My Food: Breaking Away from Chocolate
The heart-shaped box of chocolates is a traditional token of love by millions every Valentine’s Day. But not everyone likes chocolate. Local chocolatiers offer their suggestions for alternative treats.
Peanut brittle. Maryann Candies still makes its peanut brittle in house using original owner Ed Synek’s family recipe, according to current proprietor Carol Kwiatkowski.
“We put it in Valentine heart boxes,” she says. “Or you could put [it] in regular boxes with heart paper.”
Those whose honeys prefer their nuts simply roasted and salted can pick them up at a warmer, from-the-roaster toasty. Peanut brittle $11.95 a pound/mixed nuts, cashews or pistachios $15.95 a pound, 8945 Brecksville Road, Brecksville, 440-526-4006, maryanncandies.com.
Pecan caramel popcorn. Mitchell’s Fine Chocolates’ nutty variant tosses Cleveland-based Hillson Nut Co.’s roasted-and-salted Georgia pecan halves and Humphrey Popcorn Co. popcorn in founder Chris Mitchell’s classic caramelized sugar syrup.
“It’s just that perfect in-between of salty, sweet and crunchy,” says current owner Emily Bean. “It’s just the right-sized bag.” $6.95 an 8-ounce bag, 2285 Lee Road, Cleveland Heights, 216-932-3200, mitchellschocolates.com.
Red pucker lips. “The chewy candies are shaped like lips,” Malley’s president and chief executive officer Mike Malley says of the cherry-flavored confections. They’re packaged in a clear quarter ounce bag, so you can see them,” he adds. The company’s 19 Northeast Ohio stores also sell lots of mixed nuts and cashews. The candy lips can also be purchased by the pound. Pricing not available at press time, 216-226-8300/
(800) 275-6255, malleys.com.
My Health: Handling Allergic Reactions to OTC Pain Relievers
“Too much Las Vegas.”
It was what one man uttered as an emergency medical technician helped a passenger down the aisle of a plane at Harry Reid International Airport. Minutes earlier, the passenger had passed out, then thrown up.
Emergency room doctors at a local hospital believed the passenger had suffered an allergic reaction to an over-the-counter (OTC) pain reliever.
An allergic reaction to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or NSAIDs, a class that includes OTC pain relievers such as ibuprofen, naproxen and aspirin, is more common than one might think, according to University Hospitals allergist Dr. Samuel Friedlander. “Generally, people have reactions like hives” and swelling, he says. In fact, hives are triggered by NSAIDs in about 20% of those with chronic hives.
He continues, “If they take an ibuprofen, it’s going to make their hives much worse, to the point where they might end up having to go to the hospital and be treated. That I see regularly — like, at least once a week.” He adds that because OTC pain relievers are considered safe, some people don’t realize what triggered the event until they end up in his office and he specifically asks if they took an NSAID.
“I can’t tell you the number of times that people say, ‘Oh, yeah, I did!’”
Friedlander urges reading labels carefully. He notes, for example, that simply switching from Motrin to Advil doesn’t mean switching pain relievers — both brand names contain ibuprofen. Some OTC medications contain multiple active ingredients. And pain relievers that list, say, acetaminophen as a primary active ingredient also may contain aspirin.
“A lot of people don’t realize that aspirin is in other products like Alka-Seltzer,” he says. “Even though these medications are [available] OTC, it’s important to consult with your physician so that you can make sure that you’re taking the right medicine, you’re doing it safely and you’re having someone think about possible side effects or … risks.”
My Health: Is Over-the-Counter Cold Medicine Effective?
In September the Food and Drug Administration issued a statement that phenylephrine, a main ingredient in over-the-counter (OTC) cold and allergy medicines such as Benadryl Allergy Plus Congestion, Sudafed PE and Vicks Sinex Severe LiquiCaps, is not effective in oral form.
Dr. Christine Alexander, MetroHealth System’s chair of family medicine, explains that phenylephrine is indeed effective when used topically as a spray. It shrinks blood vessels in the nasal passages, in turn reducing swelling.
“You then feel less congested and feel like you can get more air in and out of your nose,” she says.
In 2006, OTC products containing pseudoephedrine, a decongestant that achieved the same result when taken by mouth, was moved behind the counter to stem its conversion into methamphetamine. The products were still available without a prescription, but customers had to submit identification to pharmacies, which limited the amount any one person could buy — not enough, she says, for multiple family members fighting a cold at the same time — and tracked purchases of it. The FDA fulfilled demand for another product that could be purchased in larger quantities by making phenylephrine available orally, a version that simply isn’t absorbed by the body well enough to achieve the effect it has topically.
“There were some studies that said it was effective when taken by mouth,” Alexander recalls. “But they weren’t particularly well done.
Alexander recommends those looking for the relief achieved with pseudoephedrine try a product containing guaifenesin. The active ingredient, found in brand names such as Robitussin and Mucinex, breaks up the mucus that causes congestion, making it easier to expel.
“It works well with coughs, especially,” she notes. She advises limiting the use of nasal sprays containing phenylephrine or oxymetazoline, another blood-vessel-shrinking OTC drug found in the brand Afrin, to six doses — say, two to three sprays twice a day for no more than three days or two to three sprays once a day for six days.
“By just shutting down those blood vessels too much, you can cause a worsening of the condition,” she cautions. “There’s this rebound swelling that happens.”
My Earth: Cleaning the Air with Houseplants
Dust, dirt, smoke, soot — they’re visible enemies of good air quality. But there are invisible threats, too, particularly in more airtight energy-efficient structures. Noelle Clark Akin, manager of training and education at Oakwood Village-based Petitti Garden Centers, lists carbon monoxide, mold and mildew spores and organic compounds such as benzene, a solvent found in paints; trichloroethylene, another solvent used in adhesives; and formaldehyde, a preservative added to wood and paper products.
Akin suggests decreasing pollutants by adding a green weapon: plants. She quotes a study that recommends adding a plant in a pot 6 inches in diameter for every 100 square feet. For those who aren’t looking to become plant collectors, Akin has an alternative.
“Place plants where you spend the most time,” she advises. “So if you spend the most time [at] your computer, then place some plants around your computer.”
Her three easy-to-care-for living air purifiers to try:
Peace lily. Peace lilies are easily identified by the white single-petal-like spathe and stamen-like spadix they produce.
“They actually yellow if they’re put into too much sunlight or direct light,” Akin says — making them ideal for offices and areas of the home with lower light levels. “They have a natural water indicator — they just slightly wilt when they’re dry,” she adds.
Areca palm. Akin notes that studies that have shown the Areca palm, which requires medium to bright light, distinguishes itself from the houseplant pack with its ability to filter carbon monoxide. Its long fronds and abundance of leaflets help regulate humidity levels, in turn reducing mold, mildew and bacteria. “Being able to cover a lot of surface area, they do a great job of cleaning the air,” she says.
Bromeliad. This tropical plant can take bright indirect light, along with some sun which, it requires to retain the color of its central bract column. Akin notes that it is “excellent” at filtering formaldehyde from the air.
“It’s easy for somebody who is not really comfortable watering their plants,” she says. Simply fill the “vase” formed by the plant’s leaves at the beginning of the week, pour out whatever remains at the end and refill.
