I have a friend and Sunday school teacher who greets me each
week by calling me “Sweet Sue.”
Sometimes, when he wants to be funny, he calls me “Sweet and Sour
Sue.” Sometimes he asks me which Sue I
am that day.
I joke back by telling him, I was Sweet Sue until I saw him,
then Sour Sue takes over. I love to
laugh. A sense of humor has helped me
through this grieving process.
In a recent
study at Stanford, researchers showed comics to people while their brains were
monitored by an MRI. They were able to prove for the first time that humor
stimulates the parts of our brain that use the "feel good"
chemical messenger dopamine. That puts laughter in the category of activities
you want to do over and over again.
Face Time: When we laugh, as many as 15 small muscles squeeze our faces into a smile. Increased blood flow there may turn us a bit pinker and give us a happy glow.
Eyes Have It: If the laugh is vigorous enough, our tear ducts can activate. Our glee can have a cumulative effect till we're literally crying with joy-and studies show that tears, whether happy or sad, may reduce symptoms of stress.
Mouth Off: Researchers have tested the saliva of patients after laughing episodes and found that they have higher levels of disease-fighting agents called immuno-globulins. Other studies have found higher blood levels of killer T-cells, suggesting that laughter may raise our immune function.
Vocal Point: Our vocal equipment gets a workout to produce our high-pitched laughter. The diaphragm, a strong muscle under the lungs, pumps down and up, filling the lungs, and then blasting air out of them, up through the voice box to produce the laugh. Because the lungs are exchanging much more air than normal, they enrich the blood with oxygen.
Laughter seems
to help diabetics keep their glucose levels
in check.
Laughter seems
to have an analgesic effect: It increases our tolerance for pain.
Belly Laughs: A hearty laugh can cause us to
double and tense all
our major muscle groups for minutes at a time, leading to a simple conclusion:
Laughter is exercise. I guess you could
say, "Laughter is inner jogging." The heart rate and blood pressure
go up while you're laughing, but then they fall down below your baseline
afterward, the same as with exercise. This could be very important exercise for
elderly and sick people who can't get out and run two miles.
It seems
researchers simply confirm what the Lord has already told us. “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine.”
Laugh with a
friend today. It is good for you.
Here is a recipe for SWEET & SOUR CHICKEN!
1 c. water
1/2 tsp. Accent
1/2 c. milk
dash of pepper
1 egg
2 lb. chicken breast, boneless, skinless
2 T. salt
all-purpose flour
Mix water, milk,egg, salt, Accent, and pepper. Cut pieces of chicken in small chunks and roll in flour.
Dip in liquid mixture, then again in flour. Fry in hot oil until crispy and browned. Keep warm. Mix into sweet and sour sauce. Serve with rice.
Sweet and Sour Sauce
1-2 green peppers, cut in strips
3/4 c. ketchup
1/2 c. red wine vinegar
1 (20-oz.) can pineapple chunks, drained
3-4 carrots, cut in small sticks
1-2 green peppers, cut in strips
1 med. onion,cut in chunks
1/3 c. sugar
1 clove garlic, minced
1 c. chicken broth
1/2 c. honey
1-2 tsp. soy sauce
3 T. cornstarch in 1/2 cup water
3 T. oil
Stir fry green pepper, carrots, and onion, in small amount oil with garlic and soy sauce for 2-3 minutes. Veges should be tender-crisp. Remove from pan. Place 3 T. oil,ketchup, vinegar, chicken broth, sugar and honey in pan.
Add cornstarch dissolved in cold water. Heat to boiling and cook until thickened. If it appears too pale, add a drop or 2 of red food color. Toss in pineapple, veges, and fried chicken. Add a little more soy sauce, if needed.
Note: Sauce and stir fried veges can be done in advance, but chicken will get soggy. Another option is to serve chicken and pass the sauce separately.
Confectionately Yours,
Sue
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