The corn bread and Sancocho stew

Sancocho stew is a traditional recipe that is very popular in many Latin American cuisines.  It is actually a Spanish recipe that is made up of large slices of meat or fish combined with vegetables that is served in a soup, broth, or gravy-like sauce.  The first form of this stew was made with fish and potatoes.  Spices used in it were usually from the Canary Islands.  The more modern versions of the dish on the other hand use either meat or chicken instead of fish.  Different kinds of root vegetables are now used either in conjunction or as replacement for the potatoes.  Some of the more popular root vegetables used is sweet potatoes, yams, and malanga, and cassava.  It is often accompanied by additional food such as corn bread to further enhance the flavor.

Sancocho stew is considered as the National dish of many countries such as Mexico, Peru, and the Canary Islands.  Although they are similar, these dishes have some unique characteristics which have evolved into different variations of the dish.

In the Canary Islands, Sancocho is usually served with fish as the main ingredient.  The fish is usually cooked whole.

In the Dominican Republic, Sancocho shares the distinction of being the national dish with the “la bandera”.  This variant of Sancocho is often referred to as the “Sancocho de Siete cames” which means “Sancocho with seven types of meat”.  This variant is considered by many to be the best among all of the different variants of Sancocho.  The seven types of meat represent the seven islands of the Canary Islands and usually include pork, chicken, and beef.  Apart from the Sancocho de Siete cames, other variants of Sancocho that are popular in the Dominican Republic are Sancocho de Gallina (often used on special occasions), sancocho de guandules, and sancocho de habituella (sancocho made with beans).

In Panama, Sancocho is also the national dish and its variant is called the Sancocho de gallina.  The main ingredient is chicken while the other ingredients include yam, culantro, cassava, corn on the cob, and otoe.  There are also many other ingredients which may be added to the recipe as an extra option.  These extra ingredients include oregano, garlic, and onions.  Sancocho is further divided into regional variants in Panama.  The Sancocho chorrerano is the variety that originated from the Panama town of La Chorrera.  Only free range chickens are used for this recipe.  Supporting ingredients include yam, chili pepper, garlic, oregano, and onions.  The Sancocho chiricano meanwhile is the variety made in the Chiriqui province.  It is a hearty dish as it includes all of the basic and the optional ingredients of Sancocho de gallina while still adding squash to the mix. 

In Puerto Rico, sancocho can be made with chicken, beef, or pork feet as the main ingredient.  There are many versions of the recipe here and almost every home has its own variety or special take on the dish.  However, a Puerto Rican sancocho is identified by its use of tubers and an aromatic combination of thinly cut and sautéed ingredients.

Tamara Rojo

Tamara Rojo is a ballerina from Spain who was born in May 17, 1974.  She is considered as a Prima Ballerina and she is currently one of the principal ballet dancers of the Royal Ballet which is based in London, England.  She is scheduled to take over the position of Artistic Director of the English National Ballet in 2012 thus she will have to leave the Royal Ballet at that time.

Although Tamara Rojo has Spanish parents, she was actually born in the city of Montreal, Canada.  She grew up in Spain though because her parents moved back to their country when Tamara was just 4 months old.   At the young age of 10 years old, she was already dancing in the Victor Ullate Dance Center which is based in Madrid, Spain.  She trained there with Renato Paroni and David Howard.  Upon completion of her training, Tamara was immediately offered a position in the dance company of Victor Ullate which was named the Ballet de Comunidad de Madrid.  In an unfortunate event, the lead performer of the company was injured but the scheduled show still turn out to be a success as Tamara was chosen to take her place and she was able to perform well beyond expectations.

By the time she was 20 years old, Tamara reached a new plateau of fame as she won the gold medal when she finished in first at the Paris International Dance Competition.  She also won the special jury award which was given to the best dancer as determined by a special set of judges.  In the year that Tamara won, the judges for the award were Galani Samsova, Natalia Makarova, and Vladimir Vassiliev, three of the most recognized and respected figures in the world of Ballet. 

 

Fresh from her success at the Paris International Dance Competition, Tamara was offered a position with the Scottish ballet which was headed by Galina Samsova.  During her stay here, Tamara continued her impressive performances while dancing the principal roles in such classic ballets as Swan Lake, Romeo and Juliet, La Sylphide, and the Nutcracker. She stayed with the Scottish Ballet until she was 23 when she made the decision to move and join the English National Ballet.  The following year, Tamara was already promoted to the distinguished position of Principal Dancer.  At 26, she moved to the Royal Ballet where she remained as a Principal Dancer.

Tamara Rojo was invited to join the Royal Ballet of London amid high praise being heaped upon her by both the ballet audience and the critics as well.  As Principal Dancer, Tamara has performed for the Royal Ballet in the Swan Lake of Dowell, the Sleeping Beauty of both Makarova and of Mason, the La Bayadere of Makarova, the Nutcracker of Wright, and Don Quixote of Nureyev.  She has also performed in many of the works of Sir Kenneth Macmillan.  In these roles, the works of Sir Kenneth Macmillan were recreated especially for Tamara by Deborah Macmillan.  These performances include: Isadora, Requiem, Rite of Spring, Song of the Earth, Winter Dreams, and Dances Concertantes.

Relationship between oral hygiene and heart

There are some reports which state that oral hygiene is somehow related to the heart and to heart disease.  Could this be true?  Could you really prevent heart disease by simply taking better care of your teeth and gums?  This sounds too good to be true, and you know what they say, if it’s too good to be true then it probably isn’t. 

The fact is there is as yet no clear and definitive evidence which proves that oral hygiene has a direct effect on the health of the heart.  There is also no evidence that it can prevent heart disease.  However, just like everything else in science, this could soon change.  A lot of researches are still being conducted about the relationship between oral hygiene and the heart and any one of them could potentially discover something that would prove this case.

Actually, the notion that oral hygiene can help prevent the development of heart disease came from a study that involved 657 test subjects without any known heart conditions.  The study found that the people who had higher levels of oral disease causing bacteria in the mouth also had higher chances of developing atherosclerosis.  Atherosclerosis is a condition which is also referred to as a hardening or clogging of the arteries.  This condition is developed when deposits of different substances such as fat begin to stick and build up along the walls of the arteries. If these deposits are left to build up long enough, there would be enough sticking on the arteries that they would actually clog the passageway and prevent the flow of blood.  If blood does not flow freely in the arteries, the body suffers a stroke.  Incidentally, the harmful deposits that stick to the arteries are called plaque – yes, just like the plaque found on your teeth.  Because of this, the idea of oral disease having an effect on the heart might have been further misinterpreted.

Most people might mistakenly think that the plaque that causes atherosclerosis is the same as the plaque that is found in the mouth and causes some oral diseases.  The simple fact is that they are not.  They are just referred to by the same name.  As mentioned earlier, the plaque found in arteries are made up of deposits of fat and other substances.  In contrast, the plaque found on teeth are residues of chewed up food, acid, and different bacteria.  There is no relation between these two kinds of plaque.

For now, there is just not enough evidence to seriously believe that taking better care of your oral hygiene can greatly improve your chances of preventing heart disease or other adverse heart conditions.  If you are at risk of heart disease, your best course of action would still be to eat a healthy diet, get regular exercise, and put yourself in the right weight.  Of course, getting taking better care of your gums and teeth would not hurt either.  It may not have been proven yet but it just might help.  At the very least, you wouldn’t have to worry about any unwarranted fillings or oral diseases.  Instead, you would have healthier gums, cleaner teeth, and a much brighter and cheerful smile.

Pineapple and papaya to fight against stored fat

Pineapples and papayas do not have any direct effect on fat.  You cannot just eat them and expect the stored fat in your body to simply burn off.  However, both of these fruits are very valuable in making your body more efficient and effective in burning away stored fat. 

Pineapples are a very good source of vitamin C.  The same can be said of papaya.  This is very important in your fight against fat because your body needs vitamin C in order to burn fat.  Some studies have found that people who have lower vitamin C content in their diet are much more likely to have excess stored fat in their bodies.  This is especially true in the long term. 

Interestingly, raw pineapples are much better sources of vitamin C than processed pineapples.  A whole raw pineapple can provide as much as 432 milligrams of this vitamin.  This translates to a 3.5 ounce serving of raw pineapple providing 36 milligrams of vitamin C which is more than half of the daily recommended intake for this vitamin.  For comparison, a 3.5 ounce serving of canned or processed pineapple can only provide 7 milligrams of vitamin C.  This is less than 20% of what you can get from a raw pineapple in the same sized serving.  Thus, adding raw pineapple to your regular diet could help ensure that you get enough vitamin C regularly which will help keep your body burning fat efficiently.

For its part, papayas can provide a lot of vitamin C too.  A single serving of 100 grams of papaya is enough to provide 100% of the daily value of vitamin C that you need.  Aside from this, it will also provide you with 20% of your daily vitamin A requirements.  You can also get significant amount of folate, vitamin E, fiber, lutein, lycopene, and potassium.  Just like pineapples, you will get the most benefit from papaya by eating it raw or by drinking it as a juice made from fresh papaya.  There are many different recipes that make use of pineapple and papaya.  You will never get bored of eating or drinking them.

Another indirect way that pineapple and papaya can help you fight against stored fat is their unique content of bromelain and papain.  Pineapples are the best source for bromelain while papayas are the best source for papain.  Bromelain is a natural enzyme that has different medicinal properties.  It is very helpful in treating indigestion and also inflammation.  It is very effective in helping the body digest proteins.  Papain on the other hand is a proteolytic enzyme.  Just like bromelain, it is very helpful in digesting proteins and breaking down other food substances.  It is also very helpful in cleaning the digestive system because it helps eliminate many unnecessary byproducts that are produced by protein intake.

Thus, adding pineapple and papaya will greatly affect your digestive health.  In the end, a healthy digestive system will make your body more active and it will make you more efficient in metabolizing and burning all of your stored fat.

Allergy to nuts

Allergy to nuts and to peanuts is one of the more common allergies that affect a lot of people.  It is a condition that is sometimes difficult to prevent because of the many varied applications that nuts and peanuts have in food.  They can be ingredients to some recipe’s which people would not normally associate with them.  For example, some chili recipes include ground peanuts to make the sauce thicker than others.

In extreme cases, an allergy to nuts and peanuts can result into anaphylaxis.  This is the most serious result that can come from nut allergy because it can potentially cause the person to die.  This condition can cause the affected person’s air tunnels to swell and close.  It can also cause the person’s blood pressure to drop.  These two symptoms force the person to lose consciousness and have a hard time breathing which could lead severe complications.  This could happen even if the exposure of the person to nuts or peanuts is not that much.  This is often attributed to a theory that the body cannot recognize nut proteins much easier than it can recognize other types of proteins.

Unfortunately, there is no actual treatment for nut allergy.  The best way to treat it is to avoid and stay away from nuts and peanuts.  As mentioned earlier, this is a lot easier said than done.  Peanuts or nuts could be found in many different items such as pet food (especially dog food, bird food, and hamster food), some cosmetic products, previously owned or second hand items such as toys and furniture, and pet beddings.  It is recommended then that people with nut allergy stay away from these kinds of items.

Food is also a big risk for persons with nut or peanut allergy.  It is best to read the label on foods before consuming them to make sure that they do not have any peanut content.  But aside from the actual ingredient list, also look for phrases such as “may contain nuts and peanuts”, “produced with equipment also used to process nuts and peanuts”, or “made in facilities that make peanut related products”.

Precautions for nut and peanut allergy:

1. Avoid all foods that do not come with a specific list of ingredients.  These include foods that are “home cooked” by people who do not know about your nut allergy.
2. Inform everyone you know about your nut allergy, especially those that handle your food, such as restaurant staff.  If you are in a restaurant that is not sure about how to handle your situation, it is best to find one that does.
3. Keep your “rescue” medications easily accessible at all times.  This means that it should be in your pocket or your bag or your purse not in your car or your office drawer.  It is very important that you or anybody else who is trying to help you is able to access your medication if you get an attack of anaphylaxis.  A few seconds may mean the difference between getting saved and succumbing to the attack.