"medicine" news and stories

With the holidays upon us I want to look at some libations that can be used to stimulate your appetite, perk up holiday cocktails, and settle down your stomach after a little overindulgence at the groaning banquet boards.

Bitters, Digestifs, and Apéritifs (BD&A's) are similar to Liqueurs, but much bitterer in taste and usually without the extra sweetness to them. Like Liqueurs, BD&A's were originally created as medicines made from herbs, roots, twigs, vegetables, fruits, and berries. To lessen the harsh taste they were sweetened, just not as much as their cousins, liqueurs. There is not always a hard and fine line between Bitters, Digestifs, Apéritifs, and Liqueurs, and some can be classified in one, two, three, or all four categories.

Bitters come in several styles and many were formerly sold as patent medicines. There are the ones like Angostura Bitters from Trinidad, and New Orleans's Regan's Orange Bitters and Peychaud's Bitters which are used in small amounts, added to a cocktail to bring together the flavors and cut the sweetness. Then you have ones that are sold in tiny, 2/3 oz bottles such as Underberg from Germany, which you knock back in a quick gulp after a meal to settle your quaking belly. Many others I also classify under apéritifs and digestifs when you cut them with seltzer and ice.

Anthocyanins, which contribute to the color of red grapes, are a great source of antioxidants and their existence is one of the reasons that red wine is considered to be so heart-healthy. Since red wines use the skin of the grapes in their production, creating a red color, most or all of the antioxidants from the grapes are also found in the wine. For this reason, red wine is thought to be a healthier choice than white wine.

It turns out that the flesh of the grapes is just as heart-healthy as the skin is, as a new study by American and Italian scientists has shown. The results demonstrated that both parts of the grapes reduced the chance of a heart attack and heart attack size when compared to the control group - even though the flesh contains no anthocyanins, but instead has other kinds of polyphenols and organic acids that have antioxidants.

Further study will be needed to isolate the exact chemicals that give these properties to the grapes, but white wine fans can enjoy their favorite drink without having to worry that they're missing out on the heath benefits of red wine.

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A study organized by researchers at George Washington University, the University of Toronto and the University of North Carolina, in conjunction with the Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine, has concluded that following a low-fat, vegan diet may actually reverse the symptoms of diabetes.

The study had participants with type II diabetes and assigned them to either a vegan diet or the standard American Diabetes Association diet. Vegans cut out all animal products, including dairy and meat, and had less refined sugar. The ADA diet varies based on factors such as body weight, cholesterol, so it is much more specific in what dieters can eat. The vegan diet was easier to follow because the people in that group did not have to count calories or measure portion sizes, unlike the ADA diet, and this was evidenced by the fact that fewer people in the vegan group dropped out of the study than in the other group.

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It is a sad day, indeed, when venues like nursing homes start prohibiting homemade cakes on the grounds that it is more "responsible" to allow only store-bought cakes. Today, unfortunately, is that day.

A former nurse and award winning baker, Elaine Richards, was told that her homemade cakes were not permitted to be served to any residents of the Age Concern center in Barnstaple, UK. A director said that "they have many disabilities and some of them are diabetic and our policy is to keep them as well and safe as possible." Richards thought this was ridiculous, given that her cakes are made with natural ingredients and free-range eggs, without the artificial colors, flavors and other components of the store cakes.

Granted, homemade cakes don't have nutritional facts printed on them, or warnings about allergens. But is it necessary to have a complete ban? Given that Richards is a nurse, it seems likely that she would be in a good position to prepare appropriate cakes. How many people are baking cakes for the elderly?

Not nearly enough.

[Image BBC]

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Most diets are about losing weight - high protein, low-carb, low-fat, Mediterranean, South Beach, etc. Most diets also emphasize balance and variety, regardless of what they discourage people from eating. There is a new diet that is not about losing weight, balance or variety, though it may have other health benefits. Researchers at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center in New York have conducted a trial in which patients ate an ultra-high fat diet - over 90% fat - to see if a diet "devoid of protein and carbohydrates might temper symptoms of several neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer's and Lou Gehrig's disease." The results of the original study, published last year in Neurology, were encouraging. Patients with Parkinsons reported a decrease in their symptoms. Since then, additional studies have been done that have shown positive results, as well.

The success of the regimen is credited to the high numbers of ketone bodies that are produced when the body is taking in next to no carbs or protein. Even a very strict Atkins wouldn't produce enough keytones to have a measurable benefit, according to the doctors. A typical diet, which did allow up to 8% protein, for a study participant included butter, cream cheese and heavy cream, with small bits of fish or egg added for flavoring.

The results of all trials are not firmly conclusive, but are promising enough to have prompted another round of testing to see if doctors can devise a diet that is easier to follow. The problems with the diet are obviously things like heart problems, so the next round of testing involves a combination of the ultra-fat diet and the Atkins diet.

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