Dr. Sternberg joins Arthritis Today with a regular column exploring the connection between mind and body.

The fragrance of the Greek tzatziki, dolmades and moussaka dishes my neighbors brought me shortly after I moved to Washington, D.C., made me feel warm and at home. I was particularly down at that time – my mother had just died and, recently diagnosed with inflammatory arthritis, I still had pain and swelling in my joints despite treatment with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs. And here was a couple I had never met bringing me delicious and nurturing Greek food similar to the Romanian dishes my mother had cooked when I was a child. 

Food can be healthful for not only its nutritional value but also its emotional value. Both aspects can promote healing.

Perhaps it was the feeling of familiarity from the food that made me comfortable enough to accept my neighbors’ invitation to Crete soon after I met them. There, I feasted on Mediterranean food rich in olive oil, seafood and fresh vegetable dishes – including an eggplant salad like my mother made, called vinete, which we ate almost every day when I was a child. 

I was eating large quantities of these foods, and yet my figure was getting trimmer, almost certainly because I was swimming and walking every day, and not eating hamburgers and french fries, as I had been in Washington. The pain in my joints began to ease. 

Many ingredients in this diet – both tangible and intangible – could contribute to reducing inflammation, from antioxidants in fresh vegetables and omega-3s in seafood to a chemical similar to ibuprofen in fresh pressed olive oil. The fact that I was eating food that brought back the warm and comforting feelings of childhood, and was surrounded by friends, also could have contributed to my energy and sense of well-being. 

I had been exhausted and burnt out after years of long-distance caretaking during my mother’s illness. In burnout, stress hormones that had been switched on too high become depleted. One is cortisol, a natural form of cortisone that shuts off inflammation in the body. When cortisol is depleted or tissues become resistant to it, as happens in burnout, autoimmune diseases can be triggered. 

Eating something pleasurable – especially in good company – triggers brain chemicals that promote physiological healing. Scent molecules spark an electrical signal to the brain, and if you associate the scent with positive emotion, anti-pain endorphin molecules are released in the brain. Eating a tasty food results in the release of the nerve chemical of desire, dopamine. Digesting a satisfying meal activates the brain’s relaxation response, releasing the anti-stress chemical, acetylcholine. Together, these chemicals reduce the stress response, improve mood and promote physiological mechanisms important in healing. 

The company of friends also triggers reward pathways in the brain, and many studies show that social support is important in reducing stress and improving health. 

So when you are feeling stressed, take time to slow down, share a meal with friends and savor the happy memories that flavors bring you. By doing so, you will reduce your stress response and give your immune system a chance to reset and heal.

Romanian Family Recipes

The recipes for eggplant salad, vinete, and Romanian stuffed grape leaves, sarmale, are from a family cookbook that my brother-in-law, Don Petzold, put together, based on my mother's and his family's recipes. These two are my mother's, Ghitta Sternberg.

The sarmale are a sweet version of the Greek dolmades, which are savory. You can vary the recipes by using more rice and less meat, or by using ground chicken.

I also have substituted the meat with tofu, which works well.

Add polenta (instructions below) and a Greek salad, and you have an entire meal.

Romanian Eggplant

Serves 4 or 5 as a main course

1 large eggplant

¼ cup chopped onion, or to taste

¼ to ½ cup oil – either corn, safflower or some other mild-tasting oil

1 Tbs. lemon juice, optional

Salt to taste

Broil eggplant at 550 degrees for about 20 minutes, until skin blisters and looses its shiny appearance. Turn it often while broiling. Peel and drain off the liquid. Put in blender and cover with oil. Blend briefly until it’s of spreadable consistency. Add onion, salt and lemon juice, and mix. Garnish with a few kalamata olives.

Serve as a salad over lettuce or as a dip with crackers or rye bread.

Romanian Stuffed Grape Leaves

Makes 6 to 8 servings – about 36 stuffed leaves

1 jar (16 ounces) grape leaves in brine

1 pound uncooked ground beef

1 cup cooked rice

¼ cup sugar

1/8 tsp. garlic powder

¼ cup onion, chopped

1 egg, slightly beaten

1 can (48 ounces) tomato juice

2 Tbs. lemon juice

¼ cup molasses

Soak grape leaves in water about 5 minutes to remove excess brine. Lay flat, vein side up, and set aside. Mix together the ground beef, cooked rice, sugar, garlic powder, chopped onion and beaten egg. Place a heaping teaspoonful of the meat mixture at the stem end of a leaf. Fold both sides of the leaf toward the center, over the mixture, and then roll up from the stem end. Continue with each leaf until all of the meat has been used.

Place stuffed leaves, loose side of the leaf facing down, into a large pan. Add enough tomato juice to cover and sprinkle evenly with one tablespoon lemon juice. Drizzle one-half of the molasses evenly over all. Simmer on the stove, covered, 30 minutes. Transfer carefully to an ovenproof dish. Add more tomato juice to cover, if needed, then drizzle with remaining lemon juice and molasses. Cover with aluminum foil, and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Remove foil and bake an additional 15 to 30 minutes. Grape leaves will have a dark, glazed appearance when done. Serve over rice or with traditional polenta.

Notes:

Honey may be substituted for molasses for a lighter taste.

Freeze remaining brined grape leaves for later use. Stuffed leaves may also be frozen after simmering or baking.

Mamaliga, or Polenta

Makes 4 servings.

Boil 2 cups of water  – salted to taste. In a thin, steady stream, gradually whisk in 1 cup yellow cornmeal until really smooth to prevent lumps. Add just enough more cornmeal to thicken. Remove from heat and add 1 Tbs. butter or margarine. At this point, you may mix in ½ cup shredded cheese (any type) and remove to serving bowl, or remove to serving bowl first and sprinkle cheese on top. May be served with sour cream or topped with tomato sauce.

May be transferred to a greased bowl to set, then inverted on a dish before serving.

Recipes courtesy of Aline and Don Petzold

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Esther M. Sternberg, MD, rheumatologist and researcher, is the author of Healing Spaces: The Science of Place and Well-being (Harvard University Press, 2009).