FOOD MATTERS

This is a great documentary, and the two people who put this documentary together attended my school, Global College of Natural Medicine, this video was sent to me with my coursework, and I try and share it with everyone I know. I hope you will check out the full version!

Water Water Everywhere-but I will not drink a drop!

Sound familiar?  I know to many, water is a boring bland burden, and did I say boring? I’m sure most of you reading this would rather have a cola any day over a cup of water, well-get over it! Your body needs water to operate properly, if you aren't drinking water or enough of it there will be consequences; like headache, fatigue, constipation, irritability and mental confusion. Many people don’t realize that this is happening because of their lack of H20 consumption. Water has many roles once in the body; it flushes the kidneys dissolves minerals and acts as a delivery system, a lubricant, and a temperature regulator. When just 1 percent of body fluids are lost, body temperature goes up and concentration becomes more difficult; these are the less serious complications that mild dehydration can cause.

Long term complications are much more serious, dehydration contributes to toxic overload in the body which can lead to a hyperactive immune system, and cause or contribute to a variety of diseases, including arthritis, asthma, colitis, depression, diabetes, dyspeptic ulcer, duodenitis , gastritis, heartburn, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, low back pain, neck pain, and osteoporosis. Chronic dehydration is also the cause of kidney stones and other kidney problems.

So, if the reasons above are not enough to get you to drink your water, I will appeal to your vanity, water can really help you lose weight! Many times when we 'think' we are hungry, we are actually thirsty. The thirst mechanism kicks in when we've lost between 1 and 2 percent of body water. If we ignore the first sign, and eat something instead of drinking a glass of good ole' H20 then we are dehydrating are selves further, we are now at 3 percent dehydration- this seriously affects mental and physical performance. Not only that, but your skin will be dull and wrinkles will show more easily when you don’t hydrate yourself properly.

Ok, now that you know why water is important, the next thing I want to bring to your attention is what kind of water you want to put into your body, think of your body like a car, you want to use the best gas possible for optimum performance, so we don’t want to use regular tap water that's filled with fluoride and other containments. So, let’s break it down from best to worst.

The best water to drink is mineral water, because it has the added benefit of minerals! But not everyone wants to pay the price for this kind of water, and that’s fine. So regular pure water will do, spring water and distilled water are all fine options, if you choose to use a water filter, the filter cannot help but remove not only the bad minerals, but the good ones as well, and again, this is not a big deal, just a fact.

You can also count herbal teas into your daily water intake. Let me reiterate, I said herbal teas! NOT regular tea, herbal teas are not really "tea" in the traditional sense, but this is what we call it, teas like chamomile, peppermint, licorice etc., whatever it may be, all can count as water, as long as you don’t add sugar, milk or an artificial sweetener like aspartame, a sweetener like stevia is fine. In fact, I encourage the use of herbal teas, herbs can help in alleviating many problems, but they also contain vitamins and minerals as well, and many also contain antioxidants which help prevent cancer by attacking free radicals. When choosing herbs for tea, you can choose purely based on flavor, or you can specifically target an ailment, for example if you cannot get to sleep and are feeling restless, chamomile would be an excellent choice to have a cup of this before bed, this herb is a nervine and helps calm you. Or you could drink Valerian which is commonly used in people who have insomnia.  Herbs can serve more the one purpose, chamomile is not just good for its calming effect and to induce sleep, it's also great for stomach aches, and contains chemicals that are anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antiviral, and antiparasitic. I highly suggest that before taking any herbs you should make sure it will not interfere with any medications that you may be on, or allergies that you may have, for instance, if you have high blood pressure you should not take licorice, if you are allergic to ragweed then you should not drink chamomile. It's also important to get herbal teas that are organic (please see the "Why shop organic" page).

Another tasty idea to flavor your water is to use lemons, limes, ginger, mint- or drink seltzer! Green tea is great to drink as well; I recommend 3 cups of this daily.

If you are interested in ordering herbal teas that are of high quality please visit; http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/ This is a great site, with lots of information and great herbal products. If you are interested in learning more about water, I recommend picking up the book, "Your bodies many cries for water" by, Dr. F. Batmanghelidj. Or visit his website at www.watercure.com for more information.

We all should have a food journal so we can make ourselves responsible for what goes into our bodies, every day I write down what I am eating as I am eating it, and at the top of the page I draw 8 boxes, I make sure to check those boxes off until my 8 glasses of water have been consumed, this is a really easy way to stay on track. A simple note pad will do, personalize it anyway you want, but I really do suggest keeping a record of what you are consuming, even on the days when you have been terrible to yourself, write it down! It's really amazing to see that once you start having to own what you are stuffing into your mouth by staring it right in the face, it starts to make you think twice about eating that Twinkie, or having the cola over a glass of water. 

So please love your body with the universal solvent. Drink your 8 glasses of water daily and stay hydrated!

Cinnamon

Not just for the Holidays!

Cinnamon is one of the most commonly used spices around this time of year, from pumpkin pie and candied yams, to potpourris and candle scents, but Cinnamon is so much more then a tasty aromatic spice. There are numerous health benefits to be gained by keeping Cinnamon in your pantry all year round!

For starters, Cinnamon can boost the ability of insulin to metabolize glucose. It has been in use for centuries, with references in ancient Greek and Latin writings, both as a spice and as a folk medicine for gastrointestinal disorders.

Cinnamon has also shown much promise as a brain booster! Just smelling this delightful scent is said to temporarily boost cognitive thinking, so bring a pack of Cinnamon gum to your next test or meeting!

Diarrhea is a real pain in the butt!(pun intended) make a teaspoon mixture of Agrimony and Tormentil, with a pinch of ginger and Cinnamon powder for relief.

Ants hate Cinnamon, and will not walk over it, so if your looking for a natural solution to an ant problem, Cinnamon may just be the answer! Find the point of entry into your home, and place a line of Cinnamon across it. 

Cinnamon and ground cloves is a solution to keeping silverfish at bay as well, silverfish have an aversion to cinnamon and will run from it, but it cannot destroy an existing silverfish infestation.

Another reason I love this spice is because when you are looking for a sweet treat without the calories, this really livens up an otherwise bland and boring diet food, like an apple (not saying that apples are bland and boring or a "diet food") but lets face it, when you want apple pie, a regular old apple just wont do! (see healthy baked baked apple recipe below!)

The most famous study of Cinnamon in connection with sexuality is that of Dr. Alan R. Hirsch, Neurologist and Psychiatrist, Director of Chicago's Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation. Hirsch, in a renowned 1994 study of the effect of aromas, found that men became most sexually aroused by the aroma of Cinnamon buns! So next time you want a romantic evening, either bake something with Cinnamon or use a Cinnamon scented candle! I would tend to go with the candle, cause who wants to be intimate after scarfing down a bunch of Cinnamon buns?

Baked Apple

 Ingredients;

2 baking apples  

Handful of raisins

2 tbsp apple juice

1 tsp ground cinnamon

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees; core the apples and stuff with raisins.

Place each apple on a square foil, pour the apple juice over and sprinkle with a little cinnamon. Make into parcels with the foil. Bake in the oven for about 15 min until the apple is soft, serve with a little low-fat organic Greek yogurt and a graham cracker (optional).Serves 2

For educational purposes only This information has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.