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Friday, January 4, 2008

REFRIGERATOR MAKEOVER » PROGRESSIVE LIGHT SOUPS

Start your meal off right with a hearty bowl of soupStudies show that when we start a meal with a bowl of hot
soup, we reduce our overall caloric intake. Progresso’s new
Light Soups are the perfect way to start off a meal, whether
you’re watching your weight or not. Each of the broth-based
soups have only 60 calories per serving (or, 120 calories percan) and provide a full serving of vegetables.
In such flavors as Italian Style Vegetable and Homestyle
Vegetable and Rice, a bowl of the soup, paired with a sandwich
or salad, is a great addition to any diet. For more information,
visit www.progressofoods.com. – Sue Saunders

BREAK A SWEAT
Black Box’s “Fantasy”
Looking for a song to add to your MP3 player that will getyour heart pumping while working out? It may or may not
be a new release, but it will certainly get you in the mood toburn some calories and get in better shape.

NEWS TO USE
Study to weigh vitamin C
as lymphoma treatment
Researchers are preparingfor clinical trials examining
whether high doses of vitaminC, administered intravenously, can slow the spread of nonHodgkin’s lymphoma.
Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and Jefferson’s
Kimmel Cancer Center, alongwith the National Institutes ofHealth, plan to begin enrollment within the next few weeks
of 20 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
patients who have failed standard therapy.
Each study participant will
be given varied intravenous
doses of vitamin C three times aweek during the study, expectedto last from four to six months,
the hospital said Wednesday.
“This is a very unique study
for a set of patients who havereally run out of options,” said
Dr. Daniel Monti, director of Jefferson’s Myrna Brind Center ofIntegrative Medicine and thestudy’s lead investigator. – AP

HEALTH BRIEF
Pa. Supreme Court rules
sperm donor doesn’t
have to pay child support
The Pennsylvania Supreme
Court ruled that a woman who
promised a sperm donor hewould not have to pay child support cannot renege on the deal.
The 3-2 decision overturns
lower court rulings under which
Joel L. McKiernan had been paying up to $1,500 a month to support twin boys born in August
1994 to Ivonne V. Ferguson, hisformer girlfriend and co-worker.
“Where a would-be donor
cannot trust that he is safe froma future support action, he will
be considerably less likely toprovide his sperm to a friend or
acquaintance who asks, significantly limiting a would-be mother’s reproductive prerogatives,”
Justice Max Baer wrote in the
majority opinion issued lastweek.
Ferguson and McKiernan had
a sexual relationship that waned
before Ferguson persuaded him
to donate sperm for her. Courts
found that the two agreed Mc
Kiernan would not have to pay
child support and would nothave visitation rights, but Ferguson later changed her mind
and sued. – AP33

examiner.com

E-mail Healthy Life Editor
Sara Schwartz:
sschwartz@examiner.com

COOKING WITH KERRY DUNNINGTON

Resolve to ring in the New Yearwith ‘nature’s perfect food’
By Kerry Dunnington
Special to The Examiner

I learned about the extraordinary benefits of flaxseeds many years ago when my husband, Nick, went
to a naturopath, a licensed practitioner who treats ailments without using drugs or medicines. Nick was feeling fatalistic from what turned out to be a poisonous spider bite. As part of the healing process, the naturopath
suggested daily doses of flaxseeds or what she referred
to as “nature’s perfect food.” Flaxseeds were not only
essential for flushing the poisonous toxins from Nick’s
bloodstream, the naturopath highly recommended themas a source of food to incorporate into our daily roundof meals. A radical change in diet was suggested to include flaxseeds, and in a few days the foot-long scarletcolored spider bite dissipated then disappeared.
When it comes to choosing flaxseeds, it’s importantto select the highest quality. There are many brands offlaxseeds available. I tested several and discovered I
liked Premium Gold brand for its freshness. I also endorse the North Dakota-based, independently owned
company’s philosophy about farming and food. To get
the most important health benefits from flaxseeds, theymust be ground or crushed, I prefer to do this just prior to using to ensure I’m getting the freshest, most nutritious form of flax.

ute. Cool mixture for 5 minutes.
Combine cornmeal (it will be very thick) with yeast
mixture and stir until fully combined. In a small panover moderate heat, heat milk until warm. Toast millet
until aromatic and golden, (millet browns quickly, watch
closely so it doesn’t burn). With a few pulses grind flaxseeds in a coffee grinder. Add warm milk, toasted millet, flaxseeds, brown sugar and salt. Add flour, 1 cup at atime, stirring well after each addition. When the mixture
begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl, transfer
to a floured surface and knead for about 7 to 10 minutes
or until dough is elastic. Lightly oil a large bowl withcooking spray, place dough in bowl and turn to coat allsides. Cover and let rise in a warm draft-free place until
double in bulk, about 1 hour. Punch dough down, cut in
half, shape into 2 loaves. Place each loaf in a 9x5x3-inch
loaf pan that has been coated with cooking spray, coverand let rise until double in bulk, about 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 425, bake loaves for 10 minutes, lower temperature to 350 and bake an additional 20-25 minutes or until loaves are light brown or sound hollow
when tapped. Allow bread to cool before slicing. Yields
2 loaves, about 14 slices per loaf.
Nutritional analysis per slice: 214 calories, 1 grams total fat, 0 grams saturated fat, 0 grams trans fat, 1 mgs
cholesterol, 505 mgs sodium, 45 grams total carbohydrate,
2 grams dietary fiber, 6 grams protein, 5grams sugar

CORNMEAL, MILLET AND FLAX BREAD
Fresh from the oven, this loaf makes a memorable
bread for sandwiches. It is also marvelous toasted andslathered with your favorite topping for toasted bread.
This bread is a good keeper and freezes with great results.
2 packages active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup 2 % milk
1/2 cup millet
1/2 cup flaxseeds (fresh ground)
1/4 cup light brown sugar
2 teaspoons salt
4 cups white flour (about)
In a large bowl, proof the yeast with 1/2 cup warm
water and sugar. In a medium pan, bring 1 cup of water to a boil; add 1 teaspoon salt, stir in cornmeal, lower
heat to medium and cook, stirring vigorously for 1 minKerry Dunnington, food columnist and author of “This Book Cooks,”is passionate about food that reflects nutrition, color, balance, texture
and variety of the season. Catch her column biweekly in Healthy Life.
She can be reached at thisbookcooks@verizon.net.

Did you know?
» A 1/2 cup (the recommendedserving) includes a perfect balance of the essential omega 3and 6 fatty acids, soluble and insoluble fiber (both promote normal cholesterol levels), vitamins,protein, fiber and immune-enhancing lignans. Flaxseeds also
aid in healthy digestion and promote healthy glowing skin.

Whites more likely
than minorities
to get narcotics
from ER doctors
Emergency room doctors
are prescribing strong narcotics more often to patients
who complain of pain, but minorities are less likely to getthem than whites, a new study
finds.
Even for the severe pain ofkidney stones, minorities wereprescribed narcotics such as
oxycodone and morphine lessfrequently than whites.
The analysis of more than
150,000 emergency room visits
over 13 years found differences in prescribing by race andethnicity in both urban and rural hospitals, in all U.S. regions
and for every type of pain.
“The gaps between whites
and nonwhites have not appeared to close at all,” said
study co-author Dr. Mark
Pletcher of the University ofCalifornia, San Francisco.
The study appears in
Wednesday’s Journal of theAmerican Medical Association.
Prescribing narcotics for pain
in emergency rooms rose during the study, from 23 percentof those complaining of pain in
1993 to 37 percent in 2005.
The increase coincided withchanging attitudes among doctors who now regard pain management as a key to healing.
Doctors in accredited hospitals must ask patients aboutpain, just as they monitor vital signs such as temperatureand pulse.
Even with the increase, theracial gap endured. Linda Simoni-Wastila of the Universityof Maryland, Baltimore, Schoolof Pharmacy said the race gap
finding may reveal some doctors’ suspicions that minority
patients could be drug abusers
lying about pain to get narcotics.
The irony, she said, is thatblacks are the least likely
group to abuse prescription
drugs. Hispanics are becoming as likely as whites to abuseprescription opioids and stimulants, according to her research. She was not involvedin the current study. – AP