Herbal Household Remedies

Via: The News-Press

Salsa plus avocado equals lower cancer risk

While salsa alone is super healthy, this pairing helps you soak up four times more cancer-fighting lycopene and almost three times more immune-boosting beta-carotene, finds an Ohio State University study. You can thank the fat in avocado for the lift.

Equally good: Use cubed avocado and salsa as an omelet filling for breakfast.

Iron-fortified cereal plus glass of orange juice equals more energy

Eating iron-fortified cereal can help enhance your energy, but consuming a half cup of orange juice along with it increases the amount of iron absorbed sixfold, says Joan Salge Blake, R.D., an assistant clinical professor of nutrition at Boston University.

Equally good: Mix one-half cup fresh orange juice, 1 tablespoon grated ginger and 2 minced garlic cloves; add iron-packed tofu and marinate for 30 minutes. Grill over medium heat.

Teaspoon of peanut butter plus glass of milk equals stronger bones

“Drinking milk while snacking on a heart-healthy monounsaturated fat like peanut butter helps you absorb as much bone-building vitamin D as possible,” says Susan Kraus, R.D., a clinical dietitian at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey.

Equally good: Mix 8 ounces skim milk, 1 teaspoon peanut butter, 1 cup fresh fruit and one-half cup ice in a blender for a bone-strengthening smoothie.

Cantaloupe wedge plus yogurt equals immunity boost

The vitamin A in cantaloupe helps ward off viruses, but “enjoying it with foods that are high in zinc, like yogurt, ensures that your body can utilize almost 100 percent of the nutrient,” says Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., author of The Most Effective Natural Cures.

Equally good: Mix 8 ounces nonfat plain yogurt, one-fourth cup unsweetened applesauce, one-half teaspoon cinnamon and one-quarter cup honey. Dip cantaloupe pieces in it for a snack.

Spinach, carrots, tomato, tablespoon olive oil plus marjoram equals healthy skin

Veggies need one tablespoon of full-fat dressing with olive oil in order for the body to absorb many of the antioxidants that are good for your immune system, skin and heart, says Bowden. To up the antioxidant capacity by 200 percent more, top with the herb marjoram.

Equally good: If you’re not into fatty dressings, put pine nuts, walnuts, avocado or a bit of blue cheese in your salad instead. They all offer the same benefits.

Mug of green tea + lemon equals heart help

Squeezing a lemon into green tea makes five times more catechin, a heart-healthy antioxidant, available for your body to use than if you sipped sans citrus, notes a Purdue University study. (Vitamin C slows the breakdown of catechins in the digestive system.)

Equally good: Add a 6-ounce can of lemon-juice concentrate to 12 ounces green tea, chill, and top with 12 ounces club soda, a lemon wedge and a few mint leaves.

Via: Otago Daily Times Online

Simon Singh and Edzard Ernst
Trick or Treatment: The Undeniable Facts about Alternative Medicine
Review by Ted Nye

Simon Singh and Edzard Ernst explore the merits of alternative medicines.

If responsibility for the production of this book could be laid at the door of any one person, it would probably be HRH the Prince of Wales - the writers virtually say as much.

It would appear that HRH is sympathetic to the claims of Complementary/Alternative Medicine (CAM) but, quite reasonably, says that as millions of pounds are spent annually on the product it would be good to know if people were getting value for money.

The writers rise to the challenge in this careful review of the many claims made for CAM, either in the forms of diagnostic gadgetry or physical procedures, such as acupuncture and chiropractic, or medicinals, such as homoeopathy or herbal remedies.

The authors point out that the claims of any method of treatment can, and should, be tested using rigorously designed trials, placebo-controlled and double-blinded so that neither patient nor therapist know which treatment is being used until the completion of the trial.

New, mainstream, pharmaceuticals must go through the process before being approved by the drug regulating agencies.

Promoters of snake-oil for almost any common condition you could name bypass the process.

However, the claims of homoeopathy, based on an early inspiration by a German physician named Hahnemann in the late 18th century, have been tested.

Complete Review

banana, carrot, peppers, parsnip, tomato

• Bananas are the perfect mid-morning snack that keeps adults cheerful and attentive, overall less tired, at work.
• A glass of carrot juice will give you a surge of energy, probably because carrots have a high natural sugar content. If you mix pineapple juice and carrot juice equally, you get a good drink for those who have to deal with hypoglycemia.
• Capsicum and paprika both increase energy levels. Eating different kinds of peppers, including cayenne peppers, regularly gives you additional vitality and vigor.
• Parsnips are great fatigue fighters, and also help the body to cleanse itself. For those with hypoglycemia, their diet should include parsnip once a day or at least every other day. The same counts for those recovering from serious illness or surgery.
• A diet that contains plenty of tomatoes can also help in fighting hypoglycemia, fatigue and lack of energy in general.