pastry section of the restaurant. Mostly women reserved for women, this job requires preparation of chocolates, souffles, and sweet pastries.

Under these chefs would be the line cooks who are the ones who actually cook the food. The line cooks are divided according to certain cooking specialty. Another key member of the kitchen is the Chef de Garde Manger who manages the cold food section that includes the salads and desserts.

If you have watched an episode of the t.v. cooking show, Iron chef, you would probably know how stressful it is to work as a chef or a line cook. In that show, the cameras usually show the stress and anxiety in the chef’s faces as they try to prepare a certain number of meals under time pressure. Anxiety is also seen on the chef’s faces when the judges are tasting their dishes.

In another popular reality-based television show called Hell’s Kitchen, several people enter as contestants in a game that is supposed to select the next “big chef” in town. Being a reality show, Hell’s Kitchen often shows the stress and anxiety on the faces of the contestants while the host shouts and gets mad at them for not doing certain things right in the kitchen. Anxiety grips each contestant as they try to battle out to win the throne of being the next best chef.

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Stephanie Keller: Coffee 101 -- Ask the Expert

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Stephanie Keller: Coffee 101 — Ask the Expert

Coffee is one of my favorite simple pleasures. I have been drinking it since I was 10 years old and what may have begun as an affinity for something that resembled coffee ice cream more than anything else eventually turned me into a proud addict and lover of the finer bean. I adore everything about it — the ritual, flavor, wine-like nuances and complexity, smell, energizing and calming effects. The prospect of wake-up-to-consumption in five minutes gets me out of bed in the morning.

Recently, I had the chance to indulge my coffee obsession further with a visit to Cuvee Coffee: A Texas coffee roasting company that supplies beans to some of the best coffee houses in Austin, like Caffé Medici, with a product so good Owner Mike McKim was recently offered seven figures to hand it over (which he respectfully declined). The Cuvee method uses Direct Trade to carefully select high quality beans from all over the world and the result is a smooth, rich, almost desert-like deliciousness.

Visiting the roasting site was both an educational experience and wonderland of brewing, grinding and roasting demos and gadgets. And after the cupping experience that left me completely high on caffeine, Mike let me give him a high-level Third Degree to glean some tips from his expertise:

What do you think makes a really great cup of coffee?
It all starts with the quality of the coffee. Then it is the grind, coffee to water ratio, water temp and contact time. But the coffee is key. You can’t make bad coffee taste better, no matter how you brew it.

What should people look for when buying coffee to help ensure it’s high quality?
Stick with a roaster that you know sources high quality coffee. Then be sure to buy fresh, note the roast date on the bag.

How important is a good grinder?
The grinder is paramount. The quality and consistency of the grind will have a huge impact on the cup. The consistency of the particle size is important and one should always grind only what they plan to brew immediately before brewing. All grinders will have some variation, but the better grinders make more consistent particle sizes.

How do you prepare your coffee everyday/at home?
I mostly drink espresso, but also brew in the Chemex.

There are lots of schools of thought on where to keep coffee — many put it in the fridge or freezer for preservation but others say that’s the last place it should be. Where and how should we be keeping it?
Freezing coffee slows staling. That is a scientific fact. Light, heat and air are enemies of fresh coffee so I usually tell people to buy only what they will consume in a week. I think that is more important than freezing the coffee.

What are your thoughts on Direct Trade vs. Fair Trade coffee?
For my business, Direct Trade is a better model. The perception and reality of Fair Trade are often very different. And the foundation of direct trade is quality where fair trade does not consider quality.

(Note: For those of us that didn’t really know the difference before, Fair Trade is a standard set and guaranteed by each country’s Fair Trade Certification body that ensures fair wages and ostensibly, quality; Direct Trade deals directly with the coffee farmers without a middleman to test quality themselves and negotiate pricing.)

Cuvee is delicious coffee. Do you have a secret for roasting such a great cup?
We definitely have a roasting style that works well for us, but the reality is that it all starts with the coffee we source. It is a true labor of love and takes a huge commitment to do what we do.

If you’re in the Austin area and curious to learn more directly from the source, Cuvee offers day-long barista classes. For more details on all things Cuvee and some serious coffee gear, visit http://www.cuveecoffee.com.

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Herbs to the rescue

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Herbs to the rescue

Archaeologists in 1963 discovered herbs in a cave in Iraq, believed to have been buried there some 60,000 years before, McIntyre writes. Some of the earliest written records of medicinal herbs, she adds, are found in ancient Chinese treatises from around 2,500 B.C.

“Herbs go back to when human beings began. What else was there? We lived on plants in every way,” said McIntyre, who has been a practicing herbalist in the United Kingdom for 30 years – after graduating from college with an herbalist degree – and who has written some 18 books.

“Herbs are made of an amazingly complex array of chemicals.

Our bodies assimilate them much more easily than the foreign chemicals found in drugs.

“We are multidimensional people, and herbs have the ability to heal us on all levels: physical, emotional and spiritual.”

The beautiful thing about herbs is that they aren’t finicky, for the most part. Just plop them in a pot, keep them moist but not sodden (think of all the Mediterranean herbs that grow lusciously on dry mountainsides) and provide plenty of sunshine.

You might provide a booster with weekly applications of liquid seaweed.

The herbs, bless them, will take it from there and soothe you, heal you, even chase away the blues.

Five favorites

If McIntyre were to plant an all-star pot, one packed with the five MVP herbs, her lineup would look like this. (And, it goes without saying, these remedies are not meant to replace a doctor’s advice.)

Rosemary | For remembrance, indeed. Rosemary is purported to send blood to the brain, McIntyre writes.

In fact, when taking final exams, McIntyre remembers that all the herbalists-to-be wore rosemary crowns to boost their memory. Use liberally in cooking, or make a rosemary tea, which she says is great for chasing away headaches.

Lavender | Nature’s relaxant. McIntyre said lavender can help balance emotions. It often is used to encourage sleep and has long been known for its anti-inflammatory properties.

Rose | Pure contentment for the heart. Great for folks who are angry, irritated or depressed, McIntyre said. Scatter rose petals on your salads, or make rose petal teas to aid digestion.

(She notes that aromatic roses are the only ones that are effective. And never ingest any flower that has been treated with chemicals.)

Marigold | Nature’s first-aid kit. “The best of the best” for germ fighting, says McIntyre, who rubs it on bee stings or insect bites.

Chamomile | Known as the children’s herb, this is the one for helping soothe tummy aches, McIntyre said. Peter Rabbit’s mama knew what she was doing when she gave her belly-aching bunny that cup of chamomile tea.

Soothing herbal soak

A pleasant way to enjoy herbs is using them in a hot bath, where their essential oils are carried on the steam to create a relaxing aroma.

Place 3 1/2 ounces fresh, or 2 ounces dried, of favorite herbs in a piece of muslin or cotton; tie a long string around the top to close the opening, then tie the pouch to the hot bath tap (the string needs to be long enough so the pouch is submerged in the water). Soak 15 to 30 minutes, or until you feel soothed.

For de-stressing try chamomile, lemon balm or lavender. For invigorating, try rosemary, thyme, pictured, or borage, in any combination.

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Healthy Manhattan: Treating Allergies, Naturally

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Healthy Manhattan: Treating Allergies, Naturally

For thousands of city residents who suffer from watery eyes, sneezing, coughing, wheezing and other debilitating symptoms that can accompany seasonal, environmentally-based allergies, prescription medications are not always the answer.

Many popular drugs that are prescribed for allergy relief can leave users feeling lethargic or anxious, in addition to a range of other undesirable side effects.

Increasingly, both urban and suburban allergy sufferers have begun turning to herbal remedies in an effort to treat their allergies more naturally and with fewer side effects.

“In many cases, herbs can do a better job of treating allergies without the side effects,” said Dr. Peter Bongiorno, a naturopathic doctor who practices near Union Square.

Allergies, which are the immune system’s overreaction to harmless substances such as dust, flowers or pollen, can be controlled by supplements that help to the block chemical reactions that result in allergy symptoms.

Bongiorno, along with other herbal remedy experts, says that compounds such as quercetin, found in red wine as well as in many fruits and vegetables, helps to block the release of histamine in the body, which causes inflammation and subsequent allergy symptoms.

“Quercetin, along with blueberries and citrus fruits, is very effective at blocking histamine in the body and shutting down the body’s over-response to certain innocuous substances,” said Bongiorno, who credits a severe dairy allergy as a kid with providing the impetus for his later study of herbs and natural medicines.

Tom Nash, head of the herbal medicine department at Pacific College of Oriental Medicine in Manhattan, believes strongly in using Chinese herbal formulas to treat a variety of allergies.

“Proper herbal treatment for allergies should come in two phases,” said Nash, who believes in first treating the symptoms of an allergy and then embarking on a secondary regimen to help strengthen the body’s own immune system in order to prevent the development of allergies in the first place.

Nash, who both teaches and supervises at the college’s student clinic where aspiring experts of Chinese herbology learn their craft, is not a strong proponent of prescription or even over-the-counter remedies for the control of allergies.

“There really aren’t many prescription medications that are very effective in treating allergies,” he said. “What’s available for allergies is mainly hit or miss.”

Nash’s overriding recommendation for people is to always try herbs first, due to the side effects that usually accompany prescription medications. “You can always go to prescription medications if herbs don’t work for you,” he said.

He added that most pharmaceutical or Western medicine has its roots in what the Chinese have used for medicine for nearly 3,000 years.

Calling the past year a terrible one for allergy sufferers, Nash related that, back in May, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that the pollen level in the New York area has been the highest since they started tracking the levels.

“I’ve had patients come to me who usually are never bothered by allergies and all of a sudden they’re having cold-like symptoms that are in fact allergies,” he said.

Dr. Sheilagh Weymouth, a Manhattanbased chiropractor and professional herbalist who practices holistic primary care, said that certain herbs known as “adaptogens” help to balance the system and make people less vulnerable to immune system over-responses.

“The great part of herbs as opposed to prescription
medications is that they work with the body’s systems and not against
it,” said Weymouth. She said that these adaptogen herbs, which include
American Ginseng, Bacopa, Ashwaghanda and Rhodiola, help to strengthen
the body against immune responses, which in turn cause allergy symptoms.

As
for treating the symptoms of allergies, Weymouth said that a wide
variety of herbs can relieve various allergy symptoms. For example, she
said that numerous herbs have strong anti-inflammatory and antihistamine
properties, similar to many OTC cold remedies.

“Horseradish
root and turmeric are very effective anti-inflammatory compounds while
eyebright, bayberry and Echinacea are effective against allergic
rhinitis,” she said.

Moreover,
Weymouth said that it’s important to treat allergies. Often, if they
are allowed to linger and progress, they can turn into bacterial
infections and allow viruses to take hold. She stressed the importance
of bolstering the immune system with adaptogenic herbs long before the
allergy season starts.

“The closer we get to nature,” Weymouth says, “the closer we get to ourselves.”

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Cooking Tips

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Cooking Tips

You open the cookbook and see a recipe title or a photo that tempts your taste buds. Then you start to read the recipe, realize the preparation is more difficult than you first thought, and put the book back on the shelf.

Sound Familiar? Well here’s a simple cooking tip to help get you started:

1. Abbreviations for Measuring

Tsp. = teaspoon
Tbsp. = tablespoon, which equals 3 teaspoons
C = cup.

Cooking Tip: Get a set of measuring spoons. The set will usually have 1/4 tsp., 1/3 tsp., 1/2 tsp., 1 teaspoon and 1 tablespoon. Dry measure cups look like little saucepans and can be leveled off with a knife or other straight-edged tool. They come in sets like the measuring spoons. Liquid measuring cups have ounce marking lines so you can measure however many ounces you need.

Cooking Tip: Some recipes require exact measurements to turn out right so learn to measure correctly.

2. Common Ingredients< /h2>
Make sure you know what you need.

Cooking Tips:
Baking powder and baking soda are not the same.
Ask the produce manager at the market about fruits and vegetables, the meat manager about cuts of meat.
When trying something new, buy ONE. You can always go back for more if it turns out well.

3. Common Terminology

Bake:
Dry heat in the oven. Set oven control to the desired temperature while you’re preparing the dish to be baked. Once the light that says it’s heating turns off, the oven is at the proper temperature. Then put in the food–for best results, centre it in the oven.

Boil:
Heat a liquid until it bubbles. The faster the bubbles rise and the more bubbles you get, the hotter the liquid. Some recipes call for a gentle boil–barely bubbling–or a rolling boil–just short of boiling over. Watch so it doesn’t boil over.

Braise:
A moist cooking method using a little liquid that barely bubbles on the top of the stove or in the oven. This is a good way to tenderize cheaper cuts of meat. The pan should be heavy and shallow with a tight-fitting lid to keep the liquid from boiling away. There’s a lot that can be done for flavouring in your choice of liquid and of vegetables to cook with the meat.

Broil:
Turn the oven to its highest setting. Put the food on broiler pan–a 2 piece pan that allows the grease to drain away from the food. In an electric oven on the broil setting only the upper element heats, and you can regulate how fast the food cooks by how close to the element you place it. Watch your cooking time–it’s easy to overcook food in the broiler.

Brown:
Cook until the food gets light brown. Usually used for frying or baking. Ground beef should usually be browned (use a frying pan) and have the grease drained before adding it to a casserole or meat sauce.

Fold:
A gentle mixing method that moves the spoon down to the bottom of the bowl and then sweeps up, folding what was on the bottom up over the top. This is used to mix delicate ingredients such as whipped cream or beaten egg whites. These ingredients just had air whipped into them, so you don’t want to reverse that process by mixing too vigorously.

Simmer:
Heat to just the start of a boil and keep it at that point for as long as the recipe requires. The recipe will usually call for either constant stirring or stirring at certain intervals. Now you are ready to do the shopping and prepare that recipe that you’ve always wanted to try!
Happy cooking.

author:Ronald Yip

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Beer Universe Announces Partnership with the Red Mountain Entertainment – Powers Top of the Hops iPhone App

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Beer Universe Announces Partnership with the Red Mountain Entertainment

Beer Universe and Red Mountain Entertainment have partnered up to deliver a free iPhone application to patrons of the 2011 Top of the Hops Beer Festival in Jackson, MS.

Jackson, MS (PRWEB) July 27, 2011

Beer Universe, Inc. (http://www.beer-universe.com), a leading online beer community / e-commerce website that revolutionizes the online experience for beer enthusiasts, today announced a partnership with Red Mountain Entertainment for the 2011 Top of the Hops Beer Festival in Jackson, MS. The partnership will utilize Beer Universe’s proprietary technology, database, and analytics to deliver an iPhone application to approximately 2,500 patrons on July 30, 2011.

The craft beer industry has seen explosive growth over the past few years. According to the Brewers Association, small and independent craft brewers saw volume increase 11% and retail sales dollars increase 12% in 2010. This represents a growth of over 1 million barrels or 14 million craft cases. This year, the Beer Institute ranked Mississippi as the 13th highest beer consumption state per capita in the country.

The 2nd annual Top of the Hops – Jackson Beer Festival will showcase the growing popularity of craft beers from around the country and the world in a relaxed and friendly environment. Patrons will receive a commemorative sampling mug and have access to unlimited, two-ounce sampling of over 150 craft beers in the Lazy Magnolia Beer and Blue Moon Beer Gardens. The festival will also feature the Sam Adams Brew University Education Area where patrons will enjoy beer seminars such as Cooking with Beer, Food Pairings, Brewing 101 and other beer education sessions.

Commenting on the partnership, Jay Wilson part of the marketing team for Red Mountain Entertainment said, “Beer Universe presents a unique opportunity to enhance the experience of patrons at beer festivals. This is our first partnership with them, and we anticipate expanding the partnership in the future to the other beer festivals we manage.”

Specifically, the Top of the Hops beer festival application powered by Beer Universe will allow users to view the list of breweries and beers at the festival, rate and take notes on beers, and see additional information about festival events. Patrons will be able to retrieve their ratings through the application as well as online through Beer Universe.

Arup Banerjee, CEO of Beer Universe, stated, “Beer Universe is extremely excited to partner up with Red Mountain Entertainment and the Top of the Hops beer festivals. We believe that our application will bring additional value to the Top of the Hops beer festival and will enable patrons to engage with the beer they try long after the festival is done.”

The iPhone application will be available through Apple’s App Store and will be free to all consumers: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/top-of-the-hops-2011/id451117569?mt=8.

About Beer Universe

Beer Universe is a leading online community / e-commerce website that provides beer lovers with an enhanced online experience, complete with the one of the most comprehensive beer databases on the web, including profiles, user reviews and contact information, as well as a featured beer of the week, and a ‘Universal Store’ comprised of the best beer related products available on the web.

For more information, please visit http://www.beer-universe.com

Contact Details: 1-877-770-BEER (2337)

About Red Mountain Entertainment

Red Mountain Entertainment is a concert and event promotions company, which has brought together principles with a combined 105 years of experience in the concert and festival promotion and venue management businesses. The Top of the Hops beer festivals are located in six cities across the country and showcase hundreds of beers and breweries.

For more information, please visit: http://www.topofthehopsbeerfest.com/

Apple, the Apple logo, iPod, and iTunes are trademarks of Apple, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. iPhone is a trademark of Apple Inc. iTunes is for legal or rightholder-authorized copying only. Don’t steal music.

###

Heath Gray
Beer Universe
877-770-2337
Email Information

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Cooking Indian Food at Home - Where to Start?

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Cooking Indian Food at Home – Where to Start?

If you read my article, Curry – A Journey, published on the Curry page of this site, you’ll know that my first experiences of the dish were of the generic variety which the British invariably cooked and ate when living abroad a few decades ago. You’ll also know that I then discovered “real” Indian cookery and decided that as I couldn’t afford to eat out that much, I needed to learn how to cook the stuff myself.

My first stop then, was a local bookshop, where the choice of books on Indian cookery was somewhat limited. However, I struck lucky and discovered a book called Indian Cookery by Madhur Jaffrey – what a find. Written in simple language but with lovely descriptive text and recommendations on what to serve with what, it was just what I had been looking for.

There was a stumbling block, however, which was the endless list of spices, seasonings and flavourings in the front of the book. I didn’t know where to start – I’d heard of quite a lot of them, having watched a few TV programmes on Indian cooking but, “help” I thought, “buying that many all at once is going to cost a fortune”. If you’re thinking the same, don’t panic. Check in your store cupboard. You probably already have some of the items you will need. For example, look for black peppercorns, bay leaves, chilli powder (if you’re already a fan of chilli con carne), ground ginger, nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon if you bake cakes or apple pies. Maybe you’ll find mustard seeds if you do your own pickling and sesame seeds if you make rolls or cook Chinese food. That only leaves a few basic ingredients which appear in a lot of Indian recipes – cumin, coriander, turmeric and cardamom. Often you need ground cumin and coriander but if you buy the whole spices, you can grind them as necessary (and they keep longer that way too).

The other thing I did was to choose a fairly simple recipe to start with and I just bought the spices I needed for that. The next time I want to cook an Indian meal, I chose another recipe with similar ingredients so I had to just buy a couple more things. Soon enough I built up a whole store cupboard of the things I needed and it didn’t have had such a drastic effect on my wallet.

Then there was no stopping me – I even know some recipes by heart now and you can do the same if you want to.

You don’t need special equipment for Indian cookery, although I wouldn’t be without my electric coffee grinder (to grind spices) and it’s nice (but not necessary) to have the traditional dishes to serve your meal in. Other than that, you need a bit of patience and it’s fun to cook with a friend so that you can share the chopping and grinding or have someone read the recipe out to you step by step so you don’t go wrong in the middle.

The flavours are great, a curry evening is really sociable, so go on, give it a try.

author:Liz Canham

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Nine Wrinkle Fighting Foods

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Nine Wrinkle Fighting Foods

A proper diet can help us maintain a healthy lifestyle. If you don’t want to have creases on your face or your skin, you should know what wrinkle fighting foods are good to eat. Here are nine examples.

1. Spinach and other green leafy vegetables are good because it contains lutein that helps give the skin its essential antioxidant mechanism by maintaining skin hydration and elasticity. Ideally, you should eat about 10mg of this daily which is about 4oz of this vegetable.

2. Beans are another because they are rich in antioxidants. Among the different kinds, red beans are the best because it contains the highest number of antioxidants that helps replace deteriorated collagen of the skin.

3. Tomatoes are another because just like beans they have antioxidants and also lycopene. A substance that reduces the risk of developing cancer and happens to be more powerful than Vitamin E supplements which are used to help the skin stay healthy. The best part about eating tomatoes is that you can eat this together with pasta, salad or a sandwich.

4. Aside from vegetables, turkey helps prevent wrinkles because it is rich in Vitamin B. It also has protein that slows the process in the skin known as cross-linking. So don’t wait until Thanksgiving to add this to your diet.

5. Goji berries are rich in Vitamin C that will help fight free radicals that damage the skin. Believe it or not, they contain 500 times more Vitamin C per ounce than what you get from oranges. It also has antioxidants such as vitamin B1, B2, B6 and E as well as linoleic acid, an essential fat that plumps up the skin making it look smoother and younger.

6. Flaxseed is rich in Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids. You can mix this with other dishes like cookies and bread. The more you eat, the plumper your skin cells will be thus hiding away those wrinkles.

7. Beetroot is another vegetable that can help prevent wrinkles as it is low in calories and high in fibre. It also contains antioxidants and a pigment called anthocyanins that are known to support collagen production in the skin. You can cook this in a variety of ways such as curried, boiled, roasted and pickled.

8. Many of us see chocolates simply as a delightful snack or as a dessert. But few of us know that this contains polyphenol, a substance that rids the body of the active oxygen that causes aging. Not only that, it can also protect against UV damage which is also one of the causes of skin aging.

9. Salmon just like flaxseed contains Omega 3 fatty acids which reduce inflammation and helps lubricate the skin.

There are other things we can eat aside from the 9 examples mentioned to prevent wrinkles from happening. You should consult with your doctor or do some research on your own so you will know how to plan your diet.

Aside from eating, you shouldn’t forget to exercise regularly and drink lots of water so your skin remains flexible and hydrated at all times. You shouldn’t drink or smoke as this also helps the skin stay young and wrinkle free.

There are wrinkle fighting foods around. Know what they are and then get these items from the grocery store.

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Diabetic Foot amputations can be avoided: expert

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Diabetic Foot amputations can be avoided: expert

Speaking to media persons here, Dr Uday Khanolkar, interventional cardiologist at Appollo Victor Hospital, said that amputations due to Diabetic Foot are very common and are increasing in India. Nearly 40 per cent population of Goa is estimated to have diabetes and all of them develop some foot complications. Effective foot care and patient education can save many limbs from amputation, he said.

He said in some people lower limbs are numb and they do not even realise that there is an injury that may have occurred due to toys, walking bare feet, cigarette butts, stones or ingrown toe nail. Such patients should take special care of their feet and do a routine screening, he pointed.

He said an early treatment procedure for Diabetic foot is peripheral intervention or angioplasty of leg. As a part of this procedure, imaging techniques are used to guide a balloon-tipped plastic tube called catheter into an artery or vein and advance it to where the vessel is blocked. Once the catheter reaches the place of blockage, the balloon is inflated to open the vessel. Once the vessel opens the balloon is deflated and removed.

Dr Khanolkar said Diabetic foot disease can occur to diabetic as well as non- diabetic person, but diabetic patients are at high risk of the disease. The disease might start with a slight itching, injury, redness or tingling in the foot, can lead to infection and ulcers in one or both the feet. These ulcers can aggravate to become gangrene and lead to amputation of patient’s lower limbs. The cause of this disease is improper circulation of blood in the limbs due to blocked arteries.

When diabetes is not controlled well, the body’s immune system that fights infection becomes weak and foot problems in diabetic patient becomes quickly serious.

Smoking is also very bad and increases risk by four-fold and if it remained uncontrolled for long time, diabetic foot problem occurs, he added.

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