Food Remedies

Our diet has the potential to cause or prevent a wide range of diseases. The foods we eat have the ability to heal our bodies and promote good health. Food remedies incorporate herbs and spices into our diets. We get great flavors with healing properties and no side effects.

Many people today get caught up in the convenience of processed "fast" food at the expense of nourishment. Much of our food has also been treated with synthetic chemicals that are bad for us and the environment. The only way to avoid these chemicals are to grow your own or buy Certified Organic foods.

Foods rich in beta carotene, coumarin, fiber, selenium and vitamin C have cancer fighting properties.

Foods rich in calcium and vitamin D help us to have strong bones.

Foods that are high in fiber help us maintain healthy levels of cholesterol and blood sugar.



Let your food be your medicine and let your medicine be your food. -Hippocrates








Anti-Inflammatory Foods

We generally think of inflammation as the painful part of arthritis, but inflammation is also a component of chronic diseases such as heart disease and strokes. Constant or out-of-control inflammation in the body leads to illness. Eating to avoid constant inflammation inspires better health and can fend off disease.

Anti-inflammatory diets can reduce heart disease risk, keep existing cardiac problems in check, reduce blood triglycerides and blood pressure, and soothe sore and stiff arthritic joints.

Specifics vary from one anti-inflammatory diet to another, but in general, anti-inflammatory diets recommend:

  • Eat plenty and a variety of fruits and vegetables.
  • Eat little saturated and trans fats.
  • Eat omega-3 fatty acids, such as fish or fish oil supplements and walnuts.
  • Limit your intake of refined carbohydrates such as white pasta and white rice.
  • Reduce your consumption of foods made with wheat flour and sugar, especially bread and most packaged snack foods (including chips and pretzels).

  • Increase your consumption of whole grains such as brown rice and bulgur wheat.
  • Limit (or quit) your consumption of red meat and full-fat dairy foods, increase lean protein and plant-protein sources.
  • Avoid refined foods and processed foods.
  • Generously use anti-inflammatory spices.

By incorporating these herbs and spices into your diet, you get great flavors with healing properties. Researchers from the University of Michigan have found, for example, that basil has anti-inflammatory activity compared to ibuprofen, naproxen, and aspirin!

Top anti-inflammatory herbs and spices:

Ginger
Turmeric
Black Pepper
Cinnamon
Rosemary
Basil
Cardamon
Chives
Cilantro
Cloves
Garlic
Parsley

Try these delicious recipes:
Parsley, garlic, and superfood walnuts: Parsley & Walnut Pesto


Double yummy whammy!: Ginger Turmeric Tea and Anti-Inflammatory Turmeric Milk


The all-star anti-inflammatory round-up: Vegetarian Curry




Foods That Lower Blood Pressure

Diet and stress are major causes of high blood pressure. Medications
for high blood pressure are expensive and have side effects like
nausea, fatigue, abdominal cramping, depression, headaches, memory loss, and congestive heart failure. However, there are several dietary ways to effectively lower your blood pressure.

  • Drink green or black tea. Two or three cups per day, regular
    or decaffeinated, it is also high in antioxidants.

  • Don't drink soft water, it is usually high in sodium and often contains lead and cadmium which are toxins.

  • Eat foods low in sodium. Keep dairy products to a minimum,
    they are high in sodium. Processed and canned foods are also generally high in sodium. Use herbs and spices to season your food, before long you won't miss the salt.

  • Eat foods high in potassium.Fruits, vegetables, rice, tofu,
    dates and nuts are high in potassium.

  • Eat foods rich in magnesium. When your body is low in magnesium, you excrete more potassium. Many foods that are
    high in potassium are also high in magnesium. Every day eat some nuts, seeds, peas, beans, green leafy vegetables and
    whole grains.

  • Eat foods high in the B vitamin, folic acid. Good sources are beans, peas, lentils, asparagus, spinach, broccoli, dark green leafy vegetables, sunflower seeds and bakers yeast.

  • Limit or eliminate animal protein. Fish is okay, it is high in essential fatty acids and helps lower blood pressure.


The Secret To Superior Health

If modern science offered a pill that could reduce your risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, serious infections, dementia and even cancer by up to 88% - with no negative side effects - would you take it?

Most people would answer with a resounding "Yes!" Who wouldn't
want to live a longer, happier, healthier life? There is no such pill, of course. But there is a simple, easy, better way to achieve this kind of "super immunity". One that allows you to achieve optimal health and maximum disease resistance.

What is this revolutionary life protector and extender? It's the food
you eat. Or, the food you should be eating but probably aren't, at
least not in sufficient quantities.

There is overwhelming evidence that eating the right combination of foods can double or even triple the protective power of your immune system. This dramatically lowers your risk of getting everything from a cold or flu to serious infections to cancer.

The evidence has grown that the non-caloric micronutrients in our food are vital to providing disease resistance and greater longevity.
Scientists have discovered hundreds of phytochemicals - micronutrients found in plants - that evolved to help plants ward off disease in the wild. Our species survived by consuming large quantities of these plants. In short, our chemistry is dependent on their chemistry. Yet only in the last decade have scientists begun to understand how plants protect our health by boosting our immune systems.

Dr. Joel Fuhrman, author of the book Eat To Live ,
is a nutritional scientist, researcher, and
board-certified family physician who specializes in preventing and reversing disease through nutrition.
Dr. Fuhrman calls phytochemicals "the most
important discovery in human nutrition in the last fifty years." Among other benefits, they protect your cells from damage by toxins, help repair DNA, control the production of free radicals, and deactivate cancer-causing agents.

The U.S. death rate from infectious diseases is
double what it was in 1980, killing up to 170,000 people annually. Plus, the lifetime probability of being diagnosed with
an invasive cancer is now 44% for men and 37% for women. One in
four deaths in the U.S. is due to this deadly disease.

The rise in cancer incidence correlates almost perfectly with a major change in how we eat. Today's Western diet is so rich in processed
foods and animal products - and so low in essential fruits and
vegetables - that most Americans are deficient in plant-derived phytochemicals. Studies show that most of us consume less than 10 percent of our calories from the most nutritious foods: fruits, vegetables, beans, and seeds. But, this figure is misleading, because if you remove white potato products - including French fries and chips - vegetables make up less than 5% of our diet.

Instead of eating healthy, natural foods, Americans are gorging on processed foods: white bread, bagels, donuts, cold cereals, chips, pretzels, pasta, cookies, breakfast bars and soft drinks. Yet a diet deficient in phytochemicals weakens your immune system.

Between 1935 and 2005, as the consumption of processed and fast foods expanded here and abroad, cancer rates rose every single year. The number of people suffering from immune system disorders, allergies and autoimmune disease is also rising. Diabetes has become epidemic. According to the latest issue of the journal Neurology, not only are strokes now the fourth-leading cause of death in the U.S. but patients are getting steadily younger. Men and women between 20 and 54 now make up 19% of all stroke patients.

But there is good news. Here are just a few of the latest discoveries in nutritional science:

• A review of more than 200 epidemiological studies shows that eating raw green vegetables has a consistent and powerful association with reduction of stomach, pancreas, colon and breast cancer. (As one researcher put it, "You want to know the real secret to superior health? Big-ass salads.")

• People with the highest amounts of lycopene in their blood - an antioxidant found in tomatoes - are 55% less likely to have a stroke
than those with the lowest levels.

• Twenty-eight servings of vegetables per week decreases prostate cancer risk by 33%. But just three servings of cruciferous vegetables each week - kale, collards, broccoli or Brussels sprouts - decreases prostate cancer risk by 41%.

• One or more servings of cabbage per week reduces the occurrence
of pancreatic cancer by 38%.

• White, cremini, portobello, oyster, maitake, and reishi mushrooms prevent DNA damage, slow cancer cell growth and prevent tumors from acquiring a blood supply. Frequent consumption of mushrooms can decrease the incidence of breast cancer up to 70%.

• People who eat a half-cup of chopped onions a day may not have the freshest breath. But studies show they have a 56% reduction in colon cancer, a 73% reduction in ovarian cancer, a 71% reduction in prostate cancer, a 50% reduction in stomach cancer and an 88% reduction in esophageal cancer.

• Multiple controlled studies show that pomegranates inhibit breast cancer, prostate cancer, colon cancer and leukemia. They also naturally lower your blood pressure, help reverse atherosclerosis, and improve heart health.

• Many types of berries are rich in antioxidants, but elderberries also enhance the body's defense against viral infections, particularly
influenza.

• Nuts and seeds are high in fat and calories but have been demonstrated in hundreds of medical studies to dramatically extend
life and protect against disease. As nut consumption increases, death from all causes decreases while overall lifespan increases.

It is hardly breaking news that fruits and vegetables are good for you.
To achieve maximum immunity and longevity, Dr. Fuhrman suggests you make fruits, vegetables, beans, seeds and nuts your primary diet. Other foods - such as whole grains, eggs, meat, fish, and fat-free dairy - should make up less than 20% of your caloric intake. His experience treating over ten thousand patients using micronutrient-rich diets has demonstrated extraordinary therapeutic results over a wide range of serious health conditions.

In his excellent new book Super Immunity , Dr. Fuhrman writes, "Adding mushrooms to the diet lowers cancer
rates, adding onions to the diet lowers cancer rates,
adding greens to the diet lowers cancer rates, and adding blackberries to the diet lowers cancer rates. However, my argument and recommendations are for people not just to eat these foods, but to eat these foods in significant amounts and simultaneously."

He says each day you should have:

  • At least one large salad.

  • At least a half-cup serving of beans (in a soup, salad or other dish).

  • At least three fresh fruits, especially berries, pomegranate
    seeds, cherries, plums and oranges.

  • At least one ounce of raw nuts and seeds.

  • At least one large (double-size) serving of green vegetables,
    raw or steamed.

Supplements, he argues, are no substitute for a healthy diet. In fact,
to the extent that they give takers the confidence to eat in a less wholesome way, they are hurtful, not helpful.

It is widely recognized that most dieters fail to keep off the pounds
they lose. When your food choices are driven not by a sincere desire to reach optimal health, the changes you make are more likely to become permanent - a new lifestyle instead of a passing fad.

Dr. Fuhrman's approach is not alternative medicine. It's progressive science. It's about harnessing the power of superior nutrition to preserve, protect and extend your life.

Isn't it good to know that one of the best things you can do to
improve your health is under your own control and that it doesn't
require you to visit another doctor, undergo more diagnostic tests, receive another shot or take a new handful of pills?

Science is telling us that a natural diet rich in micronutrients and antioxidants is a key to repairing immune system defects that may
lead to disease.

This information isn't just new. It's transformational.

Different Teas for Different Moods

A cup of tea heals emotional wounds, alleviates sickness and makes
cold weather more bearable, even enjoyable.

Tea humanizes complete strangers and dissolves cultural barriers.

Tea contains beneficial antioxidants that help fight cancer. Tea also
boosts the immune system, increases mental alertness, lowers
stress hormone levels and can help you sleep.

Which tea best suits your emotional and physical needs right now?
Here is a handy guide.

Need a Quick Pick-Me-Up? Drink Black Tea.
Black tea is Coffee Lite for those of you wanting to cut back on your coffee but still needing that perky caffeine fix. The strong flavor will reinvigorate your senses and get your mental gears running for the
rest of the day. If you like your tea sweet try this Southern Sweet Tea recipe.

Want to Feel Healthy and Refreshed? Try White Tea. White tea
has the least amount of caffeine and contains the most antioxidants.
It is the least processed tea compared to other tea types, and it has
a light flavor that will go down smoothly.

Need Some Stress-Relief? Try Green Tea. Green tea has a natural, grassy, neutral flavor that is perfect for stress relief. Plus, it is not
loaded with as much caffeine as black tea.

Need Some Creative Inspiration? Try Indian Chai Tea. Indian Chai tea is a multifaceted taste palette loaded with different spices and nuances. Whether you drink it straight or with some cream and honey, consider having this drink within arm’s reach for your creative brainstorming sessions.

Feeling Physically Under the Weather? Try Fruit-Flavored Tea. Orange tea, lemon tea, raspberry tea: the options are endless. Drink some for sore throats, body aches and general cold or flu symptoms. Too bad cough medicine doesn’t taste more like this.

Need to Quench Your Thirst? Try Cold Oolong or Barley tea.
Found in most Asian supermarkets, getting a cold bottle of these teas
is the perfect way to satisfy your thirst on a hot day. With ice, please.