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Cooking With Exotic Mushrooms

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Move over button mushrooms. Exotic varieties are becoming more and more popular, and are available at farmers markets and even local grocery stores. In ancient healing traditions, mushrooms have always been one of the top medicinal foods, and now science is discovering why. Mushrooms contain potent antibacterial and antifungal compounds that are being studied for their benefits for liver, brain, heart and much more. Dried mushrooms contain many of the same anti-inflammatory compounds as fresh, but the fresh ones typically contain them in greater abundance and they often taste better. Two delicious exotics to try are oyster mushrooms and Maitake mushrooms, also called Hen of the Woods. The Maitake in particular is a very dense mushroom, so it’s great for grilling or searing like a steak. To prep either mushroom, start by trimming off the tough bottom. Then use a damp paper towel to brush off any dirt. Don’t submerge them since they soak up water like a sponge and then won’t cook properly. Here’s a recipe that brings out the mushrooms’ flavor and creates a rich sauce. Creamy Mushroom Pasta 12 ounces of whole grain pasta 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 pound Maitake and/or oyster mushrooms, trimmed and sliced 4 garlic cloves, minced 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper 1 cup plain Greek yogurt 1/2 cup grated Parmesan 1/4 cup…  read on >

How Your Genes Affect the Number on Your Scale

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Could your genes be keeping you from losing weight? While you shouldn’t use a family tendency toward wide hips or an apple shape as an excuse to stray from a healthy diet, acceptance can help you reassess your personal ideal and make you happier with your body. Hundreds of genes have been linked to weight. Some affect where fat is distributed on your body while others impact metabolism, cravings and even whether you reach for food to cope with stress. Their influence on overweight can be as little as 25% or as much as 80%. Signs that genes could be connected to your innate weight include having one or both parents who are overweight, and having a hard time losing weight even with strict dieting and exercise. But the answer isn’t to starve yourself. That can backfire, putting your body into starvation mode and slowing metabolism and weight loss even more. It can also leave you feeling fatigued and cranky from a lack of food — on top of frustration about your physical appearance. You can’t change your genes but you can improve variables, like getting enough sleep and easing stress. Also, focus on achieving better health rather than a perfect shape. That means taking steps to increase the amount of exercise you do and boosting the nutrition quality of the foods you eat. Rather…  read on >

What Is Your Risk for Prostate Cancer?

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Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in American men, so it’s important to know the risk factors and warning signs, an expert says. The American Cancer Society estimates there will be nearly 175,000 new prostate cancer cases in the United States this year and over 31,000 deaths. One in nine men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime. “The disease can be successfully treated when detected early, typically when it is still within the prostate gland,” said Dr. Alexander Kutikov, chief of urologic oncology at the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia. “However, some types are aggressive and can spread quickly. In these cases, there may be a lesser chance of successful treatment.” September is National Prostate Cancer Awareness month. Men between 55 and 69 years of age should consider prostate cancer screening, according to the American Urological Association. “Because screening has its advantages and disadvantages, not every man should be screened for prostate cancer,” Kutikov said. “Men should discuss their risk factors, screening options and preferences with their health care provider before deciding whether to be screened.” Symptoms of prostate cancer may include trouble urinating, including a slow or weak stream or the need to urinate more often, especially at night; blood in the urine; and pain or burning during urination. The risk for prostate cancer rises quickly after age…  read on >

Fitter Bodies Make for Healthier Brains, Study Finds

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If you’re looking for incentives to hit the gym, new research suggests that staying in good shape may help preserve brain structure, boost memory, and improve the ability to think clearly and quickly. The finding follows an analysis of fitness and brain health among more than 1,200 young adults, average age 30. All underwent brain scans; tests to measure memory, sharpness, judgment and reasoning; and a speed-walking trial to assess cardiovascular fitness. (Muscle strength was not assessed.) The investigators found that study participants who moved faster and farther over the two-minute walking test performed better on thinking tests than their less-fit peers. Fitter men and women were also found to have healthier nerve fibers across the white matter portion of the brain. White matter is critical for high-quality neural communication, the researchers noted. Study lead author Dr. Jonathan Repple offered several theories as to what might explain a strong body/strong brain connection. For one, “exercise decreases inflammation, which then, in turn, is beneficial for brain cells,” said Repple, a psychiatrist and neuroscientist with the University of Muenster, in Germany. Being fit may also promote better nerve-fiber insulation, and greater growth across nerve cells and nerve connections, he explained. It may also be that fitter men and women simply have a “better blood supply to the brain,” Repple added. Dr. David Knopman, a professor of neurology…  read on >

Avocado Toast With a Twist

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It’s a pricy mainstay on restaurant menus, but avocado toast is an easy and healthy breakfast or lunch that you can make at home. Avocados are full of healthy fats and vitamins C, E and B6. They’re fiber all-stars, too, with 10 grams per cup. Best known as the base for guacamole, because of its creaminess, avocado is now being turned into desserts like puddings and ice cream. Put mashed avocado, a great mayo substitute, on toast and it makes a meal. Avocados are rarely ripe when you buy them, so plan accordingly, allowing for two days of ripening on your windowsill. They should be just soft to the touch, but not mushy. Dark-skinned Hass avocados have a silky, rich taste, and you can get them virtually year-round. Avocado toast couldn’t be simpler to prepare and, despite its pricy cost at restaurants, it’s inexpensive when you make it yourself. Avocado Toast 1 ripe Hass avocado 1/2 lemon 1/4 teaspoon crushed red chili flakes (optional) 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 slices whole grain bread 1 large tomato, sliced 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil 4 basil leaves, torn Cut the avocado open, remove the pit and scoop the flesh into a medium bowl. Squeeze on the juice from the lemon and add the chili flakes and salt. Mash with a fork until smooth. Toast the bread and spread…  read on >

Talking Health: The Vocabulary of Fitness

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Doing the right amount of exercise every day is a top health goal. To make sure you’re getting all the right types of exercise, you want to get familiar with these key exercise terms. Then you can be sure these activities are all part of your weekly plan. Aerobic Exercise, AKA Cardio Aerobic exercise means activity that requires a continuous amount of oxygen to the muscles being used. For heart health, the exercise must raise your heart rate to within the ideal range for your age, usually 70% to 80% of 220 minus your age. Cardio activities include running, brisk walking, swimming and cycling. High-intensity interval training is a popular approach. Within a cardio workout, you alternate a few minutes of slow or no movement with shorter bursts of the activity at an all-out pace. Cross training is simply varying your choice of cardio activity within the same exercise session or on different days of the week. This lets you use different muscle groups, helps prevent overuse injuries and keeps things interesting. Anaerobic Exercise, AKA Strength Training You need strength training for healthy muscles, essential for everyday activities like just getting up from the sofa. Also called weight training or resistance training, these exercises work various sets of muscles. Strength training is anaerobic, because it doesn’t require extra oxygen. It should be done every second…  read on >

Booze Taxes Don’t Make Up for Societal Costs of Excess Drinking: Study

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Alcohol taxes do little to reduce the burden on American taxpayers for the harmful impacts of heavy drinking, a new study finds. The cost of harm caused by excessive drinking in the United States is just over $2 per drink, with about 80 cents of that shouldered by government. But state and federal alcohol taxes bring in an average of about 21 cents per drink. That means most of the financial toll of alcohol-related harm is borne by people who drink in moderation or don’t drink at all, the study authors said. “Total alcohol taxes accounted for a median of 26.7% of the economic cost to the government, and 10.3% of the total economic cost of excessive drinking,” the researchers reported in the Sept. 11 issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. “The disparity between alcohol-related cost to government and alcohol taxes amounts to a large taxpayer-funded subsidy of excessive drinking and alcohol companies,” senior author Dr. Timothy Naimi said in a journal news release. He’s a physician and epidemiologist at Boston Medical Center and Boston University School of Public Health. Research shows that higher prices on alcohol — often in the form of increased taxes — can reduce excessive drinking and related harms, such as violence, vehicle-related injuries and liver cirrhosis. “Increasing alcohol taxes could improve public health and reduce the…  read on >

New Strain of Strep Causing Cases of Scarlet Fever

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A new, more toxic strain of strep A bacteria is causing an outbreak of scarlet fever among British children, researchers report. The upswing in scarlet fever is the biggest seen since the 1960s. Between 2014 and 2016, the number of cases went from 15,000 to more than 19,000. The infection tends to peak between March and May, the study found. “The new lineage [of strep A] seems to be outcompeting its predecessor within the population,” said lead researcher Dr. Shiranee Sriskandan, a professor of infectious diseases at Imperial College London. This new strain also appears to produce more toxin than the previous strain, she said. Scarlet fever is easily cured with antibiotics, especially penicillin, according to Dr. Marc Siegel, a professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City. If strep infections are not treated, however, they can spread throughout the body and become fatal, he said. “There are 11,000 to 15,000 cases of invasive strep among kids each year in the United States, which result in up to 1,500 deaths,” Siegel said. He fully expects this more aggressive strain of strep A to show up in the United States. Sriskandan added that “this strain type is fully sensitive to commonly used antibiotics, so resistance has not played a part in its emergence.” Strep A causes infections other than scarlet fever, and…  read on >

Don’t Blame Technology for Young People’s Mood Problems: Study

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Spending time on their phones or online doesn’t harm teens’ mental health, according to a new study that challenges a widely held belief. “It may be time for adults to stop arguing over whether smartphones and social media are good or bad for teens’ mental health and start figuring out ways to best support them in both their offline and online lives,” said study co-author Candice Odgers. She’s a professor of psychological science at the University of California, Irvine (UCI). For the study, researchers surveyed more than 2,000 10- to 15-year-olds at public schools in North Carolina and tracked nearly 400 of them on their smartphones for two weeks. The young people reported on any mental health symptoms three times a day, as well as their daily digital technology use. Neither using more types of digital technology or spending more time using it was associated with worse mental health, the researchers found. When links between digital technology use and mental health were found, they were minor and positive, according to the report. For example, participants who sent more text messages reported feeling better than those who texted less often, the findings showed. “Contrary to the common belief that smartphones and social media are damaging adolescents’ mental health, we don’t see much support for the idea that time spent on phones and online is associated with…  read on >

Health Tip: Cast Care

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(HealthDay News) — Broken bones and injured tendons or ligaments can cause significant pain. Casts and splints are designed to help relieve this pain by limiting movement, says the American Academy of Family Physicians. To care for your cast properly, the AAFP offers these suggestions: Cover your cast with a plastic bag when bathing and showering. Ask your doctor for safe methods to relieve any itchy skin. Keep the area around the edge of your cast clean and moisturized. Wiggle your fingers or toes to help with circulation. Apply a covered ice pack for 15 to 30 minutes over a cast or splint. Ask your doctor whether you can take over-the-counter pain medicine.