Do you wonder if you're really getting enough water? We hear guidelines all of the time - 6 glasses, 8 glasses. We believe drinking half your body weight in ounces is a good guideline. But we also thought we'd share this article with four easy signs you're not getting enough: Water
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We recently found (yet another!) article we found interesting. Natural News recently posted their special report, Nutrition Can Save America! We're copying the introduction for you to read now. Read the rest, including '12 Steps to Save America', here: Natural News
Nutrition can save America.But from what, exactly?
Every day, it seems, there are more signs of the accelerating decline of the American Empire. The economy is tanking, the currency is being abandoned by other nations, health care remains a disastrous failure, unemployment is atrociously high, prisons are filled to capacity, public education is failing yet another generation of children, and the population seems to be getting more diseased with each generation.
The question, though, is why?
Why is our population so diseased? Why is unemployment so high? Why can't our kids learn well in school? Why is America losing its leadership position in the world? Why are so many jobs being offshored to other countries?
What if there were a single underlying reason that answered all these questions? As you may have guessed, there is:
Nutrition.
Poor nutrition destroys any nation. Good nutrition saves it. And in this NaturalNews special report, you'll learn why nutrition plays such a powerful role in the rise or fall of any nation.
It's also a warning message for America: If we don't make immediate, radical changes in the available food supply -- and the marketing of foods to consumers -- we won't survive much longer as a nation. America will fall, brought down by the inevitable consequences of a nutritionally deficient, chronically diseased population.
But to understand why this is the case, you first have to see why food has such a powerful impact on everything that matters in society: Health, happiness, employment, productivity, education and even freedom. To explain all that, let's start with a lesson on poor nutrition.
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It's that time of year again - canning season! Green beans, beets, cabbage, chard, squash, cucumbers... oh, the
cucumbers! They're nearly out of control! So on many minds right now is canning and what to do with all of the produce. What does this have to do with enzymes? You can make delicious fermented foods that not only preserves your foods but also provides you with a fabulous source of enzymes! The following is some information about enzymes and about fermenting your foods, taken from one of our favorite fermenting sources, Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon Morell. Enzymes are complex proteins that act as catalysts in almost every biochemical process that takes place in the body. They fall into one of three major categories: metabolic, digestive, and food enzymes. Metabolic enzymes play a role in all bodily processes and helps neutralize toxins, making them a necessity. But the two we will discuss today are digestive and food enzymes.
Digestive enzymes are produced by the pancreas and are secreted by glands into the small intestine. They work to break down the partially-digested food leaving the stomach. Food enzymes are present in many raw foods and actually begin digestion of our food in our mouths and stomachs. Food enzymes include proteases for digesting proteins, lipases for fats, and amylases for carbohydrates.
Enzymes in raw food help start the process of digestion and reduce the body's need to produce digestive enzymes. A diet composed of mostly cooked food puts a severe strain on the pancreas. If the pancreas is overstimulated to produce enzymes constantly, the result will be inhibited function. Dr. Edward Howell, a noted pioneer of enzyme research, says the increased use of food enzymes promotes a decreased rate of exhaustion of the enzyme potential. Exhaustion of the pancreas and other digestive organs created by the lack of digestive enzymes leads to shortened life span, illness, and lowered resistance to stress. Whole foods give good health, enzyme-rich foods provide limitless energy.
Stimulate Your Pancreas with Fermented Foods!
In early times, people knew how to preserve foods for long periods of time without the use of freezers of canning machines. This was done through the process of lacto-fermentation. Lactic acid is a natural preservative that inhibits putrefying bacteria. Fermented foods are created when the starch or carbohydrates in basic foods are broken down and changed by microorganisms like bacteria, yeasts, and molds into smaller, often more digestible components. Traditionally fermented foods contain beneficial microorganisms (probiotics) and enzymes that promote intestinal health. These foods enhance health by reestablishing good gut bacteria.
This is a big change for many of us that are used to using our heat canners. But we have a couple of simple recipes to introduce you to fermenting: traditional sauerkraut and dill pickles. And we believe those of you that don't can should try these recipes as well. Visit the Farmers Market this Saturday and see about some cabbage and cucumbers and spend a little time in the kitchen. Your gut will thank you for it!
For those of you that would like to try the following recipes with whey, we're giving away enough to make one batch. Stop in and ask for your whey!
Fermented Sauerkraut - Makes 1 quart
1 head cabbage, cored & shredded
1 tablespoon caraway seeds
1 tablespoon sea salt
4 tablespoons whey (if not available, use an additional tablespoon of salt)
In a bowl, mix cabbage with caraway seeds, sea salt, and whey. Pound with a wooden pounder or a meat hammer for about 10 minutes to release the juices. Place in a quart-sized, wide-mouth mason jar and press down firmly with a pounders until juices come to the top of the cabbage. The tops of the cabbage should be at least 1 inch below the top of the jar. Cover tightly and keep at room temperature for about 3 days before transferring to cold storage. The sauerkraut may be eaten immediately but improves with age.
Dill Pickles - Makes 1 quart
4-5 pickling cucumbers
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
2 tablespoons fresh dill, snipped
1 tablespoon sea salt
4 tablespoons whey (if not available, use an additional tablespoon of salt)
1 cup filtered water
Wash cucumbers well and place in a quart-sized, wide-mouth mason jar. Combine remaining ingredients and pour over cucmbers, adding more water is necessary to cover cucumbers. The top of liquid should be at least 1 inch below the top of the jar. Cover tightly and keep at room temperature for about 3 days before transferring to cold storage.
Recipes from Nourishing Traditions, by Sally Fallon Morell
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Delicious Greens!
During the winter we are all starved for greens! One of our customers raises pastured chickens who, during most of the year get all the greens they need from grass, etc, and will not touch many veggies she gives them, especially celery. Last week she gave them some old celery and they ate almost all of it!
Dark green leafy vegetables are, calorie for calorie, perhaps the most concentrated source of nutrition of any food. They are a rich source of minerals (including iron, calcium, potassium, and magnesium) and vitamins, including vitamins K, C, E, and many of the B vitamins. They also provide a variety of phytonutrients including beta-carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin, which protect our cells from damage and our eyes from age-related problems, among many other effects. Dark green leaves even contain small amounts of omega-3 fats.
The USDA recommends we get at least 3 cups of dark leafy greens a week. We have read that we should actually be eating 1 fistful per 25 pounds of body weight per day. We think it sounds like a lot too! But we're not just limited to salads! There are a number of ways to get greens into your diet.
Green Smoothies: While green smoothies may not sound appetizing, they really can be tasty. Plus, many of our customers reported some great benefits after our green challenge last year and are still drinking them daily! Here's a recipe to try: cut up 1 apple, 1 pear, 2 bananas, 1 1/2 cups kale, and 1 stalk celery and put in a blender. Add about 1/2 cup water and blend until smooth.
Sneaky Recipes: There are many recipes out there on how to add greens into recipes. For example, The Sneaky Chef makes a Green Puree with broccoli and spinach that she'll add to recipes like speedy stovetop lasagne.
Easiest: Green Powders and Bars! We've found some pretty tasty powders and bars to get more greens in your diet. And just one teaspoon of powder replaces your one fistful of daily greens!