Vinegar Tips for Health

You’ve probably heard of Raw Organic Apple Cider Vinegar. But, do you know what all the talk is really about?
This murky brown vinegar, the one with the sediment in the bottom of the bottle, is the vinegar that has been used for hundreds of years largely for medicinal purposes.

Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV)  is made from nutritious organically grown apples and retains many of the fruits’ beneficial components because raw apple cider vinegar is not pasteurized. And in its two fermentation processes, it produces enzymes and life giving nutrients that make apple cider vinegar the powerhouse it is.

What Is The Difference Between Clear Vinegar & Raw Apple Cider Vinegar?

Clear vinegar has none of the benefits of raw organic apple cider vinegar. Through its processing and distilling, it’s been stripped of everything beneficial and can be detrimental to your health due to the fact that it is dead instead of alive.

Only raw organic apple cider vinegar has the “mother of vinegar” that makes the vinegar so beneficial. The “mother” is made up living nutrients and bacteria. You can actually see it settled in the bottom of the bottle like sediment.

What Can Raw Apple Cider Vinegar Do for Me?

Beneficial ingredients in raw apple cider vinegar give it its power to make us feel better, look better and feel energized. Just look at some of the beneficial ingredients in raw apple cider vinegar:

• Potassium – helps to prevent brittle teeth, hair loss and runny noses.
• Pectin – helps to regulate blood pressure and reduce bad cholesterol.
• Malic Acid – gives ACV the properties of being anti-viral, anti-bacterial & anti-fungal.
• Calcium – helps create strong bones and teeth.
• Ash – gives ACV its alkaline property which aids your body in maintaining proper pH levels for a healthy alkaline state.
• Acetic Acid – It appears that this acid slows the digestion of starch which can help to lower the rise in glucose that commonly occurs after meals.

Health Benefits of Juicing - Vegetable Juicing

Juicing vegetables offers many health benefits because vegetables are rich in nutrients. Some vegetables are more nutrient-dense and make better candidates for juicing than others.Combining a few different vegetables is a good way to get a diverse blend of vitamins and minerals that support various aspects of health and well-being.

Leafy Green Vegetables

Leafy green vegetables contain many nutrients, including calcium, folic acid, potassium and vitamins A and C. Good options include spinach, kale, beet greens, dandelion greens and collard greens. Most vegetable juice recipes call for combining leafy greens with other vegetables because their juice yield is not very large. Since many leafy vegetables have a bitter taste, combining them with sweet fruits, such as apples or kiwis, may yield juice with a more appealing flavor.

Tomatoes

Tomatoes are a rich source of lycopene, an antioxidant that may protect against certain types of cancer, particularly prostate cancer. They also contain vitamin C and potassium. Tomatoes make a good base for mixed-vegetable juice because their flavor pairs well with other vegetables, including carrots, beets, celery, cucumbers and bell peppers.

Carrots

Carrots are a common vegetable juice ingredient and are one that many people enjoy drinking plain. Carrots' flavor mixes well with tomatoes, beets, leafy green vegetables and cucumbers. Carrots are a good source of vitamin A, potassium, iron and several B vitamins.

Celery

With a high water content, celery is an ideal choice for making vegetable juice. In addition, it contains magnesium and iron. Celery juice isn't common as a stand-alone option, but appears in many juice recipes, including those that contain carrots, tomatoes and cucumbers. An added benefit of juicing celery is that you can use the entire vegetable, increasing the nutritional content of the juice, and streamlining the process: you need not peel or remove stems, but can put the whole plant directly into the juicer.

Beets

When juiced, beets create an appealing color for your juice, but they are rich in nutrients as well. Beets contain calcium, iron, potassium, choline, vitamin C and beta-carotene. Both the beet and the beet greens make healthy additions to vegetable juice, but straight beet juice is very concentrated and mixing it with other vegetable juices will dilute it. Good options include carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers and leafy green vegetables.

 

Why Drinking Water is Important

When considering the fact that the human body is comprised of more than seventy percent water, it becomes easy to see why regular consumption of water is beneficial for everyone. Water enables the body to function in more ways than you may realise. The benefits of drinking water extend far beyond simply quenching thirst. Water contributes to almost every aspect of a person’s health.

We have outlined 10 reasons below why you should ditch that next cup of tea or coffee, and replace it with a glass of  H₂O!

Headaches: Water is a natural remedy to relieve headache and back pains due to dehydration. Although there are many other reasons that contribute to headaches, dehydration is the common cause.

Weight loss: Drinking water can assist in helping you lose weight because it flushes down the by-products of fat breakdown. Drinking water also can help suppress your appetite so you’ll eat less. Plus, water has zero calories. Make sure you consult your doctor before starting a weight loss regime.

Healthier Skin: Your skin will look younger when it is properly hydrated. Water helps to replenish skin tissues, moisturise skin and increase its elasticity.

Better Productivity: Your brain is said to consist of 80% water, thus drinking water helps you think better, be more alert and have higher concentration.

Improves Exercise Performance: Drinking water regulates your body temperature. You will feel more energetic when doing exercises as water helps to fuel your muscle.

Assists with digestion & constipation: Drinking water raises your metabolism because it helps in digestion. Fibre and water go hand in hand so that you can stay regular.

Less cramps & sprains: Proper hydration helps keep your joints and muscles lubricated, so you’re less likely to suffer from cramps and sprains.

Keeps you from getting sick: Drinking plenty of water helps fight against flu and other ailments like kidney stones and heart attack. Water with a little bit of lemon added is often used for ailments like respiratory disease, intestinal problems, rheumatism and arthritis.

Relieves Fatigue: Your body uses water to help flush out toxins and waste products. If your body lacks water, your heart, for instance, needs to work harder to pump out the oxygenated blood to all cells, along with the rest of the vital organs. This results in your organs being exhausted and so are you.

Reduce the Risk of Cancer: Related to the digestive system, some studies have shown that drinking a healthy amount of water may reduce the risks of bladder cancer and colon cancer. Water dilutes the concentration of cancer-causing agents in the urine and shortens the time in which they are in contact with bladder lining.

                                                                   

Yogurt Magic !

What  Are Probiotics?

Probiotics are beneficial bacteria that can be introduced into the digestive system through food. Probiotics are used to replenish the good bacteria which have been depleted by the use of antibiotics or other drugs.

Our body is a warehouse of bacteria – good and bad. Bacteria are everywhere in the atmosphere including within our body. Essentially there are two types of bacteria – those which are good for us and the pathogens (or bad bacteria) which can harm us. Our gut contains millions of these bacteria. Probiotics are supplements containing the beneficial bacteria found in the human digestive tract which promote good gut health.

How Probiotics Work

Our body contains a miniature ecology of microbes which are collectively known as the gut flora. Most of the live bacteria which we ingest die when they reach the acid conditions of the stomach. The probiotics attach themselves to the wall of the intestine unharmed by the gastric, pancreatic and bile juices to reach the colon alive. They then increase the number of beneficial bacteria and fight the harmful ones thus, maintaining a good balance.

Why Are Probiotics Oh So Good For Us?

The excessive use of antibiotics can put the good bacteria in our body out of gear. Symptoms like lack of vitality, allergies, fatigues and headaches also keep us from performing at our optimum. The inclusion of probiotic bacteria in our diet can easily replenish and boost the system.

Our mothers and grandmothers have known for ages that certain fermented dairy products contain live bacteria and these foods are supposed to be good for us. Recent investigations also seem to support these views. Foods which contain probiotics have live microorganisms administered in adequate amounts, which when consumed, are beneficial for the host. They have been known to provide a multitude of health benefits like helping to reduce certain diarrhea illnesses, assist in digestion for people with lactose intolerance, enhance poor or compromised immune functions, lessen constipation, control thrush, help patients with urinary tract infections, control food allergies and even lower cholesterol.

With a diet which is choc a block with probiotics, travel abroad can become less hazardous as your body learns to tackle many foreign bacteria types.

So Which Foodstuffs Contain Probiotics?

Inulin, raw oats, unrefined wheat, yoghurt and a number of other foods which are specifically manufactured to contain probiotic additives. You have to take a good look at the labels on the food packaging.

How Long Do These Foods Keep?

Ideally probiotic yoghurts and drinks must contain at least one million live bacteria per gram, but there are no universally recognised methods for measuring the numbers of live bacteria. You’ve got to check the “use by” or “best before” date and use them as far away from those dates as possible. That will ensure that you get the probiotics when they are most active. This is because the number of live bacteria inevitably drops off with time.

While the verdict isn’t in yet, most studies show that probiotics are good for us. So go ahead and dig into that bowl of yoghurt.

                                                         

Why choose Organic ?

There are numerous reasons why we should choose organic. Organic food in Australia if often more expensive than organic but the more you know about the overall benefits of organic food, the more you will realise it is much better value.

Even if we are ego-centric we cannot ignore the compelling reasons to choose organic food. Here are some reasons - not in any particular order:

Organic food tastes better. Organic farming starts with the nourishment of the soil, which leads to the nourishment of the plant and, ultimately, our palate. Many people prefer organic food because they consider it tastes better.

Organic food production helps protect future generations. The average child receives approximately four times more exposure than an adult, to at least eight widely used cancer-causing pesticides in food. Food choices made in the family and community now, determine our children's health  - not only now but into the future.

Organic food has higher levels of nutrients. There is now plentiful research findings that show organic food is far superior in vitamin, mineral and nutrient content. They are especially higher in antioxidants, vitamin C, iron, magnesium, calcium, and phosphorus. Organic foods have higher levels (up to six times) of salicylic acid. Salicylic acid is produced naturally in plants as a protective compound against stress and disease. Salicylic acid acts as an anti-inflammatory and helps combat hardening of the arteries.

Organic farming methods prevent soil erosion and build healthy soils. Organic farms protect the environment by building soil organic matter and by mimicking natural systems rather than relying on synthetic fertilisers and pesticides. Compared to soils on conventional farms, organically farmed soils have been shown to have:

• Less nitrogen leaching
• Better nutrient holding ability
• More efficient biological nutrient cycling
• Less runoff and erosion.

 Good soil nutrient management planning is critical for any farming operation to optimise plant growth and decrease risks of nutrient leaching and runoff.

Many crops are genetically engineered  with the Bt toxin in order to resist infestation from insects. Yet root exudates from these plants release the toxin into the soil, where it retains its activity for at least 234 days, long after its release. This stimulates major changes in soil biota that could affect nutrient cycling processes and reduce soil fertility.

Organic farming helps protect water quality. Pesticides and other chemicals widely used in conventional farming contaminate ground water and rivers and pollute primary sources of drinking water.

Organic food is free of artificial additives. Organic food doesn't contain food additives which can cause health problems such as heart disease, osteoporosis, migraines and hyperactivity. The use of antibiotics, anti-microbials, hormones and other growth promotants are prohibited in organic production. In the case that animals are treated with veterinary drugs or chemicals, they are prohibited from being sold as organic. The use of synthetic chemicals as preservatives, colourings, antioxidants etc are also prohibited in the processing of organic foods.

Chemical residues are missing or at very low levels in organically produced food. Many studies show that most conventionally farmed foods have pesticide and other chemical residues. Over 400 chemical pesticides are routinely used in conventional farming and residues are often present in non-organic food. Research has shown that 30 percent of insecticides, 60 percent of herbicides and 90 percent of fungicides are known to cause cancer. These chemicals can also lead to nervous and endocrine problems.

Many pesticides and herbicides were registered long before extensive research linking them to cancer and other diseases could be established. Many are endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) . Using chemicals to deal with crop pests creates the same problem as indiscriminate us of antibiotics against germs. The germs get tougher and nastier over time, because antibiotics influence their evolution, killing susceptible organisms and selecting resistant ones. It is the same with pesticides and pests - in some places where pesticides have been used longest and heaviest, patterns of insect predation on food crops are now worse than they were before farmers started using insecticides on crops.

Organic growers have pest and disease management strategies that do not use artificial and toxic chemicals.

Organic food production uses less energy than conventional food production.Modern conventional farming uses more petroleum than any other industry. More energy is now used to produce synthetic fertilisers than to till, cultivate and harvest crops. Organic farming is still based on labour intensive practices such as hand weeding, green manure, and cover crops instead of chemicals.

Certified organic means GE/GM free. Genetically modified organisms are not allowed under the strict organic certification standards.

Organic farming practices maintain or enhance seed, crop and ecological biodiversity. According to a study reported in 2004, by New Scientist, 'organic farming increases biodiversity at evert level of the food chain - all the way from lowly bacteria to mammals'. Organic farming uses traditional seeds, and focuses on a diverse range of plant species - this increases seed and crop biodiversity. Conventional farming relies on monocultures and chemicals to eradicate other plant and insect species - this considerably reduces biodiversity. One of the side-effects of the use of toxic pesticides is the inadvertent killing of non-target animals, plants and insects, which not only reduces biodiversity but may also exacerbate pest management problems by promoting pest resistance. There are far reaching effects from conventional farming and the attendant use of toxic chemicals. Polluted soil and waterways affects all life forms in the ecosystem and reduces biodiversity.

Support for small farmers. When we purchase organic food we support traditional farming systems. Most organic farms are small, independently owned family farms of less than 50 hectares. Many family farms have been sold-up during the last couple of decades because of economies of scale - they are not profitable under conventional farming systems. Organic farming could be one of the ways family farms can survive.

Organic food has lower nitrates levels. The use of soluble chemical fertilisers has resulted in high nitrate concentrations in many conventionally farmed foods, especially in fruits and vegetables. The leaching of these fertilisers has also resulted in high nitrate levels in some drinking water systems around the world. The nitrate content of organically grown food is usually significantly lower than in conventionally grown produce. High nitrate levels in food and drinking water are converted to carcinogenic nitrosamines. Nitrates have been shown to impair the ability of the blood to carry oxygen, and may pose a risk of methemoglobinemia.

Organic food is not irradiated.