A Tour Of Sanford-Burnham Research Institute

I had the privilege of touring the Sanford-Burnham Institute in La Jolla recently, which for me was fascinating. I know little about science, so the lectures, discussions, and tours we received from professors, scientists and pharmacologists was all new to me.

The Sanford-Burnham Institute was started back in the 1970's by two professors from Tufts who were forced to retire from that instituion but weren't ready to hang it up. So, they started their own institute, and through grants from the National Institute of Health and wealthy philantropists, like Denny Sanford, who donated $50 million in 2006, have developed a world class research center, with locations in La Jolla, Orlando and Santa Barbara. Each location studies different medical conditions. Here in La Jolla the focus is on stem cell research and cancer, in addition to studying orphan diseases.

Orphan diseases are those that affect less than 200,000 anually, and are usually ignored, because it's not cost effective to study diseases that effect so few. However, Dr. Jose Luis Millan has been studying an orphan disease called hypophosphatasia, or soft bone disease for decades. The babies born with this disease usually don't live to celebrate their first birthday, but finally, Dr. Millan has developed a treatment for this condition which as yielded remarkable results. The drug enobia has allowed children with this disease to grow and thrive. Interestingly, drugs that are developed for orphan diseases get to market much sooner than the 13.5 years that most drugs take to get to market.

Our tour allowed us to view a slide presentation by Dr. Millan, visit a stem cell lab and actually see what they were doing, have a Q and A with Dr. Millan, and talk to a pharmacist.

In Orlando, the focus of research is on diabetes and obesity. Another area of research focuses on children's health. The institute ranks among the top four institutions nationally for NIH grant funding. Last year they received $98million from the NIH and a $10million gift from a San Diego philanthropist. The research at the Conrad Prebys Center for Chemical Genomics uses robotic systems to screen more than one million compounds a day to find active hits. The Prebys Center is central to Sanford-Burnham's focus on translating basic medical research into new treatments.

I was thrilled to tour and get to know what this fine research facility was doing to enhance medical science. Right in our own backyard research is being carried on that may one day change the world. I'm so glad I had the opportunity to attend this tour, and I thank Lorna for arranging it. Great job.

Moving: A New Beginning

Preparing for our impending move has worn me out. We have moved four times in the past 10 years, and it becomes harder each time. Moving costs are high, and with each move we do more and more of the heavy work ourselves. We've been in our current home for almost six years. The garage is piled with boxes that have never been opened. Ron and I decided that before moving them all to the new garage that we would go through each and every one of the 40 boxes. We did, and the result was that we ended up with only 12 boxes to move. The rest was thrift shop giveaways or throwaways. I had trouble with the cleansing process. It's so hard to get rid of those old platters, vases, dishes, pictures, books and chotchkees that you know you'll never use again, but I did eliminate a whole lot. It really was very therapeutic.

Someone said to me that for the first half of our lives we accumulate stuff, and for the last half we eliminate. So true. We need so much less than we think we do. Can you imagine that all the stuff in those 40 boxes was never missed?

As much as I dislike the whole process of moving, changing my address with SDGE and ATT and all the other changes that have to be made, I do look at moving as a new beginning, especially for Ron and I at this stage in our lives. A new house, a new dog, lots of umpiring, and hopefully lots of accounting work. It gives us a chance to renew our positive attitude toward the future, to look forward to what can be and hopefully will be.

The moving process is exhausting, but at the end of the day we'll be in a beautiful new home, with a lot less "baggage." The three of us will curl up in bed on Monday night after the move, and love where we are. Now I just have to get through the move itself. I'm trying to figure out a safe place for Pepper to stay during the moving day, and I think he'll be going to doggie daycare. I'm working on that right now, and I can't wait to write the blog about my experience of finding a day care for my dog. You won't believe it.

Eating Organic Is Simple

It used to be that you had to search for organic fruits and vegetables in the supermarket. I remember years ago when the chain markets would have a tiny little section for organics. Now, up to half of chain store produce is organic, and at specialty stores like Jimbo's, Whole Foods and Sprouts, almost everything is organic.

I love shopping the farmers' markets, and even more so now that you can speak directly with the farmers and know exactly what farm your food is coming from. Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is IN. You will see these initials next to most local farms today. This tells you that the food grown at that farm is certified organic. Most of the locally grown produce is sold in grocery stores, but it can also be delivered to your home or picked up a local pick up points. Many local farms have a service, where for between $25-$45 you can pick up weekly a small, medium or large box of fresh fruits and veggies. What I like about this, beside the fact that the food is as fresh as can be, is that you get a little surprise every week. The contents of the box change depending upon what's in season. It's a great way to open your eyes to new vegetables and make you create some new dishes. Not for everyone, but for people like me that enjoy discovering new fruits and vegetables, it's perfect. I can honestly say I had never had swiss chard until about 2 years ago when it was in a box of produce that I bought.

Go to www.organicconsumers.org for a list of all the farms in our area that have this service. My favorites are Be Wise (www.bewiseranch.com), Garden of Eden and J.R. Organics. My friend Marlene recently introduced me to another farm that does home delivery. I don't know what the cost is, but if you're house bound for any reason, this is a great way to still get fresh produce. Go to www.farmfreshtoyou.com to find out more.

Whether you get a box of fresh produce weekly from a local farm, shop at local farmers markets, or just buy your food in a local chain market, keep eating your fruits and veggies. They're good for you.

Dinner For Eight (Or Ten)

Have some fun with this. Imagine you're having a dinner party and can invite 8 people (or in my case 10 people) from history to attend. The people can be living or dead. Think about who you'd invite and why. I had so much trouble narrowing down the guests. Half of my guests are living. My mind thinks first of the living people I would like to dine with. I decided that some of the most famous people in history would not make great dinner guests. They may be just plain boring. Below is my list. Please respond and let me know who your dinner party would include. Here's my guest list: (in no particular order)

1. Amelia Erhardt
2. Bill Clinton
3. F. Scott Fitzgerald
4. Oprah Winfrey
5. Mohammed Ali
6. Pablo Picasso
7. Leonardo da Vinci
8. Walt Disney
9. Barak Obama
10. Bill Gates

I'm anxious to see your list. Some other time I'll ask another question, so be thinking about this one. What fictional characters from literature would like to be? Have fun with this one.

Can Coconut Oil Help In The Treatment Of Alzheimer's?

I learn the most interesting things at the Y. A group of us usually arrive 5-10 minutes before class. We need time to talk, gossip, and share our aches and pains. I was at the gym on a recent Sunday morning when Marcia offered us some new information. Did we know that pure coconut oil was thought by many to slow or even reverse the effects of Alzheimer's. I had not heard this. She told the story of a friend of her's whose father had Alzheimer's. He was asked to draw a clock on a piece of paper, and could not do it. After taking pure coconut oil for several months he was able to draw the clock! Pretty amazing. Although coconut oil is not approved by the FDA for Alzheimer's, there is a lot of anectodal evidence that it may help. Here's just some of the information I discovered on the topic. I am not touting coconut oil as a remedy for Alzheimer's, just pointing out that there is some evidence that it may be beneficial. You be the judge.

An Easy, Satisfying Meal

January is usually diet month for most of us. It's time to get off the 7-10 most of us put on since Thanksgiving. However, you may feel like a satisfying, stick to your ribs dinner once in a while, and that's when you pull out this recipe. Quick and easy, and not too much off your diet. (total calories per serving is 450). Try it some night when you're out of ideas, and short on time. This recipe comes from from the website www.delish.com, but it's originally from one of the many Campbell's Soup recipes. Enjoy.

Mexican Chicken Casserole


Nutritional Information
(per serving)
Calories

451
Total Fat

17g
Saturated Fat

8g
Cholesterol

94mg

Sodium

1168mg

Total Carbohydrate

41g

Dietary Fiber

4g

Protein

32g

Calcium



Serves: 4








Total Time: 40 min

Prep Time: 10 min


Ingredients


1 can(s) (10 3/4-oz.) Campbell's® Condensed Tomato Soup
1 cup(s) Pace® Chunky Salsa , or Pace® Picante Sauce
1/2 cup(s) milk
2 cup(s) cubed cooked chicken, or turkey
8 (6-inch) corn tortillas, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup(s) (about 4 oz.) shredded Cheddar cheese

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Directions
1.Heat the oven to 400°F. Stir the soup, salsa, milk, chicken, tortillas and half the cheese in a 2-quart shallow baking dish. Cover the baking dish.
2.Bake for 30 minutes or until the chicken mixture is hot and bubbling. Top with the remaining cheese. Let stand until the cheese is melted.
3.Serving Suggestion: Serve with corn muffins and steamed broccoli florets. For dessert serve fresh sliced pineapple.

Honey-Ginger Carrots

Ginger is usually a spice we associate with Asian cuisine, but cooked carrots flavored with honey and ginger can be served with almost anything. This is such a simple recipe. If you're really lazy like I often am, just buy the little peeled carrots in a bag and you're ready to put the recipe together, no peeling, no mess. Ginger is great for us, especially for digestion, although the amount of ginger you're getting in this recipe really won't do much more than taste good. Remember, fresh ginger can be bought and stored in a baggie in the freezer for future use. Just pop the ginger stalk in a bag and freeze. Another easy way keep fresh ginger is to buy Dorot ginger (it comes frozen in little cubes and you just defrost). The last way to have fresh ginger always on hand is to buy Gourmet Garden ginger in a tube, then just squeeze out what you need. It's a great item to always have on hand. However you get your ginger, be sure to try this recipe sometime for a quick and easy way to spice up a boring vegetable.

Honey-Ginger Carrots

1 bunch carrots, peeled and blanched (if you use the peeled baby carrots, just blanch them for about 3 minutes)

2 T. butter

4 T. honey

2 T. ginger (fresh or in the Gourmet Garden tube or Dorot cube)

1 T. lavender

1 small bunch Italian parsley, chopped

Melt butter in saucepan, and add the rest of the ingredients. Cook for a few minutes, until sauce is thickened and the carrots are cooked, but not soft. You may want to cook your carrots a little thoroughly than just a blanch, say 3/4 of the way. The last few minutes is just to thicken the sauce and blend with the carrots.

This side dish goes with just about anything. I love it with chicken, beef and fish. Enjoy.