What me germy?

Ah late January.  The peak of flu and cold season.  My office is a cesspool of snifflers, coughers and tummy-achers and I can only suppose that many of you are experiencing the same thing.  Some of you might be sick yourselves and not even know it yet.  DUN DUN DUNNNNNNNNNNNNNN.  Did you get your flu shot yet?  I know that the buzz is that this season is the worst in years…but doesn’t it kind of seem like they say that every year?  I stopped keeping track.  It used to be unimportant because I knew I would get sick regardless of anything I did—chronic bronchitis was a fact of my life—but now that I’m actually entering the first full year of my life lung-infection free, I find myself wanting to know these things again.  I’m tempted to get the flu shot but at the same time I’m afraid to disrupt the delicate balance my immune system seems to have achieved.  Like the clock said “If it isn’t Baroque, don’t fix it—ahahahaha” **TRIVIA TIME: name the movie that line is from and the name of the character who said it to win a prize.**

With that in mind it occurs to me that folks still might not know the difference between bacterial and viral infections.  I forget that not everyone was awake during biology in high school, and since my field of work is in the medical field, I also forget that few people are exposed to this kind of information past those adolescent years.  For those of you who do know this distinction, well this post will be something of a DUH for you.  For those of you who would say HUH about this topic, please try to keep your eyes open.  I really think it’s useful knowledge—I mean everyone gets sick eventually and don’t you want to know about the things that are going on inside your own body?  Of course you do!  If you don’t then you should because knowledge is power and staying healthy requires at least a basic rudimentary course in all things micro-organic.

What is the difference between bacteria and a virus?

Bacteria are living organisms capable, typically, of functioning entirely independent of the human host.  They are single celled organisms with their own DNA and reproductive cycles.  They live in all sorts of environments, including some extreme locations like the inside of volcanos, radioactive waste, frozen glaciers and inside of YOU.  Thankfully not all of these microscopic buggers are bad and in fact many of them are essential to keeping the delicate digestive balance in an array of animal life on the planet.  The bad bacteria however can really mess you up.  A bacterial infection occurs when one of these bad boys gets comfy somewhere in or on your body and begins to reproduce at a rapid rate.  These suckers make you sick with the byproducts of their growth, the breakdown of your body to feed them, and generally overwhelming your body with their numbers.  Since these organisms exist independent of your own bodily organs and cells, the way to eliminate the infection is to eradicate the invaders.  Antibiotics serve this purpose.  There are a number of types of antibiotics that are essentially little weaponized pills that target and destroy some aspect of the bacteria’s biology.  Penicillin, as an example, acts by disrupting the cell wall structure in bacterial cells.  Breaking down the cell walls causes the bacteria to die.  Antibiotic resistance is something that occurs when bacteria evolve and lose or modify the specific trait our antibiotics target.  For example if the bacteria strain previously susceptible to penicillin evolve to exist without cell walls will then be resistant to the drug and it would no longer work to kill them.  When you stop taking antibiotics before all the bacteria are killed you increase the likelihood of this kind of resistance happening.  Evolution is not a magical response to the drug—for example the bacteria being targeted won’t suddenly lose its cell wall.  Instead it is one of the subsequent generations, maybe the original bacterial’s great great great great grand-cell, which will have its DNA copied over incorrectly resulting in a mutation that causes it to lose the cell wall.  This is why it is so essential to finish your antibiotics.  Even if you are feeling better, there may be a few lonely bacterial cells wandering in your system.  They will continue to reproduce and over time may produce a freak of nature that is resistant to your drugs.  So finish that bottle and kill every last sucker!

A virus is an entirely different creature and in fact is still debated as to whether or not it can be considered “alive” or not.  A virus does not exist without a host.  A virus is essentially just a protein, a line of DNA, which hijacks your cells and causes them to stop producing your DNA and start producing the viral DNA.  Once your cell is hijacked it starts producing more cells that also code the viral DNA and continue to multiply and divide.  Since it’s your own cell that is now working against your body designing a medication to target and eradicate is a problem.  You’d need some way to distinguish between the viral cell and your healthy cell.  This can be extremely hard to do, especially when viruses multiply so quickly and evolve at a rapid rate.  Since the virus actually interacts with the host DNA it can incorporate and change more quickly.  Our immune systems are still the best at targeting and destroying the invaders provided they can act quickly enough and learn what the virus looks like.  So you might be wondering then: what is a flu shot?  It’s actually a shot of the virus.  Typically a dead version of the virus, though weakened live versions called “attenuated” vaccines, are becoming more common.  The whole point is to introduce your body to the virus so it can learn to recognize it and eradicate it should you ever come into contact again in the future.  This is why occasionally someone who gets a flu shot actually winds up getting sick.  Their body didn’t get the memo for some reason that it should be killing this weakened virus which then manages to just infect the person and get them sick.

Now bear in mind, those of you who are biopeople, that this is a very high level, low detail and generalized explanation.  I’m already broaching the two page mark and I don’t want to overload my readers and scare them off with big words or boring textbook rants.  Especially since I know most of you come here for the yummies and not the germies.

Well what about GERMY YUMMIES?  A different kind of germ: wheat germ!

These were the prize for my last trivia question which was won by Chelsea in LA – she was the first to note that my “Joey for Jam” was a reference to Joey from the show Friends who goes totally bonkers for the homemade jam brewed up by Monica.  I’ve always felt that of the characters on that show, I’m the most like Monica.  Jewish.  Battle of the binge and bulge.  Type A.  Cleans to distress.  Loves to cook and bake.  Always griping about people using coasters.  Oh yeah.  Definitely the Monica.

I really like these cookies.  They have a nice lemon-honey flavor and a wholesome look/texture thanks to the incorporation of wheat germ.  You might even feel like you’re eating something good for you since wheat germ is the part of wheat that is high in vitamins and fiber.  Typically it gets removed from white breads in the milling process because it produces a slightly grittier texture when left intact.  These cookies get a healthy load of the wheat germ both in the batter and sprinkled on top before baking.  So you can eat them and feel satisfied that on top of the bad for you sugar/fats, you’re also getting folic acid, vitamin e, zinc and some magnesium.  Who knows, they might even help you fight off a cold this season!  They definitely remind me a little of cup of hot lemon tea which I always associate with this time of year and sniffles.

Honey Wheat Germ Cookies

From Dorie Greenspan’s “Baking from my home to yours”

• 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup wheat germ
• 1 tsp double-acting baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
• 1 stick (8 tablespoons; 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• ½ cup honey
• 1 large egg

Whisk together the flour, 1/2 cup of the wheat germ (you’ll use the other 1/2 cup right before baking), the baking powder and the salt and keep nearby.

Working in the bowl of a mixer, rub the sugar and lemon zest together with your fingers until the sugar is moist.  Using the paddle attachment, if you have one, beat the lemon-sugar and the butter on medium speed for about 2 minutes, until creamy and smooth.  Add the honey and beat another minute or two.  Add the egg and beat for about 2 minutes more, until you have a smooth, light and fluffy mixture.  Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients in two portions, mixing only until each addition disappears.  Scrape the dough out onto a large piece of plastic wrap, seal and chill the dough at least 2 hours or for up to 2 days.

Getting ready to bake:  Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Have a pair of lined baking sheets (page 000) at hand.  For convenience, you can shape the second sheet of while the first is baking.

Put the remaining 1/2 cup wheat germ into a bowl and keep it near you.  Remove the chilled dough from the fridge and working with a spoonful at a time, roll the dough between your palms into 1-inch balls.  Drop each ball into the wheat germ, turn to coat, then place the balls on a baking sheet, leaving about an inch of space between balls (these don’t spread much).  Use your palm or the bottom of a glass to gently flatten each cookie.

Slide the sheet into the oven and bake 10 to 12 minutes, or until the cookies are just firm to the touch.  Transfer the cookies to racks to cool to room temperature and repeat with the remaining dough.

Serving:  With honey and lemon in the cookies, tea is a natural go-along.

Storing:  The dough can be made up to 2 days ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator.  Once baked, the cookies will keep at room temperature for about 3 days, or in the freezer for up to 2 months.