4. Organic Fruit and Natural Vegetable Juices
Veggie juicing is a simple alternative to essentially ensure that you will reach your daily target for veggies, in a quick digestible way. It is similar to a “living broth,” as it is loaded with micro-nutrients that many individuals lack — as Dr. Mercola’s article states. The bulk of your juice should come from organic, green vegetables– spinach, celery, kale, mixed greens, swiss chard, and so on. Use fruits sparingly which are high in sugar. See, those extensively packaged fruit juices, you have for breakfast every day, happy that you are drinking fruit juices are definitely not beneficial. They are made with high amounts of sugar (GMO sugar unless specified) [3], high fructose corn syrup, chemical preservatives and artificial flavors. These preservatives are normally added to extend the shelf life of the product, and that is not indicative of what “fresh juice” is all about. Instead, juice fresh vegetables and fruits (I prefer a ratio of 80:20) in order to lower the sugar content of what I like to call a –my nutritional boost bomb ™ . Feel free to be creative by mixing and matching veggies and fruits, in order to maximize the health benefits. Check out some of my favorite healing fresh veggie/fruit juices. I juice almost once a week, but these days I love my nutri-ninja (find one here) which pulverizes fruits and veggies. The benefit from the nutri ninja vs juicing (here’s my favorite juicer) is that you get all the fiber from both. That being said, vegetable juicing is ideal when you are dealing with patients battling cancer, digestive issues, celiac disease or any other GI conditions. So here are the benefits of drinking fresh fruit juice? [list style=”check”]- Juicing aids your body to absorb all the nutrients from the vegetables and fruits in an efficient manner
- Juice cleanses and detoxifies your body of accumulated toxins.
- Increases your fruit juice and raw vegetable intake.
- Allows you to add a variety of vegetables and fruits = nutrient dense foods which will help you feel fuller.
- It makes for a quick meal for those of us busy bees.
5. Kefir, Yogurt and Fermented Foods
Systemic inflammation is influenced by the make of probiotics and gut flora. We know based on recent research that the health of your gut flora depends on the right ratio of microorganisms in the gut. If this ratio is not optimally balanced 85:15– good bacteria: bad bacteria your body can definitely react to many diseases.
A diet rich, in naturally occurring prebiotics and probiotics should be part of your diet. However, if you like most of us have no time to make your own fermented probiotic-rich foods a very good organic liquid probiotic supplement or one of my favorite like this one–will do.
Yogurt~ Natural yogurt is made up milk (preferably raw and organic) from cows, goat or sheep by adding a yogurt starter, then place it in a crock pot or incuvator yogurt to set in. It takes about 24 or less depending on the method used. You can use a yogurt maker (like this one) to speed up the process.
Keep in mind that, the pasteurized yogurt you get in supermarkets today cannot give you even 1/10 of the benefits of homemade kefir or yogurt. That is because the pasteurizing process destroys all the beneficial, bacteria, yeast and nutrients. Learn how to make your own yogurt here.
Kefir ~ Is one of a kind cultured dairy product that’s one of the most probiotic-rich foods on the planet. Kefir benefits are excellent for healing issues like IBS, leaky gut, acid reflux and even celiac disease. Kefir is full of natural probiotics (roughly 3 trillion). This makes it the ideal food to keep your gut flora (natural intestinal bacteria) super healthy.
Kefir contains certain healthy bacteria this is not available in yogurt, including Lactobacillus Caucasus, Leuconostoc, Acetobacter species, Streptococcus thermophilus Saccharomyces kefir,Torula kefir, Kluyveromyces marxianus/Candida kefyr, Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis.
Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris, Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus, Lactobacillus casei, Kazachstania unispora, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidobacterium lactis, Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. and Saccaromyces unisporus. These beneficial microorganisms enhance your digestive health and prevent the development of harmful bacteria in the gut.
Kefir contains high levels of calcium, magnesium, vitamin B12, vitamin K2, folate, biotin, folate, digestive enzymes, and probiotics.
In this 2015 study, published in Frontiers in Microbiology researchers found recognized kefir as a potential source of probiotics and molecules with outstanding healthy properties.
According to the authors, “its biological properties suggest its use as an antitumor agent, antimicrobial agent, antioxidant, and immunomodulator, among other roles.
Kefir contains the highest amount of probiotics our of any food you can eat with many important probiotic strains. Homemade kefir far outranks any store-bought variety.
6. Turmeric
Turmeric is an excellent antibiotic and antitoxin which purifies the blood and strengthens your digestive system. It has been used in ancient Indian and Chinese medicine to dissolve gallstones , lower blood pressure naturally, reverse arthritis, eliminate skin disorders and reverse chronic inflammation.
Research studies targeting anti-inflammatory activity solely in curcumin has shown curcumin to be a highly pleiotropic molecule capable of interacting with numerous molecular targets involved in inflammation [12]. (This is my favorite turmeric)
- Turmeric constituents include the three curcuminoids:
- Curcumin (diferuloylmethane; the primary constituent and the one responsible for its vibrant yellow color).
- Demethoxycurcumin, and bisdemethoxycurcumin, as well as volatile oils (tumerone, atlantone, and zingiberone). [12]
Turmeric is a very powerful inflammation fighter with a whopping 1523 anti-inflammation factor.(source)
Among several health benefits, turmeric is an excellent source of both iron and manganese, vitamin B6, dietary fiber, and potassium.
Curcumin is the polyphenol found in turmeric (Curcuma longa), used as a spice, in food coloring, and as traditional herbal medicine. It has been shown that curcumin has health benefits such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer properties, improvement of brain function, and control of obesity and diabetes.
Its carcinogenic properties have just been recently found in the west by researchers. However, the amazing healing benefits of turmeric were well known in the East through centuries. Turmeric is an antiseptic, used internally and externally to cure skin diseases prevent chronic colds while keeping your heart, mind, and throat healthy. Learn more about turmeric here.
7. Onions and garlic
Onions and garlic have an unfortunate reputation among finicky people who don’t like these vegetables’ strong smell. If you are on of those, is time to wake up and smell the garlic– literally.
Garlic is one of the most powerful antibiotics, serves as an anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory and it even lowers blood pressure naturally. It is also full of antioxidants among other benefits. One of the top antioxidants found in raw garlic is Allicin.
Allicin is a chemical compound sourced from raw garlic. Garlic has been used for centuries to treat illnesses such as infection, inflammation, and hypertension– is often called the world’s greatest wonder food. Garlic benefits range from immune-enhancing properties to cancer prevention and can overall reverse disease.
From immune enhancement to cancer prevention, there is a wide range of health benefit in allicin. Many clinical studies have shown that garlic/allicin has the ability to lower total cholesterol, LDL, or “bad cholesterol” and triglycerides, and increase HDL cholesterol. This, in turn, may aid in the prevention of heart-related conditions such as heart attack, atherosclerosis, and stroke. (Source)
In fact, in the eighteenth century Italians, Spaniards, and the French were called “garlic eaters” by the British. And so the British lost out on some of the most important health benefits when they banished onions and garlic from the British larder and kitchen.
This is the reason why a large percentage of them suffered and still suffer from cardiovascular, high cholesterol, respiratory and digestive problems. Needless to say, due to the lack of essential nutrients needed by the body and provided by onions and garlic.
Onions and garlic have been well known to heal GI disorders, prevent cancer and respiratory problems, help prevent Diabetes -type I and II- and keep your circulatory, respiratory, cardiovascular and auto-immune system healthy. So, if garlic and onions aren’t your friends– roast them or cook them with other foods but consume them. This will decrease the strong taste and smell.
In conclusion, we can comfortably say that the foods heal and can definitely prevent and reverse disease. I hope that after reading this article, you consider including some of these foods into your regular natural health regimen.
Do you consume any of the foods, herbs or spices above? Have you noticed any benefits since you started? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
To your best health,
References:
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19610522
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24070562
- http://www.non-gmoreport.com/articles/jun08/sugar_beet_industry_converts_to_gmo.php
- https://www.thedailymeal.com/eat/what-are-healthiest-nuts
- http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/16-more-reasons-black-seed-remedy-everything-death2
- https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/2974
- https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs13197-012-0859-9
- http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3109/09637489309017439
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17951477
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18249514
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12490960
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19594223
Tania | Fit Foodie Nutter
Thank you for such an informative post! I haven’t tried moringa yet but I’ve been indulging in far too many nuts – they’re so easy to snack on!
Astrid
You are welcome Tania! Definitely, give moringa a try, you’ll notice the benefits right away. I’ve tried the powder form in my smoothies. Haha I know, nuts are delicious and so easy to get carried away eating them.
leslie-anne
I’m a big fan of nigella seed in cooking! It’s interesting to see it’s useful and not just delicious. I’ve never used Moringa, but will look into it after reading this.
Astrid
Really? I never cooked with it Nigella. That’s very interesting. The benefits are fantastic I can’t wait to get some more again. Moringa is fantastic but keep a close eye on how you react to it. Some people do not feel well on it or have to take very small portions.
Thanks for the feedback.