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Tag Archives: health
Nutritional Benefits of Eggplant
personalpowertraining.net
If you need a nice way to bulk up meals and are transitioning to veggie livin’, you may be trying everything from tofu to soy meat products to fill the void. Eggplant is a wonderful, whole food option that is low in calories and high in fiber and makes a great meat substitute without the added chemicals and preservatives in faux meat.
Eggplants belong to the nightshade vegetable family which also includes tomatoes and potatoes, and grow on vines. They are most comprised of carbs which are essential for optimal body functioning and energy, but one cup will only run you somewhere around thirty calories and two grams of fat.
If you are looking to lose weight, obviously consuming eggplant will assist you in cutting back on the wrong kinds of calories and getting a filling nutrient dense food with little to no fat. They contain very little protein so you would want to ensure to include them into a diet that includes other protein rich foods to find balance. Besides a good amount of fiber, eggplant contains manganese, potassium, magnesium, vitamin C, and smaller amount of B3 and B6, niacin, and folate. The added bonuses are omega-3 and omega-6, also known as the essential fatty acids, and phytonutrients and antioxidants which support proper brain functioning, prevent free radical damage, and have anti-cancer properties. If that all sounds groovy to you, thankfully there are many ways to skin an eggplant.
If you want to try them raw, eggplant bacon is a fun and easy to make with the use of a dehydrator. If you are more of a cooked foodie try adding eggplant into veggie stir fry dishes, or baking them. The only word of caution that comes with this veggie is that it has high levels of oxalates, which can crystallize and cause health problems. For the general health individual, this isn’t a problem, but if you have pre-existing kidney or gallbladder problems you should avoid eating them. -XoXo Raw Girl
DC Raw/Vegan Spot: District Tea Lodge (Cont’d)
Not too long ago I posted about District Tea Lounge because of their incredible tea and one of my favorite things in the universe: kombucha on tap. Since then I’ve been back often because I love the vibes and wanted to try a few things on their menu. In addition to the local kombucha, they tend to have a few raw dessert options, a super cheap “Buddha bowl” which will only run you nine bucks for a large bowl of organic veggies and quinoa, at least one raw meal option.
On the most recent trips back I tried the raw zucchini pasta with peanut sauce, the raw brownie, 
and the raw carrot cake bar. All were pretty good. I really enjoyed the zucchini pasta which was a really light and good alternative to a basic salad. A friend who I visited with me ordered a pu-erh tea, which is a special fermented black tea that originates from China and has almost as much caffeine as coffee. In the past it used to take up to fifteen years to properly age pu-erh teas, but with new technology the process can be accelerated. What struck me 
about this tea was that it also has strong medicinal properties. In traditional Chinese herbalism it has been used to open the meridians and facilitate ‘blood cleansing’ and optimal digestion. Some studies also have shown that pu-erh may lower cholesterol, lower blood pressure and increase metabolism.
If you haven’t visited District, I definitely recommend you check it out. It will be one of the places I will miss frequenting when I leave DC. -XoXo Raw Girl
To learn more about District you can visit their Website.
Healing with Acupuncture
Photo from theheartnest.com
Yesterday, I experienced an exceptional Acupuncture treatment with Dr. Shin-Yang Chen in Melbourne Beach, Fl.
I have had acupuncture before, but never like this. The healing energy was palpable the moment I met him and things just got better and better. The key to acupuncture is that there are points along our body meridians that, when stimulated, balance the flow of energy or chi within us. This balance is equal to optimal health. When we don’t have it, our chi is stuck and our blood stagnant, hence we experience disease and ill health.
Dr. Chen took the traditional practice a step further by incorporating Electro Acupuncture where each needle, after being inserted into the appropriate points, is attached to an electrode. A subtle current is turned on and runs through the energy points, further stimulating proper chi flow and balance. It is not painful, though you do feel a pulsing sensation.
As I lay there with those currents pulsating through my body meridians, I truly felt like I was floating off the table. Then, when I thought I could not reach a peace greater, he removed the needles and began a massage of my neck, temples and shoulder blades with deep penetrating strokes and Chinese herbal oils.
Later, I was given a cupping treatment that just put the icing on the cake of the whole experience. This is a suction method where cups are placed on your back and then, through heat or manually, a vacuum is created with your skin that draws out impurities by increasing blood flow.
According to www.cuppingtherapy.info, “Cupping therapy or Hijama has been utilized for centuries to cure illnesses. Hijama was used for thousands of years by Pharaohs and ancient Egyptians. It was also used by ancient Chinese, Greek and all old civilizations. The oldest recorded medical textbook, Ebers Papyrus, written in approximately 1550 BCE in Egypt mentions cupping.”
Our ancestors knew so much intuitively and spiritually that today’s scientific research cannot even begin to understand and decode. The way I felt when I got up from my full treatment, is indescribable. The wisdom of the ages had granted me a healing opportunity of a lifetime. I am still glowing and charged and filled with joy from the lightness my body achieved, due to these detoxifying and balancing procedures. I left with an herbal medicine made for me as well as an exuberant, lithe, happy and peaceful body, mind and spirit.
After the treatment
– Sia
To learn more about Sia, click here
Heartburn – Why it Happens and Simple Solutions
Photo from www. thebabywantscake.wordpress.com
Food goes down the esophagus, through the lower esophageal sphincter (LES), and into the stomach. The LES is a valve that normally stays closed after food has passed through. However, there are certain situations where it will open and allow contents of the stomach to come back up into the esophagus, causing burning from exposure of the esophageal tissue to hydrochloric acid (HCl). The esophagus is not lined with mucous the way the stomach is to protect it from HCl exposure as the body does not expect food to come back up the esophagus. All situations where food and HCl come back up into the esophagus thus cause discomfort.
It is commonly believed (and promoted by the medical and pharmaceutical professions as well as the media) that heartburn should be relieved by taking products, which either neutralize stomach acid (HCl) or prevent the body from producing it. Although these strategies may provide temporary relief from discomfort, they are counterproductive to proper digestion and healthy nutrition in the long run, which requires regular and copious production of HCl. Therefore, the emphasis with heartburn should be on first healing irritated esophageal, LES, and stomach tissue with supplements (talk to your holistic health practitioner about how to do this) and employing the strategies outlined below.
What Causes Food to Come Back Up the Esophagus
Consumption of alcohol and/or caffeine can overly relax the LES muscle – causing the muscle to fail to close properly, allowing contents to come up and burn the esophagus.
- Solution: Avoid alcohol and caffeine.
An overly full stomach can put pressure on the LES to open – this leads to stomach contents coming up and burning the esophagus.
- Solution: Eat small meals – stop eating before you feel full.
Food staying in the stomach too long due to insufficient hydrochloric acid production. Natural occasional spasms of the LES open it up very briefly, but long enough for food and HCl to come up into the esophagus when food is in there for too long.
- Solution:Follow strategies for optimal HCl production and concentration: eat in a relaxed state; avoid stress in general and/or learn to manage it; make sure you are well hydrated all the time; avoid drinking more than 6 ounces of liquid during meals; avoid alcohol, sugar and caffeine; and avoid any foods you know you are sensitive to.
Population of the LES by “bad” bacteria from insufficient HCl production– this allows “bad” populations to root and weaken the LES muscle. The LES then fails to close properly, again allowing contents of the stomach to come up into the esophagus.
- Solution:Follow strategies for optimal HCl production and concentration, and consume probiotic foods and beverages daily such as yogurt, kefir (if you tolerate dairy), cultured vegetables, and kombucha.
Excess gas in the stomach created by “bad” bacteria will also put pressure on the LES to open and allow food and HCl to come up into the esophagus. The bacteria feeds on foods putrefying in the stomach when HCl production is insufficient to kill them.
- Solution: Follow strategies for optimal HCl production and concentration, and consume probiotic foods and beverages daily.
Consumption of foods that weaken the LES – fats, chocolate, coffee, mints (especially peppermint and spearmint), sugar, alchohol, onions, and any food you are sensitive to will weaken the LES, allowing contents to come up into the esophagus.
- Solution: Avoid foods you are sensitive to as well as fats, chocolate, coffee, mints (especially peppermint and spearmint), sugar, alchohol, and onions. (Note: Certain prescription medications can also weaken the LES: bronchodilators, NSAIDs, calcium channel blockers, Beta-blockers, Diazepam, Nitrates, and Demerol.)
Consumption of foods that irritate the esophagus, including foods you are sensitive to – this will make heartburn doubly uncomfortable. Common esophageal irritants include: citrus fruits and juices, tomato-based foods, spicy foods, coffee, and carbonated drinks. Common foods that people are sensitive to include: gluten in wheat and other grains and casein in dairy products.
- Solution: Avoid citrus fruits and juices, tomato-based foods, spicy foods, coffee, and carbonated drinks. Also avoid foods that you have noticed you are sensitive to in any way. Do a two-week challenge and cut out the major allergens like gluten and casein, then add them back in and see what changes you notice. Do this with other suspected foods as well and remove them permanently if they are causing problems. (Note: Certain over the counter medications can also irritate the esophagus: aspirin, NSAIDs, Tetracycline, Quinidine, Potassium chloride tablets, and iron salts.)
– Babette
To learn more about Babette, click here
Breaking BreadUnderstanding How Wheat (and Gluten) Hurt Our Bodies, Part II
Photo from jendisjournal.com
Issue #2 – gluten’s effect on the brain. Gluten is the only grain protein which, when digested into polypeptide chains, crosses the blood brain barrier. This is true for both the new “dwarf” wheats as well as the heritage wheats. And what does it do in the brain? Among other things, these gluteomorphins lodge in the endorphin receptor sites, causing . . . you guessed it! Euphoria. Mild euphoria for some, greater for others, but euphoria nonetheless. And so gluten in wheat is addictive. It can be subtle; all people know is that they crave certain foods – if you pay attention, many of the foods that are craved contain wheat and gluten. This craving side effect of eating wheat in people with normal brain activity leads to weight gain and the development of diabetes.
This is bad enough, but in people with different brain activity such as ADHD symptoms or autism symptoms, or even schizophrenia, the gluten in wheat can cause great exacerbation of symptoms. So psych wards which have removed wheat have seen tremendous calming of hallucinations and delusions only to have them get worse again when wheat is added back into the cafeteria food, for example. And children with autism show much more stimming activity when wheat is consumed.
Issue #3 – gluten’s effect on the intestinal tract. Consumption of gluten leads to higher production by the body of a protein called zonulin, which loosens the tight junctures in the intestinal lining. A tightly woven intestinal lining is what keeps undigested food from going into the abdominal cavity and ending up in the bloodstream, where they elicit immune responses. Essentially, eating gluten results in a leaky gut, especially in those who already have impaired digestion, and this can lead to autoimmune disorders as described at the beginning of the article. Although people tend to associate Celiac Disease and gluten sensitivity with digestive symptoms, rarely do people realize that zonulin is doing its dirty deed in their intestinal tract even if they are not sensitive to gluten.
Another thing that people don’t usually realize is that most of the devastation caused by ingestion of wheat is not digestive, and because most people think wheat issues mean digestive problems, many people affected by wheat are currently experiencing symptoms that are “mysterious” – unrecognized and untreated. There is a huge educational campaign currently under way in the medical community, both holistic and conventional, to correct this misunderstanding.
Issue #4 – gluten’s effect on weight gain and the development of diabetes. The type of starch in wheat, amylopectin A, is different from the starch in things like potatoes, beans, and other grains, and one of its characteristics is that it is very easily digested. Although this sounds like a good thing, in fact it is not, because what it means is that the starch in wheat is immediately converted to glucose and raises blood sugar quickly. When blood sugar is raised quickly in the body, the body sees it as dangerous and immediately over-secretes insulin to get the glucose level down. But why does it over-secrete insulin, you ask. Well, the pancreas’ job was never to balance your blood sugar – it was to store energy in fat tissue for lean times. But we make the pancreas balance our blood sugar – it obliges, but unfortunately it does so in a very primitive way. It tends to overreact and secrete so much insulin that our blood sugar then falls quickly, which is a different kind of emergency for the body.
At this point the adrenal glands get involved and shoot out adrenaline and direct the body to take glucose back out of storage and dump it into the blood stream again, and here we are on the blood sugar roller coaster. When we do this for enough years, the pancreas, liver, and adrenal glands take a big hit, and we develop either severe hypoglycemia or insulin resistance, or diabetes, or all of the above in succession. What happens to us depends on which of our organs is weakest genetically, which has been hit hardest by our habits, and whether we change our habits.
The lesson to draw from all of this is that wheat and gluten are dangerous for everyone, not just for people with wheat sensitivity, and this is true whether you are eating new wheats or heritage wheats, although more so for new wheats. The good news, though, is that it is easy to live without gluten, and it exposes people to new foods. Not to sound cliché, but every problem is an opportunity!
– Babette
To learn more about Babette, click here
Sweet Surrender
Photo from www.cnyhealingarts.com
What happens when you let go? When you completely let down your guard in practice? Authenticity does. When you invite yourself entirely to your yoga practice, you are able to show up in a way that will serve you and see things you would not generally see on a normal basis. Surrender. Along with strength and flexibility comes surrender. In yoga this is something we often look over however it is just as, if not more important than the other components. If we relinquish control and release expectations, we get exactly what it is that we need. Our body speaks to us clearly but it is up to us to listen. Step into your authenticity and receive your message.
~ Sihnuu Hetep
To learn more about Sihnuu, click here
On Your Toes with the Tiptoe Pose
If you are looking for a way to tone your bottom half without sweaty workouts and countless squat sessions, try Tiptoe pose. A pose which calls for agility and balance, the tiptoe will offer you a calm and peaceful alternative to the standard exercise fare. This asana opens your hips, stretches your thigh muscles, and increases flexibility in your knees, toes and ankles.
Due to the level of attention and focus required in the intermediate variations of this pose, its practice develops a sharpened mental focus, while also improving your memory and balance. Pictured here is a stretch to help you work up to the advanced level of tiptoe.
In the advanced level, the benefits for men are said to outweigh the perks of Viagra! Apparently, the stretch resulting form crossing one leg over the other while still balancing on the toes of one foot, rev up the veins through which semen passes, unblocking and clearing them. The effects of this activity include increased sexual stamina, deepened orgasm and impotency prevention. Surely, this is a pose that will keep you on your toes!
– Sia
To learn more about Sia, click here