February Newsletter, 2011

He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herbs for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth...

Horseradish

From The Herb Patch

Hello, everybody! Once again it’s time to explore another ingredient in my Super Immune Tonic. I think most people are familiar with the herb plant horseradish. Yes, it can be thought of as an herb due to its medicinal properties as well as culinary uses. Horseradish has been in cultivation since early times and holds a fascination for all who know its pungency in sauce and with boiled beef. It is a perennial you can start by purchasing the dormant root, which is more readily available in recent years. Plant it in rich, loose soil in full sun with good drainage. It will not make plump roots in poor, hard or sandy soil. It tends to be an aggressive plant, so put it away from your shy, retiring herbs. It is said to deter potato bugs. The tops look like mustard greens, and they may be added to the salad bowl for an extra zing of flavor. To harvest the roots, carefully dig down with a trowel on one side of the plant in late summer or fall. Find a lateral root and cut it off. Do not dig up the plant except for division in midwinter.

Medicinal uses:  The root may be taken in the form of syrup for bronchial infections, catarrh and coughs and as a general tonic for debility. A caution is advised in that large internal doses may cause vomiting.

Culinary:  The young, fresh leaves have a milder flavor than the pungent root and can be added to salads or chopped into smoked-fish patties. The fresh root is shredded to make a strong-flavored, creamy-textured sauce, traditionally served with beef, but also excellent as an accompaniment to cold, especially smoked, meat and fish, and hard-boiled eggs. For a milder flavor, grated apple, sprinkled with lemon juice and vinegar, can be mixed with horseradish.

To make horseradish sauce

2-3 pieces of fresh horseradish root                    

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

115 g/4oz fromage frais (not sure what this is)

 salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar

2 teaspoons fresh, chopped dill

Scrub the horseradish root, grate it finely, and cover with the vinegar. Or, for a smoother texture, mix the horseradish and vinegar in an electric blender till pulped. Mix in the fromage frais, season with salt, pepper, sugar and chopped dill.

TRY something NEW for FLU SEASON

*from Hallelujah Acres Health News, Winter 2011

HEALTH TIPS

In spite of the vast number of people who yield to the pressure to be injected annually with various flu vaccines, the “CDC estimates that from the 1976-1977 season to the 2006-2007 flu season, flu-associated deaths ranged from a low of about 3,000 to a high of about 49,000 people.” Clearly, the flu vaccine isn’t working!

I ran across a quote recently that is attributed to Dresden James that proclaims, “A truth’s initial commotion is directly proportional to how deeply the lie was believed... When a well-packaged web of lies has been sold gradually to the masses over generations the truth will seem utterly preposterous and its speaker a raving lunatic.”

The history of vaccines goes back to 1827 when Boston became the first city to require all children to be vaccinated before entering school. In 1855 it became state law. During the years of 1862-1888 the trend spread across most of the United States and by 1905 almost all states required vaccines for school children. In 1913 the drive to promote the diphtheria vaccine found “health officials” using every conceivable media and marketing tool to “sell” the public on the importance of the vaccine.

Now, nearly two centuries later, our government, in conjunction with the vaccine industry, uses every conceivable means to “sell” the influenza vaccine to the American public. This vaccine is at best questionable as to any benefit in protection from the flu and at worst a source of numerous toxic substances that are directly injected into the bloodstream of infants as young as six months of age.

Common Toxins In Flu Vaccines

·  Formaldehyde –    known cancer risks ·  Triton X100 – a detergent ·  Polysorbate 80 (Tween80) – can cause severe allergic reactions including anaphylaxis ·  Thimersol -- mercury

GlaxoSmithKline’s flu vaccine Fluarix used against subtype virus A and B carries the following comment in the 17 page insert under the Nonclinical Toxicology heading 13.1 Carcinogenesis, Mutagenesis, Impairment of Fertility – “FLUARIX has not been evaluated for carcinogenic or mutagenic potential, or for impairment of fertility”.

Has our government along with the drug companies contrived a well-packaged web of lies about vaccines? Are we to believe we can inject foreign substances into our bloodstream that contain known toxins, dead and/or live viruses, and neurotoxins such as mercury and expect to build immunity against disease?

May I suggest there is a better way? The immune system is one of the most complex systems found in the body. It has numerous components, each with very specific functions. Supporting the immune system is the most important step in developing resistance to disease, colds, flu, and cancer.

The immune system consists of various types of white blood cells that seek out and destroy foreign invaders, especially Natural Killer Cells. Several lifestyle practices suggested in the Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine support higher Natural Killer Cell activity. These included avoiding tobacco smoke, increasing intake of green vegetables, regular meals, maintaining proper body weight, getting more than seven hours of sleep nightly, regular exercise, a low meat diet. and supplying important nutritional factors.

SUGAR

One of the most important things we can do is avoid refined sugars (and sugar substitutes). Sugar is one of the leading toxins that impair the immune system. If 24 teaspoons of sugar are consumed at one time, the ability of the white blood cells to destroy bacteria is impaired by 92%. A large soft drink and a slice of apple pie can easily supply that much sugar in one serving. Is it any wonder the average person on the Standard American Diet succumbs so readily to the viral and bacterial influences they are exposed to on a daily basis?

IMMUNE SUPPORT

During flu season, it may be wise to keep some Sambucol on hand, a standardized extract from black elderberry. Studies show that Sambucol has antiviral properties against 10 different strains of the influenza virus. In a double-blind placebo-controlled, randomized study, Sambucol reduced the duration of flu symptoms to 3-4 days.

Vitamin C has been recognized for decades as being an important immune system protein. Vitamin C has been shown to be antiviral and antibacterial and supports enhanced immune system function.

During periods of infection, vitamin C levels are quickly depleted. Vitamin C is found in green vegetables, berries, and citrus fruit.

Try something new this year! Support your body’s own innate immune system by providing the conditions that are conducive to our natural immunity and self-healing.

Motherly Inventions

Article from the Herb Companion

Pregnancy is a time when many women choose to make lifestyle changes such as integrating herbs into body care and health routines and seeking body care products free of preservatives and synthetic fragrances. Many of these are enhanced with herbs, safely used for generations, that help relieve the simple bodily discomforts often felt during pregnancy—the itch of a growing belly and stretch marks, painful hemorrhoids, and an aching back and legs from carrying the increased weight load.

Body care products containing herbs such as calendula, chamomile, comfrey, and elder can alleviate these problems. You can easily make them yourself. Calendula relieves painful swelling, chamomile increases elasticity of the skin, comfrey helps prevent scarring, and elder is softening. Plantain leaf is an effective topical treatment for belly itching and hemorrhoid discomfort while lavender and chamomile promote relaxation. Look for herbs that are certified organic to ensure that they have not been treated with harmful substances. Certain herbs should not be taken internally during pregnancy. Some, such as feverfew, goldenseal, motherwort, and pennyroyal can bring on bleeding or contractions. Laxative herbs—cascara sagrada, for example—are too irritating to the uterine lining. And some herbs such as borage, dong quai, licorice, and Siberian ginseng affect hormones.

Recipes

GROWING BELLY OIL

No woman wants to remember pregnancy by her stretch marks! This herb-infused oil keeps the skin supple and soft and relieves itching as well. Use this oil for massage as well.

2cups olive oil                                   
½ ounce dried chamomile flowers

¼ ounce dried calendula flowers                  ¼ ounce dried comfrey leaf

1 tablespoon vitamin E oil                             4 to 6 drops essential oil(s) of your choice

Heat the olive oil and herbs in a slow cooker or double boiler for 6 hours on the lowest setting. To prevent rancidness, the temperature of the oil should not exceed 150º; it should be just warm to the touch. Cool and strain the oil through a white cotton cloth. Add the vitamin E and essential oil(s).

**Why not just buy some of my Me Me’s Butt Salve that contains some of these same ingredients. It is very soothing and would work well for the “growing belly” of pregnancy and for the hemorrhoid problem.  There is nothing that can harm the pregnant woman in the salve!

HEMORRHOID SALVE

Hemorrhoids are a fact of life for many pregnant women. This salve offers relief.

2cups olive oil                                ¼ ounce dried comfrey leaf

¼ ounce dried plantain leaf               ¼ ounce dried yarrow flowers

About 2 ounces grated beeswax

Heat the olive oil and herbs in a slow cooker or double boiler for 6 hours on the lowest setting. To prevent rancidness, the temperature of the oil should not exceed 150º; it should be just warm to the touch. Cool and strain the oil through a white cotton cloth. Measure the oil and return it to the cooker with 1 ounce grated beeswax per strained cup of oil. Stir over low heat until the beeswax melts. Pour the salve into a jar. It will thicken as it cools.

TEA FOR TWO

Raspberry leaf is used in folk medicine to strengthen uterine muscles, slow bleeding following childbirth, and alleviate mild morning sickness. Herbalists prescribe nettle and alfalfa leaf to strengthen the vascular system, which may help to prevent varicose veins and hemorrhoids. All three herbs are reputed to increase the supply of breast milk.

2 cups olive oil                                   
½ ounce dried chamomile flowers

¼ ounce dried calendula flowers

                

¼ ounce dried comfrey leaf

1 tablespoon vitamin E oil                            

4 to 6 drops essential oil(s) of your choice

Blend the herbs and measure 4 tablespoons into a quart jar. Fill the jar with boiling water and steep, covered, for 30 minutes. Strain and serve warm or chilled. Store in the refrigerator for as long as 2 days.

GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOOD—SCIENCE FICTION HORROR STORY

Excerpts taken from No Greater Joy Magazine by Michael Pearl, March/April 2010

All living organisms, whether plant or animal or human, are constructed of cells. Genetic engineering is the process of artificially tampering with these God-given, natural genetic blueprints. Genetic engineering is a technique to splice, delete, add, isolate, and recombine or transfer genes from one organism to another that may be totally unrelated. Alteration of genes and chromosomes causes disruption and disturbance in the biochemical structure of species (plant or animal) and can result in species mutation. The discovery in the mid-1970’s that scientist could transfer genes from the DNA of one species into that of another was heralded as a major scientific breakthrough. Plants, animals, and other organisms could now become equipped with genes that could never occur naturally and exhibit traits not previously found in their species or even their kingdom. The single dominant GM (genetically modified) trait is herbicide tolerance. Crops are engineered to survive an otherwise toxic dose of weed killer.

The second popular GM trait is a built-in pesticide. The plant produces pesticidal toxins in every cell. Monarch butterflies are killed when feeding on the corn. If a plant kills bugs, do you want to breather its pollen, eat honey made from its nectar, or ingest the plant? Virtually an entire Filipino village of about 100 people living adjacent to a large field of Bt corn [genetically altered to produce a toxin that kills bugs] were stricken by a disease. The symptoms, which appeared at the time the corn was producing airborne pollen, included headaches, dizziness, extreme stomach pain, vomiting, chest pains, fever, and allergies, as well as respirator, intestinal and skin reactions. Many if not all of the villagers exposed to the GM-maize pollen in 2003 have remained ill to this day. Further, there have been five unexplained deaths in the village. The increase in the number of people afflicted with chronic diseases in the United States roughly corresponds to the period when Americans began eating GM foods.

What can you do?

First, you must be informed. When media outlets have attempted to publish the facts concerning GMOs in our food chain, they have been intimidated into silence by their largest advertisers—the producers of genetically modified foods. You can purchase the book, Seeds of Deception, and become acquainted with the issue. Go online, and read about GMOs. Stop buying foods that have been altered. Write to the manufacturers, and inform them that you will not eat their GMOs. Grow your own food!!

**A note from Alice:  In the past, I have realized that what Michael Pearl is talking about is true. I have not read the book above, but have been involved with heirloom seed stores that have done vast research on this matter. One, such as Bakers Seed has been researching this information for years and puts out a catalog with non-hybrid seeds as well as non-GMO information. So, this is not just some conspiracy theory thing that most people think the information is coming from. There are people who have actually seen the results of growing and eating this food. I myself, over a period have bought some of the food that is not organic and is GMO and I will say I can tell a dramatic difference in my health when eating this. Most of the time my husband and I buy our food at organic food stores.  Whole Foods does not carry GMO products and they do not sell foods that have had pesticides used on them. Fresh Market is another place to buy organic food. Whenever I am in the Virginia Beach area this is where I buy most of my food, especially produce. I think that Kroger has some organic food and Food Lion and Walmart has some, but you just have to be willing to do something different and check out the brands that you know for sure do not use GMOs or pesticides on the food.

More on this next month!!!