Category Archives: Health & Nutrition

Guide to Nutritional Supplements and weight management.

Principles of Natural Health

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Good health is the normal state of the human body, and this should continue
from birth until death under normal conditions.

When given the right conditions, the human body is a very efficient self healing
mechanism. The body’s ability to heal depends directly on it’s level of vitality.
The higher the vitality, the faster and more powerful the healing.

Improving lifestyle increases vitality and elimination of toxins, which may bring
about symptons. These are but temporary and are often wrongly interpreted as
a sign that the lifestyle changes are doing more harm than good.
We are often getting worse before we get better.

Infectious disease is not a change attack on the body by some foreign organism.
Generally speaking, it is part of the body’s defence processes at work.

The primary, underlying cause of most acute and degenerative diseases is
toxaemia as a result of our modern lifestyle. And repeatedly suppressing minor
ailments by drugs of the body’s efforts to cleanse itself from toxaemia
for many years with a lifestyle for which the human body was not designed.

The decrease in vitality as we grow older is compounded by the accumulating
toxaemia. There comes a time when our bodys no longer have sufficient vitality
to cleanse themselves with a cold, the flu or similar minor ailments.
The build-up of toxins escalates and eventually results in damage to organs or
other tissues. This is degenerative disease.

Depending on diet, stress, other aspects of lifestyle and inherited weaknesses,
the degeneration may manifest itself as arthritis, osteoporoses, gallstones, ulcers,
high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, nerve damage or a host of
other problems. By some mechanism that is now gradually coming to be
understood, the degeneration may ultimately result in cancer.

When we understand toxaemia, it is perfectly clear why rheumatism and arthritis
in their various forms are the most widespread degenerative diseases in Australia,
affecting one person in every six.

Fortunately, the same healing principles that apply to acute disease, also apply
to degenerative diseases. If the cause is removed and vitality subsequently
restored, the body will attempt to heal itself.
Generally speaking, provided there is no total destruction of tissue, it will do so.

The time required for full recovery may be a matter of weeks, months or even years.
Fortunately, the initial improvement is often immediate, which encourages
the person to persevere. As a rule of thumb, it takes approximately one month for
each year of age to restore a HIGH level of health. However, the return to
good health may be greatly accelerated by the use of USANA Health Sciences’
Nutritional Supplements.

Old age is not synonymous with disease. Disease is more common in older
people only because of the accumulated effects of our modern lifestyle.
For the the most part we have it in our own hands to maintain a high level of
physical and mental wellbeing to a ripe old age, if we choose what’s right for us.

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Health & Nutrition

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Healthy Recipes

Health & Nutrition,

Asparagus, Spring Onion, and Mushroom Pasta

Asparagus reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer. Prevent birth defects, keep skin and other tissues healthy, support healthy eyes and a healthy immune system.

Store them away from light, and heat to protect the folate. Cook them gently

Ingredients:
1 pound thin asparagus
3/4 pound mushrooms
2 table spoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 pound spring onions
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup vegetable broth
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
8 ounces dry pappardelle or fettuccine
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method:
Cut off the tough ends of the asparagus and slice crosswise into 2-inch peaces.
Trim the tough stems from the mushrooms. If the mushrooms are dirty,
quickly rinse in cold water and pat dry before slicing them into bite-size pieces.

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat.
Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring until lightly browned, about 5 minutes.
Add the onions and cook 1 to 2 minutes, until softened.
Add the asparagus and cook, stirring , for 2 minutes.
Add the wine and simmer for 1 to 2 minutes until the liquid has evaporated.
Add the vegetable broth and bring to the boil.
Add the butter and toss until melted into the vegetables,
Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta according to
package directions until all dente. Drain and transfer to a large bowl.
Mix in the sauce and the parsley.
Season to taste with additional salt and pepper.

Makes 4 servings

Nutritional Value:
Calories:    436                                        Cholesterol:  30 mg
Total fat:    20 g                                       Sodium         104mg
Saturated fat: 8 g                                  Dietary fiber   4.5 g

SOY FRUIT SMOOTHIE

Ingredients
2 cups vanilla-flavored soy beverage well chilled
1 cup frozen sliced peaches
1 medium banana, cut into chunks
8 medium strawberries
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
ice cubes (optional)

Method:
In a blender, combine the soy beverage, peaches
banana, strawberries, and cinnamon.
Blind until smooth and creamy.
Add a few ice cubes, if desired, and blend again.

Makes two servings.

Cook’s notes: If you are concerned about calories,
use a “lite” soy beverage. This recipe can easily
be doubled and prepared in batches for more people.

Per serving;
Calories 248
Total fat 3.3g
Saturated fat 0.6g
Cholesterol 0 mg
Sodium 122mg
Fiber 4.8 g

The Many Health Benefits of Flaxseed

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Flaxseed has been used for many years for making linen. It’s also known as linseed, one
of the ingredients in paint. The closest it came to being food was its use for livestock feed.
It’s only about a decade ago that science discovered the many health benefits of flaxseed.

Flaxseed is a rich plant source of omega-3 fatty acids. Apart from supporting good vision,
omega-3 also fight weight gain by increasing metabolic rate and they protect against
cancer growth. Flaxseed contains a different type of omega-3 than fish. This type reduces
the incidence of blood clotting, which can increase the risk of heart disease and stroke.
In addition, the omega-3 also appears to help prevent atherosclerosis, increase good HDL
cholesterol, lower levels of dangerous LDL cholesterol, and reduce inflammation.
They may also help to reduce depression.

Apart from omega-3, flaxseed is also a rich source of compounds called lignans.
While many plant foods contain lignans, flaxseed contains by far the most, at least 75 times
more than any other plant food. For example, you have to eat 60 cups of fresh broccoli
or 100 slices of whole-wheat bread to get the same amount of lignans in ¼ cup of flaxseed.
Lignans are important because of their powerful antioxidant properties to help blocking the cell-damaging effects of free radicals.
Food rich in lignans can lower the risk of heart disease. A Finnish study of almost 2,000 men found that those men with the highest lignan intake were significantly less likely to die from heart disease than those with the lowest intake.

Flaxseed also shows some potential of reversing kidney damage caused by lupus.
A condition by which the immune system produces harmful substances that attack and
damage healthy tissues.
When researchers at the University of Western Ontario gave flaxseed to nine people with
lupus related kidney disease, they discovered that several kidney functions, including
the ability to filter waste, quickly improved. The researchers believe that the lignans and
omega-3 in flaxseed fight inflammation in the tiny, very fragile arteries that supply blood
to the kidneys, helping reduce the artery-clogging process that can lead to kidney damage.

Apart from the health benefits of the lignans in flaxseeds to protect your heart, they also
fight cancer in your body. Lignans subdue cancerous changes once’s they have occurred,making them less likely to run out of control and develop into full-blown cancer.
Studies at the University of Toronto shows some promise for battling certain types of
cancer, in particular preventing typical female cancers, like breast- and ovarian cancer.

Two additional properties of the omega-3 in flaxseed, apart from its cancer-fighting power,
is the ability of limiting the body’s production of chemicals called prostaglandins.
The importance of prostaglandins is that they speed up tumor growth in large amounts.

To top it all up, flaxseed is also very high in fiber. Three table spoons of seeds contains
three grams of fiber, which is about twelve percent of the Daily Value.
The important role of fiber in your diet is the ability to block the harmful effects of
compounds that over time may cause changes in the intestine that can lead to cancer.

Whole flaxseed provide little benefit. Flaxseed is the one food that provide more
nutritional benefits when processed. So instead, buy the cracked or milled forms, which
readily give up the nutritious goodness packed inside.
Don’t buy the oil. Most of the lignans in flaxseed are found in the non-oil part of the seed.
While the oil may contain some lignans, it doesn’t provide as much as the other healthful
compounds found in the seeds, such as fiber, protein and minerals.

How to Detox Your Body Naturally

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When you have read my article about Diet and Fitness, you know what
Natural Hygiene means.
The underlying basis of Natural Hygiene is that the body is self-cleansing, self-healing and self-maintaining. It is based on the idea that all the healing power of the universe is in the human body; that nature is always correct and cannot be improved upon.

When we talk about detox your body, we have to take note of the
Three Natural Body Cycles

These cycles are based on rather obvious functions of the human body.
On a daily basis we take in food (appropriation), we absorb and use some of that food, (assimilation), and we get rid of what we don’t use (elimination).

Although each of these three functions is always going on to some extent, each is more intense during certain hours of the day.

1) Noon to 8 P.M.   Appropriation (eating and digestion)
2) 8 P.M. To 4 A.M. Assimilation ( absorption and use)
3) 4 A.M. To noon   Elimination ( of body wastes and food debris)

We know how we maintain metabolic balance and accomplish the removal of
toxic waste from the system while still enjoying our food.
We have to follow three principles or tools,to assist us in doing just that.
The first of these tools is:

The principle of High-water-content Food

When we talk about high-water-content food, there are only two types of food
that have that high water content: they are fruits and vegetables.
They should predominate in our diet.

Besides carrying nutrients into the body, water performs the essential function
of cleansing the body of toxic wastes.

All three of our body cycles function with the greatest ease when supplied with
the water in fruits and vegetables on a regular basis.

If you want to be vibrantly and vigorously alive, in the best possible shape,
you have to eat food that’s alive.

The second principle is: The importance of proper food combining.
Food combining teaches us that the human body is not designed to digest
more than one concentrated food in the stomach at the same time.
Any food that is not a fruit or a vegetable is concentrated.

The principle of correct food combining is based on 11 different food groups
and associated individual foods. You can get a food combining chart from
“Laugh with Health” from the Internet.

Another important thing to keep in mind is that drinking any liquid during a meal
will upset the natural digestive process of the juices in the stomach.
You should not drink within an hour before a meal or within two hours after a meal.

Most people like fruit but don’t know how and when to eat it.
The correct consumption of fruit is closely associated with proper food combining.
Fruit is, without doubt, the most beneficial, energy giving, food you can eat.

Fruit has the highest water content of any food. Fruit requires less energy to be
digested than any other food, in fact, almost none.Fruit is glucose in the body.
Fruit does not digest in the stomach. It is essential to eat it on an empty stomach
and you should never eat it with or immediately following anything else.
This is also very important. Fruit is the most important food that you can eat.

The third principle is: when to eat fruit.
How long do you have to wait before you can eat fruit, depends on the type
of food. After a salad or raw vegetables you have to wait 2 hours.
After a properly combined meal without meat – 3 hours
After a properly combined meal with meat – 4 hours
After any improperly combined meal – 8 hours

From the time you wake up in the morning till noon, eat ONLY fresh fruit and
fruit juice. When you eat fresh fruit on an empty stomach, it has only a positive
effect, it accelerates weight loss.

The detoxification of your body should be your primary goal.
Although it is sometimes not the most pleasant phase of creating an environment for weight loss, it is necessary. If detoxification is too fast it can create discomfort.

The building up of toxic waste in your body may have taken twenty up to fifty years, or more, so detoxification is not something that is achieved overnight.
It is absolutely essential for your system to be cleaned so that energy comes free to be used to reduce weight. As long there is toxic waste in your system, much of your energy will be used to eliminate it. The success of any weight loss program depends on your system being cleaned.

Detoxification is cleansing, which is the key to it all.

The possible degree of discomfort depends on how toxic your system is.
People with a high level of toxicity or have taken drugs, on a regular basis, are more likely to experience some temporary discomfort than those who are less toxic.
The elimination of toxic wastes can be uncomfortable.
It’s important for a person’s diet to be such that cleansing can take place, but not at breakneck speed.

The most frequent possible discomfort is bloating of the system, as the application of the principle of eating fruit on an empty stomach till 12 AM can stir up toxic wastes, creating gas and bloat. Generally, this bloating passes within forty-eight hours.

The cleansing process of fruit washes impacted fecal matter from the intestinal walls and flushes it out of the system in the form of loose stools.
You may also experience nausea as the toxins in your system are stirred up.

The total elimination of all toxicity from your body can take months or years,
but within days you will lose weight and feel enormously more energetic and vibrant.
The ongoing elimination usually continues without any outward signs or discomforts.

The increase of fruits and vegetables in your diet can decrease the risk of
cancer and heart disease. Antioxidants in fruits and vegetables not only
neutralize free radicals, but also increase your resistance to all kinds of toxins.

Sugar’s quick absorption into your blood stream causes an excess insulin burst from the pancreas. On reaching your liver, excess insulin,which is toxic, is converted to neutral triglycerides, which are the type of fats that are stored in all your adipose cells. Eat complex carbohydrates instead of sugar.

Alu is a toxic metal and causes multiple forms of brain damage and is strongly linked with Alzheimer’s disease. Eliminate it from your life in water cooking, utensils, antacids and personal care products, like anti- perspire and shampoos.
There are other toxic metals, Alu is just one of them.

Give your body a change to function at its highest possible level.unimpeded by toxic waste and overweight. Your body wants to shine, it does not want to be overweight.
It wants to have the shape you know it can have. All you have to do is make it easy for the natural processes to work properly, and you can start to enjoy the body you can be proud of.

You can eat well and enjoy your food. Avoid of putting yourself through those self-depriving two or four weeks ordeals that bring you nothing but frustration and temporary results. You now have a realistic, lifelong approach that you can live with – naturally!

Diet and Fitness

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If you are looking for some practical advice that will  enable you to lose weight and keep it off permanently, the following information will help you with this.

For fat loss, five days weekly exercise of 30 minutes is much superior to three days weekly of 70 minutes, even though the total weekly exercise time of the three day people is an hour longer. In order to keep that metabolic rate churning, frequent exercise is the key.

Depriving yourself is not the answer to healthy, permanent weight-loss.Deprivation and bingeing become a vicious circle, and that’s just one of the many problems with dieting.

Another thing is that diets are  temporary, therefore, the results have to be temporary.The fact of the matter is that dieting doesn’t work. It never has and it never will.If diets worked, would the rate of obesity in America not decreasing each year in stead of increasing? In 1982, fifteen billion dollars were spent on weight-loss schemes in the US alone! If diets worked, that incredible high amount of money would surely put an end to this problem, wouldn’t it? The fact is, that this ridiculous high amount is increasing by one billion dollars every year. In spite of the new diets that come and go, the problem is becoming worse.

Natural Hygiene
Natural Hygiene is the most remarkable approach to the care and upkeep of the human body. Natural Hygiene will teach you how to eat. The loss of weight is only one of the benefits of Natural Hygiene as a life-style. A significant increase in energy and overall well-being is also one of the benefits of Natural Hygiene.
Natural Hygiene is practiced today by people around the world who enjoy long, healthy, disease-free lives. The basic foundation of Natural Hygiene is that the body is always striving for health and that it achieves this by continuously cleansing itself of deleterious waste material.

It is the science of understanding the effect that food has on the length and quality of the life of a human being. It’s focus is on prevention and healthful living.It teaches people how to eliminate the cause of their health problems, rather than constantly battle the effects of continuously violating natural laws.

The underlying basis of Natural Hygienen is that the body is self-cleansing, self-healing and self-maintaining. It is based on the idea that all the healing power of the universe is in the human body; that nature is always correct and cannot be improved upon.

The Natural Body Cycles
These cycles are based on rather obvious functions of the human body.On a daily basis we take in food (appropriation), we absorb and use some of that food, (assimilation), and we get rid of what we don’t use (elimination).

Although each of these three functions is always going on to some extent, each is more intense during certain hours of the day.

1)  Noon   to 8 P.M.               Appropriation (eating and digestion)
2)  8 P.M. To 4 A.M.               Assimilation ( absorption and use)
3)  4 A.M. To noon                Elimination ( of body wastes and food debris)

Our body cycles can become apparent to us if we simply witness our bodies in action.Obviously, during the hours we are awake we eat (appropriate), and if we put off eating, our hunger tends to increase as the day progresses.When we are sleeping and the body has no other noticeable work to do,it is assimilating what was taken in during the day. When we awaken in the morning, we have what is called “morning breath”, because our bodies are in the midst of eliminating of that which was not used – body wastes.

Physiologically our bodies want to eat early in the evening so that at least three hours can pass which is the time needed for food to leave the stomach and the assimilation cycle can start on time.

The reason that 62% of the people in America are overweight is that our traditional eating habits have consistently violated  the all-important elimination cycle. In other words, we have been taking food in (at a record pace!), and we have been using what we need from that food, but we have NOT been getting rid of what we can’t use. Far more time is spent appropriating than eliminating.  So the secret of loosing weight is to get rid of the toxic wastes and excesses we carry around.

Metabolic Imbalance.
Natural Hygiene use the word “Toxamia” what modern science now calls Metabolic Imbalance. The human body is finely designed to stay in balance in terms of tissue building up (anabolism) and tissue breaking down (catabolism).An excess of one over the other is called “metabolic imbalance”.

By keeping your system toxin-free, you significantly increase your change of having a comfortable body weight, because excesses of toxins in the body are the fore runners of obesity.

Your body is building toxamia daily in two ways:Through the normal process of metabolism and by residue left over from thefoods which are not efficiently utilized.
As far as your weight concerned, common sense will tell you that if more of this toxic waste is built than is eliminated, there is going to be a build up of the excess. That translate in overweight.To make things worse, toxins are of an acid  nature. When there is an acid build up in the body, the system retains water to neutralize it, adding even more weight and bloat.

So how do we maintain metabolic balance and accomplish the removal of toxic waste from the system while still enjoying our food?There are three easy to follow principles or tools, that can assist you in doing just that. The first of these tools to help you realize your goal of permanent weight loss is

The principle of High-water-content Food
Water is important for our survival, and so is food and air.What do we mean when we talk about high-water-content food?Our earth we are living on contains 70 % water for survival. And so does our bodies. May be you find this hard to believe, but it’s a fact.When you consider those two facts, wouldn’t it make sense that to maintain a body that is always in top condition, you must consume a diet that also contains 70 % water?

If your body is 70 % water, so where does it get that water from if you  don’t replenish it on a regular basis? From the moment you are born until the last breath you take, your body is craving this essential of life.This is besides drinking water, that’s another subject. Drinking water doesn’t bring the results I’m talking about.When we talk about high-water-content food, there are only two types of food that have that high water content: they are fruits and vegetables.They should predominate in our diet.

All the nutritional requirements our body has = all the vitamins, minerals, proteins,amino acids, enzymes, carbohydrates, and fatty acids that exists and that the human body needs to survive – can be found in fruits and vegetables.The nutritional requirements are carried by the water in those fruits and vegetables into your intestines, where all nutrition is absorbed.

However,I believe we have to supplement our diet with high-quality nutritional supplements, because modern farming techniques, using chemical pesticides and fertilizers, destroy a large part of the minerals in the soil and the nutritional value of fruits and vegetables.Selenium, for  example, an important mineral that protect against cancer, can’t be found in Australian soil anymore.

Even when you buy organic food, the food gets polluted water and air from the environment. So it’s good to keep this in mind.
If you are an athlete, it’s important to eat an alkaline diet, that is: a diet that is rich in fruit and vegetables. All exercise increases body acidity.See www.nutrobalance2.com/ the alkaline/acid food theory.

Besides carrying nutrients into the body, water performs the essential function of cleansing the body of toxic wastes.

All three of our body cycles function with the greatest ease when supplied withthe water in fruits and vegetables on a regular basis.
If you want to be vibrantly and vigorously alive, in the best possible shape,you have to eat food that’s alive.

The importance of proper food combining has been proved as a result of intense research over the last 100 years.Food combining teaches us that the human body is not designed to digest more than one concentrated food in the stomach at the same time.Any food that is not a fruit or a vegetable is concentrated.

The principle of correct food combining is based on 11 different food groupsand associated individual foods. You can get a food combining chart from”Laugh with Health” from the Internet.
Another important thing to keep in mind is that drinking any liquid during a meal will upset the natural digestive process of the juices in the stomach.You should not drink within an hour before a meal or within two hours after a meal.

Most people like fruit but don’t know how and when to eat it.The correct consumption of fruit is closely associated with proper food combining.Fruit is, without doubt, the most beneficial, energy giving, food you can eat.

Fruit has the highest water content of any food. Fruit requires less energy to be digested than any other food, in fact, almost none.Fruit is glucose in the body.Fruit does not digest in the stomach. It is essential to eat it on an empty stomach and you should never eat it with or immediately following anything else.This is also very important.  Fruit is the most important food that you can eat.

How long do you have to wait before you can eat fruit, depends on the type of food. After a salad or raw vegetables you have to wait 2 hours.
After a properly combined meal without meat – 3 hours
After a properly combined meal  with meat     – 4 hours
After any improperly combined meal –                 8 hours

From the time you wake up in the morning till noon, eat ONLY fresh fruit and fruit juice. When you eat fresh fruit on an empty stomach, it has only a positive effect, it accelerates weight loss.

The detoxification of your system is very important so that energy can be fried up to be used in reducing weight. Any time you alter your eating habits, your body has to adjust itself to that change and by  doing so can initially leave you feeling out of sorts. See any temporary discomfort as the cleansing process taking place and health returning.

Protein is the most complex of all food elements. It is the hardest for the body to break down. Remember, the strongest animals are plant and fruit eaters,not meat eaters.Keep in mind that all dairy products except butter are extremely acid forming.

No weight loss program nor the benefits mentioned in this article will  work without proper exercise.

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Extend Your Lifespan with Nuts and Seeds

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Did you know that eating nuts may help extend your life, lower your risk for cardiovascular disease and cancer, help in weight loss and are beneficial in diabetes management?
It’s amazing that such a tiny food possesses such remarkable properties.

Nuts and seeds are such wonderful sources of micronutrients and healthful fats.
You should try to include them in a variety of ways when you prepair a meal.
You can toss a few raw walnuts and flaxseeds in your breakfast cereal and you can add
nuts or seeds to the blender if you make a smoothie;or you can add lightly toasted nuts and seeds to your salads at lunch and dinner; and use nuts to make creamy salad dressings and dips.

Health Benefits Nuts & Seeds
Nuts and seeds are very healthful and versatile, but they are often mislabeled as fattening. They are calorie-dense, so they are not for snacking on. They replace the calories supplied by meats, oils and processed food in your diet and as such they offer well-documented cardiovascular and longevity benefits.

Nuts May Add Years to Your Life
In a study of Seventh Day Adventists, a group whose unique dietary habits have been demonstrated to lower their risk for certain diseases, nut consumption was among a number of lifestyle factors that were found to be associated with their longevity. On average, Adventists live 10 years longer than the average American. In the study, the Adventists who had a high level of physical activity, followed a vegetarian diet, and ate nuts frequently lived an average of eight years longer than those who did not share those habits.
An analysis from the Nurses’ Health Study, including more than 76,000 women, compared multiple lifestyle and dietary factors based on the size of their associations with mortality  risk.
Nut intake and fiber intake were the two dietary factors associated with a lower risk.
The PREDIMED study in Europe, investigating the health effects of a Mediterranean diet, assigned groups to a control low-fat diet, a Mediterranean diet supplemented with olive oil, or a Mediterranean diet supplemented with mixed nuts.
Both Mediterranean groups saw improvements in blood pressure, blood glucose, and cholesterol, and five years later had experienced fewer heart attacks and strokes than the low-fat group.  A very interesting finding in the PREDIMED study was the link between nut consumption and a longer life. The participants who were already eating three or more servings of nuts a week before the study began, and then were assigned to the Mediterranean diet plus nuts group had the lowest risk of death throughout the duration of the study.
Why the link between nuts and longevity? It appears because nuts and seeds have properties that are protective against heart disease, diabetes and even cancer.
Eating five or more servings of nuts per week is estimated to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease by 35 percent. This appears to be at least in part due to prevention of sudden cardiac death and in part due to cholesterol-lowering; other factors that may contribute include improved blood vessel function and reduced inflammation and oxidative stress.
Nuts provoke a minimal glycemic response, which helps to limit blood glucose and insulin after a meal, in turn helping to prevent insulin resistance and diabetes. Almonds, for example, have been found to decrease glycemic and insulin response of a carbohydrate-rich meal while reducing oxidative stress on cells.
There is also substantial evidence that nuts protect against cancer, not just from their own salient features, but also because their fats enhance the absorption of anti-cancer phytochemicals from other foods.

Use Nuts and Seeds to Replace Oil in Salad Dressings
An easy way to include good-for-you raw seeds and nuts in your diet is to replace the processed (no-fiber) empty-calorie oils found in most salad dressings with a nut-based dressing. This allows you to achieve the maximum nutrient value from a salad. In addition to increasing the absorption of nutrients in vegetables, nuts and seeds supply their own spectrum of micronutrients including plant sterols, minerals, and antioxidants. They are also a source of plant protein and fiber. Plus several seeds and nuts (flax, hemp, chia, and walnuts) are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which are beneficial for brain health. Some seeds—flax, chia and sesame in particular—are rich in lignans, that have been shown to protect against breast and prostate cancer. Replacing olive oil-based dressings with vinegar, fruit and nut-based dressings are definitely the way to go!

Boost Your Health with Asparagus

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The name Asparagus comes from the Ancient Greeks and Romans, and its name in English evolved from “sperage” to “sparrow grass”, and then back to its original name. The slim green rods with its “braised” tips give you a great health boost.

Asparagus contain compounds that can help fight birth defects, heart disease, cancer, support a healthy skin and strengthen your immune system.

Charged with Folate
One of the most important medical discoveries of the 20th century was that the incidence of brain and spiral cord birth defects (called neural tube defects), could be cut in half if women who were of childbearing age, got 400 micro grams of folate a day.

Asparagus are charged up with folate, a B vitamin that is essential to regenerate cells.Five asparagus spears contain 110 micro grams of folate, about 28% of the essential daily value. (DV)  If you’re pregnant, you may want to enjoy a double serving of those green spears.

Pregnant women need 600 micro grams daily, and women who are breastfeeding need 500 micro grams, according to the national Institutes of Health.

Apart from the health benefits for pregnant women, folate also fight heart disease in anyone. Folate may act as a flood gate, controlling the amount of homocycteine, that’s in the bloodstream. Homocycteine is an amino acid that appears to damage the linings of the arteries.) When your folate levels drop, your homocysteine levels rise, which can cause damage to the arteries, supplying blood to your heart and brain.

Research is showing possible connections between folate intake, homocycteine, and the risk of cognitive problems, particularly signs Alzheimer’s disease.

One study on a large group of people found that their risk of Alzheimer’s was
doubled if they had elevated homocysteine levels.

The amount of folate in your diet is also associated with a lower risk of cancer. Studies have shown that people with the most amount of folate in their blood were the ones least likely to develop colon cancer. Asparagus offer powerful protection against cancer.
It contains a number of compounds that essentially double-team cancer-causing substances before they do harm.

Another protective compound in asparagus is glutathione, one of the antioxidants, which is most powerful. It helps to neutralize free radicals, responsible for the development of cancer.
In an analysis of 38 vegetables, freshly cooked asparagus ranked first for its glutathione content.

Ginger, a Sharp Healer

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Millions of people worldwide swear by ginger as a healing food, and not without reason.
There is plenty of evidence that this piquant root can help relieve dozens of conditions,including high blood pressure, motion sickness, and other digestive complains, to migraines, nausea, headaches, arthritis, high cholesterol, and even dangerous blood clots.

Motion Sickness
In a Dutch study, researchers tested the effects of ginger on seasick naval cadets and found
that ginger pills reduced the cadets nausea and vomiting, providing relieve for as long as 4 hours. You can also use ginger to help relief a run-of-the-mill upset stomach.
To use ginger against motion sickness, try taking about ¼ teaspoon of fresh or powdered
ginger 20 minutes before getting into a car or on a boat. Repeat every few hours if needed.

Migraines Symptoms
If you are one of the millions of Americans who suffer from migraine headaches,
ginger may help prevent the pain and the resulting nausea.
In a small study, researchers at the Odense University in Denmark found that ginger may
short-circuit impending migraines without the unpleasant side effects of some migraine-
relieving drugs. It appears that ginger blocks the action of protaglandins, substances that
cause pain and inflammation in blood vessels in the brain.

Arthritis
In a Danish study, researchers studied 56 people who had rheumatoid arthritis or
osteoarthritis, and who treated themselves with fresh or powdered ginger.
They found that ginger produced relief in 55% of people with osteoarthritis and 74%
of those with rheumatoid arthritis.

To soothe arthritis pain, brew a mild tea by putting three or four slices of ginger in
a cup of boiling water. You can also try ½ teaspoon of powdered ginger or about 6
teaspoons of fresh ginger once a day.

Blood clotting
Blood clotting can be a good thing. For example, when you cut your finger, platelets –
components in blood that help it clot – help “stick” the wound together to stop the bleeding and start the healing process.
But theses sticky platelets can also cling to artery walls as well as to each other.
When that happens, clots stop being beneficial and start becoming something to worry about.
Many people take aspirin to help keep their blood clear of clots that could lead to stroke
or heart attacks.
The gingerol in ginger has a chemical structure somewhat similar to aspirin.
Research suggests that getting ginger in the diet may inhibit the production of a chemical
called thromboxane, which plays a key role in the clotting process.

Use ginger fresh and enjoy it often. Make a ginger marinade for meats.
Mix fresh ginger, minced garlic, olive oil, and light soy sauce for a marinade for chicken,beef or fish.