Wild Watercress Soupt (Nasturtium officinale)
Wild Watercress soup is a delicious and nutritious recipe with the leaves available in spring and early summer. Watercress is rich in Vitamins A and C, iron, iodine and phosphorus. Watercress has been used as part of a holistic response to cancer of the lungs, larynx, oesophagus, prostate, bladder, uterus, stomach and intestines. It can be used in the treatment of:
skin problems
bronchitis
winter colds or flu
liver or kidney fatigue
sinusitis
However there are dangers: watercress may cause cystitis in some people and its medicinal use is not advised for those who have a delicate stomach or suffer from acidosis or heartburn. Excessive or prolonged use may lead to kidney problems. Some doctors advise against its use during pregnancy. Wild watercress often grows in streams inhabited by water snails which carry liver fluke. There is also the possibility of bacterial infection. Eating wild watercress in a raw state is not advised for this reason. Cooking the leaves for a short period removes the dangers. Also make sure that the watercourse feeding the stream in which the watercress grows is free from industrial or agricultural pollution.
Ingredients for watercress soup: Pick the watercress from clean water areas by pinching out the tops of the plants. Uprooting them will destroy this resource for everyone. Gather a good handful for each person who will be sharing this delicious spring treat. Other ingredients for a soup for 4 people are:
2 large potatoes
generous knob of butter
dash of olive oil (to prevent butter burning)
stock cube (chicken or vegetable)
salt and freshly ground pepper
single cream
Instructions:
1. Cube the potatoes and cook them gently in the oil and butter until they are starting to soften
2. Add boiling water and dissolve the stock cube. Simmer for 10-15 minutes
3. Coarsely chop the watercress and add to the mix for about 7 minutes, stirring occasionally
4. Liquidise and add in some single cream to taste. Add Salt and pepper to taste
5. Use some purchased raw watercress leaves and pepper to garnish
This nutritious soup is warming when hot and a refreshing summer soup when served cold. Watercress is part of the Nasturtium family whose peppery leaves are well known for their nutraceutical value. In addition to containing high vitamin C contents and antioxidant Beta-carotene, it contains vitamin E and is a natural antibiotic. It is sometimes used in complementary medicine to speed up the body’s detoxification processes.
Thanks to Dr A. Dracea, J. Lust, R. Phillips
From an ebook called ‘Wild Food’ underway at simonthescribe.
If you wish to republish this article (with this resource box intact) you will find excellent quality pictures to accompany it at http://www.simonthescribe.co.uk/wildwatercresssoup.html
Garlic Health - The Amazing Benefits of Garlic!
In this article I’ll be exploring the use of garlic for health. Nicknamed the ’stinking rose’, this auspicious herb has been revered throughout history as a cure and natural treatment for all manor of conditions. These include mosquito bites, wounds, heart disease, measles, tumors, snake bites, acne, colds, flu and even vampires!
Garlic’s health benefits are substantiated by a wealth of modern day research that confirms its anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties. It is also a powerful antioxidant and immune booster with anti-inflammatroy properties. Scientific studies reveal benefits for diabetes, cancer and heart disease. It’s heart health traits include lowering bad cholesterol and blood pressure, aiding circulation and preventing against stroke.
Garlic’s might is largely due to the sulfur compounds it contains, such as allicin. Garlic also houses vitamin C, B6, selenium, magnesium, potassium, calcium and manganese and flavonoids.
The sulphur compound allicin provides not only many of the notable benefits of garlic, but also its notorious odour. Allicin is formed during the chemistry of chopping, crushing and chewing garlic, the more thorough the milling, the more allicin is created. Allicin has antibiotic, anti-viral and anti-fungal properties, and the reason why garlic has been used for skin infections such as Athletes’s foot, herpes and warts, digestive and lung infections such as diarrhea, coughs and colds, and Candida yeast and other microbes.
Allicin begins to degrade once produced and on cooking, so eating garlic raw and soon after chopping ensures the assimilation of optimum levels of this compound.
Garlic also contains diallyl sulphides, which, whilst not anti-fungal like allicin, are reportedly good for the blood and circulation, lowering bad cholesterol and boosting the immune system.
Rats that were put on a diet featuring both allicin and diallyl sulphides had a substantial increase in their levels of the antioxidant enzyme glutathione-S-transferase. This mighty enzyme produced within the body is incredibly important in helping to rid the body of toxins, drugs and carcinogens. Increasing levels of this and other phase II enzymes may be one way garlic helps to prevent against cancer, enhancing the elimination of potential carcinogens from the body. This also makes garlic great for a natural body detox.
Garlic as Anti-Inflammatory
The sulfur compounds in garlic have been found to have anti-inflammatory effects by inhibiting the activity of inflammatory enzymes. Along with vitamin C this can make garlic a protection against the pain associated with arthritis and asthma attacks.
Garlic for the Heart
garlic is renowned for its abilities to lower cholesterol and blood pressure naturally and protect against heart disease and stroke. Garlic has also been found to stimulate the production of nitric oxide in blood vessels aiding their dilation, and assist the body’s ability to dissolve blood clots (fibrinolyisis).
The antioxidant properties of garlic can also protect against cardiovascular disease by inhibiting the oxidation of bad cholesterol which would otherwise build up in artery walls. Further, folate in garlic is known to protect the cardiovascular system.
Garlic for Cancer Prevention
Population studies have revealed that eating garlic regularly, along with other alliums such as onions chives and scallions, reduces the risk of oesophageal, colon and stomach cancer. This may be due to garlic’s ability to reduce the formation of carcinogenic compounds. Garlic’s sulfur compounds such as allicin and ajeone have been found to stop the growth of various cancers in animal laboratory studies, including skin, stomach, colon, breast and oral cancer. Garlic also contains the powerful antioxidant mineral selenium, known for its anti-cancer properties.
Garlic for Diabetes
Some of the damage that can result from the degenerative effects of diabetes such as diseases of the kidney, retina and nervous system, may be deterred by garlic. Rats that were given a drug that would induce similar diabetic-effects in the body, namely an increase in blood sugar, cholesterol and damaged fats and a reduction in the body’s antioxidants, experienced fewer negative effects from the drug and an increase in antioxidant levels when given a daily dose of garlic oil.
Research then, has indicated garlic health benefits against bacteria, fungi and viruses, inflammation (as with arthritis), cancer, diabetes, heart disease and high cholesterol levels.
Garlic - Natural Cure for Common Ailments
Garlic is an all round disease-preventive, and can be used as a natural treatment cure for common ailments such as acne, colds and flu, herpes and wrinkles due to its natural antioxidant and anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal properties. Crush a clove or two of garlic into warm water and drink twice a day though be careful on an empty stomach if you are sensitive to garlic. This also serves as a natural body detox. If your skin is not over sensitive to garlic it can also be applied directly to acne spots or herpes. I find it very effective as a cure for oral herpes (cold-sores). If you have high cholesterol level, use garlic regularly in you’re your food as this will lower your cholesterol level naturally.(obviously along with avoiding a high cholesterol diet).
To summarise
Garlic Benefits
Garlic boosts your immune system.
Garlic is anti-aging, its antioxidant power neutralizing free radicals that procure aging and disease.
Garlic helps reduce plaque build up (atherosclerotic heart disease).
Garlic thins the blood and helps to prevent blood clots (fibrinolyisis) hence reducing the risk of strokes.
Garlic helps to prevent cancer, particularly of the digestive system, and reduces the size and arrests the growth of certain tumors.
Garlic lowers and regulates blood sugar levels.
Garlic helps to remove heavy metals such as lead and mercury from the body - natural body detoxification.
Garlic is anti-inflammatory.
Garlic (raw, containing allicin) is a natural antibiotic and can kill even drug resistant strains of bacteria such as MRSA as well as Helicobacter pylori, the bacterium known to cause stomach ulcers and implicated in stomach cancer.
Garlic is anti-fungal and reduces yeast infections in body parts.
Copyright 2006 Sylvia Riley
MIRACLE SUPERFOODS
http://www.miracle-superfoods.com
REVERSE DIABETES NATURALLY
http://www.reversediabetes.co.uk
NATURAL NUTRITION FOR DOGS AND CATS
http://www.pet-nutrition-guide.com
Herbal Detox - Like Getting a New, Healthy Body The Benefits of Natural Detoxification
More and more people are turning to natural and herbal detox products to help to thoroughly cleanse their vital organs and regain optimum health, vitality and energy.
So, what parts of the body can you detoxify with herbal detox products?
Well, to begin with - the liver, the colon and the lungs are some of the primary organs that should be targeted in your detox and thorough body cleansing routine. The colon is probably the most commonly detoxed part of the body. The colon can often get bogged down by unhealthy traces of old food, parasites and a thick plaque-like substance that makes for serious discomfort and health issues such as irritable
bowel syndrome, lazy bowels, and even colon or rectal cancer. An herbal colon detox targets these impurities to help cure chronic indigestion, diarrhea and/or constipation, poor immune capabilities, chronic fatigue syndrome and weight gain.
The second Part of the Body that Benefits from Herbal Detox Immensely - The Liver
The liver is one of the most important organs of the human body, since it essentially acts as the body’s “filter” for impurities and toxins. The liver basically detoxifies our blood by filtering impurities and harmful and destructive substances such as food additives, preservatives and pesticides that are ingested on a daily basis. A poorly functioning liver can lead to several health issues such as poor digestion, fatigue, and even depression due to toxic residue buildup and the resulting hormonal imbalance. A good herbal liver detox product will deeply cleanse the liver of excess impurities and allow it to again function at peak “like new” performance.
Herbal Lung and Anti Parasite Detox
The next detox product we’ll go over, but certainly not the final detox product available to you, is the lung cleansing and detoxification herbal formula. You may wonder how a product can “cleanse” your lungs. I was curious too. Here’s what I found: Herbal lung detoxes are designed to promote a healthy
respiratory system by cleansing and detoxifying the lungs and bronchial passages. Cleansing the respiratory system helps to increase lung capacity and helps the lungs and bronchial airways to expel toxins such as smoke and other air pollution more quickly and efficiently.
A good anti-parasite herbal detox will gently cleanse harmful and destructive intestinal parasites from the digestive tract and colon. Intestinal parasites will adversely affect your gastrointestinal system, and most people are infected with these parasites - they just don’t know it. Parasite cleansers helps rid your body of parasites to help improve your digestion and waste elimination process. They also help to promote good kidney and bladder health as it will help to cleanse and eliminate parasites in these major organs as well.
So, there you have it, four of the best parts of the body to herbally detox. You may not have even known these types of products were available. But they are - and they can arm you with the tools you need to live as healthfully as possible, and even help to extend the life and function of your most vital organs. Not only that, they will help to dramatically boost and enhance your quality of life by allowing you to breathe easier, feel lighter and more regular, and to be healthy and happy.
Danna Schneider is the founder of Effective Herbal Medicine, an herbal and natural medicine guide to the best herbal health and body-cleansing products on the market. Visit Herbal Detox for product information on these life changing detox products.
Tags: cleanser, colon, Detox, detoxification, herbal, herbs, liver, natural, parasite, product, products