Ginger

Herbalists say when it comes to quelling the queasiness of motion sickness, ginger has no equal. In fact, research demonstrates that ginger beats dimenhydrinate, the main ingredient in motion sickness drugs such as Dramamine, for controlling symptoms of seasickness and motion sickness. Ginger stimulates saliva flow and digestive activity, settles the stomach, relieves vomiting, eases pain from gas and diarrhoea, and is effective as an anti-nausea remedy. This aromatic herb also helps lower cholesterol. Herbalists have also found it to be useful as a pain reliever.

Mint

Herbalists use mint, the premier stomach tonic, to counteract nausea and vomiting, promote digestion, calm stomach muscle spasms, relieve flatulence, and ease hiccups. Menthol, the aromatic oil in peppermint, also relaxes the airways and fights bacteria and viruses. Menthol interferes with the sensation of pain, short circuiting the nerve transmission from pain receptors. Thus it may be useful in reducing headache pain. Scientific evidence suggests that peppermint can kill many kinds of micro organisms and may boost mental alertness. In one study, people who inhaled menthol said they felt as if it relieved their nasal congestion, although it did not increase their measurable airflow.

Oregano

Oregano contains at least four compounds that soothe coughs and nineteen chemicals with antibacterial action that may help reduce body odour.   The ingredients in oregano that soothe coughs may also help unknot muscles in the digestive tract, making oregano a digestive aid. This familiar spice also contains compounds that can lower blood pressure.

Parsley

Diuretic herbs such as parsley prevent problems such as kidney stones and bladder infections and keep our body’s plumbing running smoothly by causing it to produce more urine. Parsley also relieves bloating during menstruation. Parsley is an effective breath freshener because it contains high levels of chlorophyll.

 

 

 

Clove

Oil of clove is 60 to 90 percent eugenol, a potent pain deadening antimicrobial. Clove has earned the official endorsement of the FDA as an effective stopgap measure for tooth pain. Clove is also among the spices that can help the body use insulin more efficiently, thus lowering blood sugar somewhat. In one lab study, clove was also found to speed healing of cold sores.

Dill

Dill has been used to soothe the digestive tract and treat heartburn, colic, and gas for thousands of years. In fact, the word dill comes from the Old Norse word dilla, meaning to lull or soothe. Like parsley, dill is rich in chlorophyll, which also makes it useful in treating bad breath.

Fennel

Rich in volatile oils, fennel is what is known as a carminative herb, it can ease bloating, gas pains, and digestive spasms in the small and large intestines. Fennel can also reduce bad breath and body odour that originates in the intestines. Women who are breast feeding may find that fennel, which works in a way similar to the body’s hormones, increases milk flow.

Garlic

Intact garlic cloves contain an odourless, sulphur-containing amino acid called alliin. When the garlic is crushed, alliin becomes allicin. Research shows that allicin helps lower cholesterol and blood pressure and helps prevent blood clots. Garlic can also reduce the risk of developing atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries). Compounds in this familiar bulb kill many organisms including bacteria and viruses that can cause earaches, flu and colds. Research indicates that garlic is also effective against digestive ailments and diarrhoea. What’s more, studies suggest that this familiar herb may even help prevent cancer.

Sixty million years of evolution says vitamin D may save your life from swine flu – say No to vaccines

Tuesday, October 13, 2009 by: Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, Natural News Editor

(Natural News) People still don't get it: Vitamin D is the "miracle nutrient" that activates your immune system to defend you against invading microorganisms -- including seasonal flu and swine flu. Two months ago, an important study was published by researchers at Oregon State University. This study reveals something startling: Vitamin D is so crucial to the functioning of your immune system that the ability of vitamin D to boost immune function and destroy invading microorganisms has been conserved in the genome for over 60 million years of evolution.
As this press release from Oregon State University (http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_relea...) explains:
The fact that this vitamin-D mediated immune response has been retained through millions of years of evolutionary selection, and is still found in species ranging from squirrel monkeys to baboons and humans, suggests that it must be critical to their survival, researchers say.
"The existence and importance of this part of our immune response makes it clear that humans and other primates need to maintain sufficient levels of vitamin D," said Adrian Gombart, an associate professor of biochemistry and a principal investigator with the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University.
The announcement goes on to explain:
In primates, this action of "turning on" an optimal response to microbial attack only works properly in the presence of adequate vitamin D, which is actually a type of hormone that circulates in the blood and signals to cells through a receptor. Vitamin D is produced in large amounts as a result of sun exposure, and is available in much smaller amounts from dietary sources.
Vitamin D prevents the "adaptive" immune response from over-reacting and reduces inflammation, and appears to suppress the immune response. However, the function of the new genetic element this research explored allows vitamin D to boost the innate immune response by turning on an antimicrobial protein. The overall effect may help to prevent the immune system from overreacting.

Without vitamin D, you're a sitting duck

What this study reveals is that without sufficient levels of vitamin D circulating in your blood, you're a ripe, juicy target for influenza (H1N1 or otherwise). If you lack vitamin D, your immune system can't "activate" to do its job. That's why people who are deficient in vitamin D so frequently get winter colds.
But people who are high in vitamin D have the nutritional power to activate their immune system so that it can respond to invading pathogens. Crucially, vitamin D also manages to balance immune response and prevent inflammation -- the leading cause of death in the 1918 influenza pandemic.
So not only does vitamin D protect you from the initial infection; it also prevents your body from over-reacting and killing you with inflammation (which typically gets expressed as bacterial pneumonia, an infection of the lungs).
Smart people today are doing two things:
1) Saying NO to vaccines.

 

Source: http://www.naturalnews.com

The exotic colours and heady aromas of spices and herbs can elevate an ordinary dish into a sublime feast for the sense of sight, smell and taste. What's more, most spices and herbs also come with therapeutic properties, so every meal that includes these ingredients can become an experience in enhancing health and well-being. There are many references to the ancient system of healing which has been singing the praises of spices and herbs as "wonder-foods" for thousands of years.

Of all the herbs and spices you can choose for flavour, there are fifteen that are more powerful than the rest. You will be surprised to see the many conditions for which they have proven useful.

I will write about them over the next few days starting with Basil, Cayenne and Cinnamon

Basil

Basil is an herbal carminative, which can relieve gas and soothe stomach upset. One possible explanation for its calming effect is a compound called eugenol, which has been shown to help ease muscle spasms. Research is still preliminary,  but laboratory studies also suggest that compounds found in basil may help disrupt the dangerous chain of events that can lead to the development of cancer.

Cayenne

Cayenne pepper is a hot powder made from tropical chilli peppers. It contains the alkaloid capsaicin, which relieves pain by blocking the chemicals that send pain messages to the brain. If you eat cayenne at the first sign of any type of headache, with plenty of water as a chaser, this spicy herb may be an effective  treatment. Added to food, cayenne perks up the appetite, improves digestion, and relieves gas, nausea, and indigestion. The herb also thins phlegm and eases its passage from the lungs, thus helping to prevent and treat coughs, colds and bronchitis.

Cinnamon

Cinnamon bark contains an oily chemical called cinnamaldehyde that kills a variety of illness causing bacteria, including the dreaded E. coli, Salmonella, and Staphylococcus aureas. Research shows that cinnamon is also able to stop the growth of the Asian flu virus. Herbalists report that cinnamon bark also helps  regulate the menstrual cycle and checks flooding during menopause. And cinnamaldehyde has a tranquilising effect that helps reduce anxiety and stress.

To be continued:

 

 

I would love you all to read In Praise of Slowness: Challenging the Cult of Speed, a terrific book by Carl Honore, published by HarperOne in 2004, in which a self-professed "speedaholic" advocates the need for a more balanced existence.

"Speed can be fun, productive and powerful, and we would be poorer without it," writes Honore. "What the world needs, and what the slow movement offers, is a middle path, a recipe for marrying la dolce vita with the dynamism of the information age. The secret is balance: instead of doing everything faster, do everything at the right speed. Sometimes fast. Sometimes slow. Sometimes in between."

In the opening chapter, Honore, a Canadian-born journalist living in London, writes about the turning point that led him to become one of the godfathers of the (not so slowly) burgeoning slow movement. Nearly ten years ago, Honore was at the airport in Rome, waiting for his flight home, and talking to his editor on his cell phone. Like far too many of us, he says, at the time he was wired and harried, a "Scrooge with a stopwatch, obsessed with saving every last scrap of time, a minute here, a few seconds there."

As such, while on line and on the phone, to make his time even more "productive," he started skimming a newspaper. A headline caught his eye: "The One-Minute Bedtime Story." The article was about a volume in which classic children's books are condensed down to 60 seconds. Eureka, he thought to himself. As the father of a two-year-old, he saw the book as a great bedtime time-saver. As he started making a mental note to order the book as soon as he got home, he suddenly found himself thinking: "Have I gone completely insane?"

"Standing in that line-up," writes Honore, "I begin to grapple with the questions that lie at the heart of this book: Why are we always in such a rush? What is the cure for time-sickness? Is it possible, or even desirable, to slow down?"

Luckily for all of is, the answers are: yes it is possible, and yes it is desirable. And in this book Honore has done a terrific job of showing the way.