Abigails Herbs

If you are a working mother, like myself, you probably get frustrated withyour lack of time to prepare healthy meals for your family. Most healthy meals take more time to prepare and cook, right? When there is not enough time, it is easy for us to be tempted to order  at a fast food restaurant or order Chinese for take out. Anyway, healthy food can be prepared quickly, with the help of a pressure cooker.

My mother used to cook certain foods in her pressure cooker when I was growing up. I never knew why she chose to use a pressure cooker. She was a working mother too and needed to make good use of her time. It works by using pressure combined with heat to cook foods quickly so that dinner can be on the table in a flash, without depending on big Macs and greasy French Fries.

Foods prepared in a pressure cooker lose less water so less oil and butter are required to keep foods moist. It also enhances the flavor of food so you won’t need excess salt or sugar. Also, vitamins and nutrients are better preserved when you prepare food in a pressure cooker since so little liquid is required and only tiny amounts are lost during the cooking process.

A  pressure cooker makes preparing beans and whole grains that would normally take forever on the stovetop quick and easy; and it does a great job of melding flavors together. It’s excellent for preparing steamed vegetables and low-fat meats quickly – and is a natural for making healthy soups and stews.

Most people don’t get enough whole grains in their diet because they’re intimidated by how long it takes to cook them. Quinoa, barley, flax, millet, bulgur, buckwheat and steel cut oats can all be prepared in a pressure cooker in record time. Simply add the whole grains along with the required amount of liquid and let the pressure cooker do its job. Using a pressure cooker reduces the preparation time of grains by about 50%. This makes serving healthy breakfast food fast as a breeze.

Be safe though! Read the directions for using a pressure cooker carefully and follow all safety precautions. I had a good fariend who suffered third degree burns from the steam of her pressure cooker. The steam that comes out when you open one up is very hot. Modern pressure cookers have new safety features that make them much safer than the older models. Use your pressure cooker often, but use it safely. Healthy eating!

When I was a kid, I made pomanders for the holidays. Pomanders are simply oranges, studded with cloves. Amazingly, this simple holiday decoration can perk us up! I know that the holidays are well over, but I hold on to my pomanders for as long as possible. I save my pomanders because the citrus scents of this decoration have been proven to improve  focus and increase concentration by more than 30%.

But what really powers this energy-booster are the cloves. When researchers exposed volunteers to the spicy fragrance of cloves, brain scans revealed a surge of activity in the region responsible for alertness and the volunteers also had a sharper memory! Pretty cool!

Another remnant of the holidays that I save for as long as possible are pointsettias. Yes, I keep these pretty holiday plants growing in pots inside of  my home until they stop growing every year. I do this because the lovely pointsettia plant helps me to breathe easier as it purifies the air around us. NASA research reveals that the pointsettia is one of the moist effective air purifiers around.

Many house plants filter some harmful chemicals and pollutants from the air, but because this festive Mexican plant has super-sized leaves, it can absorb a whopping 99% of indoor air toxins that you’d otherwise be breathing into your body! And, guess what? Those bright red petals are not flowers; they are actually red leaves that have turned scarlet. So, keep your pointsettias around and breathe easy.

Lots of people, including myself, are sipping green tea for its health benefits. Some people take green tea extract so they don’t have to drink as much tea. This is especially common among people who are trying to lose weight since studies show that green tea may boost metabolism.

There’s good news and bad news for taking the extract as a supplement for weight loss. According to a new study published in the Journal of Nutrition, drinking this valuable tea does appear to help with weight control. Not only does it promote fat loss, but it even decreases the risk of fatty liver – a condition that’s often seen in people who are obese.

Researchers are concerned about the safety of taking green tea extract pills for weight loss because of the very high doses of  polyphenols they contain. The polyphenol that seems to be most  effective for weight loss is EGCG, and particularly when combined with caffeine, it appears to be an effective fat burner.

Unfortunately, though, too much of a good thing can cause other health problems and there’s the concern that taking the extract (pills) can be toxic if taken over a prolonged period of time. This is because the green tea extract contains up to 50 times the amount of ECGC found in a single cup of green tea. High doses of polyphenols have caused liver and kidney toxicity in animals. There are even cases of liver toxicity in humans from taking the extract which was resolved once it was stopped.

Sipping a cup of this wonderful tea may be a safe and effective way to burn more fat, but the long-term safety of taking extract (pills) isn’t known. Studies show that drinking up to ten cups of this tea a day is safe for most people – although some individuals will experience mild stomach upset. Until more is known, it is best to drink this tea and hold off on taking the extract until more research comes out about its long-term safety. Be safe – sip warm cups of tea everyday, but no more than six cups. You will be healthier and thinner as a result.

Sipping two cups of sage tea daily helps people feel at least 11% calmer, even during periods of high stress, research studies show. This nutrient-rich herb slows the breakdown of acetylcholine – a  key brain chemical that improves mood and eases anxiety, Stanford researchers explain.

If you find the sage tea to have a bitter, taste, just add honey or your favorite sweetener. Also, eating 3 ounces of protein at breakfast and at lunch can nix stress flare-ups in as little as 10 days, research suggests. Protein-packed meals prevent anxiety-triggering blood-sugar lows, plus they boost production of norepinephrine, a hormone that helps the brain cope with external stressors.

Eating pretzels can also prevent that oh-so-common pounding heart and anxiety surge. Research shows that a short-term rise in sodium dampens production of a powerful anxiety-triggering stress hormone, explains Eric Krause, Ph.D., assistant professor of pharmacodynamics at the University of Florida. So, eating a salty snack, such as pretzels or salty peanuts immediately before a high-stress event can prevent that oh-so-common pounding heart and anxiety surge.

Listen to this news; brand-new research shows you can dial down stress – and feel truly calm, cool and collected- in as little as five minutes, simply by pretending to be relaxed. Focus on taking slow, deep belly breaths, relaxing your shoulders and speaking in a soothing voice, suggests John Garrison, Ph.D., director of Lahey Clinic’s Stress Management Program.

Shield yourself from prostate cancer with flax! Consuming two tablespoons daily can block the growth of prostate cancers thanks to flax’s lignans . Lignans are compounds that help the liver excrete toxins before they can fuel abnormal cell growth. This fiber-rich seed can cut your artery-clogging LDL cholesterol by as much as 10 per cent.

Believe it or not; men who sip four, 8 ounce cups of coffee daily have a 60% lower risk of developing prostate cancer. Peter R. Martin, M.D., a professor at Nashville’s Vanderbilt University, claims the “two compounds in coffee soak into abnormal cells and stop them from turning cancerous.  These compounds are chlorogenic and caffeic acids.

Also, British research reveals that men who eat four garlic cloves each week reduce their risk of prostate cancer by 44%. This is because garlic’s sulfur compounds prevent the rapid cell division necessary for these cancers to grow and spread, say the authors of the study.

Another point about prostate cancer prevention; soaking up 20 minutes of sun daily helps stall the growth of prostate cancer. The body makes vitamin D when exposed to ultraviolet light; and, vitamin D nourishes prostate cells, helping them grow and divide normally, explains Michelle Holmes, M.D., associate professor of epidemiology at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Taking 1,000 units of vitamin D each day can also do the trick. By the way, a daily dose of sunshine will also help cut your breast-cancer risk by 30%.

I am almost fifty years old and I still get pimples on my face every now and then. I have always had oily skin, but pimples on my face at this age is hard to believe. About six months ago, I switched to organic and natural face cleansers. I had an intuitive feeling that any cleanser that made my eyes burn was not really that healthy for my skin. I was right.

I started using a basil lemon face cleanser and toner that was organic to the core. It took six to seven weeks to see the change in my skin. My face is hydrated, and the wrinkles are less visible. My friends have exclaimed that I look younger. I feel younger too. I got rid of all my chemical cleansers and I threw out my skin lotions; all the ones with chemicals in the ingredients, that is. The pimples went away and my skin became clear.

Lemon and lavender energize and stimulate the skin cells. The rose and coconut oils awaken and revitalize my skin as it cleanses it. At the same time, the aloe vera  hydrates the skin to keep it supple and moist. All the sun damage to  my skin is actually going away. My dermatologist told me that the red, scaly patches on my face were a result of sun damage over the years. My dermatologist told me that nothing would ever take the signs of sun damage away. She was wrong, thanks goodness, because these natural ingredients are doing the job, much to my delighted surprise!

I always use a clean washcloth to massage my skin while I wash it with basil lemon face cleanser. It helps to stimulate the skin cells and it helps the herbal oils to stimulate the cells. Just rub lightly and never scrub your face in a harsh manner. You will feel the difference. I will never use those chemical cleansers again.

To alleviate  arthritis pain naturally, consider trying Boswellia serrata, an ancient Indian resin derived from frankincense tress. A recent study from the journal “Arthritis Research and Therapy” found that taking 100 milligrams or 250 milligrams of boswellia extract daily markedly reduced pain and enhanced physical functioning in people with osteoarthritis, possibly by slowing down or reducing cartillage breakdown. What’s interesting is that the 25 members in the research study on the 250-mg. dosage showed significant improvement in a mere seven days.

The traditional Indian medicine system known as Ayurveda typically uses boswellia, otherwise known as frankincense, to treat degenerative disorders, says San Francisco-based Ayurvedic clinician Reenita Malhotra. Boswellia  is considered safe for long-term use, notes Malhotra, who advises taking 200 milligrams twice daily to relieve osteoarthritis symptoms.

Frankincense is expensive and it comes in the form of incense and essential oil. It has a deep, rich woody scent and it is aromatic, possessing a sense of the regal. It is a n extremely royal herb.

Massaging chamomile essential oil into your temples can shut down a tension headache in only ten minutes, assures James F. Balch, M.D., coauthor of the book Prescription for Natural Cures (Wiley). He continues on to explain, “Chamomile is rich in salicylic acid, azulene and other plant compounds that reduce pain and stop muscle spasms.”

To use, mix 25 drops of chamomile essential oil and two ounces of corn, sunflower or canola oil. Then massage into your temples for five to ten minutes. Or you can stir 10 drops of chamomile oil into 16 ounces of water and massage into your scalp during your shower.

If you have sore muscles, eucalyptus essential oil quickly soothes them. This is due to the eucalyptus plant’s rich supply of phytochemicals, which work to relax muscles, improve blood flow and reduce painful swelling and inflammation. Just mix 25 drops of eucalyptus essential oil with two ounces of corn, sunflower or canola oil, then massage into sore tissues for two minutes once or twice daily.

James F. Balch, M.D., coauthor of Prescription for Natural Cures (Wiley), believes that clary sage essential oil is helpful to fight depression. This is because, he says,  clary sage essential oil locks onto the same brain receptors that prescription antidepressants do, increasing the body’s output of the mood-boosting neurotransmitter serotonin by as much as 50 percent, according to researchers at Duke University.

Clary sage is also calming, explains Dr. Balch, so it quickly dials down the chronic stress that often goes hand in hand with dysphoric moods. Just keep a vial of clary sage essential oil on your kitchen counter or desk. Take three slow deep sniffs four times daily or whenever you need a boost.

If you have a chronic and persistent cough, pine essential oil is a great option for a cough that just won’t go away. This is a common problem when the end of cold season collides with the onset of spring allergies, reports Dr. Balch. He continues to say that pine is a powerful antiseptic and anti-inflammatory, so it kick-starts the healing of irritated tissues.

To use, add three drops of pine essential oil to 2 two cups of hot, but not boiling water. This creates a steaming effect. Then lean over the pot, drape a towel over your head and inhale the steam for 10 minutes each day.  The scent of pine also allays depression and lifts our spirits.