It is not conclusive when precisely did pizza emerge at its position as one of the tremendously popular dishes in the United States, but nearly everybody will unquestionably concur that pizza has become America’s favorite food over the past 50 years. Millions of pizza pies are eaten daily, but very few people, if at all, stop munching and chewing their beloved pizza to consider the history of their favorite food. The actual origins of this fine cuisine are as colorful as any excellent pizza piled with toppings. Read more »
Anesthesia is defined as the loss of bodily sensation without the loss of consciousness. Anesthesia is critical for patients undergoing surgery. It should highly reduce or eliminate pain during this time. General anesthesia is the most widely used type of anesthesia and practiced by hospitals around the globe. Regional and local anesthesia is also used in some procedures. Read more »
Perhaps you are one of those men who feel that they need herbal therapies and medicines to boost their sagging energy, improve their memory, and generally enhance their overall health. But you may also feel that herbal medicines and the lot are only reserved for women. Well, if you continue to think that way, you will be missing out on the restorative and therapeutic effects of herbs. We often create a wrong concept that lays too much stress on herbs’ special use in women. We have a tendency to ignore the unmistakable fact that men need herbs, too. Herbs have an equally important role in both men and women’s health. Imbalances in the hormonal levels usually are to blame for several of the physical and mental problems that are especially unique in males. Luckily, there are several herbs and their drugs that have the ability to provide a special boost to the physical and mental constitution of the body. Read more »
Caution and common sense are the best protection against food poisoning. Food that has been improperly processed or stored provides an ideal environment for the growth of bacteria, molds and yeasts. Most of these microorganisms will simply caused food to spoil; a few, however, can lead to uncomfortable, sometimes dangerous, illness. Toxins (poisons) in bacteria can create a variety of problems in the body.
Tags: food poisoning
Generally, people expect to have three meals a day – breakfast, lunch(dinner), dinner(supper). The midday and evening meals are a cultural choice. For example, farmers who work hard during planting and harvesting often expect and need a hot, full meal at noon. They expend so much effort in the morning that they need to replace energy at noon so they can go back to work. Office workers usually do not need nor want more than a light lunch. They usually prefer to have their main meal in the evening in the comfort of their homes. This gives them a chance to be with their families as they all enjoy a hot meal.
Tags: eating pattern
Canning
Canned foods, either commercially canned or home canned, lose vitamins and minerals with time. This loss, however, is reduced when the cans are kept slightly cooler than room temperature. Most canned foods can be stored for a year if they are kept in a temperature between 50 and 70 degrees F. After opening a can, the unused portion should be refrigerated. Canned meats, fish, and poultry should be used within 2 days of opening; fruits within 1 week; and vegetables within 3 days.
Fruits and vegetables are the most commonly canned foods. Pickles, olives, jellies, jams, and preserves remain fresh and appetizing for long periods of time when properly canned. Canned meats, poultry and fish are available commercially, but these foods rarely are home canned today. Freezing is a better method for retaining vitamins, minerals, texture, and flavor.
Tags: canning, food storage
Freezing
When food is to be stored for extended periods of time, extra care must be taken to prevent spoilage and retain as many nutrients as possible. In most cases, freezing is the best way to accomplish this. Freezing usually helps maintain good food color, texture, and flavor. Uncooked meats, fish, poultry, hard cheeses, milk, and bread, keep well in the freezer. Most fruit and vegetables – either cooked, blanched (plunged into boiling water for several minutes), or uncooked – freeze well.
Fresh lettuce, cabbage, carrots, cucumbers, radishes, celery, tomatoes, onions, potatoes, and bananas will not freeze well. Breads, cakes, and pastries made with egg whites may not hold up in the freezer. Other foods that should not be frozen include cream sauces, soft cheeses, meringue, and gelatin.
Tags: food storage, freezing
Air, light, moisture, and heat can make food spoil and break down nutrients. Knowing the best way to store foods can preserve food value, reduce spoilage, and prevent formation of harmful bacteria that can make foods toxic – and, sometimes, fatal.
Refrigeration
In general, the shorter the storage time and the cooler the temperature, the less vitamin and mineral loss. When fresh foods are to be used within a few days, the best place to store them is in the refrigerator. Refrigerators should be kept between 32 and 40 degrees F to prevent the rapid growth of bacteria, molds and yeasts. The meat and dairy keepers are the coldest areas and should be kept between 32 and 35 degrees F. In most refrigerators, the areas at the bottom and on the door are the warmest.
Tags: food storage, refrigeration
Meats, Poultry, and Seafood
Cooking meats gently enough to retain vitamins and minerals while reducing the saturated fat content is tricky business. The leanest cuts of red meats, which are the most healthful, usually are prepared using long cooking times and moist heat, such as pot roasting, stewing, and braising. These methods result in greater loss of thiamin, niacin, and riboflavin into the cooking liquid. (Many of these water-soluble vitamins, however, can be obtained from other sources, such as whole-grain breads.) If the cooking liquid is used as a gravy or sauce, some of the vitamins are saved. If time permits, the liquid should be cooled so the fat can be skimmed off. Faster cooking methods, such as broiling, frying, and roasting allow the meat to retain more of its vitamins.
Thiamin and several other minerals are sensitive to high heat, so meats that are rare may be richer sources than well-done meats. Pork, however, should never be served rare because it must be cooked long enough to kill harmful organisms. (Pork must reach a core temperature of 150 to 160 degrees F.)
Excess fat should be trimmed off of red meat before and after cooking. With poultry, the skin, which is primarily fat, and the fatty deposits under the skin and around the tail can be removed before cooking if a moist, slow method is used. Skin can also be removed before serving. Skin, however, is often considered a tasty part of a chicken. The choice of whether to eat it could depend on the amount of fat in the rest of the meal or the family’s diet in general. Serving chicken dishes that use cheese, tomato sauce, herbs and spices, sauces, vegetables, and pasta can be a good way to get rid of the skin and fat and still serve a nourishing chicken dish the family will enjoy.
Charcoal broiling is another way to reduce the fat content of meats. Research shows, however, that charcoal smoking (as opposed to broiling) for a long time may lead to the formation of carcinogens in red meat, chicken, and fish. Meats can be partially baked or parboiled before they are placed on the grill to reduce the amount of smoking. This is especially effective for chicken, which takes a long time to cook on the grill. Keeping the lid of the grill open while charcoal broiling meats decreases
the amount of smoke.
Foods must be prepared sensibly to keep their flavor and food value. Unwise preparation and cooking methods can destroy valuable vitamins, ruin food texture, or add too much unnecessary fat, sugar, or salt.
One of the most common, unnecessary cooking practices is adding salt or sugar to food. Many cooks automatically pour salt, or sometimes sugar, into boiling water before vegetables or pasta are added. Many people shake salt on or rub it into meat before it is broiled or roasted. Children will not miss these if they do not become accustomed to them early. A delicate hand with salt and sweeteners will make meals more healthful and flavors more subtle. Salt, for example, draws water out of foods, and valuable vitamins, minerals, protein, and carbohydrates dissolved in the water end up in the salted cooking water or in the pan. Too much also can disguise the natural flavors and sweetness of vegetables.
Fruits and Vegetables
Most fresh fruits and many vegetables are delicious when served raw, and they keep most of their nourishment this way. Raw fruit or vegetables can be mixed together in a salad, served in small pieces with a dip, or eaten whole as a snack.
Even washing can destroy some valuable vitamins and minerals. Fresh fruit and vegetables, therefore, should be rinsed quickly under running water and not soaked. If fruit or vegetables, however, are caked with dirt, have pesticide or fertilizer residues on the surface, or have been coated with wax they should be scrubbed well under running water. It may be necessary to remove the peel before using them. In addition, breaking apart fresh fruit and vegetables initiates an enzyme reaction that can destroy vitamin C; therefore, cutting, tearing, or chopping should be delayed until just before they are to be used.
Cooking fresh fruit and vegetables decreases their food value, but the loss can be kept to a minimum if wise cooking methods are practiced. For example, the less water used and the less time the produce is cooked, the more nutrients are retained. Many important vitamins and minerals dissolve in water, so when food is placed in water, some nutrients are drawn out of the food and go into the water.
Cooking vegetables and fruits in a microwave oven is a good way to save vitamins and minerals because little or no water is used. Pressure cooking and steaming produce also are good cooking methods because the food does not come into direct contact with water. Some vitamins and minerals, nevertheless, are lost in the steam. If the cooking water is used in that same meal – in soups, gravies or sauces, for example – then the nutrient loss is decreased. Stir frying (cooking food quickly in hot oil) is another cooking method that leads to minimum vitamin and mineral loss. The fat adds extra calories to the vegetables, so only small amounts of polyunsaturated fats should be used if this cooking method is chosen.
If fruits and vegetables must be boiled, they should be cooked for a short time in as little water as possible, and the cooking water used during the meal. Vegetables and fruit cooked in the skin keep more of their vitamins and minerals than if they are peeled first. Potatoes, beets, carrots, turnips, and other root vegetables, which may have some dirt on the surface, can be scrubbed well rather than peeled.
Fewer vitamins and minerals are lost if vegetables or fruit is cooked whole or cut in large pieces. They should be cooked just before they are to be served and should not remain in the cooking water for a long time because vitamins and minerals will leach out. Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) added to cooking water may keep vegetables bright green, but it destroys much of the vitamin C and thiamin in the food.
Frozen fruits and vegetables are the next best thing to fresh. Defrosting them before cooking loses vitamins and minerals. As with fresh, frozen fruit and vegetables should be cooked in as little water as possible, for a short period of time, and the cooking water should be used in the same meal whenever possible.
Vitamin and mineral loss is greatest with canned fruit or vegetables because they usually are packed in water. If the liquid from the can is added to a gravy or boiled down into a sauce and poured over vegetables, some of the vitamins and minerals can be recaptured.
Almost any kind of processing, such as refrigerating, freezing, canning, or cooking, will lead to loss of some valuable vitamins and minerals in food. In addition, processing often adds undesirable ingredients, such as sodium, to food. For example, fresh, raw green beans are low in sodium, high in vitamin A, and contain some vitamin C. Canned green beans have considerable sodium and less vitamin C, which is water soluble. The vitamin A content changes little because this vitamin is fat soluble. Fresh cooked and frozen cooked green beans are comparable.
If fresh beans are to be used immediately, then they probably have higher food value than frozen. If they will sit in the refrigerator for several days before they are cooked, then the level of some vitamins and minerals may decrease; therefore, the frozen variety may be better. Vegetables for freezing are picked when they are ripe, which is when they are at the peak for vitamin and mineral content, and then quickly frozen to preserve nutrients.
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Tags: fruits, vegetables
