Live Free Nutrition

Isaac Weiner, HHC

Daily Updates

May Newsletter

Introduction

For this issue of the newsletter, it's back to basics. The two articles below contain valuable information on the power of food to heal our common health problems. As Hippocrates said, "Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food. Whoever gives these things no consideration and is ignorant of them, how can he understand the diseases of man?" Many people are led into the fallacy of thinking that health and wellness comes from taking a particular drug, a particular nutritional supplement, or even the latest exotic "superfood." Rather, it's the natural, whole foods we eat every day that will keep us feeling healthy and vital, and they're the same foods that will help us get better when we're sick.

These are also the foods that we end up craving the most strongly once our bodies are introduced to them—so it's no challenge to eat a healthy, balanced diet once we give it a chance. If your experience has been otherwise, you may need to revisit whether your diet was as healthy and balanced as you thought. There are many nutritional myths out there that can lead us astray in regard to what's healthy and what's not. But you can rely on the foods listed below both to taste good and to make you feel good. Don't hesitate to give some of them a try next time you need to medicate any common ailment—you'll be amazed at the power of food to heal.

I publish this newsletter as a part of my private practice as a Holistic Health Counselor, in which I help people get healthier and happier by guiding them through positive diet and lifestyle changes. I work with my clients either over the phone or in person in individual six–month programs. I also lead group workshops and group programs, and work with schools, businesses and other communities to improve their overall health and wellness. I also give free health history consultations. If you'd like to spend about an hour talking with me about your goals for your health and life, simply send me an email!

Food as Medicine

You've heard that eating a healthy, balanced diet can help you lose weight, increase your energy, and reduce your risk of disease. But did you know that some foods have such strong healing properties that you can use them as you would medicine? And that these foods don't have the negative side effects of man–made medications? Relying on medicinal foods to combat health problems such as stomachaches, headaches, chronic pain, fatigue, colds, fevers, sore throats, sinus problems, constipation, diarrhea, and many more, is not only effective against those individual problems, it also makes your body stronger and healthier than it was in the beginning. When you start to feel under the weather, make medicinal foods your first remedies, and you may not even need to resort to medications.

Ten Great Medicinal Foods

1. Miso is a paste made from fermented soybeans, which can be dissolved into hot water to make a salty and flavorful broth. Miso broth can be used to flavor a soup or just drunk by itself. It has a warming and grounding effect (due to salt and the long aging process), and contains beneficial bacteria and digestive enzymes (the result of fermentation). Miso's digestion–enhancing properties help relieve stomachaches, inflammatory bowel and intestinal pain, constipation, and diarrhea. Because it is so warming, it is effective against colds and congestion. Its grounding nature can help reduce headaches from ice cream, sugar and alcohol, and it helps to calm down nervous and anxious people.

2. Brown Rice is a whole grain that contains an excellent balance of complex carbohydrates, nutrients, and fiber. It is the perfect food for getting back on track when you haven't been eating well, whether you've been having too much sugar, fried food, meat and dairy or whether you've been missing meals and haven't eaten enough. When you really need to make up for a week's worth of poor food choices, go with a bowl of brown rice and you will feel so much better afterwards. Even better, eat it fairly regularly and you won't find yourself in that position!

3. Garlic is, strictly speaking, an herb, but as a widely–used culinary herb I think it's almost a food. Garlic is a very powerful antibacterial and antifungal agent. If you are starting to come down with any kind of virus or bacteria–related illness, even if it's just a simple cold, garlic can help immensely. Garlic also breaks up congestion and helps us detoxify. It is most effective when eaten raw. If you do choose to eat it raw, you will undoubtedly experience a burning sensation in the mouth, a tearing up of the eyes, and a general feeling of being on fire. What you're feeling is the sulfuric compounds in the garlic doing their work. Even though it's a little unpleasant, it doesn't last long and is far better than being sick for three or four days. If raw garlic is too much for you, though, simply increase your consumption of cooked garlic.

4. Leafy green vegetables, or Greens, are everyday foods that nevertheless have strong healing powers. Their high fiber and nutrient content make them very effective in healing any digestive problems (such as stomachaches, constipation, diarrhea), and they have been showing to have a very healing effect on the lungs and sinuses. Eat them to help reduce stuffy noses, coughing, sneezing, and mucus discharge. Greens also help reduce the fatigue that is a result of malnutrition. Usually when we get malnourished it's a result of eating foods like white sugar and white flour that contain no nutrients and use up the nutrients we do have stored in our bodies. So eat greens as a way to recover from these foods.

5. Raw Sauerkraut is simply fermented cabbage that has not been pasteurized. Pasteurization kills the beneficial bacteria that make sauerkraut as healthy as it is. These bacteria populate the digestive tract, and help us digest heavier foods such as meat and fat, thus reducing stomachaches, ulcers, heartburn and all digestive health problems. They also eliminate candida and other parasites, bad bacteria and fungi. Raw sauerkraut contains, in addition to bacteria, enzymes that aid the pancreas and reduce or eliminate pancreatitis.

6. Ginger is a root that is commonly eaten in its powdered form, as a spice, but can be purchased fresh and whole. Like many other healing foods, it relieves gastrointestinal pain, reduces or eliminates gas and bloating, and reduces symptoms of motion sickness such as dizziness, nausea and sweating. Like miso, it is very grounding and will help you recover from too much alcohol, sugar, and white flour. Ginger's anti–inflammatory effects also reduce pain and swelling from arthritis.

7. Raw Vinegar is a remarkably versatile healing food that has been shown to help with low energy, chronic pain (from anywhere in the body—back pain, arthritic pain, eye pain, joint pain, etc), colds, sore throats, infections, type 2 diabetes, and more. The reason for this is because the acids in vinegar are highly effective at promoting liver function. The liver is what controls the detoxifying and cleansing process in our bodies, and many of the symptoms that we feel, especially symptoms of pain, are a result of the struggle to detoxify. Vinegar is sort of like a power food that kicks the liver into gear and encourages rapid detoxification. However, do not rely on it for your health—first and foremost, eat a balanced diet and try not to build up toxicity in the first place. Note that the raw vinegar you purchase should be listed as "unpasteurized," "organic," and "unfiltered." The commonly available distilled white vinegar does not have the same healing properties, due to the way it is processed.

8. Chicken Broth has had a reputation as a healing food since ancient Egypt. Why is it so effective? Broth made from boiling a whole chicken contains nutrients leached from cartilage, tendons and bones, such as calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, silicon, sulphur and trace minerals. It contains glucosamine, which helps reduce arthritis (and is sold as an expensive supplement), and also has gelatin, which facilitates digestion, treats ulcers, improves joint health, and even helps treat infectious diseases. Chicken broth made with herbs and garlic is an especially warming, decongestant food that helps the immune system fight sickness.

9 & 10. Raw Milk and Raw Honey round out my list of medicinal foods. But rather than discuss them here, I've devoted an entire article to them—see below.

If you have any questions about how to employ these remedies, or have a specific health concern not mentioned here which you'd like to treat using medicinal foods, feel free to send me an email requesting more information.

Allergies: Entering the Land of Milk and Honey

At this time of year, many people are afflicted with seasonal pollen allergies. I first wrote on this topic a couple of years ago, and I think it's worthy to revisit it for all those who have signed on since then. This time we'll talk about not just pollen allergies, but allergies as a whole. Allergies are simply hypersensitive reactions of the immune system to specific kinds of food or environmental substances (collectively known as allergens). Allergies are becoming more prevalent in our society, with the most common allergens being foods such as milk, wheat, corn, soy and peanuts, and substances such as pollen, dust, dog and cat hair, mold, etc.

I believe that there are two sides to what causes allergies. One lies with our own immune systems; the other with the allergens. To begin with the latter, we do live in a more toxic environment than ever before, and synthetic, chemical substances are mixed up with the organic matter in our environment in such a way that there's much more out there for our immune systems to find threatening, if they happen to be sensitive systems. As for food allergies, it's no accident that the most common allergens are the most prevalent, and processed, foods in our diets. Pasteurized milk, white flour, corn syrup, soy protein isolate, and heavily sprayed peanuts are all difficult to digest and can set off warning signals for the body as a result. Too much of these foods will provoke an immune system reaction.

Speaking of the immune system, it gets a lot less work these days than it ever used to. Just as we're more exposed to toxins, we're less exposed to natural substances like bacteria, pollen, dirt, viruses and other things that would have provided training ground for our immune systems. As we get less exposure to these natural threats, we have more sensitive immune systems that will overreact to more benign substances. It's been found that people in Europe who were raised on farms (with all that dirt) are 1/10th as likely to have asthma and allergies as their urban and suburban counterparts.

So what can you do if you have allergies? Playing in the dirt is a good idea (for you and your kids), especially if it's organic dirt. But more practically, the best thing is to get your immune system acquainted with the allergens in a way that lets it know they're not dangerous. For pollen allergies, eat raw honey by the spoonful. This is honey in its natural, unprocessed state, with little bits of pollen still included. Simply eat a few spoonfuls a day until the allergies diminish. It's vitally important to get raw honey that has been harvested close by, otherwise you won't get the local pollen. For those living in the Washington, D.C. area, Really Raw Honey is a good company to get your honey from. Raw honey also treats stomach ulcers, skin burns and rashes, cold sores, and sore throats—a highly medicinal food indeed!

Another way to build up immune system strength is to drink raw, unpasteurized milk. This is what those farm kids are drinking. Unpasteurized milk still has all the beneficial bacteria and immunoglobulins that make your immune system strong. It even has some pollen—since the cows we get raw milk from are fed on grass. If you have milk allergies (like I do), you will probably have no problem with raw milk nevertheless, since raw milk is so easy to digest. Raw milk can heal by providing sustenance and nourishment to anyone who feels weak, sickly, diminished and underfed. If you need assistance in finding a source of safe, healthy raw milk, let me know and I will give you a hand.

Whole milk and raw honey (by the spoonful)—two foods that have signified abundance and health since biblical times. Who knew that eating right could be so much fun?

Recipes

How about combining some of our medicinal foods into one dish? This vegetable soup has greens, chicken broth, garlic, and a little vinegar. You can have it by itself or with brown rice on the side.

Ingredients:

2 medium carrots
1 daikon radish
1 large onion
3 celery stalks
1/3 bunch kale
1/4 cup chopped parsley
2 cloves garlic
2 cups organic chicken broth
Dash of vinegar

Directions: Start heating about 4 cups water in a saucepan. Wash and chop carrots, radish, onion, celery and garlic, adding them to the pot as you go. Boil thoroughly for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, chop parsley and kale (use or discard the kale stems as you please). Reduce the boil to a simmer, add parsley, kale, chicken broth and vinegar. Allow to simmer for another 10 minutes. Season with fresh herbs, salt, and pepper to taste.

Forward to a Friend

It's such a pleasure to help those closest to us become happier and healthier. Please forward this newsletter to friends, family members or colleagues who might be interested and inspired by it. If you received this newsletter from someone else, but would like to be sure to receive it again, email me with your address and I will include you on my mailing list in the future.

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