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8 Health Benefits of Chamomile Tea

Chamomile tea has been consumed for hundreds of years. It is made by infusing German chamomile (Matricaria recutita), a member of the sunflower family, in hot water. Roman chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile) is also beneficial, but most research has been done on German chamomile and it is the most commonly used in teas.

Here are eight health benefits of this popular tea:

Better Sleep
Chamomile tea's most well-known benefit is as a sleep aid. It is known for its relaxing and soothing properties and is often taken before bed to promote restful sleep.

Stomach Soother
Peter Rabbit's mother was right to give him chamomile after he ate too much in Mr. McGregor's vegetable garden. Chamomile is helpful for a variety of stomach problems. It soothes stomach aches, eases the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, promotes elimination, and assists in overall digestion. It is often found in teas for digestion in combination with peppermint.

Menstrual Cramps
The ancient Egyptians used it to soothe menstrual cramps and now science is catching up. One study found that drinking chamomile tea raised urine levels of glycine, a compound that calms muscle spasms. Researchers believe this is why chamomile tea helps menstrual cramps.

Hemmorrhoid Help
One study found that chamomile ointment was helpful in the treatment of hemorrhoids.

Cold Fighter
Chamomile has immune boosting properties and helps in the fight against colds due to its antibacterial properties.

Wound Healing
The Egyptians, Romans, and Greeks used chamomile flowers in a poultice and applied them to wounds to speed healing. They must've been on to something. In one study, rats given chamomile extract in their water experienced faster wound healing times.

Diabetes Management
Chamomile tea is being studied for its beneficial effects in the management of diabetes. In one study, daily consumption of chamomile tea was found to prevent the progression of diabetic complications and hyperglycemia.

Cancer
In-vitro studies show possible protection against several different types of cancer cells.

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Precautions
Some people have serious allergic reactions (including anaphylaxis) to chamomile. If you are allergic to other plants in the same family such as daisy, ragweed, aster, chrysanthemum, or marigold you should use caution when using chamomile.

Chamomile should be avoided during pregnancy because it may act as a uterine stimulant and therefore increase the chance of abortion.

People with bleeding disorders or on blood thinners should avoid chamomile, as it contains coumarin and may increase the chance of bleeding.

UMF Active Manuka Honey

Raw honey is honey that has not been heated or processed in any way. It goes straight from the hive to the jar. It has numerous health benefits not found in processed honey. Heating destroys most of the benefits found in raw honey. Raw honey is thick and opaque, almost solid at room temperature, whereas processed honey is more fluid and usually has a transparent amber color.

Manuka honey (also called Leptospermum honey) is a type of raw honey that is made by bees who collect nectar from the manuka plant in Australia and New Zealand. It is a monofloral honey, meaning that the bees collect their nectar from only one type of plant.

Manuka has been found to have remarkable antibacterial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory and healing properties when used on wounds. One company, Derma Sciences Inc., has even created a wound care product called Medihoney that uses manuka honey. Medihoney is used in hospitals around the world.

In one study published in the June 2008 issue of the Journal of Wound Care, Medihoney was found to significantly reduce the presence of MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) in chronic wounds.

New Zealand manuka honey is rated on the UMF (Unique Manuka Factor) scale, a measure of the antibacterial strength of the honey. According to the Active Manuka Honey Association (AMHA) of New Zealand, UMF "is an antibacterial property which is naturally present in some strains of manuka honey, but it is not in all manuka honey." It is not found in all manuka honey because not all manuka flowers contain the UMF factor.

UMF is measured on a numeric scale, with UMF 10 being the minimum UMF factor effective in the treatment of infections and anything rated UMF 16 and higher having very high therapeutic value. In general, the higher the UMF rating, the higher the price of the honey.

People are using UMF active manuka honey on skin conditions like acne, psoriasis, eczema, burns, sores, skin ulcers, herpes, cold sores, blisters, rashes, and more. It is used in clinical settings to treat burns, diabetic leg ulcers, wounds that won't heal, and MRSA infections.

It's a good product to keep on hand at home in case of an accidental burn or to aid in the healing of any of the skin issues listed above.

Manuka also fights internal infections such as the flu, cold, and other viruses and is great for sore throats. It has also shown promise in the treatment of H. pylori infections and stomach ulcers.

In short, manuka appears to be a great overall immune system booster and healing agent. Many people take a tablespoon or two every day to prevent illness and maintain good health.

If you've had success in using manuka honey to heal a condition, please post a comment here. We'd love to hear your story!

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Basil Ginger Salmon Marinade Recipe

When I grill salmon, I usually marinate it in a simple olive oil and garlic marinade, but this weekend I wanted to try something different. Since I just wrote about the benefits of ginger, I thought I'd make something with ginger. And since I happened to have a lot of fresh basil on hand, I ended up making a basil ginger marinade.

I love the combination of basil and ginger. Many ginger marinades call for soy sauce, but some of my readers avoid soy, so I made this marinade without it.

Basil Ginger Salmon Marinade

Ingredients
2 6 oz salmon filets
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
3 T extra virgin olive oil
1 T red wine vinegar
4 T. chopped fresh basil
salt to taste
pepper to taste
pinch cayenne pepper (optional)

Directions
Make three our four shallow cuts on each side of the salmon filets. Set aside.

Mix all marinade ingredients in a large bowl. Add the salmon and coat both sides well. Make sure to get the mixture into the shallow cuts that you made. I like to stuff some of the minced garlic pieces in them.

Marinate for one hour in the refrigerator.

Grill and eat!

How to Make Ginger Tea - Ginger Tea Recipe

Given the amazing health benefits of ginger, I thought I'd post an easy ginger tea recipe that you can make at home. Of course, you can buy ginger tea in stores, but homemade is always better.

Ingredients
2 T. grated ginger root
2 c. water

Directions
Boil the water in a small saucepan and stir in the ginger root.

Drink straight or add lemon and/or your favorite sweetener to taste. Ginger tea with honey is a soothing drink when you have a cold or the flu.

10 Health Benefits of Ginger

Ginger has been used as a natural remedy for many ailments for centuries. Now, science is catching up and researchers around the world are finding that ginger works wonders in the treatment of everything from cancer to migraines. Here are ten health benefits of this powerful herb:

Ovarian Cancer Treatment
Ginger may be powerful weapon in the treatment of ovarian cancer. A study conducted at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center found that ginger powder induces cell death in all ovarian cancer cells to which it was applied.

Colon Cancer Prevention
A study at the University of Minnesota found that ginger may slow the growth of colorectal cancer cells.

Morning Sickness
A review of several studies has concluded that ginger is just as effective as vitamin B6 in the treatment of morning sickness.

Motion Sickness Remedy
Ginger has been shown to be an effective remedy for the nausea associated with motion sickness.

Reduces Pain and Inflammation
One study showed that ginger has anti-inflammatory properties and is a powerful natural painkiller.

Heartburn Relief
Ginger has long been used as a natural heartburn remedy. It is most often taken in the form of tea for this purpose.

Cold and Flu Prevention and Treatment
Ginger has long been used as a natural treatment for colds and the flu. Many people also find ginger to be helpful in the case of stomach flus or food poisoning, which is not surprising given the positive effects ginger has upon the digestive tract.

Migraine Relief
Research has shown that ginger may provide migraine relief due to its ability to stop prostaglandins from causing pain and inflammation in blood vessels.

Menstrual Cramp Relief
In Chinese medicine, ginger tea with brown sugar is used in the treatment of menstrual cramps.

Prevention of Diabetic Nephropathy
A study done on diabetic rats found that those rats given ginger had a reduced incidence of diabetic nephropathy (kidney damage).

Quotes About Wine

A glass of wine per day, especially red wine, is said to be good for us. Here are some quotes about wine from some of history's most famous thinkers, or should I say famous
drinkers?

"Wine is constant proof that God loves us and loves to see us happy." - Benjamin Franklin

"Good wine is a good familiar creature if it be well used." - Shakespeare, Othello

"Wine is the drink of the gods, milk the drink of babies, tea the drink of women, and water the drink of beasts." - John Stuart Blackie

"Wine is bottled poetry." - Robert Louis Stevenson

"Sorrow can be alleviated by good sleep, a bath and a glass of wine." - St. Thomas Aquinas

"God made only water, but man made wine." - Victor Hugo

"Wine is the most healthful and most hygienic of beverages." - Louis Pasteur

"Wine rejoices the heart of man and joy is the mother of all virtues." - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

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Panko Crumbs - Japanese Bread Crumbs

Lately I've been experimenting with oven frying in order to make healthier versions of things like onion rings, fried fish, jalapeno poppers, and fried zucchini.

I've tried many different coatings on the food to get a nice "fried" effect and the results have been okay but after some research I discovered Panko crumbs. Since I've never done any regular frying or even oven frying, I hadn't heard of them before.

According to Wikipedia:

Panko is made from bread without crusts, thus it has a crisper, airier texture than most types of breading found in Western cuisine. Outside Japan, it is becoming more popular for use in Asian and non-Asian dishes, and is often available in Asian markets and specialty stores. Increasingly, it's also available in many large supermarkets.

Wikipedia also states that the word "panko" is used in Japan for all bread crumbs, not just the kind that is made without crusts.

Wisegeek has this to say about panko:

Several things set panko aside from regular bread crumbs. The first thing is the coarse grind, which creates bread crumbs which are more like flakes than crumbs. The flakes have a large surface area, which absorbs seasoning well. They tend to stay crispy longer than regular bread crumbs, and they also absorb less grease.

I found some Panko made by Progresso in my local supermarket. It comes in plain or Italian flavor. Tonight I'll be stopping in my local Japanese market to see if I can find some. I'm curious to see what the difference is between the Progresso and Japanese versions.

Stay tuned for the results of my experiments with Panko in the coming days ...

Tyson Chicken Loaded with Antibiotics and Corruption

Tyson Foods claims that their chickens are raised without antibiotics. The truth is that the eggs are pumped full of an antibiotic called gentamicin and the chicks are fed antibiotic-laced feed.

Yet Tyson Foods wants to be able to keep a label on their chickens that reads "raised without antibiotics." The USDA has informed them that they can't use this label considering the little fact that it's a lie. Now Tyson Foods is suing to be able to keep the misleading label.

If Tyson is so eager to mislead the public over this issue, it makes one wonder what other deceptive practices they follow. Here's one: Tyson injects its packaged chicken full of water and salt to increase the weight while still labeling it "100% All Natural." A class action lawsuit was filed against them over this in 2001.

I don't eat chicken, but if I did I would avoid Tyson's product.

Meanwhile, the company is planning to spread its meat across the globe:

As Tyson Foods Inc. replicates its uniquely American model of corporate meat production throughout the developing world, the company could fundamentally transform rural economies in nations such as India, Brazil and China.

In the article, Don Tyson said, "We have done about as much in the United States as we can do."

Doing all they can do to lie to consumers and sell mislabeled, antibiotic-laced chickens injected with salt water? Mr. Tyson, I think you can "do" better.

Dairy Free Pumpkin Cheesecake Recipe

In addition to dairy free pumpkin pie, this year I also made dairy free pumpkin cheesecake using Tofutti's Better Than Cream Cheese instead of regular cream cheese. It was my first time making pumpkin cheesecake and I think it may just have to become a Thanksgiving tradition in my house from now on.

Dairy Free Pumpkin Cheesecake

Ingredients
1 c. granulated sugar
2 tubs (8 oz. each) Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese
1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin puree
2 eggs
1 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
9 inch graham cracker pie crust

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Beat cream "cheese" and sugar together. Add pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Add eggs and beat entire mixture until smooth.

Pour into 9 inch pie crust.

Bake at 350 degrees for one hour or until a knife inserted into the the center comes out clean.

Let cool and enjoy!

Dairy Free Pumpkin Pie Recipe

I made dairy free pumpkin pie this year by following the popular Libby's pumpkin pie recipe and substituting coconut milk for evaporated milk.

Dairy Free Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients
3/4 c. granulated sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
2 large eggs
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin puree
1 can coconut milk
1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell

Directions
Preheat overn to 425 degrees.

Beat eggs in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin, sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger, and cloves. Gradually add coconut milk while stirring.

Pour into pie shell. Bake for 15 minutes at 425 degrees, then lower temperature to 350 degrees and bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

Cool on wire rack for 2 hours.

Vegan Pumpkin Fudge Recipe

I'd heard about pumpkin fudge but never tried it and thought it would be a fun Thanksgiving dessert to make. I found several recipes online but wanted to make a non-dairy, vegan version so I made a few tweaks to a recipe I found and was happy with the results.

I started with this recipe and substituted soy milk for the milk and Earth Balance vegan "butter" for the butter.

I used organic corn syrup from Wholesome Sweeteners instead of the usual corn syrup sold in stores that contains high fructose corn syrup. You can find it at your local Whole Foods or other health food store.

Vegan Pumpkin Fudge

Ingredients
3 cups sugar
1 cup unsweetened soy milk
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
3 T. light corn syrup
1/4 t. salt
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 c. Earth Balance vegan butter
1/2 c. chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions
Grease an 8x8 inch pan.

Mix sugar, soy milk, corn syrup, pumpkin, and salt in a saucepan and stir constantly until it comes to a boil. Once it comes to a boil, stop stirring, reduce the heat to medium, and continue to boil.

Place a candy thermometer in the pan and wait until it reaches 232 degrees F (110 degrees C) or the "soft boil" mark on the thermometer. If you don't have a candy thermometer you can test its readiness by dropping some of the mixture into a glass of cold water. If you can form it into a ball at the bottom of the glass, it is at the "soft ball" stage.

Once it is at the soft ball stage, remove it from the heat. Pour butter, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla into the pan but do not stir. Let cool to 110 degress F or 43 degrees C. This will take quite a while (more than half an hour) but you can speed up the process by placing the pan in a larger pan filled with ice cold water.

Once the mixture has cooled to 110 degrees F, stir all the ingredients in, add the nuts, and beat the mixture with a wooden spoon until it loses its gloss and becomes very thick. This will take a while. If you don't beat it long enough, the fudge won't harden and you'll be left with frosting. Beat it until it has lost its gloss and is almost too hard to beat anymore but not hardened to the point that you can't get it out of the pan. You shouldn't be able to pour it out of the pan - if you can, you haven't beaten it long enough.

Once it's ready, pour it into the greased 8x8 pan and let it harden for a few hours.

Cut into squares and enjoy!

10 Facts About Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin pie was not served at the first Thanksgiving, though pumpkins were used in other recipes at the time.

The American colonists used pumpkin in pie crusts, but not in the filling.

The type of pumpkin pie we know today was not made until the 1700s.

The first recorded recipe for "modern" pumpkin pie was published in 1796 in American Cookery by Amelia Simmons. It was called 'Pompkin Pudding.' The cookbook was the first one devoted to foods native to the Americas.

In 1929, Libby's canned pumpkin was introduced to America. Libby's is not actually pumpkin but another kind of squash called a Dickinson that also has orange flesh.

Libby's bought all the rights to the Dickinson and has developed its own version of the squash, called Libby Select No. 12, over which the company holds proprietary rights.

Every year, 50 million pumpkin pies are made using Libby's canned product.

Nestle bought Libby's in 1971.

Morton, Illinois, where the main Libby's processing plant is located, calls itself the pumpkin capital of the world.

The world's largest pumpkin pie weighed over 350 pounds and was made with 80 pounds of pumpkin, 36 pounds of sugar, and 144 eggs.

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So when the Thanksgiving dinner conversation turns into an uncomfortable discussion about politics, you can change the subject by blurting out, "Hey, did you know this isn't pumpkin pie, but actually Dickinson pie?"

Get More Organic Bang for Your Buck

It can be expensive to purchase all the food necessary for a big Thanksgiving dinner and keeping things organic can often make it more so.

Delish.com has published a helpful article featuring tips on how to save money this holiday season.

They also have links to places where you can download coupons for companies like Tofurkey, Organic Valley, Earth's Best, Amy's Kitchen, and more.

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Organic Pumpkin at Trader Joe's

Just a heads up to anyone going out to buy canned pumpkin for their Thanksgiving preparations. Trader Joe's has organic canned pumpkin for $1.99 per can. Libby's canned pumpkin usually sells for more than that.

So who says organic is always more expensive?

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Obama Is Not a Fan of Beets

The press is now looking into the President Elect's eating habits and wondering what the White House menu will look like once he's in office. It turns out that he doesn't like beets, but he does enjoy most other foods. He and Michelle enjoy trying new foods together and dine out often.

Obama likes things spicy:

Obama does have a weakness for chips and salsa and tends to put hot sauce on everything. At Dooky Chase's Creole restaurant in New Orleans, he offended longtime owner Leah Chase by pouring hot sauce all over the gumbo she offered to fatten him up.

They also enjoy casual fare like pizza and fried chicken.

But it's not just fancy dining the Obamas like. They enjoy takeout from a neighborhood pizza joint and an island-inspired restaurant not far from their home where Michelle Obama fancies the grilled tilapia.

It's great to see they have such a varied diet and that they try to stay healthy. Like Obama, I didn't used to like beets but I have learned to love them!

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