Showing posts with label nutrition. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nutrition. Show all posts

Monday, April 16, 2018

Sprouts....You can grow them too!!

It is sooo easy to sprout some nutritionally-delicious, living food!

What you need:

  1)  A wide-mouth mason jar.

  2)  Organic seeds of your choosing.

  3)  A sprouting lid.

  4) A small plate or saucer.

  5) Clean water

  6)  A 1 tbsp. measuring spoon.


Procedure:

1) Sterilize mason jar.  It is important that the jar is completely clean to avoid mold growth.

2) Measure 1 tbsp. of seeds into jar.  

3) Add a bit of clean and cool water, give the seeds a rinse and drain the water.  Add more clean, cool water until the seeds are completely submerged.  Let the seeds soak overnight.

4) In the morning, drain the water. Turn the jar upside down on a little plate so the last bit of water can drain out.  Leave it like that until the evening.  Give the seeds another rinse in the evening and leave the jar upside down again after draining the water.

5) Continue rinse and drain process as in point #4  until the sprouts are ready.   It takes approximately 5 days for them to be ready for consumption.

Keep the jar out of direct sunlight for the duration of the sprouting process.  



Sprouts can be used on sandwiches, hamburgers, in salads or even under a poached egg!  Bon appetit!


They are packed with nutrition. The sprouting process increases nutrient levels making sprouts richer in protein, folate, magnesium, phosphorus, manganese and vitamins C and K than non-sprouted plants.  Sprouts also tend to contain higher levels of essential amino acids, with certain individual amino acids increasing by as much as 30%.   Sprouts are also great sources of antioxidants and other beneficial plant compounds.  The broccoli sprouts, for example, are known to have anti-cancer properties.  Broccoli sprouts have a mild radish-like flavour.

Sprouts don't come any fresher than this!

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Depression: From hopelessness to hopefulness

There has been a lot of media attention focused on the topic of Depression in recent days in Canada. Many proactive individuals shared pieces of their personal experiences with the condition, including the challenges they faced in getting help and finding a solution.

Some very important points were not acknowledged, or at least not emphasized, which I will list below.
Firstly, the experience of depression is not exactly the same for everyone, especially because there are differing causes and varying degrees of depression.

Possible Causes:

(One or more of the following may exist concurrently.)
Thyroid imbalance (Check out The Thyroid Solution)
Progesterone and/or Testosterone deficiency
Trauma
Abuse
Neurotransmitter imbalance
Nutritional deficiency (ie: mineral or amino acid deficiency)
Heavy Metal Toxicity (ie: Mercury, Lead, Aluminum, Arsenic, etc.
Chronic Viral or Bacterial Infections

Remedies:

Counseling
Bio-identical Hormone supplementation
Nutritional Support (vitamins, minerals, amino acids)
Medicinal Herbs
Detox (The liver needs to be functioning optimally for hormone levels to be balanced and heavy metals need to be eliminated as much as possible from the body.)

Antidepressants are not the answer for every individual suffering from depression ESPECIALLY if the cause is toxicity. There ARE natural alternatives. Sometimes antidepressants intensify symptoms of depression and anxiety AND may cause suicidal thoughts/actions. If you decide to try an antidepressant, be sure to detox  during, and after treatment as most medications negatively impact the liver. Also, make sure you tell your Dr. and a trusted friend or family member immediately if your symptoms get worse or if you notice suicidal tendencies. If your Dr. is not available, go to the hospital. You CAN get better. It may take some time and may feel like you’re body surfing in a severe thunderstorm so do your best to stay connected with people who you can depend on to encourage you and support you in the process.

Talk about your experiences and journal them as well. The sun WILL shine again.

If you have anything to add, please leave a comment. If you’d like to share your journey with mental illness for the benefit of others, please leave a comment. THANK YOU!