S moothies - Cooley`s Anemia Foundation

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Nutritious Living
from fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts and
seeds. The very small amount of animal
products should be almost free of saturated
fats – not cheese, butter and processed
meat, but fish, white meat chicken, turkey
or eggs in small quantities.
An Interview with
Dr. Joel Fuhrman
As far as iron is concerned, it’s the heme
iron (found in animal products) that causes
most of the problems, not the non-heme
iron. Your body can better adjust the
absorbability of the non-heme iron and block
it out if it doesn’t need it, whereas the body
can’t stop the heme iron from coming in.
The obvious point is that we want to be on
a plant-based diet, a vegetarian diet or nearvegetarian diet, where a person has animal
products only once or twice a week.
Joel Fuhrman, MD, is a nationally
recognized nutritional expert, board-certified
family physician, and author of Eat To Live,
Disease Proof Your Child and Cholesterol
Protection For Life. CAF spoke with him
recently to discuss nutrition and
thalassemia.
His website, www.drfuhrman.com, has
information on nutrition.
How can people with thalassemia plan a
well-rounded diet that is low in iron?
I disagree very strongly with the USDA’s
“well-rounded diet.” Long term health in
general is based on the nutrient density of
your diet – that is, on getting as many
nutrients as possible per caloric buck. We
want to avoid foods that have a little bit of
nutrients per calorie and increase our intake
of foods that have a high number of
nutrients per calorie.
When I use the word “nutrient” here, I’m
referring to micro-nutrients – meaning
vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals,
antioxidants. I’m not referring to the macronutrients that give us calories like fats,
carbohydrates and proteins.
That means a well rounded diet is an
unhealthy diet because we’re eating a whole
bunch of foods that are low in nutrients. The
American diet consists of 40% of calories
from animal products, 51% of calories from
processed foods like pasta, bread cookies
and soft drinks, and 9% from unrefined plant
food (UPF). Half of the UPF is white potato,
which is not a high nutrient food, meaning
that about 4% of the American diet comes
from fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts and
seeds.
One reason why so many Americans die of
heart attacks and strokes is because the
diet is so low in antioxidants and
phytochemicals and high in saturated fats,
thereby increasing the propensity to clot. So
we want a diet with a low-clot potential, one
that’s exceedingly low in animal products,
flour-based products and processed foods
and very high in fruits and vegetables.
The diet should be 90% or more calories
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Cooley’s Anemia Foundation
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Dr. Joel Furhman
Smoothies
Dr. Fuhrman generously shared a few of
his smoothie recipes with CAF.
Got Greens Smoothie
2 oz. spinach
1 oz. kale
1/2 avocado
3 kiwis
1/2 banana
2 cups fresh or frozen pineapple
cubes
Chocolate Smoothie
4 oz. spinach
1/2 cup soy milk
1/2 cup pomegranate juice
1 medium banana
1 tablespoon cocoa powder, natural
2 cups frozen blueberries
1 tablespoon flax seed
Blueberry Orange
Smoothie
3 dates
1 banana
2 whole oranges
1 cup frozen blueberries
2 oz. lettuce
2 oz. spinach
Californian Chapter
The California Chapter held an honorary dinner
for Principal Bob Modrzejewski in March 2006.
Mr. Modrzejewski was a driving force in enabling
the chapter to hold the 2nd annual Hula Hoop
fundraising event at Glenoaks Elementary.
The evening included a brief presentation from
Dr. Thomas Coates of Children’s Hospital Los
Angeles (CHLA) on thalassemia and the
importance of fundraising for CAF. Guests dined
on fabulous Italian cuisine from Milano’s Italiana
Cucina, which has consistently supported us.
and your dancing shoes to Leonard’s of Great
Neck for the chapter’s Gala Dinner Dance. The
festivities start at 7:30; get there on time, as you
won’t want to miss a minute of this great evening.
And looking ahead into 2007, plan on having your
midday meal with us on March 25. Our annual
Spring Brunch is slated for that date at Jericho’s
Milleridge Inn.
Information: (516) 358-9100.
Massachussetts Chapter
On October 28, 2006 the Massachusetts Chapter
celebrated its 19th Annual Dinner Dance at the
Sons of Italy Hall, Lodge Piave Fiume, in
Watertown. The chapter held its first Night at the
Races at the same lodge on August 25, raising
$1500. Information: 617-332-5952
New Jersey Chapter
Are you saying that the iron patients get
from non-meat products is okay?
Yes. With vegetable iron, if there’s iron in
the bloodstream already, the body will
prevent that vegetable iron from being
absorbed; whereas heme iron passes
through the gut wall and into the body even
if we don’t need it.
Some patients have been told that
wheatgrass juice will raise their hemoglobin
levels. Do you know anything about this?
Juicing or blending of green foods definitely
helps people improve their hemoglobin
scores without increasing their iron scores,
although I think some greens other than
wheatgrass are even better at this. Here’s
why juicing is good: If you give a person
cooked green vegetables, it will reduce the
nutrients by about 36%. If you give it to
them raw, they only absorb about 20-30%
of it. But if we juice or blend those greens,
we can bring the absorption up to 90%. This
helps the bone marrow function better as a
red blood cell and white blood cell producer.
(See sidebar for recipes).
With thalassemia, patients have to eat
nutritiously and I believe they can do that
without increasing their iron.
Editor’s note: Thalassemia patients should
remember that the information presented
herein is based upon Dr. Fuhrman’s
experience with nutrition in general. It has
not been tested or proven in thalassemia
patients specifically.
Bob Modrzejewski
Thank you to fundraiser Agnes Jackson for
making these events so successful.
In February, we embarked on a new outreach
approach with CHLA. Every 2nd Friday of each
month, we host a “Thalassemia Luncheon” for
patients and parents. Special thanks to Bryce
Imbler, MSW and Susan Carson, RN at CHLA
for their support and dedication.
Our 2nd Annual Holiday Event with CHLA will be
held November 18, 2006 from 12:00 - 3:00 at
CHLA. We had a wonderful response last year
and look forward to making it bigger and better
this year.
Information: Christine Giannamore, 800-601-2821
or ca_chapter@hotmail.com.
Chicago Chapter
The Chicago chapter held its 3rd annual
patient/family picnic on August 5 in Busse
Woods. Earlier, on June 14, the chapter held a
special “Cocktails for Cooley’s” event at the
Fulton Lounge which was also a tremendous
success. And on June 11, ARPA, an organization
for people with roots in Puglia, Italy, held a dinner
dance cruise, proceeds from which went to the
Chicago chapter. The chapter thanks ARPA
for its extreme generosity!
Long Island Chapter
The Long Island chapter did its part to keep blood
donations up during the summer by holding a July
19 blood drive at the Milleridge Inn in Jericho.
Thanks to all who made this a success.
A special bowl-a-thon sponsored by Life Quality
BMW was held in memory of the late Vivian
Giordano on September 24. The Maple Lanes
bowling alley in Brooklyn was the place to be that
evening, as participants enjoyed 2 hours of
cosmic bowling, raffles and more.
Mark November 4 as the day to bring an appetite
The New Jersey chapter was involved with two
summer blood drives. On July 22, the chapter and
the Central Jersey Blood Center held a drive in
Shrewsbury, NJ. We followed this by participating
in the August 26 "Rock'n'Roll Up Your Sleeve"
blood drive at the Two River Theater in Red Bank.
Local bands entertained donors, organized again
by Central Jersey Blood Center.
The chapter is also taking advantage of a new
arrangement with NetFlix, the online movie rental
service. Users new to NetFlix can go to
www.fundraising.com/movies, enter the code
534824, and get a 2-week free trial. If the user
then becomes a member of NetFlix, the chapter
will receive a $10.00 donation.
Finally, the chapter is selling Yankee candles,
which make beautiful gifts during the holiday
season. Contact Christine Somma at
732-688-2279 or somma84@aol.com for
information about this and other chapter events.
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Good Friday comes on April 6 in 2007, and as
usual, the Queens chapter will celebrate with our
dinner dance at Russo’s on the Bay in Howard
Beach. You can usually count on seeing Goumba
Johnny there. And who knows who else will
show up! The party never ends, the food doesn’t
stop coming, the dancing goes on and on and no
one goes home till the wee hours.
We hope you can make it!
Spring will kick off some new events such as a
motorcycle run that beckons all “Riders for a
Cure.” We invite motorcycles, street bikes and
ATV's to join us in the fight. So keep an eye on
our website for an update on the time and place.
Finally, on May 7, 2007, we will entertain all our
golf enthusiasts at our first Spring Golf Classic at
North Shore Towers Golf Club.
Information: 718-746-7677 or
cooleysanemiaqns@rcn.com.
Rochester Chapter
The Rochester chapter continues its weekly
bingo fundraisers on Monday nights at Empire
Bingo Hall, 360 Empire Blvd., with an average
attendance of 250 people. A special Labor Day
Bingo Night pulled in almost 340, raising $2500.
Information: 716-482-5587.
Staten Island Chapter
The Staten Island chapter's annual Golf Outing on
April 26 at South Shore Country Club was a
notable success. Special thanks to Robert Aiello
and all of his crew for doing a sterling job with
this event.
Our annual Fashion Show was held October 4
this year, and once again it was a very special
event. The chapter is fortunate that so many
residents of Staten Island continue to support our
events so consistently.
Information: 718-761-5380.
The Queens chapter kept busy with a great
Summer Bowl-a-Thon at AMF Babylon Lanes on
July 16 and our annual Queens Chapter Golf
Classic on September 18, 2006. This year’s golf
event was hosted by CityWide Container Service
& LJC Dismantling Corp. and was held at the Old
Westbury Golf & Country Club.
Suffolk Chapter
The chapter paid tribute to Halloween with an
October 28 Halloween Cruise on board the
Nautical Princess. Revelers came in costume to
cruise nearby Long Island harbors while dining
and dancing and generally having a fiendishly
good time.
March 3, 2007 will see the chapter once again
“Jammin’ for a Cure” as we present our annual
CAFJam Benefit Concert. This 60’s and 70’s
music explosion will be held at Tilles Center for
the Performing Arts at LIU-CW Post University.
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Come boogie for a groovy cause!
Queens Chapter
The 3rd Annual Chariot of Life Ball-Greek Dinner
Dance has been rescheduled for April 27, 2007,
at Floral Park Terrace. Honorees are John and
Georgia Koufakis.
r
Golfers of all stripes teed off for Cooley’s anemia
at the chapter’s annual golf outing on September
13. Held at the Cherry Creek Country Club in
Riverhead, one of the few courses with a par 6,
the event drew a large and appreciative crowd. In
addition to golfing, participants enjoyed a lovely
lunch and dinner.
The Suffolk chapter's 5th Annual "Miles for
Smiles," held on September 30, was once again a
significant success. A large group chose between
a 100-mile ride, a 62-mile ride, a 20-mile ride, a 4mile ride, a 4-mile walk – or just being outdoors
on a beautiful day. There was food, music and
family festivities, as well as the wonderful Atlantis
Marine World Aquarium and a Kiddie Korner for
the younger set.
Special thanks to Atlantis Marine World,
Starbucks and Applebee’s for their support of
Miles for Smiles. Information: 631-863-0532 or
cooleysanemia@aol.com.
(cont’d over)
Cooley’s Anemia Foundation
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