Functional foods - unique concepts of TCM

•One of the unique concepts of TCM is that food and medicine come from the same source.

•Functional foods are a milder course of treatment and can be used either to treat disease, or to help healthy people to prevent disease.

Here's some recipes you can try:

• Lotus seed tea: lotus seeds (30g) are first soaked in warm water for 5 hours then boiled with water and brown sugar (10g) until the seeds become soft. Tea is added just prior to serving. This dessert invigorates the spleen and kidneys, which is recommended for individuals with edema.

Christine will be speaking in MedLink Academy of Canada (Yonge/Eglinton) on April 30

Christine will be the speaker of Weekend Cafe Socials organized by P.O.I.N.T. Inc. on Friday April 30.

Subject: TCM and Acupuncture in pain managment and weight loss.

Details: What is Traditional Chinsese Medicine and acupuncture? What does acupuncture treat? What does an acupuncturist do? How can acupuncture help in pain management and weight loss?

Audience: Caregivers and Personal Support Workers

Healthy fruity drinks recipe - Papaya Yogurt Drink

A couple of days ago, I bough a huge papaya at $2.99 at the supermarket. I always pick the biggest one when they go by a fixed price. This one I picked weighted almost 3 pounds! I know we can't finish the whole thing in one shot so I made a drink out of it.

Ingredients
1/2 papaya, 1/2 grapefruit, 2 cup drink yogurt (Yoplait), maple syrup or honey to taste

Steps:
Blend all the ingredients using a blender. Put ice cubes and maple syrup to taste after blending.

Facts about papayas

Papaya has papain, a natural digestive aid which breaks down protein and cleanses digestive tracks. Great food for people who are trying to lose weight. It's also rich in vitamin C, folate, and potassium. It has 30% more vitamin C and 50% more potassium than an orange.

HEALTH and the city event

So much fun and information taken away! Attended one of the workshops prepared by Dani Renouf, Registered Dietian - Bone Density. Learned a lot from her.

Some of the key points are:
- Women need more calcium than men in general especially after they reach age of 50
- The best form of calcium supplement is CITRATE as it's easier to be absorbed by the body.
- Frozen fish is just as good as fresh fish in terms of nutrition values. It's suggested to have fish at least 3 times a week.
- Traditional Chinese way of making soup is great. Chinese people tend to put pork or beef bones and vegetables in the soup. Great way of getting calcium.