HONEY & CINNAMON

Our ancestors for many centuries recognized the healing properties of honey and cinnamon.  Today, western scientists affirm that honey and cinnamon can cure many diseases.  In fact, honey does NOT harm diabetic patients when taken in the correct dosage.

Ayurveda, India’s 5,000 year old science of Life recognizes the healing value of both honey and cinnamon. Instead of banning honey or cinnamon completely for specific physical structure, they recommend adjusted quantities for ailments pertaining to VATA, PITTA, or KAPHA.  Ayurvedic specialists state:

HONEY
Indians and Egyptians utilize honey for a variety of conditions.  One way for promoting healing is applying a poultice directly to wounds.  Being a volatile sweet in the presence of heat, it breaka down when used externally. It is best, therefore, to use honey cool or at room temperature.  When the honey is young--less than six months old--it is healing to the PITTA constitution. Kapha people consume honey best. Vatas benefit from occasional use as its dryness aggravates the Vata energy when over used.

 CINNAMON
Cinnamon warms and sweetens and is an effective digestive aid. Cinnamon is valuable for all three energy constitutions. Just as honey does, cinnamon also has warming properties. Therefore, PITTA constitutions use Cinnamon occasionally.

Basic Points about Cancer Nutrition Issues

  1. Cancer cells occur between 6 to more than 10 times in a person's lifetime.

  2. A strong immune system destroys the cancer cells and prevents them from multiplying.

  3. When a person has cancer it indicates the person has multiple nutritional deficiencies. These can originate due to genetic, environmental, food and lifestyle factors.

  4. To deal with the nutrition issues of cancer, change diet and include supplements, thus strengthening your immune system.

Naturally, the food you eat is very important. However, what most people do not realize is when you change the water you consume from ordinary tap water, filtered water to ALKALINE, you make the job of EVERY organ easier, strengthening the immune system.  This is not to say you will not get the cancer cells.  Your body just remembers how to fight it

 Cancer is a topic people do not want to talk about and yet they are drawn to knowing more about it.  In the next several articles, I will give you information supplied by medical experts. These articles will review specific and general nutrition issues with Cancer.

Most physicians approach cancer with drugs and harsh treatments.  They are now acknowledging that what we eat feeds the body AND cancer cells.  We can adjust our eating patterns to feed our body and start the cancer cells.

I am sure you remember your Grandmother telling you to “Starve a cold and Feed a fever.”

Now we can tell our children that you “Deprive the cells of sugar and milk. To Feed the cells eat vegetables.”

Future articles will explain how cancer cells grow and how nutrition keeps your immune system healthy.  To begin, here are some basic points  leading to the nutrition issues of cancer.

How Safe Are Your Food Storage Containers?

Water and tin cans, glass bottle lids

A few years ago, I adjusted my family’s diet to include alkaline water after I discovered just how important this is for our body. Most of the food we consume is acidic and our internal organs require alkaline for rebuilding and repairing them. The more passionate I became, the more I studied and learned. Here are some pieces of information. I did publish an article recently with most of this information.  However, when I discovered the importance of length, I decided to republish a shorter version. Not only is the type of water we consume but we need to pay attention to the Food Storage Containers we use.

We have a water ionizer in our kitchen giving us the alkaline water. Many people cannot afford this equipment so they purchase bottled water without thinking about the water or other food storage container. These Plastic water bottles are become today’s popular products. Comments vary widely but some consistent ones are:

·         The plastic used for the food storage container of commercial water breaks down, putting carcinogens into the water

·         The plastic ‘drips’ toxins into the food. Opaque food storage containers prevent the sunlight from breaking down the container toxins, a little better. However, using plastic for the microwave or storage aggravates this.

·         On the bottom of the plastic food storage containers is the grade of plastic.  The higher the grade (on the bottom of the container) is good but I also read that we should use the middle numbers for safety – 2, 3, 4, and 5. Avoid #1 and #7

·         Plastics do not completely break down and simply fill our landfills.

 Bottom line is whenever possible using a glass container is optimum.

Reading about food storage containers usually does not include cans in our minds. We worry about contents but not the repercussions of the can itself

After drinking from a pop can and not pouring the content into a glass, a woman died of Leptospirosis. Tests showed that the can was infected by dried rat urine, hence the disease. Rat urine is toxic.

Cans and other commercial food storage containers are typically stocked in warehouses and transported straight to the shops without being cleaned

A safe approach is washing them with water before opening or putting them to the mouth to avoid any kind of fatal accident. Better yet, wash the lid, then transfer the pop into a clean, glass container and do not drink out of the can, period.

HERBAL THERAPY with GRANDMA’S REMEDIES

I use two phrases, "Herbal Therapy" and "Herbal Remedy" interchangeably, not unusual for writers. In my mind, remedy is a one-time correction.  To me, therapy is on-going. Is this accurate according to our dictionary?

According to the dictionary, Therapy means "remedial treatment". According to the dictionary, Remedy means "correct" or "cure". Most people will agree with these definitions. However, both these imply imperfection or dis-ease. With therapy, it is ongoing and with remedy, it is instant. Regardless, with both of these, we focus on imperfection or dis-ease; we create or enhance these bodily problems through our thoughts.

From my perspective, we ARE perfect. Our busy lives push us out of balance easily and frequently, forcing the need to regularly re-align our bodies. Food and exercise both re-align us. Do we use it for this purpose? Not always.

When used regularly, Herbal Therapy slips us back into alignment.  When we need stronger action, an herbal remedy is there.   An herbal remedy does not always correct imperfection or heal dis-ease but they certainly bring our bodies back into alignment, supplying missing nutrients. I encourage readers to look at these pages with this outlook in mind.  The key point to remember is: -- We are all perfect, we just follow different paths.

Relying upon the surrounding plants for healing has been part of earth life, long before the written word, before labels. Although our dictionary accredits the words “herb” and “herbal” to old French, Latin and Middle English periods, we know the herbal remedy practice came from times long before then.

As hunter-gatherers, people reached for a specific plant. In ancient communal living, specialists, shamans or witch doctors, cared for and stored every herbal remedy. This allowed us to benefit from an herbal remedy outside our local region

5,000 years ago in India, through Ayurveda, defined as the "Science of Life" people discovered the unique energy flowing throughout the body. Using plants native to India, they brought the body into balance and healed the sick. Other communities did exactly the same thing, but called it by their personal communal name.  For more information, go to our websites, http://wwwfolkherbwisdom.com, http://nutronix.com/helpingyou.

Should we drink raw milk?

Last August,  came across a newspaper article reminding me of concerns I have had for many years.  A few years ago for numerous reasons, I stopped drinking milk. This may be an old debate but I believe it is time to revisit the Raw milk debate.

We accuse today's processed milk of causing everything from allergies to heart disease. Before WWII, we bought all our dairy products fresh, raw milk, buttermilk, luscious, naturally yellow butter, and fresh farm cheeses. Diseases such as allergies and heart problems were rare. There was, however, potential danger of harmful bacteria, which perhaps justified the scientific involvement. Modern refrigeration methods have solved this problem so why do we continually need to modify the raw milk?  A good supply of high quality dairy products is vital to our health and the economic well being of us all. But I wonder why we need to continually add chemicals to the once raw milk. Isn’t this natural state better for us?

New York Times article in August, 2007 stated that the sale of raw milk for human consumption is illegal in 15 states. In 26 states, it can be bought with restrictions.

Users choose raw milk because, like raw cheese, the taste is preferable. The taste is more complex with a richness and density. Advocates attribute stronger immune and better digestive systems to raw milk. Another argument comes from the philosophy that we should treat their bodies and the planet properly.

While taste is a good argument, I think that caring for our body and the planet are key arguments for making raw milk readily available to those who desire it. Why can’t we combine the two worlds, reduce bacteria and retain strong immune and digestive systems. 

Weight loss secrets accompany all diet regimes.  I believe the best guideline is following what makes the most sense to you, the individual. If you read our articles regularly, you will realize Ayurveda and regular eating patterns both contribute common sense to your weight management programs.    If you are tackling a major weight reduction, then it requires a substantial adjustment to your thinking and eating patterns; this is a challenge.  However, it is a more common for people wanting to maintain a weight, which requires minor weight modifications. We need to remember, though that as we grow older, our weight changes.

Weight Watchers, one of the leading weight organizations, lists several weight loss secrets, and some “rules.”  Some may seem logical but a gentle reminder always helps.  

• ·         Salt and carbohydrate intake can affect the body’s water retention.
• ·         A large meal adds weight and can cause water retention.
• ·         Dehydration from exercise, illness, or low fluid intake can result in weight loss.
• ·         Muscle is a factor.  Heavy-duty resistance training can build muscle, which affects weight.
• ·         The menstrual cycle causes temporary weight gains and losses.
  

When your focus turns to your weight, the first reaction is to weight yourself daily.  This is fine, even fun. However since we fluctuate, only record your weight once a week. The five rules or weight loss secrets are:

1.     Once a week, on the same day of the week

2.     At the same time of day

3.     In the same place

4.     Wearing the same clothes

Whether you are using products such as Nu-Fit or Medi-Fast, these guidelines apply. For more information, contact us.

 A big part of any Weight loss management program is the area of exercise. We ask ourselves: What will exercise do for us in controlling our weight and how do we get started?

First, let us answer the question of what exercise will do for us as part of our weight loss management program. Exercise gives our body a way to become more flexible and active in our daily lives. Note I did not say we are using exercise to become stronger or healthier. These things come automatically as we increase our flexibility. As we increase the ease of movement, the more active we become, causing our metabolism to convert fat into energy.
 

Getting started on an exercise routine is not as difficult as it seems if it is developed gradually. The secret is developing a habit of doing your routine on a regular schedule Begin by choosing a time that is going to be consistent, first thing in the morning works best of most people.

Pick single exercises that can be completed in a sort span of time and do it each day at your allotted time and location. By doing this for three weeks; you have now established your habit of exercising.

Once the habit has been established you will be able to add more time for your routine so that additional activity can be added.

We will be going into more detail regarding exercise and your weight loss management program in future articles so be sure to check back to this blog for more information.

Statin Drugs vs Natural remedies

How many people do you believe would prefer a natural alternative to chemical medications? How many people depend upon statin drugs rather than look for alternatives?   Today pharmaceutical drug companies spend billions of dollars researching and marketing their drugs.

The drugs used by doctors to treat high cholesterol are called statin medications and come with a long list of well-documented side effects and negative drug interations. More than an estimated 25% of the population cannot take statin medications because of their potential side effects. Here are a few of the more common side effects.

Common Side Effects of Statins

• Gastrointestinal -- nausea, gas, upset stomach. Less common are headache, dizziness, rash, and sleep disturbances
• Potential increase in liver enzymes. Statins cause elevations in 1 of 100 patients.
• Statins can cause a muscle disorder producing muscle weakness, and occasionally pain in 1 of 1,000 patients..Some brands only approve lower doses as a prevention of a severe form of muscle disorder
• May cause a poorly-explained kidney disorder

Drugs That Interact With Statins

Some drugs increase the effect of other products on our body. Grapefruit juice can increase the amount of statin drugs absorbed from the intestines, which causes toxicity. Certain antibiotics may cause an accelerated effect of statins, and increase the risk of muscle damage.

Should you choose to use a medical solution, it is important to inform your health practitioner of everything you are consuming at that particular time.

Products such as the new product, NuCardio, is an effective, all-natural alternative to statin medications for helping people reach and maintain healthy cholesterol levels. Not only is it equally effective as statins at lowering LDL (bad) cholesterol, it is also three times more effective at raising HDL (good) cholesterol. For more information, visit our websites: www.folkherbwisdom.com or www.nutronix.com/helpingyou

AYURVEDA DIET

Nine Guidelines

In another article “The Ayurveda Lifestyle” we explained three energy types. Although the Ayurveda philosophy covers your entire life, basing it upon the elements, I consider the key to this lifestyle to be your Ayurveda diet, the food you consume and when you eat.  It does not matter whether your body constitution, or energy, is dominantly movement (VATA), processing (PITTA) or storage, (KAPHA), all these guidelines apply. While we must have all these energies, the quantity of each one determines whether you are cold or hot, dry or moist. These guidelines help balance your body’s energy, bringing it into harmony. 

1.     Food needs to be hot (usually cooked)

2.     Food needs to be tasty and easy to digest.

3.     Eat your foods in the proper amounts, not too much or too little.

4.     Eat food on an empty stomach, after your last meal has been digested, not before.

5.     Foods need to work together and not contradict one another in their actions.

6.     Eat your foods in pleasant surroundings.

7.     Eating should not be rushed, nor should it be drawn out.

8.     Focus on your food while eating.

9.     Only eat food which nourishes your constitution and suits your mental and emotional temperament.

While they may seem illogical or inappropriate today, even in our busy world, they are correct and important. Perhaps these concepts originated generations ago when there was a need to protect the population from harmful bacteria. Today, with refrigeration, this is not as urgent. However, through this process, citizens discovered that heating foods aids and stimulates digestion. Residents needed to kill bacteria and as a result, they got improved digestion. Also, cooking tends to moisten and lighten foods.

The Ayurveda research discovered that some foods are inherently heating and thus can be eaten raw. Also, some physical constitutions do not need the "hot" foods.

Over time, the physicians discovered the Ayurveda diet guidelines listed above apply to ALL body types and assist us in keeping healthy. The principles of the Ayurveda diet are not complex and we can use them in our traditional daily life.  For these reasons, I wrote Ayurveda Demystified. Order my book or go to one of our website www.folkherbwisdom.com or www.livingwholistically.com