Blog About Health & Medicine

Dermatologists see excessive tanning as Public Enemy Number 1 because it mars the skin with premature wrinkles, blotches,   bloated   blood   vessels,   and freckles. Worse, it can lead to cancer. Intense sunlight containing ultraviolet light penetrates deep inside your skin cells.

Thanks to a doctor’s quick action, Jane Kimbrough, 48, of Dobbs Ferry, New York, sailed past melanoma, or “black cancer.” In 1983, her doctor found a black dot on her big toe. Because it was promptly removed, she has less than a 1 percent chance of dying of melanoma in the next 10 years. Left to grow, that cancer kills 50 percent of its victims within 5 years.

“I had a friend who died of melanoma,” Ms. Kimbrough says. “I consider myself very fortunate.” The fair-skinned actress once worked at tanning but now shuns sun and regularly checks her body. Her physician, Dr. Darrell S. Rigel, a dermatologist at New York University Medical Center, estimates that 22,000 Americans developed melanoma last year, and 5,500 died of it.

“The biggest advance is the development of sunscreens,” says Dr. Rigel. “A number 15 sunscreen lets in only 1/15th of the rays. If people use such creams, the cancer rate will fall.” And, he adds, that includes basal cell cancer (the one that attacked President Reagan’s nose) and squamous cell cancer.

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The booklets prepared by the American Heart Association contain menu suggestions and helpful hints for the preparation of food as well as guides for eating away from home.

Patients who have always used much salt at the table are likely to complain bitterly about the flat taste of the food. Others, who prefer foods only lightly salted, find the diet to be more tolerable. In time most patients find that they can adjust to the restriction of sodium by learning to substitute other flavorings. Salt substitutes are useful to some. Because these compounds may be harmful to patients with damaged kidneys, they should be used only with a physician’s prescription.

Many flavoring extracts, spices, and herbs may be used to lend interest to the diet. Usually a dash of spices or a small pinch of herbs is sufficient for most family-size recipes. The flavor should be delicate and subtle rather than strong and overpowering. Meats may be marinated in wine, vinegar, low-sodium French dressing, or sprinkled with lemon juice before cooking. A few suggestions for flavor combinations are provided below.

Meat, Poultry, Fish, Eggs

Beef: bay leaf, lemon juice, marjoram, dry mustard, mushrooms, nutmeg, onion, green pepper, pepper, sage, thyme; currant or grape jelly

Chicken or turkey: basil, bay leaf, lemon juice, marjoram, onion, pepper, rosemary, sage, sesame seeds, thyme; cranberry sauce

Lamb: curry, garlic, mint, onion, oregano, parsley, rosemary, thyme; mint jelly, broiled pineapple

Pork: garlic, lemon juice, marjoram, sage; applesauce, spiced apples, cranberries

Veal: bay leaf, curry, dill seed, ginger, marjoram, oregano, summer savory; currant jelly; broiled apricots or peaches

Fish: bay leaf, curry, dill, garlic, lemon juice, mushrooms, mustard, onion, paprika, pepper

Eggs: basil, chives, curry, mustard, parsley, green pepper, rosemary, diced tomato

Vegetables

Add a dash of sugar while cooking vegetables to bring out flavor.

Asparagus: lemon juice, caraway; unsalted chopped nuts

Green beans: dill, lemon, marjoram, nutmeg, onion, rosemary; slivered almonds

Broccoli: lemon juice, oregano, tarragon

Corn: chives, parsley, green pepper, pimento, tomato

Peas: mint, mushroom, onion, parsley, green pepper

Potatoes: chives, mace, onion, parsley, green pepper

Squash: basil, ginger, mace, onion, oregano

Sweet potatoes: cinnamon, nutmeg; brown sugar

Tomatoes: basil, marjoram, oregano, parsley, sage

Homemade quick breads, biscuits, and muffins may be made by using low-sodium baking powder instead of regular baking powder. For each teaspoon of regular baking powder, it is necessary to use 1 1/2 teaspoons low-sodium baking powder. The salt specified in the recipe should be omitted.

Homemade bread, waffles, and rolls may be made by using yeast and omitting the salt from the recipe. The yeast dough may be rolled out, spread with unsalted butter, and sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon for delicious cinnamon rolls.

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