NATURAL TREATMENTS FOR SINUS INFECTIONS by Sue

In the summer Leaf and I came back from UK with a bug - how unusual! His went pretty quickly but mine developed into sinusitis. After a week I succumbed and went to the doctor. He prescribed a broad-sprectrum anti-biotic, the corticosteroid prednisolone SOLUPRED. It worked but more than that - the side effect was thrush in the mouth. My tongue became very sensitive to hot and cold as did my teeth and gums. Eating was very uncomfortable. I was furious and went back to the doctor to ask for a natural treatment for my mouth. I was recommended a bicarbonate of soda mouthwash. It worked. So, in future, I shall be trying other natural treatments should I get sinusitis again. Here are some:

• avoid mucus-forming foods such as flour products, eggs, chocolate, fried and processed food, sugar and dairy products.
• drink lots of good quality water
• include cayenne pepper, garlic, onion and horseradish in soups, casseroles and stews
• if you can source it, try Japanese wasabi paste with meals - only a tiny bit. It helps with decongestion
• combine 1-2 teaspoons of organic cider vinegar with 6 fl oz of water and a teaspoon of good honey and drink three times a day for five days. It helps thin congested mucus
• again, if you can source it, grapefruit seed extract (GSE) is a natural antibiotic

There are probably lots of other ideas for natural treatments. If you know of one, please either share by comment or send us an email so we can add it to this post. Thanks.

GET A BALANCED BREAKFAST

Some say breakfast is the most important meal of the day - gets you started, but, according to ayurvedic principles, breakfast falls in a digestive rest period. The three cycles are believed to be roughly as follows:

INGEST - 12pm - 8pm
DIGEST - 8pm - 4am
REST - 4am - 12pm

I eat fresh fruit for breakfast as it puts very little strain on the digestive system, however, I do add dried fruits, ground nuts and grains. Here they are with some of main goodies they contain:

FLAX SEEDS - Omega 3 fatty acids and Vit C
WHEAT GERM - Protein, virtually all the essential minerals, Vits A, B1 and B3
SOYA LECITHIN - Phospholipids which aid in cell protection - a sort of 'oil' to keep things moving smoothly
APRICOT KERNELS - Vit B17, the anti-cancer vitamin (check out the facts before deciding whether to take these)
BRAZIL NUTS - Primarily Selenium but other minerals too
HAZELNUTS - Vits E & K and selenium
ALMONDS - Loaded with vitamins and minerals
GOJI BERRIES - Also loaded with vitamins and minerals as well as anti-oxidants
CRANBERRIES - Vit C and anti-oxidants

Leaf likes some muesli and granola with his fruit and goodies.

It all adds up to a delicious breakfast. Mind you I do enjoy the odd boiled egg and toast with Leaf's amazing marmalade.

MUSHROOM AND BEAN TERRINE

I promised the other night's dinner guests I'd put this recipe up asap.
Pic of tomatoes because it's pretty and I didn't take one of the terrine before serving, sorry!


225g sliced mushrooms
1 medium chopped onion
1 crushed garlic clove
1 small diced red pepper
1 tbsp veg stock
1tsp dry white wine
200g red kidney beans
1 beaten egg
25g fresh breadcrumbs
herbs of choice
salt and pepper

Pre-heat oven to 180˚C. Line a large loaf tin with greaseproof.
Put onion, garlic, pepper, mushrooms, stock and wine into a pan, cover and cook for around 10 mins, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and leave to cool. Puree the mixture with the beans until smooth then add egg, breadcrumbs, herbs and seasoning. Spoon into loaf tin, press down and cook for 45 to 60 mins. Allow to cool completely in the tin before transferring onto a plate, carefully peeling off the greaseproof and refrigerating for at least three hours before serving.
Lovely with fresh bread and salad.

SERIOUSLY DODGY DAIRY

Scientists find a mass of synthetic chemicals in every glass of milk

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/033075_milk_chemical_contamination.html#ixzz1TriU9fCR
Leaf and I cut out dairy in January - are we nuts? No, we don't think so. I posted this on Facebook yesterday. Makes your hair curl.

BACK IN THE SADDLE, as it were

My desk is a mess of paperwork and my mind a jack-in-a-box. Popping up and scaring me just when I thought I had everything under control. So much has been going on of late that the info I had ready for my next post, got lost in the pile. Hence the long delay. Luckily I have now found it.
Cancer has reached almost epidemic proportions, but the emphasis is always on finding a cure and rarely, if at all, on prevention. Tragically it has become an industry with millions of people employed in the research, treatment, care and after-care of this horrendous disease. If we were all able to avoid it they would no longer be needed, but the pharmaceutical giants would be losing out BIG! Health is not their business.
But all is not lost. For those of us who see it as a very real threat, we can adapt our lifestyles in the best effort to keep it at bay.
The biggest baddies are diet and, of course, pollution in our air and water. Chemicals are up there too. Chemicals in cleaning materials, cosmetics, air fresheners, garden products etc. I have posted before on alternatives but, if in any doubt, look at the label. Roundup - check that horror out on the net!
As for diet - here it's easy to get up noses! Our bible is The China Study by T. Colin Campbell (The study can be considered the Grand Prix of Epidemiology - The New York Times) but we know that the advice therein is a bit too drastic for most people. However, here are a few simpler recommendations to help protect the colon which is particularly vulnerable to cancer:
• eat more veg. - a salad a day, a soup a day and lots with the evening meal - raw whenever poss.
• avoid charcuterie (the nitrates they contain are known carcinogens)
• choose chicken or turkey over other meats, better still brazils or walnuts for selenium
• eat more magnesium - in many nuts, seeds, sprouts and dark leafy veg.
• eat more fibre - beans and whole grains are best for this along, of course, with veg.
• eat curries containing turmeric or sprinkle it on veg, add to soups and stews.
A final word, organic eating isn't as expensive as it may seem and is surely worth the extra. Think of the price you might pay for eating foods contaminated with chemicals.
None of this is new, but a reminder every now and then is a good thing. Happy, healthy eating!

TOOTHPASTE - THE HIDDEN DANGERS

Ever thought of checking the ingredients in your toothpaste? If not, then this site might give you quite a shock.

So, why not move over to natural/organic (the bio shops sell various brands) and save your old tube for other uses, such as:

• to relieve irritation from insect bites, blisters etc. - a drop on overnight
• to soothe a minor (not open-wound) burn - apply immediately and leave on
• to clean fingernails - scrub on with nail brush
• to clean food smells off hands - use like soap
• to remove stains from clothes and carpets - apply, rub briskly until spot disappears, then wash as usual
• to clean scuffed shoes - apply directly, scrub with brush then wipe clean
• to make silver sparkle - apply with a soft cloth, leave on overnight then polish up in the morning
• to remove shallow scratches from DVDs and CDs - apply a thin coat, rub gently then rinse clean
• to clean piano keys - apply with a damp cloth, rub gently then wipe clean with another dry cloth

(thanks to Divine Caroline for these)

PHYTONUTRIENTS - goodies found in plants only

Everyone's heard of proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals, but not everyone will be familiar with the benefits of phytonutrients. They are basically the beneficial (to human health) chemicals found in plant-based foods. Yet more reason to up the intake.
Thanks to Care2 for this useful chart.

WHOLEMEAL BREAD RECIPE with nuts and/or seeds

350g Farine Integrale (wholemeal) or Farine d’Epautre (spelt)

350g Farine 110 or 80 (semi-wholemeal or semi-refined)

2 x 5ml spoons sugar

1 x 5ml spoon salt

nuts and seeds as preferred

1 x 15ml spoon oil

425ml hand hot water

1 x 5ml spoon sugar

2 packs dried yeast

Mix yeast with water and 5ml sugar and leave for 15 mins until frothy.

Mix dry ingredients well, add yeast mix and oil gradually and mix well. Knead dough until soft and springy. Leave in a greased bag in a warm place to double in size. Knead again back to original size. Shape as desired and put into 1 large or 2 small greased loaf tins. Leave to rise again in the greased bag.

Sprinkle with poppy or sesame seeds and press into the dough.

Bake in hot oven for approx 25 minutes.

Leave to cool for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.

EARL GREY TEA LOAF - YUMMY AND SO SIMPLE TO MAKE from Sue

The prep is done in a trice, then just let the oven do the rest.

INGREDIENTS

75g each of 3 dried fruits (eg raisins, sultanas, currants, chopped apricots, cranberries or chopped dates, you choose)
1/2 pint earl grey tea (using a bag)
250g/9oz refined flour (65)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
200g/7oz soft brown sugar
1 egg beaten

Soak the fruit overnight in the tea (leave the teabag in).
Pre-heat the oven 180˚C/Gas 4.
Drain fruit and add sifted flour, baking powder and spices. Mix in well.
Add sugar and egg and mix in.
Gradually add the juice from the soaked fruit (minus teabag!) until you get a nice gooey mix that will flop rather than pour into a 450g/1 lb loaf tin lined with greaseproof.
Bake for approx one hour. Check the cake is cooked by putting a skewer into the middle. If it comes out clean, the cake is ready. Leave to cool for ten minutes.
Place an oval plate over the loaf-tin and reverse. Peel greaseproof off the cake and reverse onto a wire rack. Leave to cool.

The cake is delish on its own, with butter or, if a bit gooey, with a glob of cream. Leaf likes it like that.
Enjoy!

FIRST AND FOREMOST A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OUR FRIENDS, READERS AND CUSTOMERS

DISTURBING BUT HARDLY SURPRISING NEWS from Sue

Two issues ago, in The French Week, I noticed an article about carcinogens in food, primarily, although not exclusively, in food given to children. The results of a collaborative Franco/Belgian study are a serious indictment of the food industry.
As organic food sellers, we naturally have to do our nutritional health homework, which entails a lot of reading and research. We are not in the least surprised at these findings but very glad they are being brought to attention of the public. Here is the link to an article on the study in The Guardian - perhaps the most reputable and honest of the British papers these days.
I could go banging on forever about the desirability of eating organic, but with articles like these, I shouldn't need to. However, I can't pass up the opportunity to emphasize that food grown in degraded soil (i.e. full of herbicides, pesticides etc) will be degraded too. It might look great but it will inevitably be lacking in nutrients. 'We Want Real Food' by Graham Harvey is particularly interesting on this subject. Likewise animal products from industrially-farmed livestock fed the wrong food, treated regularly with anti-biotics and hormones to 'cure' their ailments and speed up growth are likely to be as bad for the humans eating them as for the poor animals themselves.
Food processing is what it says it is, put through a variety of processes which invariably remove the goodness - hydrogenisation for example, see this link for more info. And as for all the chemical additives listed in miniscule print on labels, not in my body thanks.
Having said I could go banging on, I find myself doing just that. Sorry. The article says plenty.