São Paulo – A book of recipes with the flavours of Arab cuisine turned to helping patients with chronic kidney disease to follow their diets without missing out on the pleasures of taste. This is the objective of book “A Cozinha e a Terapia Renal – Sabores para Mil e uma Noites” (Cuisine and Renal Thearpy – Flavours for a Thousand and One Nights), written by five professionals in the health area, nephrologists and nutritionists, with the help of two chefs specialized in Arab cuisine and a writer.
The publication includes 26 recipes of the main Arab dishes, like safihas and raw kibbehs, developed especially to supply the nutritional needs of renal patients. The book also brings the history of Arab cuisine in Brazil, clues regarding nutrition for people with renal problems and a list of ingredients and spices of the Middle East.
According to nephrologists Carmen Tzanno Branco Martins, a director at the Guarulhos Integrated Nephrology Centre and at dialysis clinic Home Dialysis Centre, in São Paulo, who organized the book, Arab cuisine is very healthy, as it has an adequate combination of proteins, carbohydrates, fats, minerals and vitamins.
According to the doctor, patients with chronic renal disease need to follow a diet with less protein, salt, phosphorous and fats. “We have adapted the recipes so that they may be as fresh, consistent and tasty as the original, but complying with restrictions [of the patient’s diet].”
The book is part of a series of publications turned to renal patients. The series also includes works with Brazilian and Portuguese, as well as Japanese recipes. Carmen tells that the idea of including Arab cuisine in this menu arose due to the popularity of the dishes in Brazil, where there are several restaurants all over the country.
To maintain the flavour of the dishes as closes as possible to the original recipes, the authors took on specific activities, in which the doctors pointed out the diet restrictions, nutritionists pointed out the volumes of substances to be ingested and the chefs replaced condiments and ingredients for similar ones.
Carmen pointed out that all recipes were tested several times to guarantee that their flavour was close to that of the original. According to her, the group elaborated the dishes so that they would “comply with the medical part, maintaining the pleasures of the table.”
Service
A Cozinha e a Terapia Renal – Sabores para Mil e uma Noites
Organizers: Carmen Tzanno Branco Martins and Elvino José Guradão Barros
RCN Editora
Site: https://ssl454.locaweb.com.br/rcneditora/
*Translated by Mark Ament
