The little things in life really are the "spice" of our lives, the things that bring a smile to our face or enrich our experiences on an otherwise regular day. Things like a beautiful sunrise, someone opening a door for you, a smile from a stranger or the giggle of a child. Activities like dancing, yoga, working out, hobbies or reading a good book. These are the things we tend to take for granted but they can make a big difference in how we enjoy our life.
The same is true of spices in the nutritional world. I've been on a kick lately to try new spices like cummin, tumeric and, my favorite, cinnamon. The health benefits of spices have been known for centuries and cultures who use spices all the time like the Indian and Mexican people tend to be very healthy. I did a bit of research and it's fascinating stuff.
Chili and Cayenne: relieves pain, heart health, stops ulcers
Cinnamon: antimicrobial, stops bacteria and yeast, lowers cholesterol and blood sugar
Tumeric: arthritis relief, powerful anti-inflammatory for Chron's disease, cancer and Alzheimers
Oregano: powerful antibacterial agent, has 4x the antioxidants of blueberries
(ForeverGreen's "Immuneyes" has both Oil of Oregano and Virgin Coconut Oil and is one of the best products I've ever used for preventing colds/flu or stopping them once you have them) https://www.poweredbyforevergreen.org/content/library/IMMUNEYESBrochure.pdf
Garlic: anti-fungal, antiviral, heart health
Ginger: helps ease nausea, cancer fighter, relaxes blood vessels
Parsley: fights cancer, neutralizes carcinogens
We depend so much on pharmaceuticals these days and it amazes me that the relief we're seeking could just as easily be found in nature and we'd get the extra benefit of enjoying our food more too. So I invite you to try out new recipes or just add some new spices to your food. For example, I often add cinnamon to my morning smoothie. It's so good and so very easy. Even something as simple as Ginger Tea has such great health benefits.
Let me know of any recipes you may have that use spices we don't normally think of like cummin or tumeric.
Also be sure to answer my question on the right of this page :)
Yours in Health,
Mary-Lou
"Health" is so much more than visiting your doctor when you don't feel good. True health is achieved through "wellness"....of the body, mind and spirit...to achieve balance on all levels and to do so in a way that honors WHO you are. We are a part of Nature and, as such, should look to Nature for our wellness.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Choices
We are faced with, and make, choices everyday. What to wear? Which movie to watch? What to do today? What to eat? And we make those choices based on something - how we're feeling at the time or if we need something like warm clothes because it's cold outside or if we need to go to work because we need a paycheque or food because we're hungry.
When it comes to our health I think we make choices based on a variety of things but one of the the most important things we should have to help make those choices is good information. We are constantly bombarded with conflicting information from various sources.
To make the best decision when it comes to our health one should, first of all, list to our intuition. Most of us intuitively know when something about our health has changed. Maybe we've gained extra weight; we're getting headaches when we never did before; we wake up feeling "puffy" or not rested. These are all indicators that something is going on that is affecting our overall health.
For many of us, the first thing we do is look for relief at the drugstore - that "quick fix" - but this is where it's most important to take a step back and learn a bit more.
What I've found while studying for my Holistic nutrition course is that one should pay close attention to what you're eating on a daily and weekly basis. A good way to do this is with a Food Diary/Journal where you write down every single thing you put in your mouth (food AND drink) on a daily basis and do it for a minimum of 7 days. This is such a good way to see what kind of nutrition you're putting into your body and to determine if you're getting all of the nutritional tools your body needs to function or if, on the other hand, you're eating a lot of "non-food" items that could actually be putting your overall health at risk and, perhaps, that is what's giving you symptoms. Once you've identified potential problems in how you're eating you can start to omit those things and, quite often, your "symptoms" will go away without you having to go to the drugstore at all!
Once we're educated about what we're putting into our bodies it's much easier to make good choices. At times we will still choose to eat the wrong things but at least we know what the results might be and the next time we might not make the same choice.
Here are a couple of things you can add to your "knowledge file" that might help you make good choices: Soft drinks of any kind are NOT food and they have NO nutritional value not to mention the overdose of sugar in them that could cause you to become diabetic. Diet soft drinks are WORSE because they contain aspartame - don't be fooled into thinking that "diet" soft drinks are doing you ANY good - they're actually poisoning you. "Refined" foods really have no nutritional value ie. refined sugar and flour. So steer clear of them. One more thing - when grocery shopping try and stay away from the "middle" aisles or, if you do make a lot of your purchases there, make note of what kinds of "food" is actually there. Pretty much all processed and packaged food is found in the middle aisles. The fresh produce and meats are normally found around the perimeter of the store. Try to make 80-90% of your shopping choices there and stay away from the middle! Your health will be better off.
If anyone wants more information about doing a Food Diary or help analyzing what a Food Diary is indicating, let me know. I also have to complete several Case Studies for my course and would gladly to an overall Health Assessment on you if you're interested.
Until next time, stay healthy and make good choices :)
Mary-Lou
When it comes to our health I think we make choices based on a variety of things but one of the the most important things we should have to help make those choices is good information. We are constantly bombarded with conflicting information from various sources.
To make the best decision when it comes to our health one should, first of all, list to our intuition. Most of us intuitively know when something about our health has changed. Maybe we've gained extra weight; we're getting headaches when we never did before; we wake up feeling "puffy" or not rested. These are all indicators that something is going on that is affecting our overall health.
For many of us, the first thing we do is look for relief at the drugstore - that "quick fix" - but this is where it's most important to take a step back and learn a bit more.
What I've found while studying for my Holistic nutrition course is that one should pay close attention to what you're eating on a daily and weekly basis. A good way to do this is with a Food Diary/Journal where you write down every single thing you put in your mouth (food AND drink) on a daily basis and do it for a minimum of 7 days. This is such a good way to see what kind of nutrition you're putting into your body and to determine if you're getting all of the nutritional tools your body needs to function or if, on the other hand, you're eating a lot of "non-food" items that could actually be putting your overall health at risk and, perhaps, that is what's giving you symptoms. Once you've identified potential problems in how you're eating you can start to omit those things and, quite often, your "symptoms" will go away without you having to go to the drugstore at all!
Once we're educated about what we're putting into our bodies it's much easier to make good choices. At times we will still choose to eat the wrong things but at least we know what the results might be and the next time we might not make the same choice.
Here are a couple of things you can add to your "knowledge file" that might help you make good choices: Soft drinks of any kind are NOT food and they have NO nutritional value not to mention the overdose of sugar in them that could cause you to become diabetic. Diet soft drinks are WORSE because they contain aspartame - don't be fooled into thinking that "diet" soft drinks are doing you ANY good - they're actually poisoning you. "Refined" foods really have no nutritional value ie. refined sugar and flour. So steer clear of them. One more thing - when grocery shopping try and stay away from the "middle" aisles or, if you do make a lot of your purchases there, make note of what kinds of "food" is actually there. Pretty much all processed and packaged food is found in the middle aisles. The fresh produce and meats are normally found around the perimeter of the store. Try to make 80-90% of your shopping choices there and stay away from the middle! Your health will be better off.
If anyone wants more information about doing a Food Diary or help analyzing what a Food Diary is indicating, let me know. I also have to complete several Case Studies for my course and would gladly to an overall Health Assessment on you if you're interested.
Until next time, stay healthy and make good choices :)
Mary-Lou
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