The Potato Blight is more closely related to the malaria parasite than to anything fungal — who knows? Perhaps I read it HERE, first, I just don’t remember.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=potato+blight+malaria
<<<<<<<<<<<
Interesting and that puts it in the terror class in a hurry.
There was a ProMed release yesterday for Malaria, they found the strange mosquito and declared that I had come from that same shipment of tires, that we talked of on the Threat Matrix, tires stacked on the open deck, rain water caught inside them and the malaria bearing mosquito traveled to us.
[LOL, I jumped around on those googles and found this 2007 report on the threat to our food supplies, a very accurate one...granny]
Global Terrorism, Political Instability and
International Crime Council
October 2007
Welcome to the second edition of the quarterly newsletter of the Global
Terrorism, Political Instability and International Crime Council.
The lead article is an insightful analysis by Council member Dr. Robin
McFee DO, MPH, FACPM on the challenge of tainted products
manufactured overseas. Her article provides the kind of practical advice
ASIS members need to safeguard their corporations, agencies,
communities and families.
This edition features the following articles:
•
Terrorism expert, and Council member, Jim Dunne
summarizes three seminal books on terrorism that should
be on every security professional’s bookshelf. (See page 3)
•
Council members Doug Callen, Dr. Dick Ward, Britt Mallow,
Michael Bouchard, (former Council chair) Dr. Kathleen L.
Kiernan, Dr. Robin McFee and Mario Possamai are making
timely presentations on leading security issues. Their
presentations are summarized beginning on page 3.
continues.
http://www.witn.com/news/headlines/65894837.html
Updated: 5:53 PM Oct 24, 2009
FBI Joins Search For Missing Va. Tech Student
The FBI has now joined the search for a Virginia Tech student who vanished a week ago outside a Metallica concert.
Posted: 11:45 AM Oct 24, 2009
continues with full story........
http://www.witn.com/news/headlines/65878162.html
Updated: 5:35 PM Oct 24, 2009
NC Changes Welfare Requirements
North Carolina’s Work First welfare program will begin requiring adults to work before they receive monthly benefit checks.
continued......
UNDIAGNOSED DEATHS, CANINE - USA (02): (WISCONSIN)
**************************************************
A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org
******
[1]
Date: 23 Oct 2009
From: Cynda Crawford
CrawfordC@vetmed.ufl.edu
In my opinion, the leading differential for the deaths of the 6
greyhounds in a track kennel in Keosha, Wisconsin, is infection with
_Streptococcus equi zooepidemicus_. The circumstances and clinical
signs are very similar to that observed in racing greyhounds that
died of _Strep zoo_ infection in a kennel in England in February 2008
(see the March and April 2008 editions of the Veterinary Record ).
In addition to racing greyhounds in the U.S. and U.K., _Strep zoo_
has caused the deaths of kenneled dogs in animal shelters in at least
5 states (Nevada, Florida, Wisconsin, New York, and Pennsylvania) since 2007.
—
Cynda Crawford, DVM, PhD
Maddie’s Shelter Medicine Program
College of Veterinary Medicine
University of Florida
Gainesville FL
[The article Dr. Crawford references is Simon J. R. Adams, Peracute
haemorrhagic pneumonia syndrome in dogs,Vet Rec. 162: 599-b-600-b].
Another article of interest may be: M. K. Kim, H. Jee, S. W. Shin, B.
C. Lee, B. Pakhrin, H. S. Yoo, J. H. Yoon, and D. Y. Kim “Outbreak
and control of haemorrhagic pneumonia due to _Streptococcus equi
subspecies zooepidemicus_ in dogs” Vet Rec., Oct 2007; 161: 528 - 529. - Mod.TG
******
[2]
Date: 23 Oct 2009
From: Jimmy McLaughlin
jmcl2@eircom.net
Has lung worm or dirofilaria infestation been discounted?
—
Jimmy McLaughlin
jmcl2@eircom.net
[Oftentimes in the USA the dirofilaria are referred to as Heartworms,
but the damage is actually in the lungs and some may have learned
this as the lung worm. While some of the signs do fit the infection
of dirofilaria, one wonders if there would be such a high number of
animals affected at essentially the same time. - Mod.TG]
[see also:
Undiagnosed deaths, canine - USA: (WI) RFI 20091023.3642]
....................tg/ejp/mpp
http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/id.4584/pub_detail.asp
[hidden links contained in article]
October 22, 2009
Is Our Food Supply Vulnerable to Terrorism?
Jim Kouri, CPP
Imported food makes up a substantial and growing portion of the U.S. food supply and, considering the health and safety concerns of keeping American’s safe, Washington insiders seem oblivious to that part of protecting American citizens.
To ensure imported food safety, federal agencies must focus their resources on high risk foods and coordinate efforts, according to a report released last week by the Government Accountability Office.
The report, submitted to the U.S. Congress and obtained by the National Association of Chiefs of Police, assesses how the Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection, the Food and Drug Administration, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service are addressing challenges in overseeing the safety of imported food.
It also assesses how the FDA utilizes resources by working with other entities, such as state and foreign governments, and attempts to determine how the FDA is using its Predictive Risk-Based Evaluation for Dynamic Import Compliance Targeting system to oversee imported food safety.
U.S. agriculture generates more than $1.5 trillion per year in economic activity and provides an abundant food supply for Americans and others. There are continuing concerns about the vulnerability of U.S. agriculture to the deliberate introduction of animal and plant diseases by those wishing to harm American citizens.
“The big problem is money be spent to monitor food products being imported into the United States. So far, the budget for food safety is minimal when compared to other government programs. For example, politicians push for vaccinating millions of Americans against what they characterize as a deadly flu epidemic, yet they do not seem concerned over a very real threat to all Americans – contaminated food,” said political strategist Mike Baker.
Federal agencies also have been conducting vulnerability assessments of the agriculture infrastructure; have created networks of laboratories capable of diagnosing animal, plant, and human diseases; have begun efforts to develop a national veterinary stockpile that intends to include vaccines against foreign animal diseases; and have created new federal emergency coordinator positions to help states develop emergency response plans for the agriculture sector. However, the United States still faces complex challenges that limit the nation’s ability to respond effectively to an attack against livestock.
CBP, FDA, and FSIS claim they have taken steps to address challenges in ensuring the safety of the increasing volume of imported food. For example, CBP maintains that the system importers use to provide information to FDA on food shipments; FDA electronically reviews food imports and inspects some foreign food production facilities to prevent contaminated food from reaching U.S. shores; and FSIS employs an equivalency system that requires countries to demonstrate that their food safety systems provide the same level of protection as the U.S. system.
However, gaps in enforcement and collaboration undermine these efforts. First, CBP’s computer system does not currently notify FDA or FSIS when imported food shipments arrive at U.S. ports, although efforts are underway to provide this information to FDA for air and truck shipments.
“This is a problem we see with law enforcement agencies, intelligence agencies and other government entities,” claims former police detective and Marine intelligence officer Sidney Frances.
“Whenever we see multiple government agencies involved in one single function, there will almost certainly be some kind of snafu,” he added.
This lack of communication may potentially increase the risk that unsafe food could enter U.S. commerce without FDA review, particularly at truck ports. Second, FDA has limited authority to ensure importers’ compliance with its regulations. Third, CBP and FDA do not identify importers with a unique number; as a result, FDA cannot always target food shipments originating from high risk importers.
Finally, CBP faces challenges in managing in-bond shipments – those that move within the United States without formally entering U.S. commerce – and such shipments possibly could be diverted into commerce. FDA generally collaborates with select states and foreign governments on imported food safety. FDA has entered into a contract, several cooperative agreements, and informal partnerships for imported food with certain states, and some state officials told GAO that they would like to collaborate further with FDA on food imports.
However, citing legal restrictions, FDA does not fully share certain information, such as product distribution lists, with states during a recall. This impedes states’ efforts to quickly remove contaminated products from grocery stores and warehouses. FSIS has begun to make available to the public a list of retail establishments that have likely received food products that are subject to a serious recall. FDA is also expanding efforts to coordinate with other countries.
In particular, through its Beyond Our Borders initiative, FDA is pushing the U.S. government to station investigators and technical experts in China, Europe, and India, to provide technical assistance and gather information about food manufacturing practices to improve risk-based screening at U.S. ports.
According to FDA, inspectors will analyze food shipments using criteria that include a product’s inherent food safety risk and the importer’s violative history, among other things, to estimate each shipment’s risk. A 2007 pilot test indicated that the system improved FDA’s ability to identify products it considers to be high risk while allowing a greater percentage of products it considers low risk to enter U.S. commerce without a manual review.
FamilySecurityMatters.org Contributing Editor Jim Kouri, CPP is currently vice-president of the National Association of Chiefs of Police and a staff writer for the New Media Alliance (thenma.org) as well as a columnist for AmericanDaily.Com, MensNewsDaily.Com, MichNews.Com, and he is syndicated by AXcessNews.Com.
http://www.snopes.com/medical/disease/onion.asp
Says not true, but it has been used a hundred years or more.
And I have a low opinion of Snopes, for I have found them twisting facts and during the clinton era, they would change anything for clinton........in my opinion.
Results 1 - 10 of about 340,000 for onions would kill the flu germ. (0.32 seconds)
Search Results
1.
snopes.com: Onions Versus Swine Flu
Oct 16, 2009 ... The 2009 outbreak of H1N1 (swine) flu has brought home even to those who .... place a few onions around your home, the only likely downside would be that ... Barton, James W. “Onion Vapors Will Help Kill Harmful Germs. ...
www.snopes.com/medical/disease/onion.asp - Similar
2.
NATIONAL STEAM - ONIONS FOR PREVENTING FLU
Oct 3, 2009 ... SINCE THEY ARE BOTH KNOWN TO KILL GERMS AND USED IN ENEMA’S IN THE OLDEN DAYS ... I WOULD THINK THEY WOULD REPEL GERMS MORE THAN ANYTHING, ... I DOUBT THE DOCTOR FOUND FLU GERMS IN AN ONION BECAUSE OF THE JUICE CONTENT. ...
disc.yourwebapps.com/discussion.cgi?disc=192635;article... - Cached - Similar
3.
onions/flu at Ask Barefoot Herbalist
4 posts - 3 authors
In 1919, when the flu killed 40 million people, there was this doctor that ... It said the onion would be black in the morning from the germs. .... I’ve witnessed it kill a flu virus in 4 hours; and have personally seen it kill a cold ...
curezone.com/forums/am.asp?i=1507954 - Cached - Similar
4.
Swine Flu Prevention at WomansDay.com - Natural Flu Prevention
Oct 9, 2009 ... According to Dr. Schaffner, disinfectant wipes can, in fact, kill the flu virus. ... He also notes that any germ-killing abilities these devices ... I would never and have never ever gotten a flu shot. ... The doctor, upon examining the onion under a microscope found the flu virus on the onion. ...
www.womansday.com/.../The-Truth-About-Preventing-the-Flu.html - Cached - Similar
5.
FLU
Despite the scary headlines, winter flu germs are preventable. ... chili peppers, onions, and curry are all good sources of phytos. ... 2½ 12-ounce cans of soda) can reduce the ability of white blood cells to kill germs by 40 percent. ...
www.askdrsears.com/html/8/T082201.asp - Cached - Similar
6.
Prairie Fare: Fight Flu-causing Germs with Good Hand Hygiene — Ag ...
Alcohol can kill bacteria and viruses. Effective alcohol-based gels usually contain ... Brown the meat with onions in a nonstick pan using medium heat. ...
www.ag.ndsu.edu/.../prairie-fare-fight-flu-causing-germs-with-good-hand-hygiene/ - Cached - Similar
7.
Fight Flu-causing Germs with Good Hand Hygiene - eXtension News
Aug 21, 2009 ... Fight Flu-causing Germs with Good Hand Hygiene. Last Updated: August 21, ... Alcohol can kill bacteria and viruses. Effective alcohol-based gels usually ... Brown the meat with onions in a nonstick pan using medium heat. ...
www.extension.org/.../Fight_Flu-causing_Germs_with_Good_Hand_Hygiene - Cached - Similar
8.
Walmart.com - Preventing Cold & Flu: How Doctors Keep Germs at Bay
Warm water and soap will kill the germs, but be sure you don’t rush. .... carrot, onion, and celery) might actually have a medicinal effect on the body’s ...
instoresnow.walmart.com/Wellness-Center-Article_ektid80546.aspx - Cached - Similar
9.
Playnormous Health Games : 30 Healthy Ways to Get through Cold and ...
Sep 24, 2009 ... Cold and flu season! A Playnormous fan emailed us just in the nick of ... onions and garlic can boost your immune system and kill bacteria so don’t ... Blast germs with blueberries: Get helpful antioxidants and Vitamin ...
www.playnormous.com/blog/?p=1162 - Cached - Similar
10.
PMH Atwater’s NDE News: FLU EPIDEMIC
May 10, 2009 ... So, she thought about what was readily available which would prevent ... She knew that her family had a root cellar brimming with onions from the summer harvest. ... Citrus oil (used on any surface) will kill germs, too. ...
atwaterndenews.blogspot.com/2009/05/flu-epidemic.html - Cached - Similar
[All subject titles are live links at the site:]
http://www.onlinenursingprograms.net/2009/100-healthy-hacks-to-help-you-through-cold-flu-season/
100 Healthy Hacks to Help You Through Cold & Flu Season
Sep 21st, 2009
Besides back-to-school and the holidays, the fall and winter are known for ushering in peak cold and flu season. If you want to stay healthy enough to get on with your work, school and playtime, you’ll need to prepare yourself way ahead of time. Here are 100 healthy hacks to help you through cold and flu season and avoid getting sick.
Dos
Follow this list of dos, including washing your hands, getting vaccinated and getting plenty of fresh air, and you’ll be more protected against colds and flu.
1. Wash your hands: One of the easiest ways to prevent the spread of germs is to wash your hands.
2. Don’t touch your face: You pick up lots of germs just by being in public or even your own house, so avoid putting your dirty hands and fingers on your face.
3. Carry antibacterial gel or wipes: Clean your hands before eating out with on-the-go antibacterial gel or hand wipes.
4. Get vaccinated: People with certain health conditions, children, pregnant women, the elderly, and anyone around lots of people (teachers, health care providers, flight attendants) should get vaccinated for the flu.
5. Avoid crowds: At the peak of cold and flu season, avoid large crowds and packed airplanes and airports.
6. Rest when you think you’re getting sick: Give your body a chance to rest by getting enough sleep and eating right. Avoid late nights and partying.
7. Clean your desk: Clean your office space, including keyboard, mouse and any shared supplies to rid the area of germs.
8. Disinfect your house: Spray doorknobs and other public-use areas if you have roommates or house guests.
9. Stay warm and dry: Your body may be more vulnerable to germs and infections if you’re suddenly soaked in a cold rainstorm and experience a drastic change in temperature.
10. Evaluate your risk: People with chronic illnesses like AIDS or respiratory problems are more likely to get sick, so they’ll need to be extra prepared.
11. Visit a sauna: One German study found that people who went to saunas twice a week got half as many colds as those who never went to one.
12. Stay positive: Some researchers believe that the placebo effect may influence a person’s health, so try to convince yourself that you’re healthy and prepared.
13. Get fresh air: Well ventilated rooms with open windows clear and purify the air.
14. Meditate: Your body’s natural cold and flu fighters increase when you relax, so focus on something pleasant and peaceful for 30 minutes per day.
15. Go about your daily routine: Don’t become a hypochondriac or let the flu hype get out of control. Be sensible about your health.
16. Be happy: A happy state of mind can lead to a healthier body, too.
Donts
If you want to stay healthy this season, stop smoking, don’t share personal items like cosmetics, and don’t even think about putting your bag down in the bathroom.
17. Don’t get too stressed out: Stress can weaken your immune system and distract you from staying healthy.
18. Don’t carry a cloth bag: During cold and flu season, carry a leather or vinyl bag that’s easier to wipe down after trips to the store.
19. Don’t huddle indoors: This doctor and assistant professor suggests we see more colds in winter simply because we tend to huddle together indoors too much, making it easier to swap germs. Get out for fresh air and alone time.
20. Don’t share cosmetics: Mascara, eye shadow brushes, lip glosses and other personal items carry lots of germs and should not be shared.
21. Don’t use a hanky: Prevent the spread of germs by throwing away tissues immediately after you use them.
22. Don’t smoke: Smoking weakens the respiratory system, which can leave you vulnerable to colds.
23. Don’t drink after someone else: Even if you drink out of a different straw or side of the glass, there could be germs inside the drink due to backwash.
24. Don’t put your bag down in the bathroom: Hang up your bag on a public restroom hook.
25. Don’t share food: Dipping your fork or breaking off a piece of someone else’s food plate leaves you vulnerable to their germs.
26. Don’t keep the temperature too warm: Lower your thermostat just a tiny bit to keep virus germs from spreading.
27. Don’t double dip: Stay away from open dips at parties and restaurants.
28. Don’t compromise your sleep schedule: Adults need 7-8 hours per night while teens need approximately 9 hours per night.
29. Don’t drink: Limit your alcohol intake to give your body a rest and sleep better.
Diet
These foods will help keep your immune system strong while others are coughing and sneezing all around you.
30. Mushrooms: This simple food is actually packed with immune-bolstering properties.
31. Water: Water keeps you hydrated and energized and contributes to a healthy immune system.
32. Look for foods with phytochemicals: Foods with phytochemicals: dark green, red and yellow fruits and vegetables, are best when you want to boost your immune system.
33. Citrus fruits: Oranges, grapefruits and limes are great sources of Vitamin C.
34. Green tea: Get your fill of antioxidants by drinking soothing green tea.
35. Dairy products: Dairy products contain a higher ratio of lysine to arginine, making them effective at preventing cold sores.
36. Onions: Onions work with Vitamin C to kill bacteria.
37. Spinach: Dark green vegetables like spinach are good for your immune system.
38. Balanced diet: A balanced diet will keep you healthy all year round, so make sure to get a proper amount of all nutrients from whole foods, like whole grains, fruits and vegetables.
39. Yogurt: Eating low-fat yogurt once a day may help reduce your chances of getting a cold by 25%.
40. Squash and pumpkin: These brightly colored vegetables have lots of Vitamins A and C to help your immune system.
41. Tumeric: Tumeric may help boost your immune system and can prevent inflammation.
42. Blueberries: Get helpful antioxidants and Vitamin C with blueberries.
43. Salmon: Salmon is a good source of Vitamin A and can reduce your risk of getting infections.
Staying Informed
Check out these blogs, feeds and resources to keep up with cold and flu news and updates that can help you stay healthy and prepared.
44. @CDCFlu: The Center for Disease Control has a special Twitter feed for news about the flu and tips for preventing the flu.
45. @whonews: The World Health Organization also posts updates about the flu.
46. @GetReady: This feed gets Americans ready for cold and flu season.
47. @CDCemergency: Follow the Center for Disease Control emergency feed for important flu alerts.
48. Everyday Health: Get everyday tips for staying healthy and cold and flu-free.
49. CNN Health: CNN Health has great seasonal articles about staying healthy.
50. College Health Guide: College students can turn to Revolution Health’s guide for news and tips for staying healthy.
51. Flu: Medline Plus: Medline Plus’ resource has information for identifying symptoms and staying healthy.
52. Flu/Cold/SARS News: Medical News Today briefs the public on news and tips for preventing the flu.
53. Prevention of Common Cold: WrongDiagnosis.com can give you the straight information on preventing colds.
Supplements and Vitamins
Just to be on the safe side, take these supplements and vitamins to get extra doses of Vitamin C, A, zinc and more.
54. Vitamin C: Vitamin C is crucial to helping your immune system and preventing colds and the flu.
55. Garlic: Garlic is an age-old supplement used to prevent sickness.
56. Grapefruit seed extract: Grapefruit seed extract is a natural antiviral and antibiotic.
57. Zinc: Zinc is another supplement that can help prevent illness when taken regularly.
58. Emergen-C: While the benefits of taking Emergen-C after you start feeling rundown are still unknown, taking a regular Vitamin C supplement can keep your immune system strong.
59. Ginger: Add ginger to recipes or tea to boost your immune system.
Social Tips
You can’t help going to work or school during cold and flu season, but these hacks will make socializing less risky.
60. Wear a mask: If you’re visiting a highly infected area, consider getting a face mask to protect yourself against germs.
61. Tell your employees to stay home: Make your employees stay home when they’re truly sick instead of infecting the whole office.
62. Ask guests to wear gloves and masks: If you have a condition that makes you extra susceptible to getting sick, ask house guests to wear gloves and masks during cold and flu season.
63. Don’t get too close: If you know someone is sick, avoid them or at least avoid touching them for a few days
64. Wash your hands after leaving a public place: You know to wash your hands before eating or drinking, but make sure you wash them when you leave the restaurant, bar, park, or movie theatre too.
65. Use a paper towel to open the door of the restroom: When leaving public restrooms, use a paper towel to open the door to avoid picking up more germs.
66. Stay at home: When you’re feeling sick, stay at home to keep others healthy and speed up your recovery time.
67. Telecommute: Ask your boss if you can telecommute to work if the rest of the office is sick.
68. Have online meetings and conference calls: Use Skype and other services to host meetings online, minimizing your trips out into public.
69. Clean shopping carts: Use baby shopping cart covers and wipes to clean the handle of shopping carts.
70. Stop being touchy-feely: Whenever it’s appropriate, refrain from shaking hands, kissing and hugging.
Exercise
Regular exercise is a good defense against the cold and flu season.
71. Get at least 30 minutes a day: A solid, half-hour workout will help your immune system stay strong.
72. Aerobic exercise: Aerobic exercise increases the flow of oxygen and makes you sweat, helping your body fight viruses.
73. Follow the neck rule: If all of your symptoms are above your neck, you probably have a head cold and can still work out.
74. Don’t work out when you have a fever: If you have a fever, your body needs rest, not a work out.
75. Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of water before, during and after a workout.
76. Watch for germs at the gym: Wash your hands after using equipment and bring your own towel and mats to reduce the spread of germs.
77. Go for a walk outside: To get fresh, clean air, go for a walk or run outside instead of the damp, stinky gym.
78. Yoga: Yoga can help you prevent a cold or flu by reducing stress, increasing blood and oxygen flow to the brain, and work out specific parts of the body that are tied to your immune system.
79. Stretch: Reduce stress by stretching out at your desk and before and after every exercise.
For Families
Make sure your home isn’t breeding cold and flu germs by following these recommendations.
80. Clean frequently high traffic areas: Light switches, kitchen counters, doorknobs, kitchen cupboards and alarm clocks should be cleaned often.
81. Vacuum: Pick up dust and germs by vacuuming frequently
82. Teach your kids good health practices: Teach your kids how to wash their hands, sneeze and use tissues at school and at home.
83. Use a dehumidifier: Keep your home’s humidity at 50% to prevent virus germs from spreading.
84. Change your air filters: Keep air clean and well ventilated by changing air filters every few months.
85. Monitor bed time: Children are especially susceptible to colds and flu, so make sure they get enough sleep.
86. Keep your kids at home: Keep them entertained with movies and private parties at home instead of subjecting them to all the germs in public.
87. Keep tissues all over the house: Make it easy for guests, children and every one else to find tissues when they need one.
88. Disinfect the kitchen: Your kitchen attracts lots of germs, so make sure you clean all surfaces before and after preparing food, including the sink, table, cutting boards, stove and sponges.
89. Wash toys: Wash shared toys, blankets and other items.
90. Protect toothbrushes: Keep toothbrushes covered so that they are less likely to attract germs from sneezes.
For Students
Students, including young kids and college students, are at an even greater risk for spreading and sharing germs, so follow these hacks to stay healthy.
91. Don’t pack your schedule: An overworked, stressful schedule won’t leave you enough time for adequate rest.
92. Use a tissue to open doors: Minimize the spread of germs by buffering your hand and the doorknob with a tissue.
93. Bring your own supplies: Pencil sharpeners and other public-use supplies are covered in germs.
94. Limit your hook-ups: The more you start kissing people, the more you put yourself at risk for swapping germs.
95. Sit far away from students in class: Don’t sit right in the middle of all the sick kids: stay farther away especially during cold and flu season.
96. Use disposable cups: Use plastic cups at parties and write your name on your own glass to avoid sharing.
97. Sneeze and cough into clothing: Don’t cover your face with your hands: you’ll just spread more germs.
98. Keep up with schoolwork: Make taking a sick day here and there less of an issue by keeping up with your schoolwork all semester.
99. Take a break from the library: Take your own laptop outside to reduce the germ-infested library.
100. Stick to your own personal space: It’s hard in a packed dorm room, but try to minimize contact with your roommate’s belongings as much as possible, especially if he or she is sick.
http://articles.cookingcache.com/food-reviews/foods-that-help-prevent-colds-and-flu.html
Foods That Help Prevent Colds and Flu
As cold and flu season quickly approaches, it’s time to think about prevention. While frequent hand washing is often the first line of defense against germs, you can greatly enhance your body’s ability to fight off infections by choosing the right foods. Many foods come naturally equipped with immune boosting and antiviral qualities and the good news is these foods can be easily incorporated into your daily menus. Here are some suggestions:
1. Choose foods rich in Vitamin C: Since we cannot store vitamin C in our bodies, we need to consume it regularly. We should be eating 5-6 servings daily of fruits and vegetables which are rich in this vital vitamin. Such foods include bell peppers (especially red), cabbage, broccoli, leafy greens, kiwi fruit, citrus fruits, and berries. Consider making a smoothie for breakfast using banana, orange juice and organic frozen blueberries. Or just add thawed blueberries to your granola or yogurt. Peel and slice a kiwi or an orange to have with your toast. Other ideas include sautéing spinach with garlic in olive oil for dinner or make festive fajitas with chicken and brightly colored peppers. These are all easy ways to increase your consumption of vitamin C, a natural immune system enhancer.
2. Eat more garlic and onions: Garlic is a highly esteemed vegetable to many cultures around the world and for good reason. In fact, its use as a vegetable and as a medicine dates back to 5000 BC. Garlic certainly adds wonderful flavor to food, but it also has a positive effect on the immune system. It is rich in phytonutrients which are known for their antibiotic and antiviral properties. Garlic’s medicinal benefit is most potent when used raw so consider adding it to salad dressings for this use. However, garlic still offers benefits when cooked so use it generously in stir frys, soups, and casseroles. Top crusty bread with roasted garlic instead of butter. Similarly, onions enjoy a long history with their cultivation dating back to 3200 BC. Clearly onions are the most universal seasoning used today. The flavonoids in onions actually work with vitamin C to help kill harmful bacteria. It’s hard to find a savory recipe that doesn’t use onions but consider making a soothing and delicious pot of onion soup or include onions with slow roasted winter vegetables.
3. Eat brightly colored fruits and vegetables: While nutritionists tout the health benefits of beta carotene, its conversion into vitamin A in the body has immune boosting qualities as well. Fortunately foods rich in the nutrients are readily available in the fall and winter months including winter squash, carrots, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin. Additional sources include cooked spinach, apricots, and mangoes. Instead of a russet potato, substitute a delicious sweet potato. Just that simple change increases antioxidants significantly and also provides more vitamin C and trace minerals. Use that can of pumpkin puree in your pantry to make pumpkin bread. Make a pot of carrot ginger soup. Fish are also good sources of vitamin A including halibut, wild caught salmon, and cod. Evidence suggests the nutrients in these foods can prevent or lessen the severity of certain infections.
4. Drink tea: And in particular, drink green tea. Studies have shown that drinking green tea can enhance the immune system because it has a high concentration of polyphenols, known for their antioxidant properties. Green tea is also less processed than black tea. And finally, enjoying a hot cup of tea forces you to slow down and relax and this is always a benefit to your immune system.
While each of us usually get a cold or two each year, it’s important to know that our diets and habits do impact our health. Get plenty of sleep, stay away from highly processed foods and include some of the healthy foods included above and you are on your way to a healthy flu season and healthy year ahead.
Related Articles
Almonds and Your Health
Olive Oil Reviews
Top Tools for Barbequing
Natural Homemade Flu-Protection Preparation: Red Onion/Anise/Manuka Honey Syrup
Bruce Berkowsky, N.M.D., M.H., H.M.C.
Copyright 2009 by Joseph Ben Hil-Meyer Research, Inc.
This third article of a series of articles about the flu begins my discussion concerning relevant natural therapies. With public trepidation about a potential swine flu epidemic heating up again, this series is both relevant and timely.
If you missed one or both of the first two articles and would like to read them, click on the following links:
Germ Theory: The Traditional Naturopathic Perspective – Part I
Germ Theory: The Traditional Naturopathic Perspective – Part II
In this and the next few issues of Nature’s Therapies, I will present a variety of unique natural therapeutic options that may prove of good service in addressing prevention, and the symptoms, of the flu.
In this article, I will first describe the flu disease process and the conventional medical treatment of the disorder, including vaccination. Then, I begin my presentation of various alternative, natural therapeutic options with a focus upon quercetin, onions, star anise and manuka honey, and provide instructions for a unique, easy-to-prepare homemade medicine.
What is the Flu?
Influenza, or “flu,” is a contagious viral illness that often occurs in an epidemic pattern. Usually spread via small-particle aerosols projected by coughing, sneezing and even talking, it is characterized by an abrupt onset of fever, chills, weakness, sore throat, dry cough and coughing fits (which cause pain beneath the breastbone), nasal stuffiness and discharge, muscle aches (especially of the arms and legs), headache, and occasionally, abdominal pain and nausea.
The fever may last from 1 to 7 days but typically lasts 3 to 5 days. The viral infection causes swelling and inflammation of the lining of the respiratory tract, predisposing it to secondary bacterial infection. In turn, the enzymes produced by the harmful bacteria activate more flu virus.
Common complications of influenza include acute bronchitis, acute sinusitis, bacterial pneumonia (the most common complication), and middle ear infection. The elderly and chronically ill are at particular risk for developing complications. These individuals can be so weakened by flu that their defenses against disease-causing bacteria become dangerously low.
Reye’s Syndrome, a severe complication of flu and other viral illnesses (particularly in young children), is characterized by possible liver failure and brain damage, and has been associated with the use of aspirin during the course of treatment.
Conventional Medical Treatment Of The Flu
Conventional treatment for the common cold and influenza are quite similar and may include: acetaminophen or non-aspirin NSAID for fever and headache; decongestants such as pseudoephedrine for stuffy nose; warm salt water gargle and humidifier treatment for sore throat; cough suppressants such as dextromethorphan.
Antibiotics (which are ineffective in treating viral infections) are prescribed only when bacterial complications are present. The flu patient is also advised to curb activities for the 2 to 5 days of severest illness.
Flu Vaccines
As concern about the swine flu is ratcheting up again, there is a lot of discussion about a vaccine. Of course, whether or not to opt for being vaccinated is a personal choice. However, it is important in this reference that your decision be an informed one that thoroughly examines the risk-to-benefit ratio.
Vaccines are controversial drugs because whatever good they may offer is counterbalanced by a significant level of risk. In order to reassure a jittery public, the medical establishment and the media downplay the risk. But there is no denying that the injection of pathogenic microorganisms deeply into the tissues of the body in order to elicit microbe-specific immunity has no precedent in nature. Disease is most often the product of the violation of the Laws of Nature. Violation of the Laws of Nature is only one of the reasons why vaccination can potentially exert destructive action within the body.
The active ingredient in a flu vaccine is either killed viruses or weakened live ones. Additionally, vaccines can contain chemical toxins such as formaldehyde, carbolic acid, ethylene glycol (the main constituent of antifreeze) and certain antibiotics.
This time around, the risk may be even greater as the manufacturers are exploring the possibility of adding an adjuvant made of various forms of aluminum (including aluminum hydroxide) to the swine flu vaccine. Ostensibly, the adjuvant is added to increase the vaccine’s effectiveness (by stimulating immunological hyper-reaction to the organism being introduced), but it is also included to stretch the available supply of the vaccine by reducing the amount of vaccine required to treat each person.
While adjuvants increase the risk of harmful side-effects from the vaccine, this increased risk is deemed acceptable by drug companies and public health officials seeking to maximize the number of vaccine doses available for a mass vaccination campaign.
Aluminum build-up in tissues has been associated with a variety of chronic disorders including cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, memory loss, osteoporosis, decreased liver and kidney function, anemia, headaches and extreme nervousness.
Aluminum can cause nerve cell death and aluminum adjuvants can help facilitate aluminum’s deposition in brain tissue. Normally, the blood-brain barrier protects the brains by filtering the blood before it reaches it. While elemental aluminum does not easily pass through the blood-brain barrier, various aluminum compounds do.
Aluminum hydroxide specifically may cause vaccine allergy, anaphylaxis, and a chronic inflammation syndrome called macrophage myofascitis. Cats injected experimentally with aluminum hydroxide often develop at the site of injection malignant tumors derived from fibrous connective tissue called fibrosarcomas.
Most flu vaccines also contain about 25 micrograms of a preservative called thimerosal. By weight, mercury constitutes 49.6 percent of thimerosal, which is metabolized or degraded into ethylmercury and thiosalicylate.
Thimerosal is actually far more toxic than mercury itself and can cause long-term immune, sensory, neurological, motor, and behavioral dysfunctions. This mercury preservative (anecdotally associated with autism by many observers) may also be a factor in attention deficit disorder, speech and language deficiencies and multiple sclerosis.
Natural Therapeutic Options
Quercetin:
Fortunately, there are a wide variety of natural therapeutic options regarding the prevention and treatment of the flu. I have decided to begin my discussion of these with quercetin because it is one that is not widely discussed and provides the opportunity to present instructions for an easy-to-prepare homemade syrup.
Quercetin is a flavonoid and a building block for other flavonoids (a class of water-soluble plant pigments) which has been shown to exert anti-inflammatory action (inhibits the activity of histamine and other allergic/inflammatory mediators) and antioxidant action (combats free radicals).
Some studies have suggested that quercetin may play a role in cancer prevention. It is notable that quercetin is found only in plant-derived foods, and diets high in fruits and vegetables have been associated with reduction in cancer incidence. Quercetin is also considered to be a phytoestrogen (a plant biochemical which functions similarly to estrogen).
Quercetin may also prove useful in the prevention and treatment of: allergies, asthma, bronchitis, cataracts, chronic fatigue (by encouraging the production of mitochondria: the organelle within each cell responsible for the production of the energy compound ATP), gout (may help reduce the production of uric acid), heart disease (may help prevent the oxidation of LDL: “bad” cholesterol, hypertension, chronic prostatitis and interstitial cystitis.
Importantly, quercetin has been shown to reduce the risk of flu in experimental studies with mice. A higher consumption of quercetin has also been linked with lowered incidence of the common cold. Considering this evidence of quercetin’s protective influence regarding infectious viral diseases, University of South Carolina researcher J. Mark Davis, PhD suggests a high consumption of quercetin-rich foods. In this reference, he considers the best quercetin source to be red onions as these contain four-times as much quercetin as does most other produce.
Good sources of quercetin include: apples, broccoli, buckwheat, cabbage, capers, cauliflower, cherries, citrus fruit, green tea, red grapes, leafy green vegetables, lovage, onions (especially red onion where the highest concentrations of quercetin occur in the outermost rings), raspberries, tomatoes.
Organically grown fruits, vegetables, etc. contain more of this valuable flavonoid. One study found that organically grown tomatoes contain 79% more quercetin than non-organic tomatoes.
Based upon all the positive research, quercetin supplements are quite popular. However, isolated quercetin is poorly absorbed and utilized, with much of it metabolized into non-active phenolic acids or simply excreted.
Nutrients are always better absorbed from whole foods than they are as isolated moieties.
In whole foods, nutrients never occur in isolation, but rather, in conjunction with a host of other synergistic nutrients which enhance their absorption and utilization. Thus, it is my feeling that if one wants to load up on quercetin, the best way to do that is to ingest high-quercetin foods such as organic red onions. In addition to adding them to salads or steamed vegetables, the traditional herbal preparation presented below may prove of good service.
Medicinal Value Of Onions:
Before presenting the recipe for onion syrup, it is worthwhile to take a brief look at the medicinal value of onions.
The onion (Allium cepa), like its close relative garlic, is a member of the lily family. Both onion and garlic are rich in thiosulfinates, sulfides, sulfoxides, and other sulfur compounds. The thiosulfinates exhibit anti-microbial properties that underlie onion’s effectiveness against a wide spectrum of pathogenic bacteria, including Bacillus subtilis, salmonella, and E. coli.
Onions have been used for centuries as a medicinal agent. Early American settlers used wild onions to treat asthma, colds and coughs. Onions can be used to reduce bronchial spasms, and an onion extract has been shown to decrease allergy-induced bronchial constriction in asthma patients. In Chinese medicine, onions are used to treat coughs, bacterial infections, and respiratory problems (as well as angina).
Additionally, onions are a very rich source of a type of fructo-oligosaccharide, which not only stimulates the growth of probiotic colon bacterial species and suppresses the growth of potentially pathogenic colon bacterial species, it can also reduce the risk of colon cancer.
Onions, like garlic, contain sulfides (which help reduce blood fats and blood pressure) as well as anti-clotting agents that can inhibit platelet-clumping. The sulfides in onions have anti-tumor properties. In the area of Georgia where Vidalia onions are grown, mortality rates from stomach cancer are one-half the average rate for the United States in general. One study found that, among elderly people in the Netherlands, those with the highest onion consumption (at least one-half onion per day) had one-half the level of stomach cancer of those who did not consume any onions.
Apparently, the less pungent, milder, sweet onion varieties are less effective as medicinal agents. Stronger onions such as the Western Yellow and Northern Red varieties have the richest content of flavonoids and phenolics, and thus, exert a much higher level of antioxidant and anti-proliferative activity.
Star Anise:
Star anise (Illicium vernum) is a star-shaped, reddish brown fruit native to Southeast Asia where it is used as a traditional tasty spice. Star anise’s flavor resembles ordinary anise seed (to which it is not related), however, it is the star-shaped seedpods, rather than the seeds themselves, which provide star anise’s flavor.
Star anise is considered to be anti-bacterial, diuretic and stomachic. It aids digestion and is used to treat rheumatism. In China, star anise has traditionally been used to treat the common cold and other viral diseases.
This herb contains shikimic acid, a chemical compound used in the production of the anti- flu drug Tamiflu. While shikimic acid itself does not exert antiviral activity, it has a distinctive chemical structure that serves as the starting point in the production of Tamiflu.
Tamiflu, a neuraminidase inhibitor, does not directly destroy swine flu or other influenza viruses. Rather, it inhibits the spread of these viruses within the body by blocking a protein that facilitates the egress of replicating viral particles from body cells. Other herbal sources of shikimic acid include ginger and fennel.
Star anise also contains linalool, a chemical compound that does exert antiviral activity. The herb also exerts a strong antioxidant action that specifically helps limit the deposition of cholesterol in arterial walls via inhibition of the oxidation of fatty acids. Limonene, another phytonutrient found in star anise, exerts anti-cancer activity.
If you cannot find star anise (although it is a common herb, there may be a shortage of it during the flu season), substitute common anise seed (Pimpinella anisum). As noted, the anise seed and star anise plants are unrelated botanically. Anise seed is a member of the parsley family and native to the Eastern Mediterranean. Anethole is the biochemical that accounts for its distinctive sweet-licorice taste. Like anise seed, star anise’s flavor also derives primarily from anethole. Both anise seed and essential oil of anise seed are noted as being of value in the treatment of influenza. The essential oil is also used to treat the following relevant symptoms: general fatigue, chilliness, sluggish circulation, common cold, vertigo, asthma, bronchial spasm, cough and difficulty breathing.
Manuka Honey:
Manuka honey is a monofloral honey (nectar is derived from only one species of flower). It is produced in New Zealand by bees that feed on the flowers of the manuka plant, a close relative of the Australian tea tree.
A study by the University of Queensland, Australia indicated the presence of quercetin in honey derived from tea tree flowers. For hundreds of years, the tea tree was a source of medicinal remedies for the Australian Aborigines. For instance, they used the crushed leaves to treat cuts and skin infections. In 1923, an Australian government scientist discovered that the tea tree oil was twelve times stronger as an antiseptic bactericide than carbolic acid.
Tea tree oil is active against bacteria, fungi, parasites and viruses. It is a powerful immuno-stimulant that activates white blood cells and otherwise increases the body’s ability to respond to microbial challenges. Importantly, tea tree dissolves pus without damaging healthy tissues (when properly diluted), thus leaving the surface of an infected wound clean and allowing the oil’s germicidal action to proceed more effectively. Most pharmaceutical germicides destroy healthy tissue as well as bacteria.
Manuka honey (a dark-colored honey with a flavor reminiscent of tea tree oil) combines some of the healing actions of the tea tree with the naturally antibacterial properties of honey. Manuka honey can be used in wound-dressings to prevent infection. In general, honey is a natural antiseptic that speeds healing while helping to seal a wound from exposure to new infection. Manuka honey exerts antibacterial, antiseptic, antiviral, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antifungal properties.
Manuka honey is commonly referred to as UMF honey. Honey’s sugars give rise to the disinfectant: hydrogen peroxide. Manuka honey additionally contains an antibacterial component known as the “Unique Manuka Factor.” A UMF rating system has been developed to compare each manuka honey with standard disinfectants. The Unique Manuka Factor is unaffected by enzymes in the body that destroy hydrogen peroxide. Manuka honey also destroys bacteria by drawing water out of bacterial cells, thus making it impossible for them to survive.
Manuka honey appears to be effective against some strains of the antibiotic-resistant bacteria that occur in hospitals. Wound-dressings containing manuka honey have proven successful in treating life-threatening infections involving hard-to-kill bacteria such as MRSA (Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus—a super staph infection) and VRE (Vancomycin-resistant enterococcus—a bacteria that causes severe intestinal infections).
Influenza is a viral illness, and although manuka honey does exert an anti-viral action, it is primarily noted for its anti-bacterial properties. However, as discussed above, common bacterial infection complications of influenza include acute bronchitis, acute sinusitis, bacterial pneumonia (the most common complication) and middle ear infection. The elderly and chronically ill are at particular risk for developing complications. These individuals can be so weakened by flu that their defenses against disease-causing bacteria become dangerously low.
Red Onion/Star Anise/Manuka Honey Syrup
Since the 1980s, I have been preparing garlic syrup (a traditional herbal medicine) using a method I developed and refined over the years. In this case, I am adapting that methodology to prepare a potent red onion/star anise/manuka honey syrup that may prove of value in enhancing one’s resistance to flu infection.
As you will see, the instructions are relatively simple.
Instructions:
1) Peel and finely mince sufficient red onion (organically grown red onion is preferable) to fill half of a quart mason jar.
2) Place 2 Tbsp. of ground star anise (if you cannot find star-anise, substitute anise seed, ground) in a stainless steel or glass cooking pot.
3) Bring to a boil: 24 oz. of unfiltered apple cider vinegar (make sure it is unfiltered, not refined, apple cider vinegar).
4) Next, pour the hot vinegar over the star anise and cover the pot. Let steep for 30 minutes.
5) Now, pour the vinegar/star anise mixture over the minced onions in the quart mason jar. The level of liquid should be above the level of onion. If not, add enough vinegar to be above onion.
6) Screw the mason jar lid on tightly and shake well. Store in a cool, dark place for 5 days, shaking the jar for about 30 seconds twice daily.
7) Next, add a sufficient amount of vegetable glycerine (glycerine will extract certain herbal components that may not diffuse into the vinegar) to raise the level of the mixture in the jar about 2 to 3 inches. Let stand for 2 more days, shaking the jar twice daily as before.
8) Now, using a fine strainer, strain the liquid from the pulp.
9) Place the onion and star anise pulp on a square of cheesecloth. Fold the edges of the cheesecloth over the pulp and squeeze out as much liquid as you can. Mix this rich liquid from pulp with the liquid that was previously strained off.
10) Measure the total amount of liquid you have recovered. Add one-third that amount of raw, unfiltered manuka honey to the strained liquid, and stir until it is thoroughly blended in. (You can substitute other types of raw honey, but Manuka honey is preferred).
11) Pour syrup into jars, seal tightly and store in the refrigerator.
Suggested Use (primarily as protection against flu):
Adults and children 12 years and older: Add 1 dessert spoonful to 6 oz. pure water, 2 to 3 times daily between meals.
Children: 2 to 11 years old: ½ of the above adult dose.
As an option, if you would like to add a little natural vitamin C, squeeze ½ tsp. of fresh lemon juice into each dose of the diluted syrup.
Important Notes:
1) Diabetics or individuals with hypoglycemia should avoid honey, and thus, this syrup.
2) Just to be cautious, I am suggesting that, as this syrup preparation contains honey, it not be used with children under 2 years old. However, the general rule is not to use honey with children under 12 months old as it may cause infant botulism.*
*Infant botulism is caused by the ingestion of Clostridium spores commonly found in honey or corn syrup. Bees, corn, and sugar cane pick up spores from soil. Due to the high sugar content of these sweeteners, the spores do not germinate and develop into bacteria. Because the environmental conditions in the adult gut are not suitable for germination, Clostridium spores remain spores and are excreted without causing any harm. But the different environmental conditions within an infant’s stomach are ideal for Clostridia to develop. Thus, the rule: Never feed an infant under 12 months of age honey, corn syrup, or other sweeteners.
Disclaimer: This publication is intended as an educational tool, and not as a prescription. I advise you to seek the advice of your health-care provider before trying any new remedy or exercise.
Written by Dr. Bruce Berkowsky, N.M.D., M.H., NCTMB
http://www.naturalhealthscience.com
[The chart at the end went all garbled.........see link]
13 Tips to Combat Colds and Flu the “Natural” Way
With no cure in sight for the cold or the flu, current treatments can at best bring symptom relief or shorten the duration of those symptoms. Here are some natural remedies that may speed your recovery, and help you feel better along the natural path to better health.
#1 Know When Not To Treat Symptoms
Believe it or not, those annoying symptoms you’re experiencing are part of the natural healing process — evidence that the immune system is battling illness. For instance, a fever is your body’s way of trying to kill viruses in a hotter-than-normal environment. Also, a fever’s hot environment makes germ-killing proteins in your blood circulate more quickly and effectively. Thus, if you endure a moderate fever for a day or two, you may actually get well faster. Coughing is another productive symptom; it clears your breathing passages of thick mucus that can carry germs to your lungs and the rest of your body. Even that stuffy nose is best treated mildly or not at all. A decongestant, like Sudafed, restricts flow to the blood vessels in your nose and throat. But often you want the increase blood flow because it warms the infected area and helps secretions carry germs out of your body.
#2 Blow Your Nose Often (And the Right Way)
It’s important to blow your nose regularly when you have a cold rather than sniffling mucus back into your head. But when you blow hard, pressure can carry germ-carrying phlegm back into your ear passages, causing earache. The best way to blow your nose: Press a finger over one nostril while you blow gently to clear the other.
#3 Treat That Stuffy Nose with Warm Salt Water
Salt-water rinsing helps break nasal congestion, while also removing virus particles and bacteria from your nose. Here’s a popular recipe:
Mix 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon baking soda in 8 ounces of warm water. Use a bulb syringe, netti pot or Nasaline to squirt water into the nose. Using a Nasaline is often easiest and involves pushing the saline solution up one nostril, filling the sinuses and allowing the solution to drain out the other nostril. It works wonderfully well and is quick and easy. Repeat 2-3 times in each nostril. Blow your nose.
#4 Stay Warm and Rested
Staying warm and resting when you first come down with a cold or the flu helps your body direct its energy toward the immune battle. This battle taxes the body. So give it a little help by lying down under a blanket.
#5 Gargle
Gargling can moisten a sore throat and bring temporary relief. Try a teaspoon of salt dissolved in warm water, four times daily. To reduce the tickle in your throat, try an astringent gargle — such as tea that contains tannin (Black or green work well) — to tighten the membranes. Or use a thick, viscous gargle made with honey, popular in folk medicine. Steep one tablespoon of raspberry leaves or lemon juice in two cups of hot water; mix with one teaspoon of honey. Let the mixture cool to room temperature before gargling.
#6 Drink Hot Liquids
Hot liquids relieve nasal congestion, prevent dehydration, and soothe the uncomfortably inflamed membranes that line your nose and throat. If you’re so congested you can’t sleep at night, try a ‘healthy hot toddy’, an age-old remedy.
#7 Take a Steamy Shower
Steamy showers moisturize your nasal passages and relax you. If you’re dizzy from the flu, run a steamy shower while you sit on a chair nearby and take a sponge bath.
#8 Use a Salve Under Your Nose
A small dab of mentholated salve under your nose can open breathing passages and help restore the irritated skin at the base of the nose. Menthol, eucalyptus and camphor all have mild numbing ingredients that may help relieve the pain of a nose rubbed raw.
#9 Apply Hot or Cold Packs Around Your Congested Sinuses
Either temperature works. You can buy reusable hot or cold packs at a drugstore. Or make your own. Take a damp washcloth and heat it for 55 seconds in a microwave (test the temperature first to make sure it’s right for you.) Or take a small bag of frozen peas to use as a cold pack.
#10 Sleep With an Extra Pillow Under Your Head
This will help relieve congested nasal passages. If the angle is too awkward, try placing the pillows between the mattress and the box springs to create a more gradual slope.
#11 Don’t Fly Unless Necessary
There’s no point adding stress to your already stressed-out upper respiratory system, and that’s what the change in air pressure will do. Flying with cold or flu congestion can temporarily damage your eardrums as a result of pressure changes during takeoff and landing. If you must fly, use a decongestant (Natural D-Hist works well) and carry a nasal spray with you to use just before takeoff and landing. Chewing gum and swallowing frequently can also help relieve pressure.
#12 Eat Infection-Fighting Foods
Here are some good foods to eat when you’re battling a cold or flu:
* Bananas: Soothe upset stomachs.
* Bell Peppers: Loaded with vitamin C.
* Blueberries: Curbs diarrhea, high in natural aspirin. (May lower fevers and help with the aches and pains.)
* Carrots: Loaded with beta-carotene.
* Chili Peppers: Can open sinuses, and help break up mucus in the lungs.
* Cranberries: Help prevent bacteria from sticking to cells lining the bladder and urinary tract.
* Mustard & Horseradish: Helps break up mucus in air passages.
* Onion: Has phytochemicals purported to help the body clear bronchitis and other infections.
* Rice: Curbs diarrhea.
* Tea: Black and green tea (not herbals) contain catechin, a phytochemical purported to have natural antibiotic and anti-diarrhea effects.
#13 Dip into Nature’s Medicine Cabinet
Once you have a cold or flu, there are several things you can do to decrease your down time without short-circuiting your immune system. If you would like additional support, give these tried-and-true protocols a try.
Note - clear mucus is often indicative of a viral infection whereas green/yellow mucus often indicates a bacterial condition. In all cases, reduce all forms of sugar as much as possible!
Adults
Bacterial Infection
Supplement
Upon Rising
Breakfast
Mid-am
Lunch
Mid-pm
Dinner
Before Bed
Andrographis Plus - take 2 tablets every 2 hours for 12 hours with unchilled water. Then 1 tablet 3x/day between meals for 5 days.
Ultra Potent C Pwd
1 tsp
1 tsp
1 tsp
Viral Infection
Supplement
Upon Rising
Breakfast
Mid-am
Lunch
Mid-pm
Dinner
Before Bed
Viracid - 2 capsules every hour until symptoms subside, then 2 capsules 3x/day for 5 days
Ortho Biotic
1
1
Children
Supplement
Imu-Max - Children up to 6 years old take ½-1 teaspoon twice per day; Children over 6 take 1-2 teaspoons twice per day. Take with water or any other drink.
Flora Boost - Children up to 6 yrs. old - ½ tsp 2x/day; children over 6 yrs. old 1 tsp 2x/day. Take on empty stomach (upon rising and before bed).
If you have severe symptoms, feel sicker with each passing day, or become extremely weak, please contact your doctor immediately.
Please share this information with your friends and family - a great way to prevent colds and flus is to keep those around you healthy.
(If you like this information, you may be interested in 77 Ways to Beat Cold and Flu by Charles B. Inlander, president of The People’s Medical Society, a nonprofit consumer health advocacy organization.)
Yours in Health along the Natural Path,
Chad Oler, ND
© Natural Path Health Center - 2940 Chapel Valley Road Madison, WI 53711
Phone: 608.274.7044 - Toll-Free: 866.888.6721 - Fax: 608.274.6614
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http://hubpages.com/hub/No-COLDS-or-FLU-this-Season
No COLDS or FLU this Season
71
By topview
Stay Healthy This Winter
This winter while your out doing your Xmas shopping, and you grab that handle of the shopping cart. You are exposing yourself to some of the nastiest germs that are floating around waiting for a body to infect.
So, if you want to keep that nose from dripping and making you miserable, you need to make a garlic tincture to protect your body from all those nasty little devils that you have dreaded,that may infect you or your kids and everyone in your household.
Here is how you make a Garlic tincture that will keep those bugs out of your body this winter, so you can keep going and not be laid up for a week or more.
The bugs that are getting people sick nowdays are really tough, and it sometimes takes up to 3 months to get over them.
You can get most or all in your local health food store or in your super market, except the vodka to soak it in.
All these ingredients do not have to be used to make it protect you from Flu virus or cold virus, but use as many as you can get.
1) Garlic-Fresh only, 2)Olive leaves, 3)Echinacea, 4)Astragalus, 5) Cats Claw, 6)Onion, 7)Ginger, 8)Shiitake Mushrooms, 9)Green Tea, 10) St.Johns Wort, 11) Lemon Balm.
Now, what you do is put all the ingredients you can get into a pint jar (glass) and if you get the herbs in capsules, just take them apart and pore about 5-6 of each one with lots of garlic chopped up into the jar and mix vodka and apple cider vinegar, till the jar is full and place it in your refrigerator, for about two weeks, shake once daily .
After two weeks, get a strainer and pour it into another container and rince jar and place back into the pint jar and put back in Frig where it will stay cool and out of direct sunlight.
When you take it, be very careful when you start, as if you take to much of it at one time you can get very sick to your stomach.
If you have a virus or a fungus in your stomach, you will kill to many at one time and you will have to many dead bugs for your liver to take care of the disposal, of the garbage. So only start out with about 1/2 teaspoon, and see how your belly handles it. It could take about, 3 hours for it to kill the fungus, and then you will be very sick and want to upchuck it all, if you take a slug of it at first.
You can slowly work up to a mouthful after you see how your stomach handles it. I take about a table spoon 3 or 4 times a day if I get the feeling of a cold or flu coming on. This tincture will help build your immune system and will keep fungus at a low scale in your body. You can take it everyday if you have a problem with fungus (Candida Albicans) or Yeast infections.
Garlic is a natural cure for many problems in the body, as an anti-inflammatory and many other things that you would never think would be cured by Garlic.
I have put this on my blog also and have many health articles about many diseases and ailments and how to get yourself healthy and stay healthy
If you know some one that needs to get well from many things, just send them there. After I had colon cancer and nearly died, I decided to help everyone I could to get healthy and what to do to stay healthy.Nature has provided us with everything we need to live and survive on.
Good luck, If it is natural, then eat it, if it isn’t natural, don’t eat it.
Thanks,
http://www.theepochtimes.com/news/8-7-5/72864.html
The Versatile Onion
By Johann Fleck
Epoch Times Germany
Jul 05, 2008
Onions harvested by Iranian women. (Getty images)
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Europeans have used onions for food as far back as the Bronze Age, but they most likely originated in Western or Central Asia. The Pentateuch, the oldest section of the Bible, even has references to onions and garlic. The name “onion” is derived from the late-era Latin “cepa,” or its diminutive, “cepolla.”
The onion can do double duty as a vegetable or a seasoning. Most cuisines around the world afford the onion a fixed place in lots of dishes. Austrians, for example, consume an average of 15 lbs. of this vegetable per person annually.
Varieties of onion vary greatly in form, color and flavor. The mild flavor of the Spanish onion is ideally suited for roasts, as a seasoning ingredient [in combination with other vegetables, to enhance flavors]. The red onion is even milder, and is primarily used in salads. Shallots with their unmistakable, intense onion flavor are a favorite to perfume dishes, with its unique aroma. And, let’s not forget scallions [green onions], leek and chives!
An onion’s characteristic sharpness comes from its sulphur-containing inherent oils, such as allicin, as well as other flavor properties. The vegetable’s high sugar content—up to 8%—accounts for its ability to impart a sweet, delicate flavor to cooked dishes. Onions served as a cooked vegetable are nearly fat-free, and also contain a high percentage of minerals and vitamins. They can enhance metabolism, as well.
Onions can be considered a plant antibiotic, due to their ability to kill germs and prevent inflammation in the mouth and digestive tract. Some sources even ascribe to it healing properties, in such cases as heart ailments, blood clots and cancer prevention. In any event, they fight high blood sugar, work to lower cholesterol and possess antioxidant properties.
The onion exerts its beneficial effects to the whole digestive system. The vegetable stimulates the appetite and fosters the production of stomach, intestinal and gall fluids. The onion is a mild diuretic, and can promote proper bladder function. They have an affinity to the skin, and can aid in wound healing, including small topical infections, insect bites, minor burns, cuts, small boils and minute eruptions. Upon the first symptoms of cold, flu or a runny nose, the onion can work as a preventative, and can minimize a cough and a mild sore throat.
The onion is a health-promoting vegetable that can also be prepared and consumed as a juice tonic, for healing effects.
Onion juice is prepared as follows: take one small, peeled and chopped onion, mix it with 2 Tbsp. honey and 1/2 cup water. Heat and cook, simmering for 5 minutes.
After 5 minutes, stir the mass, remove it from the flame and let stand for 5 hours, to cool completely.
Then press the mass through a fine strainer. Use 1 Tbsp. of the juice three times a day, as a cold preventative, or for general health benefits.
In all manner of dishes, onions can be prepared raw, fried or sautéed.
I would like to recommend three dishes to you, in which the onion is a major player.
Piedmont Style Stuffed Onions
[Piedmont is an area in Northern Italy]
Ingredients
* 8 large onions
* 1/2 lb bulk pork sausage
* 1 Tbsp. olive oil
* 1 Tbsp. breadcrumbs
* 1 Tbsp. pine nuts
* 2 amaretto cookies, crumbled
* 1 egg, lightly beaten
* 1/4 cup raisins
* 1 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
* nutmeg, cinnamon, salt and pepper, to taste
Method
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. (180 Celcius)
Peel the onions and let them cook in lightly salted water for 10 minutes. Allow to drain completely, while preparing the filling:
Cook the ground pork sausage in olive oil until no longer pink; let cool. Then mix with the beaten egg, the breadcrumbs and amaretto crumbs, raisins, pine nuts, the spices and salt. Set aside.
Cut a “lid” off the drained onions and remove most of the onion “innards” with a spoon, leaving a sturdy, onion shell.
Mince the removed content and add to the filling, blending well.
Fill the hollowed out onions with the meat mixture, put the “lid” back on, and bake the filled onions in a greased pan for 1/2 hour. Serve hot or cold.
This is an ideal complement to other dishes as a side dish, or it can be served as the main entrée, with a nice green salad and a loaf of artisan Italian bread. Serve two onions per person.
Serves 4
French Onion Soup
Ingredients:
* 2 large onions, peeled, cut into rings
* 1 Tbsp. butter
* 1 clove garlic
* 1 quart good beef broth
* 1/2 cup dry sherry
* salt and pepper
* 6 slices firm white bread
* 6 slices Gruyere or Emmenthaler cheese
* chives, for garnish
Method:
Saute the onions and garlic in the butter until limp.
De-glaze with sherry, and then cook until somewhat reduced.
Add the beef broth and simmer for 10 minutes; season with salt and pepper.
Meanwhile, place the cheese onto the bread slices and bake on high heat until golden brown. Cut bread into strips or squares to form croutons.
Ladle the soup into bowls; add an equal amount of the cheese croutons to each bowl. Garnish with chopped chives.
Serves 6
Classic Viennese Beef Stew
Ingredients
* 2 lbs lean beef from the leg, cut into cubes
* 2 lbs. onion, thinly sliced
* 1/4 cup oil
* 1 Tbsp. tomato paste (not sauce)
* 1 pint water
* 4 Tbsp. paprika powder [not chili powder]
* 2 garlic cloves
* 1 fresh chili pepper, fairly mild
* salt, powdered caraway seeds, marjoram, finely minced lemon peel, and a bit of vinegar
Method:
Saute the onions in the oil until brown but not burned.
Add the tomato paste and paprika, blending well.
De-glaze with a few drops of vinegar and a bit of water, then add the remaining water and simmer until tender.
Now add the cubed meat and the rest of the seasonings.
Stir well, cover the pot and simmer for at least 2 hours, until the meat is tender but not falling apart.
Ideally, the finished stew should show a layer of red, fatty liquid on top.
Best served with boiled potatoes, bread dumplings or simply crusty rolls.
Serves 4
[A good year round indoor plant, give it a sunny window...]
http://www.theepochtimes.com/news/8-7-10/73219.html
Herb of the Month: Basil
A beloved year-round plant and kitchen herb
By Elisabeth Horbach
Epoch Times Germany Staff
Jul 10, 2008
Repotting a newly purchased basil plant increases the joy of harvest and eating. (© Sonja Winzer/www.pixelio.de )
Related Articles
- Thyme, the Medicinal Plant Friday, June 27, 2008
- Olive Oil’s Many Properties Friday, June 13, 2008
- Herb of the Month—Rosemary Monday, June 09, 2008
- Fennel: the ‘Reducer’ Sunday, June 08, 2008
- Parsley—More than Mere Garnish Saturday, June 07, 2008
- The Stinging Nettle—a Marvelous Springtime Food Tuesday, June 03, 2008
The annual herb basil, ocimum basilicum, has its origin in India. Basil is not merely valuable for its marvelous flavor, but aids in alleviating gas and bloating, and helps lactating women. Experience has shown that inflamed breast warts respond well to a gentle wash with basil tea.
When conditions are right, the plant will sprout from seeds, and with sufficient nutrients and moisture, it can develop stems and leaves. The plant is tender and cannot tolerate frost. White blossoms are the plant’s crowning finale. They will develop new seeds, and thus the life cycle repeats itself. In spite of nurturing and good care, the mother plant has finished its cycle and will die.
Do you know of a supermarket that does not carry this plant in the produce section all year round? What happens to all the thousands of basil plants that people buy every day and take home? Most of them don’t even survive to see the following weekend.
It’s the same disappointment each time—the stems turn dark, the leaves wilt, and there might even be mold on top of the soil in the pot. Sitting on the kitchen windowsill for the first few hours the plant looked so appetizing, green, and appealing. How can we assure that this poor fellow survives?
When I spot these poor basil plants in the supermarket, subjected to cold-water sprays from the automatic system, I get the same feelings I experience when visiting a shelter for abandoned or sick animals. I wish I could save them all, so much do I agonize for their lack of care.
When basil arrives at the supermarket it contains everything needed for fast growth—water in its roots, warmth, ideal nutrition, and most of all, the protective plastic “corset.” Then suddenly the plant is deprived of all these, and one wonders why it’s dying.
Next time you buy a potted basil plant, I highly recommend you transplant it into a larger pot, in normal potting soil. The pot does NOT need a drainage hole, just a few pebbles in the bottom will do. Keep the plastic sleeve (corset) the plant came with; the plant needs this support around the stems. Since the plant grows quickly, the stems are unable to develop a sturdy framework right away and need support for a couple of days.
Eventually, the stems will be able to transport water and nutrients to the leaves, and a few leaves may reach above the protective sleeve. They need lots of daylight and ideally, sun, but that’s sometimes impossible during the winter. Never let the surface of the soil dry out. Water regularly with lukewarm water—best gently twice a day, instead of too much all at once.
To begin with, cut off the largest leaves and later on remove all of the top sprouts down to the next leaf juncture. That enables side branches and leaves to develop. Removing the top sprouts as described also prevents the plant from blooming, which, as already mentioned, signals its demise. Perhaps your basil plant will now supply you with aromatic leaves until Easter. Good luck with the harvest!
http://www.theepochtimes.com/news/8-6-16/71815.html
Kale—a Traditional Winter Vegetable
It wouldn’t be right if it didn’t smell
By Johann Fleck
Epoch Times Germany
Jun 16, 2008
Classic combination: Braised kale and steamed or smoked pork chops with sausage (Photo: pixelio.de)
Classic combination: Braised kale and steamed or smoked pork chops with sausage (Photo: pixelio.de)
The vegetable’s history bears out these differing opinions. Once upon a time the cabbage had a reputation for possessing medicinal benefits, but over time it became known as a “poor people’s food.” Now it has become a hot item on restaurant menus.
It is widely assumed that kale originated in Greece. Historic records from 400 BC describe such a cabbage which the Romans later gave the name Sabelline Cabbage. This seems to be the forerunner of our modern kale. It was considered a culinary delicacy during Roman times, and raising this vegetable made farmers of that time very wealthy.
Nowadays, kale is mainly grown in Middle and Western Europe, North America, and East and West Africa. In 1988, Germany alone grew 2,224 acres of kale.
Certain cities in Germany fight over the title of the best specialty preparation. The city of Bremen seems to hold the longest tradition of kale feasts, having celebrated them since 1545.
Kale farming is closely connected with Italy’s farming of cavalo nero, black kale. Its leaves have a distinct color and are not as ruffled as those of other kale varieties. The flavors are similar, as is the method of preparation.
Kale Requires Exposure to the First Frost
All true kale enthusiasts wrinkle their noses at kale that has been harvested prior to the first winter frost. Its true flavor develops only after exposure to the first freezing weather. That temperature develops the characteristic flavor and loosens the plant’s cell structure, thus making it easier to digest. But the chief reason for delaying the harvest until after the first frost is the change of some of the plant’s starch into sugar.
Those who think they can replicate this process by placing the cabbage in the freezer are sorely mistaken. The process happens only when the plant is subjected to outdoor frost while still in the ground. Once the harvested cabbage leaves are blanched and have been frozen, the flavor differs from the natural exposure.
Amid the snowy splendor, kale raises its tasty, vitamin-rich fronds into the winter sun (Photo: Heinz Leppe/ETD)
Why Does Cabbage Have Such a Disagreeable Odor During Cooking?
Fresh kale smells relatively neutral and develops its characteristic odor while cooking. This deters many people from eating this vitamin C-rich vegetable. The odor of cooked cabbage comes from its inherent sulfur and mustard oil compounds in the plant. Cooking releases the enzymes that split the sulfur molecules, and thus we get the characteristic odor, absent in the raw kale. The longer the cabbage is cooked, the stronger the smell.
Today’s recipes ought to make you a bit more familiar with kale preparation. If you have questions or comments, please contact me at johann.fleck@epochtimes.de
Kale Patties
Ingredients:
* 1/2 ounce dried boletus mushrooms, soaked for 30 minutes in warm water [you can use other dried fungus]
* 1 lb potatoes
* 1 lb kale, leaves stripped off the stems, stems discarded
* salt, for the cooking water
* 2 teaspoons dried marjoram
* 1 onion, diced fine
* 3 eggs
* 1/4 cup bread crumbs
* salt and pepper, to taste
* fat/oil, for frying
Preparation:
Cook the potatoes in their jackets for 20 minutes, until soft.
Meanwhile, cook the kale in a reasonable amount of salted water for 10 minutes. Place into a strainer, run under cold water to stop the cooking process and drain well.
Chop the cabbage finely and set aside.
Peel the potatoes and grate them, not too finely, and set them aside.
Squeeze mushrooms and dice them finely.
Mix all the ingredients together, adding the seasonings.
Form into patties and fry them in hot oil until golden on both sides. Serve with a creative yogurt sauce.
Classic Kale Preparation
Ingredients:
*
4 lbs of kale
* 1/4 lb lard
* 1/2 cup pearl barley
* 3 large onions, 1 clove garlic
* 4 slices bacon
* 4 small mild sausages
* Salt and pepper, sugar, nutmeg and lemon juice
Preparation:
Wash the kale, strip the leaves off the stems, drain them and chop finely.
Place enough water into a large pot to cover the bottom, add the chopped cabbage and steam only long enough for the leaves to wilt. Place into a large strainer, drain well and let cool for a while. Then use your hands to squeeze all the extra moisture out of the vegetable.
Melt the lard in a heavy-bottomed pot and let the onions sauté until soft.
Add the finely minced clove of garlic and let simmer a few moments. Then add the kale in stages, stirring between each addition.
Add a good sprinkle of nutmeg, according to personal taste, as well as sugar, salt, pepper and a few drops of lemon juice.
Blend everything well and simmer for 5 minutes. Now add 1 cup hot water, stir and cover the pot, simmering for about 30 minutes.
Remove the cover and add the bacon in with the vegetables and cook for another 30 minutes. Then add the sausages and cook yet another 15 minutes.
At this stage the cabbage should still be wet but not soupy. Last, add the pearl barley, stir, cover the pot and let everything cook for another 25 minutes, without adding additional water.
Add a small amount of water ONLY if the mixture is obviously too dry.
Taste and add additional salt and pepper if needed.
Serve with potatoes cooked in their jackets and peeled.
http://www.theepochtimes.com/news/8-6-27/72463.html
Thyme, the Medicinal Plant
Honoring the Ancient Healing Herb
By Sonja Reiss
Epoch Times Germany Staff
Jun 27, 2008
Thyme (Photo: pixelquelle.de)
Thyme (Photo: pixelquelle.de)
The Wuerzburg/Germany scientific forum “Development of Medicinal Plant Lore,” named the original thyme, thymus vulgaris, its medicinal plant for 2006.
The plant has a long history of being used both for it’s healing properties and as a culinary herb. It is now considered one of the most valued herbs in the fight against cold-related illnesses.
Thyme is favored for its anti-microbial properties and primarily used to fight coughs, but is used to loosen phlegm and relieve coughing spasms too. The herb is highly valued in the form of an herbal extract to help ease asthma and pertussis. Besides these properties, thyme is an invaluable aid to improve blood flow and as an antibacterial medium. When infections or inflammations of the throat and mouth are present, it is used as a pleasant mouthwash for gargling. It fights mouth odor. Crèmes and lotions containing thyme are used as skin cleansers, and adding thyme to the bath water is pleasant, mildly astringent and cleansing.
The ancient Greek physicians Hippocrates and Dioskurides praised the herb highly. They prescribed this fragrant herb for all manner of illnesses of the respiratory tract and as a medium to loosen phlegm. An entry in the German physician/botanist Leonhart Fuchs’s 1543 diary stated, “Thyme and honey boiled together and then consumed is hugely beneficial to those having trouble breathing.”
Long ago, thyme served as a digestive aid and was used externally against insect bites and for easing headaches or joint aches. Several of the “bitters” or herbal liqueurs on the market contain thyme extract. But people who suffer from thyroid or liver problems might want to check with their physician prior to consuming or using a thyme-based product.
Thyme’s primary beneficial constituents are etheric oils, flavenoids and tannins. The plant’s many varieties are indigenous to Middle-and-Southern Europe as well as to the Caucasus region. Thyme is presently grown as a crop in Middle Europe, East Africa, India, Israel, Morocco, North America and Turkey. Small quantities are grown in Germany, Spain and Eastern Europe.
The name thyme itself alludes to its ancient beneficial uses. Thymiamia, the Greek spelling, means “something for burning/incense/smoking.” The ancients burned thyme in their temples as an incense offering to their gods, hinting of the intense fragrance the etheric oils in the plants impart when thyme is dried and set alight. Europeans have learnt to know the plant by its latinized name, “herba thymiania,” now simply “thyme.” Monks brought the herb from the Mediterranean across the Alps.
Depending on the type grown, the strength of the etheric oil differs. French cooking without the use of thyme is virtually unheard of. And in ancient times, damsels would present their brave knights with a bouquet of thyme, to sustain them during a jousting match. The symbolism derives from the translation of the Greek word “thymos”, meaning courage and strength.
More than 300 different types of thyme are grown worldwide. The original thymus vulgaris is a low-growing shrub; the 1/4 inch leaves have woolly undersides and are curled under at the edges. In contrast to other, creeping varieties, this thyme has upright branches that extend about 1 1/2 feet. The blossoms are colored delicate lavender, pink or white.
Though the original thyme does not grow wild in Germany, it lives well in home-gardens. It is not frost hardy. Four of its cousins are more prolific: thymus pulegiodes, t.praecox, t.alpinus and t.serpyllum. All types of the plant prefer dry and sun-drenched soil that drains well and has a high percentage of lime. As early as March, thyme can be sown in containers and then in April transplanted into open ground. The perennial thyme needs to be severely pruned back to encourage new growth; one could even train the plant into a decorative herbal spiral.
http://www.theepochtimes.com/news/8-5-3/70028.html
Thai Fragrant Rice Pudding
By Caroline Yates
Epoch Times U.K. Staff
May 03, 2008
Rice pudding is a tasty, healthy dessert that is simple to make. (Caroline Yates/The Epoch Times)
Rice pudding is a tasty, healthy dessert that is simple to make. (Caroline Yates/The Epoch Times)
This delicious dessert recipe has a strong, delightful aroma and a very gentle, lovely flavour. Try it with coconut milk for a richer pudding.
Serves: 4 Preparation time: 25 minutes
Ingredients:
175 ml (3/4 cups) Thai fragrant or jasmine rice
625 ml (2 1/2 cups) whole milk (or coconut milk)
10 cardamom pods, crushed open
2 bay leaves
125 ml (1/2 cup) icing sugar
1 ml (1/4 tsp) vanilla
Sprigs of mint
Whipped cream
Directions:
Put a heavy saucepan on medium-high heat.
Put the rice, milk, cardamom, bay leaves, and sugar into the saucepan and stir to mix. After bringing the mixture to a boil, turn the heat down to a simmer, stirring frequently.
Add the vanilla and cook for 15–20 minutes. When the rice is done, the pudding is ready to be served. You may wish to remove the cardamom pods, but leave the seeds.
To add a finishing touch, decorate with whipped cream or sprigs of mint.
Serve with tropical fruit such as mango, pineapple, cantaloupe, banana, papaya, or longan.
http://www.theepochtimes.com/news/8-4-21/69350.html
Honey or Maple Ricotta Cakes
Pure and naturally delicious dessert
By Caroline Yates
Epoch Times U.K. Staff
Apr 21, 2008
Honey Almond Ricotta Cake (Caroline Yates/The Epoch Times)
Honey Almond Ricotta Cake (Caroline Yates/The Epoch Times)
Related Articles
- Delicious Leek, Potato, and Onion Soup Saturday, April 12, 2008
- Dreamy Cream Puffs Wednesday, February 20, 2008
- Chocolate Fondue for Two Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Ricotta is a favourite ingredient often used in Italian lasagne and dessert recipes. It has a mildly sweet taste and is low in fat. Try the following ricotta cake recipe sweetened with honey or maple syrup. It’s pure and natural and easy to make.
Preparation time: 30 minutes Serves 4
Ingredients for Honey Ricotta Cakes:
* 250 g (9 oz) ricotta cheese
* 4 egg whites
* 60 ml (4 tbsp) honey
* 30 ml (2 tbsp) almonds, sliced
* 4 strawberries, sliced
Ingredients for Maple Ricotta Cakes:
* 250 g (9 oz) ricotta cheese
* 4 egg whites
* 60 ml (4 tbsp) maple syrup
* 30 ml (2 tbsp) pecans, sliced
* 2 bananas, sliced
Directions:
Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F).
All ingredients should ideally be at room temperature. Butter four ramekins and dust them evenly with sugar.
Put the ricotta and honey (or maple syrup) in a bowl and mix until smooth and creamy.
Put the egg whites in another bowl and beat with a whisk until nearly stiff.
Fold the egg whites into the ricotta mixture until well blended. Pour the mixture into the ramekins and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden.
Remove from oven and let stand for a few minutes before putting the ricotta cakes onto plates.
For the honey ricotta cakes, top with almonds, strawberries, and a drizzle of honey.
For the maple ricotta cakes, serve with pecans and banana slices and drizzle some maple syrup on top.
http://www.theepochtimes.com/news/8-4-12/68974.html
Delicious Leek, Potato, and Onion Soup
By Bridget Harris
Epoch Times Ireland Staff
Apr 12, 2008
FLAVOURFUL SOUP: A warm, tasty soup is a good start to any meal and also makes a satisfying snack when served with bread or rolls. (Photos.Com)
FLAVOURFUL SOUP: A warm, tasty soup is a good start to any meal and also makes a satisfying snack when served with bread or rolls. (Photos.Com)
Take advantage of the variety of fresh vegetables available all year round and make some delicious soup. A tasty soup with a lovely aroma will whet your appetite and serve as a good start to any meal, or you can serve soup with whole-grain bread or rolls to make a satisfying snack.
Choose selections that complement each other. My choice of vegetables for the recipe below is leeks, potatoes, and onions. You can substitute the leeks with celery if you prefer; however, it is important to have both a strongly flavoured vegetable and a mild one—hence I include the potatoes.
This soup is made using a time-honoured method known as “sweating.” “Sweating” seals in all the flavour and makes it unnecessary to add stock cubes or herbs; only a little salt and pepper is required, if desired.
Ingredients
* 1 large or 2 small leeks
* 2 medium-size potatoes
* 1 medium onion
* 60 ml (1/4 cup) butter
* 500 ml (2 cups) water
* 250 ml (1 cup) milk
* Salt and pepper if required
Method
Peel off the outer leaves of the leeks and wash the stems well, ensuring that any soil between the leaves is washed away. Cut into 5-cm (2-inch) lengths.
Wash and peel the potatoes and onion and dice into small pieces.
Have a fairly large saucepan ready. Put in the butter and melt over low heat. Add the potatoes, leeks, and onion. Replace the lid. Maintain a low heat setting and stir regularly. It is important not to allow the vegetables to cook, as that would remove the flavour. Instead, keep the heat low to seal in the flavour. This is the above-mentioned process of “sweating.” Stir regularly and add a little salt and pepper. Continue for about 15 minutes.
Now add the water and raise the temperature to a simmering point for the next 15 minutes. Add the milk and once more bring to a simmering point. The vegetables should now be soft through. If not, simmer a little longer.
Next, put the mixture through a sieve or blender. Return to the saucepan and reheat. Put the soup into bowls, and add a dash of thick cream and perhaps sprinkle on some chopped chives.
You will find the flavour and texture of this soup delicious and appetizing. It is an excellent starter to any meal.
http://www.theepochtimes.com/news/8-3-2/66902.html
Falafel
By Yaira Yasmin
Epoch Times Israel Staff
Mar 02, 2008
FALAFEL MIXTURE: A blend of cooked chickpeas and spices ready for making falafel balls or patties. (Yaira Yasmin/The Epoch Times)
FALAFEL MIXTURE: A blend of cooked chickpeas and spices ready for making falafel balls or patties. (Yaira Yasmin/The Epoch Times)
Related Articles
- Blueberry and Marzipan Tart Sunday, February 03, 2008
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Falafel, a staple food in Israel, is a fried ball or patty made from chickpeas or fava beans, or a combination of the two, mixed with spices.
Falafel is typically served wrapped in pita bread, like a sandwich, and topped with tahini sauce, lettuce, and tomato. In the Middle East it can be eaten as an opening appetizer or a main course, and is popular as a fast food, much like the hamburger in North America.
Falafel is quite a fattening food. One sandwich that comprises three to four deep-fried falafel balls, pita bread, and tahini sauce—a tasty sauce made with ground sesame seed paste—can amount to as much as 515 calories.
However, it is a food that also has good nutritional qualities, such as dietary fibre, whole protein, calcium, magnesium, iron, and potassium. The tahini sauce has vitamins C and B, and the added garlic in the sauce has many health benefits as well.
MIDDLE EASTERN STREET FOOD: Vendors in the old city of Jerusalem preparing falafel for customers. (Yaira Yasmin/The Epoch Times)
MIDDLE EASTERN STREET FOOD: Vendors in the old city of Jerusalem preparing falafel for customers. (Yaira Yasmin/The Epoch Times)
Falafel ingredients
1 3/4 cups dried chickpeas
1 tsp baking soda
1 chopped medium onion
1/3 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, minced
1–3 crushed garlic cloves
2 tbsp fresh cilantro, minced
1 slice white bread, soaked in water
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
3 tbsp water
Pure olive oil or canola oil
Preparation
Soak the chickpeas overnight in a pot of water. Then cook for 2–4 hours with the baking soda.
Drain and peel the chickpeas and put in a food processor. Add the onion, parsley, garlic, and cilantro. Squeeze out the bread and add it to the blend. Add the baking powder, salt, cumin, and red pepper. Mix until you get a paste. Add the water and continue mixing until the mixture is stable. Put the mixture in a bowl and let it rest for an hour.
Fill a deep frying pan or wok generously with oil. Heat the oil to a medium-high to high temperature. Form the falafel mixture into small balls or patties and place each gently in the oil. If the oil is hot enough, it takes 2–4 minutes and the falafel will turn light golden brown and will be ready.
Sometimes the inside of a falafel is green while the outside is golden brown and it is perfectly done. However, sometimes the inside is green but the falafel may still need to be fried longer. Only experience will teach you to know the difference.
Drain the falafel balls or patties on paper towels. Then move them to a bowl. Serve with pita bread, tahini sauce, and a finely chopped vegetable salad.
You can make a sandwich by cutting pita bread in half to form a pocket. Put in the cooled falafel. Then add chopped tomatoes, lettuce, red onion, parsley, and tahini sauce.
Tahini sauce ingredients
1 cup tahini (ground sesame paste) 1/2–1 cup water or more Lemon juice from half a lemon 6–7 parsley leaves, chopped 1–2 minced garlic cloves Salt
Preparation
Put the tahini in a bowl. Add some water and begin mixing. The blend will get firmer as you blend. Then add more water. I prefer the tahini sauce to be more solid, but some prefer it thinner, like a liquid. Add the lemon, parsley, garlic, and salt, and mix together to make the sauce. (Be careful not to put in the lemon juice first. Otherwise the sauce will not form a solid blend.)
http://www.theepochtimes.com/news/8-2-15/65915.html
Comfort Food for Those Cold Winter Days
By Sandra Shields
Epoch Times Victoria Staff
Feb 15, 2008
Easy and delicious beef stew (Sandra Shields/The Epoch Times)
Easy and delicious beef stew (Sandra Shields/The Epoch Times)
Coming inside from a cold, wet, wintry day and smelling a pot of simmering stew, flaky pastry on chicken pie, or a hearty macaroni and cheese casserole will bring a smile to almost everyone.
One-dish meals are especially handy if you are short of time and still want a well-balanced meal for the family. Most of the ingredients are cooked together, so serving and cleanup are at a minimum.
When making these recipes, think ahead and make extra for the next day, or freeze leftovers that can be used at a later date.
The following recipes are easy to make and absolutely delicious. If you’re not a fan of dumplings in your beef stew, make a batch of baking powder biscuits or have thick slices of multigrain bread as an alternative.
If you’re wanting something other than pastry on the chicken pot pie, put a layer of creamy mashed potatoes on top and brown in the oven. Pair the mac and cheese recipe with a coleslaw salad.
Finish off the meal with a dessert that can be baked in the hot oven along with the pie or casserole, such as a fruit crisp or bread pudding. Your family will be lining up at the table waiting for dinner to arrive.
Potluck Beef Stew and Dumplings
* 5 cups water
* 1 tsp salt
* 6 cups vegetables (potatoes, turnips, carrots, and parsnips peeled and diced into 1–1 1/2” pieces)
* 2 stalks celery, sliced
* 2 cups mushrooms, sliced
* 1 medium onion, chopped
* 1/2 cup frozen peas
* 2 cups beef stew meat, diced into l” pieces
* 1/3 cup flour
* 2 tbsp Bisto gravy powder
* 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
* 1/4 cup olive oil
* 1 garlic clove, minced (optional)
* Salt and pepper to taste
Boil water, salt, and vegetables in a medium-size pot for 10 minutes until the vegetables are slightly undercooked. Add frozen peas.
Mix together flour, Bisto powder, salt, pepper, and parsley.
Coat the stewing meat pieces with the flour mixture and cover the meat completely.
In a large pot, heat the olive oil and garlic and add the floured meat and brown. Add the mushrooms, onions, and celery and sauté. Add the leftover flour mixture to the pot. This will thicken the vegetable water and make a flavourful gravy.
Add the cooked vegetables and cooking water.
Simmer on low heat. Salt and pepper to taste.
Serves 4
Dumplings
* 1 cup flour
* 2 tsp baking powder
* 1/2 tsp salt
* 3 tbsp vegetable shortening
* 1/2 cup milk
Mix together flour, baking powder, and salt.
Cut in vegetable shortening with pastry blender and stir in milk to make a thick dough.
Drop large spoonfuls on simmering stew.
Cover pan tightly and cook 15 minutes.
Do not lift cover during cooking.
Wholesome and filling chicken pot pie (Sandra Shields/The Epoch Times)
Wholesome and filling chicken pot pie (Sandra Shields/The Epoch Times)
Chicken Pot Pie
# 5 tbsp butter
# 2 cups mushrooms, sliced
# 1 large onion, diced
# 5 tbsp flour
# 3 medium carrots, cut into 1” pieces
# 3 medium potatoes, cut into 1” pieces
# 2 cups chicken stock
# 3 cups cooked chicken, diced
# 2 tbsp parsley
# 2 tsp thyme
# 1 cup peas
# 1 egg
# 1 pkg frozen puff pastry
In a medium to large oven-proof casserole dish, sauté mushrooms in butter until dark brown. Add onions and cook until translucent.
Sprinkle flour over the mushrooms and onions and stir in. Add carrots and potatoes. Add the chicken stock and boil until thickened, and then add the chicken pieces, parsley, thyme, and peas.
Roll out puff pastry and cover mixture. Brush top with an egg wash (one egg mixed with 1 tbsp water).
Slash top of pastry to let heat escape.
Bake at 220 C (425 F) for 30–35 minues until pastry is golden brown.
Serves 4
A Classic—Mac and cheese casserole (Sandra Shields/The Epoch Times)
A Classic—Mac and cheese casserole (Sandra Shields/The Epoch Times)
Mac & Cheese Casserole
* 3 Cups Macaroni
* 3 cups medium cheddar cheese, shredded
* 20 soda crackers
Cook macaroni in a large pot of boiling, lightly salted water for 10–15 minutes until tender, stirring occasionally.
Drain, and stir in cheddar cheese until melted and mixed well.
Butter 10 soda crackers and top each one with another cracker. Crush crackers and sprinkle over casserole. Bake at 200 C (400 F) for 10–15 minutes until golden brown.
Serves 4