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Spinach keerai

Posted by Mathy Kandasamy | Filed under Keerai (greens), Sri Lankan, Jihva For Ingredients(JFI), Archives

Few people believe they will ever lose their vision. Yet over one third of Canadians between the ages of 55 and 74 develop a medical condition leading to loss of vision. What is this leading cause of blindness?

AMD or Macular Degeneration.

What is AMD or Macular Degeneration?

Macular degeneration is a medical condition predominantly found in elderly adults in which the center of the inner lining of the eye, known as the macula area of the retina, suffers thinning, atrophy, and in some cases bleeding. This can result in loss of central vision, which entails inability to see fine details, to read, or to recognize faces. According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, it is the leading cause of central vision loss (blindness) and in the United States today for those over the age of fifty years.

Until recently, no effective treatments were known for wet macular degeneration. However, new drugs, called anti-VEGF (anti-Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor) agents, when injected directly into the vitreous humor of the eye using a small, painless needle, can cause contraction of the abnormal blood vessels and improvement of vision. The injections frequently have to be repeated on a monthly or bi-monthly basis. Examples of these agents include Lucentis, Avastin and Macugen. Only Lucentis and Macugen are FDA approved as of April 2007, and only Lucentis and Avastin appear to be able to improve vision, but the improvements are slight and do not restore full vision.

The Age-Related Eye Disease Study showed that a combination of high-dose beta-carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E, and zinc can reduce the risk of developing advanced AMD by about 25 percent in those patients who have earlier but significant forms of the disease. This is the only proven intervention to decrease the risk of advanced AMD at this time. A follow up study, Age-Related Eye Disease Study 2 to study the potential benefits of lutein, zeaxanthine, and fish oil, is currently underway.

From Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macular_degeneration

From the wikipedia article I quoted above, you would know that Macular Degeneration is the major medical condition that’s responsible for blindness among older people in North America. And if you have a relative who has/had AMD, the lifetime risk of developing AMD is 50%. And what is quite worrying is that there are no proven treatment for AMD. And one can only slow down this medical condition. And the way to do that is mainly through diet.

Consumption of fruits and vegetables containing two carotenoid pigments may be linked to a reduced risk for age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of vision loss in people over the age of 55. According to research, lutein and zeaxanthin comprise a component of the central region of the retina and may play a role in some aspects of visual acuity. Increasing the concentration of these pigments in the eye may prevent the devastating vision loss caused by age-related macular degeneration.

Carotenoids are phytochemicals (chemicals found in plants) commonly found in certain fruits and vegetables that provide the red, orange and yellow colors of these foods. Lutein and zeaxanthin are found primarly in broccoli, corn, squash and dark green leafy vegetables like spinach and kale.

From American Macular Degeneration Foundation - http://www.macular.org/nutrition/index.html

All the more reason for us to include bright coloured vegetables and greens in our diet. It would be even better if greens are made part of our daily menu.

Note: Usually we, Indians cook vegetables to death. It would be better not to over-cook greens as they would lose much of the nutrients. It would be very good if greens such as Spinach could be incorporated into salads. Failing that, this recipe would come in handly. Spinach would only spend less than a minute in the fire. The whole recipe would take about 3 minutes or less. From another perspective, we’re all so rushed nowadays, recipes such as these are a blessing.

This came out of an experiment by my dad. He is a wonderful cook and as children we would be begging him to cook fish curry. And he would do so too, much to our delight.

Recipe:

1 medium onion - finely sliced
1/2 packet spinach - washed
1 tsp Sri Lankan Curry Powder - recipe here
salt
1 tsp Sesame oil

In a heated skillet add oil. Once the oil is heated, add onion. Let the onion turn translucent and let it cook for somemore time. When it reaches the medium fried state, add salt and curry powder. Mix quickly and cook away the raw smell. Add the washed spinach and cover immiediatly. Open after about 15 seconds and mix nicely and cover and let it cook for another 30-45 seconds. No need to add water!

‘Spinach keerai’ is ready.

Note: We just call this recipe ‘Keerai’ in our house. When it’s time to eat, all we would ask is ‘You want Keerai?’. Keerai is the tamil word for greens.

Useful Links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spinach
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macular_degeneration
http://www.macular.org/nutrition/index.html
http://www.amdcanada.com

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