U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer is leading the charge to prevent changes at Northport VA that could slash services. Photo from Schumer’s office
After the release of a recent report from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs recommending the slashing of services at veterans hospitals, including Northport VA Medical Center, local elected officials have demonstrated exemplary behavior to ensure our veterans are properly cared for.
Among the recommendations in the report are the downsizing and reorganizing of the Northport location, which will transition into a subacute care facility. Inpatient medical and surgical procedures will be moved from Northport to Stony Brook University Hospital and NYU Langone Hospital in Mineola. Services that are offered now in Northport will be provided by St. Albans VA Medical Center in Queens and its community partners.
The VA has cited the changing needs of local veterans and millions of dollars of repairs needed for the Northport VA as their reasons.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is taking action, unveiling an advocacy plan with the hopes of defeating these recommendations. His first call of action is to circulate a petition across the Island. In a press release, the senator said he would present the signatures in a personal meeting to those who proposed the Northport reductions, also including closing two New York City VA hospitals. He will ask local hospital officials to express concerns about treating veteran-specific conditions and will then take the matter to the VA.
Schumer said he will bring the matter to President Joe Biden (D) if necessary.
In a press release, U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY1) said that he will work with the Long Island veterans community to figure out the “best path forward.” U. S. Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY3) also criticized the report, saying that elected officials were not consulted on the recommendations.
The report has evoked bipartisan support for the VA hospital and rightfully so. Our veterans have given up so much to protect their fellow citizens. When they enlisted, they risked their safety and sometimes their lives to guarantee the rights of all Americans. Thanks to our vets, we can criticize the government, assemble freely, and enjoy the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution.
Through their words, Americans often thank our veterans for their service. Now is the time to thank them through action. Residents should call the offices of their U.S. senators and representatives and demand that they join the fight to keep veterans health services as local and accessible as possible.
Veterans-specific care needs to be expanded, not slashed. Thank a veteran today by taking action.
In 1997 I sent Leah Dunaief several essays that I called Life Lines and I asked her if she thought these might be of interest to the readers of her new newspaper, the Village Times.
About a month later she replied and said she retrieved my packet from her pile of correspondence and liked my essays and thus began a 25 year association and more than 400 columns of Life Lines as her newspaper chain grew in number across the North Shore of Long Island.
My aim was to inform my readers of the importance of science in our lives. I am a professor, now retired, who taught in Canada (Queen’s University), UCLA, and Stony Brook University as well as holding visiting professorships over the years in San Diego State University, the University of Utah, the University of Minnesota, and Tugaloo Collegein Mississippi.
I have also taught twice on Semester at Sea a floating campus that sales eastward or westward around the world for a semester with 500 students. I have taught also in programs for a federal program to raise science literacy in former USSR republics, including Samara —on the Volga River, and Tbilisi in former Soviet Georgia. I have mentored 6 students through their PhDs in my laboratories and have published 15 books on genetics, the history of genetics, the eugenics controversy, and science and society conflicts. I love to teach and have taught thousands of students at UCLA and Stony Brook University in a course titled Biology 101-102 Biology – A Humanities Approach.
I argued that a knowledge of science and its history and its application to society is important in showing how science has greatly reduced infant mortality, greatly increased life expectancy, eliminated most communicable disease, and restored health to millions of people through its applications to our food industries, pharmaceutical industries, and public health programs.
It gives us greater control over our lives and allows a person like me to live more than 90 years. I will be celebrating my 91st birthday in July and I am grateful that I have lived an examined life, avoided alcohol and other harmful agents in my life and have insights into how life works that are worth sharing.
I read widely, love the arts and humanities, consider science to be part of the liberal arts education we should extend past K-12 to college level programs that make us informed citizens in a democracy and parents able to make informed decisions about their children’s well-being rather than relying on political ideologies or religious traditions first introduced two or three thousand years ago as guides for how to protect ourselves and our families.
Science allowed me to understand how life works. I can follow it from atoms to molecules, macromolecules, cell organelles, cells, tissues, and organs. From there I can extend it to the population, the diversity of life on earth, and the importance of human stewardship of that life by informed ways using the earth’s bounty, protecting it from pollution, avoiding erosion, preventing desert formation, and preventing discharges of carbon dioxide from the fuels we use that lead to climate change that can flood our coastal cities and bring chaotic weather patterns around the world.
I thank Leah Dunaief and her son Daniel for the many articles on science that inform North Shore readers of what is going on in our universities, research institute, and industries on Long Island. I thank you readers who have written to me, stopped me when I shopped in the local stores, or offered different points of view to which I would respond.
I have lived an examined life, selected, as an Epicurean, from the best minds and writing of Western civilization. I am grateful for the gift of life to have lived this long. But now in my 90s I lack the energy I had ten years ago and have decided to use the time remaining in my life to work on my unpublished manuscripts and get them published or place them to print-on-demand programs on the internet. I much appreciate you, my reader, for the pleasure of having this opportunity,
Most of us know we need to lower our sodium intake. Still, more than 90 percent of us consume far too much sodium (1). Even if we don’t have hypertension, the impact of sodium on our health can be dramatic.
Sodium is insidious; it’s in foods that don’t even taste salty. Bread products are among the primary offenders. Other foods with substantial amounts of sodium include cold cuts and cured meats, cheeses, pizza, poultry, soups, pastas, sauces and, of course, snack foods. Processed foods and those prepared by restaurants are where most of our consumption occurs (2).
On the flip side, only about two percent of people get enough potassium from their diets (3).
Why is it important to reduce sodium and increase potassium? A high sodium-to-potassium ratio increases the risk of cardiovascular disease by 46 percent, according to the study, which looked at more than 12,000 Americans over almost 15 years (4). In addition, both may have significant impacts on blood pressure and cardiovascular disease.
To improve our overall health, we need to shift the sodium-to-potassium balance so that we consume more potassium and less sodium. And if you struggle with high blood pressure, this approach could help you win the battle. Let’s look at the evidence.
Why do we always harp on sodium?
Two studies illustrate the benefits of reducing sodium in high blood pressure and normotensive (normal blood pressure) patients, ultimately preventing cardiovascular disease, including heart disease and stroke.
The first used the prestigious Cochrane review to demonstrate that blood pressure is reduced by a significant mean of −4.18 mm Hg systolic (top number) and −2.06 mm Hg diastolic (bottom number) involving both normotensive and hypertensive participants (5). When looking solely at hypertensive patients, the reduction was even greater, with a systolic blood pressure reduction of −5.39 mm Hg and a diastolic blood pressure reduction of −2.82 mm Hg.
This was a meta-analysis (a group of studies) that evaluated data from 34 randomized clinical trials, totaling more than 3,200 participants. Salt reduction from 9 to 12 grams per day to 5 to 6 grams per day, determined using 24-hour urine tests, had a dramatic effect. The researchers believe there is a direct linear effect with salt reduction. In other words, the more we reduce the salt intake, the greater the effect of reducing blood pressure.
The authors recommend further reduction to 3 grams per day as a long-term target for the population and concluded that the effects on blood pressure will most likely result in a decrease in cardiovascular disease.
In the second study, a meta-analysis of 42 clinical trials, there was a similarly significant reduction in both systolic and diastolic blood pressures (6). This study included both adults and children. Both demographics saw a reduction in blood pressure, though the effect was greater in adults. Interestingly, an increase in sodium caused a 24 percent increased risk of stroke incidence but, more importantly, a 63 percent increased risk of stroke mortality. The risk of mortality from heart disease was increased alongside an increase in sodium, as well, by 32 percent.
In an epidemiology modeling study, the researchers projected that either a gradual or instantaneous reduction in sodium would save lives (7). For instance, a modest 40 percent reduction over 10 years in sodium consumed could prevent 280,000 premature deaths. These are only projections, but in combination with the above studies, they may be telling.
Why is potassium important?
When we think of blood pressure, not enough attention is given to potassium. The typical American diet doesn’t contain enough of this mineral.
In a meta-analysis involving 32 studies, results showed that as the amount of potassium was increased, systolic blood pressure decreased significantly (8). When foods containing 3.5 to 4.7 grams of potassium were consumed, there was an impressive −7.16 mm Hg reduction in systolic blood pressure with high blood pressure patients. Anything more than this amount of potassium did not have any additional benefit. Increased potassium intake also reduced the risk of stroke by 24 percent. This effect was important.
The reduction in blood pressure was greater with increased potassium consumption than with sodium restriction, although this was not a head-to-head comparison. The good news is that potassium is easily attainable in the diet. Foods that are potassium-rich include bananas, almonds, raisins, sweet potato and green leafy vegetables such as Swiss chard.
The bottom line: decrease your sodium intake by almost half and increase potassium intake from foods. Lowering sodium intake may have far-reaching benefits, and it is certainly achievable. First, consume less and give yourself a brief period to adapt — it takes about six weeks to retrain your taste buds, once you cut your sodium. You can also improve your odds by increasing your dietary potassium intake, which also has a substantial beneficial effect, striking a better sodium-to-potassium balance.
Dr. David Dunaief is a speaker, author and local lifestyle medicine physician focusing on the integration of medicine, nutrition, fitness and stress management. For further information, visit www.medicalcompassmd.com.
This week’s featured shelter pet is Bella, a 5 to 6-year-old female domestic shorthair up for adoption at the Smithtown Animal Shelter.
Sweet Bella has a sad story. She was abandoned in a duct-taped garbage pail in a parking lot. To make matters worse, she was suffering from pyometra (an infection of the uterus). Terrified and distrusting, she took some time to warm up to us, but when she did the snuggles became very real. She is shy at first, so she would do best in a quiet home.
If you would like to meet Bella, please call ahead to schedule an hour to properly interact with her in a domestic setting.
The Smithtown Animal & Adoption Shelter is located at 410 Middle Country Road, Smithtown. Visitor hours are currently Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Sundays and Wednesday evenings by appointment only). For more information, call 631-360-7575 or visit www.smithtownanimalshelter.com.
I must confess … I love bubbly; regardless if it’s in a Mimosa for breakfast, a glass of Prosecco for lunch, Champagne as an apéritif, during dinner, or even a glass of Asti after dinner!
Sparkling wines are superb pairing partners with a multitude of international foods, from appetizers to main courses and finishing with desserts. Although all wine-producing countries make some type of sparkling wines, the most common styles or designations are: Brut, Extra Dry, Sec, Demisec, Rosé, Blanc de Blancs, Blanc de Noirs, and Vintage.
Some names of sparkling wines produced worldwide include Champagne, Crémant, Cava, Franciacorta, Asti, TrentoDoc, Prosecco, Sekt, and simply “sparkling wine.”
Dry sparkling wines pair with salty foods; fried and deep-fried foods; spicy hot foods; smoked foods; oily seafood such as anchovies, bluefish, herring, mackerel, salmon, sardines, and tuna; chives, garlic, ginger, leeks, onions, scallions, and shallots; citrus and citrus-like ingredients; and fresh herbs such as cilantro, parsley, sage, and tarragon.
— Sparkling wine is an excellent an apéritif because of its refreshing, appetite-stimulating effervescence.
— Sparkling wines add excitement to the meal when served throughout dinner.
— Many Asian foods can be paired with sparkling wines.
— Dry sparkling wines taste thin and unpleasant with sweet desserts
— Avoid serving dry sparkling wines with desserts featuring chocolate or lemon sauces.
— Avoid serving dry sparkling wines with salads featuring tart or acidic dressings.
— Avoid serving dry sparkling wines with tomato-based sauces, whose acid interacts with the high acid of the wine, causing a tart, sometimes biting taste in the mouth.
Recently tasted sparkling wines include:
NV Moser 51,151 “TrentoDoc” Brut, (DOC) Trento, Italy: 100% Chardonnay grapes. Straw-yellow with a fruity aroma of blueberries and raspberries. Medium-bodied, dry, and crispy tasting, with hints of apples and cherries.
NV Codorníu Cuvée Clásico “Cava Brut,” Spain:Blend of Macabeo, Parellada and Xarel-Lo grapes; a bouquet of green apples, lemon, and brioche. Dry, clean, and crispy in the mouth with a pleasing aftertaste of almonds.
NV Ca’ del Bosco “Cuvée Prestige,” Franciacorta (DOCG) Lombardy, Italy: A blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Bianco grapes; crisp, delicate bouquet with hints of almonds, dried pears, and apples. Soft in the mouth with a crispy aftertaste.
NV Valdo Cuvée di Boj “Prosecco Brut,” (DOC) Veneto, Italy: Medium-bodied with a floral bouquet of stone fruits, apples, and citrus. Dry with hints of fennel and ginger.
NV Ruinart “Blanc de Blancs” (Champagne, France): Clean and crisp with flavors of green apple, pear, brioche, celery, and citrus.
Bob Lipinski is the author of 10 books, including “101: Everything You Need To Know About Whiskey” and “Italian Wine & Cheese Made Simple” (available on Amazon.com). He consults and conducts training seminars on Wine, Spirits, and Food and is available for speaking engagements. He can be reached at www.boblipinski.com OR [email protected]
Ahuge fan of our avian neighbors, I have collected numerous anecdotes during my travels on Long Island and around the world. As we delve deeper into the spring, I’d like to share a few.
The brood parasite: Many years ago, OK, decades, I did some research on the brown-headed cowbird. This bird, whose scientific name is Molothrus ater, which means “black vagabond,” shares a lifestyle with the cuckoo. You see, the cowbird, which spends considerable time eating food near farms or settled lands, doesn’t build nests. It lays its eggs in the nests of other birds and contributes nothing to the parenting of its young.
When I was in college, I wondered how these birds knew they were cowbirds and didn’t form attachments to the numerous other species who unwittingly contribute to its success. Their hosts raise these aggressive young that sometimes outcompete their own chicks for food. Speaking with people who lived in Mammoth Lakes, California, where I performed my research, I met several people who were in their early 20s, who listened attentively to the story of my research. When I finished, one of them smiled and said, “Wow, what terrible parents. They must only live in California, right?”
The beak smackers: When I attended Gelinas Junior High School, I learned about the Galapagos Islands. I couldn’t wait to visit a place where sea lions barely budged when people walked near them. I finally traveled to these wonderful islands, made famous by Charles Darwin’s trip where he posited the theory of evolution. As I hiked with my family on a tour, our guide stopped and told us to listen. Smacking sounds, as if people were sword fighting with whiffle ball bats, came from just over a ridge. When we reached the top, we saw albatrosses engaged in extended beak smacking.
Once pairs of these white birds finished their ritualistic and individualized pattern, they started again. Closing my eyes, I could imagine the rhythm of several of these courtship routines becoming the percussion section of a song.
Seeing red: When I studied birds in college, I recalled hearing about the dominance hierarchies of the red-winged blackbird, which occupies marshy areas all around Long Island. With red stripes on their shoulders, these birds are also distinctive for their loud and extended squeaks. The size of the red color reflects the dominance of the birds. Without the bright red indicating the equivalent of a social rank, even the most dominant bird loses his status and preferred spot in a habitat.
Foul play: The black cormorants, which sit low in the water, are excellent divers. They are not, however, particularly well-suited for their watery lifestyle. Their feathers are not waterproof, the way a duck’s are. After they get sufficiently waterlogged, they stand on docks or pilings with their wings outstretched, as if they were holding their feathers on a drying line. They use the wind to dry themselves out. It seems especially cruel and maladaptive for a bird that lives in the water to endure extended periods of being waterlogged.
You want a coke with that? My family was enjoying a meal in Miami after a morning in the sun. Sitting outside, where we had an unobstructed view of the beach and where the wind provided welcome relief from the hot sun, we ordered burgers and fries. I picked up a French fry and lifted it near my head to make a point. Accustomed to human patterns, a seagull saw the opening, grabbed the fry without touching my hand, and flew off to consume his prize.
Just as we are trying to decide whether to get the second COVID booster of Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna that is now authorized by the FDA for those over 50, the color-coding system that tracks the rate of contagion has turned from green to yellow in New York City, indicating an increase in cases. We know that what happens in the city eventually spreads to Long Island, so that would encourage us to get that fourth shot, yes?
To further complicate the decision, a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine Tuesday suggests that “additional boosters are likely to provide fleeting protection against omicron infections in older recipients, and are consistent with evidence that vaccine effectiveness against infection wanes faster than against severe disease,” according to The New York Times.
I say, what?
Let’s consider this carefully. The results of the large new study from Israel are telling us that a second booster shot does provide protection against omicron infections and severe illness among older adults. It is also saying that such protection against infection is short-term and wanes after four weeks, then almost disappears after eight weeks.
That doesn’t sound so good, right?
But hold on. Protection against severe illness-—again, severe illness— did not lessen in the six weeks after receiving the second booster, but the follow-up period has been too short to know if that second shot continues to offer better protection against severity. By the way, the study involved those ages 60 and older, with nothing on younger populations. So “vaccine effectiveness against infection wanes faster than against severe disease,” concludes The Times. And a previous study from Israel that has not yet been published in a scientific journal, according to The Times, “found that older adults who received a second booster were 78% less likely to die of COVID-19 than those who had received just one booster shot.” The methodology of that study has been criticized, however, with scientists pointing out that those who have received one booster are already likely to be protected from severe illness and death.
In the new study of 1.2 million adults, “the rate of confirmed infections was twice as high in the three-dose group as in the four-dose group. By eight weeks after the fourth shot, the additional protection against infection had almost disappeared, the researchers found. However, “rates of severe illness were 3.5 times higher in the three-dose group than the four-dose group four weeks after the booster shot. That protection did not appear to wane and actually ticked up slightly by the sixth week after the shot, when rates of severe disease were 4.3 times higher in the three-dose group.”
Still don’t know what to do?
Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky, said on Tuesday that her agency “really would encourage people who are over 50 who have underlying medical conditions and those over the age of 65” to get a second booster shot.
There is controversy among immunologists and vaccine experts over whether to recommend that fourth shot, at least for those under age 65. Twenty million people 65 or older are now eligible and 10 million between 50-64, according to the CDC.
So if you have decided to get the second booster, which would you get?
Dr. Peter Marks of the FDA suggested in a podcast that there was “a little bit of data” that switching vaccines may provide better protection, but “probably the more important thing is just to get boosted with whatever vaccine you can get.”
I will be getting the second booster this week. My thinking is that in the face of newly rising infection rates, even eight weeks could provide a substantial barrier against falling ill and then having the additional worry of incurring long-haul Covid. But reaction across the country is mixed.
Concerning leftovers, there are two groups of people — those who love them and those who don’t. The former can stand in the shadows cast by the refrigerator light in the middle of the night and gnaw on a drumstick, grab a fork and twirl cold leftover spaghetti right out of the container, or hack off a slab of ham or roast beef, grab the jar of mayonnaise and a couple of slices of bread and cure their insomnia with a sandwich.
The latter are those like me, who with the best of intentions, carefully scrape every last morsel into a container, stash it in the fridge where it gets rotated to the back and ends up growing a bluish-green furry topping. However, I must concede that there are some leftovers that I think successfully lend themselves to recycling, particularly ham, chicken and pasta.
Leftover Chicken Egg Rolls
YIELD: Makes 16 egg rolls
INGREDIENTS:
Nonstick cooking spray
16 egg roll wrappers
2 cups grated carrots
1 cup grated cabbage
1/3 cup minced cubanelle pepper
1/3 cup chopped scallions
1 garlic clove, minced
2 cups minced cooked chicken breasts/thighs
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon vegetable or peanut oil
1 teaspoon brown sugar
Freshly ground white pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 400 F. Generously coat bottom and sides of a large skillet and a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray; cover wrappers with a damp towel. In a large skillet, stir fry the carrots, cabbage, pepper, scallions, garlic and chicken until veggies begin to soften, about 3 to 5 minutes. In a small pot combine cornstarch, water, soy sauce, oil, brown sugar and white pepper until smooth; add to chicken veggie mixture; cook about 2 minutes, just until sauce is thickened. Place wrapper on flat surface; scoop 1/3 cup of mixture onto part of wrapper closest to you; tightly fold in sides of wrapper and roll toward the edge farthest away from you. Gently lift egg roll and place seam side down on baking sheet; repeat procedure for remaining egg rolls. Spray top of each egg roll with nonstick coking spray. Bake, turning egg rolls once,until they are golden and crispy, about 10 to 15 minutes. Serve hot with soy sauce and sauteed baby bok choy.
Leftover Ham and Veggies Quiche
Leftover Ham and Veggies Quiche. Pixabay photo
YIELD: Makes 4 to 6 servings
INGREDIENTS:
One 9” pie crust
1 cup minced cooked ham
1 cup shredded hard cheese (cheddar, Swiss, Gouda, etc.)
Preheat oven to 400 F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Line pie dish or quiche pan with crust; crimp edges (make the edges as high as possible). Evenly distribute ham, cheese, veggies and onions over crust. In a medium bowl vigorously beat together the eggs, half and half, salt and pepper and nutmeg, then pour mixture into crust. Place quiche on prepared baking sheet; bake until a knife inserted near edge comes out clean and top is golden, about 25 to 30 minutes; remove to wire rack and let sit at least 5 minutes. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature with soup.
Leftover Pasta Frittata
YIELD: Makes 4 to 6 servings
INGREDIENTS:
4 eggs
2-3 ounces freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 pound cooked pasta with marinara sauce (preferably spaghetti or linguine, coarsely chopped)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup julienned fresh basil leaves
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 400 F. In a large bowl beat eggs, then stir in cheese, salt and pepper and pasta. Heatoil in a 10” ovenproof nonstick skillet over medium heat; pour egg and pasta mixture into pan and gently pulling edges toward center as egg solidifies, cook about 5 minutes, until all but a little of the mixture remains runny and frittata is crisp on bottom; place in oven for 3 to 5 minutes until completely cooked, then slide onto heated plate. Sprinkle with basil. Serve hot or warm with a crisp green salad.
“Propaganda begins when dialogue ends.” — Jacques Ellul
Democracy cannot flourish without a well-informed, enlightened public.
Many miles away from Long Island, against a backdrop of a momentous war in Ukraine, there is another war for the public consciousness of people everywhere. It is a war against a free and independent press, against openness and transparency with the public, and against truth itself. In moments of greatest agitation, those who most fear the truth will do whatever it takes to bury it.
During a teach-in last week at Stony Brook University, Distinguished Professor Leonie Huddy of the Department of Political Science, said, “We are also in a propaganda war.”
The Committee to Protect Journalists is a nonprofit that promotes independent journalism and defends press freedom worldwide. According to the CPJ website, five journalists have already been killed since the start of the Russian invasion on Feb. 24. With abhorrent regularity, journalists are now being targeted and killed.
Aware of the risks, Louise Callaghan, a Middle East correspondent for The Sunday Times of London and virtual panelist at the SBU teach-in, told the audience that she will return to the warzone to report the situation in Ukraine on the ground.
From the bomb shelters of devastated Mariupol to the Long Island North Shore, journalists have incredible responsibility. The Founding Fathers wrote freedom of the press into the First Amendment of the Constitution because they understood journalism was a necessary deterrent to unchecked power. Journalists shine light upon those who hide behind the shadows of deception, whose greatest weapons are disinformation and fear, as not even their nukes can topple what is true.
Right now, dictators and their propagandists are waging a war of ideas, seeking the total annihilation of reason and free thought. Journalists, such as Callaghan, are among our last lines of defense. Whether one is a local reporter on Long Island or a foreign correspondent in Ukraine, the principle remains. So long as journalists are there to shine light on the powerful and the wicked, to distill fact-driven, unfiltered information to the public, then autocrats and their propagandists will never prevail.
This staff editorial is dedicated to the journalists who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the name of transparency and truth.
Dennis Whittam of Port Jefferson Station snapped this incredible photo of a pair of ospreys at West Meadow Beach in Stony Brook earlier this week. He writes, ‘The ospreys have returned to Long Island and are working on their nests as they prepare for future chicks.’
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