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I love the change of seasons and my favorite autumn sight in Beijing is the transformation of the Ginkgo biloba (yin xing) trees as they prepare for a chilly winter.

In the next few weeks a golden ochre color will work its way from the outer edge of the tree\’s fan-shaped leaves toward the stem. The tree will stay a glowing mass of gold for a few days and then dramatically and simultaneously, the leaves will fall.

This picturesque scene is often accompanied by a far less romantic odor as the ripened berries from the female trees also fall to the ground. They emit an indescribably putrid smell due to a particular acid in their fleshy outer layer that is also found in rancid butter, vomit and body odor. That would explain it.

Amazingly this smell does not deter many Chinese people who journey to ginkgo-lined avenues at this time of year to collect these prized fruits. Once the soft, stinky flesh is removed, a hard brown shell is revealed which houses the edible white ginkgo nut (bai guo).

If handling the fresh fruit yourself, ensure you wear gloves to remove the flesh as it may cause contact dermatitis.

At the moment, ginkgo nuts can be bought fresh from some food markets in Beijing but they are more commonly available either dried or canned in Chinese supermarkets.

If buying them fresh, ensure they are roasted or cooked before being eaten because they may be toxic uncooked.

In Chinese cuisine they may be roasted and served as snacks or added to a variety of soups, stews and congees.

Buddha\’s Delight (luohan zhai) is a sumptuous vegetarian dish which includes ginkgo nuts among various ingredients, such as bamboo shoots, wood ear fungus, lily buds, starch noodles, tofu, water chestnuts, carrots, cabbages and black mushrooms.

In Japan, ginkgo nuts are embedded in a dish called \”chawanmushi\”, a steamed savory egg custard that may also include prawns, chicken and vegetables.

Ginkgo nuts have a high starch content and are low in fat, with a 30 g portion providing around 30 kcal. They have a mealy, bean-like texture and a bland, slightly sweet flavor.

They are thought to boost blood supply around the body and reduce the blood\’s stickiness. They may also counteract the effect of harmful free radicals when they enter the body and may affect chemicals that alter nerve control.

Moreover, the extract from ginkgo leaves has in recent years become an increasingly popular alternative medicine supplement across the world.

Typically it is used to protect against or treat dementia and Alzheimer\’s disease but it may also be prescribed for depression, anxiety, concentration problems, tinnitus and headaches.

Anecdotal and historical accounts of the efficacy of ginkgo, especially in relation to dementia and Alzheimer\’s, abound but scientific evidence is far less conclusive. The Cochrane Database, a collaboration which carries out large systematic reviews of research trials, concluded in 2006 that ginkgo was safe to use for dementia and cognitive decline compared to a placebo, but that evidence that is has \”predictable or clinically significant benefits is inconsistent and unconvincing\”.

In light of a dearth of well- designed studies, the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (US) is currently carrying out a large scale 8-year study involving 3,000 subjects due for completion in July 2009.

Meanwhile, there is one other thing to bear in mind. According to traditional Chinese medicine, ginkgo is considered an aphrodisiac and so it may be a useful addition to your store cupboard!

 (China Daily September 24, 2008)

Sticking strictly to a Mediterranean diet rich in fruits and vegetables offers substantial protection against cancer, heart disease and other major chronic illnesses, Italian researchers say. People who did this had a 9 percent drop in death from heart disease, a 13 percent reduction in incidence of Parkinson\’s and Alzheimer\’s disease and a 6 percent reduction in cancer compared to those who were not as diligent, their study found.

(China Daily September 17, 2008）

Hearty fare abounds in Inner Mongolia autonomous region where even during the summer months, overnight temperatures on the grasslands plummet to low single figures. A recent trip up north allowed me a brief foray into this stomach lining cuisine.

The traditional lifestyle of the nomadic Mongolian herdsman meant a heavy reliance on animal products – meat and dairy products. Starchy staples included wheat, barley, oats and millet in the form of noodles, dumplings and fried grain.

Visitors traversing the Mongolian grasslands today can develop an aversion to the omnipresence of mutton – which features at every meal and scents every yurt. Nevertheless, the quality of the Mongolian meat – thanks to months of the animals chomping on the vast green pastures and drinking fresh water – cannot be disputed.

Free range, grass-fed animals also have a higher content of omega-3 fatty acids in their meat and milk versus those that are barn-fed.

On special occasions, or when wealthy tourists splash out, whole lambs are stuffed with spices and roasted until golden over an open fire (kao quan yang).

The family we stayed with said a whole lamb fetches around 1,000 yuan ($147) in the market, so understandably this is not an everyday dish.

More commonly, mutton is served as shouba rou – boiled mutton eaten by hand. The mutton, usually from the leg of the lamb, is placed in an iron pot with water and no seasoning and boiled until tender. Once cooked, it is sliced off with a knife and may be dipped into spices or seasoning before being eaten by hand.

Lamb is also minced with vegetables, such as onion and carrot, and used as filling for wheat wrappers to make dumplings known as shaomai. These are then pinched into the shape of pomegranates before being boiled or steamed for a few minutes.

To my mind, Mongolian Hot Pot (huo guo) is one of the region\’s most supreme and more balanced meals (depending on the fattiness of the meat you select). Unlike hot pot from other Chinese regions, it lacks the burning spice but is packed with a melange of flavors. Wafer thin slices of mutton, lamb, tofu, greens, noodles and mushrooms can be selected to blanch in the soup.

Dipping sauces of sesame may or may not be provided. Branches of the Mongolian franchise Little Sheep (Xiao Fei Yang) can be found in major Chinese cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen and as far afield as the US and Canada.

The traditional use of milk foods (known as \”white food\”) in Mongolian cuisine is in contrast to other parts of China which tend to avoid dairy foods. Mongolians have traditionally made use of milk from the five domestic animals they usually keep – sheep, cows, goats, camels and horses.

Dried milk curds are baked in the sun during the summer to make aarul for the winter; the milk from female horses is fermented to produce aireg; and a sour yoghurt called tarag is made. Another typical food is a hard dried cheese called eetsigii.

Milk is a staple drink, served with most meals. In contrast to the recent fad for sickly sweet milk tea seen in many Chinese cities, Mongolian tea is seasoned with salt. Brick tea is brewed with water in a pan, and once good and strong, sheep\’s or cow\’s milk is added along with a pinch of salt. The milk tea is ladled in bowls. At breakfast and other meals, various forms of bread or you bing (fried pancakes) are dipped into the tea.

Undoubtedly, Mongolian cuisine is high in fat and overall calories, but if you aim to match your consumption of Mongolian goodies with physical activity to rival a Mongolian herdsman, then all should be well!

This nutrition-related column is written by Nina Lenton, a qualified dietitian living and working in Beijing. Contact her at nina_lenton@hotmail.com.

(China Daily September 17, 2008)

The Los Angeles City Council unanimously approved a plan on Wednesday, requiring large chain restaurants in the city to provide nutritional information on printed menus and menu boards.

Under the plan, Los Angles chain restaurants which have 15 or more locations across California would have to provide basic nutritional information per item on menu boards.

Last month, the California Assembly approved proposition SB 1420, under which restaurants with 20 or more locations in the state would have to post calorie information on their menus and menu boards.

If Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signs the bill, which would take full effect in 2011, California would be the first state to require restaurant chains to show calorie counts of their menu offerings.

Los Angeles City Councilman Jose Huizar, who authored the motion, said the city will only enact a local ordinance if Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger does not sign the proposition.

The governor has said he will not sign any new bills until the Legislature agrees on a state budget.

\”We thought it was of great importance to move forward and not wait for Sacramento to act,\” Huizar said. \”This ordinance will simply give families the same kind of nutritional information they get when they shop at a supermarket.\” Sacramento is the capital of California.

But Huizar did not say when the local ordinance would take effect.

The California Restaurant Association supports SB 1420.

\”Restaurants have been voluntarily providing nutritional information to their customers in a variety of ways for years,\” said Jot Condie, president and chief executive officer of the trade group.

The state bill would require 17,000 chain restaurants to provide information on calories, grams of saturated fat, grams of trans fat, carbohydrates and milligrams of sodium per item.

But opponents said the bill would add a burden to restaurants and do no good to diners.

\”It\’s an imposition on restaurants, including added costs, when most people who are managing their weight know pretty well how many calories are involved,\” said Republican Senator Bob Margett who opposed the bill.

(Xinhua News Agency September 11, 2008)

One of the most beautiful and beneficial fruits of autumn is the glossy orange-red persimmon. TCM says it\’s a \’cold\’ food that can clear heat, help lower blood pressure and brighten the complexion.

Persimmons (shi zi) have played a part in traditional Chinese medicine for more than 2,000 years: Its flesh, leaves and stem are all good for you. The bright reddish fruit shaped like round Chinese lanterns are often given as lucky presents to newlyweds to symbolize eternal love.

According to TCM, persimmons are loaded with cold yin energy and thus are potent in expelling pathogenic heat. They are loaded with antioxidants, vitamins A, C, phosphorous, manganese, iodine and other elements. They are rich in fiber and calories. Applying fresh peel to your face can lighten and brighten the complexion.

There are many varieties the best persimmons come on the market from September to November. They are best eaten fully ripe.

TCM says the juicy, \’cold\’ energy persimmon can help promote fluids, nourish the lungs, dispel pathogenic heat, reduce internal bleeding and blood clots and aid the digestive system. It\’s good for hangovers and hemorrhoids too. The iodine content can help goiter patients.

TCM practitioner Wang Shixiong in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) wrote in \’Suixiju Yinshi Pu\’ (\’Recipe of Suixiju\’) that fresh persimmons can nourish the yin energy in the lungs and stomach it can treat insufficient fluid and excessive internal heat.

Persimmons are used to treat persistent cough caused by pathogenic heat in the lungs, diarrhea due to a weak digestive system, high blood pressure, hardening of the arteries, and blood in phlegm, urine and stool.

Unlike apples, fresh persimmon is not available year round. Dried persimmon, however, can be consumed for six months if kept away from sunshine and damp. It\’s made into shi bing or persimmon cake.

According to TCM classic \’Ben Cao Gang Mu\’ (\’Compendium of Materia Medica\’) written by Li Shizhen in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), persimmon cake can help dissolve internal blood clots, benefit the spleen and stomach, relieve coughing and dissolve phlegm, stop bleeding, quench thirst and kill parasites. Eating it often can relieve patches of pigmentation.

Persimmon cakes are always covered with white \’frost.\’ This isn\’t mold, it\’s the glucose and fructose that has evaporated out and crystalized while the fruit dried. Cakes are used as medicines like fresh fruit.

Apart from the fruit, drinking tea from stems and leaves can help relieve hiccoughs and coughing. Frequently drinking persimmon leaf tea can help lower blood pressure and treat hardening of the arteries.

Some don\’ts: since it\’s a \’cold\’ food, \’cold\’ people shouldn\’t eat too much as it can cause diarrhea. Diabetics should beware of its high sugar content. Anemia patients should know that the high tannin content may inhibit iron absorption chronic gastritis sufferers should avoid it as tannin can upset the stomach.

If you eat persimmons, eat them after meals and peel them, since most of the tannic acid is in the peel. Eating them on an empty stomach is not advised as excessive consumption can cause stones.

No one should eat more than three at a time because they contain so much \’cold\’ energy. Don\’t eat persimmons with sauerkraut, black dates, crab, goose, eggs, sweet potato, and vinegar.

Gargle and clean your teeth after eating persimmon lest the tannic acid, pectin and sugar damage your teeth.

(Shanghai Daily September 9, 2008)

Drinking a bowl of cold sweet mung bean soup every day is a Chinese habit in summer – it\’s a delicious dessert and a \”cold\” (yin energy) treat to cool down your system in the heat.

According to traditional Chinese medicine, the tiny green mung beans (lu dou) eaten as soup or congee can expel toxins.

Beans are among the super-nutritious foods, and mung beans are among the best.

Rich in protein, fiber and good carbohydrates, calcium, phosphorus, iron, and vitamins.

According to TCM, since mung beans are \”cold\” (yin), they help dispel internal heat, clear away toxins, promote urination and relieve hot weather ailments and rashes.

Li Shizhen, a pharmacologist in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), identified medical functions of mung beans and recorded them in \”Ben Cao Gang Mu\” (\”Compendium of Materia Medica\”), a classic of TCM pharmacopoeia.

Li said the little cooked bean could help relieve edema, clear internal heat and toxins, relieve heat stroke and thirst, calm the nerves, reinforce yuan qi (original energy), harmonize the organs and nourish the skin.

Mung beans can be ground into powder for internal or external use, treating skin ulcers and burns by expelling toxins. Mung bean starch is also made into glass noodles.

Mung bean skin helps dispel pathogenic heat and improve eyesight. Mung bean sprouts are said to help relieve alcoholic intoxication.

Mung bean soup and congee are the conventional ways to eat the bean, but how you cook it is important.

As the bean skin helps expel pathogenic heat, don\’t overcook.

Wash the beans, bring them to a quick boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Done. The soup is clear and green. You can drink the soup and leave the beans.

If you want more effective detoxification, you should eat the bean itself.

Soak washed beans in hot water for 20 minutes. Make soup, cooking until the beans are soft and liquid is cloudy. Then eat the beans and the soup.

This helps dispel toxins by acting as a diuretic. Eating mung beans regularly can help relieve high blood pressure, high cholesterol and hardening of the arteries, TCM practitioners say.

Mung beans are good for most people – most people have \”neutral\” constitutions.

However, if you are \”cold\” (too much yin energy), suffer from cold extremities or diarrhea, don\’t overdo the mung beans. They can aggravate the cold and cause other ailments. Light congee is advised.

People with digestive problems should avoid mung beans because they are very high in protein and may be difficult to digest. As they expel toxins, mung beans may decrease the effectiveness of some medicine.

Don\’t eat mung beans less than half an hour before or after taking TCM or Western medicine.

Mung beans and honeysuckle soup

Ingredients:

Mung beans (100g), honeysuckle (30g)

Preparation:

1. Soak washed beans in hot water for 20 minutes.

2. Make soup, cooking until beans are soft.

3. Add honeysuckle, cook for a few minutes at low heat.

Function:

Dispels toxins, prevents, relieves heat rash.

Mung bean and jellyfish soup

Ingredients:

Mung beans (50g), jellyfish (50g)

Preparation:

1. Soak washed beans in hot water for 20 minutes, jellyfish in cold water for 20 minutes.

2. Make soup, cooking until beans are soft.

Function:

Dispels toxins, relieves high blood pressure and coughing.

(Shanghai Daily July 26, 2008)

A few portions of broccoli each week may protect men from prostate cancer, British researchers said as quoted by media reports Wednesday.

The researchers took tissue samples in the long-term study and found that men who ate broccoli regularly showed hundreds of changes in genes known to play a role in fighting prostate cancer.

\”When people get cancer some genes are switched off and some are switched on, what broccoli seems to be doing is switching on genes which prevent cancer developing and switching off other ones that help it spread.\” said Richard Mithen, a biologist at Britain\’s Institute of Food Research.

The benefit would likely be the same in other cruciferous vegetables that contain a compound called isothiocyanate, including Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage, rocket or arugula, watercress and horse radish.

\”You don\’t need a huge change in your diet, just a few more portions makes a big difference,\” researchers added.

Prostate is the second-leading cancer killer of men after lung cancer. Each year, some 680,000 men worldwide are diagnosed with the disease and about 220,000 die from it.

(Agencies via Xinhua July 2, 2008)

Drinking up to six cups of coffee a day might not lead to early death but rather help the heart, especially for women, a new study has showed.

The findings were published in the June 17 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine, published by the American College of Physicians.

\”Our results suggest that long-term, regular coffee consumption does not increase the risk of death and probably has several beneficial effects on health,\” said leading researcher Dr. Esther Lopez-Garcia, assistant professor of preventive medicine at the Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain.

Lopez-Garcia stressed that the findings may only hold true for healthy people.

\”People with any disease or condition should ask their doctor about their risks, because caffeine still has an acute effect on short-term increase of blood pressure,\” she said.

The Spanish team looked at data of nearly 42,000 U.S. men who participated in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study from 1986 to 2004 and more than 84,000 U.S. women who had participated in the Nurse Health Study from 1980 to 2004 to assess relationships between coffee drinking and the risks of dying from heart disease, cancer, or any cause. All participants were free of heart disease and cancer at the start of the study.

The participants completed questionnaires every two to four years, including information about their coffee drinking, other dietary habits, smoking and health conditions.

The research team looked at the frequency of death from any cause, death due to heart disease, and death due to cancer among people with different coffee-drinking habits, comparing them to those who didn\’t drink the brew with other risk factors, including diet, smoking and body size under control.

The researchers found that women who drank two or three cups of caffeinated coffee daily had a 25 percent lower risk of death from heart disease during the follow-up than non-drinkers. Women also had an 18-percent lower death risk from a cause other than cancer or heart disease compared with non-coffee drinkers.

For men, drinking two to three cups of caffeinated coffee daily was a \”wash\” — not associated with either an increased or a decreased risk of death during the follow up.

The lower death rate was mainly due to a lower risk for heart disease deaths, the researchers found, while no link was discovered for coffee drinking and cancer deaths. The relationship did not seem to be directly related to caffeine, according to the researchers, since those who drank decaffeinated coffee also had a lower death rate than those who didn\’t drink either kind of coffee.

In the past, studies have come up with mixed results on the health effects of coffee, with some finding coffee increased the risk of death and others not.

More recently, research has found coffee drinking linked to a lower risk of type 2 diabetes and some cancers while preventing the development of cardiovascular disease, Lopez-Garcia said.

The strength of her current study, she said, is based on the large number of participants and long follow-up period.

(Xinhua News Agency June 18, 2008)

Babies younger than six months old should never be given water to drink, physicians at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center in Baltimore remind parents. Consuming too much water can put babies at risk of a potentially life-threatening condition known as water intoxication.

“Even when they’re very tiny, they have an intact thirst reflex or a drive to drink,” Dr. Jennifer Anders, a pediatric emergency physician at the center, told Reuters Health. “When they have that thirst and they want to drink, the fluid they need to drink more of is their breast milk or formula.”

Because babies’ kidneys aren’t yet mature, giving them too much water causes their bodies to release sodium along with excess water, Anders said. Losing sodium can affect brain activity, so early symptoms of water intoxication can include irritability, drowsiness and other mental changes. Other symptoms include low body temperature (generally 97 degrees or less), puffiness or swelling in the face, and seizures.

“It’s a sneaky kind of a condition,” Anders said. Early symptoms are subtle, so seizures may be the first symptom a parent notices. But if a child gets prompt medical attention, the seizures will probably not have lasting consequences, she added.

Water as a beverage should be completely off limits to babies six months old and younger, Anders and her colleagues say. Parents should also avoid using over-diluted formula, or pediatric drinks containing electrolytes.

Anders said it may be appropriate in some cases to give older infants a small amount of water; for example to help with constipation or in very hot weather, but parents should always check with their pediatrician before doing so, and should only give the baby an ounce or two of water at a time.

If a parent thinks their child may have water intoxication, or if an infant as a seizure, they should seek medical attention immediately, she advised.

(Agencies via China Daily May 26, 2008)

At this rate, scientists will have to come up with a better description for the tomato than mere ’superfood’.

While it has long been credited with cutting cholesterol and preventing some cancers, the fruit now appears to have two more healthgiving benefits.

Protection against sunburn and helping keep the skin looking youthful are the latest pluses, a study has found.

Professor Mark Birch-Machin said tomatoes could provide a cheap and easy way of improving health.

“I went into the study as a sceptic,” he added. “But I was quite surprised with the significance of the findings.”

Researchers at Manchester and Newcastle universities recommend two tomato-based meals a day for optimum health.

Possible menus include a glass of tomato juice with breakfast and a salad later or tomato soup for lunch and pasta with a tomato sauce for dinner.

To test the fruit’s ability to protect the skin, ten volunteers were asked to eat five tablespoons of tomato paste mixed with olive oil every day for three months.

Another ten had a daily dose of olive oil – minus the tomato paste.

Tests using ultra-violet lamps showed the tomato-eaters were a third better protected against sunburn at the end of the study than at the start, the British Society for Investigative Dermatology’s annual conference heard.

Other tests suggested the tomato-based diet had boosted production of collagen, the protein that keeps skin supple.

If that were not enough, the fruit also protects our mitochondria – the elements of cells which turn the food we eat into energy.

Professor Birch-Machin, of Newcastle University, said: “Being kind to our mitochondria is likely to contribute to improved skin health, which in turn may have an anti-ageing effect.”

The researchers stressed, however, that their findings were not an excuse to throw away the suncream. Professor Lesley Rhodes, a Manchester University dermatologist, said: “People should not think tomatoes in any way can replace suncreams but they may be a good additive.

“If you can improve your protection through your diet then over several years this may have a significant effect.”

She added: “These weren’t huge amounts we were feeding the group. It was the sort of quantity you could easily manage by eating a lot of tomato-based meals.”

The fruit’s benefits are credited to lycopene, the pigment behind its distinctive red skin.

Lycopene, a powerful antioxidant capable of mopping up free radicals – the harmful molecules linked to cancer – is made easier for the body to absorb when tomatoes are cooked or processed.

(China Daily/Agencies April 30,2008)