Fishy Business: To Fry or To Steam, That is the Question

“Fish is good for you. Have plenty of it,” said the doctor.
“Oh, I have lots of fish. I go to the Khar (a Mumbai suburb) station market and buy fish on Sundays and this lasts us for two weeks".
“But you are Bengali,” said the doc with a sigh. “You people fry your fish before any preparation!”

I looked on, suitably chastised, as the good doctor, a Maharashtrian Saraswat Brahmin (a fish eating community), went on to speak for the next forty five minutes on how they buy fresh fish and cook it on the same day. That this fish is never fried when added to curries in their house. That fish should not be over cooked. He then went on to speak about fish that he has eaten across the world. From the Tokyo fish market to dining rooms in luxury cruise liners. He waxed eloquent on fish and their benefits and on fish recipes and on how to cook them. All this while, patients lined up outside. I am used to visiting doctors who love talking to me about food after quickly finishing off with whatever ailment I have come to discuss. Forty five minutes was a new record though!

Yes, I admit that we Bengalis usually fry our fish before adding it to our curries. In fact, even my mother, who is very watchful of her diet, can’t stand fish which hasn’t been fried. “It’s smelly,” she pouts like a 6 year old, if we ever give her grilled fish when she visits us. Don’t give up on us Bengalis though, Doc. There are times when we don’t fry fish. We steam it too. Which takes me back to the other day when I was at a five star hotel in Juhu and had to come up with a quick recipe on the spur of the moment. Why was I thinking up of recipes at a hotel? Well, some 30 odd executive chefs had got together at the hotel that afternoon from across India. Some of us bloggers had been invited to cook with them. The brief was to go out and shop within a budget and then cook up a local Indian home-styled meal. Toine Hoeksel, culinary director of Marriott Asia Pacific, said that they have observed an interesting trend of the new millennial traveler seeking out local food when they travel. He wanted his chefs to think local.

Coming back to the cook off, it was no surprise that the precocious Bengali blogger, your columnist, took over despite the presence of seasoned chefs. The menu that we decided on, was a Bengali one - Prawn Malai Curry, Fish Patoori and Parathas with Jaggery. Patoori (from the word paata or leaf) is a Bengali preparation, where the fish is marinated in a pungent crushed mustard, turmeric, green chili and salt paste, wrapped in a banana leaf and then steamed and eaten with plain rice.

Don't Blame Your Genes for High Cholesterol

Genetic mutations that can be blamed for unusually high cholesterol are far rarer than previously thought, existing in only about two percent of the population, researchers said on Sunday. Previous studies have suggested that as many as 25 percent of people with very high cholesterol - defined as low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels of 190 mg/dl or higher - could blame their condition on their genes. LDL is widely known as "bad cholesterol" because it leads to buildup of harmful plaque in the arteries.

"Many clinicians assume that patients with LDL above 190 have a familial hypercholesterolemia mutation as the major driver," said Amit Khera, a cardiology fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital and lead author of the findings presented at the American College of Cardiology conference in Chicago.

"But there are a lot of other causes that can lead to this very high LDL, such as poor diet, lack of exercise and a variety of common genetic variants that each have a small impact on cholesterol but can add up to a big impact when they occur together."

To perform the study, researchers compiled the largest gene sequencing analysis to date based on people with very high cholesterol, including more than 26,000 people.

There are three different known mutations that can lead to a diagnosis of familial hypercholesterolemia. Only two percent of individuals had mutations in any of the three known familial hypercholesterolemia genes.

Even though there were relatively few of these people, their risk for developing life-threatening plaque buildup in the heart's arteries by their 50s or 60s was extraordinarily high - 22 times higher than people with average cholesterol levels (LDL below 130 mg/dL), said the study.

"Our findings suggest that if you performed widespread genetic screening of all individuals with very high LDL cholesterol, your yield would likely be low, but for the people who do have the mutations, the results could be quite meaningful," said Khera.

"This knowledge would be relevant not only to people with familial hypercholesterolemia mutations but to their relatives as well."

For those without the inherited gene mutations, but who still had very high cholesterol, their risk of early-onset coronary artery disease was six times higher than people with LDL below 130. Researchers estimated that 412,000 of about 14 million adult Americans with an untreated LDL of 190 or higher have a familial hypercholesterolemia mutation.

Common Migraine Medication During Pregnancy Can Affect Baby

Certain medications and treatments long considered safe to treat pregnant women with migraines may have adverse effects on the babies, suggests new research.The researchers pointed out that acetaminophen, used by over 65 percent of pregnant women in the US, has been linked to pediatric development of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.


"We hope this review of medical treatments will serve as a guide for doctors and patients on how to interpret new findings, especially regarding four treatment options that doctors have commonly used for their pregnant patients with migraines," said lead study author Rebecca Erwin Wells, assistant professor of neurology at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, US."Patients and doctors need to be aware that concerns exist and they should carefully weigh the risks and benefits of these treatments," Wells noted.The review was published in the journal Current Neurology and Neuroscience Reports.The study also revealed that magnesium, previously considered one of the safest supplements that could be used during pregnancy, is now rated at level D by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), meaning that it may not be safe.Similarly, butalbital, a barbiturate drug used to treat headache in combination with caffeine, acetaminophen, aspirin and/or codeine, could potentially increase the risk of congenital heart defects, the researchers pointed out citing a small study.Most women with migraines actually experience fewer headaches during pregnancy, especially during second and third trimesters, Wells said."There are many available treatment options for migraine during pregnancy and lactation, so patients can be assured that they will not suffer during this important time in their lives," she said."The most important thing is to talk to your doctor about your headaches during pregnancy and lactation. He or she can guide you on the available treatments and their safety, including non-pharmacologic options, such as healthy lifestyle habits, relaxation training, stress management, biofeedback, and possibly even meditation and yoga," Wells noted.