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The Ways to Cook and How Your Food is Affected

Tuesday, June 30th, 2009 | Author: admin

STEAMING preserves the vitamins and minerals in foods. In this method, there is no addition of oils and fats, thus controlling fat and calorie content. When you steam rather than charbroil foods, you also avoid the danger of consuming carcinogens that are present in blackened foods. Steaming concentrates the intrinsic flavor and juiciness of foods, making food taste better.

STIR-FRYING is considered the healthy way to fry. Food is cut into small pieces, put in a pan with a little water or oil and cooked quickly at high heat. Vitamin-rich veggies, such as broccoli and carrots, retain more nutrients, texture and color. Stir-frying does not require fat to bring out flavor.

FRYING is not an optimal way to cook, as prolonged heating can destroy nutrients. Butter and/or oil can be absorbed by food, so you ingest more fat than you think. Oil temperature is also a factor. When oil burns, it becomes toxic and free radicals are produced. When oil smokes, you should throw it away.

BOILING can leech out nutrients. The left-over water where the food is boiled may actually be better for you than the cooked food. However, some food is best boiled: mustard greens, turnip tops, collards, and similar vegetables have too strong a taste for other methods of cooking. Try boiling kale and bitter greens. The left-over water can be used for purposes such as soup stock.

MICROWAVING, though very convenient and fast, is not a good choice because some nutrients are lost. And that’s not the only issue. Animal studies indicate that immunity, cholesterol, hemoglobin, and white blood cells are adversely affected by microwaving. People who eat heavily microwaved food have a slightly higher incidence of stomach and intestinal cancers, digestive disorders, and lymphatic malfunctions. All of these are controversial and inconclusive, so more studies are needed. In the meantime, reduce intake of microwaved foods except for heating purposes.

Try treating your cooking as an art and be aware of the relationship between your food preparation and nutrients!

Category: Better Living, Diet & Nutrition, Health, Traditional Chinese Medicine | Leave a Comment

Rejuvenate Naturally: No Drugs, Hormones, or Surgery

Tuesday, June 30th, 2009 | Author: admin

By Maoshing Ni, L.Ac., D.O.M., ABAAHP, Ph.D

Your body was designed to heal itself, and it can rejuvenate naturally—without drugs, hormone replacement, or invasive surgery. You can live a long, healthy life by using the natural secrets of the Chinese medical tradition, which can revitalize your body, slow the aging process, and activate your body’s built-in regenerative powers.

1. Green tea combats Alzheimer’s
If you replace your morning cup of coffee with green tea, you’ll get more than a fleeting pick-me-up. Studies suggest that green tea may actually protect against Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of mental degeneration. Green tea is packed with polyphenols, antioxidants that have been found to increase cognitive acuity and learning ability.

One particular polyphenol is responsible for these beneficial brain effects: catechin. The concentration of catechins in green tea is four times that of black tea. Researchers aren’t exactly sure why, but the minimal processing used for green tea may help to preserve a higher concentration of the antioxidants. Another bonus to green tea? Studies suggest that you can lose more belly fat when you add green tea on top of your weight-loss exercise regime. So drink up to reap long-term benefits for your brain.

2. Magnesium for more energy
Magnesium is an essential mineral that mitochondria—the tiny power generators in your cells— require to help your body produce energy. Most of us don’t get enough magnesium because two common dietary habits leach magnesium from our bodies: too much dairy and too much salt. And most of us just don’t get enough magnesium to begin with due to the popularity of overprocessed foods. For example, rice bran contains an ample supply of the mineral, but bran is only found in brown rice. White rice has none. In the same way, wheat germ has plenty of magnesium, yet there’s none in white bread and white pasta.

So keep eating whole grains for maximum magnesium intake. You can also get plenty of magnesium from nuts and seeds. Have a daily handful of pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, almonds, Brazil nuts, and cashews. Magnesium also helps your heart health, relieves muscle cramps, and protects your skin from UV damage. If you prefer capsule form, try taking 500 mg magnesium daily.

3. Try chai for revitalization
The herb that gives chai tea its main flavor is cardamom, a spice that has long been valued in Asia for its ability to increase circulation and improve energy. Cardamom is a stimulant that positively affects your overall well-being, as both a revitalizing tonic for the body and as an antidepressant for emotional disorders. Orchid bees are drawn to cardamom, and use it to synthesize pheromones.

Because of this combination of properties, cardamom is routinely prescribed by Chinese doctors—generally in doses up to 5 grams per day—to rekindle sexual desire. But that’s not all! Cardamom also reduces fever, eases indigestion, and combats intolerance to grains. So add some to your cereal or bake it into breads and cakes for a tasty treat free from digestive issues. And of course you can always drink the tea for this myriad of benefits.

4. Ease nervous eating with magnolia
Millions of Americans experience the symptoms of chronic stress: nervous tension, restless sleep, irritability, difficulty focusing—and eating disorders in particular. Who hasn’t responded to stress by reaching for convenient comfort foods? Many people respond to situational stress by eating ice cream, cookies, and chocolates. When the stress becomes chronic, overeating becomes a habit—with predictable results.

To break the pattern, natural Chinese medicine uses magnolia, boasting a bounty of versatile benefits. Magnolia bark regulates appetite, improves digestion, and reduces swelling and bloating. The flower is a powerful remedy for allergies and sinus conditions. Studies have found that magnolia contains a phytochemical, honokiol, which is equipped with anti-stress properties that are helpful with appetite control and weight management. You can take a magnolia supplement by itself or in formulations with other herbs, in capsule form or as a tea, available in health food stores, online, and from acupuncturists and Chinese herbalists.

Bring these new rejuvenating secrets into your life on a regular basis, and you’ll have amazing results. I invite you to visit often and share your own personal health and longevity tips with me.

I have collected the very best of these secrets in my new book Second Spring. Here are 4 secrets that will start you on your Second Spring!

May you live long, live strong, and live happy!

Category: Acupuncture, Better Living, Diet & Nutrition, Exercise, Health, Human Relationships, Interesting Stuff, Stress, Traditional Chinese Medicine | Leave a Comment

The Beautiful Baby Point - Acupuncture for a Healthy Baby

Monday, June 29th, 2009 | Author: admin

y: Diane Joswick, L.Ac., MSOM

The Beautiful Baby Point - Acupuncture for a Healthy Baby

There is an ancient Chinese acupuncture treatment that has been used for centuries to ensure a healthy, beautiful baby. The treatment entails the stimulation of one, sole acupuncture point with a very thin, golden needle. If it works or not, I couldn’t say, but you will find that many acupuncturists have a few solid gold needles safely set aside in there clinics especially for this purpose.

In the first or second trimester, an acupuncture point, ‘Zhubin‘, is gently stimulated with a golden needle. Gold is warm by nature and works well to strengthen the body and stimulate Qi. The beautiful baby point is located above the medial malleolus (inner ankle bone), right below the calf muscle. Even though the acupuncture point is located on the lower leg, it is a powerful point that is connected to meridians throughout the body and is used for many reasons.

The name ‘Zhubin’, means ‘Guest Building’. Could this ‘guest’ refer to the fetus growing inside the women’s body? The acupuncture point is traditionally used to calm the mind and to build blood in the body. It can be used to treat hypertension, fear, anxiety, nightmares, and mental disorders.

Acupuncture treatments can be helpful throughout a pregnancy. Acupuncture can calm morning sickness, treat insomnia, edema, sciatica and many of the other discomforts of pregnancy. It can also strengthen the constitution of the mother-to-be which makes for a smoother pregnancy and healthier baby.

Moxibustion is often used during pregnancy. The moxa herb is used to gently warm certain points and has been found to have properties that can strengthen the body, relax the mind and stimulate Qi. This form of Oriental Medicine can be used to supplement an acupuncture treatment or instead of needles for those that are needle sensitive. The only down side of moxibustion is its strong smell, which some pregnant women cannot cope with.

Acupuncture is safe to use while you are pregnant. There are some points that should not be needled during pregnancy or should be used with extreme caution. Points on the sacrum, lower abdomen and points that could elicit a contraction should be avoided.

There are many Chinese herbs that are contraindicated during pregnancy. Err on the side of caution with all herbs and medications while you are expecting.

 

Category: Acupuncture, Better Living, Gynecology & Pediatrics, Health, Herbs, Human Relationships, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Women's Health | Leave a Comment

Discover the Benefits and Uses of Gotu Kola

Friday, June 19th, 2009 | Author: admin

Tuesday, June 16, 2009 by: Elizabeth Walling, citizen journalist

(NaturalNews) Gotu kola is an herb native to India and Sri Lanka. It plays a key role in traditional Ayurvedic medicine, treating a myriad of conditions. Its reputation is almost mythical: gotu kola is famous for its rumored link to the long life span of elephants as well as the Chinese herbalist Li Ching Yun, who supposedly lived for an incredible 256 years.

Gotu kola’s ancient reputation earned its place in modern alternative medicine and it has even been examined in a number of clinical studies. Gotu kola is often recommended by homeopathic and naturopathic doctors for patients who need more energy and mental clarity. But gotu kola has many other practical uses because of its ability to ease inflammation, improve circulation and speed healing.

Specifically, gotu kola can be used for:

Brain function. Several modern studies have shown gotu kola can be used to improve memory and mental clarity.

Hemorrhoids. By improving circulation and strengtheningblood vessels, gotu kola is an effective natural hemorrhoid treatment.

Inflammatory conditions. Gotu kola has anti-inflammatory properties that can aid in the treatment of conditions like arthritis.

Skin conditions. Acne, eczema, psoriasis and other skin conditions can be treated with gotu kola because of its unique anti-inflammatory and healing properties.

Varicose and spider veins. Gotu kola improves circulation and strengthens vessel walls, making it a great herbal choice for treating and preventing vein disorders.

Water retention. Gotu kola is a very mild diuretic that can be used to treat water retention and edema.

Wounds and burns. Traditionally, gotu kola has often been used to speed the healing of wounds and minor burns.

Scars. Clinical studies have shown that gotu kola was effective for improving the appearance of unsightly scars. It is especially useful during the healing process, and can even have an impact on deep scarring.

Gotu kola can be used in a variety of ways. In traditional medicine, gotu kola was often prepared as a tea or a tincture. These can also be mixed with oil or cornstarch to apply topically for treatment of scrapes, minor burns and irritated skin. Mixed with oil, gotu kola liquid makes a very good massage medium. Today you can also buy gotu kola in supplement form, but be sure you are getting it from a quality source.
Even with its many useful applications, gotu kola should be avoided in certain cases. This herb can raise blood sugar levels, so it is not recommended for diabetics. It should also be avoided by pregnant women because of its affect on blood circulation.

For More Information:

http://www.chopra.com/gotukola

http://www.bodyandfitness.com/Infor…

 

http://www.herbwisdom.com/herb-gotu…

Category: Better Living, Blog, Diet & Nutrition, Green Living, Health, Herbs | Leave a Comment

Ritalin ADHD Drug Linked to 500 Percent Increased Risk of Sudden Death in Children

Friday, June 19th, 2009 | Author: admin

Tuesday, June 16, 2009 by: Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor

(NaturalNews) Just how dangerous are the amphetamine stimulant drugs prescribed for children with so-called ADHD? According to scientific research funded by the FDA and the National Institute of Mental Health, drugs such as Ritalin increase the risk of sudden death by five hundred percent among children and teens.

In these cases of sudden death, the child suddenly collapses and dies, only to be discovered later by parents or siblings. That’s what happened to Matthew Hohmann in 2004 (http://abcnews.go.com/Health/MindMo…), and according to this new research, it keeps happening to more and more children at a rate that’s 500 percent higher than would be considered typical for children of a similar age and health status.

ADHD drugs like Ritalin are, of course, amphetamine stimulants. They used to be sold on the street as “speed,” but now they’re prescribed by psychiatrists to children after a subjective diagnosis of a fictitious disease: ADHD — a “disorder” which has no measurable biological symptoms whatsoever.

Interestingly, the FDA banned ephedra, an herbal stimulant, after a handful of consumers died from consuming huge amounts of the herb in a desperate effort to lose weight. In that case, in banning the herb, the FDA announced “the risks outweigh the benefits,” declaring that “ephedra is not safe at any dose.”

In great contrast to that, even as children are literally dropping dead after taking ADHD drugs, the FDA is now insisting “the benefits are worth the risks.”

But what benefits, exactly, are they talking about? There are no trusted scientific studies whatsoever showing ADHD drugs like Ritalin have any long-term positive effect on children. In fact, the available studies show that ADHD drugs stunt the physical growth of children while impairing brain development. Children who take these drugs, in other words, are not merely at a 500 percent increased risk of sudden death; they are almost assured to be stunted in their brain and body growth by this dangerous amphetamine stimulant drug.

The only real benefits to ADHD drugs, it turns out, are the financial benefits to the drug companies. With hundreds of millions of doses of ADHD drugs sold around the world each year, Big Pharma is raking in the profits while children are dropping dead in their own homes. So when the FDA says “the benefits are worth the risks,” what they mean is that the financial benefits to the drug companies are worth the risks to the lives of children.

Pharmaceuticals pose an imminent danger to our children

When parents take their children to psychiatrists and are told to put them on drugs like Ritalin, most parents believe what the doctors say. They believe the FDA wouldn’t approve a drug so dangerous that it could kill their child without warning. And they believe the drug companies would never sell products that harm people.

But those beliefs are foolish. In reality, the FDA, the drug companies and the psychiatrists are all working in collusion, knowingly pushing dangerous, deadly drugs onto families for the sole purpose of generating profits. While children suffer and die, they cash in on the ADHD delusion, first by promoting a fictitious disease and then later through high-profit pharmaceutical quackery. 

And yet, astonishingly, the mainstream media says nothing. Senators and Congresspeople remain silent. Corrupt, dishonest psych doctors keep pushing the pills and pharmacists keep filling the bottles while children die, day after day, from the very drugs they were told would help them.

The mass drugging of our own children is the greatest unacknowledged crime of our time. It is a modern-day chemical holocaust being perpetrated by our own health care system!

Today, the pharmaceutical industry operates as an organized drug ring, inventing fictitious diseases, then cashing in on the “treatments” for those diseases even though the treatments ultimately harm far more people than they conceivably help. To further boost their profits, the drug companies offer free “screening” — based on an utterly unscientific tests rigged to label virtually everyone with ADHD (adults included).

The entire ADHD scene is a circus of junk science, corporate profiteering and FDA betrayal. If it wasn’t so tragic and deadly, it would be downright laughable. Yet, sadly, the mass chemical poisoning of our children continues today, and those who profit from it continue to call it “treatment.”

Help put an end to chemical child abuse

One organization is fighting more than any other to stop the criminal operators of modern psychiatry: CCHR (the Citizens Commission on Human Rights). (www.CCHR.org) They need your help and your financial support. 

Follow CCHR’s announcements on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/cchrint

Watch this shocking video about the mental health screening of children:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDgB…

And check out my Disease Mongering Engine where you can invent your own fictitious diseases at the click of a button:
http://www.naturalnews.com/disease-…

Sources:
Washington Post:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dy…

ABC News:
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/MindMo…

Category: Better Living, Drugs, Gynecology & Pediatrics, Health, Western Medicine | Leave a Comment