Day 1348 - Healthy Eating

Did you know that food can help treat a bunch of medical problems?

Blueberries - the super food.
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I was cruising through my emails this morning and came across one from "Self Help on the Web" with the title "Former Gas Sufferer Reveals Natural Cure".  Well, given I've been suffering from arty farty having too many parties of late (that's code for farting a lot) I thought I might open the email.  Of course the answers weren't provided for me immediately. To find out the mystical secrets of how to cure flatulence I would need to buy the book.  So instead I went on a bit of a scout to find other ways we can eat ourselves healthy.  I discovered ways to help with headaches, PMS, high blood pressure, stomach ulcers, cystitis, bad breath, colds and flu, excess hair, indigestion, hay fever, eczema and cholesterol.  Magic! Nothing for farts though. Will keep looking ...

Helen Foster recently gave us a big list of wonder foods in the June 2013 edition of Good Health magazine (the one with my mate Johanna on the cover). There's nothing there for excessive flatulence, but there is plenty of other cool stuff for those of us who are Deep Fried.

1. Try pumpkin seeds to cure headaches.  Headaches can occur when copper levels are low and a 35g handful of pumpkin seeds contains a third of our daily requirement. Other good sources of copper include olives, oysters and liver.
2. Soy can help with PMS.  Soy contains mild forms of oestrogen that can rebalance the hormones.  It can also help with those menstrual migraines.  Wow! 
3. Celery is good for high blood pressure.  People often shout out about celery for many things (including arthritis) because of its antiseptic, anti-inflammatory and diuretic properties. But did you know it can also regulate blood pressure?  It contains some fancy compounds that relax the muscles of arteries that regulate blood pressure.  This magical compound can also reduce stress levels.  
4. Eating broccoli sprouts can cure stomach ulcers.  Trials have found that 75g of broccoli sprouts daily can kill the bacteria that causes ulcers and can fight the inflammation of the stomach lining triggered by bacteria.
5. Eating blueberries can fight cystitis.  Much like cranberries, blueberries contain magical compounds which prevent bacteria sticking to the wall of the bladder.  Eat blueberries one day and drink cranberry juice the next if you want to really be fighting fit in that area.
6. Yoghurt can help with bad breath.  Parsley is the best remedy,but yoghurt helps reduce the hydrogen sulphides in the mouth which cause bad breath.  It can also lower plaque and gum disease.
7. Chicken soup really does help with colds and flu.  It's been conclusively proven to block the movement of immune cells which trigger cold symptoms.  So cook some up and freeze it in winter for that time when you just may need it. 
8. Drinking spearmint tea can help minimise excess hair.  Levels of testosterone in the body has been shown to drop when women drink tea made from spearmint leaves twice a day.  I'm in! perhaps I will stop growing chin hairs. 
9. Starting meals with fruit salad helps with indigestion.  Pineapple and papaya in particular have enzymes which aid digestion and the body's ability to process protein.  Eating it 30 minutes before a meaty meals will help break food down.
10. Locally produced honey helps with hayfever.  Because the honey contains the same pollens that may be causing the hayfever it helps to desensitise you to the triggers.
11. Black tea can help with eczema.  Oolong tea in particular is apparently a potent skin soother.  Have it three times a day with meals.
12. For cholesterol eat nuts! It doesn't matter what kind, just swap two high fat snacks a day with a 28g serving of nuts and you can lower your cholesterol by 10%