The Secrets of Sage

Salvis Officinalis, comes from the Latin salvare, meaning to 'save' or 'cure'.

There is a proverb in an old Italian manuscript that states: 'Why should he die who has sage in his garden?'

We have the English to thank for the idea of smothering sage in onions and adding it to breads and sausage for stuffing! Who knew.

The English also drank sage tea long before black tea became the choice for this afternoon tradition. I found it very tasty.

The Secret?

Several scientific studies show that Sage brightens your mood, rejuvenates your concentration, and sharpens your memory.  Perhaps that's why a sage is thus named?

Sage extract has also been valuable in alleviating or preventing:

• Age-related Memory Loss
• Alzheimer's
• Cancer
• Diabetes and
• Ulcers

Sage is native to the Mediterranean.  This aromatic plant is easy to grow in many temperate climates, and will attract bees with its lavender flowers.

Clary Sage is the sweet and milder variety, Greek is stronger.  Dried Sage is usually Dalmatian Sage native to Croatia, and is sold rubbed, crushed or powdered.

In Cooking:

Sage goes well in gravies, butters, stuffing, meatloaf, scones, polenta, on pizza, and with fatty fish.. like Salmon.

As a Tea:

Place 6 - 7 leaves in 9 oz of water and simmer for 15 minutes.

Storage:

Sage will keep for up to a year kept in an airtight container, and stored in a dark, dry place.

That Cheeky Curcumin (aka Turmeric) is in the News

I love how frequently the foods we secretly know are excellent for preventing several serious illnesses, due to overwhelming testimony over decades of use, get 'discovered' by the news media, and featured. It may take the rest of the world a while to catch up with us, but the war is won a small battle at a time.  :D

*~*~*~*~*

Curry may help to boost the chances of fighting bowel cancer, according to researchers in the UK.

Laboratory tests suggest curcumin, a compound found in the yellow spice turmeric, can increase the effectiveness of chemotherapy.

Curcumin has powerful anti-inflammatory properties and has traditionally been used as an alternative remedy for a host of illnesses.

Now early test results suggest it may be able to reduce the development of bowel cancer.

The studies began after it was noticed that British Asians -- referring to Indians and Pakistanis -- were significantly less likely to develop the disease than non-Asians.

Now a two-year trial by scientists from Cancer Research UK and the University of Leicester aims to recruit for further tests about 40 patients with bowel cancer that has spread to the liver.

"We are very hopeful. You don't often see results like the ones we have had in the laboratory," chief investigator Professor Will Steward said.

"Certainly it is very, very promising and we are cautiously optimistic that we might see an improvement in outcome not just in terms of treating the cancer, making people live longer, giving people a better quality of life but also possibly reducing some of the nasty side-effects of chemotherapy."

Researchers hope that within three years they will have established once-and-for-all that one of our favorite curry ingredients is helping to prevent bowel cancer.

Hoda says: Why wait?? Eat more curries and stews with turmeric now!

Garbanzo Bean and Kale Salad

Thai Yellow Curry Paste

Read more here.

  ~ Be Well. ♥

Red Clover

This common plant contains an astonishing 125+ chemical constituents, including many minerals, vitamins, and amino acids. Like soy, it contains genestein, and also daidzein, daidzen, and daidzen-glycoside.  This is one reason former USDA herbalist James Duke, PhD, included red clover flowers as an ingredient in his cancer prevention salad. At Purdue University, scientists showed that an extract of red clover “significantly inhibited” a common carcinogen and decreased its binding to DNA by 30 to 40 percent.

A major active compound was then isolated from the clover and identified as biochanin A.

Red clover tea is sweet tasting and innocuous. Through summer and fall you can usually find red clover growing wild (choose a non-polluted area!). Just use one or two clover heads per cup of tea. You may also include whole fresh red clover heads in salads.

Abstract: The Red Clover (Trifolium pratense) isoflavone biochanin A inhibits aromatase activity and expression.

Cinnamon - The King of Antioxidants

Cinnamon has the highestanti-oxidant strength of all the food sources in nature!

1/4 tsp. of Cinnamon provides 1/4 of the antioxidants you need in a day.

Although there are four main varieties of cinnamon, Ceylon cinnamon and Cassia cinnamon are the most popular.  Ceylon cinnamon is sometimes called true cinnamon. It is more expensive and has a sweet taste. Ceylon cinnamon is sold in specialty stores.  Most cinnamon sold in supermarkets in North America comes from the less expensive variety, Cassia cinnamon.

In traditional Chinese medicine, Cassia cinnamon is used for colds, flatulence, nausea, diarrhea, and painful menstrual periods. It's also believed to improve energy, vitality, and circulation and be particularly useful for people who tend to feel hot in their upper body but have cold feet.

In Ayurveda, cinnamon is used as a remedy for diabetes, indigestion, and colds, and it is often recommended for people with the kapha Ayurvedic type.

• The active compounds in cinnamon are known to have anti-diabetic, anti-septic, local anesthetic and anti-inflammatory properties.
• Cinnamaldehyde in cinnamon-sticks has been found to have anti-clotting action, and may help prevent stroke and coronary artery disease.
• This spice may increase the motility of the intestinal tract.
• It contains  vitamin A, niacin, pantothenic acid, and pyridoxine.
• Cinnamon is an excellent source of flavonoid phenolic anti-oxidants.

Cinnamon may help or treat:

• Type II Diabetes
• Heart Disease
• Ulcers
• High Blood Pressure
• Stroke
• Polycystic ovarian Syndrome
• Yeast infections
• Food Poisoning

Sprinkle on toast, cereal, soups, and berries. Add to stews and rice dishes.

~ Tastefully yours ♥

Black Pepper

Black pepper can be a vital anti-cancer component in your diet. Piperine is the active component in pepper that is believed to prevent the harm that free radicals can cause your body. Piperine also has the ability to enhance the absorption of other beneficial anti-cancer compounds in other foods.

When black pepper is ingested alongside green tea, the absorption of the anti-cancer compound EGCG present in green tea is highly increased.  Also, the body’s absorption of  curcumin (the compound in turmeric) increases by 2000% when you add black pepper!

Read more about curcumin here.

Turmeric (Curcumin)

  Turmeric:  is a bright yellow spice that has an anti-inflammatory effect and demonstrates anticancer as well as antioxidant properties.

 Its primary active ingredient, curcumin, may be useful in the prevention and treatment of stomach, intestinal, colon, skin, and liver cancers. It has been found in studies, that curcumin blocks the growth of human tumors and prevents tumor angiogenesis which basically deprives the tumor of a nutrient source.

Turmeric may be quite useful in colon cancer because of its ability to reduce the levels of COX-2, the enzyme responsible for production of inflammatory molecules.

A teaspoon of turmeric added to soup, salad, or oatmeal is a quick and easy way to increase your curcumin intake. I will also post some dessert recipes (yes, ones that are in harmony with this diet) that use turmeric.

It should be noted that the body’s absorption of the curcumin increases by 2000% when you add black pepper!

The best Curcumin and the one used at M.D. Anderson is: Super Curcumin C-3 formula with bioperene.

On the Internet you can find 120 x 1,000 mg caplets sell for about $30.00, which is pro rated to 25¢ apiece. If you took six of these per day (3 doses of 2 caplets apiece) this would cost $1.50 per day.

~The new Mellow Yellow! ♥