Archive for January, 2010
January 31st, 2010 -- Posted in Green Living, Healthy Eating, Natural Beauty |
Arugula is one leafy green vegetable that stands out as a rich source of many vitamins and minerals. All salad greens are healthy, but not all give you a good dose of nutrients.
Arugula is closely related to broccoli, cauliflower, bok choy, and brussels sprouts, some of the best anti-cancer foods around. It has a peppery, mustardy flavor with a slight bitterness.
This plant contains about eight times the calcium, fives times the vitamin A, vitamin C and vitamin K, and four times the iron as the same amount of iceberg lettuce. And, continue reading »
Technorati Tags: arugula, salad green, vitamins
January 29th, 2010 -- Posted in Green Living, Healthy Eating, Natural Beauty, Natural Remedies |
Pine needles are probably not the first thing you think of when you hear the word tea. But its been around for ages. The tea has a pleasant smell and taste.
Children seem to love it because of its tanginess. Pine needles are rich in Vitamin C and also bring relief to conditions such as heart disease, varicose veins, fatigue, kidney aliments, sclerosis. Pine needle tea also gives you better eyesight.
This is the perfect tea to drink during the winter months. And, continue reading »
Technorati Tags: pine needles, tea, vitamin C
January 23rd, 2010 -- Posted in Fitness, Natural Remedies |
The benefits of winter exercise are enormous, and evidence continues to mount that exercise is a powerful natural drug in the treatment of depression.
As we enter the coldest months of winter and the promise of spring seems far off, I encourage you, if you haven’t already, to create a workout plan to keep your body and mood in good shape as you look forward to warmer weather.
In other words, the exercise you do in warmer months won’t help you stay optimally healthy if you spend your winter sitting around the house.
If you don’t regularly exercise, just getting going is key. It’s fine to start small, say with a short daily walk. Build from there by developing your own exercise strategy.
The colder months can take a toll on both your physical and mental well-being. It’s estimated that at least a quarter of a million Americans suffer from the winter blues.
A case of the winter blues can include some or all of the following symptoms:
- Boredom, restlessness
- Lethargy, feelings of fatigue
- Irritability and a feeling of being cooped up or “stir crazy”
- Trouble concentrating
- Sweet cravings, overeating
- Loss of interest in sex
And,
continue reading »
Technorati Tags: exercise, skiing, walk
January 20th, 2010 -- Posted in Green Living, Healthy Eating, Natural Beauty, Natural Remedies |
Purslane is a powerhouse of nutrition. Hippocrates used it as a medicine. Henry David Thoreau found it in a cornfield, boiled it, and called it a “satisfactory dinner.” Many Europeans today eat it as Thoreau did, or chop it up fresh and put it in their salads.
It’s known as purslane–a plant that is a troublesome weed in many U.S. crops, especially vegetables. But recent research findings confirm that purslane is also a rich source of fatty acids, vitamin E, and other key nutrients–making it a prime candidate as a new vegetable crop.
For example, if you currently take fish oil capsules, omega-3 oil capsules, flax oil, or anti-depressants, a switch to purslane could improve your health and save you lots of money, too.
Herbalist James Duke says purslane contains up to 4000 ppm of the omega-3 fatty-acid alpha linolenic acid (ALA) Eating purslane is tastier, safer, and more effective than taking omega-3 supplements. To increase the effect, Duke suggests adding walnut oil to your purslane.
Purslane counters depression. It is one of the five herbs — lettuce, amaranth greens, lamb’s quarters greens, and watercress are the other four — richest in antidepressant substances.
Purslane is a superior source of calcium, magnesium, potassium, phenylalanine, and tryptophan, all of which are known to moderate the effects of depressive brain chemicals.
Purslane is the richest source of Omega-3 fatty acids of any green, leafy vegetable.. And, continue reading »
Technorati Tags: nutrients, purslane, succulent
January 17th, 2010 -- Posted in Green Living, Healthy Eating, Natural Beauty, Natural Remedies |
Each year, more and more people discover the fun of growing herb garden. And it’s no wonder: Herbs are mostly tough plants in the garden that are easy to grow, are seldom plagued by diseases, and have very few enemies in the insect world.
Plus, your own herb garden is always ready to lend a hand with all kinds of jobs, whether you want to spice up your food, make your house smell nice, or cure a sore throat.
Not all herbs are created equal. Plants can only pick up what’s in the soil, particularly in the case of minerals. A lot of herbs now are being mass produced to meet the demand and are being grown with chemical fertilizers instead of organic methods, so you won’t have all the trace elements in them.
Now the U.S. government is encouraging farmers to spread a chalky waste from coal-fired power plants on their fields to loosen and fertilize soil.
That industrial byproduct is a synthetic form of the mineral gypsum, and it also contains mercury, arsenic, lead and other heavy metals.
The Environmental Protection Agency says those toxic metals occur in only tiny amounts. But some environmentalists say too little is known about how the material affects crops, and ultimately human health.
By the way, the use of FGD gypsum on farm fields is not brand new. According to the American Coal Ash Association, farmers’ use of the material has more than tripled in the past 6 years, from about 78,000 tons spread on fields in 2002, to nearly 279,000 tons in 2008. And, continue reading »
Technorati Tags: gypsum, healing power, herb garden, medicine
January 14th, 2010 -- Posted in Fitness |
Many doctors agree that Nordic Walking is one of the most effective cardiovascular workouts because it works all major muscle groups in the body.
Recent studies by the Cooper Institute, Dallas, showed that Nordic walking burned more calories, increased oxygen consumption, and can be up to 46% more efficient than normal walking.
It has twice the benefit of normal walking and can burn over 500 calories in one hour. The benefits are equivalent to jogging but without the damage to the joints because of the added support from the sticks.
Nordic walking uses two specially designed poles to work the upper body while walking. Like cross country skiing, the poles are used by the arms to match each step the person takes.
All that’s required is a pair of inexpensive, lightweight walking poles. Holding these in your hands aids balance, which is great if you’re older or if you’re on a slippery terrain.
Even better: Because they make you use muscles in your shoulders, arms, and torso, the poles transform walking into a total-body workout that burns 20 percent more calories, according to a study at the Cooper Institute in Dallas.
Winter or summer, it’s a simple way to derive more fat-reducing benefit from your regular walk. Nordic Walking engages the upper body muscles as well as the legs. And, continue reading »
Technorati Tags: exercises, Nordic Walking, walking poles
January 11th, 2010 -- Posted in Green Living, Healthy Eating, Natural Beauty |
Monsanto’s study of of three genetically modified corn varieties (GMO)s revealed the toxicity of their product. “For the first time in the world, we’ve proven that GMO are neither sufficiently healthy nor proper to be commercialized…
Each time, for all three GMOs, the kidneys and liver, which are the main organs that react to a chemical food poisoning, had problems,” said Gilles-Eric Séralini, an expert member of the Commission for Biotechnology Reevaluation.
Most foods we eat may contain ingredients derived from genetically modified organisms (GMOs)–everything from baby formula and food to our dairy to even our meat. If you live in Europe, avoiding GM foods is easier since laws require labeling.
However in the US and Canada food manufacturers are not required to label if their food is genetically modified or not. At the same time, more than 40 countries have either banned GE food outright or have laws requiring the labeling of it—giving citizens in those countries the freedom to choose not to eat it.
An estimated 70-75% of processed foods on supermarket shelves in US -from soda to soup, corn chips to veggie burgers, pizza, and even baby food and infant formula-contain GE ingredients.
Currently commercialized GM crops in the U.S. include soy (91%), cotton (88%), canola (88%), corn (85%), Hawaiian papaya (more than 50%), zucchini and yellow squash (small amount), and tobacco (Quest® brand).
About half of the sugar beets grown for sugar in 2009 were GM. Today almost 90 percent of soy crops and 80 percent of corn crops in the United States sprout from genetically engineered seeds. And, continue reading »
Technorati Tags: corn, GMO, soy, toxins
January 11th, 2010 -- Posted in Green Living, Healthy Eating, Natural Beauty |
Monsanto’s study of of three genetically modified corn varieties (GMO)s revealed the toxicity of their product. “For the first time in the world, we’ve proven that GMO are neither sufficiently healthy nor proper to be commercialized…
Each time, for all three GMOs, the kidneys and liver, which are the main organs that react to a chemical food poisoning, had problems,” said Gilles-Eric Séralini, an expert member of the Commission for Biotechnology Reevaluation.
Most foods we eat may contain ingredients derived from genetically modified organisms (GMOs)–everything from baby formula and food to our dairy to even our meat. If you live in Europe, avoiding GM foods is easier since laws require labeling.
However in the US and Canada food manufacturers are not required to label if their food is genetically modified or not. At the same time, more than 40 countries have either banned GE food outright or have laws requiring the labeling of it—giving citizens in those countries the freedom to choose not to eat it.
An estimated 70-75% of processed foods on supermarket shelves in US -from soda to soup, corn chips to veggie burgers, pizza, and even baby food and infant formula-contain GE ingredients.
Currently commercialized GM crops in the U.S. include soy (91%), cotton (88%), canola (88%), corn (85%), Hawaiian papaya (more than 50%), zucchini and yellow squash (small amount), and tobacco (Quest® brand).
About half of the sugar beets grown for sugar in 2009 were GM. Today almost 90 percent of soy crops and 80 percent of corn crops in the United States sprout from genetically engineered seeds. And, continue reading »
Technorati Tags: corn, GMO, soy, toxins
