collections of dark-staining material, containing RNA, seen in the cell bodies of neurons on microscopic examination. [F. Nissl (1860–1919), German neuropathologist]
Guar has an effect upon sugar metabolism, blood fat levels, body weight and blood pressure. (Dr J. Tuomilehto, University of Turku, Finland) A study at Hammersmith Hospital, London, showed Guar efficacious in reducing blood sugar levels. Its cholesterol-lowering action is of benefit in diabetics.
Guar induces weight loss in obese subjects; reduces risk of kidney stone. Granules of the gum may be taken with water or sprinkled direct on food – fluid being taken at the meal to ensure swelling of the granules.
By slowing the rate of sugar absorption, it reduces the post-prandial peak in blood sugar level, making possible a reduction of insulin. Contra-indications: obstruction of the intestines and diseases of the gullet.
Guarina or Guarem, sachets: 5g unit dose sprinkled over food. Adults: one sachet daily, increasing if necessary to a maximum of 3 sachets. A preparation Glucotard is taken as dry minitablets, washed down in portions with a glass of water.
Alternative: Powdered Guar gum – 15 grams daily.
Note: Effectiveness for weight loss unproven. Guar gum may cause throat obstruction in rare cases and should be prescribed by a medical practitioner only.
See: DIABETES. HYPERLIPIDAEMIA. CHOLESTEROL. ... guar gum
Nutritional Profile Energy value (calories per serving): Low Protein: Moderate Fat: Low Saturated fat: Low Cholesterol: None Carbohydrates: High Fiber: High Sodium: Moderate Major vitamin contribution: Folate, vitamin C Major mineral contribution: Potassium
About the Nutrients in This Food Jerusalem artichokes are the edible roots of a plant related to the American sunflower. They store carbohydrates as inulin, a complex carbohydrate (starch) made of units of fruit sugar (fructose). Right after the Jerusalem artichoke is dug up, it tastes bland and starchy. After it has been stored for a while, the starches turn to sugars, so the artichoke tastes sweet. Jerusalem artichokes are high in fiber with the B vitamin folate, vitamin C, and iron. One-half cup raw sliced Jerusalem artichoke has one gram dietary fiber, 10 mcg folate (2.5 percent of the adult R DA), 3 mcg vitamin C (4 percent of the R DA for a woman, 3 percent of the R DA for a man), and 2.5 mg iron (14 percent of the R DA for a woman, 32 percent of the R DA for a man).
The Most Nutritious Way to Serve This Food Sliced and served raw in salads or cooked as a vegetable side dish.
Diets That May Restrict or Exclude This Food Low-sodium diet
Buying This Food Look for: Firm clean roots with no soft or bruised patches.
Storing This Food Refrigerate Jerusalem artichokes in plastic bags, covered containers or the vegetable crisper to protect their moisture and keep them fresh.
Preparing This Food When you slice a Jerusalem artichoke, you tear cell walls, releasing polyphenoloxidase, an enzyme that converts phenols to brown compounds that darken the flesh. You can slow the reaction (but not stop it completely) by painting the cut surface with a solution of lemon juice or vinegar and water.
What Happens When You Cook This Food In cooking, the starch granules in the Jerusalem artichoke absorb water, swell, and eventu- ally rupture, softening the root and releasing the nutrients inside.
Adverse Effects Associated with This Food Some people are unable to properly digest inulin, the carbohydrate in the Jerusalem arti- choke. For them, eating this tuber raw may cause painful gas. Cooking breaks down inulin and improves digestibility.... artichoke, jerusalem
Nutritional Profile Energy value (calories per serving): High Protein: Moderate Fat: Low Saturated fat: Low Cholesterol: None Carbohydrates: High Fiber: Low to high Sodium: Low (except self-rising flour) Major vitamin contribution: B vitamins Major mineral contribution: Iron
About the Nutrients in This Food Flour is the primary source of the carbohydrates (starch and fiber) in bread, pasta, and baked goods. All wheat and rye flours also provide some of the food fibers, including pectins, gums, and cellulose. Flour also contains significant amounts of protein but, like other plant foods, its proteins are “incomplete” because they are deficient in the essential amino acid lysine. The fat in the wheat germ is primarily polyunsaturated; flour contains no cholesterol. Flour is a good source of iron and the B vitamins. Iodine and iodophors used to clean the equipment in grain-processing plants may add iodine to the flour. In 1998, the Food and Drug Administration ordered food manufac- turers to add folates—which protect against birth defects of the spinal cord and against heart disease—to flour, rice, and other grain products. One year later, data from the Framingham Heart Study, which has fol- lowed heart health among residents of a Boston suburb for nearly half a century, showed a dramatic increase in blood levels of folic acid. Before the fortification of foods, 22 percent of the study participants had a folic acid deficiency; after, the number fell to 2 percent. Whole grain flour, like other grain products, contains phytic acid, an antinutrient that binds calcium, iron, and zinc ions into insoluble com- pounds your body cannot absorb. This has no practical effect so long as your diet includes foods that provide these minerals. Whole wheat flours. Whole wheat flours use every part of the kernel: the fiber-rich bran with its B vitamins, the starch- and protein-rich endosperm with its iron and B vitamins, and the oily germ with its vitamin E.* Because they contain bran, whole-grain flours have much more fiber than refined white flours. However, some studies suggest that the size of the fiber particles may have some bearing on their ability to absorb moisture and “bulk up” stool and that the fiber particles found in fine-ground whole wheat flours may be too small to have a bulking effect. Finely ground whole wheat flour is called whole wheat cake flour; coarsely ground whole wheat flour is called graham flour. Cracked wheat is a whole wheat flour that has been cut rather than ground; it has all the nutrients of whole wheat flour, but its processing makes it less likely to yield its starch in cooking. When dried and parboiled, cracked wheat is known as bulgur, a grain used primarily as a cereal, although it can be mixed with other flours and baked. Gluten flour is a low-starch, high-protein product made by drying and grinding hard- wheat flour from which the starch has been removed. Refined (“white”) flours. Refined flours are paler than whole wheat flours because they do not contain the brown bran and germ. They have less fiber and fat and smaller amounts of vitamins and minerals than whole wheat flours, but enriched refined flours are fortified with B vitamins and iron. Refined flour has no phytic acid. Some refined flours are bleached with chlorine dioxide to destroy the xanthophylls (carotenoid pigments) that give white flours a natural cream color. Unlike carotene, the carotenoid pigment that is converted to vitamin A in the body, xanthophylls have no vita- min A activity; bleaching does not lower the vitamin A levels in the flour, but it does destroy vitamin E. There are several kinds of white flours. All-purpose white flour is a mixture of hard and soft wheats, high in protein and rich in gluten.t Cake flour is a finely milled soft-wheat flour; it has less protein than all-purpose flour. Self-rising flour is flour to which baking powder has been added and is very high in sodium. Instant flour is all-purpose flour that has been ground extra-fine so that it will combine quickly with water. Semolina is a pale high-protein, low- gluten flour made from durum wheat and used to make pasta. Rye flours. Rye flour has less gluten than wheat flour and is less elastic, which is why it makes a denser bread.:j Like whole wheat flour, dark rye flour (the flour used for pumpernickel bread) contains the bran and the germ of the rye grain; light rye flour (the flour used for ordinary rye bread) The bran is t he kernel’s hard, brown outer cover, an ext raordinarily rich source of cellulose and lignin. The endosperm is t he kernel’s pale interior, where t he vitamins abound. The germ, a small part icle in t he interior, is t he part of t he kernel t hat sprouts. Hard wheat has less starch and more protein t han soft wheat. It makes a heavier, denser dough. Gluten is t he st icky substance formed when k neading t he dough relaxes t he long-chain molecules in t he proteins gliadin and glutenin so t hat some of t heir intermolecular bonds (bonds bet ween atoms in t he same molecule) break and new int ramolecular bonds (bonds bet ween atoms on different mol- ecules) are formed. Triticale flour is milled from triticale grain, a rye/wheat hybrid. It has more protein and less gluten than all-purpose wheat flour.
The Most Nutritious Way to Serve This Food With beans or a “complete” protein food (meat, fish, poultry, eggs, milk, cheese) to provide the essential amino acid lysine, in which wheat and rye flours are deficient.
Diets That May Restrict or Exclude This Food Low-calcium diet (whole grain and self-rising flours) Low-fiber diet (whole wheat flours) Low-gluten diet (all wheat and rye flour) Sucrose-free diet
Buying This Food Look for: Tightly sealed bags or boxes. Flours in torn packages or in open bins are exposed to air and to insect contamination. Avoid: Stained packages—the liquid that stained the package may have seeped through into the flour.
Storing This Food Store all flours in air- and moistureproof canisters. Whole wheat flours, which contain the germ and bran of the wheat and are higher in fat than white flours, may become rancid if exposed to air; they should be used within a week after you open the package. If you plan to hold the flour for longer than that, store it in the freezer, tightly wrapped to protect it against air and moisture. You do not have to thaw the flour when you are ready to use it; just measure it out and add it directly to the other ingredients. Put a bay leaf in the flour canister to help protect against insect infections. Bay leaves are natural insect repellents.
What Happens When You Cook This Food Protein reactions. The wheat kernel contains several proteins, including gliadin and glute- nin. When you mix flour with water, gliadin and glutenin clump together in a sticky mass. Kneading the dough relaxes the long gliadin and glutenin molecules, breaking internal bonds between individual atoms in each gliadin and glutenin molecule and allowing the molecules to unfold and form new bonds between atoms in different molecules. The result is a network structure made of a new gliadin-glutenin compound called gluten. Gluten is very elastic. The gluten network can stretch to accommodate the gas (carbon dioxide) formed when you add yeast to bread dough or heat a cake batter made with baking powder or baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), trapping the gas and making the bread dough or cake batter rise. When you bake the dough or batter, the gluten network hardens and the bread or cake assumes its finished shape. Starch reactions. Starch consists of molecules of the complex carbohydrates amylose and amylopectin packed into a starch granule. When you heat flour in liquid, the starch gran- ules absorb water molecules, swell, and soften. When the temperature of the liquid reaches approximately 140°F the amylose and amylopectin molecules inside the granules relax and unfold, breaking some of their internal bonds (bonds between atoms on the same molecule) and forming new bonds between atoms on different molecules. The result is a network that traps and holds water molecules. The starch granules then swell, thickening the liquid. If you continue to heat the liquid (or stir it too vigorously), the network will begin to break down, the liquid will leak out of the starch granules, and the sauce will separate.* Combination reaction. Coating food with flour takes advantage of the starch reaction (absorbing liquids) and the protein reaction (baking a hard, crisp protein crust).
Medical Uses and/or Benefits A lower risk of some kinds of cancer. In 1998, scientists at Wayne State University in Detroit conducted a meta-analysis of data from more than 30 well-designed animal studies mea- suring the anti-cancer effects of wheat bran, the part of grain with highest amount of the insoluble dietary fibers cellulose and lignin. They found a 32 percent reduction in the risk of colon cancer among animals fed wheat bran; now they plan to conduct a similar meta- analysis of human studies. Whole wheat flours are a good source of wheat bran. NOTE : The amount of fiber per serving listed on a food package label shows the total amount of fiber (insoluble and soluble). Early in 1999, however, new data from the long-running Nurses Health Study at Brigham Women’s Hospital/Harvard University School of Public Health showed that women who ate a high-fiber diet had a risk of colon cancer similar to that of women who ate a low-fiber diet. * A mylose is a long, unbranched, spiral molecule; amylopect in is a short, compact, branched molecule. A mylose has more room for forming bonds to water. Wheat flours, which have a higher rat io of amy- lose to amylopect in, are superior t hickeners. Because this study contradicts literally hundreds of others conducted over the past 30 years, researchers are awaiting confirming evidence before changing dietary recommendations.
Adverse Effects Associated with This Food Allergic reactions. According to the Merck Manual, wheat is one of the foods most commonly implicated as a cause of allergic upset stomach, hives, and angioedema (swollen lips and eyes). For more information, see under wheat cer ea ls. Gluten intolerance (celiac disease). Celiac disease is an intestinal allergic disorder that makes it impossible to digest gluten and gliadin (proteins found in wheat and some other grains). Corn flour, potato flour, rice flour, and soy flour are all gluten- and gliadin-free. Ergot poisoning. Rye and some kinds of wheat will support ergot, a parasitic fungus related to lysergic acid (LSD). Because commercial flours are routinely checked for ergot contamina- tion, there has not been a major outbreak of ergot poisoning from bread since a 1951 incident in France. Since baking does not destroy ergot toxins, the safest course is to avoid moldy flour altogether.... flour
Nutritional Profile Energy value (calories per serving): Moderate Protein: Moderate Fat: Low Saturated fat: Low Cholesterol: None Carbohydrates: High Fiber: High Sodium: Low Major vitamin contribution: B vitamins, folate Major mineral contribution: Iron, potassium
About the Nutrients in This Food Barley is a high-carbohydrate food, rich in starch and dietary fiber, particu- larly pectins and soluble gums, including beta-glucans, the fiber that makes cooked oatmeal sticky. The proteins in barley are incomplete, limited in the essential amino acid lysine. Barley is a good source of the B vitamin folate. One-half cup cooked barley has 4.5 grams dietary fiber and 12.5 mg folate (3 percent of the R DA for healthy adults).
The Most Nutritious Way to Serve This Food With a calcium-rich food and with a food such as legumes or meat, milk, or eggs that supplies the lysine barley is missing.
Diets That May Restrict or Exclude This Food Gluten-free diet
Buying This Food Look for: Clean, tightly sealed boxes or plastic bags. Stains indicate that something has spilled on the box and may have seeped through to con- taminate the grain inside. * Values are for pearled barley.
Storing This Food Store barley in air- and moisture-proof containers in a cool, dark, dry cabinet. Well protected, it will keep for several months with no loss of nutrients.
Preparing This Food Pick over the barley and discard any damaged or darkened grains.
What Happens When You Cook This Food Starch consists of molecules of the complex carbohydrates amylose and amylopectin packed into a starch granule. When you cook barley in water, its starch granules absorb water mol- ecules, swell, and soften. When the temperature of the liquid reaches approximately 140°F, the amylose and amylopectin molecules inside the granules relax and unfold, breaking some of their internal bonds (bonds between atoms on the same molecule) and forming new bonds between atoms on different molecules. The result is a network that traps and holds water molecules. The starch granules swell and the barley becomes soft and bulky. If you continue to cook the barley, the starch granules will rupture, releasing some of the amylose and amylopectin molecules inside. These molecules will attract and immobilize some of the water molecules in the liquid, which is why a little barley added to a soup or stew will make the soup or stew thicker. The B vitamins in barley are water-soluble. You can save them by serving the barley with the liquid in which it was cooked.
How Other Kinds of Processing Affect This Food Pearling. Pearled barley is barley from which the outer layer has been removed. Milling, the process by which barley is turned into flour, also removes the outer coating (bran) of the grain. Since most of the B vitamins and fiber are concentrated in the bran, both pearled and milled barley are lower in nutrients and fiber than whole barley. Malting. After barley is harvested, the grain may be left to germinate, a natural chemical process during which complex carbohydrates in the grain (starches and beta-glucans) change into sugar. The grain, now called malted barley, is used as the base for several fermented and distilled alcohol beverages, including beer and whiskey.
Medical Uses and/or Benefits To reduce cholesterol levels. The soluble gums and pectins in barley appear to lower the amount of cholesterol circulating in your blood. There are currently two theories to explain how this might work. The first theory is that the pectins form a gel in your stomach that sops up fats and keeps them from being absorbed by your body. The second is that bacteria living in your gut may feed on the beta-glucans in the barley to produce short-chain fatty acids that slow the natural production of cholesterol in your liver. Barley is very rich in beta-glucans; some strains have three times as much as oats. It also has tocotrienol, another chemical that mops up cholesterol.... barley
– see CELLS). Consisting of approximately 65 per cent RNA and 35 per cent PROTEIN, they are the sites where protein is made.... ribosome
Nutritional Profile Energy value (calories per serving): High Protein: Low Fat: High Saturated fat: High Cholesterol: High Carbohydrates: Low Fiber: None Sodium: Low (unsalted butter) High (salted butter) Major vitamin contribution: Vitamin A, vitamin D Major mineral contribution: None
About the Nutrients in This Food Butterfat is 62 percent saturated fatty acids, 35 percent monounsaturated fatty acids, and 4 percent polyunsaturated fatty acids. One tablespoon of butter has 11 g of fat, 7.1 g of saturated fat, and 31 mg cholesterol, and 1,070 IU vitamin A (46 percent of the R DA for a woman, 36 percent of the R DA for a man). The vitamin A is derived from carotenoids in plants eaten by the milk-cow.
Diets That May Restrict or Exclude This Food Low-cholesterol, controlled-fat diet Sodium-restricted diet (salted butter)
Buying This Food Look for: Fresh butter. Check the date on the package.
Storing This Food Store butter in the refrigerator, tightly wrapped to protect it from air and prevent it from picking up the odors of other food. Even refrigerated butter will eventually turn rancid as its fat molecules combine with oxygen to produce hydroperoxides that, in turn, break down into chemicals with an unpleasant flavor and aroma. This reaction is slowed (but not stopped) by cold. Because salt retards the combination of fats with oxygen, salted butter stays fresh longer than plain butter. (Lard, which is pork fat, must also be refrigerated. Lard has a higher proportion of unsaturated fats than the butter. Since unsaturated fats combine with oxygen more easily than saturated fats, lard becomes rancid more quickly than butter.)
Preparing This Food To measure a half-cup of butter. Pour four ounces of water into an eight-ounce measuring cup, then add butter until the water rises to the eight-ounce mark. Scoop out the butter, use as directed in recipe.
What Happens When You Cook This Food Fats are very useful in cooking. They keep foods from sticking to the pot or pan; add fla- vor; and, as they warm, transfer heat from the pan to the food. In doughs and batters, fats separate the flour’s starch granules from each other. The more closely the fat mixes with the starch, the smoother the bread or cake will be. Heat speeds the oxidation and decomposition of fats. When fats are heated, they can catch fire spontaneously without boiling first at what is called the smoke point. Butter will burn at 250°F.
How Other Kinds of Processing Affect This Food Freezing. Freezing slows the oxidation of fats more effectively than plain refrigeration; frozen butter keeps for up to nine months. Whipping. When butter is whipped, air is forced in among the fat molecules to produce a foam. As a result, the whipped butter has fewer calories per serving, though not per ounce.
Adverse Effects Associated with This Food Increased risk of heart disease. Like other foods from animals, butter contains cholesterol and saturated fats. Eating butter increases the amount of cholesterol circulating in your blood and raise your risk of heart disease. To reduce the risk of heart disease, USDA /Health and Human Services Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends limiting the amount of cholesterol in your diet to no more than 300 mg a day. The guidelines also recommend limit- ing the amount of fat you consume to no more than 30 percent of your total calories, while holding your consumption of saturated fats to no more than 10 percent of your total calories (the calories from saturated fats are counted as part of the total calories from fat). Increased risk of acid reflux. Consuming excessive amounts of fats and fatty foods loosens the lower esophageal sphincter (LES), a muscular valve between the esophagus and the stomach. When food is swallowed, the valve opens to let food into the stomach, then closes tightly to keep acidic stomach contents from refluxing (flowing backwards) into the esopha- gus. If the LES does not close efficiently, the stomach contents reflux to cause heartburn, a burning sensation. Repeated reflux is a risk factor for esophageal cancer.... butter
Granulocytes Also known as polymorphonuclear leucocytes (‘polys’), these normally constitute 70 per cent of the white blood cells. They are divided into three groups according to the staining reactions of these granules: neutrophils, which stain with neutral dyes and constitute 65–70 per cent of all the white blood cells; eosinophils, which stain with acid dyes (e.g. eosin) and constitute 3–4 per cent of the total white blood cells; and basophils, which stain with basic dyes (e.g. methylene blue) and constitute about 0·5 per cent of the total white blood cells.
Lymphocytes constitute 25–30 per cent of the white blood cells. They have a clear, non-granular cytoplasm and a relatively large nucleus which is only slightly indented. They are divided into two groups: small lymphocytes, which are slightly larger than erythrocytes (about 8 micrometres in diameter); and large lymphocytes, which are about 12 micrometres in diameter.
Monocytes Motile phagocytic cells that circulate in the blood and migrate into the tissues, where they develop into various forms of MACROPHAGE such as tissue macrophages and KUPFFER CELLS.
Site of origin The granulocytes are formed in the red BONE MARROW. The lymphocytes are formed predominantly in LYMPHOID TISSUE. There is some controversy as to the site of origin of monocytes: some say they arise from lymphocytes, whilst others contend that they are derived from histiocytes – i.e. the RETICULO-ENDOTHELIAL SYSTEM.
Function The leucocytes constitute one of the most important of the defence mechanisms against infection. This applies particularly to the neutrophil leucocytes (see LEUCOCYTOSIS). (See also ABSCESS; BLOOD – Composition; INFLAMMATION; PHAGOCYTOSIS; WOUNDS.)... leucocytes
Nutritional Profile Energy value (calories per serving): Moderate Protein: Moderate Fat: Low Saturated fat: Low Cholesterol: None Carbohydrates: High Fiber: High Sodium: Low Major vitamin contribution: Niacin Major mineral contribution: Calcium
About the Nutrients in This Food Carob flour, which is milled from the dried pod of a Mediterranean ever- green tree, Ceratonia siliqua, looks like cocoa but has a starchy, beanlike flavor. It can be mixed with sweeteners to make a cocoalike powder or combined with fats and sweeteners to produce a candy that looks like and has the same rich mouthfeel as milk chocolate but tastes more like honey. Ounce for ounce, carob, which is also known as locust bean gum, has more fiber and calcium but fewer calories than cocoa. Its carbohydrates include the sugars sucrose, D-mannose, and D-galactose. (D-galactose is a simple sugar that links up with other sugars to form the complex indigest- ible sugars raffinose and stachyose.) Carob also contains gums and pectins, the indigestible food fibers commonly found in seeds.
The Most Nutritious Way to Serve This Food As a substitute for cocoa or chocolate for people who are sensitive to chocolate.
Diets That May Restrict or Exclude This Food Low-carbohydrate diet
Buying This Food Look for: Tightly sealed containers that will protect the flour from moisture and insects.
Storing This Food Store carob flour in a cool, dark place in a container that protects it from air, moisture, and insects. Keep carob candy cool and dry.
Preparing This Food Measure out carob flour by filling a cup or tablespoon and leveling it off with a knife. To substitute carob for regular flour, use ¼ cup carob flour plus ¾ cup regular flour for each cup ordinary flour. To substitute for chocolate, use three tablespoons of carob flour plus two tablespoons of water for each ounce of unsweetened chocolate. Carob flour is sweeter than unsweetened chocolate.
What Happens When You Cook This Food Unlike cocoa powder, carob flour contains virtually no fat. It will burn, not melt, if you heat it in a saucepan. When the flour is heated with water, its starch granules absorb moisture and rupture, releasing a gum that can be used as a stabilizer, thickener, or binder in processed foods and cosmetics. In cake batters, it performs just like other flours (see flour).
Medical uses and/or Benefits Adsorbent and demulcent. Medically, carob flour has been used as a soothing skin powder. As a chocolate substitute. People who are sensitive to chocolate can usually use carob instead. Like cocoa beans, carob is free of cholesterol. Unlike cocoa, which contains the cen- tral-nervous-system stimulant caffeine and the muscle stimulant theobromine, carob does not contain any stimulating methylxanthines. Lower cholesterol levels. In 2001, a team of German nutrition researchers from the Institute for Nutritional Science at the University of Potsdam, the German Institute of Human Nutri- tion, Center for Conventional Medicine and Alternative Therapies (Berlin) Nutrinova Nutri- tion Specialties and Food Ingredients GmbH, and PhytoPharm Consulting, Institute for Phytopharmaceuticals GmbH conducted a study to evaluate carob’s effectiveness in lower- ing cholesterol. For a period of eight weeks, 47 volunteers with moderately high cholesterol levels (232– 302 mg/dL) were fed 15 g of carob per day in breakfast cereal, fruit grain bars, and a drink made from powdered carob pulp as supplements to their normal diet. After four weeks, the volunteers’ total cholesterol levels fell an average of 7 percent and their LDL (low density lipoprotein—“bad” cholesterol) levels fell an average 10.6 percent. At six weeks, the numbers were 7.8 percent and 10.6 percent. There was no effect on HDLs (high density lipoproteins, a.k.a. “good” cholesterol).... carob
Starch is converted into sugar when treated with heat in presence of a dilute acid. It is changed largely into dextrin when exposed to a considerable degree of dry heat, as in toasting bread; and a similar change into dextrin and malt-sugar takes place under the action of various enzymes (see ENZYME) such as the PTYALIN of the SALIVA. Starch forms a chief constituent of the carbohydrate foods (see DIET); and in the process of digestion, the above-mentioned change takes place to prepare it for absorption. It is also slowly broken down in the process of cooking.
Starch is used as a constituent of dusting powders for application to chafed or irritable areas of the skin.... starch
Nutritional Profile Energy value (calories per serving): Moderate Protein: Moderate Fat: Low Saturated fat: Low Cholesterol: None Carbohydrates: High Fiber: High Sodium: Low Major vitamin contribution: Vitamin A (in yellow corn), B vitamins, vitamin C Major mineral contribution: Potassium
About the Nutrients in This Food Like other grains, corn is a high-carbohydrate, high-fiber food. Eighty-one percent of the solid material in the corn kernel consists of sugars, starch, and dietary fiber, including insoluble cellulose and noncarbohydrate lignin in the seed covering and soluble pectins and gums in the kernel.* Corn has small amounts of vitamin A, the B vitamin folate, and vitamin C. Corn is a moderately good source of plant proteins, but zein (its major protein) is deficient in the essential amino acids lysine, cystine, and tryptophan. Corn is low in fat and its oils are composed primarily of unsaturated fatty acids. Yellow corn, which gets its color from the xanthophyll pigments lutein and zeaxanthin plus the vitamin A-active pigments carotene and cryptoxanthin, contains a little vitamin A; white corn has very little. One fresh ear of yellow corn, 5.5– 6.5 inches long, has three grams dietar y fiber, one gram fat (0.1 g saturated fat, 0.3 g monounsaturated fat, 0.4 mg polyunsaturated fat), 137 IU vitamin A (6 percent of the R DA for a woman, 5 percent of the R DA for a man), 34 mcg folate (9 percent of the R DA), and 5 mg vitamin C (7 percent of the R DA for a woman, 6 percent of the R DA for a man). * The most plent iful sugar in sweet corn is glucose; hydrolysis (chemical splitt ing) of corn starch is t he principal indust rial source of glucose. Since glucose is less sweet t han sucrose, sucrose and fructose are added to commercial corn syrup to make it sweeter.
The Most Nutritious Way to Serve This Food With beans (which are rich in lysine) or milk (which is rich in lysine and tryptophan), to complement the proteins in corn. With meat or a food rich in vitamin C, to make the iron in corn more useful.
Diets That May Restrict or Exclude This Food Low-fiber diet
Buying This Food Look for: Cobs that feel cool or are stored in a refrigerated bin. Keeping corn cool helps retain its vitamin C and slows the natural conversion of the corn’s sugars to starch. Choose fresh corn with medium-sized kernels that yield slightly when you press them with your fingertip. Very small kernels are immature; very large ones are older and will taste starchy rather than sweet. Both yellow and white kernels may be equally tasty, but the husk of the corn should always be moist and green. A dry yellowish husk means that the corn is old enough for the chlorophyll pigments in the husk to have faded, letting the carotenes underneath show through.
Storing This Food Refrigerate fresh corn. At room temperature, fresh-picked sweet corn will convert nearly half its sugar to starch within 24 hours and lose half its vitamin C in four days. In the refrigera- tor, it may keep all its vitamin C for up to a week and may retain its sweet taste for as long as ten days.
Preparing This Food Strip off the husks and silk, and brush with a vegetable brush to get rid of clinging silky threads. R inse the corn briefly under running water, and plunge into boiling water for four to six minutes, depending on the size of the corn.
What Happens When You Cook This Food Heat denatures (breaks apart) the long-chain protein molecules in the liquid inside the corn kernel, allowing them to form a network of protein molecules that will squeeze out moisture and turn rubbery if you cook the corn too long. Heat also allows the starch granules inside the kernel to absorb water so that they swell and eventually rupture, releasing the nutrients inside. When you cook corn, the trick is to cook it just long enough to rupture its starch granules while keeping its protein molecules from turning tough and chewy. Cooking fresh corn for several minutes in boiling water may destroy at least half of its vitamin C. At Cornell University, food scientists found that cooking fresh corn in the microwave oven (two ears/without water if very fresh/4 minutes/600 –700 watts) preserves most of the vitamin C.
How Other Kinds of Processing Affect This Food Canning and freezing. Canned corn and frozen corn both have less vitamin C than fresh- cooked corn. The vitamin is lost when the corn is heated during canning or blanched before freezing to destroy the natural enzymes that would otherwise continue to ripen it. Blanch- ing in a microwave oven rather than in boiling water can preserve the vitamin C in frozen corn (see above). Milling. Milling removes the hull and germ from the corn kernel, leaving what is called hominy. Hominy, which is sometimes soaked in wood ash (lye) to increase its calcium con- tent, can be dried and used as a cereal (grits) or ground into corn flour. Coarsely ground corn flour is called cornmeal. Processed corn cereals. All processed, ready-to-eat corn cereals are much higher in sodium and sugar than fresh corn. Added calcium carbonate. Pellagra is a niacin-deficiency disease that occurs most com- monly among people for whom corn is the staple food in a diet lacking protein foods with the essential amino acid tryptophan, which can be converted to niacin in the human body. Pellagra is not an inevitable result of a diet high in corn, however, since the niacin in corn can be made more useful by soaking the corn in a solution of calcium carbonate (lime) and water. In Mexico, for example, the corn used to make tortillas is boiled in a dilute solution of calcium carbonate (from shells or limestone) and water, then washed, drained, and ground. The alkaline bath appears to release the bound niacin in corn so that it can be absorbed by the body.
Medical Uses and/or Benefits As a wheat substitute in baking. People who are allergic to wheat or cannot tolerate the glu- ten in wheat flour or wheat cereals can often use corn flour or hominy instead. Bath powder. Corn starch, a fine powder refined from the endosperm (inner part) of the corn kernel, can be used as an inexpensive, unperfumed body or face powder. Because it absorbs oils, it is also used as an ingredient in dry shampoos.
Adverse Effects Associated with This Food Allergic reaction. According to the Merck Manual, corn is one of the 12 foods most likely to trigger the classic food allergy symptoms: hives, swelling of the lips and eyes, and upset stomach. The others are berries (blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries), choco- late, eggs, fish, legumes (green peas, lima beans, peanuts, soybeans), milk, nuts, peaches, pork, shellfish, and wheat (see wheat cer ea ls).... corn
Form The liver is divided into four lobes, the greatest part being the right lobe, with a small left lobe, while the quadrate and caudate lobes are two small divisions on the back and undersurface. Around the middle of the undersurface, towards the back, a transverse ?ssure (the porta hepatis) is placed, by which the hepatic artery and portal vein carry blood into the liver, and the right and left hepatic ducts emerge, carrying o? the BILE formed in the liver to the GALL-BLADDER attached under the right lobe, where it is stored.
Position Occupying the right-hand upper part of the abdominal cavity, the liver is separated from the right lung by the DIAPHRAGM and the pleural membrane (see PLEURA). It rests on various abdominal organs, chie?y the right of the two KIDNEYS, the suprarenal gland (see ADRENAL GLANDS), the large INTESTINE, the DUODENUM and the STOMACH.
Vessels The blood supply di?ers from that of the rest of the body, in that the blood collected from the stomach and bowels into the PORTAL VEIN does not pass directly to the heart, but is ?rst distributed to the liver, where it breaks up into capillary vessels. As a result, some harmful substances are ?ltered from the bloodstream and destroyed, while various constituents of the food are stored in the liver for use in the body’s metabolic processes. The liver also receives the large hepatic artery from the coeliac axis. After circulating through capillaries, the blood from both sources is collected into the hepatic veins, which pass directly from the back surface of the liver into the inferior vena cava.
Minute structure The liver is enveloped in a capsule of ?brous tissue – Glisson’s capsule – from which strands run along the vessels and penetrate deep into the organ, binding it together. Subdivisions of the hepatic artery, portal vein, and bile duct lie alongside each other, ?nally forming the interlobular vessels,
which lie between the lobules of which the whole gland is built up. Each is about the size of a pin’s head and forms a complete secreting unit; the liver is built up of hundreds of thousands of such lobules. These contain small vessels, capillaries, or sinusoids, lined with stellate KUPFFER CELLS, which run into the centre of the lobule, where they empty into a small central vein. These lobular veins ultimately empty into the hepatic veins. Between these capillaries lie rows of large liver cells in which metabolic activity occurs. Fine bile capillaries collect the bile from the cells and discharge it into the bile ducts lying along the margins of the lobules. Liver cells are among the largest in the body, each containing one or two large round nuclei. The cells frequently contain droplets of fat or granules of GLYCOGEN – that is, animal starch.
Functions The liver is, in e?ect, a large chemical factory and the heat this produces contributes to the general warming of the body. The liver secretes bile, the chief constituents of which are the bile salts (sodium glycocholate and taurocholate), the bile pigments (BILIRUBIN and biliverdin), CHOLESTEROL, and LECITHIN. These bile salts are collected and formed in the liver and are eventually converted into the bile acids. The bile pigments are the iron-free and globin-free remnant of HAEMOGLOBIN, formed in the Kup?er cells of the liver. (They can also be formed in the spleen, lymph glands, bone marrow and connective tissues.) Bile therefore serves several purposes: it excretes pigment, the breakdown products of old red blood cells; the bile salts increase fat absorption and activate pancreatic lipase, thus aiding the digestion of fat; and bile is also necessary for the absorption of vitamins D and E.
The other important functions of the liver are as follows:
In the EMBRYO it forms red blood cells, while the adult liver stores vitamin B12, necessary for the proper functioning of the bone marrow in the manufacture of red cells.
It manufactures FIBRINOGEN, ALBUMINS and GLOBULIN from the blood.
It stores IRON and copper, necessary for the manufacture of red cells.
It produces HEPARIN, and – with the aid of vitamin K – PROTHROMBIN.
Its Kup?er cells form an important part of the RETICULO-ENDOTHELIAL SYSTEM, which breaks down red cells and probably manufactures ANTIBODIES.
Noxious products made in the intestine and absorbed into the blood are detoxicated in the liver.
It stores carbohydrate in the form of glycogen, maintaining a two-way process: glucose
glycogen.
CAROTENE, a plant pigment, is converted to vitamin A, and B vitamins are stored.
It splits up AMINO ACIDS and manufactures UREA and uric acids.
It plays an essential role in the storage and metabolism of FAT.... liver
Habitat: Native to Europe; found as an escape in some parts of Kashmir.
English: Tansy.Folk: Peilmundi (Kashmir).Action: Plant—anthelmintic, bitter tonic, emmenagogue. Used for migraine, neuralgia and nausea; as a lotion for scabies. Toxicity depends upon thujone content of the part used. Tansy oil is used as a liniment for gout and rheumatism.
Aerial parts afforded terpenoids— tanacetin, vulgarones A and B, tamirin, tanacin and tanavulgarol; germacano- lides, stearic acid, and flavonoids— apigenin trimethyl ether, apigenin, luteolin, chrysoeriol, diometin, iso- rhamnetin, quercetin and axillarin. The leaves contain parthenolide, caffe- ic, chlorogenic, iso-chlorogenic acids and vibernitol.Indian chemotype contains beta- thujone (28.1%) as the major constituent of the essential oil. Other constituents are: beta-thujyl alcohol 8.7, /-camphor 10.0 and cineol 11.8%. The leaves contain parthenolide, caf- feic, chlorogenic, isochlorogenic acid and vibernitol.Tanacetum parthenium (L.) Schultz Bip. (native to Europe and British Isles), known as Feverfew, is available in India for prophylactic treatment of migraine. The characteristic constituents of the herb (dried, whole or fragmented parts) are sesquiterpene lactones of which parthenolide, a ger- macanolide, is the major component. (Indian species, T. vulgare leaf also contains parthenolide).ESCOP recommends the herb for the management of migraine for at least a few months.(See ESCOP and WHO monographs.)It has been shown that Feverfew extract inhibits prostaglandin production and arachidonic acid release (this activity, at least partly, explains the herb's antiplatelet and antifebrile action). The extracts also inhibit secretion of serotonin from platelet granules and proteins from polymorphonuclear leucocytes (PMN's). Since serotonin is implicated in the aetiology of migraine and PMN secretion is increased in rheumatoid arthritis. Feverfew is used in migraine and rheumatoid arthritis. (Potter's New Cyclopaedia.) Somehow, beneficial effects were not observed in a double-blind placebo-controlled trial on 40 women with rheumatoid arthritis. (WHO.)... tanacetum vulgareAction: Liver detoxifier, hypotensive, antibiotic, metabolic stimulant. Bowel cleanser and nutrient for friendly flora. Immune sustainer. Antiviral. Anti-candida. Anti-ageing. Blood oxidant for production of red cells. Anti-cholesterol. Fat mobiliser.
Uses: High blood pressure, diabetes, hypoglycaemia, radiation sickness, high cholesterol levels, constipation, immune system insecurity, anaemia and nutrient deficiencies, bone maintenance, regeneration of tissue, asthma, the fatigue of old age. Shown to have a high binding affinity for poisonous substances in the gut and liver.
Inhibitory effect on growth of tumour cells. (21st Japanese Bacteriology Convention, 1984)
Reduces pain in peptic and duodenal ulcer. (“The Treatment of Peptic Ulcer by Chlorella”, by Dr Yoshio Yamagishi)
Cases of arsenical poisoning due to contaminated Taiwan water supply were successfully detoxified.
Dramatic height and weight increases in children and animals recorded. Appears to increase production of interferon, a body chemical that protects against harmful viruses. Of value for lead poisoning and heavy metal toxaemia.
Preparations: Available as tablets, capsules and health supplement granules.
Diet. Highly nutritional; yield 65 per cent protein; desirable for vegetarians and vegans. ... chlorella
Etiology. The more severe form, in younger patients, needs insulin treatment, without which ketosis and diabetic coma are possible. The milder form in older patients can be managed with diet and hypoglycaemic agents. Now considered due to auto-immune attack on Islet of Langerhams cells in pancreas which secrete insulin. “The Pill” often raises blood sugar. Lack of trace minerals (chromium and zinc). Zinc is a component of insulin and Chromium produces enzymes to stimulate metabolism of sugars. Diabetes can cause heart attack, stroke, hardening of arteries, blindness. It is the leading cause of kidney failure and gangrene.
Symptoms. Great thirst. Urine of high specific gravity. Weakness, emaciation, skin ulcers, loss of tactile sensation in the fingertips (Vitamin B6). In men there may be inflammation of the glans penis and in women, itching of the vulvae. Boils are common. In spite of large appetite there may by severe weight loss. Magnesium deficiency.
Diabetics are subject to glaucoma and detachment of the retina. There is a high incidence of cataract of the eye. While surgery may be necessary, effective supportive herbal treatment can do much. Regular visits to the Hospital Specialist help detect in time future eye, kidney and circulation damage.
High fibre, low fat, high carbohydrate. To help control blood sugar a diabetic must avoid sweets.
Exercise lowers blood sugar.
Agents used with some success: Alfalfa, Damiana leaves, Fenugreek seeds, Aloe Vera juice, Dandelion, Fringe Tree, Guar gum, Garlic (anti-diabetic action shown by Dr Madaus, West Germany, 1967), Bilberry berries, Goat’s Rue (dried aerial parts reduce blood sugar BHP (1983), Olive leaves, onions, Nettles, Pipsissewa, White Horehound, Sweet Sumach, Jambul seeds rapidly reduce sugar in the urine. Karela. Gurmar, (Gymnema sylvestre) leaves are chewed in India to reduce sugar in the urine (mild cases). Balsam pear. Bitter melon (Momordica charastia).
Hypoglycaemic herbs can be effective where the pancreas still functions. Type 1 diabetes, suffered by children whose insulin-producing cells have been destroyed and who produce no insulin at all will always require administered insulin. Maturity-onset diabetes (Type 11) occurs in middle life, insulin- production being insufficient. This form is usually associated with obesity for which herbs are helpful.
Diabetics are specially prone to infections; a course of Echinacea at the onset of winter is beneficial. Coronary artery disease is common in diabetics (especially women) who may develop atherosclerosis at an early age. High blood pressure places undue strain upon kidneys which may excrete too much protein (Yarrow, Lime flowers, Hawthorn). Lack of sensation in the feet exposes the subject to unconscious bruising and injury from which septic ulceration may arise (Chamomile foot baths).
Alternatives. Liver herbs work positively on the pancreas. Diabetic cases should receive treatment for the liver also, Dandelion and Fringe Tree being a reliable combination. Dr John Fearn, California (Ellingwood) used Fringe Tree for all his cases of sugar in the urine: 10 drops, Liquid Extract, 4-5 times daily.
Tea. Equal parts: Peppermint leaves, Dandelion leaves, Goat’s Rue leaves. 1-2 teaspoons to each cup boiling water infuse 5-15 minutes. Cup 2-3 times daily.
Teas from any one of the following: Bilberry berries or leaves, Nettles, White Horehound, Alfalfa, Olive leaves.
Decoction. Fenugreek seeds. 2 teaspoons to each large cup water simmered gently 5 minutes. One cup daily, consuming the seeds.
Powders. Equal parts: Sweet Sumach, Jambul seeds, Dandelion. Dose: 750mg (three 00 capsules or half a teaspoon) thrice daily.
Tinctures. Formula. Equal parts: Jambul, Fringe Tree, Goat’s Rue. Dose: 1 teaspoon thrice daily and at bedtime.
Tablets. Dr Alfred Vogel: tablet containing: Bilberry, Kidney Bean, Tormentil, English Walnut leaves, Alfalfa leaves, Cuckoo flowers.
Karela (Momordica Charantia) Hypoglycaemic action gave good results in clinical trials. Daily dose: 50/60ml fresh juice.
Evening Primrose. See entry.
Guar Gum. 5g unit dose sachets (Guarina) containing dispersible granules. This gum has shown beneficial effects for insulin-dependants.
Hypoglycaemics (second degree). Allspice, Bugleweed, Burdock, Ginseng, Lily of the Valley, Wormwood, Nettles.
Diabetic gangrene. Tinctures: equal parts, Echinacea, Thuja. Internally and externally. Internal dose: 30- 60 drops.
Diabetic neuralgia. Cayenne pepper (Capsicum). Frequently successful.
American traditional. It is claimed that 500mg Bayleaf, Cinnamon, Cloves and Turmeric halve the need for insulin in diabetics.
Diet. Dietary treatment has changed over the past few years. Patients are now advised by the British Diabetic Association to eat food rich in complex carbohydrates (starches) and high in fibre as in wholemeal bread, oats and wholegrain breakfast cereals, wholewheat pasta, brown rice, beans and lentils, vegetables and fruit. Fat intake should be carefully watched (lean meat); skimmed milk, polyunsaturated or low-fat cheeses and salad dressings. Certain foods are known to encourage the pancreas to produce more insulin: banana, barley, cabbage, lettuce, oats, olive, papaya, turnip, sweet potato.
Coffee intake should be limited to prevent hypoglycaemic symptoms.
Barley. A study has shown that the use of barley flour as a substitute for wheat in bread helps to control diabetes, in Iraq. (Naismith D, et al, ‘Therapeutic Value of Barley in Management of Diabetes’: Annals Nutr Metab, 35, 61-64 1991)
Supplementation. Vitamins A, B-complex, C, D, E, F. Vitamin B6. Brewer’s yeast. Minerals: Chromium 50mcg; Manganese 15mg; Magnesium 300mg; Zinc 25mg; to normalise glucose metabolism.
Note: Over 400 traditional plant medicines have been documented for diabetes, but few have been evaluated for efficacy. In the undeveloped countries they are chiefly used for non-insulin dependent diabetes. (Diabetes Care, 1989, Sept 12, p553)
Insulin dependents. Whether adults or children, insulin dependents should under no circumstances discontinue insulin injections.
Treatment by or in liaison with general medical practitioner.
Information. British Diabetic Association, 10 Queen Anne Street, London W1M 0BD, UK. Send SAE. ... diabetes, mellitus
Hippocrates was aware of the universal law similia similibus curentur (like cures like). He taught that some diseases were cured by similars, and others by contraries. Stahl (1738) was also aware of this law of healing: “diseases will yield to and be cured by remedies that produce a similar affection”. But it was Samuel Hahnemann (1755-1843) who proved to the world this doctrine held the key to the selection of specifically acting medicines. His early experiments with nux vomica, arnica, ignatia and veratrum showed how the medicine which cured produced a similar condition in healthy people.
While no one has yet discovered the ‘modus operandi’ of the science, it has grown up largely through empiric experience, especially during certain historical epidemics in different parts of the world. For example, in 1836 cholera raged through most of the cities of Austria. Orthodox medicine could do little.
Out of desperation, the Government commissioned the aid of homoeopathy. A crude hospital was hastily prepared and patients admitted. Results convinced the most hardened sceptics. Physician-in-charge, Dr Fleischman, lost only 33 per cent, whereas other treatments showed a death rate of over 70 per cent.
It is said that reduction of inflammatory fevers by homoeopathic Aconite, Gelsemium, Baptisia and Belladonna played no small part in reducing the practice of blood-letting in the early 19th century.
Since Hahneman, homoeopathy has been the object of intense professional bitterness by its opponents but since the 1968 Medicines Act (UK) provision has been made for homoeopathic treatment on the “National Health Service”. Conversion of medical opinion has been gradual and today many registered medical practitioners also use the therapy.
“It is the general theory that the process of dilution and succussion (a vigorous shaking by the hand or by a machine) “potentises” a remedy.
“To prepare. A remedy is first prepared in solution as a “mother tincture”. In the decimal system of dilution a small quantity is then diluted ten times by the addition of nine parts by volume of diluent – either alcohol or water and then shaken vigorously by hand or machine (succussion). A small quantity of this is then diluted to one tenth and succussed a second time; this process is repeated again and again, producing solutions identified as 3x, 6x, 30x according to the number of times diluted. It may even be continued a thousand times (1 M). The resulting solutions are adsorbed on to an inert tablet or granules, usually of lactose, and in this form it is claimed that they remain therapeutically active indefinitely.
“For higher dilutions the centesimal system is used, when each dilution is by 1 in 100. The resulting solutions or tablets are referred to as 3C, 6C, 12C etc according to the number of times diluted.
“When dealing with a remedy which is insoluble, e.g. Carbo Veg, the first three dilutions and succussions are done in powder form, i.e. to “3x” beyond which the remedy is sufficiently soluble for further dilutions to proceed in liquid form.
“In homoeopathy a remedy may in some cases be given in a dilution so great that no single molecule of the original substance remains. The concept of “memory laden” water implies that the effect lies in a pattern impressed on the water molecules and that this is carried over from one dilution to the next.” (John Cosh MD., FRCP)
Homoeopathic medicines can stand most tests for safety, since it is widely held that they are completely safe and non-addictive, with no side-effects. ... homoeopathy
Overdosage or where not adequately washed-down with fluid may lead to intestinal obstruction. Contra-indication: intestinal obstruction. ... normacol
Allergic reactions occur only on 2nd or subsequent exposure to the allergen, once 1st contact has sensitized the body. The function of the immune system is to recognize antigens (foreign proteins) on the surfaces of microorganisms and to form antibodies (also called immunoglobulins) and sensitized lymphocytes (white blood cells). When the immune system next encounters the same antigens, the antibodies and sensitized lymphocytes interact with them, leading to destruction of the microorganisms.
A similar immune response occurs in allergies, except that the immune system forms antibodies or sensitized lymphocytes against harmless substances because these allergens are misidentified as potentially harmful antigens.
The inappropriate or exaggerated reactions seen in allergies are termed
Allergen hypersensitivity reactions and can have any of four different mechanisms (termed Types I to hypersensitivity reactions).
Most well known allergies are caused by Type I (also known as anaphylactic or immediate) hypersensitivity in which allergens cause immediate symptoms by provoking the immune system to produce specific antibodies, belonging to a type called immunoglobulin E
(IgE), which coat cells (called mast cells or basophils). When the allergen is encountered for the second time, it binds to the IgE antibodies and causes the granules in mast cells to release various chemicals, which are responsible for the symptoms of the allergy.
Among the chemicals released is histamine, which causes widened blood vessels, leakage of fluid into tissues, and muscle spasm. Symptoms can include itching, swelling, sneezing, and wheezing. Particular conditions associated with Type I reactions include asthma, hay fever, urticaria (nettle rash), angioedema, anaphylactic shock (a severe, generalized allergic reaction), possibly atopic eczema, and many food allergies.
Types to hypersensitivity reactions are less often implicated in allergies. However, contact dermatitis, in which the skin reacts to substances such as nickel, is due to a Type hypersensitivity reaction.
It is not known why certain individuals and not others get allergies, but about 1 in 8 people seem to have an inherited predisposition to them (see atopy).
Whenever possible, the most effective treatment for allergy of any kind is avoidance of the relevant allergen.
Drug treatment for allergic reactions includes the use of antihistamine drugs, which relieve the symptoms. Some antihistamine drugs have a sedative effect, which is useful in treating itching at night due to eczema. Many antihistamines do not cause drowsiness, making them more suitable for daytime use.
Other drugs, such as sodium cromoglicate and corticosteroid drugs, can be used regularly to prevent symptoms from developing.
Hyposensitization can be valuable for a minority of people who suffer allergic reactions to specific allergens such as bee stings. Treatment involves gradually increasing doses of the allergen, but it must be carried out under close supervision because a severe allergic reaction can result.... allergy
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