From: http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables-recipes/superfood-salad/#5vg60sFi8HEAFKgd.97
Ingredients
• 2-3 sweet potatoes
• 1 pinch of dried chilli flakes
• 1 pinch of ground coriander
• 1 small pinch of ground cinnamon
• olive oil
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup quinoa
• 1 head broccoli
• 1/4 cup mixed nuts , such as walnuts, almonds and Brazil nuts
• 1 pomegranate
• extra virgin olive oil
• 2 limes , juice of
• 1 splash of balsamic vinegar
• sprouts
• 1 fresh red chilli
• 1 ripe avocado
• To serve:
• sprouts
• 20 g feta cheese
Method
Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/gas 6. Scrub and chop the sweet potatoes into 1/2 inch or bite size chunks. Place into a roasting tray with the chilli flakes, ground cinnamon, a drizzle of olive oil and a little salt and pepper, then toss well. Spread out into an even layer and place in the hot oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden and crisp.
Meanwhile, cook the quinoa according to the packet instructions in a medium pan of boiling salted water. Click off and slice the broccoli into small florets, then halve and finely slice the stalk. Place into a heatproof colander and rest it over the quinoa pan. Cover and steam for 3 minutes, or until just tender. Once cooked, drain and rinse the quinoa under cold running water, then leave to cool along with the broccoli. Remove the sweet potato from the oven and leave it to cool, too.
Meanwhile, toast the nuts in a dry frying pan over a medium-high heat for 2 to 3 minutes, then transfer to a pestle and mortar and crush lightly. Halve the pomegranate and squeeze the juice from one half into a large bowl. Add 3 times as much extra virgin olive oil (I didn't think it needed this much oil), the lime juice and balsamic vinegar. Whisk well and season to taste.
Add the cooled broccoli and sprouts to the dressing. Finely slice the chilli and add to the bowl along with the quinoa and sweet potato. Toss well, spread out on a serving platter, then scoop out and dot over the avocado flesh. Bash the reserved pomegranate half with a wooden spoon so the seeds come tumbling out and scatter these over the platter along with the nuts, place sprouts on top, then serve with a crumbling of feta cheese.
Read more at http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables-recipes/superfood-salad/#2ptx1VAyxuQ0RbFt.99
Sunday, November 8, 2015
How to Increase Collagen By Eating the Right Foods
From http://www.healthcentral.com/skin-care/c/742375/55533/increase-eating/
When you pass the cosmetic counter these days, all you seem to see are anti-wrinkle creams. Do these products actually work and do they really keep your skin looking younger? The anti aging industry is a huge business. Many of us want to look younger, which makes it easy for these big companies to convince us, their cream with collagen will do the trick.
Most of these anti-wrinkle creams containing collagen and elastin, and won't do anything for us at all due to the fact that that these two ingredients are structurally too dense to readily enter our skin. Unless both of these substances undergo extensive processing that will allow them to be absorbable then they will stay on the surface of the skin doing nothing.
Collagen is a type of protein, and works with keratin to provide the skin with strength, smoothness, elasticity and resilience. It is produced by the skin and other parts of the body. When you are young, you have an abundance of collagen in your body, which is why young children have such lovely shiny hair and smooth skin. It is referred to, as the cement which holds everything together. As you age collagen production declines and weakening of the skin occurs, this is when skin wrinkles, necks become saggy, lines form around eyes and mouth.
The skin is made up of three layers, epidermis, dermis and hypodermis. The second layer of the skin (dermis) is where the protein collagen is found. Collagen molecules are bundled together throughout the dermis.
Always remember, anti aging facial creams with chemicals in them can actually age you instead of reversing aging. If these creams are not effective, what can be done to help stimulate skin cells , in order to boost collagen production.
There are ways to help you increase the collagen in your skin, so you have to know what nutrients your body really needs to do this.
Soy products such as soymik and cheese contain an element known as genistein. The presence of genistein gives soy products their collagen production qualities, as well as helping to block enzymes that tend to break down and age the skin. Just about any soy product contains enough genistein to be helpful, including soy products that have been developed as substitutes for meat products.
Dark green vegetables are also excellent examples of food containing collagen producing agents. Add drak green leafy veggies such as spinach, cabbage and kale to your diet every day. They are packed with an antioxidant called lutein. You need 10 mg to get results - which equates to about 4oz. of spinach or 2oz. of kale. Recent French research suggests this will boost skin hydration and elasticity, fighting wrinkles. Rich in Vitamin C, regular consumption of kale, spinach,collards, and asparagus help to strengthen the body's ability to manufacture collagen and to utilize the protein effectively.
Beans help your body produce a vital anti-ageing substance called hyaluronic acid. Aim for at least two tablespoons of beans each day - broad or butter beans make a great substitute for mashed potatoes.
Red fruits and vegetables also are excellent sources to up the collagen content of foods in the diet. The presence of lycopenesl in these types of foods helps to act as
antioxidants, which in turn increases collagen production. Try adding red peppers, beets, and fresh or stewed tomatoes to the diet. Also include sweet potatoes, carrots and more. Research from Dr Ronald Watson at the University of Arizona has found that the antioxidants in red, yellow and orange foods build up under the skin creating extra UV protection. "The effect is so strong that eating six portions a day for about two months will build a natural barrier equivalent to a factor four sunscreen," says Dr Watson.
Vitamin C rich fruits and vegetables are natural sources of collagen production. You should try to include citrus fruits like oranges, lemons and strawberies into your daily diet.
Prunes One of the biggest causes of skin aeing is attack by substances called free radicals, that break down healthy skin tissues. Antioxidants helps neutralise these free radicals before they can do any damage - and prunes are the fruit containing the absolute highest level of antioxidants. Blueberries are a close second. Eat five to six prunes, or a small basket of blueberries, daily to get a great health boost .
Omega Acids also help to create an ideal environment for collagen production. Fish such as salmon and turna are excllent sources of omega fatty acids. Nuts such as cashews, pecans, almonds and Brazil nuts contain healthy amounts as well.
Flaxseed is a major sources of the healthy fat omega-3. Skin cells are surrounded by a fatty layer made from this and other fats so, the higher your omega-3 intake the stronger that layer is, and the plumper your skin cells are - which helps disguise lines and wrinkles. Mix it into smoothies or add it to balsamic vinegar and use it as a salad dressing, but try to have a tablespoon each day.
Foods that are rich in sulphur content are also important to collagen production. Among these are green and black olives, fresh cucumbers, and fresh stalks of celery. Working in conjunction with the sulphur, vegetables that are rich in Vitamin A also aid in keeping collagen levels high. Try adding raw carrots, fresh cantaloupe and baked sweet potatoes to the diet for an extra boost.
Turkey contains a vital skin-friendly protein called carnosine that slows down a process in the skin called cross-linking. When this happens, fibres grow into the collagen of the skin making it stiff and inelastic. This then stops it snapping back when you do things like smile, laugh or frown - and this is what causes smile lines or crows feet. Eat turkey two to three times a week.
Chocolate is really is good for your skin. In studies in Germany, it was found that after drinking a cocoa-packed drink, blood flow to the skin was boosted (meaning it gets higher levels of nutrients and moisture). It also seemed to be more protected against UV damage - the number-one skin ager. Only dark chocolate contains enough antioxidants to have effects, though.
Manuka Honey is a special honey from New Zealand with unique healing properties. It has been used in skin care for centuries by the Maori people of New Zealand and it's easy to understand why. When used topically, Active Manuka Honey can restore and rejuvenate your skin. It supports the skin cell renewal process and assists in the formation of stronger collagen protein. As an added benefit, active manuka honey is rich in antioxidants and helps to reduce blemishes.
Rose hips are one of the plants extract that can present a rich source of collagen. They contain a high level of vitamin C, which is good for the production of collagen.
Avocado Oil If you want to know how to naturally produce collagen, you need to use face masks or creams that contain avocado oil. Avocado oil is deeply hydrating and highly compatible with the natural oils in your skin. Avocado oil is high in plant steroids, which help to reduce blemishes and age spots. It also helps to regenerate and rejuvenate skin damaged by free radicals. Avocado oil is important because it is scientifically proven to stimulate collagen production and it increases the proportion of soluble collagen in the dermis of your skin. And don't forget to include fresh avocadoes in your favourite salad and soup recipes!
One of the key points to keep in mind is that it is possible to provide everything your body needs to produce collagen by eating a balanced diet. By including some of the foods mentioned here, you will soon begin to see a difference in the quality of your skin tone, as well as have an improved sense of overall health. So toss those "collagen" creams out and start shopping for foods that will actually help you re-grow the collagen you have lost!
- See more at: http://www.healthcentral.com/skin-care/c/742375/55533/increase-eating/#sthash.JS3vyuiY.dpuf
When you pass the cosmetic counter these days, all you seem to see are anti-wrinkle creams. Do these products actually work and do they really keep your skin looking younger? The anti aging industry is a huge business. Many of us want to look younger, which makes it easy for these big companies to convince us, their cream with collagen will do the trick.
Most of these anti-wrinkle creams containing collagen and elastin, and won't do anything for us at all due to the fact that that these two ingredients are structurally too dense to readily enter our skin. Unless both of these substances undergo extensive processing that will allow them to be absorbable then they will stay on the surface of the skin doing nothing.
Collagen is a type of protein, and works with keratin to provide the skin with strength, smoothness, elasticity and resilience. It is produced by the skin and other parts of the body. When you are young, you have an abundance of collagen in your body, which is why young children have such lovely shiny hair and smooth skin. It is referred to, as the cement which holds everything together. As you age collagen production declines and weakening of the skin occurs, this is when skin wrinkles, necks become saggy, lines form around eyes and mouth.
The skin is made up of three layers, epidermis, dermis and hypodermis. The second layer of the skin (dermis) is where the protein collagen is found. Collagen molecules are bundled together throughout the dermis.
Always remember, anti aging facial creams with chemicals in them can actually age you instead of reversing aging. If these creams are not effective, what can be done to help stimulate skin cells , in order to boost collagen production.
There are ways to help you increase the collagen in your skin, so you have to know what nutrients your body really needs to do this.
Soy products such as soymik and cheese contain an element known as genistein. The presence of genistein gives soy products their collagen production qualities, as well as helping to block enzymes that tend to break down and age the skin. Just about any soy product contains enough genistein to be helpful, including soy products that have been developed as substitutes for meat products.
Dark green vegetables are also excellent examples of food containing collagen producing agents. Add drak green leafy veggies such as spinach, cabbage and kale to your diet every day. They are packed with an antioxidant called lutein. You need 10 mg to get results - which equates to about 4oz. of spinach or 2oz. of kale. Recent French research suggests this will boost skin hydration and elasticity, fighting wrinkles. Rich in Vitamin C, regular consumption of kale, spinach,collards, and asparagus help to strengthen the body's ability to manufacture collagen and to utilize the protein effectively.
Beans help your body produce a vital anti-ageing substance called hyaluronic acid. Aim for at least two tablespoons of beans each day - broad or butter beans make a great substitute for mashed potatoes.
Red fruits and vegetables also are excellent sources to up the collagen content of foods in the diet. The presence of lycopenesl in these types of foods helps to act as
antioxidants, which in turn increases collagen production. Try adding red peppers, beets, and fresh or stewed tomatoes to the diet. Also include sweet potatoes, carrots and more. Research from Dr Ronald Watson at the University of Arizona has found that the antioxidants in red, yellow and orange foods build up under the skin creating extra UV protection. "The effect is so strong that eating six portions a day for about two months will build a natural barrier equivalent to a factor four sunscreen," says Dr Watson.
Vitamin C rich fruits and vegetables are natural sources of collagen production. You should try to include citrus fruits like oranges, lemons and strawberies into your daily diet.
Prunes One of the biggest causes of skin aeing is attack by substances called free radicals, that break down healthy skin tissues. Antioxidants helps neutralise these free radicals before they can do any damage - and prunes are the fruit containing the absolute highest level of antioxidants. Blueberries are a close second. Eat five to six prunes, or a small basket of blueberries, daily to get a great health boost .
Omega Acids also help to create an ideal environment for collagen production. Fish such as salmon and turna are excllent sources of omega fatty acids. Nuts such as cashews, pecans, almonds and Brazil nuts contain healthy amounts as well.
Flaxseed is a major sources of the healthy fat omega-3. Skin cells are surrounded by a fatty layer made from this and other fats so, the higher your omega-3 intake the stronger that layer is, and the plumper your skin cells are - which helps disguise lines and wrinkles. Mix it into smoothies or add it to balsamic vinegar and use it as a salad dressing, but try to have a tablespoon each day.
Foods that are rich in sulphur content are also important to collagen production. Among these are green and black olives, fresh cucumbers, and fresh stalks of celery. Working in conjunction with the sulphur, vegetables that are rich in Vitamin A also aid in keeping collagen levels high. Try adding raw carrots, fresh cantaloupe and baked sweet potatoes to the diet for an extra boost.
Turkey contains a vital skin-friendly protein called carnosine that slows down a process in the skin called cross-linking. When this happens, fibres grow into the collagen of the skin making it stiff and inelastic. This then stops it snapping back when you do things like smile, laugh or frown - and this is what causes smile lines or crows feet. Eat turkey two to three times a week.
Chocolate is really is good for your skin. In studies in Germany, it was found that after drinking a cocoa-packed drink, blood flow to the skin was boosted (meaning it gets higher levels of nutrients and moisture). It also seemed to be more protected against UV damage - the number-one skin ager. Only dark chocolate contains enough antioxidants to have effects, though.
Manuka Honey is a special honey from New Zealand with unique healing properties. It has been used in skin care for centuries by the Maori people of New Zealand and it's easy to understand why. When used topically, Active Manuka Honey can restore and rejuvenate your skin. It supports the skin cell renewal process and assists in the formation of stronger collagen protein. As an added benefit, active manuka honey is rich in antioxidants and helps to reduce blemishes.
Rose hips are one of the plants extract that can present a rich source of collagen. They contain a high level of vitamin C, which is good for the production of collagen.
Avocado Oil If you want to know how to naturally produce collagen, you need to use face masks or creams that contain avocado oil. Avocado oil is deeply hydrating and highly compatible with the natural oils in your skin. Avocado oil is high in plant steroids, which help to reduce blemishes and age spots. It also helps to regenerate and rejuvenate skin damaged by free radicals. Avocado oil is important because it is scientifically proven to stimulate collagen production and it increases the proportion of soluble collagen in the dermis of your skin. And don't forget to include fresh avocadoes in your favourite salad and soup recipes!
One of the key points to keep in mind is that it is possible to provide everything your body needs to produce collagen by eating a balanced diet. By including some of the foods mentioned here, you will soon begin to see a difference in the quality of your skin tone, as well as have an improved sense of overall health. So toss those "collagen" creams out and start shopping for foods that will actually help you re-grow the collagen you have lost!
- See more at: http://www.healthcentral.com/skin-care/c/742375/55533/increase-eating/#sthash.JS3vyuiY.dpuf
Tuesday, July 14, 2015
Chickpea almond butter bake
I found the base recipe on Hummusapein.
1 25oz can organic Chickpeas
1 cup almond butter
1/2 - 1 cup applesauce (sugar free)
2 Tbls ground flaxseed
4 teaspoons baking powder
Directions
1. Pre-heat oven to 350.
2. Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray.
3. Rinse the chickpeas.
4. Put all ingredients into food processor
5. Let it process for several minutes. You want to make sure the beans are well chopped.
6. Once the mix is a similar consistency to hummus, put it into a 9x13 pan.
7. Bake 40-60 minutes. I like it cooked longer rather than shorter. I cook it until the top splits.
1 25oz can organic Chickpeas
1 cup almond butter
1/2 - 1 cup applesauce (sugar free)
2 Tbls ground flaxseed
4 teaspoons baking powder
Directions
1. Pre-heat oven to 350.
2. Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray.
3. Rinse the chickpeas.
4. Put all ingredients into food processor
5. Let it process for several minutes. You want to make sure the beans are well chopped.
6. Once the mix is a similar consistency to hummus, put it into a 9x13 pan.
7. Bake 40-60 minutes. I like it cooked longer rather than shorter. I cook it until the top splits.
Crispy Kale, Brussels Sprouts, and Potato Hash
From: http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2013/10/crispy-kale-brussels-sprouts-potato-hash.html
Servings: 2
Ingredients
• 3/4 pound Yukon gold potatoes, cut into 3/4-inch chunks
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil, divided
• 12 medium brussels sprouts, finely sliced (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 2 cups chopped, tightly packed kale leaves (about 1/2 bunch)
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce such as Frank's Red Hot
• 1 small onion, finely sliced
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves, divided
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Procedures
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 450°F. In a medium saucepan, cover potatoes with cold salted water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to a simmer and cook until barely tender, about 5 minutes after coming to a boil. Drain potatoes in a colander and let drain for 2 minutes.
2. While potatoes drain, heat 2 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil in a medium non-stick or cast iron skillet over high heat until shimmering. Add potatoes, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring and tossing occasionally, until well-browned on most sides, about 5 minutes. Add remaining vegetable or canola oil, brussels sprouts, and kale leaves and cook, folding occasionally, until kale and sprouts are starting to wilt. Add onions and continue to cook, stirring and folding occasionally, until all vegetables are softened and starting to crisp. Stir in hot sauce and half of parsley, season to taste with salt and pepper, and remove from heat.
3. Make two wells in the vegetables and drizzle each with a few drops of olive oil. Add 1 egg to each. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and drizzle with remaining olive oil. Transfer to oven and cook until eggs are barely set, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining parsley and serve immediately.
Servings: 2
Ingredients
• 3/4 pound Yukon gold potatoes, cut into 3/4-inch chunks
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil, divided
• 12 medium brussels sprouts, finely sliced (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 2 cups chopped, tightly packed kale leaves (about 1/2 bunch)
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce such as Frank's Red Hot
• 1 small onion, finely sliced
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves, divided
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Procedures
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 450°F. In a medium saucepan, cover potatoes with cold salted water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to a simmer and cook until barely tender, about 5 minutes after coming to a boil. Drain potatoes in a colander and let drain for 2 minutes.
2. While potatoes drain, heat 2 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil in a medium non-stick or cast iron skillet over high heat until shimmering. Add potatoes, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring and tossing occasionally, until well-browned on most sides, about 5 minutes. Add remaining vegetable or canola oil, brussels sprouts, and kale leaves and cook, folding occasionally, until kale and sprouts are starting to wilt. Add onions and continue to cook, stirring and folding occasionally, until all vegetables are softened and starting to crisp. Stir in hot sauce and half of parsley, season to taste with salt and pepper, and remove from heat.
3. Make two wells in the vegetables and drizzle each with a few drops of olive oil. Add 1 egg to each. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and drizzle with remaining olive oil. Transfer to oven and cook until eggs are barely set, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining parsley and serve immediately.
Strawberry-Watermelon Water with Basil
From: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipe/strawberry-watermelon-water-basil
Ingredients:
1 pound strawberries
2 large wedges watermelon, each 1 inch thick (about 1/2 pound total)
4 sprigs fresh basil
Method:
Rinse strawberries and hull. Place tops in a large pitcher or bowl. Reserve remainder of strawberries for another use.
Rinse watermelon rind, cut red flesh from rind and add rind to the pitcher. Reserve remainder of watermelon for another use. Rinse basil sprigs, remove leaves and reserve for another use. Break sprigs in half and add to the pitcher. Pour in 2 quarts water and stir.
Cover pitcher and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, at which time the flavors will begin to come through, or overnight, when the water will be infused with flavor. Water keeps for up to 3 days or as long as strawberry tops appear fresh. Add more water to continue infusing if you’d like. Strain water if desired before serving.
Note: This recipe explains how to get the "scraps" from strawberries, watermelon and basil, though in reality, we know you’ll be doing the reverse: saving the trimmings when you prepare produce for summer salads and other dishes.
Ingredients:
1 pound strawberries
2 large wedges watermelon, each 1 inch thick (about 1/2 pound total)
4 sprigs fresh basil
Method:
Rinse strawberries and hull. Place tops in a large pitcher or bowl. Reserve remainder of strawberries for another use.
Rinse watermelon rind, cut red flesh from rind and add rind to the pitcher. Reserve remainder of watermelon for another use. Rinse basil sprigs, remove leaves and reserve for another use. Break sprigs in half and add to the pitcher. Pour in 2 quarts water and stir.
Cover pitcher and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, at which time the flavors will begin to come through, or overnight, when the water will be infused with flavor. Water keeps for up to 3 days or as long as strawberry tops appear fresh. Add more water to continue infusing if you’d like. Strain water if desired before serving.
Note: This recipe explains how to get the "scraps" from strawberries, watermelon and basil, though in reality, we know you’ll be doing the reverse: saving the trimmings when you prepare produce for summer salads and other dishes.
Black Bean Salad with Corn, Red Peppers and Avocado
From: http://www.onceuponachef.com/2010/08/black-bean-salad-with-corn-red-peppers-avocado-lime-cilantro-vinaigrette.html
Servings: 6-8
Ready in 30 minutes
Ingredients
2 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed and drained
3 ears fresh cooked corn, kernels cut off the cob
2 red bell peppers, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons minced shallots, from one medium shallot
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons sugar
9 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, best quality
1 teaspoon lime zest (be sure to zest limes before juicing them)
6 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for garnish
2 Hass avocados, chopped
Instructions
Combine all ingredients except for avocados in a large bowl and mix well. Cover and chill for a few hours or overnight. Right before serving, add avocados and mix gently, being careful not to mash avocados. Garnish with a more chopped cilantro if desired. Serve at room temperature.
Servings: 6-8
Ready in 30 minutes
Ingredients
2 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed and drained
3 ears fresh cooked corn, kernels cut off the cob
2 red bell peppers, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons minced shallots, from one medium shallot
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons sugar
9 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, best quality
1 teaspoon lime zest (be sure to zest limes before juicing them)
6 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for garnish
2 Hass avocados, chopped
Instructions
Combine all ingredients except for avocados in a large bowl and mix well. Cover and chill for a few hours or overnight. Right before serving, add avocados and mix gently, being careful not to mash avocados. Garnish with a more chopped cilantro if desired. Serve at room temperature.
Perfect Pesto
From: http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-perfect-pesto-every-time-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-175471
Makes: 1 cup
Ingredients
5-6 ounces (2 healthy bunches or about 6 cups gently packed) basil leaves, or any other green
1/2 cup pine nuts, or any other nut
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese, or any other hard cheese
1-2 garlic cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4-1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Equipment
Blender or food processor
Instructions
1. Blend Half the Basil With Nuts, Cheese, and Garlic: Combine half of the basil with the nuts, cheese, cloves, and salt in a blender or food processor. Blend continuously until the ingredients are finely chopped.
2. Blend the Rest of the Basil: Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the rest of the basil. Blend until a uniform paste has formed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
3. Stream in the Olive Oil: With the blender running, stream in the olive oil. Less olive oil will make a paste good for spreading on sandwiches and pizzas; more will make a sauce better for pastas and stirring into soup. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and continue blending as needed until the olive oil is emulsified into the basil and the pesto looks uniform.
4. Taste and Adjust: Taste the pesto and add more salt, garlic, nuts or cheese as needed to taste.
5. Storing Pesto: Pesto will darken and brown very quickly, but will still be tasty and fresh for several days. For best appearance, use it right away. If storing, store it in the smallest container possible and thoroughly press the pesto to eliminate air pockets. Pour a little olive oil over the surface, cover, and refrigerate for up to a week. Pesto can also be frozen for several months.
Makes: 1 cup
Ingredients
5-6 ounces (2 healthy bunches or about 6 cups gently packed) basil leaves, or any other green
1/2 cup pine nuts, or any other nut
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese, or any other hard cheese
1-2 garlic cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4-1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Equipment
Blender or food processor
Instructions
1. Blend Half the Basil With Nuts, Cheese, and Garlic: Combine half of the basil with the nuts, cheese, cloves, and salt in a blender or food processor. Blend continuously until the ingredients are finely chopped.
2. Blend the Rest of the Basil: Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the rest of the basil. Blend until a uniform paste has formed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
3. Stream in the Olive Oil: With the blender running, stream in the olive oil. Less olive oil will make a paste good for spreading on sandwiches and pizzas; more will make a sauce better for pastas and stirring into soup. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and continue blending as needed until the olive oil is emulsified into the basil and the pesto looks uniform.
4. Taste and Adjust: Taste the pesto and add more salt, garlic, nuts or cheese as needed to taste.
5. Storing Pesto: Pesto will darken and brown very quickly, but will still be tasty and fresh for several days. For best appearance, use it right away. If storing, store it in the smallest container possible and thoroughly press the pesto to eliminate air pockets. Pour a little olive oil over the surface, cover, and refrigerate for up to a week. Pesto can also be frozen for several months.
Sunday, December 28, 2014
Avacado and Feta Dip
From: Southern Living
Serves: 10-12 appetizer servings
Prep time: 25 min
1 lb tomatoes (about 4 medium), coarsely chopped
3 medium avocados, cubed
1 cup loosely packed fresh basil leves, chopped
1 (8oz) package crumbled feta cheese
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
Tortilla chips
Toss together first 4 ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk together oil and vinegar in a small bowl; pour over tomato mixture, and toss gently to coat tomatoes, avacados, and feta with dressing. Sprinkle with desired amount of salt and pepper. Serve with tortilla chips.
Serves: 10-12 appetizer servings
Prep time: 25 min
1 lb tomatoes (about 4 medium), coarsely chopped
3 medium avocados, cubed
1 cup loosely packed fresh basil leves, chopped
1 (8oz) package crumbled feta cheese
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
Tortilla chips
Toss together first 4 ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk together oil and vinegar in a small bowl; pour over tomato mixture, and toss gently to coat tomatoes, avacados, and feta with dressing. Sprinkle with desired amount of salt and pepper. Serve with tortilla chips.
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Our Year of No Sugar: One Family’s Grand Adventure
I thought this was an interesting article by Eve Schaub. This is the link to it http://www.everydayhealth.com/columns/my-health-story/year-of-no-sugar-one-family-grand-adventure/
Once upon a time, I was healthy; at least I thought I was.
Sure, I lacked enough energy to get me through the day, but with all the commercials on TV touting energy drinks for America’s tired masses, I always assumed I wasn’t the only one suffering. And sure, everyone in my family dreaded the coming cold and flu season, but again, I thought come January everyone develops some degree of germophobia.
At least, that’s what I thought until I heard some disturbing new information about the effects of sugar. According to several experts, sugar is the thing that is making so many Americans fat and sick. The more I thought about it the more this made sense to me — a lot of sense. One in seven Americans has metabolic syndrome. One in three Americans is obese. The rate of diabetes is skyrocketing and cardiovascular disease is America’s number one killer.
According to this theory, all of these maladies and more can be traced back to one large toxic presence in our diet… sugar.
A Bright Idea
I took all of this newfound knowledge and formulated an idea. I wanted to see how hard it would be to have our family — me, my husband, and our two children (ages 6 and 11) — spend an entire year eating foods that contained no added sugar. We’d cut out anything with an added sweetener, be it table sugar, honey, molasses, maple syrup, agave or fruit juice. We also excluded anything made with fake sugar or sugar alcohols. Unless the sweetness was attached to its original source (e.g., a piece of fruit), we didn’t eat it.
Once we started looking we found sugar in the most amazing places: tortillas, sausages, chicken broth, salad dressing, cold cuts, crackers, mayonnaise, bacon, bread, and even baby food. Why add all of this sugar? To make these items more palatable, add shelf life, and make packaged food production ever cheaper.
Call me crazy, but avoiding added sugar for a year struck me as a grand adventure. I was curious as to what would happen. I wanted to know how hard it would be, what interesting things could happen, how my cooking and shopping would change. After continuing my research, I was convinced removing sugar would make us all healthier. What I didn’t expect was how not eating sugar would make me feel better in a very real and tangible way.
A Sugar-Free Year Later
It was subtle, but noticeable; the longer I went on eating without added sugar, the better and more energetic I felt. If I doubted the connection, something happened next which would prove it to me: my husband’s birthday.
During our year of no sugar, one of the rules was that, as a family, we could have one actual sugar-containing dessert per month; if it was your birthday, you got to choose the dessert. By the time September rolled around we noticed our palates starting to change, and slowly, we began enjoying our monthly “treat” less and less.
But when we ate the decadent multi-layered banana cream pie my husband had requested for his birthday celebration, I knew something new was happening. Not only did I not enjoy my slice of pie, I couldn’t even finish it. It tasted sickly sweet to my now sensitive palate. It actually made my teeth hurt. My head began to pound and my heart began to race; I felt awful.
It took a good hour lying on the couch holding my head before I began to recover. “Geez,” I thought, “has sugar always made me feel bad, but because it was everywhere, I just never noticed it before?”
After our year of no sugar ended, I went back and counted the absences my kids had in school and compared them to those of previous years. The difference was dramatic. My older daughter, Greta, went from missing 15 days the year before to missing only two.
Now that our year of no sugar is over, we’ll occasionally indulge, but the way we eat it is very different. We appreciate sugar in drastically smaller amounts, avoid it in everyday foods (that it shouldn’t be in in the first place), and save dessert for truly special occasions. My body seems to be thanking me for it. I don’t worry about running out of energy. And when flu season comes around I somehow no longer feel the urge to go and hide with my children under the bed. But if we do come down with something, our bodies are better equipped to fight it. We get sick less and get well faster. Much to my surprise, after our no-sugar life, we all feel healthier and stronger. And that is nothing to sneeze at.
Eve O. Schaub is the author of Year of No Sugar: A Memoir. She holds a BA and a BFA from Cornell University, and a MFA from the Rochester Institute of Technology. Her personal essays have been featured many times on the Albany, New York, NPR station WAMC. You can join Schaub’s family and take your own Day of No Sugar Challenge on April 9, 2014.
Once upon a time, I was healthy; at least I thought I was.
Sure, I lacked enough energy to get me through the day, but with all the commercials on TV touting energy drinks for America’s tired masses, I always assumed I wasn’t the only one suffering. And sure, everyone in my family dreaded the coming cold and flu season, but again, I thought come January everyone develops some degree of germophobia.
At least, that’s what I thought until I heard some disturbing new information about the effects of sugar. According to several experts, sugar is the thing that is making so many Americans fat and sick. The more I thought about it the more this made sense to me — a lot of sense. One in seven Americans has metabolic syndrome. One in three Americans is obese. The rate of diabetes is skyrocketing and cardiovascular disease is America’s number one killer.
According to this theory, all of these maladies and more can be traced back to one large toxic presence in our diet… sugar.
A Bright Idea
I took all of this newfound knowledge and formulated an idea. I wanted to see how hard it would be to have our family — me, my husband, and our two children (ages 6 and 11) — spend an entire year eating foods that contained no added sugar. We’d cut out anything with an added sweetener, be it table sugar, honey, molasses, maple syrup, agave or fruit juice. We also excluded anything made with fake sugar or sugar alcohols. Unless the sweetness was attached to its original source (e.g., a piece of fruit), we didn’t eat it.
Once we started looking we found sugar in the most amazing places: tortillas, sausages, chicken broth, salad dressing, cold cuts, crackers, mayonnaise, bacon, bread, and even baby food. Why add all of this sugar? To make these items more palatable, add shelf life, and make packaged food production ever cheaper.
Call me crazy, but avoiding added sugar for a year struck me as a grand adventure. I was curious as to what would happen. I wanted to know how hard it would be, what interesting things could happen, how my cooking and shopping would change. After continuing my research, I was convinced removing sugar would make us all healthier. What I didn’t expect was how not eating sugar would make me feel better in a very real and tangible way.
A Sugar-Free Year Later
It was subtle, but noticeable; the longer I went on eating without added sugar, the better and more energetic I felt. If I doubted the connection, something happened next which would prove it to me: my husband’s birthday.
During our year of no sugar, one of the rules was that, as a family, we could have one actual sugar-containing dessert per month; if it was your birthday, you got to choose the dessert. By the time September rolled around we noticed our palates starting to change, and slowly, we began enjoying our monthly “treat” less and less.
But when we ate the decadent multi-layered banana cream pie my husband had requested for his birthday celebration, I knew something new was happening. Not only did I not enjoy my slice of pie, I couldn’t even finish it. It tasted sickly sweet to my now sensitive palate. It actually made my teeth hurt. My head began to pound and my heart began to race; I felt awful.
It took a good hour lying on the couch holding my head before I began to recover. “Geez,” I thought, “has sugar always made me feel bad, but because it was everywhere, I just never noticed it before?”
After our year of no sugar ended, I went back and counted the absences my kids had in school and compared them to those of previous years. The difference was dramatic. My older daughter, Greta, went from missing 15 days the year before to missing only two.
Now that our year of no sugar is over, we’ll occasionally indulge, but the way we eat it is very different. We appreciate sugar in drastically smaller amounts, avoid it in everyday foods (that it shouldn’t be in in the first place), and save dessert for truly special occasions. My body seems to be thanking me for it. I don’t worry about running out of energy. And when flu season comes around I somehow no longer feel the urge to go and hide with my children under the bed. But if we do come down with something, our bodies are better equipped to fight it. We get sick less and get well faster. Much to my surprise, after our no-sugar life, we all feel healthier and stronger. And that is nothing to sneeze at.
Eve O. Schaub is the author of Year of No Sugar: A Memoir. She holds a BA and a BFA from Cornell University, and a MFA from the Rochester Institute of Technology. Her personal essays have been featured many times on the Albany, New York, NPR station WAMC. You can join Schaub’s family and take your own Day of No Sugar Challenge on April 9, 2014.
Sunday, October 12, 2014
Magnesium Balances Calcium and Rescues the Heart
From: http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/magnesium-balances-calcium-and-rescues-the-heart/
I found this article in the Well Being Journal, and I thought it was very interesting. I wanted to share it with you.
By Scott Miners, editor, Well Being Journal, Vol. 23, No. 4.
Carolyn Dean, M.D., author of The Magnesium Miracle, states that up to 80 percent of the population in the U.S. is deficient in magnesium. Magnesium is the mineral that activates nerves and muscles, including the muscle cells in the heart. It attaches to adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the energy molecule of the body, to catalyze stored energy. ATP, she writes, “created in mitochondria, is the main source of energy in our cells, and it must be bound to a magnesium ion (MgATP) in order to be biologically active. This is likely the most important function of magnesium, because ATP is made in each of the 100 trillion cells in our body.”1
Health coach Margie King writes that researchers in China found that for every 50 mg per day increase in magnesium, colon cancer was reduced by 7 percent, and these findings mirrored a British study that found such cancer rates decreased by 13 percent. The recommended daily magnesium intake is 420 mg for men and 320 mg for women, but most U.S. citizens get only about 20 percent of that amount per day.2
King writes that recent research from the Human Genome Project reveals that over 3,500 proteins have binding sites for magnesium, indicating that the body has widespread need for the mineral. Among the easiest to detect potential signs of magnesium deficiency are constipation and other digestive problems, irregularities in menstrual flow and reproductive health, muscle spasms, nocturnal leg cramps, and migraine headaches. Magnesium is important for maintaining optimal heart rhythm, blood pressure, muscle and nerve function, blood sugar regulation, and brain health.
Whole foods, especially those with high chlorophyll levels, can contain significant magnesium levels, as chlorophyll has a magnesium atom at its center. Seaweeds and dark, leafy green vegetables such as chard and kale are high in magnesium, as are legumes, green beans, almonds, cashews, filberts, pumpkin and sesame seeds. However, unless you eat significant amounts of these foods it can be difficult to get the recommended amount of magnesium, and even these foods may have low magnesium levels depending upon the soils that nourished them.
Dean has researched magnesium and its role extensively, and among other things, she has found that it aids in digestion of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats and is a building block for RNA and DNA; it is also a precursor for neurotransmitters such as serotonin. Dean says she did not learn about magnesium in medical school, as it’s not a drug or a medication. She learned about it when she took naturopathic training, during which she found that her heart palpitations and nocturnal leg cramps were occurring because she was magnesium deficient.
She discovered that generally people get a laxative effect from magnesium supplements if a full day’s dose is taken at once or if the form of the supplement is not readily absorbable. She says that laxative effect is a sort of fail-safe, in case you get too much magnesium at one time. Today, Dean says, people are generally getting too much calcium in relation to magnesium, and this she found by examining numerous blood tests.
Calcium, Magnesium, and the Muscles
When you don’t have enough magnesium, the muscle and nerve functions of the body are diminished, and you can get muscle cramps; this occurs because calcium causes muscles to contract, magnesium helps them relax. Correct mineral balance allows the muscles to cycle naturally. However, with excess calcium there’s too much contraction in the muscle cycle, which, if it affects the heart, can lead to a heart attack. That is why having magnesium regularly is so important for the heart. The left ventricle of the heart requires a lot of magnesium, and the body will steal magnesium from muscles and bones to make sure there’s enough for the heart.
Dean asserts that the recommended daily calcium intake per day of 1,200 to 1,500 mg is twice as high as optimal. Too much calcium causes inflammation, which more researchers are now recognizing as a prime cause of heart disease. The recommendation to take twice as much calcium as magnesium came from a misreading of French researcher Jean Durlach, who actually said, “Never ever go beyond 2 parts calcium to 1 part magnesium in your food, water, or supplement intake”; that’s a 2:1 ratio. However, says Dean, most magnesium experts agree that the best ratio is 1:1. She notes that it’s important to remember that you might be getting enough calcium from your daily diet, since dairy products, nuts, seeds, homemade bone broth, and leafy vegetables all have high calcium content; however, it is difficult to get an adequate amount of magnesium from today’s modern diet.3
Magnesium Supplementation
Dean reports that the cheapest magnesium supplements, such as magnesium oxide, are very poorly absorbed. Ninety-six percent of that magnesium stays in the digestive system, which is fine for the laxative effect, but does little to supply the cells with the mineral. She states that even the citrate, malate, and glycinate forms of magnesium are probably only about 20 percent absorbed. She recommends picometer-sized (a trillionth of a meter) forms of magnesium, which are one hundred percent absorbed at the cellular level and do not produce the laxative effect.
Also, she prefers the forms of magnesium that are delivered topically and absorbed by the skin. They have a non-laxative effect because they bypass the intestines. Epsom salt, which is a magnesium sulfate, is one example; it can be absorbed by the skin through body or foot baths. Magnesium oils, supersaturated magnesium chloride ions dispersed in water and sometimes added to lotions, can also be applied topically. These are absorbed via the skin into the tissues. At full strength, the oil can sting a little, but it is simple to dilute it with lotion or coconut oil. (Ed. Note: Readers may find magnesium products at both www.ancient-minerals.com and www.eidon.com.)
Getting Enough?
Dean writes that the typical serum magnesium blood test is not an accurate way to determine if you are getting enough magnesium, as only 1 percent of the total magnesium in your body is found in the bloodstream. The body will take magnesium out of the bones and muscles to keep that 1 percent in the blood because that is what supplies the heart. Thus, if a doctor does a serum magnesium test he or she will probably find you have a normal reading because the body makes sure there’s 1 percent in the blood. She says the body will ultimately lose storage forms of magnesium if you don’t get enough in your diet or topically. When you keep draining your magnesium over the years, your bones and muscles become depleted, but your blood will maintain a 1 percent reading.
Some signs of magnesium insufficiency, other than muscle cramps, include headache, heart rhythm abnormalities, loss of appetite, fatigue, numbness or tingling, and nausea.
Dean points out that many people who have read her books began taking magnesium for their atrial fibrillation, heart palpitations, as well as fast heart beat, and they found that magnesium alone was calming their hearts. She said that taking magnesium relaxes the heart muscles and corrects calcium imbalances, allowing the muscles to contract and relax gently rather than spastically. Once this happens then the heart arrhythmia disappears.
Drugs and Stress Deplete Magnesium
The adrenal glands need magnesium, and when they are stressed, they burn it up rapidly in order to help keep the muscles relaxed and ward off anxiety and depression. The walls of the blood vessels also tighten, which causes increased blood pressure.
Dean notes that if you are taking prescription drugs, you are more likely than others to need magnesium supplementation. She outlines a potentially vicious cycle: If you see your doctor under stressful conditions, he or she will take your blood pressure and say, “I find it to be elevated.” They might give you a diuretic, but that will drain your magnesium and potassium. They might advise you to eat a banana to replace the potassium, but they don’t know about magnesium. Your blood pressure at the next visit will be even higher, because you will have depleted magnesium supplies via the diuretic, so the doctor will worry that your calcium levels are going to rise, and will prescribe a calcium channel blocker. Most doctors don’t know that magnesium is a natural calcium channel blocker.
Dean then says, “They’ll also put you on an angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor, another blood pressure drug…. So, you go away with three drugs now. After two or three months, you come back and have blood taken to make sure the drugs aren’t hurting your liver…. But all of a sudden your cholesterol is elevated; your blood sugar is elevated…. The doctor says, ‘Oh, we caught your cholesterol. We just caught your blood sugar. We can put you on medications.” Dean goes on to say that they didn’t catch these conditions; they caused them. The more you reduce your magnesium, the more your cholesterol will go out of control. She notes magnesium is important to balance an enzyme used in the manufacture of cholesterol in the body; magnesium helps to stabilize cholesterol.3
Dean states additionally that Statin drugs destroy an enzyme that magnesium needs. Also, in a side note, she mentions that one of the signs of diabetes is low magnesium. When your body is magnesium deficient, she says, you can end up with high blood pressure, but it’s not because of a lack of medications, as these are likely to lower your magnesium levels. Dean says, “We’ve got an increasingly difficult problem in allopathic prescriptive medicine.”3
“When I went to medical school in the mid 1970s,” she states, “the average cholesterol was 250. Now doctors are trying to get you to hammer it down below 200. This is a ploy to get people on statin drugs.… We need our cholesterol. Our body makes 80 percent of the cholesterol we use. Cholesterol is an antioxidant. Cholesterol is a precursor to all the hormones in your body. If you’re a man and you’re on a statin drug that [depletes] your cholesterol, you’re going to need Viagra because your hormones are so beaten down. Every drug that is prescribed, I think, probably decreases your magnesium levels.”3
Dean cites her studies with Mildred Seelig, a medical doctor who was hired by a pharmaceutical company “to measure the levels of vitamins and minerals in subjects when they took medications.” Seelig became a magnesium expert, because she found that every drug she tested would elevate magnesium levels, which meant to her that the body would take magnesium out of storage sites to support the liver, which was trying to detoxify the drug. Seelig told her bosses that she thought the reason the drugs looked like they were working for the first six to eight weeks could be due to their elevation of magnesium levels in the body. Her bosses weren’t interested, and Seelig left that work to research magnesium for the rest of her life.
Seelig reasoned that after the first six to eight weeks of drug use, the magnesium levels got so low that side effects started to be noticed. Dean says, “We know that most drug trials [last] six to eight weeks before the side effects really implode on a person…. [Now] I’m always looking at drugs, their side effects, and their interaction with magnesium.” She adds that the fluoride drug companies recently have been putting into cholesterol-lowering, anti-anxiety, and painkilling drugs binds with magnesium causing magnesium elimination. Some side effects are muscle pain, muscle tightness, and muscle spasm. She says doctors only recognize drug side effects 4 percent of the time because they do not want to believe they are harming their patients via their prescriptions. More, drug intake also causes inflammation.3
Dean has a blog at www.drcarolyndean.com where she writes about magnesium and the heart and how most doctors do not understand the link. For example, “One doctor actually said to a patient who had just had a heart attack, ‘Well, you have to take these five drugs.’ They’re three drugs for high blood pressure, one for cholesterol, and one for blood sugar. Even if you don’t have high blood pressure, cholesterol, or blood sugar, you will be put on these drugs.” Dean indicated that if this patient were to ask his or her doctor, “Can I take magnesium?” most doctors would say, “No, that’ll interfere with the drugs….”
To the contrary, says Dean, the magnesium will interfere with the blood pressure drug because it will help your blood pressure go down. So, you won’t need the drug. The magnesium will interfere with the cholesterol drug because it’ll lower your cholesterol—same with your blood sugar drugs. She finishes by saying, “So, keep taking magnesium. Take it in the various sources: the picometer-sized magnesium, Epsom salts, and so on. Take an oxide if you’re constipated…, you may need the magnesium oxide, but take the other ones as well. My message is to take magnesium. It is your new best friend.”3
Editor’s Note: See The Magnesium Advocacy Group’s Facebook page as well as the article later in this issue, page 40, titled, “Vitamin K2 Can Remove Calcium Deposits from Arteries.”
Scott E. Miners is executive editor of Well Being Journal.
References
1. Dean C. The Magnesium Miracle. Ballantine Books, 2014, eBook Edition.
2. King M. “Magnesium Lowers Colorectal Cancer Risk,” www.greenmedinfo.com.
3. “A Special Interview with Carolyn Dean,” http://mercola.fileburst.com/PDF/ExpertInterviewTranscripts/Interview-CarolynDean.pdf.
Originally published in Well Being Journal, Vol. 23, No. 4.
I found this article in the Well Being Journal, and I thought it was very interesting. I wanted to share it with you.
By Scott Miners, editor, Well Being Journal, Vol. 23, No. 4.
Carolyn Dean, M.D., author of The Magnesium Miracle, states that up to 80 percent of the population in the U.S. is deficient in magnesium. Magnesium is the mineral that activates nerves and muscles, including the muscle cells in the heart. It attaches to adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the energy molecule of the body, to catalyze stored energy. ATP, she writes, “created in mitochondria, is the main source of energy in our cells, and it must be bound to a magnesium ion (MgATP) in order to be biologically active. This is likely the most important function of magnesium, because ATP is made in each of the 100 trillion cells in our body.”1
Health coach Margie King writes that researchers in China found that for every 50 mg per day increase in magnesium, colon cancer was reduced by 7 percent, and these findings mirrored a British study that found such cancer rates decreased by 13 percent. The recommended daily magnesium intake is 420 mg for men and 320 mg for women, but most U.S. citizens get only about 20 percent of that amount per day.2
King writes that recent research from the Human Genome Project reveals that over 3,500 proteins have binding sites for magnesium, indicating that the body has widespread need for the mineral. Among the easiest to detect potential signs of magnesium deficiency are constipation and other digestive problems, irregularities in menstrual flow and reproductive health, muscle spasms, nocturnal leg cramps, and migraine headaches. Magnesium is important for maintaining optimal heart rhythm, blood pressure, muscle and nerve function, blood sugar regulation, and brain health.
Whole foods, especially those with high chlorophyll levels, can contain significant magnesium levels, as chlorophyll has a magnesium atom at its center. Seaweeds and dark, leafy green vegetables such as chard and kale are high in magnesium, as are legumes, green beans, almonds, cashews, filberts, pumpkin and sesame seeds. However, unless you eat significant amounts of these foods it can be difficult to get the recommended amount of magnesium, and even these foods may have low magnesium levels depending upon the soils that nourished them.
Dean has researched magnesium and its role extensively, and among other things, she has found that it aids in digestion of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats and is a building block for RNA and DNA; it is also a precursor for neurotransmitters such as serotonin. Dean says she did not learn about magnesium in medical school, as it’s not a drug or a medication. She learned about it when she took naturopathic training, during which she found that her heart palpitations and nocturnal leg cramps were occurring because she was magnesium deficient.
She discovered that generally people get a laxative effect from magnesium supplements if a full day’s dose is taken at once or if the form of the supplement is not readily absorbable. She says that laxative effect is a sort of fail-safe, in case you get too much magnesium at one time. Today, Dean says, people are generally getting too much calcium in relation to magnesium, and this she found by examining numerous blood tests.
Calcium, Magnesium, and the Muscles
When you don’t have enough magnesium, the muscle and nerve functions of the body are diminished, and you can get muscle cramps; this occurs because calcium causes muscles to contract, magnesium helps them relax. Correct mineral balance allows the muscles to cycle naturally. However, with excess calcium there’s too much contraction in the muscle cycle, which, if it affects the heart, can lead to a heart attack. That is why having magnesium regularly is so important for the heart. The left ventricle of the heart requires a lot of magnesium, and the body will steal magnesium from muscles and bones to make sure there’s enough for the heart.
Dean asserts that the recommended daily calcium intake per day of 1,200 to 1,500 mg is twice as high as optimal. Too much calcium causes inflammation, which more researchers are now recognizing as a prime cause of heart disease. The recommendation to take twice as much calcium as magnesium came from a misreading of French researcher Jean Durlach, who actually said, “Never ever go beyond 2 parts calcium to 1 part magnesium in your food, water, or supplement intake”; that’s a 2:1 ratio. However, says Dean, most magnesium experts agree that the best ratio is 1:1. She notes that it’s important to remember that you might be getting enough calcium from your daily diet, since dairy products, nuts, seeds, homemade bone broth, and leafy vegetables all have high calcium content; however, it is difficult to get an adequate amount of magnesium from today’s modern diet.3
Magnesium Supplementation
Dean reports that the cheapest magnesium supplements, such as magnesium oxide, are very poorly absorbed. Ninety-six percent of that magnesium stays in the digestive system, which is fine for the laxative effect, but does little to supply the cells with the mineral. She states that even the citrate, malate, and glycinate forms of magnesium are probably only about 20 percent absorbed. She recommends picometer-sized (a trillionth of a meter) forms of magnesium, which are one hundred percent absorbed at the cellular level and do not produce the laxative effect.
Also, she prefers the forms of magnesium that are delivered topically and absorbed by the skin. They have a non-laxative effect because they bypass the intestines. Epsom salt, which is a magnesium sulfate, is one example; it can be absorbed by the skin through body or foot baths. Magnesium oils, supersaturated magnesium chloride ions dispersed in water and sometimes added to lotions, can also be applied topically. These are absorbed via the skin into the tissues. At full strength, the oil can sting a little, but it is simple to dilute it with lotion or coconut oil. (Ed. Note: Readers may find magnesium products at both www.ancient-minerals.com and www.eidon.com.)
Getting Enough?
Dean writes that the typical serum magnesium blood test is not an accurate way to determine if you are getting enough magnesium, as only 1 percent of the total magnesium in your body is found in the bloodstream. The body will take magnesium out of the bones and muscles to keep that 1 percent in the blood because that is what supplies the heart. Thus, if a doctor does a serum magnesium test he or she will probably find you have a normal reading because the body makes sure there’s 1 percent in the blood. She says the body will ultimately lose storage forms of magnesium if you don’t get enough in your diet or topically. When you keep draining your magnesium over the years, your bones and muscles become depleted, but your blood will maintain a 1 percent reading.
Some signs of magnesium insufficiency, other than muscle cramps, include headache, heart rhythm abnormalities, loss of appetite, fatigue, numbness or tingling, and nausea.
Dean points out that many people who have read her books began taking magnesium for their atrial fibrillation, heart palpitations, as well as fast heart beat, and they found that magnesium alone was calming their hearts. She said that taking magnesium relaxes the heart muscles and corrects calcium imbalances, allowing the muscles to contract and relax gently rather than spastically. Once this happens then the heart arrhythmia disappears.
Drugs and Stress Deplete Magnesium
The adrenal glands need magnesium, and when they are stressed, they burn it up rapidly in order to help keep the muscles relaxed and ward off anxiety and depression. The walls of the blood vessels also tighten, which causes increased blood pressure.
Dean notes that if you are taking prescription drugs, you are more likely than others to need magnesium supplementation. She outlines a potentially vicious cycle: If you see your doctor under stressful conditions, he or she will take your blood pressure and say, “I find it to be elevated.” They might give you a diuretic, but that will drain your magnesium and potassium. They might advise you to eat a banana to replace the potassium, but they don’t know about magnesium. Your blood pressure at the next visit will be even higher, because you will have depleted magnesium supplies via the diuretic, so the doctor will worry that your calcium levels are going to rise, and will prescribe a calcium channel blocker. Most doctors don’t know that magnesium is a natural calcium channel blocker.
Dean then says, “They’ll also put you on an angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor, another blood pressure drug…. So, you go away with three drugs now. After two or three months, you come back and have blood taken to make sure the drugs aren’t hurting your liver…. But all of a sudden your cholesterol is elevated; your blood sugar is elevated…. The doctor says, ‘Oh, we caught your cholesterol. We just caught your blood sugar. We can put you on medications.” Dean goes on to say that they didn’t catch these conditions; they caused them. The more you reduce your magnesium, the more your cholesterol will go out of control. She notes magnesium is important to balance an enzyme used in the manufacture of cholesterol in the body; magnesium helps to stabilize cholesterol.3
Dean states additionally that Statin drugs destroy an enzyme that magnesium needs. Also, in a side note, she mentions that one of the signs of diabetes is low magnesium. When your body is magnesium deficient, she says, you can end up with high blood pressure, but it’s not because of a lack of medications, as these are likely to lower your magnesium levels. Dean says, “We’ve got an increasingly difficult problem in allopathic prescriptive medicine.”3
“When I went to medical school in the mid 1970s,” she states, “the average cholesterol was 250. Now doctors are trying to get you to hammer it down below 200. This is a ploy to get people on statin drugs.… We need our cholesterol. Our body makes 80 percent of the cholesterol we use. Cholesterol is an antioxidant. Cholesterol is a precursor to all the hormones in your body. If you’re a man and you’re on a statin drug that [depletes] your cholesterol, you’re going to need Viagra because your hormones are so beaten down. Every drug that is prescribed, I think, probably decreases your magnesium levels.”3
Dean cites her studies with Mildred Seelig, a medical doctor who was hired by a pharmaceutical company “to measure the levels of vitamins and minerals in subjects when they took medications.” Seelig became a magnesium expert, because she found that every drug she tested would elevate magnesium levels, which meant to her that the body would take magnesium out of storage sites to support the liver, which was trying to detoxify the drug. Seelig told her bosses that she thought the reason the drugs looked like they were working for the first six to eight weeks could be due to their elevation of magnesium levels in the body. Her bosses weren’t interested, and Seelig left that work to research magnesium for the rest of her life.
Seelig reasoned that after the first six to eight weeks of drug use, the magnesium levels got so low that side effects started to be noticed. Dean says, “We know that most drug trials [last] six to eight weeks before the side effects really implode on a person…. [Now] I’m always looking at drugs, their side effects, and their interaction with magnesium.” She adds that the fluoride drug companies recently have been putting into cholesterol-lowering, anti-anxiety, and painkilling drugs binds with magnesium causing magnesium elimination. Some side effects are muscle pain, muscle tightness, and muscle spasm. She says doctors only recognize drug side effects 4 percent of the time because they do not want to believe they are harming their patients via their prescriptions. More, drug intake also causes inflammation.3
Dean has a blog at www.drcarolyndean.com where she writes about magnesium and the heart and how most doctors do not understand the link. For example, “One doctor actually said to a patient who had just had a heart attack, ‘Well, you have to take these five drugs.’ They’re three drugs for high blood pressure, one for cholesterol, and one for blood sugar. Even if you don’t have high blood pressure, cholesterol, or blood sugar, you will be put on these drugs.” Dean indicated that if this patient were to ask his or her doctor, “Can I take magnesium?” most doctors would say, “No, that’ll interfere with the drugs….”
To the contrary, says Dean, the magnesium will interfere with the blood pressure drug because it will help your blood pressure go down. So, you won’t need the drug. The magnesium will interfere with the cholesterol drug because it’ll lower your cholesterol—same with your blood sugar drugs. She finishes by saying, “So, keep taking magnesium. Take it in the various sources: the picometer-sized magnesium, Epsom salts, and so on. Take an oxide if you’re constipated…, you may need the magnesium oxide, but take the other ones as well. My message is to take magnesium. It is your new best friend.”3
Editor’s Note: See The Magnesium Advocacy Group’s Facebook page as well as the article later in this issue, page 40, titled, “Vitamin K2 Can Remove Calcium Deposits from Arteries.”
Scott E. Miners is executive editor of Well Being Journal.
References
1. Dean C. The Magnesium Miracle. Ballantine Books, 2014, eBook Edition.
2. King M. “Magnesium Lowers Colorectal Cancer Risk,” www.greenmedinfo.com.
3. “A Special Interview with Carolyn Dean,” http://mercola.fileburst.com/PDF/ExpertInterviewTranscripts/Interview-CarolynDean.pdf.
Originally published in Well Being Journal, Vol. 23, No. 4.
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