Many of you know that my dad is 85 years old and actively engaged on the internet. He reads my posts, emails with his buddies and also sends around interesting things he discovers online. He sometimes just sends me stuff that he thinks VWK readers would enjoy or benefit from knowing about. I collect tips from Bo Gia (Old Daddy) and since Father’s Day is coming up, figured it was time to share them with you.
Lemongrass tea is something that my dad is keen on. Remember the lemongrass tea recipe? He was tickled recently when he read that regularly drinking lemongrass tea may help turn the tide on cancer. Ben Gurion university in Israel did a study that prompted hope in lemongrass tea, according to a Mc Gill University-supported blog post; the story also pointed out that the study didn’t apply across the board, was inconclusive.
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center has a thorough page on the subject of lemongrass and cancer treatment. The jury is out on the aromatic’s effectiveness. The Cancer Center summarizes it as so: “Lemongrass has antioxidant, anticancer, and antifungal properties, but it has not been studied in cancer patients.”
I’ve made and drank lemongrass tea from homegrown lemongrass and I know one thing: it tastes very good and is refreshing. My mom said that when she recently suffered a lot of water retention in her legs and her acupuncturist suggested Chinese herbs, my mom opted for lemongrass tea. Dad made a bunch for her and her problem was solved in days. Try it out as an option for herbal tea. A little won’t hurt or harm you and it may even help you in the long run.
Last week, Bo Gia sent info on turmeric, as reported in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. The article spoke about a study showing that turmeric has antifungal properties and potentially, the ability to fight many ailments. The newspaper also provided a tofu vindaloo recipe, which I thought was really cool. Pittsburgh? Yes, Pittsburgh.
Turmeric has long been on the phytochemical radar and my mom and I recently talked about how it’s used in Viet dishes, quite possibly as much for flavor as health. We mostly use ground turmeric in foods but recently I’ve also gravitated toward finely cutting fresh turmeric and adding it to Asian salads for flavor, color and heat. Also try this grilled Thai turmeric chicken recipe that I made from Simple Thai Food.
And the ginseng Bo Gia gifted us continues to grow. It’s lasted through the drought just fine and this week, my husband Rory said, “Why aren’t we eating the leaves like Bo says?” So he picked and bunch and I added them to a quick Viet canh soup with pork and opo squash.
The leaves went in the pot toward the end and made it slightly thick and added natural sweetness. I grow Viet herbs so it seems like an extra treat to be able to pluck greens straight from the garden to cook with.
Finally, this isn’t a wellness tip but Bo Gia also flagged an OC Weekly story about the Little Saigon summertime night market. It looks really fun so check it out if you’re in Southern California.
Pretty darn good for someone who is 85 and had two stent implants last year. That’s my dad and he keeps on trucking.
Happy Father’s Day to you and yours.
