WARMING AND COOLING FOODS FOR HEALTH: A BRIEF OVERVIEW

Practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine and other ancient healing practices have always used food as one of the ways to balance the body to help prevent and treat disease.  With the understanding that every type of food contains its own characteristics, these wise healers know that the energy contained in what we eat is not just a matter of calories, carbohydrates, fats, and protein, but also has to do with temperature.

Temperature and Health Conditions

Traditional Chinese Medicine doctors also look at temperature as it relates to health conditions.  In allopathic medicine, we rarely think of a physical problem having hot or cold properties, but in Oriental health practices, the body is considered in terms of these qualities depending on the condition.  In this way, specific foods are proscribed to help with the healing process.

Often by instinct we will eat warmer foods in the wintertime and cooler in the summertime, which is our body’s way of helping us to stay in balance.

Warming Foods

Warming foods are yang, which the Chinese represent as the warm, sunny side of a mountain.  They tend to be drying and help to raise the energy of the body by improving circulation and bring heat to the organs, blood, and cells.  The need for warm food is often signaled by these conditions:

·      Cold hands and feet

·      Cold body

·      Diarrhea

·      Stomach pain

·      Bloating

·      Discomfort after eating or drinking cold foods and beverages

·      Sore joints

·      Fluid retention

·      Lack of energy

Warm foods are generally those that take a longer time to grow.  Incorporating them into the diet can help balance the body if you have any of the above symptoms.  Here is a partial list of warming foods:

Cabbage, kale, mustard greens, onions, garlic, winter squash, pumpkin, parsnip, leek, chives, scallions,

Cherries, nectarines, coconut, avocado, cooked or dried fruits

Oats, nuts, seeds

Butter, soybean oil

Most meats, including chicken and lamb

Chocolate

Cayenne pepper, cinnamon, cloves, dry ginger, basil, rosemary

Cooling Foods

Cooling foods are yin, which are damp and represented by the shady, cooler side of the mountain.  These foods help to clear way heat and toxins, calming the blood and moistening the body.  The need for cooling foods is often signaled by these conditions:

·      Hot body

·      Thirst

·      Constipation

·      Strong smelling stool

·      Burning anus after bowl movements

·      Dark yellow urine

·      Heartburn

·      Anxiety

·      Red eyes and face

·      Overly emotional

·      Rapid pulse

·      Headaches

·      Ulcers in the mouth or on the tongue

·      Cold sores

·      Red tongue with yellow coating

Cooling foods generally take less time to grow.  A short list of some of these foods includes:

Lettuce, celery, radish, cucumber, summer squash, broccoli, tomatoes, most leafy veggies, mushrooms, eggplant

Seaweed and seafood

Bananas, pears, oranges, apples, kiwi, watermelon

Millet, amaranth, barley, wheat

Northern, navy, kidney, lima, and mung beans soaked in water 12 hours before cooking

Sprouted grains and legumes

Tofu, egg whites, yogurt

Fresh ginger, mint, marjoram, cilantro, lemon balm,  white peppercorns

Herbal teas, vegetable broths, fruit and vegetable juices

Balanced Foods

Some foods contain naturally balanced thermal qualities.  These include:

·      Root vegetables

·      Black mushrooms

·      Peanuts

·      Olives

·      Lemons

·      Grapes

·      Plums

·      Sunflower seeds

The Color of Food

The color of food can also help you determine its temperature. Green, blue, and purple fruits and vegetables tend to be more cooling than those that are red, orange, or yellow. In this way, a green apple or pepper will be more cooling than one that is red.

The Preparation of Food

How you prepare your food also affects how warming or cooling it will be for the body.  Lightly and quickly cooked foods are more cooling.  Long and slow cooking makes food warmer. 

And now… continue your research…

Understanding the principles of warm and cool foods and the properties of yin and yang is an in-depth study that I can only touch upon here.  My goal is to ignite your interest so that you do your own research into the healing benefits of  balancing your diet with cooling and warming foods.  What better way to expand and balance your approach to well being! 

Healing Chicken Pox Naturally

A good friend of mine just got Chicken Pox.  She’s an adult, poor baby, and it’s more than an unpleasant feeling as well as a bit shocking to endure those itchy spots that should have been vaccinated away as a child.

Chicken Pox is a contagious viral infection that mostly affects young children, but once they get it, their bodies create appropriate antibodies so that they never get it again.  Chicken Pox finds its way into the blood stream via the respiratory system as the virus is transmitted through the air by the mere act of a sneeze, cough, or touch of someone already infected.

Besides the fluid-filled eruptions that emerge all over the body, symptoms of Chicken Pox include fever, fatigue, and loss of appetite.  These symptoms can last up to two weeks, depending on the strength of your immune system. 

Here are a few things you can do to speed up the healing process if you or a child is suffering from Chicken Pox.

Number one is don’t scratch the itch!  Scratching can burst the pimple, whereby the infectious liquid inside can cause more infection and the opened skin can lead to a scar.  Some of the ways you can lessen the discomfort of Chicken Pox are:

• Tie up oat meal flakes in a sock or a cloth, run under tepid water and daub on skin
• Make a strong tea of nettle, burdock, and peppermint – add to cool bath water and submerge yourself for 15 to 20 minutes
• Apply Aloe Vera gel to the skin to cool down the burning sensation
• Apply tinctures such as chickweed, calendula, or lavender to soothe, heal, and prevent further infection

Drink plenty of water and fresh organic juices.  There are a number of herbs that are anti-viral in nature.  Taken in tea or capsule form, these herbs can help with the healing process:

• St. John’s Wort
• Pau D’arco
• Ginger – boil 10 slices in water for 10 minutes and place in a teapot.  Sip throughout the day.
• Burdock root – helps to breaks fever
• Cats claw – helps to alkalize the body, taking away the acidic properties of the rash
• Nettle – a strengthening tonic that heals skin

Echinacea and goldenseal are two essential anti-viral herbs that can be taken separately or in combination.  They help boost the immune system and should be a part of your health regimen for preventing and healing any type of viral invasion. 

Some good homeopathic remedies for Chicken Pox are:

• Sulphur
• Rhus tox
• Animonium crudum
• Antimonium tartaricum
• Pulsatilla

With all the above, healing from Chicken Pox has to take its course.  Easy to say and difficult to do… but have patience!  This too will pass and once it does, you’ll never get it again!

Please take a look at The Body In Form store to find hand-picked items for easy purchase online such as:  vitamins, herbs, beauty products, and self-help, health, and recipe books that encourage you to have a body - and life - in form! 

Forget the Coffee: Stimulate Your Mind and Get Healthier with Yerba Maté!

Delicious as it is, the coffee addiction doesn’t provide any nutrition for the body and definitely has the ability to blow out your adrenal glands, make you jittery if you’ve had more than your normal quota, and cause a whopping headache the minute you decide to go cold turkey!

Yerba maté, otherwise known as the “Drink of the Gods” is, on the other hand, able to keep you awake and alert while simultaneously nourishing your body with no known side effects! 

Let’s explore!

What exactly is Yerba Maté?

Ilex Paraguariensis is its scientific name and it is found throughout the subtropical climes of Argentina Uruguay, Paraguay, and Brazil.  A member of the holly family, yerba maté was introduced to South American settlers by the Guarani Indians who made a tea of the leaves and stems to keep up their endurance during long treks through the mountains.  

Yerba maté rapidly became the national drink of Uruguay and Argentina where it is consumed daily by aficionados who recognize its potent qualities. 

What are the components of Yerba Maté?

Yerba maté contains similar health factors as green tea, but has many more nutrients.  Maté in fact contains 196 active chemical compounds, including:

• ·      11 polyphenols (anti-oxidant chemicals that strengthen the immune system to fight the destruction of cells)
• ·      Saponins (phytochemicals that stimulate the immune system to fight against disease)
• ·      15 essential amino acids
• ·      Vitamins: A, C, E, B1, B2, Niacin, B5, B-complex, pantothenic acid, and inositol
• ·      Minerals: calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, iron selenium, manganese, zinc, and trace minerals
• ·      Other healthful components: carotene, fatty acids, chlorophyll, flavonols, polyphenols, tannins

What are the Powers of Yerba Maté?

One of the primary abilities of yerba maté is to awaken the mind without causing a sensation of nervousness.  Maté contains a substance known as matéine, which helps to stimulate the nervous system, relax the smooth muscles to reduce blood pressure, increase urination through its mild diuretic properties, and keep the mind alert.  Though matéine is related to caffeine, it has a different chemical structure, which causes it to be absorbed into the body differently, allowing maté drinkers to enjoy alertness and clarity without creating a depressive state once the feeling wears off.

Because of its nutritious properties, maté energizes, invigorates, and stimulates the body in its function as a whole-body tonic.  This has been documented at both the Pasteur Institute and the Paris Scientific Society where scientists have claimed that yerba maté contains almost all the vitamins necessary to sustain life.

A reference list of the benefits of Yerba Maté:

• ·      Enhances mental clarity
• ·      Enhances focus
• ·      Elevates mood
• ·      Sustains energy levels
• ·      Reduces fatigue
• ·      Helps in weight loss by depressing the appetite
• ·      Helps the body maintain a greater state of balance

• ·      Boosts the immune system
• ·      Helps to detoxify the blood
• ·      Helps to relieve allergies by opening respiratory passages
• ·      Stimulates the adrenal glands to produce corticosteroids that reduce inflammation and heighten immune response
• ·      Improves digestion by lessening gastrointestinal disorders
• ·      Helps excrete wastes
• ·      Increases the supply of oxygen to the heart
• ·      Helps the body use carbohydrates as fuel when exercising
• ·      Helps reduce symptoms of irritability when withdrawing from caffeine
• ·      Fights bad breath due to the abundance of polyphenols

Additionally, yerba maté may be helpful in cases of depression, attention deficit disorder, diabetes, and in reducing excess sugar in the bloodstream.

Studies of Yerba Maté

In a study published in 1996 by “Biochemical and Molecular Biology International,” it was stated that water extracts of yerba maté “were more potent antioxidants than either ascorbic acid or butylated hydroxytoluene.” Another study conducted in March 2000 and published in “Biochemical and Biophysical Research   Communications” states that the “ingestion of extracts of Ilex paraguariensis could contribute to increase the antioxidant defense of an organism against free radical attack.” The 2001 issue of “Fitoterapia” claims that yerba maté contains a “higher content of flavonoids and caffeoyl derivatives than any other assayed species.” 

Tips for Yerba Maté enjoyment!

Maté is an acquired taste and many people unaccustomed to its rather bitter flavor reject it before experimenting with sweeteners.  Though sugar is the common antidote, I prefer using natural stevia, which does the trick without creating acidity.  You can also always use a bit of organic honey.  There are also many distinct varieties of loose maté that vary in flavor, including some that are mixed with orange, lemon, peppermint, and other fruits or herbs.

It is becoming easier to find the tea in bags, or already prepared and bottled yerba maté in many health food, specialty, and gourmet stores.  

If you want to drink it the way the natives do, its best to have a native maté drinker show you how to prepare the tea, as it is not something traditionally common in North America or Europe.  There are many Argentine or Uruguayan grocery stores in almost all cities where you can buy loose yerba maté, as well as the gourd used to hold the herb and the “bombilla,” which is the silver or wooden straw that is used to sip the tea once it is placed in the gourd.  Note: When adding water to the tea, make sure it is at drinking temperature, as if it is too hot, it will burn your mouth and throat when sipped through the straw.

Drinking yerba maté prepared from the loose tea is beautiful social ritual where the gourd is passed from one person to another, sharing the tea as it stimulates conversation and conviviality. Developing a taste for the tea may take time, but it is well worth it in view of all the incredible benefits it brings. 

So away with the coffee and on with the yerba maté!  Be alert, be healthy, and enjoy!

Food for thought:  Albert Einstein was known to enjoy yerba maté.  Could that be the secret of his genius?

Note:  As with coffee, don't overdo it!

           
Please take a look at The Body In Form store to find hand-picked items for easy purchase online such as:  vitamins, herbs, beauty products, and self-help, health, and recipe books that encourage you to have a body - and life - in form!

Echinacea: The Natural Antibiotic that Works!

A Bit of History

Before the introduction of allopathic antibiotics, the herb Echinacea was used exclusively to boost the immune system, without ever producing a single side effect! This is a lot more than we can say for many of the synthetic alternatives that conventional doctors proscribe today.  Native Americans used the plant for its powerful medicinal properties that help avert and cure a myriad of problems, followed by the early Americans and then the Europeans who learned even more about Echinacea’s ability to strengthen the immune system.  In bygone days when syphilis, scarlet fever, diphtheria, malaria, and blood poisoning were prevalent, Echinacea was the medicine of choice as it helped prevent infection while strengthening and arming the body’s army of disease-fighting white blood cells.

The Plant

Echinacea is a member of the daisy family and known as Asteraceae, or purple coneflower for its brilliant petals that stand out when in bloom.  There are two types of Echinacea:  E. Angustifolia, which grows best in colder climates and at a high elevation, and E. Purpurea, which can be grown at a lower elevation in milder climes.  Both types can be grown from seeds and then kept in partial shade rather than full sunlight.  If you grow Echinacea in your outdoor garden, you will marvel at the proliferation of butterflies it attracts!

Echinacea’s Many Attributes

Most of the scientific research done on Echinacea has been in Germany where research shows how it helps to stimulate cells that fight infection.  Where allopathic vaccinations generally target a specific problem and conventional antibiotics often weaken the body’s natural ability to heal itself, Echinacea strengthens the immune system.  In this regard, the body is better able to fight viruses, bacteria, and abnormal cells on its own.  Echinaea does this by activating white blood cells and lymphocytes so that they can do their job of attacking and overcoming invading organisms that cause illness and disease.

A short list of Echinacea’s attributes:

·      Increases the number of immune system cells necessary for health

·      Works as a mild antibiotic, anti-fungal, and anti-viral

·      Prevents bacteria from entering healthy cells

·      Stimulates new tissue growth for wound healing

·      Helps with skin regeneration

·      Reduces inflammation in skin conditions such as psoriasis and eczema

·      Reduces inflammation in cases of arthritis

·      Increases resistance to infections

·      Helps heal candida, herpes, urinary tract, and other similar infections

·      Helps reduce inflamed lymph glands

·      Helps reduce symptoms of sore throat

·      Helps reduce upper respiratory problems in general

·      Helpful in averting and shortening the duration of the common cold

In Europe Echinacea is so respected that it is sometimes used as IV supplement for some forms of cancer and is often injected for the treatment of urinary tract infections.  In the United States, where pharmaceutical drugs are the mainstream, it takes good personal research to understand the importance and power of Echinacea as an alternative or supplement. 

Studies

The University of Maryland Medical Center confirms that many laboratory studies show that Echinacea contains active substances that enhance the immune system.  In this regard the plant has received positive feedback in a more conservative setting for relieving pain, reducing inflammation, and helping to boost anti-oxidant and hormonal strength.

In terms of the common cold, 14 clinical trials throughout the United States show that the use of Echinacea reduces the odds of developing a cold by 58% and reduces the duration of a cold by 1 to 4 days .

Using Echinacea

I have used Echinacea throughout the years whenever I feel a cold coming on.  As soon as the first symptom rears its head, I place approximately 30 drops in a glass of room temperature water and drink this twice a day to completely avert any problem. It is best to use Echinacea on a short-term basis, as this way you get the most from its power.  I use it until my symptoms go away, or as a preventative, for two to three weeks with a break of a few weeks.  

You can find Echinacea in many forms: as a tincture (alcohol or glycerine based), liquid extract, tea, capsule, as well as in creams and gels for topical use.  Make sure you follow directions in terms of dosage. 

Words to the Wise

Echinacea is not a substitute for critical medical cases.  Make sure you consult your healthcare provider before embarking on a protocol.  Though there is no known toxicity, it is advised not to use the herb in cases of progressive systemic and autoimmune diseases such as TB, lupus, and connective tissue disorders.

Please take a look at The Body In Form store to find hand-picked items for easy purchase online such as:  vitamins, herbs, beauty products, and self-help, health, and recipe books that encourage you to have a body - and life - in form!

Stevia: Sweetest of the Sweetest Sweeteners, and Healthy Too!

For me stevia is the saving grace for all of us sweet-cravers as it contains zero calories, is totally alkaline, and has a plethora of healthful properties way beyond its ability to dulcify our foods and beverages!  

Coming from the chrysanthemum family, stevia grows wild in Paraguay and Brazil and is also cultivated in Japan, China, Mexico, California, and Southern England.  Used since pre-Columbian times to sweeten the native tea called mate, the Italian traveler Antonio Bertoni wrote about it much later in 1887 as the sweetener used by many native South American tribes.

Thirty times sweeter than sugar, stevia contains sweet glycosides that are not metabolized by the body, which means they won’t add extra calories.  Despite its highly sweet taste, in its unadulterated form stevia doesn’t adversely affect blood glucose levels and can even be used by diabetics and hypoglycemics!  Additionally, stevia actually helps to normalize blood sugar levels.  It will also lower blood pressure if you have this condition while not affecting normal levels if you don’t.   Here are some other health attributes of stevia:

·      Functions as a tonic to the entire body

·      Increases energy

·      Increases mental acuity

·      Inhibits the growth and reproduction of specific types of bacteria and other infections organisms

·      Helps prevent tooth decay, gum disease, and oral health in general (add to toothpaste or dilute with water for mouthwash)

·      Helps prevent the onset of colds and flu

·      Helps with weight management and loss

·      Reduces cravings for sweets and fatty foods (can be taken before meals to reduce hunger)

·      Helps restore lost hunger if obstructions in the hypothalamus and stomach exist

·      Improves digestion

·      Improves gastrointestinal function

·      Helps reduce cigarette and alcohol cravings

Stevia, Skin, and Hair

Stevia is also effective in maintaining healthy skin and hair.  It can be used as a facial mask by smoothing a paste made of the powder or crushed leaves and water over the skin and letting it dry for a half an hour or so.  Rinse it off and you will feel how it has tightened and softened the skin, smoothing out wrinkles and healing blemishes.  You can also place a few drops of stevia concentrate directly on a blemish, sore, cut, or scratch and impressive healing will occur.  Stevia is sometimes added to organic soaps and shampoos as it helps to eliminate dandruff and sooth scalp problems, making hair more lustrous.  You can add it yourself to your favorite shampoo.

An Abundance of Nutrients

The stevia leaf contains an abundance of nutrients such as proteins, fiber, carbohydrates, iron, phosphorus, calcium, potassium, sodium, magnesium, zinc, rutin, vitamin A, vitamin C and an oil that contains a host of other healthful elements. 

Buying Stevia

Stevia, like most things, can be of poor or high quality.  The poorer the quality of the leaves, the more bitter it will taste.  A high quality manufacturer will make sure that stevia’s processing is minimal and done with consciousness.  In this regard it will taste slightly licorice-y.  I buy my stevia from a top-notch health food store in powder form.  It is a beautiful green and tastes divine and you only need a very tiny amount as a little goes a very long way! 

Stevia comes in tea bags, as a loose tea, in ground form, in tablets, or as a liquid concentrate.  Quality will depend on soil conditions, the amount of irrigation and sunlight, purity of the environment, farming and harvesting practices, processing, and storage.  Make sure you buy the most reputable brand to get the most out of the product.

Stevia and Cooking

Stevia doesn’t break down in heat like honey or artificial sweeteners do.  This means you can cook and bake with it and be sure that you are getting all the nutritional components you need.

The FDA vs. Scientific Research

Though the FDA has listed stevia as an unapproved food additive, it is allowed as a food supplement, but not as a sweetener.  That being said, researcher and physician Dr. Daniel Mowrey has said vis a vis his extensive research on the pros and possible cons of stevia:

"More elaborate safety tests were performed by the Japanese during their evaluation of stevia as a possible sweetening agent. Few substances have ever yielded such consistently negative results in toxicity trials as have stevia. Almost every toxicity test imaginable has been performed on stevia extract [concentrate] or stevioside at one time or another. The results are always negative. No abnormalities in weight change, food intake, cell or membrane characteristics, enzyme and substrate utilization, or chromosome characteristics. No cancer, no birth defects, no acute and no chronic untoward effects. Nothing."

So there you have it!

I say, let’s break the sugar addiction by turning to Stevia, the sweetest of the sweet, getting healthier in the process!