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Arthritis Insight Chat
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Hello, Hello! Summer was back over the weekend, but fall will be here tomorrow. The weather is so changeable this time of year, it is hard to know what to wear or to cook, for that matter. Most folk eat more lightly on hot days.
But autumn will be truly upon is, in no time.

And with that thought in mind, I have some budget conscious, super easy, crock pot recipes for you. Over the next few weeks I will have many more. Today's are chicken recipes requiring less 6 or less ingredients. I think for most of these recipes you can substitute cut up chicken hind quarters for the chicken breasts. The cooking time will just be a bit longer.

Crockpot Italian Chicken
About 2 lb. of chicken (boneless chicken breasts recommended)
1 pkg. dry Italian spaghetti sauce mix
1 sm. can diced tomatoes (15 oz.) 
1 sm. can tomato sauce (8 oz.)
Place the chicken in the crock, sprinkle with the dry mix
Add the can of tomatoes and the can of tomato sauce
Cook on low all day (7-9 hr.)
Or on high 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 hrs
Serve with pasta and Parmesan cheese and garlic bread.
Hawaiian Chicken
About 3 lb. of chicken parts
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 C soy sauce 
1/2 C chopped green onions
1/2 C honey
1 can chunk pineapple
Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper and place in Crockpot. Combine soy sauce, pineapple with juice, and green onion and pour over chicken.
Cover and cook on low for about 7 hr.
Serve with rice.

Cola Chicken
1 whole chicken (1 1/2 lb to 2 1/2 LB)
1 C ketchup
1 large onion thinly sliced
1 C of Coke or Pepsi or other cola drink
Wash and pat chicken dry 
Salt and pepper to taste
Put chicken in Crockpot with the onions on top
Add cola and ketchup
Cook on low for 6 to 8 hr.
Creamy Dijon Chicken
4 to 6 boneless chicken breasts
1 pkg. Dijon mustard sauce mix
1 can cream of mushroom soup
Combine all ingredients in Crockpot
Cover and cook on low 6-8 hr.

Italian Dressing Crockpot Chicken
4-6 chicken breasts
1/4 C white wine
1 pkg. dry Italian salad dressing mix
Brown chicken in skillet.
Place chicken in Crockpot 
Sprinkle dry salad dressing mix over chicken
Add wine Cook for about 4 hr. on high
(I haven't tried this one yet, but I'll bet if you add about a 1/2 cup of water, you can increase cooking time and put it on low for 6-8 hrs)

If you have questions, comments or suggestions, please address them to Char@arthritisinsight.com 
And dont forget, I am looking for holiday recipes folks. I got one this week, so I know SOMEBODY is paying attention. LOL 
God bless and see you next week.

Fosamax (Alendronate) Shows Continued Benefits After Seven Years
TAMPERE, FINLAND -- May 10, 2000 -- The latest results from a study on Fosamax(R) (alendronate sodium), Merck & Co., Inc.'s osteoporosis medicine, showed that after seven years of continuous use the drug continued to build bone in the spine, maintained bone at the hip, and was generally well-tolerated in the trial. The results presented at the 27th European Symposium on Calcified Tissue were derived from the largest, randomized, long-term study of an osteoporosis therapy. Merck plans on continuing the study for another three years to examine the efficacy and safety of Fosamax for a total of 10 years.
"With the availability of alternative osteoporosis treatment options in recent years, many physicians and patients have expressed interest in learning more about the long- term effects of these therapies," said investigator Richard Tonino, M.D., associate professor of medicine, University of Vermont College of Medicine. "Now patients and physicians can feel reassured that continued use of Fosamax provides continued bone benefits while maintaining a good safety and tolerability profile."
http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/1d0f9e.htm  

Medicare Drug Coverage: Senate Democrats Offer Prescription 
New Bill Will Square Off Against Republican Proposal
By Sean Martin
WebMD Washington Correspondent
May 10, 2000 (Washington) -- President Clinton Wednesday introduced 73-year-old widow Betty Dizik as "Exhibit A" at a White House event touting congressional Democrats' new
Medicare prescription drug legislation. Dizik purchases supplemental "Medigap" insurance, but it does not include prescription drug coverage. She works five days a week for Meals on Wheels, but with $23,000 inyearly income and $450 in monthly drug costs for a heart condition and diabetes, she must skip medications to make ends meet elsewhere. "I'm 
charity," she said. "I'm just asking for a little help." A study released today by the Older Women's League claimed that women spend 13% more than men do for prescription drugs, despite the fact that on average, their incomes
are 40% lower. About one-third of the nation's senior citizens have no drug benefit even as medications make up an increasing part of health care and drug prices are the highest in the world. "We would never think of creating Medicare today without it," Clinton said Wednesday.
http://www.ahn.com/inhealth/NewsBasicDisplay.asp?DocID=6294 

Splitting Drugs for Pain in Twain 
Leaving the addiction behind in morphine, heroin 
By Nicolle Charbonneau
HealthSCOUT 
WEDNESDAY, May 10 (HealthSCOUT) -- Clipping the pain relief part of morphine and heroin from the addictive part of these opiates may one day lead to new ways to treat both pain and drug addiction, says new research. 
These drugs relieved pain in mice bred to lack a chemical receptor in their brain, and the animals don't become addicted to them, says a report in the latest issue of Nature. The critical element missing in these mice is called the substance P receptor, found on the outside of brain cells. Substance P is a neurotransmitter -- a chemical that carries messages from nerve cells to other cells -- that has been linked to pain relief and depression. 
http://www.healthscout.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/Af.woa/8/wo/
la8000c2400to00029/0.0.7.5.4.1.
0.13.2.3.1.0 

New Hope for Sufferers of Psoriasis-Related Arthritis
Jean Lawrence, Medical Writer 
A new, injectable medication called etanercept and marketed under the trade name Enbrel is achieving significant results treating psoriatic arthritis (a form of the joint-inflaming disorder linked to the skin disease psoriasis). Better yet, the new drug also improves the skin lesions caused by the disorder. Philip J. Mease, MD, medical director of the Division of Clinical Research at the University of Washington in Seattle and lead investigator of a trial of etanercept recently reported to the American College of Rheumatology, says psoriatic arthritis has been getting more recognition lately but is not really on the rise. Nevertheless, 7 million Americans suffer from psoriasis and about a tenth to a third of those develop arthritis symptoms linked to this genetically passed, noncontagious disorder. 
http://cbshealthwatch.netscape.com/netcenter/p/G_library/
article.asp?contentType=library&PageType=general&RecID=207590&
Channel=23

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Life and Laughter with Arthritis
(ron@arthritisinsight.com)

No funny stories this week, so you have to listen to another one of Tina's:

This took place a couple of years ago when my medication related GI troubles began. I was scheduled for a scope of BOTH ends with some xrays to follow. My Mom went with me because I wouldn't be able to drive home with the drugs they give for a scope.