Honey Garlic and Vinegar

Long before patented medicine, tonics were homemade remedies made from common household ingredients.  A tonic is considered a medicinal preparation that is intended to strengthen or improve body function or well being.  You could make you own tonic from just about anything including: vinegar, honey, molasses, lemon juice, garlic, cinnamon, maple syrup, cayenne pepper, ginger, baking soda, peppermint leaves, or Himalayan salt.  There are hundreds of choices and recipes that are touted as a remedy, cure, or miracle.  While results vary, it is certain that each of the above ingredients have nourishing and medicinal properties that can stimulate change in the body.

One such “Miracle Elixir” is the Garlic, Apple Cider Vinegar, and honey tonic.  This tonic is well represented on the Internet and is available as a book, “The Honey, Garlic and Vinegar Miracle”, and “Honey, Garlic, & Vinegar Home Remedies”.  I had to try it and found it almost palatable if diluted in juice.

One Cup of Raw Local Honey

One Cup of Apple Cider Vinegar (Bragg’s)

8 Cloves of garlic

Blend on high speed for 60 seconds and leave in the refrigerator for five days.  Two teaspoonfuls daily is reported to aide an array of dis-ease including arthritis, elevated blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, colds and infections, to name a few. 

Where is the evidence?  The National Cancer institute offers information that garlic significantly lowers the risk of cancer.  Vinegar is a foundation of many tonics with impressive benefits, especially for arthritis, blood sugar control, and as an anti-infective.  Honey contains at least 31 nutrients including 13 minerals, component parts of nine vitamins, six acids and four key enzymes. 

With all this support it may be worth your effort.

Stay Well!

Chicken Soup

“Chicken Soup for the Soul” has offered inspiration and motivation for many and has its roots in a classic comfort food.  As a folk remedy for the common cold, its ingredients are nourishing and have been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties.  The popular food was a big seller for Campbell’s Soups beginning in the 1930’s.

The classic chicken soup was made from the old hen that was too tough to cook otherwise.  It is also a combination of whatever you want to add with many variations.  Our food choices can be the most important health decisions of the day.  Quality food equals quality health.

There is nothing better than home cooked food and one of my favorites is chicken soup.  It is inexpensive, nutritious, and easy to make.  Here are some tips for the best soup of the day.

1. Free range chicken is best but use what is available.
2. Include all the parts minus any excess fat.  Skin, neck, and liver can be discarded later.
3. Add one or two tablespoonfuls of Bragg’s apple cider vinegar to the water.  This will help to remove minerals such as calcium from the bones.
4. After bringing to a boil, reduce the heat so you can do other things and not have to worry about over cooking.
5. Add one or two tablespoonfuls of Himalayan salt, which is rich in other minerals. 
6. When the chicken is cooked, remove from heat, de-bone and place in the refrigerator.  Cold chicken can be cut into chunks that will stay in one piece. 
7. Add your vegetables to the broth; onion, celery, and carrots. 
8. Add one cup of brown rice instead of noodles. 
9. Mushrooms and garlic are nice additions. 
10. Spices may include parsley, cilantro and pepper. 
11. You can freeze containers for future use. 
12. While the cooking time may be long, the actual preparation is not.  Try it and you may never open another can.

 Stay Well

Whole Food Whole Life

A broad principle of good health involves the function of the gastrointestinal tract.  This means that in order to be healthy, you must eat good food, digest that food, absorb the nutrients provided and eliminate waste.  If any one of these does not occur then your health can be greatly impacted.  Most chronic illness starts in the gut.

Food choices are often individualized.  Blood type diets(1) can be helpful, but I find there are subtypes of these.  It is not likely that we can completely categorize the world’s population into 4 diets.  Hereditary impact is an important factor.  The diet of an individual in the tropics varies greatly from those in Scandinavian countries.   Switching diets for those individuals could result in health problems.  We can also factor in the changes in our foods from large farming and food processing.  Our food production and distribution systems are amazing as they provide food for the world’s populations and our have it now society.  You can get any seasonal food year round. 

The other side of this coin is that we are no longer eating foods the way they were offered in nature.  Fruits and vegetables are picked before their peak ripeness, irradiated, gassed and shipped all over the world.  Real food will spoil.  Have you noticed how long bread will last? 

This whole food concept is simple: if you can’t pick it or kill it then don’t eat it.  We have devolved to eat foods high in calories and low in nutrients.  We also used to eat seasonally.  Most of our ancestors did not sit down to the bountiful spread of meat, vegetables, fruits, breads and desserts that we enjoy.  Ideally, each food requires different digestive environments.  Watery fruits are easier to digest than a steak. 

Fresh garden food is wonderful, especially raw.  These vegetables have enzymes and bacteria that aid in digestion.  Rinse these foods properly and eat the skin.  For gardeners, it makes no sense to have a nice garden only to dust your vegetables with Sevin.  Use a liquid soap in a sprayer to keep bugs away. 

It is becoming easier to get good protein in the form of beef, chicken and fish as there is a movement to provide these locally.  Avoid all farm raised fish.  Also avoid processed meats including lunch meats, hot dogs, and sausage.  Pork is delicious but not considered healthy.  Eggs have gotten a bad rap due to the over focused cholesterol industry.  Eggs are a wonderful whole food that should not be overlooked. 

We typically eat the same thing for breakfast, lunch and supper.  It is much better to rotate your foods so that you don’t eat the same things more often than every 4 days.  Each type of food requires a different digestive environment.  Fruit is best eaten by itself or 15 minutes before a meal.  Other digestion friendly food combinations include meat with vegetables and vegetables with starches. 

1. “Eat Right for Your Type”

Got Water?

One of the foundations of health is hydration.  It should be obvious that we should drink water.  If there were an owner’s manual for the human body, the recommended fluid for consumption is water.  Many recommend 8 glasses per day but this does not take into account body size or the time of day or year.  If we are working and sweating then we may need more.  My general recommendation is body weigh divided by two equals the number of ounces to consume per day.  Most people have an obligatory amount of water to consume of approximately 18 ounces for the body to just get by.

There are many estimates of the percentage of water in the body.  Let’s just say around 75%.  The body needs fluid to perform basic functions that includes the elimination of waste.  Dehydration can contribute to or cause joint pain from decreased synovial fluid, headaches, gall stones, kidney stones, gout, and high blood pressure to name a few.  How many times do you use drug therapies to treat simple dehydration? 

Are you drinking soft drinks or coffee and counting them as water?  I can probably say that if your fluid intake is primarily these drinks then you will not be healthy.  As a matter of fact, most of you that fall in the category are already on multiple drug therapies.  It is not wrong to drink coffee or have the occasional soft drink but it could be one of the most detrimental things you could do if you are not healthy.

Late signs of dehydrations may include dry mouth, infrequent urination, headache, back pain, constipation, heartburn, leg pain, or joint pain.  I am often asked what kind of water to drink.  The answer is relative to the individual.  If you are drinking soft drinks it is better to drink municipal tap water.  Of course it is better to avoid chlorine and fluoride in these water systems so you could purchase a filter.  Then you could get into which type of bottled water or water system.  Some recommend distilled water that is devoid of minerals and not the best choice. Some recommend alkaline water.  There is always someone that has the answer but the first answer is drink water.

For some, it seems that water will just run thru them.  Some may drink enough water but still experience dry mouth.  This happens when the cellular membrane has been compromised.  Cell wall function is imperative for health.  Improving this membrane calls for the elimination of trans fats and increasing good fats such as Fish Oil , or flax oil.  I often recommend Hydrate I or Hydrate II drops to enhance the body’s utilization of water.  These homeopathic products enhance fluid absorption thereby increasing intracellular water.  It is a great place to start.  Hydrate I is for individuals under 40 years old and Hydrate II for those of us over 40.

There are many inexpensive things you can do to enhance water.  This includes fresh cut lemon or lime juice.  Herbal teas are nice and have mild nutrient and therapeutic effects.  You could also use Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar that has many wonderful effects.  It is great as a digestion aid before a meal.  Nitro Powder is a wonderful electrolyte replacement formula that is better than the commercial sugar drinks.


Stay Well!

Imperative Digestion

Jejunum Cross Section

Small Intestine

Digestion begins with the sense of smell followed by salivation and proper chewing.  The stomach has an acid environment.  Acid is needed to break down protein and liberate minerals.  With proper digestion the stomach empties into the small intestine which is an alkaline environment.  Bile is released to aid in the digestion of fats.  At the same time enzymes from the pancreas aid digestion.  If everything goes well the nutrients are absorbed for utilization in the body.  In the colon, water is re-absorbed to form a stool.

The environment impacts digestion.  Eating in traffic is vastly different than sitting down for a pleasant meal.  Eating while being upset also creates a poor digestive state.  Ideally you should be well hydrated during the day so you can eat a meal with little or no fluid.  Excess water, tea or soft drinks dilute the digestive process.   Throw in a super sized cola with ice inhibits digestion.  Hot tea is much better.  These are just some basics of good digestion.

Is it any wonder that more Americans experience indigestion and require the use of prescription antacids?  Taking such a product on a regular basis is the path for other chronic health issues.  Acid is needed for proper digestion of food.  It is better to solve the problem.  Did you know that neurotransmitter such as serotonin is made in the gut from protein?  A possible example of why depression is a side effect of such a drug.

Food allergies are a major factor for indigestion.  The most common food allergies are dairy and wheat.  Our process grains are not the same as the foods of our parents.  Dairy is highly processed as well.  Raw milk is much better as it contains enzymes and bacteria that aides in digestion.  At the same time, I believe the gut can be compromised with the over use of antibiotics allowing the body to become more sensitive to wheat and dairy.  Any use of antibiotics should be accompanied by a good probiotic.  My favorite is Enterobiotic SBO that contains 15 different types of bacteria and soil based organisms.  A deficit of the good bacteria can contribute to indigestion. Identifying basic food allergies is helpful in solving problems with indigestion.  

Other aids for digestion include a teaspoonful of Braggs Apple Cider vinegar in a little water before a meal.  Enzymes such as Optizyme can be added during a meal to aid in digestion.  Good digestion is imperative for good health!