Bengali Fish Curry (Machher Jhal), I: Health Benefits

Posted by on December 26, 2011 16 comments

Dr. Shilpi Bhadra Mehta is a Doctor of Optometry, a Board Member of the Archaeological Institute of America, and leader of the Boston Paleo group, Living Paleo in Boston. I asked her to tell us about Indian cuisine, and she offered a discussion of Bengali Fish Curry. We’ll do it in two parts: first, a discussion of its health benefits; second, a recipe with pictures. — Paul

My husband, Amit, grew up in a vegetarian family and never cared much for fish. But when he went Paleo for health reasons he fell in love with this traditional Bengali recipe, so I make it almost weekly! Bengal is part of India and Bangladesh, it is the home of Bengal tigers, but it is most famous for eating and cooking fish.

When Amit and I first tried Paleo we had some minor setbacks, but our experience improved wonderfully on the Perfect Health Diet version of Paleo so we are grateful for the Jaminets’ wonderful book and website. Amit and I are organizers of the Boston Paleo Meetup Group, and hosted a great potluck and lecture by the Jaminets in October 2011. It’s a pleasure to give back by providing a Perfect Health Diet recipe for you!

Health Benefits of Fish Oil, Ginger, and Turmeric

I’m a practicing optometrist and recommend that all my patients regardless of age or health (except those on blood thinners or a week before surgery) eat about a pound of oily fish per week (about 4-5 servings) like wild salmon, sardines, and sablefish (black cod). For those resistant to eating fish, I recommend fish oils (about 1-3 grams total/day depending on age and health). Fish is great for the whole body – especially the heart, brain, and eye!

There are many health benefits to the omega-3 fatty acids in oily fish. They:

  • Exercise anti-inflammatory effects throughout the body.
  • Help with brain and mental issues such as ADHD, autism spectrum disorders, anxiety, depression (including prenatal and postpartum), mood, cognition, Huntington’s disease, bipolar, schizophrenia, etc.
  • Help prevent and reduce age related macular degeneration (AMD/ARMD – a blinding eye disease) even in those with a strong genetic history.
  • Improve cardiovascular health in aspects such as blood pressure, circulation, triglycerides, VLDL, heart attacks, and stroke.
  • May improve immune function, rheumatoid arthritis, and insulin sensitivity.

The long-chain omega 3s EPA (Eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (Docasahexaenoic acid) are especially important. DHA is the most common Omega 3 in the brain and the retina – the neural part of the eye that senses light, and part of the central nervous system (CNS)! About 60% of the polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in the retina are from DHA, and 40% of the brain’s PUFA is DHA. Low levels of DHA are associated with senility, depression, and suicide risk.

DHA is also important for sperm and erythrocytes (red blood cells). In the often blinding eye disease Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP), RP patients compared to normals had far lower DHA in blood and sperm. The RP patients had fewer and lower quality sperm. Since DHA is found in many tissues, the abnormalities in one tissue may share a similar biochemical cause as in other tissues.

The best and most easily absorbed source of omega-3 fatty acids is wild fish. EPA and DHA are most abundant in oily fish and in the breast milk of women who consume fish. Algae, pastured/grass-fed animals, and pastured dairy and eggs from grass-fed animals are other possible sources.

The body can convert some ALA (alpha linolenic acid) found in plants such as flax and chia into EPA and DHA, but this conversion is often poor – as low as 0.05-15% in healthy humans and worse in older people and those with some medical conditions! ALA has not shown the cardiovascular improvements of fish oil.

Although I typically recommend 1-3 grams of fish oil/per person a day for dry eye and other health issues, I cannot recommend the amounts of flaxseed that would be needed to deliver equivalent amounts of omega-3s. In flaxseed this would require 6-60 grams/per person a day which might cause diarrhea, intestinal blockage, nausea, constipation and other GI side effects.

I cannot recommend flaxseed also for women due to estrogenic effects that could negatively affect hormonal conditions like PCOS, endometriosis, fibroids, or any reproductive cancers. I believe flaxseed should be avoided in women of childbearing age – especially pregnant and breastfeeding women – since in animal studies and some human epidemiological studies it has been associated with preterm birth. In rodent studies flaxseed affected menstrual cycle, lowered birth weight, and altered reproduction in offspring including infertility.

In addition to oily fish, Bengali Fish Curry provides healthy plant foods such as onion, ginger, turmeric, and lemon/lime.

Ginger may help improve mood since it affects serotonin receptors. It helps with nausea from morning sickness, chemotherapy, and seasickness. Ginger also may have some antimicrobial properties. In animal studies it prevents skin cancer, kills ovarian cancer cells, and reduces diabetic complications such as cataracts.

Turmeric has anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and antitumor properties. A component known as curcumin has been shown to help cancer, osteoarthritis, Alzheimer’s disease, pancreatitis, psoriasis, and some infections.

There are so many benefits to Bengali Fish Curry, and probably more will be discovered in time – that is why I recommend it!

Selected References

Wikipedia also has a good introduction to each.

Ginger

Ernst and Pittler. Efficacy of Ginger for Nausea and Vomiting: A Systemic Review of Randomized Clinical Trials. British Journal of Anaethesia. 2000. 84 (3) 367-371. http://bja.oxfordjournals.org/content/84/3/367.full.pdf+html

Kato et al. Inhibitory Effects of Zingiber officinale Roscoe Derived Components on Aldose Reductase Activity in Vitro and in Vivo. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 2006. 54 (18), 6640-6644. http://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1021/jf061599a

Turmeric/Curcumin

Frautschy et. al. A Potential Role of the Curry Spice Curcumin in Alzheimer’s Disease.” Current Alzheimer Research. 2005. Apr; 2(2): 131-6. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1702408/pdf/nihms3585.pdf

Rajasekaran, Sigrid. Therapeutic Potential of Curcumin in Gastrointestinal Diseases. World Journal Gastrointestinal Pathophysiology. 2011 February 15; 2(1): 1–14. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3097964/?tool=pubmed

Omega 3 Fatty Acids/DHA/EPA/Flaxseed

Amminger et al. Long-chain omega-3 fatty acids for indicated prevention of psychotic disorders: a randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Archives General Psychiatry. 2010 Feb;67(2):146-54. http://www.eiyh.org.uk/silo/files/fatty-acids-for-indicated-prevention.pdf

Tou et al. “Flaxseed and Its Lignan Precursor, Secoisolariciresinol Diglycoside, Affect Pregnancy Outcome and Reproductive Development in Rats.” Journal of Nutrition. 1998 Nov;128(11):1861-8. http://jn.nutrition.org/content/128/11/1861.long

Ho et al. Reducing the genetic risk of age-related macular degeneration with dietary antioxidants, zinc, and ?-3 fatty acids: the Rotterdam study. Archives Ophthalmology. 2011 Jun;129(6):758-66. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21670343

Barker et al. Nutritional manipulation of primate retinas, V: effects of lutein, zeaxanthin, and n-3 fatty acids on retinal sensitivity to blue-light-induced damage. Investigative Opthalmology & Visual Science. 2011 Jun 6;52(7):3934-42. Print 2011 Jun. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3175953/pdf/z7g3934.pdf

Wong et al. Prevention of age-related macular degeneration. International Ophthalmology. 2011 Feb;31(1):73-82. Epub 2010 Sep 23. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3021198/pdf/10792_2010_Article_9397.pdf

Wang et al. n-3 Fatty acids from fish or fish-oil supplements, but not alpha-linolenic acid, benefit cardiovascular disease outcomes in primary- and secondary-prevention studies: a systematic review. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2006 Jul;84(1):5-17.

Brenna et al. alpha-Linolenic acid supplementation and conversion to n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in humans. Prostaglandins Leukotrienes Essential Fatty Acids. 2009 Feb-Mar;80(2-3):85-91. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19269799

Connor et al. Sperm Abnormalities in Retinitis Pigmentosa. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science. November 1997 vol. 38 no. 122619-2628. http://www.iovs.org/content/38/12/2619.long

We Wish You a Merry Christmas!

Posted by on December 24, 2011 21 comments

May a blessed and joyful Christmas be yours!

P.S. — Jimmy Moore is soliciting questions for his Encore Week interview with Paul. And friend-of-the-blog and grass-fed beef producer Allan Balliet is starting a podcast on investigative farming and soliciting questions for his upcoming interview with Joel Salatin.

Around the Web; Happy Holidays Edition

Posted by on December 18, 2011 29 comments

We’ll have a light posting schedule through the holidays. A guest food post from Shilpi Mehta, on Bengali Fish Curry, is up next, as we go to the experts to learn about Indian cuisine. In the meantime, we hope these links will help you enjoy the holiday season!

[1] Music to Read By:

Via Tom Smith. And bonus music – a favorite carol, from the movie “John Harvard”:

[2] Interesting posts this week:

In our book we argue that animal diets are highly informative about the optimal human diet. So we’re happy that Sean at Prague Stepchild is investigating the hedgehog diet.

I’m afraid I disagree with John Durant.

Dennis Mangan comments on news that Finnish officials may seize the children of a low-carb family, because they think bacon and eggs breakfasts are insufficiently nourishing.

New books: (1) Melissa Joulwan has written a Paleo cookbook. (2) Ready to move on from solutions? Loren Cordain’s new book has answers.

CarbSane points out that fasting insulin is reduced by carb consumption. Elsewhere CarbSane has an interesting idea: Are the emulsifiers and stabilizers in industrial food distorting our food reward system?

Wired magazine: Fecal transplants work, regulations don’t.

Two people in Lousiana died from infections with the ‘brain-eating amoeba’ Naegleria fowleri as a result of irrigating their sinuses with netti pots. If you do use a netti pot, make sure it thoroughly dries between every use, and use distilled and boiled water or saline solution as the irrigant.

Emily Deans: It’s time to freak out about the effects of BPA. New evidence shows that BPA causes anxiety and depression, and significant amounts do enter the body from canned goods.

Chris Highcock reports that physical activity helps clear toxins from the body.

Barry Groves notes that you’re most likely to survive a stroke if your serum cholesterol is over 192 mg/dl.

Julianne Taylor notes that insulin-sensitive people lose more weight on high-carb diets, but insulin-resistant people lose more weight on low-carb diets.

Stan the Heretic notes that “starch” – really, wheat – is bad news for cancer patients.

Infections cause unattractive body odors.

Kristen Michaelis interviews Cate Shanahan.

How frequently should you work out to maximize muscle gain? Ned Kock has thoughts.

Paul Halliday gives us a “Baltic Bi Bim Bap Breakfast.”

Finally, Beth Mazur has reached a mini milestone:

[3] Cute animals: Via Je Suis JuBa:

[4] How is Cancer Survival Like the Velveteen Rabbit?  Love brings life.

Via Craig Newmark, a story of cancer remission:

Doctors told mother-of-two Laura Binder that her cancer had spread from her breast to her liver and that there was nothing that could be done to cure it.

But one person refused to give up: Mrs Binder’s nine-year-old daughter Linzi.

One read: ‘You are like the centre of a rose and you smell just like a beautiful red one. You can fight cancer. You can fight it. I love you!’

And fight it Mrs Binder did. In what one doctor called a ‘miracle’, her body is now completely free of cancer.

It’s one of the validated but still surprising aspects of cancer that desire to live, the experience of loving and being loved, optimism, and good cheer are all associated with cancer survival. It appears that when life is intensely valued and stress levels are low, the immune system acts against low-level threats (which it perceives cancer to be), but not otherwise.

[5] Astronomical Controversy: What was the Star of Bethlehem?

Chris Masterjohn points to a theory of the star of Bethlehem, proposed by astronomer Hollis Johnson of Indiana University: it was a rare coalescing of Jupiter (birth of kings) and Venus (fertility) as they neared Regulus (kings) in the constellation of Leo (the lion, associated with the Biblical “Lion of Judah”) that occurred on June 17, 2 BC.

An alternative theory was put forth in a book some years back by Michael Molnar, then a Rutgers University astronomer. On Molnar’s view, the astrologers of the time would have predicted the birth of a king of Judah from a lunar eclipse of Jupiter on April 17, 6 BC. Molnar believes ancient coinage from Antioch commemorated the event.

[6] Interesting comments this week:

Cherry found that stopping supplementation of toxic plants such as aloe vera stopped some odd pathologies:

Paul, I took your advice “do no harm” and stopped taking my supplements….and the prickly/needle sensations stop!

It does happen again if I ingest non-paleo/sugary foods but it’s disappeared dramatically. Thanks for your help!!!

Marilyn links to some interesting findings that challenge the autoimmune hypothesis of Multiple Sclerosis: inflammation in the grey matter (cortex) begins before autoimmunity in the white matter.

Brendan has made some key progress in sorting out his health problems. I noted in the LDL series that low serum cholesterol is often caused by infections with eukaryotic pathogens – protozoa or worms. In a comment of August 14, Brendan noted that his serum cholesterol was very low – below 125.  I replied “Low cholesterol is a very strong indicator of a protozoal or worm infection.” Well, now Brendan’s been tested and found to have “human whipworm, entamoeba species, and Campylobacter.” This is good news – now he knows how to treat his condition.

[7] Not the weekly video: Happy Feet comes to Asahiyama Zoo in Japan:

<a href='http://www.bing.com/videos/browse?mkt=en-us&#038;vid=079cd314-c39a-451a-88de-697f7c5c4548&#038;from=en-us_fblike&#038;src=v5:embed::' target='_new' title='Happiest Penguin Ever'>Video: Happiest Penguin Ever</a>

[8] Shou-Ching’s Photo Art:

[9] Video of the Week:  Jerusalem – a tour:

Jerusalem | Filmed in Imax 3D from JerusalemTheMovie on Vimeo.

Chicken, Shrimp, and Egg Salad

Posted by on December 15, 2011 6 comments

This is a simple dish which Shou-Ching’s father used to make for them as children. It can use almost any meat – whatever you have handy. And it cooks in only a few minutes.

Eggs are always worth including. Cook some eggs in a wok at low heat with a healthy oil (we used butter, olive oil or coconut oil will do):

We added pre-cooked shrimp, and some shredded chicken meat left over from a chicken soup. With shredded carrot and cucumber, it was served like this:

Next you need a sauce. Ours was made by mixing:

  • 3 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • Salt and pepper
  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp almond butter (or crushed nuts, or nut butter of your choice)
  • Optional: a few drops of soy sauce and sesame oil

The sauce is crucial for the dish; we consider rice vinegar and Dijon mustard essential. If you are serving children, add a little sweetness to the sauce with some rice syrup or diced fruit.

Drizzle the sauce over the food:

By the way, this is a good sauce also for any “safe starches” you may include in your meal. As discussed in “How to Minimize Hyperglycemic Toxicity,” Oct 20, 2011, mixing vinegar and fats or oils with starches will reduce their impact on blood glucose levels.

Serve the chicken, shrimp, and egg salad with white rice, Homemade Seasoned Seaweed (Jan 9, 2011) or Fermented Mixed Vegetables (Nov 27, 2011), and you have a complete meal in a traditional style of Asian home cooking. Don’t be shy to mix all the food together!