Health Spotlight: Berries

Today we are going to spotlight one of our family’s favorite foods.

Berries

I confess that, even though I have a master’s degree in nutrition and should know better, I don’t always make the best of choices in what I eat or what I feed my family, but one thing we do is have berries every single day without fail.  If my son had to pick one food to subsist on for the rest of his life, I have no doubt that he would pick blueberries.

Here are some of the benefits of berries:  They are a good source of fiber, vitamin C, and antioxidants.  According to OrganicFacts.com, blueberries can help with aging, urinary tract infection, eye care & macular degeneration (can prevent or delay all age related ocular problems), brain function, memory & Alzheimer’s disease, constipation & digestion, cancer, and heart disease.  “They keep you fresh, active, fit, sharp, close to nature and in a good mood, as they are very good anti-depressants. The deeper the color of the blueberries, the more they are rich in antioxidants and other medicinal values.”

So what about raspberries?  With their good sources of potassium and calcium, they “are good for those suffering from inflammation and pain. It helps prevent cancer, inhibit the growth of cancer cells, prevents damage to cell membranes and the formation of tumor in various parts of body including the colon. It reduces the risk of heart diseases and delays the effect of aging. Raspberries protect the body tissue from oxygen related damage” (source).

Berries make Dr. Oz’s “Anti-Cancer Shopping List” and are among Dr. Mercola’s “Best Overall Fruits for Your Health“.  They are great on your breakfast cereal, mixed in your yogurt, thrown into a smoothie, or plain.  What a beautiful thing God has given us in berries!

Health Spotlight: Almonds and Walnuts

Today’s Health Spotlight feature is all about a couple of small foods packed with big nutrients. 

Almonds and walnuts

Almonds have been said to “lower the risk of gallstones, weight gain (instead makes you lose weight), high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. It reduces blood sugar level, weight and LDL (bad) cholestrol, including almonds in your diet keeps heart and blood healthy.”

You can find them raw, roasted, salted, sliced, or even flavored with tamari. 

Walnuts are rich in Omega-3, an unsaturated fatty acid with many health benefits in and of itself.  According to OrganicFats.net, “regular consumption of walnuts helps in lowering cholesterol levels, controlling high blood sugars, and improving cardiovascular functions. It is good for various hearth problems. The reason for these benefits of walnuts is that they contain unsaturated fats and little cholesterol, significant amount of omega-3 and antioxidant properties. Walnuts can help prevent gallstones.”

And do not be scared off by the word “fat.”  These are good fats and will do far more good for you than you can measure.  Don’t believe me?  Read “Fats 101.”

 My new favorite snack is called Mrs. Mays Naturals Almond Crunch.  I have to cut myself off after a few because I would keep eating them, they are that good!  They have many different flavors, including options with walnuts and cashews.  So for your snack today, pick up a bag of almonds or walnuts, and get a fair share of fat today!  And try your best to resist the ones covered in sugar or chocolate. . .tasty, yes, but good for you?  Not as much.

Health Spotlight: Green Tea

Today I’m going to spotlight something that has been getting a lot of attention the past few years for its health benefits.   

Green Tea 

This warm, relaxing treat has powerful antioxidants that have been shown to fight those dreaded (and deadly) free radicals in our body.  For a refresher on what free radicals are, click here.  Dr. Mercola has article after article about how green tea is good at protecting against heart disease, skin cancer, oral cancer, breast cancer, and prostate cancer.  Ok, so now you are intrigued.

University of Purdue researchers have found “there is also research indicating that drinking green tea lowers total cholesterol levels, as well as improving the ratio of good (HDL) cholesterol to bad (LDL) cholesterol.”

Look here at how green tea surpasses the antioxidant levels of some of the most nutritious vegetables.  This is not to say abandon these vegetables, but is more of a testimony as to the antioxidant rich nature of green tea.

So, today as you wind down from a hard day of work, grab a cup of green tea and know that you are doing your body a favor.  But please, choose organic.  No sense in wiping out many of those great green tea benefits with all the chemicals used in growing and processing it.

And wouldn’t you know. . .I’m drinking some right now.

Come back for the next 5 days as I feature a new food in the Health Spotlight.

Great Online Finds

If you are looking for a great birthday, Easter, or Mother’s Day gift for someone, or just that extra special design touch for your home or office, I urge you to check out a new artist whose talent is inspiring and product is unique.  Chutney Blake Designs produces original, hand-painted ceramic gifts including frames, coasters, and flower pots, which can be purchased as shown or custom ordered to suit your special tastes and needs.  Here are just a few of the items Chutney Blakes Designs offers:

  

Chutney Blake Designs is undoubtedly a great online find!  Visit them today at http://www.etsy.com/shop/chutneyblakedesigns.

Another website I’ve come across recently is Bookschristian.com.

 

So you want to search for a book or CD, but you want to know that the results are limited to Christian books and music that you can trust.  Bookschristian.com boasts of low prices and a huge selection, and they even have a “Best Price Guarantee” for new books that you might compare to other online retailer competitors. 

Check out some of these bestselling Christian titles:

If you are a book lover and collector like me, take a stroll through Bookschristian.com today!

An Inconvenient Snowfall

As our president puts global warming near the top of his administration’s agenda, and Al Gore seems to be fading into the woodwork from the embarrassment of Climategate, the United States is experiencing record-breaking weather this winter and many “inconvenient” snowfalls.

Washington, D.C.–”The second US blizzard in five days walloped the region while it was still digging out from the first blizzard’s 45 to 60 centimetres last weekend. A third storm was on the horizon for Monday and Tuesday with minor amounts of snowfall.  The second storm, coming on top of near-record snowfall on Friday and Saturday, broke a 111-year-old record in Washington, pushing the season’s snow accumulation to 141.2 centimetres. Fifteen-year-old records also fell in Philadelphia and Baltimore.” http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/308784,us-east-coast-digs-out-from-record-snow-storms–summary.html

Philadelphia, New Jersey, and New York City–”Paul Kocin, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Washington, D.C., said the storm compares to some of the greatest ever largely because of its timing. He estimated 50 million people were affected.  ‘The big difference is that it occurred within a week and a half of three other storms,’ Kocin said. ‘The combination of storms is almost unprecedented - the amount of snow, the amount of impact.’  The latest storm dumped nearly 16 inches in Philadelphia, about 20 inches in central New Jersey, and totals ranged from 10 to 16 inches around New York City.”  http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35281444/ns/weather/

Baltimore, MD–”For a city that sees 18.2 inches of snow in the average winter (and less than 12 inches in each of the last three winters), this can only be described as a jaw-dropping season.   NO ONE predicted this, and no one could have.  So far this winter - and I say ’so far’ because there is more snow on the horizon - Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport has recorded more than 6 feet, 7 inches of snow. That is nearly four and a half times our annual average.  Plenty of locations in Central Maryland saw more.”  http://weblogs.marylandweather.com/

Vermont–”Chris Giard’s kids figured school was going to be closed. After all, a 40-year-old snowfall record was shattered over the weekend, as Burlington, Vermont, saw some 33.1 inches of snow — the greatest in its history.”  http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/weather/01/04/vermont.record.snowfall/index.html

Goshen, IN–”A record 5-inch snowfall for that date and temperatures near the freezing mark helped make most streets and roads slick Tuesday in the Goshen area.  The Goshen weather station reported a total snow of 4.9 inches at 7 p.m, beating the previous record of 3.8 inches in 1982.”  http://www.goshennews.com/statenews/local_story_041003021.html

Oklahoma City, OK–”Thousands of Oklahomans remain without power as a massive winter storm blew through the state bringing record setting snowfall to a large part of central Oklahoma.”  http://www.news9.com/Global/story.asp?S=11726617

North Texas–”The National Weather Service says the snow total at D/FW International Airport has reached 7.9 inches, the most snow North Texas has ever recorded in a single day. The previous record was 7.8 inches on January 14, 1917 and again on January 15, 1964.  North Texas has now received 11.1 inches of snow so far this season. The record was set in 1977-78 with 17.6 inches.”  http://www.wfaa.com/weather/Wintry-weather-traffic-update-84107682.html

 But somehow, even this record-breaking weather is proof of global warming, according to the lefties.  Click here to see how they have spun it.

How God Worked the Tebow Ad

Jill Stanek, columnist for WorldNetDaily.com and Jeff Emmanuel at RedState.com, have made a couple of fascinating observations about the hoopla surrounding the Pam & Tim Tebow Superbowl ad that had liberals in a frenzy leading up to Sunday’s game.  I encourage you to read the full article, part of which is printed here:

It all turned out so well, I have a hard time making much of the fact that Focus on the Family’s Tebow ad, billed as pertaining to the pro-life issue, didn’t have anything to do with abortion.

But looking back, Focus never said it would.

In fact, Focus said it wouldn’t. CEO Jim Daly told USA Today on Feb. 5 the ad was “an open discussion on the sanctity of human life – not just the issue of abortion … [with] a bit of humor in it – in fitting with the Super Bowl theme.”

Focus gave exactly what it promised.

People like Jeff Emmanuel at RedState.com commended Focus for PR genius:

The job done by Focus on the Family and the Tebows with their much-publicized Super Bowl advertisement was nothing short of masterful. In fact, I’m not sure that word describes the level of mastery Focus on the Family showed with their domination of the pro-abortion left through last night’s ad and the public relations battles leading up to it. …In one fell swoop, Focus on the Family and the Tebows exposed the real pro-abortion left to a larger audience than, perhaps, had ever seen them in their natural state: as abortion-loving autocrats who despised choice almost as much as (infant) life itself – all without really having to do anything.

Read the rest of Jill Stankek’s article here.