Don't worry about the people in your past; There's a reason they didn't make it to your future.
“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.”-Hippocrates
Who hasn’t seen or heard Hippocrates’ famous quote about letting food be your medicine and your medicine your food? Hippocrates and his followers used diet to treat many illnesses, it’s not really clear what sort of success they had. However, this ancient idea that virtually all disease could be treated with diet, however much or little it was embraced by Hippocrates, has become an idée fixe in alternative medicine. Now in modern day science it is proven that diet is very important. Where there is healthy eating there is not much room for worry about medicine.
“Processed foods not only extend the shelf life, but they extend the waistline as well.” – Karen Sessions
The first image that comes to mind for most people when they hear the term “processed food” is a wrapped burger and a sleeve of fries served over a counter at a fast food joint. What is processed food anyway? If it’s boxed, bagged, canned or jarred and has a list of ingredients on the label, it’s processed. Methods used to process foods include:
Canning
Freezing
Refrigeration
Dehydration
Aseptic Processing
Processed foods have been altered from their natural state for “safety” and convenience reasons.
The curry tree is a tropical to sub-tropical tree in the family Rutaceae (the rue family, which includes rue, citrus, and satinwood), which is native to India and Sri Lanka. Curry leaves are natural flavouring agents with a number of important health benefits, which makes your food both healthy and tasty along with pleasing aroma. They contain various antioxidant properties and have the ability to control diarrhea, gastrointestinal problems such as indigestion, excessive acid secretion, peptic ulcers, dysentery, diabetes and an unhealthy cholesterol balance. They are also believed to have cancer fighting properties and are known to help protect the liver. Chemical constituents present in curry leaves include carbazole alkaloids are responsible for antioxidant properties of this plant species.
The ancient Neem tree of Asia has been the source of natural medicinal extracts for thousands of years. Indian history documents farmers having purposefully tended to and harvested Neem trees for their beneficial uses as far back as the Vedic period, 1500-600 B.C. Until recent history, the Neem has been used internally and externally in the traditional Ayurvedic herbal healing treatments in India. The last half century has seen the expansion of this herbal product into other parts of the world where European and American scientists have begun studies on the potential medical benefits of Neem. Asian populations use Neem leaf powder, Neem leaf oil, Neem pulp and seed oil, Neem tree bark and small Neem twigs for a wide array of medicinal and cosmetic purposes. The leaf powder and oil, mixed in either an aloe or vegetable base, is used topically in lotion, cream, and salve formats to treat skin ailments, to maintain smooth complexions and to moisturize the hands and body. So, what makes this Indian plant so special? It contains Nimbidin, a major crude bitter principle extracted from the oil of seed kernels of A. indica demonstrated several biological activities. From this crude principle some tetranortriterpenes, including nimbin, nimbinin, nimbidinin, nimbolide and nimbidic acid have been isolated. These chemicals are responsible for medicinal properties of Neem.
Indian borage has lots of traditional uses. Leaves are useful for infants conditions and is good source of cooking herb too. Leaves volatile oil, largely carvacrol. The juice of the leaves for dyspepsia, asthma, chronic coughs, bronchitis, colic, flatulence, rheumatism. In India these plants are also used for malarial fever, hepatopathy, renal and vesicle calculi, hiccup, helminthiasis, colic, and convulsions. Leaves are applied to cracks at the corners of the mouth, for thrush, headaches; against fever as a massage or as a wash.
Peppermint (Mentha × piperita)also known as M. balsamea Willd, has been used medicinally for thousands of years. It has a pleasant taste and is a popular flavoring for food and drink. It is also used as a fragrance. Peppermint has a wide variety of health and medicinal uses. It is used to help treat the common cold, to calm inflammations and to soothe digestive problems. The main active ingredient in Peppermint is Menthol, which is an organic compound that produces a cooling sensation when applied to the mouth or skin. It also acts as a mild anesthetic.
Centella asiatica, also known as gotu kola, is an annual herb native to India, Australia and Asia. Its leaves are eaten as a vegetable and it is also an important herb in the traditional medicine systems of those places. Research has revealed support for several of Centella asiatica’s purported health benefits. Gotu Kola is a rejuvenative nervine recommended for nervous disorders, epilepsy, senility and premature aging. As a brain tonic, it is said to aid intelligence and memory. It strengthens the adrenal glands and cleanses the blood to treat skin impurities. One of its constituents, asiaticoside, works to stimulate skin repair and strengthen skin, hair, nails and connective tissue. n India, Gotu kola is regarded as perhaps the most spiritual of all herbs. Growing in some areas of the Himalayas, gotu kola is used by yogis to improve meditation.
Nutritionally, fresh chile peppers are an excellent source of calcium and vitamin C. You can make a chile tincture (medicine), especially from the hottest varieties, by drying the peppers and grounding into a powder. Use one or two tablespoons in warm water for relief of may symptoms. Or pack chile powder into gel capsules for use when making a tea is not convenient. Capsaicin is a remarkable health-promoting substance and capsaicin is the compound that is responsible for the spicy sensation associated with eating a hot pepper. The spicier the pepper is, the more capsaicin it contains. The Scoville Heat Unit scale, which measures capsaicin content from 0 to 15,000,000 Scoville Heat Units, or SHUs, of pure capsaicin, places green chilis between 500 and 2,500 SHUs. The American Institute for Cancer Research reports that eating rich capsaicin sources like green chili peppers may help inhibit the growth of cancer cells, though more research is needed.
