Its Entirely Natural - Blog

Sitting on my favorite Mexican food restaurant I began to think how nutritious and healthy salsa and guacamole really is. These two simple dips contain so many vitamins, nutrients and antioxidants it’s amazing. Let’s take a closer look at the ingredients in salsa and guacamole.

Tomato — Tomatoes have vitamin A, C, K, calcium, and niacin. They are also loaded with antioxidants. Tomatoes can help purify your blood, improve skin clarity, and also reduce cholesterol. Tomatoes also have properties that help fight cancer of the prostate and colon.

Hot Peppers — Peppers contain an ingredient known as capsaicin. That’s the stuff that burns your mouth. Capsaicin is a great antioxidant. It also relieves allergies, pain, ulcers, headaches, and congestion. Eating peppers can help reduce cholesterol, blood clotting, and increase your metabolism.

Onion — Onions are also loaded with antioxidants, vitamin C, E, Potassium, fiber and folic acid. Onions also help reduce cholesterol, arterial sclerosis, and other coronary heart diseases. Eating onions also help removing heavy metals and detoxify your body. They’ve also been known to have properties that help fight cancer of the ovaries, breasts, lung and bladder.

Garlic — One of my favorite herbs is also loaded with antioxidants. Garlic has been known to lower blood pressure and cholesterol. It’s also great at cleansing the liver and the occasional vampire. Garlic is also believed to help fight stomach cancer.

Cilantro — Cilantro is a natural internal and external deodorizer, which also happens to be loaded with, again, more antioxidants. It has been known to relieve nausea, indigestion and bloating. Traditional Chinese medicine has used cilantro to help cure urinary tract infections. Cilantro can help reduce cholesterol and blood sugar, while also removing heavy metals including mercury.

Cumin — Cumin is actually a great resource for iron. It can also improve digestion and help strengthen your immune system; cumin has an antioxidant that helps fight cancer of the liver.

Lemon Juice & Lime Juice — These juices are a great resource for vitamin C. They can help relieve stomach discomfort and removes gallstones. It’s a wonderful natural cleansing agent and they can help prevent osteoarthritis, diabetes, arteriosclerosis and kidney stones.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil — Olive oil has a healthy fatty acid and has been known to help reduce blood pressure, asthma and arthritis. Great for greasing those stiff joints you may have.

Apple Cider Vinegar — Raw unfiltered apple cider vinegar contains enzymes great for digestion. It’s been known to help relieve gout, acid reflux and arthritis symptoms. Apple cider vinegar can also be used to help reduce cholesterol, calcium deposits, acne, allergies, and blood sugar. Do you get a little tired after a workout? Apple cider vinegar is great for muscle fatigue. In addition to all this apple cider vinegar can strengthen the immune system and improve your stamina and metabolism.

Avocado — Avocados are an amazing fruit. They contain vitamin C, healthy fats, and magnesium. Eating avocados can help improve the absorption of nutrients of other foods. What a great appetizer before that tasty meal. Avocados can improve your skin clarity and tone. Try an avocado mask as well as eating them to treat your skin from the inside out. Avocados are also believed to help fight cancer of the mouth, breast and prostate.

So have I made you hungry yet? Go out to your favorite Mexican restaurant and enjoy these wonderful dips. Better yet, get all the ingredients and make it fresh at home. Here a couple recipes you can follow.

Recipe for Salsa Fresca

Ingredients:
4 tomatoes (choose two varieties).
1 onion (your choice of color).
2 peppers (your choice of type and temperature).
2 cloves garlic.
½ cup cilantro (leaves and stems).
1 Tbsp lemon juice.
1 Tbsp olive oil.
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar.
1 tsp cumin.
1 tsp coriander.

Instructions:
Mince garlic, cilantro, cumin and coriander.
Add lemon, oil and vinegar to spice blend.
Dice tomato, onion, garlic and add to spice blend.
Blend ingredients together with potato masher.
Cover 10 minutes and serve at room temperature.

Recipe for Guacamole

Ingredients:
4 ripe (Hass) avocados.
¼ cup salsa fresca (see above).
1 Tbsp lime juice.
½ tsp Sea salt.

Instructions:
Briefly stir together avocado and salsa.
Top with lime juice and salt.
Cover 30 minutes and serve chilled.

www.naturalnews.com

I’m always looking around for different herbal remedies and food cures. I ran across something very interesting about the vegetable bitter melon. Bitter melon has been used in traditional Chinese herbal medicine for centuries and has demonstrated a variety of therapeutic properties. It has been used for conditions that range from hypertension to constipation.

Bitter melon has also been known widely to be a beneficial agent against type 2 diabetes. We do know that bitter melon has beneficial effect on lowering blood sugars. However, no one seems to know what properties of this seeming cure all herb helps diabetics. Now a team of scientists in Australia and China believe that they have unlocked at least one of the secrets of bitter melon. They have found four compounds in bitter melon known as cucurbitane glycosides. These compounds are what seem to help type 2 diabetics in particular.

People suffering from type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance seem to always be looking for a natural way to help themselves with their condition. If you are one of these people, why not take look into bitter melon and put it into your herbal medicine cabinet.

healthnewsdigest.com

As I sit and eat my morning breakfast I come across a great article that reminds me of how much better whole milk can be than the heat pasteurized stuff that I have in my refrigerator. Raw, untreated milk is a great natural food cure. The process of heating milk to kill bacteria has been common for nearly a century, and selling unpasteurized milk for human consumption is currently illegal in Canada and in half the U.S. states. Yet thousands of people in North America still seek raw milk.

Some say milk in its natural state keeps them healthy. Over the past fifty years, people in developed countries began showing up in doctors’ offices with autoimmune disorders in far greater numbers. In many places, the rates of such conditions as multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes, and Crohn’s disease have doubled and even tripled. Is it because that we aren’t being exposed to the bacteria we need to prime our immune systems? Makes you wonder.

However, I have good news to report. In the very near future, It’s Entirely Natural will have a product available that you can supplement into your daily lives that will replace all that is lost from pasteurization. Join up for our newsletter and you will be the first to know when it is available.

harpers.org

Browsing around the web I found another great food cure that slows down the aging of skin and helps protect your skin from damaging UV rays. The new anti-ageing cure is not a cream, its tomato paste of all things. And no you don’t rub it on your skin.

Researchers have found that adding five tablespoons of tomato paste to your daily diet will improve the skin’s ability to protect against harmful UV rays. The high levels of antioxidant rich tomatoes could provide an extra ool in sun protection.

Tomato paste should not be viewed as an alternative to sunscreen, but as a compliment to combat the ageing process of your skin. So the next time you sit down at your favorite Italian restaurant, just think of the benefits that tomato sauce will have on your skin.

news.bbc.co.uk

Have you been one of the millions this winter fighting to get rid of a common cold? If you’re one of the millions of sufferers from the common cold, try a little Ginger from your herbal remedies medicine cabinet. Ginger has a calming and soothing flavor that will help keep you alert yet calm.

Ginger has been known to have a calming effect on upset stomachs and it’s an excellent herbal remedy for nausea. This amazing herb works so well that it is commonly used in motion and seasickness pills. Because of the calming effect Ginger has on the stomach, it also promotes better digestion. Ginger helps promote the flow of bile, and it will also improve your appetite. This is interesting, but how does it affect the common cold?

The next time you have a cold or flu try some Ginger tea. Ginger tea has been used in China for over 2500 years to treat flu and cold symptoms. They have also used it treat a sore throat, nasal congestion and sinus pain. If you’re one of the lucky few that have not had the common cold this year you can use Ginger to continue to ward it off. However, if you do have a cold you can use Ginger to improve your recovery time.

The oils in Ginger have also been used in aromatherapy. It aids in relaxation and releasing stress. So go ahead and make yourself a cup of Ginger tea. It’ll make you feel better, relax, and relieve you of your daily stress.

losangeleschronicle.com

It seems like I have been losing my mind lately. Could it be caused from an undiagnosed case of type-2 diabetes? Not likely. There has been a long term study being conducted in Sweden that may explain a relationship between insulin resistance and Alzheimer’s disease.

This study was done with men at 50 years of age. They underwent glucose (blood sugar) tolerance testing. The men were followed-up at an average of 32 years later and found that men with insulin resistance were nearly one and a half times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s, dementia, or other mental impairments.

Researchers believed it’s possible for abnormal insulin levels to damage blood vessels in the brain causing memory problems. So, a healthy lifestyle of good nutrition and exercise will not only help you live longer, it will also keep your mind sharp and alert too.

reuters.com

March is National Nutrition Month sponsored by the American Dietetic Association. This is a reminder for us to take care of our health through nutrition and exercise. This year the theme is “It’s a Matter of Fact.” It is referring to applying our focus and attention to the importance of making informed food choices to develop sound eating and physical activity habits. So how do we do this?

I’m sure many of you like me have read about all these different diet plans. What I have come to realize why these diet plans don’t work is because these they are so negative. They tell you what you can’t eat and in many cases this can be a drastic change in lifestyle for many people. For most people this drastic change is not necessary.

The American Dietetic Association suggests “Think Nutrient-rich” rather than “good or bad” foods! Remember we are looking at the big picture, not the single treat which, will not make or break a healthy diet. A great suggestion I came across is to spend more time on what we can add to our diet, rather than what we shouldn’t eat. If you do this you will find yourself eating healthier more often.

This is a lot easier than most diet plans suggest. Here are some ideas you can implement into your daily eating. Remember you don’t have to change all at once. Take baby steps and add something new every once in a while.

• Eat at least 3 different fruits per day.
• Eat at least 3-5 different vegetables per day. Make it interesting and choose a variety of colors in your vegetables.
• Eat or drink a low-fat dairy product such as yogurt or milk 3 times per day.
• Eat whole grain products instead of white flour products. Try whole wheat bread instead of white or brown rice instead of white.
• Include more fiber in your diet with cereal instead of sugary cereal.
• Eat fish versus red meat or poultry at least twice per week.

Remember we are looking at the big picture. If you take enough baby steps you will be well on your way to a healthier lifestyle.

healthnewsdigest.com

People are always discussing, what is the best thing you can do for your body? Eating right and exercise seem to be at the top of peoples lists for having a healthy body. Recent studies show that sleep is also very important in being healthy. There are several body functions that are disturbed when you’re not getting enough sleep. This ranges from neuropsychiatric disruptions to general cardiovascular function and even insulin resistance.

Sleep deprivation can disrupt normal brain function and lead to short term memory loss, anxiety and even depression. While you sleep, heart rate, blood pressure, adrenaline and platelet function slow down. Disrupting this slowdown can increase your risk of heart attack, stroke and blood clots. Sleep is important so your body has a chance to recover and recuperate from all the stresses you incur during the day.

During the deepest part of your sleep the body releases cortisol. Cortisol regulates the immune system and plays vital a role in glucose regulation. If you don’t give your body the chance to release enough cortisol you will run the risk of diabetes and a poor immune system. What a great way to prevent getting the common cold or the flu by boosting your immune system with sleep.

During deep sleep, your body also releases leptin. Leptin plays a significant role in suppressing appetite. If you sleep less you tend to have more snacks and meals when you shouldn’t. The deprivation of leptin increases your risk of obesity and insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is a precursor to diabetes and for women it can cause fertility problems. A common symptom in women suffering from polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is due to insulin resistance.

As you can see sleep is very important. Do you find yourself fatigued, falling asleep involuntarily, or waking up at night? These are indications that you are not getting enough sleep. Do your body a favor and be sure to get seven to eight hours of restful sleep every night.

bcm.edu

It’s interesting to watch the political debates on what the candidates are going to do for America. It seems to me that there are a bunch of lawyers trying to run this country and don’t have a clue of what’s really going on. How many lawyers does it take to screw in a light bulb …..? Getting off track, anyhow, diabetes costs mores lives and more money than the global war on terrorism. And this is totally preventable. Do our “representatives” really have our best interests in mind?

More and more Americans are becoming overweight and obese. The American Diabetes Association has reported, there are 1 million new cases of type 2 diabetes every year and diabetes has claimed the lives of more than 284,000 Americans last year. Uncontrolled diabetes wreaks havoc on the body, often leading to kidney failure, blindness and death.

The nation’s unchecked diabetes has also created a massive financial toll as well. Diabetes care and treatment cost was an incredible $174 billion dollars last year. This is more than what was spent on the global war on terrorism. It is also more than the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina. Yet very little funding is used to prevent this reversible epidemic.

The mounting costs will affect everyone. Half of the diabetics in America have medical insurance through government programs such as Medicare. For those with insurance you will probably see rising premiums and co pays. Not to mention covering costs for the uninsured. These costs are putting a strain on local economies and will eventually have to divert money from programs like education to care for patients with a preventable disease.

usatoday.com

Wandering around the Web I found something very interesting today. It’s the type of thing that makes you really wonder what the government is doing to our country. Our government is focusing so much attention on fighting terrorism, while obesity and other preventable “lifestyle” diseases are killing millions of more people around the world.

It is estimated that 388 million people will die from chronic disease worldwide over the next 10 years, according to World Health Organization figures. Our governments are focusing so much attention on terrorism that they have focused very little on the silent epidemic of obesity. Governments devote very little attention to it and negligible amount of funding.

Politicians talk about the crisis of health care today. How much of this health care crisis is a direct result of ignoring the problems of preventable chronic diseases? They are always talking about preventive care, yet there is no action with their words. Preventable chronic diseases will eventually put a real strain on health care systems and economies around the world.

Because of the obesity problem we have today, the average life expectancy of a person will be less than prior generations. This is the first reversal of life expectancy since data collecting began in 1900.

Global terrorism is a real threat, but it is a far less of a threat than obesity, diabetes and smoking-related illnesses. Overcoming deadly factors such as poor diet, smoking and lack of exercise should be taken a top priority in the fight against growing epidemic of preventable chronic diseases.

afp.com