Life ain’t a black-n-white motion picture. There are countless shades of gray.

Vegetarianism is extremely Eco-friendly. However, eliminating our meat and fish consumption can be very difficult. But even if we deny ourselves of these items only one day a week, we still make a difference. If 7 people do this, it has the same effect as one person going Veggie — and if 70 million people eat tofu instead of a steak just 4 times a month, it has the same impact as 10 million people who stop consuming animal-derived environmentally-straining products.

It’s not a big endeavor. On the contrary, it’s a challenge worth taking.

Samovar Tea Lounge, a San Fransisco tea house, has created a 16-part video series called “Passage to Peace: Exploring Tea Culture Today”.

Press the image below to watch the trailer for this online series, which aims to show the connection between drinking tea and inner peace.

Although this hierarchy is very simple, it’s important to keep it in mind when moving from place to place. When talking about the ultimate “green car”, there’s nothing better and healthier than bicycles!

Learn more at Transportation Alternatives.

Picture taken from Environmental Transportation Options

I’ve already told you about my beloved Tahini spread.

Though I proud myself of making very tasty sesame paste, I always enjoy exploring new Tahini recipes with a bold variation in ingredients.

Here is one of these alternative recipes. I tried it at home and found it very delicious.

Have a great weekend!

“Your shoots are an orchard of Pomegranates, with choice fruits, Henna and Nard plants”
: Song of Solomon: 4:13

The pomegranate, that ancient biblical fruit often seen on ancient mosaics, is truly a fruit to add to your list of natural health remedies. Pomegranates are mentioned in the bible under their biblical name “Rimon”. They were often displayed on ancient mosaic floors in temples, synagogues, and even private homes. The ancient Greeks and Romans also mention them as the “fruit of the gods” and even then their beneficial attributes were already well known.

Pomegranate fruit is usually pink or red in color, with hundreds of similar color seeds inside. They are usually found in warmer semi-tropical climates, and besides being common in the Mediterranean basin, they are also found in many Asian countries, including Iran, India, and China.

Pomegranates have many useful health benefits, whether eaten raw or drunk as a refreshing juice. The flowers of this amazing fruit, as well as its juice, contain a substance which appears to be helpful in treating Diabetes Mellitus. The seeds of the pomegranate are very high in fiber and it is recommended to eat them along with drinking the fruit’s juicy pulp. Two of the most beneficial properties of the fruit are in the prevention of both heart disease and some forms of cancer. Pomegranate juice contains high levels of Punicic Acid and Allegic Acid which help to reduce cholesterol levels as well as the condition known as Arterial Sclerosis; or hardening of the arteries. The two mentioned acids help prevent saturated fats from accumulating in the arteries which could lead to eventual heart attacks.

The fruit also helps prevent prostate cancer as well as cancer of the colon. Drinking at least 8 oz. of pomegranate juice daily may help prevent these cancers from developing and for this reason, many people drink pomegranate juice on a daily basis. This practice is especially evident in Russia and Eastern European countries, where it is accustomed to eat a lot of fatty foods. Pomegranates or pomegranate juice is recommended to patients who have undergone either colon or prostate surgery to help prevent cancers from reoccurring.

Pomegranates are also found to be beneficial in women who may have breast cancer or hormonal conditions that could lead to breast cancer. The fruit has also been found to be good for women reaching menopause, as enzymes in pomegranate juice appear to be a substitute of the estrogen hormone, often taken by elderly women to prevent heart attacks and osteoporosis.

Taking all of this into consideration, it’s no wonder that many people are now agreeing that a glass or two of pomegranate juice a day keeps the doctor at bay.

Picture by Gernot Katzer

With world population figures now passing 6.5 billion, future sources of human nutrition will most likely come from what covers at least 70% of the world’s surface – the sea. Many countries, especially those with large shorelines, have been receiving a good part of their food from the sea for years. The Japanese in particular have eaten aquatic plant life, known otherwise as seaweed, for centuries; and have also used the beneficial qualities of algae and other plants for traditional health remedies and medicine.

Besides being high in fiber content, seaweed also contains many essential vitamins and minerals, including vitamins A, C, and B12. High amounts of iodine and calcium are also present in many varieties.

Although not all seaweed is edible, there are some types that are used extensively by the Japanese and other sea peoples; and not just for delicacies like Sushi. Some of these types include:

Sargassum – a brownish-green leafy algae, known as haizao to the Japanese and used a lot in oriental medicine.

Porphyra – a purplish-brown algae, known as nori in Japan and is the most commonly used material for wrapping Sushi.

Kelp – a common green seaweed known as kombu in Japan and konbu in China. It is used as food in a number of ways including soups, flavoring, and even picked. Like Nori, it is easily found in oriental food stores or in oriental food sections of most supermarkets.

Laminaria – a green leafy algae called Kunbu in Japan and used in various medicinal remedies including those for the liver, kidneys, lungs, and other organs.

Undaria pinnatifida – a broad leafy form of algae, most popular in soups and salads. Known as Wakame in Japan, it is considered to be a luxury food and is so popular that demand of it far exceeds supply. For this reason, Wakame is often grown extensively in seaweed farms in Japan, Korea, and China.

To give you an idea of the economic importance of seaweed, Japan alone imports around $150 million worth of various seaweed annually from countries like Korea, and exports at least $15 million worth of Nori seaweed wrappings to satisfy the worlds’ growing fondness of Sushi and Nori products. In Japan alone around 21 species of seaweed are eaten as food and the annual per capita consumption of seaweed products is around 4 kilograms. Agar-agar, a gelatin made from Gracilaria and Gelidium types of seaweed, is used both for food and in scientific laboratories as the culture base for growing bacteria specimens. Japan alone exports more than 1,000 tons of Agar annually.

The future of seaweed as a food source will largely depend on the future of the world’s seas and oceans, which are already becoming threatened by widespread pollution. Global warming is also a factor as some seaweed specials are affected by changes in ocean temperatures. In addition, we must also realize that seaweed accounts for more than 20% of our planet’s total oxygen supply, making this perhaps one of the most important attributes for maintaining life on earth.

Source and Picture by Institute for Traditional Medicine

Mexican salads and sauces are not only very popular but also beneficial to your health. Take guacamole salad for example, which is made from avocados, lemon juice, garlic, red and green peppers, tomatoes, onions, and a number of spices, including cumin. Avocados have long been considered as very healthy and contain lutein (a carotenoid antioxidant), vitamin E, magnesium, and monounsaturated fats. Avocados are also beneficial in preventing conditions such as prostate and breast cancer.

Lemon juice and virgin olive oil are also ingredients that provide vitamin C, alkalizes (good for keeping both kidneys free of kidney stones and the gall bladder free of gall stones), and helps against some forms of cancer. Olive oil is considered as one of the best salad and cooking oils due to having Oleic acid, a monounsaturated fatty acid.

Ingredients in salsa sauce, such as tomatoes, peppers, and garlic are all very beneficial to you health. Tomatoes are high in anti-oxidants as well as vitamins A, C, and K. Tomatoes help reduce cholesterol levels in the blood and also help prevent cancer of the colon and prostate gland.

Garlic has many beneficial properties of a powerful antioxidant called Allicin, and helps clean the liver as well as lowering blood cholesterol.

Red and green peppers contain an antioxidant called Capsaicin, which helps to reduce cholesterol, prevents formation of blood clots and strokes, while increasing a person’s metabolic rate. Peppers are also high in vitamin C and help prevent and fight cancers of the stomach, thyroid and prostate.

Cumin is an oriental spice that is often found in both salsa and guacamole salads. Cumin in itself is an antioxidant that is helpful in digestion and against some forms of cancer, especially liver cancer.

Onion is also used in both preparations and it contains antioxidants and the flavonoid Quercetin, as well as vitamins C and E, along with the mineral potassium and dietary fibres. Onions have many health uses including relieving congestion and preventing heart attacks by clearing the bloodstream of arterial plaque.

Last but not least, use sea salt instead of regular table salt as it is tastier as well as purer.

So next time you prepare a dinner or some party snacks involving guacamole and salsa sauce, you’ll get more from them than just good taste. Go easy on the taco chips, though.

Picture by: Big Oven

Today I want to tell you about my favorite dip — A greyish natural spread called Tahini, or otherwise, Sesame Paste. It is a dish well known in the Middle East and in Africa, much appreciated there for its nutritional value and its unique, slightly bitter, taste.

Tahini is made from sesame seeds. First you have to separate the seed’s oil from the rest of its content, and then you roast and grind each substance separately, only to be merged again afterwards. The result is a thick and smooth paste, which you can buy and store in your cupboard for long periods of time.

Whether you buy whole-seed tahini (thicker, bitter, healthier) or hulled-seed tahini (thinner, slightly sweet), the paste is full of protein, calcium, and healthy fatty acids such as Omega 6. Even better, it is relatively low in carbohydrates.

To make a fresh paste you simply pour some pure tahini into a bowl, mix it with an even amount of water, and add some fresh lemon juice. That’s the basic recipe, and it’s fast and easy to make! But if you feel like investing a bit more time in making an authentic sesame spread, the kind of which you could buy on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, I suggest taking a single clove and and scraping it with a small grater directly onto the bowl. Then, add some chopped parsley (organic parsley is my preferred) into the mix, and top the bonanza with a touch of salt and black pepper.

Congratulations! You now have a home-made tahini, which you may spill over your salad or spread over a piece of bread. Heck, sometimes I eat it straight with a spoon.

Picture by: About.com

Broccoli is a plant that is more than just a good source of vitamins, minerals and as a defense against various forms of cancer. This green, fibrous vegetable is now being regarded as a way to acquire immunity against a number of debilitating factors that effect people in old age.

Already an excellent provider of vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B6, C, E, and K, research studies are discovering that frequent eating of broccoli, especially raw, protects people from the effects of oxidants known as free radicals. Broccoli contains a chemical known as sulforaphane which assists the body to activate certain genes and enzymes in the body’s system to create antioxidants which can fight free radicals and reduce the dame they cause to the body which helps to hasten the effects of old age. For those who are not familiar with the term “free radicals” they are found in a large number of environmental surroundings including pollution, sunlight, unhealthy diets (especially ‘fast foods’) and many other elements that surround people every day of their lives. Too many free radicals in the body can result in injury to body cells and cause cells to die prematurely, hastening the ageing process; as well as bringing on a number of diseases, including cancers.

Studies made by researchers at UCLA involved treatment of old mice with sulforaphane that came from broccoli resulted in the mice regaining their immune system to the level it had been when they were much younger. The conclusion was that the same result could also be had in humans, with older people regaining the immune system they once had against disease when young adults. The researchers have gone one step further by concluding that if older people can regain at least some of their former immunity against disease, children can make their immune system even stronger by eating broccoli and other green vegetable on a regular basis. The only problem now is how to get them to do it, since children usually prefer sweets and ice cream to vegetables.

Like all vegetables, broccoli should be eaten when it is fresh; either raw or cooked in a manner that keeps from it losing it’s vitamins and other beneficial components. We can all suppose that a broccoli based ice cream-like desert bar is now being worked on somewhere.

Sources: Natural News; Healing Daily
Picture by: Pennsylvania Department of Health

Epilepsy is a neurological disorder that affects millions of people all over the world, including more than two million in the US alone. Types of epilepsy, once called the “ailment of royalty” range from mild “Peti-Mal” seizures which are usually a momentary lapse of concentration, to severe or “Grand-Mal” seizures such as the type suffered by Roman Emperor Julius Caesar, in which the sufferer looses all bodily control, including control of urination and defecation.

There have been recent studies made concerning the effect of diet on epilepsy, including following special diets which are low in sugars and other carbohydrates, especially what are known as “junk foods”. While these diets have not been proven to be completely effective to relieve the severity of epileptic seizures or prevent them altogether, studies concerning nutrition and its effects on epilepsy are showing that it is possible to relieve the severity of these seizures by changing one’s nutrition.

Nutritional recommendations for epilepsy suffers include eating and drinking the juice from raw, green leafy vegetables, beets, carrots, and other vegetables with high vitamin content (see our Natural Diet section). Add raw milk and cheese products, raw seeds and nuts, plus soy protein to your diet, plus bio-type sour milk yogurts, especially organic yogurts. Switch to using olive oil instead of other vegetable oils, including taking at least two tablespoons of high quality virgin olive oil a day. Instead of eating large meals three times a day, it’s better to eat several smaller meals and never large amounts of food at night. It’s also recommended not to drink large amounts of liquids at once, especially at meals, as this can bring on seizures.

Certain items such as coffee and tea containing caffeine, refined sugar, alcoholic beverages, fried foods and excessive animal protein should be substantially avoided; as well as using artificial sweeteners, especially Aspartame.

A number of beneficial vitamins and minerals should also be taken by epilepsy sufferers, including Vitamin B complex, Vitamin B-3 (niacin), magnesium, Folic and Pantothenic Acid, calcium and zinc.

It is also very important to engage in a moderate exercise program to improve blood circulation, especially to the brain. And most important, stress must be avoided as much as possible.

Epilepsy sufferers usually take a number of medications which, if taken together with other drugs, such as birth control pills and medications to control conditions such as hypertension and asthma may interact with epilepsy medications. By following the above diet recommendations, it may be possible to reduce the amount of epilepsy medications required as well as the frequency and severity of the seizures.

Source: NaturalNews.com