How to use Coconut oil

Learn how the coconut tree provides all-around benefits -- from its husks and roots to coconut oil -- through our infographic "Plant of Life: An Infographic on Various Coconut Uses." Use the embed code to share it on your website.

Top 10 Anti-Aging Herbs and Spices

Alternative health guru Dr. Joseph Mercola reveals his top 10 herbs and spices to prevent disease and combat aging.
 http://www.mercola.com/

Dr. Joseph Mercola’s unorthodox methods have made him one of the most controversial figures in the world of alternative medicine. Here, Dr. Mercola counts down the 10 most powerful spices you may already have in your kitchen that can fight aging and prevent disease. He suggests you incorporate a variety of these spices into your daily meals to maximize your benefit – consuming just 1 teaspoon a day of any of these herbs and spices can have a positive effect on your health. When choosing between fresh or dried herbs, Dr. Mercola suggests that the fresh variety is more powerful. In general, the more fragrant the herb, the stronger its benefits. You can, however, get nearly the same benefits from dried herbs if you store them in an airtight container out of direct sunlight.

10. Protect Your Skin Cells: Italian Spice
Damaged skin cells make us look older prematurely. Dr. Mercola recommends adding an Italian spice blend to your cooking, which may provide vital protection on the cellular level. Basil, Italian spice blend’s key ingredient, is loaded with antioxidants that can protect your cells from harmful free radicals – the damaging molecules that also contribute to heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis and Alzheimer's disease.

9. Heal From Infections Faster: Thyme
Bacterial infections can range from a common sore throat to potentially deadly pneumonia. Studies have shown that thyme can kill MSRA bacteria, which lead to staph infections. Additionally, extracts of thyme are used in mouthwashes to treat inflammations and in cough drops to treat throat infections.

8. Fight Inflammation: Sage
Inflammation on the cellular level is the main reason the body ages faster than it should. Dr. Mercola adds sage to his meals to fight inflammation. This herb can help fight inflammation caused by rheumatoid arthritis, asthma and atherosclerosis, which causes a hardenening of the arteries.

7. Improve Digestion and Sleep: Marjoram 
A healthy digestive system and a good night’s sleep are essential to your overall health. Studies show that incorporating marjoram into your diet may activate cells that aid digestion. If you’re having trouble sleeping, try adding five drops of marjoram oil, available in health food stores, to a warm bath. The herb’s essential oils may relieve stress, helping you sleep soundly through the night.

6. Immunity Booster: Oregano
Numerous studies have demonstrated the antioxidant properties of oregano. Its active agent, rosmarinic acid, clears out the free radicals that age us and contribute to disease. Additionally, oregano is also one of the strongest and most effective broad-spectrum antibiotics and antifungals out there. It can help kill Candida, or yeast infection, as well as fungal nail infections.

5. Keep Your Heart Young: Apple Pie Spice
Ginger is the key ingredient in this aromatic spice blend. The anti-inflammatory properties of ginger keep your heart young and your arteries clear. Additionally, ginger helps protect against harmful bacteria and fungi. It boosts the immune system and can protect against atherosclerosis by lowering cholesterol levels and preventing the oxidation of LDL (the bad cholesterol). As an additional benefit, ginger is a potent treatment for nausea.

4. Stimulate Digestive Juices: Jamaican Allspice 
Allspice is produced from the fruit of the Pimenta dioica plant and has a complex peppery taste that resembles a mix of cinnamon, juniper, clove and nutmeg. To keep your gut healthy, Dr. Mercola recommends rubbing Jamaican allspice on your meat and vegetables or sprinkling it in your soups. It’s terrific for its anti-gas effects, and it aids digestion. Jamaican allspice also helps keep blood sugar under control, which is one of the primary ways to keep your arteries young.

3. Relieve Stiffness Due to Arthritis: Cinnamon
As we age, many of us may experience muscle and joint pain due to arthritis. Cinnamon contains anti-inflammatory compounds that can help relieve that pain. Furthermore, cinnamon’s antibiotic properties help prevent urinary tract infections, tooth decay and gum disease, and have been shown to kill the harmful bacteria, E.coli.

2. Fight Just About Everything: Cloves
Dr. Mercola describes cloves as “cinnamon on steroids.” Like cinnamon, cloves can be beneficial against muscle pains and arthritis. Of all spices, cloves received the highest ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) Score, meaning it is the highest in antioxidants. Additionally, cloves contain eugenol, which has mild anesthetic benefits useful for toothaches, gum pain, and sore throats. Cloves also offer relief from respiratory ailments such as asthma and bronchitis, and eliminate intestinal parasites, fungi, and bacteria. It makes you wonder, is there anything cloves can’t do?

1. Prevent Cancer and Alzheimer’s: Turmeric 
Far too many of us have felt the effects of cancer and Alzheimer’s disease in our lives. Yet in India, where turmeric is widely used, the prevalence of the four most-common US cancers is 10 times lower. Researchers attribute this, in part, to curcumin, the compound that gives turmeric its yellow color. Laboratory studies suggest that curcumin is effective both in protecting against cancer and in inducing the programmed death of colon cancer cells. Furthermore, population studies have shown that elderly villagers in India appear to have the lowest rate of Alzheimer's disease in the world.

When it comes to combating aging, the best approach is adopting a healthy lifestyle. That means regular physical activity, quality sleep, and packing your diet full of healthy foods. According to Dr. Mercola, adding some or all of these spices to your cooking won’t just spice up your meal, it may just save your life. 

Soy/ Edamame Can Cause Allergic Reactions for Years

This 'Beloved' Food Can Cause Allergic Reactions for Years - and Infertility for Generations!

Posted By Dr. Mercola | March 14 2011 

Soy can be found in almost every product on your grocery store shelves -- corn chips, ice cream, canned tuna and every packaged food you can think of. It goes under names like yeast extract, soy protein, soybean oil, soy lecithin and soy flour.
But soy is one of the top eight allergens that cause immediate reactions such as coughing, sneezing, runny nose, hives, diarrhea, difficulty swallowing and anaphylactic shock.
Delayed allergic responses can also occur several hours to several days after the food is eaten.
According to Mannie Barling and Ashley F. Brooks-Simon on the Blogger News Network:

"To make soy more appetizing, the manufacturers added sugar, synthetic sweeteners, genetically modified high fructose corn sugar, refined salt, artificial flavorings, colors and MSG. So the soy isn't really soy. It is a Frankenfood created for the sole purpose of making a profit from health conscious people trying to live a healthier life."

Sources:

  Blogger News Network November 30, 2010

 

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

The fact that unfermented soy is widely regarded as a health food in the United States is a perfect example of how a brilliant marketing strategy can fool millions.
It all started when the food industry, presented with a quandary over what to do with the byproducts of their ever-growing soybean oil industry, had an idea.
With some processing, and some added flavorings, preservatives, sweeteners, emulsifiers and synthetic nutrients, they turned soy protein isolate (the key ingredient in most soy foods that imitate meat and dairy products), "the food processors' ugly duckling," as Sally Fallon put it, "into a New Age Cinderella."

How Did Soy Become so Popular?

Years ago, tropical oils, such as palm and coconut oil, were commonly used in American food production. Spurred by financial incentives, the industry devised a plan to shift the market from these "exotic" tropical oils to something more "homegrown." As a result, a movement was created to demonize and vilify tropical oils in order to replace them with domestically grown oils such as corn and, primarily, soy.
For the most part, they've been very successful in their campaign to paint soy in a healthy light, and this belief was further propagated by the FDA's 1999 approval of this health claim for soy foods:
"Diets low in saturated fat and cholesterol that include 25 grams of soy protein a day may reduce the risk of heart disease."
Unfortunately, according to the survey Consumer Attitudes About Nutrition 2008 (by the United Soybean Board):

• As of 2007, 85 percent of consumers perceive soy products as healthful
• 33 percent of Americans eat soy foods or beverages at least once a month
• 70 percent of consumers believe soybean oil is good for them
• 84 percent of consumers agree with the FDA's claim that consuming 25 grams of soy protein daily reduces your risk of heart disease

Soy's glowing healthy image is not based on science, however, but rather shrewd marketing and outright lies that have taken root among the masses. The end result is enormous profits for the soy industry and impaired health for most who have been deceived into using unfermented soy long-term.

What You Need to Know About Unfermented Soy

First and foremost, unfermented soy -- the type found in soymilk, soy burgers, soy ice cream and even tofu -- is not a health food.
If you were to carefully review the thousands of studies published on soy, I strongly believe you would reach the same conclusion as I have -- which is, the risks of consuming unfermented soy products FAR outweigh any possible benefits.

Dr. Kaayla Daniel, author of The Whole Soy Story, points out thousands of studies linking soy to malnutrition, digestive distress, immune-system breakdown, thyroid dysfunction, cognitive decline, reproductive disorders and infertility -- even cancer and heart disease.

Here is just a sampling of the health effects that have been linked to soy consumption:

• Breast cancer
• Brain damage
• Infant abnormalities
• Thyroid disorders
• Kidney stones
• Immune system impairment
• Severe, potentially fatal food allergies
• Impaired fertility
• Danger during pregnancy and nursing

8 Top Reasons to Avoid Unfermented Soy

If you're eating soy because you believe it is healthy, please do yourself and your family a favor and click on some of the links above as well as read through the list that follows. You'll quickly see that soy, in its processed form, is not a food you want in your body.

• 91 percent of soy grown in the US is genetically modified (GM)
  
  The genetic modification is done to impart resistance to the toxic herbicide Roundup. While this is meant to increase farming efficiency and provide you with less expensive soy, the downside is that your soy is loaded with this toxic pesticide. The plants also contain genes from bacteria that produce a protein that has never been part of the human food supply.
  
• GM soy has been linked to an increase in allergies. Disturbingly, the only published human feeding study on GM foods ever conducted verified that the gene inserted into GM soy transfers into the DNA of our gut bacteria and continues to function. This means that years after you stop eating GM soy, you may still have a potentially allergenic protein continuously being produced in your intestines.
  
  Even more frightening is the potential for GM soy to cause infertility in future generations, which has been evidenced by recent Russian research.
  
• Soy contains natural toxins known as “anti-nutrients”
  
  Soy foods contain anti-nutritional factors such as saponins, soyatoxin, phytates, protease inhibitors, oxalates, goitrogens and estrogens. Some of these factors interfere with the enzymes you need to digest protein. While a small amount of anti-nutrients would not likely cause a problem, the amount of soy that many Americans are now eating is extremely high.
  
• Soy contains hemagglutinin
  
  Hemagglutinin is a clot-promoting substance that causes your red blood cells to clump together. These clumped cells are unable to properly absorb and distribute oxygen to your tissues.
  
• Soy contains goitrogens
  
  Goitrogens are substances that block the synthesis of thyroid hormones and interfere with iodine metabolism, thereby interfering with your thyroid function.
  
• Soy contains phytates
  
  Phytates (phytic acid) bind to metal ions, preventing the absorption of certain minerals, including calcium, magnesium, iron, and zinc -- all of which are co-factors for optimal biochemistry in your body. This is particularly problematic for vegetarians, because eating meat reduces the mineral-blocking effects of these phytates (so it is helpful -- if you do eat soy -- to also eat meat).
  
• Soy is loaded with the isoflavones genistein and daidzein
  
  Isoflavones are a type of phytoestrogen, which is a plant compound resembling human estrogen. These compounds mimic and sometimes block the hormone estrogen, and have been found to have adverse effects on various human tissues. Soy phytoestrogens are known to disrupt endocrine function, may cause infertility, and may promote breast cancer in women.
  Drinking even two glasses of soy milk daily for one month provides enough of these compounds to alter your menstrual cycle. Although the FDA regulates estrogen-containing products, no warnings exist on soy.
  
• Soy has toxic levels of aluminum and manganese
  
  Soybeans are processed (by acid washing) in aluminum tanks, which can leach high levels of aluminum into the final soy product. Soy formula has up to 80 times higher manganese than is found in human breast milk.
  
• Soy infant formula puts your baby’s health at risk
  
  Nearly 20 percent of U.S. infants are now fed soy formula, but the estrogens in soy can irreversibly harm your baby’s sexual development and reproductive health. Infants fed soy formula take in an estimated five birth control pills’ worth of estrogen every day.
  Infants fed soy formula have up to 20,000 times the amount of estrogen in circulation as those fed other formulas!
  The best way to eliminate non-fermented soy from your diet is to avoid all processed foods and instead purchase whole foods that you prepare yourself. If you do buy packaged foods, you can check the label to see if it contains soy.
  

You can also keep this list of soy foods to AVOID handy:

• Tofu
• TVP (texturized vegetable protein) or soy protein isolate
• Soybean oil
• Soymilk
• Soy cheese, soy ice cream, soy yogurt
• Soy "meat" (meatless products made of TVP)
• Soy protein
• Edamame
• Soy infant formula

Is There a Healthy Way to Eat Soy?

Yes, and that's by choosing fermented soy.
After a long fermentation process, the phytate (which blocks your body's uptake of essential minerals) and anti-nutrient levels of soybeans are reduced, and their beneficial properties become available to your digestive system.
Traditionally fermented soy is the form that has been very popular in many Asian cultures for centuries, and numerous studies suggest it aids in preventing and reducing a variety of diseases including certain forms of heart disease and cancers.
One of the main benefits of fermented soy, especially natto, is that it is the best food source of vitamin K2. Vitamin K2 is essential to preventing osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, and diseases of the brain such as dementia, and protecting you from various cancers including prostate, lung, liver cancer and leukemia.
For these reasons, I strongly recommend adding fermented soy to your diet, in varieties such as the following:

• Tempeh a fermented soybean cake with a firm texture and nutty, mushroom-like flavor.
• Miso, a fermented soybean paste with a salty, buttery texture (commonly used in miso soup).
• Natto, fermented soybeans with a sticky texture and strong, cheese-like flavor.
• Soy sauce, which is traditionally made by fermenting soybeans, salt and enzymes; be wary because many varieties on the market today are made artificially using a chemical process.

These are the soy varieties that will actually support and nourish your health -- unlike the vast majority of processed soy products on the market, which will do nothing but detract from it.

Related Links:

Why Butter Is Better

One of the most healthy whole foods you can include in your diet is butter.
"What?!" I can hear many of you saying, "Isn't butter bad for you? I thought margarine and spreads were better because they're low in saturated fat and cholesterol?"
Be not deceived folks!
Butter is truly better than margarine or other vegetable spreads. Despite unjustified warnings about saturated fat from well-meaning, but misinformed, nutritionists, the list of butter's benefits is impressive indeed:
Vitamins

Butter is a rich source of easily absorbed vitamin A, needed for a wide range of functions in the body, from maintaining good vision, to keeping the endocrine system in top shape. Butter also contains all the other fat-soluble vitamins (E, K, and D).
Minerals

Butter is rich in trace minerals, especially selenium, a powerful antioxidant. Ounce for ounce, butter has more selenium per gram than either whole wheat or garlic. Butter also supplies iodine, needed by the thyroid gland (as well as vitamin A, also needed by the thyroid gland).
Fatty Acids

Butter has appreciable amounts of butyric acid, used by the colon as an energy source. This fatty acid is also a known anti-carcinogen. Lauric acid, a medium chain fatty acid, is a potent antimicrobial and antifungal substance.
Butter also contains conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) which gives excellent protection against cancer. Range-fed cows produce especially high levels of CLA as opposed to "stall fed" cattle.
It pays, then, to get your butter from a cow that has been fed properly.
Butter also has small, but equal, amounts of omega 3 and 6 fatty acids, the so-called essential fatty acids.
Glycospingolipids

These are a special category of fatty acids that protect against gastrointestinal infections, especially in the very young and the elderly. Children, therefore, should not drink skim or low fat milk. Those that do have higher rates of diarrhea than those that drink whole milk.
Cholesterol

Despite all of the misinformation you may have heard, cholesterol is needed to maintain intestinal health, but is also needed for brain and nervous system development in the young. Again, this emphasizes the need for cholesterol-rich foods for children. Human breast milk is extremely high in saturated fat and cholesterol.
Standing in direct opposition to all of these healthful qualities stands margarine and assorted "vegetable oil spreads." While these may be cheaper, you'd never eat them again if you knew how they were made.
All margarines are made from assorted vegetable oils that have been heated to extremely high temperatures. This insures that the oils will become rancid. After that, a nickel catalyst is added, along with hydrogen atoms, to solidify it. Nickel is a toxic heavy metal and amounts always remain in the finished product. Finally, deodorants and colorings are added to remove margarine's horrible smell (from the rancid oils) and unappetizing grey color.
And if that is not enough, in the solidification process, harmful trans-fatty acids are created which are carcinogenic and mutagenic. What would you rather have: a real food with an abundance of healthful qualities or a stick of carcinogenic, bleached, and deodorized slop?
Some of you might be watching your weight and be rather hesitant to add butter into your diet. Have no fear. About 15% of the fatty acids in butter are of the short and medium chain variety which are NOT stored as fat in the body, but are used by the vital organs for energy.
When looking for good quality butter, raw and cultured is best. This might be hard to find, however. Organic butter is your next best thing, with store-bought butter being at the bottom. Remember what we've said about commercially-raised cows; its worth a few extra cents to get high quality butter for you and your family. 

Secrets of Virgin Coconut Oil

An Interview With Brian Shilhavy
Posted By Dr. Mercola

I've written a lot over the years about the countless advantages of coconut oil. So much so, I even considered writing a book about it. Because I have so many irons in the fire along with maintaining my Optimal Wellness Clinic, Brian and Marianita Shilhavy beat me to it. After reading their book, Virgin Coconut Oil: How it has changed people's lives and how it can change yours!, I'm glad they did!

This exceptional book provides a comprehensive look at the health-promoting properties of coconut oil, one of the most misunderstood and overlooked foods of recent times.

Virgin Coconut Oil is probably the most practical book I've read about the health benefits of coconut oil, supported by scientific research and countless testimonies from people whose lives have been changed merely by using coconut oil.

Probably the most delicious section of the Shilhavy's book is the final third, which is devoted to more than 75 delicious recipes for sauces, soups and main dishes.

Busy promoting the new book, Brian Shilhavy chatted via e-mail with me about the many virtues of coconut oil, how it has changed the lives of many people and of simpler times living in the Philippines.

You feature an extensive list of frequently asked questions in the beginning of your book about the advantages of using virgin coconut oil. What makes virgin coconut oil more effective and advantageous than other oils on the market?

Virgin coconut oil's many health benefits come from the medium-chain length of its fatty acids, or triglycerides (MCTs). Most of the other edible oils on the market today are comprised of long-chain fatty acids. MCTs have many health benefits, including raising the body's metabolism, and fighting off pathogens such as viruses, bacteria, funguses and others.

Coconut oil is nature's richest source of MCTs outside of human breast milk. Virgin coconut oil is very stable oil that does not oxidize and break down quickly like other oils. It also has a shelf life of more than two years.

Typically, when one thinks about cooking oils, weight loss rarely comes to mind. Yet your book includes a number of stories about people who have done just that. What's the connection between virgin coconut oil and losing weight?

Well, the word is finally getting out that low-fat diets don't work. Our bodies need fat and depriving ourselves of it can actually lead to an increase in cravings for other foods, such as refined carbohydrates, that do lead to weight gain. Coconut oil is nature's richest source of MCTs that increase metabolic rates and lead to weight loss. MCTs promote what is called thermogenesis.

Thermogenesis increases the body's metabolism, producing energy. This phenomenon has been shown in many scientific studies. We have also found many people have underlying physical conditions that prevent them from losing weight. One of the most common is a low functioning thyroid. Also, many Americans today suffer from poor digestive health. Coconut oil really shines in these areas, improving thyroid function and digestive health.

Your book does a good job balancing the documented scientific research with lively testimonies that illustrate the benefits of virgin coconut oil. That approach makes for an easier read too. Some writers would've stayed away from using consumer testimonies, but you didn't. Why?

These testimonies are the main reason we wrote the book! It is the story of virgin coconut oil and how it has changed people's lives.

The world needs to hear these people's stories, which we receive on almost a daily basis. It is one thing to quote scientific studies, but quite another to hear the stories of people whose lives have actually been changed by a pure, unrefined coconut oil. This book is as much their story, as it is Marianita's and my story.

According to your book, virgin coconut oil has had its biggest impact on thyroid problems. How can thyroid problems be helped with coconut oil?

Hypothyroidism is truly one of the biggest epidemics of our time, and we have met so many people who have been told that their blood tests are normal, and yet find themselves with symptoms of hypothyroidism. There are very few options today offering any kind of hope of dealing with the underlying cause of this condition.

Probably the most dramatic results we have had reported to us are from those who have thyroid problems and have eliminated polyunsaturated oils from their diet, and started incorporating virgin coconut oil in its place. People's body temperatures increase, they have more energy and some, for the first time, are actually able to start losing weight.

Which skin problems can be helped the best by using virgin coconut oil?

We have had probably more testimonies in the area of skin health than any other one area. This is one benefit of coconut oil that has been well known even in the United States for quite some time.

When we first brought virgin coconut oil to the market to the United States in 2002, there were very few other quality coconut oils available, and the few that did exist were almost exclusively marketed for cosmetic purposes. As we began to publish the research on coconut oil as an edible oil -- that is considered a "functional food" by some like Dr. Mary Enig -- many people began to not only apply it to their skin but also consume it.

The result has been fantastic. We have seen reports of success for almost any kind of skin problem for those who both consume the oil and apply it to their skin. Skin problems related to fungal infections seem to be the most positively affected by the healing properties of Virgin Coconut Oil.

One of the more interesting parts of your book was the extended section on recipes. How did you find all those recipes?

All of the recipes were developed by a professional chef in California. Many of them were prepared in our own kitchen where the chef would come on a regular basis to cook for us. Marianita is a certified nutritionist in the Philippines and, of course, knows how to cook traditional Filipino foods with coconut oil. But we had to learn how to incorporate it into a more eclectic American-type menu once we moved back to the United States.

So we worked with the chef for many months developing the recipes. Unlike other coconut recipes that might simply take traditional recipes and just substitute coconut oil as an ingredient, our recipes were actually developed in the kitchen by our chef.

For those trying to get a certain amount of coconut oil into their diet each day, each recipe lists the amount of coconut oil per serving. So it is perfect for those on the coconut diet.

So many people have enjoyed great success adding coconut oil to the diets of their various pets, but no studies have been done to date. Is coconut oil beneficial to pets in different ways than ones enjoyed by their human caretakers?

We first noticed that many animals enjoyed eating coconut when we lived in the Philippines. Our dogs and cats on the farm would try to get the little bits of coconut out of the shell after they had been grated.

The people who made virgin coconut oil for us would take the coconut pulp after the oil had been extracted and feed it to their livestock. From the reports we have received from people here in the United States, the benefits to pets and animals are much the same as for humans. It increases metabolism, fights off infections and leads to a healthier coat of hair.

We have people giving it to race-track horses and one guy running a study right now is giving it to one of his sled-dog teams. The reports we are getting have been phenomenal!

In what way has virgin coconut oil changed your life the most?

Well, we are certainly grateful to the Lord in that it has kept our family healthy. But probably seeing how virgin coconut oil has changed so many other people's lives has affected me more than anything else. It humbles me to see how a completely natural product like this can give such incredible health to people, without being created in a laboratory or by years of labor and expense.

It is a God-given simple crop given to the people of the tropics and known as the "tree of life."

Part of your book is devoted to a memoir of living in the Philippines. You learned a great deal about living healthfully there. What do you miss most about those times?

I miss the simplicity of the agrarian lifestyle in the rural Philippines, where most people can live off the food they grow themselves. People there are so much more connected to their communities where the food is grown, and the traditional knowledge of the plants and herbs are still commonplace.

I also miss growing our own upland rice, pineapples and other foods free of pesticides or other chemicals, or of picking wild berries and fruit that grew everywhere. We had guava and tiny little hot peppers that were literally weeds and would just pop up everywhere without being planted. The Philippines is seen as a poor country, but they actually have incredible wealth in the land where about 50 percent of the population are still family farmers.