Monday, October 10, 2022

Ett lite roligt minne som mamma delade med mej idag.

Måndag 10 oktober 2022 Jag hade sytt klart en hösttunika till mamma under morgonen. Vid halv-elva la jag tunikan och dagens tidning (SkLT) i min korg och for till Ardalagården där mamma tillfälligt bor efter en tid på sjukhus med behandling för misstänkt lunginflammation och njursvikt. Hon blev jätteglad när jag gav henne den nya tunikan. Sen satt hon och läste dagens tidning. Hon fick se en dödsannons för Maj Brodén, född 23 december 1929. -Titta nu är Maj Brodén borta. Hon gick i min klass i Gröneskog, sa mamma. Jag har en historia om henne som jag egentligen inte skulle berätta för dej. Maj var ju två år äldre än mej, så när jag kom till skolan på min första skoldag så var hon där. Hon tittade på mej med en nedlåtande blick. Jag blev arg, sa mamma, så jag klev fram till henne och slog till henne. -Oj då, säger jag. Vad hände då. Blev du straffad på nåt sätt? -Nej, säger mamma. Jag slog inte särskilt hårt och fröken såg det inte. Senare var vi vänner i klassen så den var inte långvarig, min ilska. -Vad hette hon som ogift, frågar jag? -Maj Bergdahl, säger mamma. Hon kom från en stor familj med många barn och dom bodde nära till skolan i Gröneskog. Maj var ett av de yngre barnen.

Monday, January 29, 2018

Saffron and my happy buns!

Crocus Sativus
My own saffron threads from plants grown in a pot on the veranda.










 I found a clinical trial published in 2004 showing the effectiveness of using saffron (Crocus Sativus) in the treatment of mild to moderate depression. 


 The patients were given 30 mg of saffron/day. This is when I started experimenting with making Happy Buns. My first trials were not fantastic but now I have been making adjustments over a few years (buns turned into friands/muffins) and think the recipe is ready to be shared. Most important is to try and make sure every bun/muffin contains 30 mg of saffron. I have to apologize to all vegans as the recipe contains eggs.

24 saffron muffins/friands

oven 200 degrees Celcius

Ingredients:
50 g coconut oil
1.5 cup almonds (1 cup =250 ml)
3 tbsp maple syrup
½ tsp vanilla extract
4 eggs
0.8 g saffron threads
  1. Grind the saffron threads with mortar and pestle (easier if you add a few grains of salt or sugar
  2. Melt coconut oil in microwave
  3. Put almonds in mixer and mix to a fine flour
  4. Add all ingredients to the mixer and mix thoroughly
Fill a 24 muffin tin using spoons. Bake for about 10 minutes.

800 mg divided by 24 is 33.33 mg; close enough to 30!

Enjoy one a day with your morning coffee.

Now for some facts about the chemistry. 

 First a comprehensive review from 2010 where you can find a lot of information about the use and history of saffron. Here you can read about a lot of other benefits of saffron like antihypertensive, anticonvulsant, antitussive, antigenotoxic and cytotoxic effects, anxiolytic aphrodisiac, antioxidant, antidepressant, antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory, and relaxant activity. 


Then a few pictures of compounds in saffron:

Crocin structure (from Wikipedia) is the chemical responsible for the colour of saffron.

Picrocrocin is one of the chemical components of saffron most responsible for its distinctive taste.

Safranal is another component of saffron that contributes to its flavour.

The problem now is the cost of saffron; here in the supermarket a packet of 0.1 g is $13.80. I buy a packet of 3.0 g at a local Iranian supermarket for about $20. You can of course try to grow it yourself as I tried to. The bulbs are very sensitive to getting too wet in the off-season (they rot!). I have lost many bulbs to rot but have not given up yet. I dig the bulbs up and keep them dry and divide them before planting them again. 

Saturday, June 25, 2016

Aga i Sverige och Australien

25 Juni 2013 

Mamma och jag sitter och pratar vid köksbordet när vi äter frukost och idag påminner hon mej om historien när hon var tolv år gammal (1943) och fick lov att hjälpa till att baka för första gången. Så här gick det till:
Har`u slae’t pöjken? (min rubrik på historien)
I min mors barndomshem (Holmentorp i Synnerby) användes inte aga.
En dag när Märtas far Henry var ute och gallrade rovorna så kom Märtas lillebror Kalle springande och säger med andan i halsen
- Mor slo’ mej, mor slo’ mej.
Henry som är noga med att barnen inte ska agas och att de ska behandlas med respekt blir upprörd och reser sej genast och går in för att prata med Tinnie (hennes riktiga namn var Leontine men hennes smeknamn var Tinnie).
- Kalle säger att du har slae’t han, e de’ sant?
Mor blir så upprörd av anklagelsen att hon avbryter sitt bakande i den väggfasta ugnen och vände sej till Märta och säger
- Du få ta’ över här och avsluta bakningen.
Så uppmanades lilla Märta att lära sej baka, vilket hon aldrig gjort förr. Tinnie var så upprörd att hon gick ut i grönsakslandet för att fortsätta gallringen som Henry avbrutit. Varför Kalle anklagat henne för att slå honom visste inte Märta, men att Tinnie aldrig agade någon av barnen det var så sant som det var sagt. Vart Henry tog vägen förtäljer inte historien. I alla fall så var det första gången Märta bakade ensam. Hon använde den långa bakspaden (grisslan) för att få brödet in och ut ur ugnen. Just då kom mormor Hildur Pettersson på besök och undrade var Tinnie var nånstans. När Hildur fick höra att Tinnie var ute i landet gick hon ditut. Efter en stund kom Hildur in igen och sa till Märta
- Hoss’i allsin da’r. Det blir inte en rova kvar!
Tinnie var mycket mild till sinnet men när hon blev oskyldigt anklagad för något som hon inte gjort, då blev hon arg och hennes ilska fick sitt utlopp i grönsakslandet där både rovor och ogräs rök med.
I vanliga fall bjöds Hildur på kaffe men den här da’n blev hon utan kaffe.
Märta var nöjd med att lyckas grädda de brödkakor som var kvar.

I Sverige avskaffades aga av barn både i hemmet och i skolan 1979.
I Australien är aga avskaffat i skolan men i hemmet är det fritt fram.
Tråkigt nog anses det som föräldrars rättighet att slå sina barn i Australien. Om man står i matafffären och kvinnan bakom dej i kön plötsligt ger sitt lilla barn en hurring så att hörseln troligen blir skadad så har du ingenting att säga till om. Ja, det har hänt mej flera gånger och jag mår innerligt illa när det händer.
Händer det i Sverige så riskerar du att bli polisanmäld!


PS Jag skrev det här inlägget när jag hälsade på mor Märta hemma i Härlunda 2013 och publicerade det på Facebook.

Sunday, June 21, 2015

DRINK GREEN TEA!!!

After my successful interruption to coffee drinking (as part of Live Below the Line) I decided to start drinking Japanese green Matcha tea instead. I had a jar of it in my tea cupboard that was quite expensive and bought in a Japanese shop where they stated it was of highest quality. Well, what does this mean. What is the ingredient that decides it's quality. I think it must be epigallocatechin gallate (EPGCG, Wikipedia) . 



Publication from 2003 looking at EPGCG content in Matcha tea tells that it has 137 times more of this compound than China Green Tips green tea and at least three times the amount of any other green tea on the market. This compound is said to have many beneficial properties such as (Preventive Medicine Center (pmc):

  1. cancer preventative
  2. lowers blood cholesterol
  3. lowers blood pressure
  4. improves immun system
  5. antibacterial (will protect you against gastroenteritis)

Not bad to get so much benefit from a 'cuppa' tea.

Another ingredient in Matcha tea is Theanine (Wikipedia):



This is another interesting molecule with claims to properties such as:

  1. promotes alpha wave production in the brain, makes you relaxed and alert ( Wikipedia
  2. promotes focus and concentration
  3. promotes relaxation 
  4. promotes improved cognition

So the statement that it is good for you to drink green tea is scientifically well established, but if you would like to read more here is another link:



I apologise for any mistakes and omissions. 

The green tea benefits are too many to fit into one blog!

Happy tea drinking!




Sunday, February 8, 2015

Yellow garden flowers!

As I was weeding in my garden before Christmas I noticed a new plant  had popped up:


I let them be as the bright yellow flowers were really nice. The plant grew quite big and eventually I took it out and put it in the green bin. It is now a few months later and where it grew a lot of little plants have started growing. What to do, keep them or not? 
After some investigation I today concluded that it is Californian poppies (Eschscholzia californica). So I will happily let them grow big and harvest and dry the plant as it is a medicinal herb as summarised below from the website:
www.happyherbcompany.com 
          California poppy has a reputation of being a milder, non-addictive alternative to other poppies, and can be used for pain relief, anxiety and hysteria.The native Americans use California poppy for colic, sleeplessness and griping stomach pains. It is often used to counter excitability and nervousness in children, and has promise for hyperactive children as well. When used as a tea before bed, California poppy promotes long, restful sleep and is often used as a treatment for insomnia. This wonderful herb can also be smoked for relaxation.As it is completely safe, mild and non-addictive, this gentle poppy is completely legal and has the potential to be of benefit in assisting with opiate addiction and withdrawal: drinking a strong tea or smoking the herb as often as needed, has been used to help overcome heroine, morphine and opium cravings. It has also been known to assist in interrupting cannabis and tobacco habits. California Poppy contains the alkaloids berberine, sanguinarine, protopine, and allocryptine. It also has several antioxidants including rutin and zeaxanthin. Its aqueous extract has sedative and anxiolytic (anxiety reducing) properties, tests show that it appears to possess an affinity for the brain's benzodiazepine receptor.See:

    1. Klvana, M.; Chen, J.; Lepine, F.; Legros, R.; Jolicoeur, M. (July 2006). "Analysis of Secondary Metabolites From Eschscholtzia Californica by High-performance Liquid Chromatography". Phytochemical Analysis 17 (4): 236-242.
    2. MacLeod, B.P.; Facchini, P.J. (2006). "Methods for Regeneration and Transformation in Eschscholzia Californica: A Model Plant to Investigate Alkaloid Biosynthesis". Methods in Molecular Biology 318: 357-368.
    3. Rolland, A.; Fleurentin, J.; Lanhers, M.C.; Misslin, R.; Mortier, F. (August 2001). "Neurophysiological Effects of an Extract of Eschscholzia Californica Cham. (Papaveraceae)". Phytotherapy Research 15 (5): 377-381.

        This will increase my own organic herbal tea selection to three:

        1. Peppermint tea
        2. Lemon balm tea (Melissa Officinalis)
        3. Californian poppy tea

        Sunday, June 15, 2014

        Beautiful meditation on forgiveness!






        Plastics or not?

        A while ago I started removing plastics from my house, after my investigations about how the Endocrine Disruptor chemicals (like bisphenol A, BPA) leach into the food. But to go plastic free is more or less impossible. One example is the supermarket receipts made from thermal paper that often contains BPA. Looking at the Australian governmental website Product Safety Australia (Product Safety Australia) I could not find any information on thermal receipts. Therefore I sent an inquiry to the ACCC (Australian Competition and Consumer Agency) asking if there is any regulation of endocrine disruptors in thermal receipts in Australia. I am awaiting reply. Commonly thermal paper contains BPA, even if there are alternatives that are safer like Pergafast 201, described in the blogentry here (Blog 'Health & Environment'). Anyhow, the concern is that when you touch/hold the ticket/receipt you will get the chemical on your skin and then transfer it to whatever you touch next.


        In April 2012 the Swedish Chemicals Agency was instructed by the Government to propose a ban on bisphenol A in thermal paper and to carry out a survey of the use of bisphenol A in toys and childcare articles. When living in Sweden in 2013 I noticed shops advertising the fact that ‘We use BPA free receipts in this shop’. Anyhow a ban on bisphenol A in thermal paper in Sweden was suggested in a report on 29 June 2012. But here in Australia I have not seen or heard any comments on this issue.

        There is a Facebook page that is a good resource for information about endocrine disruptors in thermal receipts issue (FB page BPA Free Receipts). This page seems to be created by Appvion Inc. /Appleton Paper and basically is an advertisement for BPA free paper BUT what they don't state is that the replacement chemical BPS they use is just as bad as BPA. As you can see below the two structures are quite similar...


        Bisphenol S                   Bisphenol-A-Skeletal.svg


                 bis-phenol S                                     bis-phenol A        


        ...and therefore both mimic the sex hormone estradiol and are classified Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals.


        Estradiol.svg


                   estradiol


        BPA/BPS also mimic the estrogen hormones, the primary female sex hormones. This is a class of compounds similar in structure to estradiol.

        Some possible negative effects on the human body after contact with the chemical BPA (or similar endocrine disruptor):


        1. It can interfere with mammalian development by mimicking the action of the sex hormone estradiol, one of the possible reasons for early puberty in girls (1999, Nature, Howdeshell et al, ‘Environmental toxins: Exposure to bisphenol A advances puberty | doi:10.1038/44517)


        2. Research at Deakin University (and other places) indicating that BPA might be partly responsible for causing both obesity and diabetes (2012, FASEB, Gibert Yann et al, (Deakin Research Newsletter April 2014 ).


        3. From Wikipedia: Neurological disruption, thyroid disfunction, cancer, reproductive disorders, asthma, heart disease. (Wikipedia entry for Bisphenol A), click on link to read for yourself.

        Many argue that Wikipedia is not a reliable source or information. Therefore I have found the same information in a report published by the UN in 2013: (which has more detailed info for the interested). In this report they use EDC as the acronym for Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (UN report on EDCs 2013).

        The effects of long term low dose exposure of BPA/BPS is not known yet BUT after a bit of research my suspicion is that  it is not good for you in any way.


        Studies by the CDC (Centre for Disease Control and Prevention) in the US has shown that 90 % of americans have BPA (bis-phenol A) in their body and that it is excreted via the urine. So why does this matter? Is it harmful or not? As always it is argued by some scientists that it is completely harmless, like Justin Teeguarden in the US (Article in Environmental Health News in US). Others are finding connections between BPA and cardiovascular diagnosis and diabetes. Even the suspicion about this should be enough to try and limit exposure to humans and especially children.


        The ban on using BPA  in baby bottles and drink bottles is anyhow widely spread but what is unknown to many is that alternative chemicals chosen by industry are just as bad. One replacement chemical used is BPS (bis-phenol S):


        Now say that you have decided to spend the money and buy bottled water for your family to have CLEAN and PURE water to drink. The water gets delivered in bottles like this:




        ... which are made of polycarbonate plastics and most likely leak out BPA (or BPS) into the water it contains. 'Refresh pure water' is claiming to be Australias largest supplier of water in plastic bottles. Looking through their website they do not mention anything about testing for BPA/BPS content in the water (Refresh Pure Water website).


        I now filter the water I use (Brita filter) and I continue to throw out plastic containers.


        The endocrine disruptors are everywhere around us and will stay with us for generations to come. What we should try to do is stop using plastic as much as we can. This is no easy task as you will realise if you try a trip to the supermarket with intent of not buying any food that is in contact with plastic. To avoid BPA you also need to avoid canned food as the tins are epoxy lined and this plastic inner lining of the cans leak out endocrine disrupting chemicals.

        I could continue to investigate this as I continually find out more disturbing facts

        - recycled paper contains BPA (from thermal receipts)
        - money contains BPA (transferred from thermal receipts in the wallet)
        - chicken wrapped in plastic contains BPA

        etc, etc

        If you now wish to avoid exposure to BPA/BPS you might want to:

        - avoid canned food
        - avoid polycarbonate plastic containers 
        - avoid recycled plastic with resin code 7 (contains polycarbonate plastic)
        - avoid heating food in plastic containers in the microwave
        - avoid washing plastic containers in the dishwasher (releases more BPA)