Mediterranean Cod with Beet Salad

Ingredients:

8-10 oz. cod
1 chopped tomato
7-8 pitted Kalamata olives
1 clove fresh garlic
1 green onion
1/4 cup white wine
1/2 cup vegetable or chicken stock
1 bunch beets
Fresh parsley to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

The Method:

Cook beets whole. Start in cold water and simmer until fork tender. Add cut stems and beets tops. cook until al dente. Cool beets, then peel and slice. Toss in olive oil and season with garlic, salt and pepper.

For cod, heat pan and add olive oil. Add cod, flesh side down and brown lightly. Turn over and add tomato, olives, green onions, parsley and chicken stock. Place in preheated oven at 400 degrees for about 8-10 minutes. Return to fire, add white wine, and season to taste (being careful of salt because of olives). Remove and plate the fish with the compote and serve.

City Porch is located at 600 East Grand Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611 and can be reached at 312.595.5560

The common denominator here is posture. We met up with Brittaney McGary at “On Your Mark” gym to figure out how we can straighten ourselves out. The first tip she gave was to walk like you have a book on top of your head.

1. Pull your chin back
2. Have your ears right over your shoulders
3. Roll your shoulders back
4. Have your palms facing toward your side

Not exactly natural feeling, is it? That’s because we’ve conditioned out muscles to behave a certain way. But since nobody likes the potbelly look, we can condition our muscles again to do the exact opposite. Brittaney says that the more we hold our muscles in a good muscle position, the more natural it will begin to feel to maintain that position. “Y” and “T” exercises promote good posture, strengthening our muscles so that eventually we won’t even have to think about correcting bad posture. Our muscles will simply know where to go.

Not only will you look better as you stroll down the grocery aisle, but your newly found strength will also help protect against injuries such as should impingement, strains in your upper neck, and headaches.

In addition to the exercise in our segment, Brittaney gave us one more way to improve our posture by stretching our pectoral muscles.

1. Place your palm and forearm flat against a wall, elbow shoulder-height. Take a step forward to stretch the pectoral muscles, repeat five reps, holding for 10-15 seconds

According to the CDC, 6.1 million women have difficulties becoming or staying pregnant. Age, stress, and lifestyle habits such as smoking, poor diet, and excessive alcohol use, are just some of the factors that may increase a woman’s inability to conceive. However, Dr. Eve Feinberg of the Fertility Centers of Illinois says it’s important to remember that infertility is not a woman’s issue, it’s a couple’s issue, underscoring the need for communication and support.

Feinberg says that couples who go through infertility treatments together stay together. Sharing feelings, attending appointments together, and making time for romance and date nights are all important factors in keeping a relationship strong during what can be a trying time.

Emotional support is not the only support needed. The American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) lists the average cost of IVF treatment in the U.S. as $12,400. For this reason, Feinberg urges couples to look at loans, study, and grant opportunities. To see how one Chicago woman turned her experience into something positive, be sure to check out our segment! And for more information on infertility, treatment, and support please visit the websites below:

http://shinechicago.com/about-shine-chicago-infertility-support-group

http://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/infertility/

http://www.resolve.org/family-building-options/insurance_coverage/the-costs-of-infertility-treatment.html

Schaaf’s doctor, Aparna Sharma, says it’s important to remember that anxiety is a normal human emotion that aids in survival. However, when it becomes excessive and interferes with everyday life, people need to seek professional help.

Often, individuals with generalized anxiety experienced something traumatic as a child. Sharma says a coping mechanism, is to worry about trivial, day-to-day matters because these serve as a distraction from the real emotions at play. Memories may be traumatic and are often difficult to deal with.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, there are two main kinds of treatment for GAD. Cognitive behavior therapy can be used to change how the patient thinks, behaves, and reacts to certain situations. Medication is another alternative and typically patients are prescribed either anti-depression or anti-anxiety medications. As always, it’s important to talk with a doctor before obtaining any medication.

Sharma says that other solutions can as simple as doing enjoyable, relaxing activities such as reading, journaling, or exercising. If you or someone you know may have GAD, it’s important to seek professional help and know that anxiety is curable.

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/generalized-anxiety-disorder-gad/how-is-gad-treated.shtml

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/generalized-anxiety-disorder/DS00502

http://www.cdc.gov/mentalhealth/basics/mental-illness/anxiety.htm

According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, SMA in infants is characterized by breathing and feeding difficulties, “floppy infant,” lack of head control, little movement, and/or weakness that gets worse. The disease rarely begins in adulthood and is often hereditary. Though there is no treatment, support is crucial.

For the Casten family, this is where Normal Moments comes in, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting families of critically ill children. Volunteers assist families by completing tasks such as mowing the lawn, cleaning the house, or in the Casten’s case, playing with Ella so that mom Lindsey can do things like finishing up the laundry and working on the family’s small business.

The goal of the organization is to take care of these everyday tasks so that families have time for the normal moments in life that bring them closer. Volunteers not only help with these tasks, but also serve as non-judgmental listeners for parents who may simply need a sounding board. Normal moments can be the best moments, and Normal Moments, Inc. strives to make that a reality for families with critically ill children.

For more information on Normal Moments or how to become involved: 

http://www.normalmoments.org/Home.aspx

For more information on SMA: 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001991/

http://www.fsma.org/FSMACommunity/UnderstandingSMA/

http://www.smafoundation.org/about-sma/

Local Chicago resident Samantha Rappa began rapidly gaining weight in 2009 and started to experience other health issues. A visit with her doctor revealed she was in a pre-diabetic state and on the path to developing type 2 diabetes if she did not change her lifestyle. Rappa changed her diet, began to exercise, and within nine months had reversed her symptoms.

A key to prevention is awareness, so it’s important to know the signs of type 2 diabetes. Symptoms can include blurry vision, excess thirst, fatigue, hunger, frequent urination, and/or weight loss. Because some people do not show any warning signs, it’s important to have regular checkups, especially if you are at-risk.

Like Samantha, it is possible to reverse the effects of type two diabetes if caught early. According to the CDC, the Diabetes Prevention Program found that people can delay and even prevent the onset of type two diabetes by losing a small amount of weight (5-7% of your total body weight). Moderate exercise for 30 minutes five days a week and eating a balanced, low fat diet are great ways to stay healthy and help reduce the risk of developing type two diabetes.

For more information on type two diabetes, as well as prevention tips, please visit the following websites:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002194/

http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/diabetes-prevention/DA00127

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-204_162-57554976/rising-type-2-diabetes-rates-linked-to-increases-in-high-fructose-corn-syrup-consumption/

http://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/resources/publications/AAG/ddt.htm

The Recipe:

Whole wheat spaghetti “Allo Scoglio” in a seafood sauce, calarmari, shrimp, mussels, clams, and scallops

12 oz. whole wheat spaghetti pasta
6 mussels
6 clams
2 oz. calamari
6 shrimp
2 scallops (U10 cut in 4)
1 oz. extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. chopped garlic
2 oz. tomato sauce
1 oz. white wine
1 oz. cherry tomatoes
0.1 basil julienne

The Method:

In a sauté pan, add oil and chopped garlic. Add all of the seafood, glaze with wine, and cover with tomato sauce. Cover the pan with a lid and cook until the shellfish open. Add the cherry tomatoes to the sauté pan along with the cooked spaghetti. Cook pasta in boiling water separately until al dente. Sauté all ingredients together until nice and amalgamated. Place in pasta bowl, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, and garnish to serve.

437 Rush is located at 437 N Rush St.  Chicago, IL and can be reached at (312) 222-0101.

Healthy Bites is sponsored by Treasure Island Foods.

Without wasting any time, we got down to the bottom of things. Literally. Now, we aren’t typically feet people but in this case we decided to make an exception. It turns out your feet are a very integral part of your overall well-being and it’s important to make sure they’re getting the TLC they deserve (no, we aren’t talking pedicures, though those don’t hurt …). Every step you take, you’re relying on your feet to carry the entire weight of your body. Your foot has to rebound appropriately and when it does, everything else falls into place.

If we don’t work our foot muscles, however, the chain reaction is big with your calves, knees, hips, and lower back all suffering as a result. Luckily, there are foot exercises you can do from the comfort of your own couch. The first set focuses on constricting the muscles in the foot.

1. Scatter scrunched paper towels on the ground.
2. Sitting in a chair, grip your toes around the paper towels, moving them from one side to the other.
3. Repeat for several minutes every day.

Nothing positive comes from being all wound up though, so it’s important to stretch your foot muscles out after this exercise. To do this, simply roll a golf ball under the arch of your foot for several minutes.  The best part of this workout? You can do it while catching up on your favorite episodes of Living Healthy, of course.

Doctor’s told Marye she suffered an ischemic stroke which occurs when blood can’t reach the brain as quickly as it should. Marye’s stroke was caused by hypertension or high blood pressure. Like Marye, many experience little or no symptoms, which is why hypertension is silently called the “silent killer.”

High blood pressure affects 65 million people in the United States and if left untreated, the effects can be devastating, including death. Marye, an avid quilter, is not letting her stroke dictate her life. With medication, hard work, and constant monitoring, she is able to keep her hypertension under control and return to her hobby.

Dr. Mike Unger of Allied Healthcare Associates stresses the importance of yearly screenings with a physician.

“The tragedy of hypertension is that, for the most part, you can have very high blood pressure and be doing a lot of damage to your body and you won’t realize it because there are no symptoms,” he says. “You just have to be screen for it.”

The numbers to aim for are 115 over 75. If your blood pressure is higher, however, do not get discouraged. Lifestyle changes can help lower blood pressure, such as exercising at least four days a week, reducing sodium intake, and maintaining a healthy weight. If more help is needed, medication is available.

“The real reason of why I was having them or how it started was unknown,” Howard says. “Certain things contributed to them such as stress. Depending on what I was doing, it could happen weekly, monthly…”

Howard’s treatment began the way most epilepsy cases do: with medication. A lot of medication. At one point, Howard was taking seven different kinds and suffering the side effects of all of them. He sought a second opinion and learned of another option, an elective brain surgery called a temporal lobectomy. At first, Howard and his family declined but as the seizures and side effects of medication persisted, he and his wife reconsidered. They were referred to Dr. Josua Rosenow, Director of Functional Neurosurgery at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine.

“Howard was an excellent candidate for surgery because his seizures were all occurring from one spot, the hippocampus,” Dr. Rosenow says. “We found on other testing that we could remove that hippocampus without him suffering permanent ill effects.’

Dr. Rosenow says that not all seizures originate from the same spot in the brain but when they do and it’s the right spot, doctors can as he puts it, “remove the spark from the fire.”

“Our goal is to cure seizures,” he says. “That’s what we do here at Northwestern. Our goal is to cure seizures and give patients their quality of life back.”

“Our goal was to not have a seizure for five years and then it would be determined to be a success,” Howard says. “I have not had a seizure [in the 9 years since surgery] and I can’t ask for more than that.”

Since the successful surgery in early 2004, Howard and Dr. Rosenow have become close friends.

“Every time that I see Howard, his wife and his kids all I can think of is how wonderful it has been to be involved in his recovery and in watching the rest of his life progress,” Dr. Rosenow says.

“I mean Dr. Rosenow is my hero,” Howard says. “He’s my wife’s hero. I would do anything I can for him.”

Howard is a hero as well. In 2011, the Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Chicago honored him with their Hero Award for his work as an advocate and fundraiser in the epilepsy community.

“I was so proud to stand-up at the Epilepsy Foundation’s Heroes Night and present him with his award as a hero.” Dr. Rosenow says. “Howard’s recovery has truly inspired other people because he has shown people that brain surgery is something that is a viable option and it really can lead to wonderful things.”

Many epilepsy sufferers can manage on medication alone but if you or someone you know is suffering from side effects and still have seizures a temporal lobectomy could be a viable option.

Follow this link for more on the temporal lobectomy surgery to treat epilepsy at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

For more on epilepsy, click here.