When Life Gives you a Lemon...

"When life gives you a lemon...squeeze it, mix with 6 ounces of water, and drink twice daily." - Jethro Kloss, Back to Eden.

Call it folk wisdom if you would like, but scientists are finding in their research that there is some real benefit from lemons.  Science is just catching up with what generations have been passing down.  I used to do some singing in choirs and have taken voice lessons.  One of the remedies I learned for prepping my voice was for the week/days before or right before a concert, take hot water, freshly squeeze lemon juice and add honey.  So good, and so soothing!  I loved it so much that I would drink it more than the concerts I sang in.  Guess I didn't sing enough to "have" to drink the lemon concoction.  Good thing I did and do, because fresh lemon juice has some real positive effects on the body, including the liver, the bile, and digestion.

Sick or getting sick?  Lose your voice?  The lemon concoction might help you get better, faster.

Lemons are a good source of vitamin C, a powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent.  Two compounds in lemons: limonoids and limonene.  Both have documented anti-cancer properties.  The peel contains limonene (just beware of the wax), and limonene is found to be preventative against liver, skin, lung cancers and against mammamory and pancreatic tumors.  In addition, drink lemon peel with black tea and it is a particular fighter against skin cancer.

I think my earlier quote says so much - life can be full of lemons, of things seeming so difficult, untimely, and unfair.  But, I think when we are given this chance to be tested, to grow as a person, the benefits surpass a life of only green pastures.  Not that we seek out the lemons in life, but perhaps the attitudes we face them with make a big difference on the outcome and on just how much stronger we get, whether we are willing to take the lemon.  Strength comes from the making.  So, don't pass it up!

Source: 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth, Jonny Bowden

Cabbage in the Snow

Record breaking snow happened in this area starting yesterday.  Shoveling is tiring!  This is a day that I realize the awesomeness of having a pickup with a shovel attached to the front of it.  I am sure many people hand shoveling today were having snow plow envy, haha.

In the dead of wintertime, there aren't many vegetables in season.  And if you try to buy some way out of season vegetable, it looks limp and dead (probably because it traveled like almost 10,000 miles to get to you).  Cabbage is a late fall through winter vegetable.  And, the colder it gets, usually the sweeter the cabbage tastes.  Cabbage has been a staple for at least two millennia and can be eaten raw (think: coleslaw) or cooked (I hope you are not thinking of boiling it... :)).  It holds many nutritional benefits and has cancer-fighting ability.

Researchers have observed that women from Eastern European countries surrounding Poland and Russia were much less likely to develop breast cancer than American women.  An analysis was done and it showed that the Eastern European women's intake of cabbage was much higher.  Years of research were devoted to indoles, a phytochemical, and found that indoles alter estrogen metabolism in a favorable way, reducing risk of cancer.  For an inexpensive vegetable, it has some really great nutritional value for a low price!

Red or purple cabbage also contain the same pigment molecules found in blueberries.  They belong to a group of flavonoids and act as powerful antioxidants.

I eat cabbage sauteed (as I do with most vegetables), just add oil, salt and some pepper.

For more info and on how to buy cabbage: http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/02/in-season-cabbage-choosing-storing-recipes-20100206.html

Source: 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth, by Jonny Bowden

Have Your Kale and Eat It Too

Kale is one of those amazing vegetables that deserve more refrigerator space and commercial time in all forms of media.  Kale is amazing for its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer attributes.  Kale is loaded with calcium, iron and vitamins A, C, and bone-building vitamin K.  It contains 7x the beta-carotene of broccoli and 10x as much lutein and zeaxanthin (Source: 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth, by Jonny Bowden).  

Why don’t people eat it more often?  I think because not everyone knows how to make it taste good.  This recipe comes from the book 101 Optimal Foods, and the recipe is from Chef Robin Kirby from CHOW restaurant in Elmhurst, Illinois.  www.chowtogo.com.  I have met the owner Mary, and her restaurant is amazing – healthy food that tastes good.  If you are in the Elmhurst area, visit her culinary world; I was blown away.  I have made this at home – and for those who know me, I modify everything.  With or without modifications, this recipe is a keeper in my opinion.  Cheers to eating more kale!

Raw Kale Salad with Lemon-Honey Vinaigrette

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

Salad

2 bunches kale, stems and ribs removed, torn into bite-sized pieces

½ cup pomegranate seeds (I use dried cranberries)

½ cup diced red onion

½ cup sunflower seeds, shelled

Lemon-Honey Vinaigrette

3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons honey

Sea salt and pepper

Combine four salad ingredients.  Whisk together vinaigrette ingredients and toss with salad.  Allow to sit in refrigerator for 1 hour before serving.

Also, I came across these one day when I was reading an entrepreneur magazine: Kale chips.  http://rhythmsuperfoods.com.  I haven’t had these chips yet since they were not available in my neighborhood, but they look like a good idea and crunchy alternative to satisfy potential savory chip cravings.

Detox the USA

I think I have come to the conclusion for now that the detox diet is a way of life, and every person in the USA needs to learn to detox his/her diet.  Why such a bold statement?  Well, for one, I am in agreement with an author, David Servan-Schreiber who wrote the book Anticancer: A New Way of Life.  He is a dedicated scientist and doctor and was diagnosed with brain cancer.  As I told a friend last night, this book is a top read, especially if you want to learn about caring for your health and do all that you can to prevent cancer.  One study said that much of the disease is caused by external, environmental factors rather than genetics.  And, interestingly, the increase of cancer since the 1940s (WWII) is very alarming. 

That leads me to the next question for myself and you, what are you doing to prevent the possibility of cancer?  To ignore would be devastating.

Therefore, this leads me to why I think detox is so important - by definition it is getting rid of toxins in your body, and cancer develops as we toxify our bodies.

Please refer to my previous post called Detox and Cleanse for other ideas on detox.  Here are more:

1) Broccoli.  A cruciferous vegetable, and versatile.  Restaurants serve it, and can be extremely tasty if you cook it right.  Again, please don't boil!  Saute with garlic, maybe some onions, olive oil, salt, pepper.  It just tastes so much better.  And, if you want some nutty flavor, finish it with some sesame oil.  Broccoli rabe has become a staple of mine.  Less processing because the stems are softer.  It is usually a darker color, and the flavor is deeper.  When I go to dinner parties, many people like to serve raw broccoli, dipped in ranch or some dressing.  Not bad, just note that you really should wash vegetables before eating to reduce the pesticides and whatever they spray to keep it from going bad.  But, I have to say, broccoli with ranch ain't my favorite.

2) Kale.  If you are not a fan, I will share with you in my next post of one great recipe for this wonderous vegetable.  Kale has risk-lowering benefits for cancer, including bladder, breast, colon, ovary, and prostate.   There are 45 different flavenoids in kale, and is loaded with vitamins K, A, C (you can throw out your emergen-c).  This amazing vegetable is known for its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer properties.  Really try to seek out this vegetable, it will do wonders for your health.

Also, another friend (who is also a subscriber) asked how to find a nutritionist to do a detox diet.  I asked my nutritionist friend who is a registered dietitian and getting his PhD in nutrition.  His experience and advice is that many nutritionists "do not know what a detox diet should be. Most likely, they will tell you to stay away from alcohol, red meat and eat more whole grains, fruits and vegetables."  So, there you go.  A generalization of course, but it is important to find out a potential professional's philosophy on eating and healing.  Chinese medicine and holistic doctors believe in the philosophy of healing through food.  So, it is better to start with them if you are adamant about finding professional help.  Otherwise, keep learning and researching for what makes sense (and plug: keep visiting my blog!)

On kale: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=38