Spice extractives are obtained from plant materials by various methods. You may wonder why they are used instead of the actual spice? Well, there are advantages that include standardization of the product as whole spices can be affected by seasonal or year-to-year crop conditions, flavors can be customizable, and they are macroscopically clean and free from viable bacteria.
Did you know there are four levels of eating? Each level reflects an awareness of a person’s overall way of eating. We often don’t put much thought into our eating; but if we take the time to evaluate ourselves, we can become more responsible for our own health. Let’s look at these levels.
When eating a health-promoting diet, it is important to have a great variety of food in your diet. This includes both animal foods and plant foods. We are being encouraged to eat more and more plant-based foods. The challenge can be that many plant-based foods are difficult to digest. I will be doing a series on how to properly prepare foods to release the most nutrients and not challenge our digestive systems.
February is National Heart Month so I thought I would share a few tidbits to keep your heart beating strong.
Fun Heart Facts
A healthy heart pumps 2000 gallons of blood through 60,000 miles of blood vessels every day.
In America, approximately 48% live with some form of cardiovascular disease.
A woman’s heart beats faster than a man’s by about 8 beats.
Doesn’t this just sound like a fun food by its name? As I have shared in other posts, superfoods contain high levels of essential nutrients, both as food and medicinal in their properties. Let’s look at Spirulina.
Maltodextrin is a very common food additive found in many processed foods; it was introduced into our food supply between 1967 and 1973. It is made by cooking starches such as corn, rice, potato, or wheat; then adding acids or enzymes to further break it down. When processing is complete, a water soluble, neutral tasting white powder is formed. It is closely related to corn syrup solids but has less sugar content with no nutritional value.
A couple years ago I shared a post about the Weston A. Price Foundation. The 20-year-old organization focuses on wise traditions in food, farming, and the healing arts. To celebrate 20 years of providing information on diet and health, they are encouraging people to “Take the 50% Pledge!” The pledge asks people to spend at least 50% of their food dollars on direct purchases from local farmers and artisans. The balance spent on celebrating how small the world really is by the choices we have in food. By participating in this pledge, you will be supporting local farms and artisans. This can help build stronger communities for us all.
Have you ever really looked over all the spices at the grocery store and wondered what each one is used for? The basic spices like black pepper and cinnamon are pretty well known, but what about all the other ones? How do you know how to use each spice? Do these spices have any health benefits? Well, I am starting a series where we will look at different spices including health benefits and how to use them. It turns out that many ancient manuscripts document the use of spices for medicinal treatments. Spices are powerhouses of nutrition that we can add to our food, enjoy the great flavors, and reap the health benefits. Let’s start this journey with the spice cardamom.
What does creativity have to with your overall health and wellness? It turns out a lot! In more recent years, there has been actual research on the subject; and the findings suggest that being creative is useful for both our mental and physical health.
Phosphoric acid is clear, odorless, and has a syrupy consistency. It has many names: E338, orthophosphoric acid, o-phosphoric acid, hydrogen phosphate, triphosphoric acid, pyrophosphoric acid, and phosphoric (V) acid. It is a man-made compound made by adding three hydrogen atoms to phosphate.