As a long time advocate of flax seeds and one of the most educated persons on the web about their cancer fighting benefits, I am leaning more towards chia seeds. I have wrote literally hundreds of articles on the benefits of flax seeds on how to prepare them to the use of the flax oil diet with Dr. Johanna Budwig, but I am leaning towards chia seeds.
Flax oil is unstable and does tend to go rancid easily from the light. Flax seeds must be consumed within ten minutes of grinding and recently there is much talk about women with estrogen dominance problems, so I am leading more towards chia seeds.
The all too familiar chia pet is what most people know about the seeds. We have grown up for years watering our little chia pets and never realizing how many benefits those little pets have. Chia seeds are most often known as being able to sprout easily, therefore that is why my little pet chia grows so quickly. Recently, with much controversy, they even came up with an Obama Chia.
Chia Seeds are very similar to flax, except they do not have the estrogen and phytoestrogen element. They are high in omega 3 and Omega 6 and will increase your health and give variance to your skin. As I begin to study the marvelous little black seed called chia, I was amazed at it's properties and benefits. They are known as "The Indian Running food," as the Mayans use to carry a packet of seeds with them on their journeys. Some of the many benefits of chia seeds include:
- Chia seeds are high in calcium. They contain 631 grams of cajcium per 100 grams of Chia Seeds. -
- Chia seeds are high in protein. They have 18 grams of protein per 100 grams of seeds. They have twice the protein of other seeds. -
- Chia seeds have the optimum ratio of Omega 3 to Omega 6 of 3 to 1. -
- Chia seeds absorb up to 14 times it's weight in water. This helps extend energy and endurance. -
- Chia seeds are rich in antioxidant oils and contain, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, myricetin, quercetin and koemfferol flavonols. -
- Chia seeds are low in sodium also with only 19 mg per 100 grams. -
- Chia seeds are used for people wanting to lose weight, a true supefood. -
Amazingly a little over one ounce of these seeds contain as much omega 3 as 9 ounces of salmon, the same calcium as one cup of milk and as much iron or more of 1 and half cups of spinach. They have more antioxidants than three times as much blueberries and more vitamin C than 2 oranges.
Chia seeds have been shown to help in the reduction of cholesterol and cardiovascular problems, after using the seeds for 30 days. A study was done on humans showing the blood pressure of diabetics was reduced and even diabetic animals had their insulin dependence reduced. Chia seeds are a mainstay for holistic vets treating diabetic animals.
-Versatility -
Chia seeds can be used much the same as flax in the ways it can be eaten, such as added to liquids, sprinkled on foods and salads or added to your favorite smoothie. The downside here is that flax must be ground and eaten within ten minutes and cannot be baked with, where chia is the opposite. Chia seeds can be consumed as is readily digested and not forming any colon problems. As stated earlier, flax tends to go rancid easily and chia is more stable. And one of our favorite reasons chia seeds are better than flax, is that we can use chia seeds to grow our chia pets.
As much as I like flax and I do have my regular Budwig Flax mixture everyday, I must say chia seeds are indeed more healthy. It is just a shame that in Jordan I cannot get them. Put this one on my dream list.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Foods that Fight Depression
As we get up in the morning trying to find the energy just to breathe, that bout of depression hits us again. There is absolutely no reason to be depressed, but we are. So we run to the kitchen and look for food to end our depression and the foods we choose can either make or break us. Most people run for the sweet things to appease their mind to end the pain, but that will only increase their depression. Which foods really make a difference? Read on and see.
Close to 19 million people suffer with depression in America and according to the National Institute of Mental Health, Omega 3 foods took at least 30 days to kick in. What did work was foods containing Uridine. Omega 3 fats come from Salmon, herring fish, walnuts and flax seeds. Uridine foods come from sugar beets and beet molasses.
The other things that is very good for depression is sunflower seeds. They are the sun's best friend and have been proven to decrease depression. The sun's photons are stored in the DNA of the sunflower seeds, in turn that resonates to the human cells. It is not only good for the brain, but also the body.
A natural granola recipe
Granola:
4 cups of oats
2 cups of buckwheat oats
2 cups of shelled sunflower seeds
2 cups of raisins
1/3 cup of olive oil or vegetable oil
2 cups of sesame seeds
1/2 cup of maple syrup or honey
2 teaspoons of vanilla
1/2 cinnamon
1/2 cup of fresh orange juice
Place all the ingredients in a well greased pan except for the raisins. Bake in a medium oven until browned and remove and add the raisins. Return to the oven with the raisins and cook for ten minutes more.
If the granola doesn't work, then try some chocolate to increase the endorphins levels of the brain. Now, you are talking. Make sure the chocolate is dark chocolate with at-least 70 percent cocoa.
Not into chocolate, then try some oregano. A natural anti-depressant and good for the entire body.
A good smoothie is carrot, spinach and watercress. Add some flax seeds and you have got a anti-depressant smoothie
Depressed and want to eat like the monkeys. Eat a few bananas and you will be swinging from the trees. Bananas work wonders.
Bananas contain serotonin and norepinephrine.
Natural remedies for depression are ginger and black seed or Nigella Sativa. You can take some fresh ginger and pound it in a mortar and add some ground black seeds and eat this potion and it will immediately relieve depression and relax you.
A nice brewed cup of anise and mint, is another relaxing solution. Warning: do not buy anise tea, as many have toxic chemicals in them. Buy the seeds and brew the whole seeds with a few mint leaves.
Brew yourself a nice cup of chamomile tea and go sit in the bathtub sipping this calming wonder. It will relax you too much.
Societies who eat lots of fish have a lower rate of depression. The Japanese, who eat a lot of fish also value the old and they actually fight to see who gets to take care of their parents and grandparents. I wonder if this is not the secret to little or no depression, more than the fish. The elderly get depressed and lonely as they raised their children. Sometimes a couple is together for the children and when the children are gone, there is nothing less to the marriage. Finding happiness, looking for the esctasy they had when they are young would make the best of us depressed. Foods that fight depression are simple and easy and with a few changes in our lifestyle and diet, hopefully we will all be a little less depressed.
Close to 19 million people suffer with depression in America and according to the National Institute of Mental Health, Omega 3 foods took at least 30 days to kick in. What did work was foods containing Uridine. Omega 3 fats come from Salmon, herring fish, walnuts and flax seeds. Uridine foods come from sugar beets and beet molasses.
The other things that is very good for depression is sunflower seeds. They are the sun's best friend and have been proven to decrease depression. The sun's photons are stored in the DNA of the sunflower seeds, in turn that resonates to the human cells. It is not only good for the brain, but also the body.
A natural granola recipe
Granola:
4 cups of oats
2 cups of buckwheat oats
2 cups of shelled sunflower seeds
2 cups of raisins
1/3 cup of olive oil or vegetable oil
2 cups of sesame seeds
1/2 cup of maple syrup or honey
2 teaspoons of vanilla
1/2 cinnamon
1/2 cup of fresh orange juice
Place all the ingredients in a well greased pan except for the raisins. Bake in a medium oven until browned and remove and add the raisins. Return to the oven with the raisins and cook for ten minutes more.
If the granola doesn't work, then try some chocolate to increase the endorphins levels of the brain. Now, you are talking. Make sure the chocolate is dark chocolate with at-least 70 percent cocoa.
Not into chocolate, then try some oregano. A natural anti-depressant and good for the entire body.
A good smoothie is carrot, spinach and watercress. Add some flax seeds and you have got a anti-depressant smoothie
Depressed and want to eat like the monkeys. Eat a few bananas and you will be swinging from the trees. Bananas work wonders.
Bananas contain serotonin and norepinephrine.
Natural remedies for depression are ginger and black seed or Nigella Sativa. You can take some fresh ginger and pound it in a mortar and add some ground black seeds and eat this potion and it will immediately relieve depression and relax you.
A nice brewed cup of anise and mint, is another relaxing solution. Warning: do not buy anise tea, as many have toxic chemicals in them. Buy the seeds and brew the whole seeds with a few mint leaves.
Brew yourself a nice cup of chamomile tea and go sit in the bathtub sipping this calming wonder. It will relax you too much.
Societies who eat lots of fish have a lower rate of depression. The Japanese, who eat a lot of fish also value the old and they actually fight to see who gets to take care of their parents and grandparents. I wonder if this is not the secret to little or no depression, more than the fish. The elderly get depressed and lonely as they raised their children. Sometimes a couple is together for the children and when the children are gone, there is nothing less to the marriage. Finding happiness, looking for the esctasy they had when they are young would make the best of us depressed. Foods that fight depression are simple and easy and with a few changes in our lifestyle and diet, hopefully we will all be a little less depressed.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Why We need Doctor
Why We need Doctor
Self-care doesn’t mean rejecting medicine. Working effectively with health professionals can make all the difference in getting well.
Good doctors or nurses will share with us what they know,. Medical tests can help us understand what is happening and monitor out progress. We nearly always need doctors – and often other healers - on our health care team.
However, no chronic condition where medical care can effect a cure all by itself, or where the doctor’s contribution is more important than the patient’s.
Too often expensive and invasive treatments of dubious value distract a patient from self-care measures that could be much helpful.
Coronary artery bypass surgery frequently falls into this category if it takes the place of relaxation, exercise, healthy eating, and social support.
So does indiscriminate used of antidepressants, of they take the place of exercise, positive self-talk and counseling.
In some conditions where causes and treatment are poorly understood such as fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome, chronic fatigue and certain autoimmune conditions, the search for currently nonexistent medical answers can delay self-care measures more likely to improve our situation.
Overcoming illness means cooperating with doctors not attacking them. Most are overworked and underappreciated and will welcome sharing responsibility with their patients.
Self management programs have been shown to reduce doctor visits, hospitalizations and medication use, saving resource better used elsewhere.
We don’t do our doctors any favors by giving them too much power. They cannot heal us without out participation, Self care is a winning proposition for everyone need.
Why We need Doctor
Self-care doesn’t mean rejecting medicine. Working effectively with health professionals can make all the difference in getting well.
Good doctors or nurses will share with us what they know,. Medical tests can help us understand what is happening and monitor out progress. We nearly always need doctors – and often other healers - on our health care team.
However, no chronic condition where medical care can effect a cure all by itself, or where the doctor’s contribution is more important than the patient’s.
Too often expensive and invasive treatments of dubious value distract a patient from self-care measures that could be much helpful.
Coronary artery bypass surgery frequently falls into this category if it takes the place of relaxation, exercise, healthy eating, and social support.
So does indiscriminate used of antidepressants, of they take the place of exercise, positive self-talk and counseling.
In some conditions where causes and treatment are poorly understood such as fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome, chronic fatigue and certain autoimmune conditions, the search for currently nonexistent medical answers can delay self-care measures more likely to improve our situation.
Overcoming illness means cooperating with doctors not attacking them. Most are overworked and underappreciated and will welcome sharing responsibility with their patients.
Self management programs have been shown to reduce doctor visits, hospitalizations and medication use, saving resource better used elsewhere.
We don’t do our doctors any favors by giving them too much power. They cannot heal us without out participation, Self care is a winning proposition for everyone need.
Why We need Doctor
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Give Your Brain a Tea Break
Give Your Brain a Tea BreakA steaming cup of black or green tea, the comforting drink of choice for millions of people around the world, may also help to treat or prevent Alzheimer’s disease.
Laboratory test found that regular consumption of green and/or black tea inhibits the activity of certain enzymes on the brain that are implicated on the development of Alzheimer’s diseases.
Researchers from the Medicinal plant Research Center at New Castle University tested coffee as well as green and black tea, for beneficial effect in patients with dementia.
This study found that coffee had no significant effect, but both back and green tea especially inhibited the activity of enzymes associated with the development of Alzheimer’s.
Although tea alone almost certainly will not cure Alzheimer’s disease, it could possible another tool used to treat or prevent this increasingly common and devastating disease.
Give Your Brain a Tea Break
Sunday, February 7, 2010
What is life?
What is life?
The question is simple but the answer requires deep thinking.
At one glance, it may look as if life is just time spent between birth and death. Beyond that, we have no idea what the source of our origin was and what our destiny will be.
Who can measure the infinity of time? Life is the interval between birth and death. The journey of the universe is eternal.
This is the only life we know, the rest is mystery for eternity. Now it all depends on us as to how and how long to live.
When a human being is born, internal body, with certain exceptions, is clean and able to live for 100 years.
After years of living unwisely, we cut short our journey of life. Life is meant for living for a long span.
But modern life cycle has created many disease, stressful living, tension in society and unhappiness in the end. Due to these artificially created problems, we are not able to live as it should be.
What is life?
The question is simple but the answer requires deep thinking.
At one glance, it may look as if life is just time spent between birth and death. Beyond that, we have no idea what the source of our origin was and what our destiny will be.
Who can measure the infinity of time? Life is the interval between birth and death. The journey of the universe is eternal.
This is the only life we know, the rest is mystery for eternity. Now it all depends on us as to how and how long to live.
When a human being is born, internal body, with certain exceptions, is clean and able to live for 100 years.
After years of living unwisely, we cut short our journey of life. Life is meant for living for a long span.
But modern life cycle has created many disease, stressful living, tension in society and unhappiness in the end. Due to these artificially created problems, we are not able to live as it should be.
What is life?
Friday, January 22, 2010
Health and Wellness
Health and Wellness
Health is a word often associated with good fitness. Early definitions of health focused on illness.
The first medical doctors concentrated on helping sick people get well; they treated illnesses. Health was considered as nothing more than absence from disease.
But as medical and public health experts received better training, they began to focus on prevention of illness and disease as well as in the treatment of people who were already sick.
This new focus led world health experts to define health as more than absence from disease.
In recent years the definition of health has been expanded to include wellness, as state of being that enables you to reach your fullest potential.
Wellness includes intellectual, social, emotional, physical and spiritual aspects. It has to do with feeling good about yourself and with having goals and purposes in life.
Wellness is more likely to be present in individuals who assume responsibility for their own health.
So illness is the negative component of health that we want to treat or prevent, while wellness is the positive component of health that we want to promote.
Health and Wellness
Health is a word often associated with good fitness. Early definitions of health focused on illness.
The first medical doctors concentrated on helping sick people get well; they treated illnesses. Health was considered as nothing more than absence from disease.
But as medical and public health experts received better training, they began to focus on prevention of illness and disease as well as in the treatment of people who were already sick.
This new focus led world health experts to define health as more than absence from disease.
In recent years the definition of health has been expanded to include wellness, as state of being that enables you to reach your fullest potential.
Wellness includes intellectual, social, emotional, physical and spiritual aspects. It has to do with feeling good about yourself and with having goals and purposes in life.
Wellness is more likely to be present in individuals who assume responsibility for their own health.
So illness is the negative component of health that we want to treat or prevent, while wellness is the positive component of health that we want to promote.
Health and Wellness
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Health Reflects Life
Health Reflects Life
Annoying fact: The better our lives, the better our health is likely to be. Studies show that life is unfair in this way.
Among these findings: low job satisfaction is the number one predictor for future heart attack.
Socio-economic standing – income, educational level and power predicts general health better than any other single factor except age.
It gets worse. College students who remembered loving relationships with their parents have been found thirty years later to have far less illness than those whose parental relationships were more strained.
People who believe their spouses love them live longer. People with more friends are healthier. Laugher and happiness make the immune system work better.
Sex is good for your; fun is good for you. People who report lower stress levels have lower blood pressure and stronger hearts.
It is almost as of our bodies know how we feel about our lives as of our immune systems and all our other miraculous self healing mechanisms get discouraged when we get discourages as if they feel hopelessness, grief, and stress when we feel these ways.
It’s not just that happy people exercise more or eat better – though they tend to. “Mind/body” research demonstrates that our bodies, especially our unconscious self care systems (such as the immune system), react to our life situations as strongly as do our conscious selves.
Health Reflects Life
Annoying fact: The better our lives, the better our health is likely to be. Studies show that life is unfair in this way.
Among these findings: low job satisfaction is the number one predictor for future heart attack.
Socio-economic standing – income, educational level and power predicts general health better than any other single factor except age.
It gets worse. College students who remembered loving relationships with their parents have been found thirty years later to have far less illness than those whose parental relationships were more strained.
People who believe their spouses love them live longer. People with more friends are healthier. Laugher and happiness make the immune system work better.
Sex is good for your; fun is good for you. People who report lower stress levels have lower blood pressure and stronger hearts.
It is almost as of our bodies know how we feel about our lives as of our immune systems and all our other miraculous self healing mechanisms get discouraged when we get discourages as if they feel hopelessness, grief, and stress when we feel these ways.
It’s not just that happy people exercise more or eat better – though they tend to. “Mind/body” research demonstrates that our bodies, especially our unconscious self care systems (such as the immune system), react to our life situations as strongly as do our conscious selves.
Health Reflects Life
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