Honey- Medicine and Magic

Honey- Medicine and Magic

Some of you may know that we have a backyard bee hive and we love our bees. We can see the bees from the back sitting area and they are busy from dawn to dusk! We talk to them every day and I even sing to them. Well, they sing- or at least hum- to us too! :)

In these days of superbugs and and antibiotic resistance, honey’s healing qualities are becoming more recognised again- in fact, they have only been forgotten for the last 50 years as antibiotics became the norm- but we are rapidly losing the ability to rely on the effectiveness of antibiotics. Honey has been used both internally and externally for healing for thousands of years, and it is as effective now as it has always been.

Worldwide studies have shown that honey is a remarkable wound healer- wounds, ulcers and burns treated with honey heal quicker, they smell less and scarring is less. In one study, honey was compared to the commonly used silver sulfadiazine in 104 1st degree burn patients. After a week, 91% of the honey treated burns were infection free compared to only 7% of the silver sulfadiazine treated burns.

Honey is now being used successfully in nursing homes and hospitals when nothing else has worked, such as in diabetic leg ulcers, even where amputation is imminent. Gangrene, fungal infections, post-surgical wound infections, burns, dental plaque and stomach ulcers can also all be treated effectively with honey. Honey is active against many bacteria such as staphlycoccus aureus, streptococcus, rubella, salmonella, candida...many others. Of course, work with your qualified health practitioner for more serious conditions- but sometimes, simple is best.

But, who will make money from giving you honey when you ask for help from your doctor or pharmacist? Of course, a medical grade honey has now been produced (someone had to do it!), but any organic wildflower honey where the bees had access to a range of flowers can be effective in anti-biotic resistant skin and wound infections. There are some honeys that are more effective than others- such as Manuka honey from New Zealand and our own West Australian Jarrah honey- but don’t let the expense of them stop you using our wonderfully effective range of other honeys for your skin infections, even quite serious ones. Bees are naturally attracted to medicinal plants and we are lucky here in W.A. to have many wonderful honeys, and they are all antibacterial to various degrees.

Internally, honey can be used for immune stimulation, overall health improvement, and treatment of colds, flus and respiratory infections.

It is no wonder that honey, bees and other bee products such as pollen, propolis and royal jelly have such a rich cultural history. The ancient Egyptions are the first recorded to have kept bees domestically, the Ancient Greeks used honey as a superfood in the Olympic Games, and the famous Roman writer Pliny described a region where people lived to over 100 years old because of their consumption of honey and pollen. It is also documented in Russia that many centenarians acredit their longevity to lavish consumption of honey. Honey has been used as a currency for barter and even to pay taxes.

Did you know that honeybees visit over 2 million flowers to make one 450g jar of honey? That an average worker bee lives only 6 weeks and creates only 1/2 tsp of honey in her life? That all worker bees are female?

Honey is a miraculous and magical food and medicine, and it is full of minerals, enzymes, antioxidants, probiotics and also substances they haven’t named or recognised yet. It is a wonderful wild food, and we tend not to eat enough wild foods. It is convenient, available, nutritious, and with the international decline of bees, which will be catastrophic if it continues, supporting bee keepers is a good idea too. But we are better off having thousands of householders having a single bee hive in their garden than a few apiarists with thousands of bee hives, so if it appeals to you, consider keeping bees. It is a wonderful hobby that keeps you in touch with the wild side, and the rewards are so sweet!


 

References:
Herbal Antibiotics by Stephen Buhner
Superfoods by David Wolfe

Photo credit- Genevieve Cooper

Fire Cider

Prevention is a lot smarter when it comes to sickness- there are many things you can do to boost your immunity before the winter season sets in. Your good health helps your body fight off the germs that abound in the colder months. Start to think about changing your diet and your daily habits in tune with the cooler weather, and your body will thank you.

This is a great recipe to prepare now, before you need it! It is something you take by the tablespoon (1 tbs daily) as a preventative to getting sick over the winter months, and also to boost your immunity when you do get sick. It is antibacterial, anti-viral, and it helps warm you and increase your circulation. You can splash it on your vegies or rice or any food or drink straight, or diluted.

If anyone knows where to get fresh horseradish here in Perth, I would be grateful to know! I have used daikon radish from an Asian store before, or just left it out. It still has plenty of benefits with the other ingredients. Be careful of adding so much hot pepper that you don't want to take it. I will also be using fresh turmeric as it is available here (I get mine from Peaches, Sth Freo). Enjoy!

 

Fire Cider

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup fresh grated organic ginger root
• 1/2 cup fresh grated organic horseradish root
• 1 medium organic onion chopped
• 10 cloves of organic garlic crushed or chopped
• 2 organic jalapeno peppers chopped
• Zest and juice from 1 organic lemon
• fresh organic rosemary Several sprigs of - or 2 tbsp of dried rosemary leaves
• 1 tbsp organic turmeric powder
• organic apple cider vinegar
• raw local honey to taste

Prepare all of your cold-fighting roots, fruits, and herbs and place them in a quart sized jar. Cover with apple cider vinegar (with the mother still in it, such as Braggs) Use a piece of natural parchment paper or wax paper under the lid to keep the vinegar from touching the metal lid as it corrodes it. Shake well! Store in a dark, cool place for one month and remember to shake daily (but if you forget, that's ok too, shake when you remember, and put your love and prayers into it!).

After one month, use cheesecloth to strain out the pulp, pouring the vinegar into a clean jar. Be sure to squeeze as much of the liquid goodness as you can from the pulp while straining. Next, comes the honey! Add 1/4 cup of honey and stir until incorporated. Taste your cider and add another 1/4 cup until you reach the desired sweetness.
Remember to label it!

Ingredient Variations

These herbs and spices would make a wonderful addition to your Fire Cider creations: Thyme, Cayenne, Rosehips, Ginseng, Orange, Grapefruit, Schizandra berries, Astragalus, Parsley, Burdock, Oregano, Peppercorns

Recipe from mountainroseblog.com 

 

Moroccan Preserved Lemons

Do you have an abundance of lemons at the moment? This recipe give you a wonderful condiment and flavour boost to many dishes, especially African dishes. I love to add my preserved lemons to rissoles along with cumin and other spices.
Preserved lemon is a traditional North African condiment where its sour and salty flavour adds a distinct flavour to classic tagines, roast chickens and other meals. 

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 pounds lemons (preferably Meyer lemons)
• 1/4 cup unrefined sea salt

Instructions

1. Trim the ends off lemons, taking care not to cut into the flesh, then slice the lemons as if to quarter them - keeping the base of the lemon intact.
2. Sprinkle the interior of the lemons with unrefined sea salt then layer in your mason jar, crock or fermentation device. Sprinkle with unrefined sea salt then mash with a wooden spoon or dowel until the rinds of the lemon begin to soften and the lemons release their juice which should combine with the salt to create a brine conducive to the proliferation of beneficial bacteria.
3. Continue mashing, salting and mashing until your lemons fill the jar and rest below the level of the brine.
4. Ferment at room temperature for three to four weeks. Lemons can be kept for one to two years.

Fermentations and Easy Sauerkraut

 

Fermentations
If you have Liked my Facebook Page  you may have noticed that I love to make fermented foods. These foods, used by traditional cultures all around the world to preserve food and for medicinal purposes, help heal our guts-  and our gut health is foundational to our immune system, our brain health and our whole wellbeing. Many people have found that by eating fermented foods and feeding and repopulating the healthy bacteria into their body, many health issues improve dramatically. If you have ever taken antibiotics and not consciously taken probiotics or yoghurt afterwards, you are likely to be suffering from an unhealthy balance of micro-organisms in your digestive system. If you have candida or thrush, ditto. We need lots and lots of the good bugs! Here is a very simple recipe for making some sauerkraut.

Easy Sauerkraut

Ingredients:

• 1 Head of cabbage (red, green or Napa or a combo)
• 1 tbs of caraway or fennel seeds (I use the fresh wild fennel seeds that are growing all around Freo at the moment)
• 1 Tbs sea salt
• 4 tbs whey (you don’t actually need the whey, but it helps, and the recipe for making whey is below. If you don't use whey, just add a little more salt. )

Directions:
Chop, grate or cut your favourite type of cabbage into strips. You could also put it in the Thermomix or food processor and break it up that way.
Put all the ingredients into a sturdy, large bowl, and start kneading and squeezing them with your hands. Keep kneading for about 10 minutes. Alternatively, mix them well and let them sit for a couple of hours. Either way (and kneading your vegies puts your energy and love into them, so I recommend that if you have time!), the juices will be released from the cabbage.

Put the mixture with all its juices into a wide mouthed jar, pressing down into the jar and making sure the juices come up and cover the cabbage by a cm or so- this stops mould growing. If there is not enough juice to cover the cabbage, add a little water with a pinch of salt in it to cover.
Put the lid on and leave it sitting on the bench for 3 days, before moving it to the fridge. I usually start eating it right away. It will last for many weeks.

To make whey- and cream cheese:
Take a tub of yoghurt.
Pour into a strainer over a bowl, first lining the strainer with a damp cloth- muslin is ideal, but a new Chux cloth or piece of tshirt will do too. Let it drain for a couple of hours.

The liquid in the bowl is whey- use it for your fermented vegies.
The solids in the strainer....is very healthy and nourishing cream cheese. Use it for dips, spreads or in recipes.

If I have no whey in the fridge, sometimes I will just scoop off the clear liquid that forms on top of a tub of yoghurt, and use that. You can also use water kefir, or some liquid reserved from a previous ferment.

Enjoy your fermenting journey- it can be addictive!

The Benefits of Meditation

The Benefits of Meditation

The physical and psychological benefits have been known for thousands of years, and are even being scientifically shown to increase our immunity and health. A Harvard Medical School study has shown that those who practice meditation and relaxation have higher levels of disease fighting genes activated in their bodies.

The experiment, which showed just how responsive genes are to behaviour, mood and environment, revealed that genes can switch on, just as easily as they switch off.
''Harvard researchers asked the control group to start practising relaxation methods every day,'' says Jake Toby, hypnotherapist at London's BodyMind Medicine Centre, who teaches clients how to induce the relaxation effect.
''After two months, their bodies began to change: the genes that help fight inflammation, kill diseased cells and protect the body from cancer all began to switch on.''  SMH article

And this benefit increased and continued as the people continued to practice. It is difficult in our busy lives to find the time to put aside to meditate and just be with oneself without distraction. But what is the alternative? A life full of busyness and not really being deeply in touch with ourselves? Never finding the time to just be? Surely that is not what life is meant to be about.

I find regular meditation to be a beautiful way to simply remind myself of what is really important. If I am upset or stressed, sitting quietly helps my body to calm down and see things from a clearer perspective. If I am too busy, meditation reminds me to stop and smell the roses, to be grateful for the small things, and to just BE. Taking the time to just sit and BE reminds me of the sacredness of the day, of the moment, of my life, and also that I am just a mere blip in the larger scheme of things, and so not to take it all too seriously.

To me, meditation is something that needs to be lived all the time, but the truth is, I forget. So my daily practice helps me to remember, and that carries over to the rest of my life.

Germs for Health!

Fermented Vegies replace beneficial microbes back into our system

Restoring our microbial populations

For millions of years we have co-evolved with micro-organisms. In the last few decades we have found how to kill many disease causing microbes through the use of antibiotics. It has  been a huge step forward in one way....our life expectancy has gone from 60 in the 1930s when diseases like tuberculosis killed many of us-  to 79 or so now, some of which at least may be attributed to the use of antibiotics. However, at the same time, there are increasing epidemics of chronic diseases, causing much suffering and costing billions of dollars, that before were much less common.

Superfoods- do you need them?

In today’s world, where people eat sub-optimal food daily, a superfood can be loosely described as a food that has high nutritional value- it packs more punch per mouthful of vital nutrients than, say, your average apple or slab of meat, let alone an Arnotts biscuit or bowl of noodles. Superfoods are being marketed strongly, and tend to be along the lines of “special” foods which can be marketed by companies- making them a lot of money. Foods like acai and goji berries, green powders such as spirulina and barley grass, cacao powder, maca, and various supplements such as MSM and marine phytoplankton. While these foods all have high nutrient value.....there are also foods which have been used for thousands of generations which you do not need to buy in an expensive packet from the other side of the world, which will boost your nutrient intake. 

Foods such as organ meats. Did you know that in some traditional cultures, especially during times of abundant food, only the organ meats were eaten? The muscle meat was thrown to the dogs! For example, liver is a superfood which have been valued by our ancestors for its high nutritional content. It was given to pregnant women, as well as children and elders, and highly valued. Of course, there is no marketing budget for it, but it is a traditional superfood.

Homemade bone broth is another superfood. Yes, again it is meat based. There are no traditional vegan cultures as far as I know- we are made to eat a range of foods and animal foods provide us with many nutrients that are much harder to find in a vegetarian or vegan diet. Bone broth can be made with just bones, or with bones with meat on them. It is simmered for long periods of time, and the bones release their marrow and start to soften and dissolve into the broth- this can be very beneficial for our own joints and bones. Along with what is added to the broth, this contributes to a very nutritious soup base which is definitely another superfood that has been around for a long, long time. 

There are a range of superfoods that contribute to a healthy gut, and which have been enjoyed in many different cultures. Beneficial bacteria have been valued for the health benefits they bring. From yoghurt, to milk kefir, water kefir, kombucha and also fermented vegetables....these foods give our guts a boost and healthy gut bacteria are extremely important for our immunity, for allergies, digestion, brain health, candida...and with modern anti-biotics killing off the good as well as the bad, we need to make sure we are restocked regularly, especially when we have chronic illnesses. 

Another superfood that has been eaten for millenia is mushrooms. Various types of fungi - reishi, cordyceps, maitake, shiitake, lion's mane- are high in ploysaccharides and super immune enhancing components, and are used as adaptogens- which means they help the body’s resilience against illness. They have helped in cancer and other illnesses. You can add shitake mushrooms to soup and the dried version is fairly inexpensive in Asian food stores. 

Kelp and other seaweeds such as dulse, nori, hijiki, bladderwrack and chlorella provide valuable trace minerals for the glandular system- the thyroid and adrenals- the hormonal and immune systems. They can help the body detoxify, lower cholesterol, and decrease the risk of cancer. Since minerals are often lacking in the modern diet, adding sea vegetables to the diet can be a great insurance for good health. 

Bee products are also a very natural beneficial superfood. Bee pollen is the most complete food found in nature containing vitamin B-9 and all 21 essential amino acids, making it a complete protein. Raw honey is rich in minerals, antioxidants, probiotics, enzymes, and one of the highest vibration foods on the planet. 

 For most people, eating a wide range of fresh unprocessed foods would be a good step in the right direction of good health. Bringing in the good stuff, will naturally allow the bad foods to drop away- the white flour and sugar in particular. Filling the body up on the nutrition it needs will eventually eliminate food cravings for unhealthy foods. Adding high density nutriition to the diet in the form of either traditional or highly marketed superfoods can help “fill in” the nutritional gaps in the modern diet and help us along the road to optimal health. 

I see that modern superfoods are a compensation of sorts for the lost wisdom of our ancestors that we have rejected in the name of scientific progress and dietary recommendations that are based on incomplete information, theory, and lacking the context of historical diets. In all traditional cultures there have been some foods which have been highly valued and traded. At the end of a long cold winter of salted dried meats- fish, nuts and berries, green nettles or other spring greens were a welcome food, giving nourishment, cleaning the digestive tract, detoxifying the liver and replenishing the blood ready for the active season. Historically, inland tribes on every continent would trade with coastal tribes for various foodstuffs that would have included the iodine and trace minerals in seafoods. Salt was a highly valued foodstuff- it is essential to health, to the extent that it was traded for gold in Africa and for slaves in Greece. 

Eating a wide range of foods is important, and in Australia and the U.S., the range of foods that make up the bulk of the diet is generally suprisingly small, considering how much access to good food we have. Wheat, corn and soy are a large aprt of many people’s

diets. For pregnant women, children, and people recovering from illness, super-nutritious foods are a great way to ensure an adequate diet. However, for most of us, and espeically those seeking optimal health and to prevent future illness, the addition of more highly nutritious superfoods can be beneficial.