October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. A lot of sites have been invited to “turn pink”. I’d like to support but can’t figure the coding, so consider me pink for a month, hmm?

The connection between diet and breast cancer is not as clear as some of the connections between diet and other cancers. No kind of food control, or changes are going to control, fight or protect against cancer. But while the jury is still out on how to change that for sure, there are some things that have been shown to have a direct relationship with adding the chips in your favour.

A majority of the studies in this area show a relationship between a high fat diet, high caloric intake and the increased risk for developing breast cancer. If you are overweight, you can seek to lose excess pounds, which may reduce your risk of breast cancer.

It is generally a good idea to eat a plant-based diet high in fiber, vitamins, and minerals to help decrease the risk for developing all cancers. Eating these foods which are naturally low in fat, cholesterol, salt, and sugar can help reduce the risk of developing heart disease, strokes, diabetes, and obesity. Constipation should also be alleviated.

Include foods rich in Vitamins A & C but don’t get caught up by supplements which claim to prevent cancer, such as vitamins E, C, and beta-carotene. Don’t fall into this trap! Scientists believe it is the interaction of nutrients along with many substances in food (not in pills) that are the protective factors against cancer. (more…)

Most of our lives are so rushed. Not that anyone needs reminding, but I started thinking about it a lot suddenly because I read this article about how research has shown that those who commute long distances to work by pubic transport, – the train, a bus etc, and probably stress about time they’re wasting, are actually calmer and more destressed because whether they appreciate it or not, their minds and bodies have time to switch off from work and move gradually into family mode, or vise-versa. Interesting, I thought, and not hard to understand, for someone who doesn’t much care for driving, and sometimes reaches work wondering how, and where the journey in between went!

It’s more or less the same with food. So often we miss meals, or eat while working, or rush through them without even noticing what we’re eating. This is even a reason cited by the French and Italians for why they’re so much slimmer and leaner than Americans, though their intake of creamy sauces, pastry, croissants and cheese and butter is certainly not small. They always spend at least a liesurely hour if not more over a (compartively) small meal. Giving their stomachs time to send messages about being full and all that stuff I guess. Eating on the run is total blasphemy to them.

The article below makes for interesting reading…

Roundtable: The French Paradox
The French diet is back in the news—how do French women manage to enjoy chocolate, wine, cheese and bread without gaining weight? Food writer Josh Friedland enlists several top French food bloggers for a rollicking conversation on the phenomenon. Read more

The”French” diet
Anecdotal evidence is piling up from travelers returning from extended stays in both France and Italy, and undoubtedly other places connected to the Mediterranean, that one can eat like the locals, get no exercise, and return to these United States thinner. Following our 6 plus week trip all over France, eating full fat everything, eating daily bread, and drinking wine, aperitifs, and digetifs, we approached the weigh-in back at the gym with trepidation. And yet, fellow bloggers, one of us lost 2 lbs, the other maintained a level achieved earlier through a modified low carb diet and gym workouts… Read more

Many University students lead fast-paced lives, but there are numerous ways to take it easy and relax once in a while
A major part of slow food is not only eating correctly but eating with others and savoring the exquisite, fresh taste. Food is a huge part of our culture, and yet, we often devote such little time to it by getting to-go boxes or cramming a meal in between classes. Everything from soup to yogurt has been conformed to an on-the-go lifestyle. Odahowski suggested that having a conversation over lunch or sitting and sipping a cup of coffee with friends are actions that seem so simple but will slow down our lives and make them more enjoyable… Read more

Some interesting links. Some nice articles…

MY PET PEEVES
By Rachel Forrest
…This is most noticeable when you’re sitting at the bar or at a table near a place where the staff has a place to pause and congregate. Staff members stand around talking among themselves about the events of their day, the kids, the husband, girlfriend, their day job or — most irritating — the job they’re supposed to be doing right that moment. Arguments over who takes what table (no one wants to take any table it seems), incredibly candid gossip about… Read more

PLUM CRAZY
Go a little plum crazy in the morning for a big antioxidant boost.

Plum pancakes? It may sound peculiar, but plums are a rewarding addition to your breakfast choices. Berries may boast the most antioxidant power, but plums win hands down over grapefruit, oranges, and even purple grapes. Toss a handful of dried plums onto your cereal or into your pancake batter before cooking and…. Read more

CHICKUNGUNYA HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH BIRD ‘FLU
“It is chi-kun-gunya, not chi-ken-gunya,” stressed State Animal Husbandry Minister Geetha Jeevan, while replying to the debate on the demand for grants to the Animal Husbandry department. Rumours were being spread that the disease had something to do with chicken and it was her duty to present the facts. Read more

“It is Chickun-gunya, drawn from Tanzania. It has nothing to do with bird flu,” Dr. Ramadoss said. Read more

The facts
The disease is not life threatening, but those affected could be physically weak for a fairly long time before recovery. It often starts with symptoms of flu, including high fever, followed by body pains, and pains in the legs. The pain can be so severe, that patients become unable to walk, and physically bedridden…….. Read more

OUT WITH YO-YO DIETS
Tired of the yo-yo diets and specialty foods? Take control of your diet and your life by incorporating these five easy steps into your food choices: Read more

I’ve been so busy lately, I haven’t had time to write. And that’s a shame, considering this blog is about food, and this is a short period when I’ve gone vegetarian, it is precisely when I should have been filling up more of cyber-space. Experiences, tribulations (?), options, etc.

Okay. First, I have been really very good about this. No cheating. No meat, or fish, or chicken. Not even the gravy from these dishes. Have had eggs a couple of times, mainly because, since I’m not much of an egg eater anyway, I forgot to specify that my vegetarian diet wasn’t supposed to include them.

It hasn’t been very difficult. For one, fortunately or unfortunately, I’ve been working late and haven’t been home for dinner most days this last week. Dinner is where there’s meat on the table and the temptation would have come in. At lunch-time, baring rare days when someone chooses to bring in a ‘treat’, things are always vegetarian.

The tough times have been weekends. We’ve worked 3 weekends running and that’s when we treat ourselves. To delicious junk food. (YES I do know all the theory, but what do I say, I love it anyway) Burgers from Burger Barn or Burger King in Koregaon Park are the usual option. This time it was tough because I absolutely balk at the idea of a vegetarian burger. So far as I’m concerned, it’s an oxymoron.

Lunch or dinner, besides the standard chapattis and dal, or a vegetable, I’ve had all kinds of vegetarian Chinese, Hakka noodles and Hot and sour soup. Cottage cheese dishes. Lots of Udipi options, – Masala Dosas, Idlis, Wadas. Toasted Potato or cheese sandwiches. A variety of Pasta. Street-food like bhel and ragda-pattice. Not suffering at all though a couple of days ‘dinner’ has been just potato chips. Healthy huh? But no that wasn’t suffering either!

The good thing I suppose is since this is just for a fortnight I don’t have to worry about long term health problems that complete vegetarians MUST keep in mind.

I was just looking through articles, and I know I’ve written about this before, and it’s obvious that in lots of parts of the world, vegetarians suffer, – Lack of choices, comments from the meat eating frat and assumptions and myths.

This is a nice article, and interesting comments.

This is a another good one but really life in India is no where as difficult as this. Vegetarian choices are everywhere. Come visit!

If I had any trouble at all it’s more out of the habit. Like here I am, asking the office boy to get me something vegetarian, but I’m directing him to Lucky down the road because some ‘non-vegetarian’ corner of my brain is drooling about their yummy chicken sandwiches.

Am I longing to return to meat-eating heaven? Well, yes. Definitely.

A dear friend discovered yesterday that she had diabetes. Not just had it, but that it was absolutely through the roof at 400. For those not in the know, if your random blood sugar ( taken without considering the last time you ate a meal, snack or beverage containing calories.) is less than 100 mg/dL (5.55 mmol/L), it’s normal.

She’s just short of being assigned a hospital bed, and she’s taking 2 shots of insulin a day for the moment. I won’t get into the medical details, I don’t really know much, but it was a rude wake-up call, possibly much needed, not just to her, but to all of us who really just know so little and take so little care of ourselves.
It made me do quite a bit of reading and internet searches. Some stuff I know, some I registered properly only this time round. Lots I absolutely didn’t know. This isn’t meant to be the ultimate education on diabetes, or even the prologue. Think of me just rehearsing what I learnt.

What is diabetes? It’s a metabolic disease that affects the body’s ability to derive energy from blood sugar or glucose. It results when the body cannot produce or properly use insulin, a hormone needed for glucose metabolism.

First, there is no such thing as ‘mild diabetes’. A diagnosis of diabetes is serious. Because the human body needs this steady supply of glucose, diabetes can affect almost every organ.
Uncontrolled it can cause just about every complication you can think of. Kidney disease, blindness due to damaged retinas, cataract and glaucoma, cardiovascular disease, nerve damage.

On the other hand, there are heaps of myths attached to diabetes. The most common being that
Fact 1 : Diabetics need to give up all things sweet forever.
Reality : The occasional sweet treat is fine. Cut something one meal, have a little the next, just keep it in control, be aware of what you’re shovelling in. Just don’t kid yourself.

Myth 2 : Diabetes is very difficult to control. (more…)