Archive for February, 2010
February 25th, 2010 -- Posted in Green Living, Healthy Eating, Natural Beauty, Natural Remedies |
Botanically speaking, rhubarb is a vegetable, yet we use it in recipes as a fruit. The Ancient Chinese cultivated the plant for health reasons, as they believed the rhubarb plant roots had valuable medicinal properties.
Rhubarb, which looks like a pink or red stalk of celery, gained little acceptance in the United States until the 1700′s.
Even today, rhubarb does not have a huge following, perhaps because the rhubarb stalks are fairly tart, and usually require a fair amount of sugar to make them palatable for most folks.
While rhubarb has a medicinal history originating in Asia, ingesting a large amount of the leaves can cause poisoning.
They contain high concentrations of oxalic acid crystals which can cause serious problems when eaten. These crystals can cause the tongue and throat to swell, preventing breathing.
The edible petioles (stalks) are up to 18 inches long, 1 to 2 inches in diameter, generally somewhat hemispherical in cross section. These petioles are cut and used in pies, jams, jellies, sauces and juice.
Rhubarb has been used as a traditional Chinese medicine since ancient times and today it is still applied in various herbal preparations for health benefits.
* A study has shown that rhubarb help patients with gastric cancer to recover after operations. And, continue reading »
February 21st, 2010 -- Posted in Green Living, Healthy Eating, Natural Beauty, Natural Remedies |
Who would think that dandelions in your lawn could be so beneficial? Dandelions can help treat the following problems:
- Digestion problems & High blood pressure
- Osteoarthritis & Psoriasis
The reason why dandelions, once mixed with other chemicals, can help with all the above problems is because the dandelion contains vitamins A, B, C, and D. They also contain large amounts of phenolic acids, potassium, and most importantly calcium.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a serving of uncooked dandelion leaves contains 280 percent of an adult’s daily requirement of beta carotene as well as more than half the requirement of vitamin C. And, continue reading »
February 17th, 2010 -- Posted in Fitness, Green Living, Healthy Eating, Natural Beauty |
You can get in shape with the right post-exercise meal. Eating after exercise is important. Why? Because your muscles need the raw materials to recuperate after your work out.
Failure to eat the right food after exercise — or worse — skipping the post-exercise meal altogether can harm your body.
“You never think that you can just continue to ride your car without ever going to the gas station. We can’t expect to be able to continue to exercise our bodies without refueling them,” said Cedric Bryant, chief exercise physiologist of the American Council on Exercise.
What you eat after exercise has different effects on your body’s metabolism. Many of the improvements that arise from exercise come largely from the most recent session, rather than from accumulated fitness from exercise you did months ago.
This study found that exercise enhances insulin sensitivity but especially if the meal you eat after the session is low in carbohydrate. Enhanced insulin sensitivity means that it is easier or your body to take up sugar from the blood into muscles where it can be stored or used as fuel. And, continue reading »
February 14th, 2010 -- Posted in Fitness, Green Living, Healthy Eating |
Health threat linked to thyroid disease comes from nonstick cookware and stain-resistant carpets.
Recent research has found links between perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, and female infertility, low sperm count, and even high cholesterol.
The substance, used to make nonstick cookware, stain-resistant furnishings and greaseproof wrappers, is believed to get into the body through contaminated food or household dust. Once in the body it accumulates in organs and other tissues.
People with high levels of the chemical in their blood were found to be twice as likely to have thyroid problems as those with the lowest levels, according to a survey of medical records of nearly 4,000 otherwise healthy US adults.
The thyroid gland produces hormones that control the body’s metabolism and are vital for regulating heart rate and temperature.
Thyroid disease can make the gland produce too much or too little hormone. An underactive thyroid can cause exhaustion, depression and weight gain. And, continue reading »
February 10th, 2010 -- Posted in Green Living, Healthy Eating, Natural Beauty, Natural Remedies |
Since olden days people used neem to combat diseases. Neem tree was considered as a medicinal one and was given the prime position because of its ability to treat a wide spectrum of diseases.
All parts of the neem tree have medicinal value. The root, bark, twigs, leaf, flower, seed and fruit are all used in treating various ailments.
More than 135 compounds have been isolated from different parts of neem and several reviews have also been published on the chemistry and structural diversity of these compounds.
Perhaps, its most common use in India is in dental applications. And, continue reading »
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