Garlic...You can smell the health!

Garlic is not only a splendid ingredient in many recipes ( it is one of my favorite herbs to cook with ), Garlic has beneficial properties that help protect the body by fighting disease and promoting health. Garlic is nature's antibiotic. Garlic helps to fight infections, colds and flu by boosting the immune system. Garlic also has ingredients that fight viruses and kills bacteria. Garlic is great for the heart and can help lower blood pressure. It is used in the treatment of arteriosclerosis, asthma, arthritis, cancer, digestive problems and circulatory issues. Garlic is helpful in all diseases, infections and bacteria. One draw back though. Too much garlic, while not harmful to your body, does get excreted through your pores and oral cavity. This means you can stink. To get all of the health benefits of garlic, cook with it whenever you can and supplement your diet with odorless garlic capsules. The garlic in the capsules is utilized by the body, but no stinking afterwards, just the healthy benefits.

Soy or not to soy?

Many people are turning to soy as an alternative to animal proteins and dairy products. The soybean is the third largest crop in the United States and we supply 50 % of the worlds demand. Needless to say, the soybean industry is advertising and marketing like crazy for soybean consumption. The big push is that soybeans are healthy for us and can help to prevent certain diseases. While soy does have some potential benefits, there are some issues that you need to be aware of. Soybeans contain a high level of phytic acid. Phytic acid blocks the body's uptake of minerals like calcium, magnesium, iron and zinc. Soybeans also contain enzyme inhibitors that block protein digestion and also contain a blood clot promoting substance that can cause red blood cells to clump together, which probably isn't good for heart health. To me, these soy issues would suggest avoiding relying on soy as a sole source of protein or as a dairy alternative. I would use organic rice milk for dairy allergies. Plain rice milk is actually sweet, but it also comes in flavors. The good news is that when soy is fermented for long periods of time, the fermentation reduces the anti-nutrient levels and makes the soy nourishment digestable. Fermented soy examples would be Miso or Tempeh.

Chemical Milk?

In my opinion, despite the recent articles in the daily newspapers, milk is not as safe as we are led to believe. Cows are fed grains that have been filled with chemicals. Growth Hormones, antibiotics and so forth. The grains themselves may have even been grown with pesticides. Researchers (probably from the milk industry) are now saying that these chemicals do not pose any threat to milk consumers. We are told the link to puberty changes in pre-teens is not related to the chemicals in milk. I pose this thought, if drugs and chemicals are to be avoided by breast feeding women (because of the harmful effects that will be passed on to the baby), how come the cows that ingest drugs cannot pass on the harmful effects to the milk consumer? What to do? Buy certified organic milk. Drug and chemical free, which also tastes better too.