Q: I read that the National Institutes of Health has changed the recommendations about delaying the introduction of foods known to cause allergies. What do the experts say about the introduction of peanuts? K.C., Greenville

A: Theres been quite a bit of press given to the news that early exposure (in the first year of life) to peanuts might help keep some babies from developing peanut allergies. Researchers are finding that the trend for parents to avoid exposing their infant to peanuts, while well intentioned, might not have been the right way to avoid developing an allergy. Zachary Blom, a third-year Brody medical student, wants to explain this situation. Here is what he wants you to know.

People with food allergies must avoid certain foods and constantly check ingredients on anything they order. Failure to do so can result in rash, itching, stomach pain, vomiting, diarrhea and feelings of impending doom. It can also cause a life-threatening anaphylactic reaction where the throat and upper airways swell, the face may puff up and the person may have progressive difficulty breathing. It can progress to the point of death if the person is not treated quickly with something like an EpiPen injection to fight off the allergic reaction or a trip to the emergency department of the hospital.

Food allergies are very common in the United States, affecting up to 15 million Americans and 1 out of every 13 children. And they are becoming more and more common. Some experts suggest part of the increase is due to well-intentioned advice from specialists that may have contributed to the increase.

The Centers for Disease Control released a study in 2013 that showed food allergies have increased by around 50 percent from 1997 to 2011. The exact cause for the rise in food allergies has yet to be determined. Society has taken steps to make it easier for people with allergies to avoid their allergen. If a major allergen milk, egg, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, wheat, peanuts or soybeans is likely to be in a food product, it must be listed on the ingredient label. Peanut allergies have been particularly problematic due to the life-threatening potential, and actions have been taken like banning them from schools and airplanes.

Out of some of that research, new recommendations have come from the National Institutes of Health. These guidelines are based on recently conducted clinical trials named LEAP or Learning Early About Peanut Allergy. The results were published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The results show that early exposure can significantly reduce peanut allergies lifelong for up to four out of five kids.

Its important to talk with your childs doctor before introducing any peanut products into their diet. Based on the findings, your doctor may choose to conduct allergy testing in order to determine the best and safest way to introduce peanut products into your childs diet. If your child has eczema (a skin condition) or other allergies (such as egg allergy), it is particularly important to talk to your childs doctor first.

You can ask your doctor to explain these recommendations:

1) Children with severe eczema or egg allergies are recommended to start peanut-containing foods at 4-6 months old, and continue eating these products throughout early childhood.

2) Children with mild to moderate eczema are recommended to start peanut-containing foods around 6 months old, and continue eating these products throughout early childhood.

3) Children without eczema or food allergies should start peanut-containing foods soon after introduction of other solid foods into their diet, and continue eating these products throughout early childhood.

Your doctor can suggest easy ways to introduce peanuts to your childs diet safely.Although instructions for presenting peanuts to your infant and children can be found on the web, we do not recommend you do so without getting clear instructions from your child's pediatrician.

Professor emeritus Kathy Kolasa, a registered dietitian nutritionist and Ph.D., is an Affiliate Professor in the Brody School of Medicine at ECU. Contact her at kolasaka@ecu.edu.

Link:
Peanut allergies - Greenville Daily Reflector

"We announced back in April that we are moving ahead with the project. Its now in design. Were moving ahead," city spokeswoman Marlene Feist says. "We're not going back to this discussion again."

That doesn't mean that the opponents to the lane reduction are giving up. If anything, they're upping their rhetoric, attempting to attach a political price to supporters of the North Monroe road diet project.

The Monroe Street Business Association has put up a billboard urging voters to "Remember in November!" that Councilmembers Breean Beggs and Candace Mumm "do not support business" and that they "advocate wasteful spending."

"We're just putting councilmembers on notice who dont believe in businesses that they're going to have a hard time getting re-elected in the fall," says Gary Jarvis, president of the Monroe Street Business Association, a group that formed in opposition to the lane reduction. For more than a year, they've been warning of traffic jams and shuttered businesses if the five lanes on that section of Monroe are reduced to three.

The billboard is just north of the corner of Monroe Street and Northwest Boulevard, above Bellwether Brewing which is one of the businesses ardently backing the Monroe Street road diet.

But here's the thing: Beggs whose first name is spelled wrong on the sign and Mumm didn't technically vote for the Monroe Street lane reduction.

"Its an administration initiative. The council hasnt proposed or led or asked to vote on anything," Beggs says. "All I can imagine is whoever paid for [the billboard] is not happy, and were the two who are up for election."

Rather, it was the city's staff who decided to apply for the $4.1 million grant to make the section of Monroe safer. Mumm notes that, because of the ensuing controversy, the council passed a rule requiring council approval before pursuing such a grant. And it was the city administration, not the council, that decided to move forward on the project over objections from some businesses.

"I know they're disappointed," Mumm says about opponents of the projects. "They would like it would be an up or down [vote]... But the council has never voted on any individual street projects like that."

Yet it's a misconception that has even spread to supporters of the Monroe Street lane reduction. (Thank you for voting for the North Monroe Street diet, Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council co-chair Tim Musser said at last night's city council meeting.)

It's not as if either Beggs or Mumm passionately opposed the lane reduction, either. Both are largely supportive of it, though they also recognize genuine concerns of some of the nearby businesses.

"I dont want to see anybody else die on Monroe. I dont want to see anybody else injured on Monroe," Mumm says. "Public safety is paramount."

Similarly, while Beggs has concerns about the impact of the construction on local businesses, he feels the long-term results will be positive.

"I think one thing people forget is that its only for a few blocks. Its really a very short segment," Beggs says. "It seems like it's more of a fear-based opposition than a data-based opposition."

Supporters, including several younger business owners, point to the variety of other improvements associated with the project, including wider sidewalks, street trees, and more spacious parking spots.

In particular, Mumm is bothered by the allegation she's anti-business.

"They have to understand that my family was one of the very first businesses on Monroe," Mumm says. "My parents opened the Taco Time in 1966. Monroe was very vibrant. We could walk across the street safely."

She says she went door-to-door to involve businesses in the discussions around the Monroe Street lane reduction.

"After we heard from business owners who had concerns, we formed a task group with the administration," Mumm says. "We met many times trying to coordinate their concerns with the project."

While the city opted to move forward with the project despite the fears of some businesses and property owners, Feist says that the city's design engineers will be talking to individual property owners to make sure the impact on businesses will be minimal. Both Beggs and Mumm say they want to look for ways to protect businesses from lost sales during construction.

Just yesterday, Mumm says, she met with the mayor to discuss the issue.

"The goal is to try to keep the disruption to any business to less than two months," Mumm says. " We need to try to make sure pedestrian access is allowed almost the entire time if possible."

Meanwhile, there appears to be at least one campaign-finance problem with the billboard.

According to the Public Disclosure Commission, such a billboard clearly targeting two members of political office is required to have, at minimum, a name and an address explaining who the billboard is sponsored by. The Monroe Street billboard doesn't.

Kim Bradford, spokeswoman for the PDC, says that Jarvis' group would also have to report the spending in some way, whether by reporting it as an electioneering communication, independent expenditure or in-kind contribution to Beggs' or Mumm's primary opponents.

For now, Jarvis declines to get into the details about the strategy surrounding the billboard. Instead, he teases the idea that the billboard won't be the only tactic his anti-lane-reduction group will pursue in the coming weeks.

"Just in the next few weeks, there's a whole lot of new stuff coming out thats fun and exciting," Jarvis says. "We do have some pretty big things coming down the pipeline. Im sure you ll see it. It wont be long."

Read this article:
Councilmembers Beggs and Mumm never voted on Monroe lane reduction but billboard targets them anyway - Pacific Northwest Inlander (blog)

Moles arent easy to love

Moles arent easy to love. They exist largely out of our view, tunneling underground, pushing up excavated soil into volcanic-shaped mounds in our lawn and gardens. They dont eat plants. Mole have beautiful fur that allows them to go backwards or forwards in their tunnels. But their tunneling damages plants in several ways. Tunnels create zones of excessive aeration where roots dry from poor soil contact. Some woody plants with shallow root systems like blueberries and rhododendrons are especially damaged by tunneling. Many other woody plants with deeper root systems are not affected at all. Some might even be helped in our denser clay soils with the improved drainage. Lawns tunneled by moles will show dried out areas as well as the mounds.

But vegetables and moles do not play well together. Tunneling under germinating seeds or transplants can cause rapid wilting which, if not caught in time, can quickly kill plants. Ironically, as we target our watering more precisely with drip or soaker hoses, we create a great environment for earthworms. And moles live for earthworms. They tunnel up one row and down another, eating happily, unaware of the damage they are causing. Earthworms constitute more than 75% of their diet. Centipedes, slugs, ants, spiders, various pupa and larva, and other juicy insects fill out their menu.

Moles arent congenial. Since food resources can be scarce, their attitude is necessary.

They have waxy secretions that define their territories and other moles who miss the notice are attacked. Breeding is a brief togetherness experiment but raising mole babies (one litter of 2 or 3 per year) is done by the female alone. At about 38 days, she kicks her babies out of her runway system to find their own home. Most moles lose their life to predation in this very dangerous above ground adventure. Once underground, they are quite protected (except from rubber boas, which we have but are in short supply, and some dogs and cats).

The other issue with moles is that field mice (also known as voles) will readily use mole runways for protection and ease of movement. Unfortunately, voles love to eat plants. They have a wide culinary range including the roots of some weeds (good) and roots of some crops like carrots, beets, potato tubers, etc. (bad). Voles also gnaw stems and roots of woody plants (apple and other fruit trees as well as a number of ornamental trees) which can kill or weaken them. Reducing mole numbers will eventually reduce vole numbers as well.

Mole management will be the main subject of the next column. Just so you know, it isnt easy. If you have any tricks, email them to me at chip.bubl@oregonstate.edu or call me at 503 397-3462.

Weed management and identification class at the Oregon State University Extension office in St. Helens

There will be a Weed Management and ID class held at the Oregon State University Extension office in St. Helens on Monday, June 19th from 6:30 pm until 8:00 pm. The class will focus on garden and landscape weeds and some of the techniques, tools, and herbicides that can help you manage them. Participants are encouraged to bring some weeds for identification. There will be ample time for questions. The class is free and open to the public. For more information, call the Extension office at 503 397-3462.

OSU 4-H Adventure Evenings

From our 4-H Agent, Woody Davis: This summer we are starting something NEW, 4-H Adventure Evenings. They will be held on Friday evenings in a local park and will have some type of theme. Each evening will have an Open Grill, you bring the meat/main course for your family and a second dish to share with others. The first one will be June 16th at McCormick Park in St Helens. Theme: Friday Nite Flights (Disc Golf). You are welcome to bring your own Disc or I will have some that you can borrow. The grill and food will be ready at 6pmsh and Disc Golf will begin about 7:15pm, we will be done by 8:30pm. Please bring your own dinner service and condiments for your food. The purpose is to have FUN with your family and to bring a friend to enjoy the 4-H Program. So, mark your calendar, invite a friend and plan to attend. Call 503 397-3462 for more information.

2017 OSU Extension Canning Classes

Come learn how to safely preserve foods from your garden this season! Participants will practice making and canning recipes in the kitchen, and will process a jar to take home. Space is limited, so call soon to reserve your spot! Pre-registration is required.

Where: Columbia Soil and Water Conservation District

35285 Millard Road, St. Helens, OR 97051

When (all classes 9 a.m.-12 p.m.)

Friday July 7th ~ Canning Fruits and Pie Fillings

Friday July 21st ~ Pickling Vegetables and Fruits

Friday August 4th ~ Pressure Canning Vegetables and Meats

Friday August 18th ~ Canning Tomatoes and Salsa

Cost: $25 per class or $80 if you register for all 4 classes

Scholarships are also available

Read the original here:
Garden Plots - St. Helens Chronicle

Summer salads: Green French lentil salad with carrots and walnuts

Green French lentil salad (Photos by: Jean-Mark Sens)

Green French lentil salad (Photos by: Jean-Mark Sens)

Green French Lentil Salad with carrots and walnut and Sherry vinegar dressing

For at least 6 large servings

French lentils are not especially farinaceous and should be cooked just till tender. If overcooked, they lose their shape and become mush. I always make a large quantity of this lentil salad--first served warm and then later refrigerated and brought to room temperature. It makes almost two different salads for the same time to prep. Lentils can be kept safely under refrigeration for five days.

Once a rarity, French green lentils are getting easier to find and come under the name of French (green) lentils or Du Puy, which refer to the French region Puy de Dome where the authentic French lentils are supposed to have originated. I also give a quick version of this recipe at the end that sacrifices some of the flavors for a shorter process that is quite remarkable, especially if you intend to serve this salad warm as an accompaniment to a main course or mixed with fresh grape tomatoes, which makes a very healthy fare. Lentils along with beans are rich in dietary fiber and have been promoted as an important part of a balanced diet (half a cup of cooked lentils alone provides most of your daily amount of folacin and lentils are rich in iron and magnesium).

Ingredients:

French lentils: 1 cups

Vegetable broth: 4 cups

Carrots: 1 fresh bunch (5-6 count medium size), cut x x

Garlic: 3 cloves (to taste)

Red onion: 1 minced brunoise

Parsley: chopped (can use some fronds from fresh carrots too)

Bay leaves: 3

Thyme: de-stemmed, 1 tablespoon (reserve for end of cooking)

Cloves: 3

Medium shallot: 1 sliced fine

Honey: up to 1 tablespoon

Coarse ground black pepper: to taste

Salt: if needed, and only after lentils are cooked

3 Tablespoons Walnut or Hazelnut oilolive oil as substitute

2 to 3 Tablespoons Sherry Vinegar/ Champagne vinegar

Directions:

Saut red onion till soft and translucent in pan large enough to hold lentils and broth.

Add garlic. A bit after adding the garlic, add the broth, the spices, the dried herbs, and then lentils. Let this all cook slowly till tender (45 minutes/ 1 hour). When ready add fresh thyme.

In the meantime, wash the carrots. Slice them on the bias inch, spread in a pan and merely cover with some veggie stock or water. When halfway cooked, drizzle some honey over carrots and continue to cook until they aretender but still firm. Put carrots aside.

Drain lentils and pour liquid from cooking into hot pan used to cook carrots.

Reduce heat until paste forms.

Deglaze with Sherry vinegar and set aside

In pan, mix together carrots, lentils, and thinly sliced shallots.

Whisk oil with paste and pour over lentil mixture. Let cool and adjust taste.

Eat cold or slightly warm.

You may serve lentils salads in a bowl with some fresh thyme on top, or cupped into green leaves for presentation.

Quick version:

Lightly saut garlic, add onions and cook untiltranslucent.

Add sliced carrots on the bias,

Add lentils, broth, dried herbs, and spices

Cook for 45 minutes or until tender.

Add shallots and vinegarcook a little bit further untilshallots are full cooked. Add liquid if needed. Add fresh thyme.

Adjust taste, olive oil, pepper

Serve slightly warm or cold.

Jean-Mark Sens grew up in France and Belgium and has been living in the Southern UnitedStates of America for the past 25 years, except for a short stint in the deep East of Maine, whichbrought him back to New Orleans. He has taught culinary arts at the Chef John Folse CulinaryInstitute, Eastern Maine Community College and more recently for Mississippi University forWomen on the Gulf Coast, and also works with the Goldring Centre for Culinary Medicine inNew Orleans. He has published a collection of poetry, Appetite, with Red Hen Press. The presentrecipes are part of Leafy Greens and Sundry Things, a book on the arts and technique ofcomposing salads in need of a publisher.

View post:
Summer salads: Green French lentil salad with carrots and walnuts - NolaVie

Chris Weidner Wicked Gravity

Alex Honnold and I shared a table at the Trident Cafe on Pearl Street. I ordered a double espresso. He had water.

"Soloing goes with being a total loser," he told me at the time, back in 2007. "I have no social skills. You show up at a crag with no friends and you do your thing."

Free-soloing climbing alone, no ropes, no gear made sense to Alex from the beginning. He was 19 when his father (and sole belayer) died from a heart attack. "All of a sudden I had the opportunity," he said.

"Do you think you'll free-solo El Cap?" I asked (I recorded our conversation for a climbing magazine profile).

"No," he replied. But then a smile betrayed him, and his eyes grew wide. "I mean, I think I'd love to someday because like, how rad would that be?" He sounded giddy. "I mean, that would be so cool! You could probably climb it in four hours."

A decade later, on June 3, he did exactly that. Well ... just about.

It took precisely three hours and 56 minutes for Alex to free-solo Freerider (5.12d, 3,000 feet) on El Capitan an ascent that has been called not only the greatest achievement in rock climbing, but a mental performance that transcends climbing, sports and even our imagination.

That he predicted his time within four minutes 10 years ago astounds me. It also reminds me that Alex has been fantasizing about and, later, obsessively planning, the world's boldest climb for a long time.

Free-soloing is simple, minimal. It's like an extension of Alex's personality. He shuns caffeine and alcohol. He eats a vegetarian diet. He owns relatively few possessions. He donates a full third of his income to humanitarian and environmental causes.

And he's critical of anyone who doesn't share his uncompromising views. For Alex, it's all or nothing. Just like he climbs.

Filmmaker Jimmy Chin embraces Alex Honnold moments after he safely topped out El Capitan. (Sam Crossley / Courtesy photo)

In mid-November 2016 he left the ground on Freerider, intending to free-solo the entire route. A few hundred feet up, on an insecure move, he hesitated. Five seconds passed they must have felt like minutes then he grabbed a bolt. I'm not into this, he thought, before retreating down fixed lines.

The next day he told me his foot had "felt weird" from a recent ankle sprain (when, roped, he had slipped off near where he had bailed.). The camera crews had added unwanted pressure, distracting him. "It needs to be more my thing instead of such a f***ing junk show, you know?"

For as much flak as Alex gets for having a so-called "death wish," he's the most calculated climber I've known. He broods over details of an important ascent to the point of infatuation. He admits to being "somewhere on the autism spectrum."

In a June 5 article for outsideonline.com, Tommy Caldwell wrote, "I don't claim to understand the inner workings of Alex's mind, but I know one thing for certain: Alex climbs to live, not to cheat death."

At 5:32 a.m. on June 3, Alex, again, set off by himself up Freerider wearing pants and a T-shirt with a light hoody tied around his waist. In his pockets he carried a chocolate chip Zbar and his iPhone, which shuffled "gnarly hate rock tracks" from bands like Sum 41 and Godsmack.

By all accounts, Alex locked into his signature headspace: poised, unflappable. He climbed as if his toes and fingertips were magnetically attracted to El Cap's smooth granite.

Two thousand feet up the wall he flowed through Freerider's hardest moves a tenuous section he had rehearsed ad nauseam. He said he felt "slightly tense" but "surprisingly good."

Above this, his pace exploded. He practically ran up vertical cracks and corners, oblivious to the paralyzing exposure, and into the limelight.

"What's next?" people always ask him.

The short answer is: solitude. He has already escaped to the Ruth Glacier in central Alaska to attempt a major first free (not free-solo) ascent. Though, for once, he's more psyched to relax than to climb.

"I hope the weather's bad the whole time," he said, only half-joking. "I'm stoked to read my books and just disappear."

Contact Chris Weidner at cweidner8@gmail.com

Read more here:
Chris Weidner: The outrageous simplicity of Alex Honnold, the world's boldest climber - Boulder Daily Camera