17 Healing Wonders Of Saffron- The Spice Of Kings.

17 Healing Wonders Of Saffron- The Spice Of Kings.

Saffron is a spice derived from the flower of Crocus sativus, commonly known as the saffron crocus, a genus in the family Iridaceae. Mystery shrouds the origin of the English word, “saffron” but ancient texts suggest it to be derived from 12th-century Old French term safran, which comes from the Latin wordsafranum.

The Super Expensive Spice:

Saffron is the dried yellow stigmas, with just three stigmas in each flower. These need to be carefully hand-picked and then dried. Since almost 225,000 stigmas are needed to make just 1 pound of saffron, the intensive labor and care needed make saffron the most expensive spice in the world

Top 17 Healing Wonders of SAFFRON:

1. Disease Prevention: Saffron contains the compounds crocin and crocetin that promote learning, memory retention, recall capacity, and are beneficial against fever, flu and cold. It protects the central nervous system from oxidative stress keeping Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s at bay. It also helps in protecting against kidney, liver, and urinary bladder related diseases.
2. Anti Depressant: Saffron contains 5-hydroxytryptophan, which boosts blood flow to the brain, and produces serotonin, which helps in elevating the mood, reducing depression and anxiety.
3. Digestive properties: Saffron improves blood circulation in the digestive system, coats the membranes of stomach and colon, soothing gastrointestinal colic and acidity. Saffron is considered as a blood purifier and anti convulsant.
4. Maintains Heart Health: Potassium helps maintain blood pressure and keeps heart diseases at bay. Antioxidants in saffron help in lowering cholesterol and triglyceride. Crocetin helps reduce lipoproteinsin the blood stream, aids in oxygen distribution and blood circulation, and removes plaque from the arteries preventing atherosclerosis.
5. Fights Anemia: Abundant iron in saffron is critical for haemoglobin formation and it is a co-factor in the red blood cell production.
6. Treats Acne and Blemishes: The antifungal and anti-bacterial content of saffron makes it effective for the treatment of acne, blemishes and blackheads, and freshens up dull skin, erases dark circlesunder the eyes, exfoliates your skin, stimulate blood circulation and prevents wrinkles.
7. Combats Hair Loss: Saffron, mixed with licorice and milk, and applied to bald spots combats combathair loss (alopecia) and promotes hair growth.
8. Aphrodisiac: Saffron benefits men’s vitality by healing impotency, premature ejaculation, erectile dysfunction, assisting in maintaining a healthy sexual life.
9. Respiratory Soother: Saffron is used to treat asthma, cough, whooping cough (pertussis), and to loosen phlegm (as an expectorant). Saffron helps in clearing the narrow airways and reduces lung inflammation, preventing and reducing the severity of an asthmatic attack.
10. Soothes Menstrual Cramps and PMS: Saffron reduces pain severity and duration during themenstrual cycle, lowers the level of cortisol and stress, and increases estrogen level, in women suffering from pre menstrual syndrome (PMS).
11. During Pregnancy: Saffron enhances pelvic blood flow, suppresses cramps, gas and bloating, and controls mood swings, anxiety, and depression through the release of serotonin hormone, during various stages of pregnancy. Saffron tea suppresses nausea and morning sickness.
12. Fights Athritis: Saffron has anti inflammatory properties that provide relief from joint pains, easesfatigue and muscle inflammation, and reduces bone erosion by helping the tissues to get rid of lactic acid which gets built up after strenuous exercise.
13. For Insomnia: Saffron is a mild sedative used to treat insomnia and depression.
14. Improves Vision: Saffron contains carotenoids that protect against aging diseases like macular degeneration and cataracts, shields against harmful sun radiations, and regulates the fatty acid of the cell membrane in the eyes.
15. For Strong Gums: Massaging the gums with saffron helps strengthen the gums, reduces soreness and inflammation and swelling in the mouth and the tongue.
16. Anti Cancer: Crocin and safranal in saffron inhibits the growth of tumour in the body through their anti-carcinogenic and anti-mutagenic properties. The carotenoids in saffron possess chemo preventive properties against colon, liver and ovarian cancer.
17. Saffron Tea Benefits: American saffron tea acts as a natural cleanser of toxins, treats stomach ulcers and lacerations, psoriasis, intestinal disorders, negates gas accumulation in the stomach and intestines, thus preventing gastritis.

Side Effects and Precautions:

• Allergic reactions: Though uncommon some people might experience reactions like dry mouth, anxiety, dizziness, drowsiness, nausea, change in appetite, and headache.
• Poisoning:  Saffron in huge doses is UNSAFE and can cause poisoning, yellowing of the skin, eyes, and mucous membranes; vomiting; dizziness; bloody diarrhea; bleeding from the nose, lips, and eyelids; numbness; and other serious side effects. Doses of 12-20 grams can cause death.
• Pregnancy: Avoid doses greater than what normally is found in food. Larger amounts of saffron can make the uterus contract and might cause a miscarriage. Ideally avoid it completely.
• Bipolar disorder: Saffron might trigger mood swings like excitability and impulsive behavior (mania) in people with bipolar disorder. Strictly prohibited for patients suffering from this condition.

Choose Food Instead of Medicine

Food First!

Imagine a food, and not a medicine that is powerful enough to help you lower your cholesterol or reduce your risk of heart disease or lower your possibility of cancer! And then for an added bonus, it also puts you in a better mood and helps you achieve radiant looking skin. Oh, and I think I forgot to mention that there are absolutely no side effects? Surely you would stock up on a lifetime supply. Guess what? These life-altering foods are available right now in your local supermarket.
The foods you choose to eat will effect how you feel today as well as your future life’s quality. Even healthy people are able to make a few tweaks – and the impact really is amazing. I would guestimate that approximately 60% of suffering could be eliminated by what people eat and how they choose to exercise – I truly believe that heart disease, diabetes, obesity, cancer and high blood pressure can all be impacted.
The great thing is that you do not need to eat a specific food to treat a specific ailment. A healthy diet should incorporate a variety of the following superfoods – and they will help you maintain your weight, fight disease and even live longer. The one thing that all the foods on my list have in common is that they are ‘clean’ (unprocessed) foods. You aren’t going to find a fortified cereal on my list!

My Top Superfoods Which I Believe Offer Super Health Protection

• Beans
• Blueberries
• Broccoli
• Oats
• Oranges
• Pumpkin
• Salmon
• Soy
• Spinach
• Green Tea
• Tomatoes
• Turkey
• Walnuts
• Yogurt

Blueberries — Antioxidant Superfood
The ultimate superfood. Just 100g (4oz) of blueberries contain the same amount of age-defying antioxidants as five servings of other fruit and vegetables. Antioxidants help guard against a range of cancers, heart disease, asthma, arthritis and cataracts, Alzheimer’s and age-related neurological diseases.

By preventing infectious bacteria from clinging to the wall of the gut, bladder and urethra, blueberries also offer protection against cystitis. High in vitamin C and a good source of fibre, blueberries have a compound, pterostilbene, which acts to protect the heart in the same way as cholesterol-lowering drugs.

They also contain anthocyanins, which give them their blue colour. Other flavonoids reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer. There is also resveratrol, which again is believed to have an anti-cancer effect.

Omega 3-Rich Fish — Superfoods for the Heart, Joints, and Memory
For quite some time it has been common knowledge that omega-3 fatty acids are good for you, but do know how far-reaching their health benefits can be?

Extensive research has linked omega-3 fatty acids consumption to everything from reduced cardiovascular disease to cancer, arthritis, may possibly help with memory loss and Altzheimer’s and inflammatory bowel disease, there is some evidence to show that it reduces depression as well.”

Omega-3s are most prevalent in fatty, cold-water fish: Look for wild (not farmed) salmon, herring, sardines, and mackerel. Aim for two-to-three servings a week. Other forms of omega 3s are available in fortified eggs, flax seed, and walnuts. These superfoods have the added benefit of being high in monounsaturated fats, which can lower cholesterol.

Soy — Superfood to Lower Cholesterol
A study reported in The Journal of the American Medical Association (2003) showed that a diet of soy fibre, protein from oats and barley, almonds, and margarine from plant sterols lowered cholesterol as much as statins (which are the most widely prescribed cholesterol medicine).

Fibre — Superfood Aids Weight Loss, Keeps Cholesterol Levels Down and Keeps Your Bowel Healthy
A diet which is high in fibre will help you maintain healthy cholesterol and regulate blood sugar levels. As fibre helps you feel fuller longer, it’s a great tool in weight management. Whole grains, beans, fruit, and vegetables are all good sources.

Green Tea — Superfood for Lowering Cholesterol and Inhibiting Cancer.                                                                    

Green tea has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries to treat everything from headaches to depression. The leaves are supposedly richer in antioxidants than other types of tea because of the way they are processed. Green tea is alleged to boost weight loss, reduce cholesterol, combat cardiovascular disease, and prevent cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.

Calcium

Calcium helps build strong bones and prevents osteoporosis. Look for it in dairy products or supplements. Added bonus: Some studies show that calcium helps with weight loss. Here are the calcium levels recommended for adults by the USDA:
• Age 9 to 18 — 1,300 mg
• Age 19 to 50 — 1,000 mg
• Age 51 and over — 1,200 mg

Dark Chocolate

New research has shown that dark chocolate is packed with antioxidants and can lower blood pressure. However, its important that you are eating chocolate with a minimum of 60% cocoa content; the darker, the better. In addition, the darker it is, the lower the fat and sugar content. Now that’s my kind of health food!

source : http://greenyatrablog.com/

Morning Elixir: Hot Water with Lemon and Turmeric!

Morning Elixir: Hot Water with Lemon and Turmeric!

While I was growing up, whenever I was cold, my mother cooked milk with turmeric for me. Mild heated turmeric warms the throat and strengthens the body.

I often wished that i can drink this elixir throughout the winter. Because the mental health benefits of turmeric are already well known to the western world, I often wonder why I do not drink turmeric every day? – writes Tejal Patel.

Since I am a vegan, no longer prefer the option with milk, or turmeric in warm water is equally effective and has become the main item of my morning routine.

Not familiar with the great effects of turmeric? Let me remind you. Turmeric is a yellow spice from India, part of the family of ginger. In Ayurveda, turmeric is known as a powerful antioxidant that fights free radicals that are known carcinogens and is also antiseptic and has natural anti-inflammatory effects.

- See more at: http://www.healthylifevision.com/morning-elixir-hot-water-with-lemon-and-turmeric/#sthash.XDjBXQrY.dpuf

Turmeric is inevitable in Indian cuisine, but if you do not eat Indian food every day, how to include this wonderful spice in your diet? Easy! Spice up your hot water with lemon. For additional thread virtues add a pinch of cinnamon, which has anti-inflammatory properties and can stabilize blood sugar levels (which mean that you eat less and feel more satisfied).

Ingredients

• 1 cup of warm (not hot) water; you can use a cup of warm milk of choice (almond, soy or cow)
• ¼ tsp turmeric
• Juice of half a lemon
• pinch of cinnamon (optional)
• 1/8 teaspoon of honey or agave syrup
• Teaspoon of coconut oil

Preparation

In the warm water, add turmeric, lemon juice and honey, a tablespoon of coconut oil and mix them well. Turmeric will stay at the bottom of the cup, so you should continue stirring while you are drinking, to take the advantage of turmeric. Make sure that the water you drink is lukewarm when you drink it.

Adding turmeric in your hot water is cheap, mild flavor, and effectively acts on every system in the body. Adding this powerful spice to your diet is one of the best things you can do for your long term health.

Source : www.mindbodygreen.com

- See more at: http://visual-basic-uday.blogspot.com/search/label/Vegetables%20Recipes

10 Reasons To Skip The Wine and Stick To Grape Juice

Although wine has been credited for a wide range of health benefits, little is said about primary constituent. The consumption of wine is not necessary to benefit from all the wonder nutrients in grapes. Grapes are rich in health-protecting antioxidants, including resveratrol and flavonoids. These antioxidants are found mainly in the skin, stem, leaf and seeds of grapes, rather than in their pulp and they exhibit very powerful anti-aging, immune boosting and health promoting properties.

We’ve looked at the French for years to discover exactly why their high consumption of wine has led to lower rates of heart disease and cancer. Scientists discovered more than a decade ago that it had nothing to do with the alcohol and everything to do with resveratrol antioxidants in red grapes. The French are also more active and eat less processed foods with less toxic preservatives, which may protect them against many cancers.

Alcohol, regardless of its type (i.e. beer, wine, liquor, etc) is a class A1 carcinogen which are confirmed human carcinogens. Alcohol consumption has been causally related with breast cancer for some time. Increasing evidence indicates a stronger association with neoplasms, though the risk is elevated for other types of breast cancers too.

In a previous study posted in the journal Neuroscience, lead author Megan Anderson, reported that even moderate drinking — drinking less during the week and more on the weekends — significantly reduces the structural integrity of the adult brain.

For every 200 women, 20 are expected to develop breast cancer during their lifetime. If they all drank 1.5 units every day, an extra one woman would develop cancer because of alcohol, the research suggests.

The Power Is In The Grape

In an analysis of 446 compounds for their the ability to boost the innate immune system in humans, researchers in the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University discovered just two that stood out from the crowd. Red grapes and blueberies both have an exceptional ability to significantly impact immune function.

The amount of antioxidants in grapes depends on many factors, including the kind of grape, its geographic origin and how it’s processed. Dark red and purple grapes tend to be higher in antioxidants than are white or green grapes. Likewise, the level of antioxidants such as resveratrol found in wine varies, with higher levels in red wine.

Besides grape juice, other grape products may offer health benefits, including dealcoholized wine, grape extracts and grape powder.

Keep in mind that it’s also beneficial to eat whole grapes — not just grape juice. Some research suggests that whole grapes deliver the same amount of antioxidants that are in grape juice but have the added benefit of providing dietary fiber.

Rochester researchers showed for the first time that resveratrol in grape skins can help destroy pancreatic cancer cells by reaching to the cell’s core energy source, or mitochondria, and crippling its function.

* Resveratrol exhibits therapeutic potential for cancer chemoprevention as well as cardioprotection.

“It sounds contradictory that a single compound can benefit the heart by preventing damage to cells, yet prevent cancer by causing cell death, said Brown. “The most likely explanation for this, still to be rigorously proved in many organs, is that low concentrations activate survival mechanisms of cells while high concentrations turn on the in-built death signals in these cells.”

* Resveratrol may aid in the prevention of age-related disorders, such as neurodegenerative diseases, inflammation, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.

“The simplest explanation is that resveratrol turns on the cell’s own survival pathways, preventing damage to individual cells,” said Brown. “Further mechanisms help, including removing very reactive oxidants in the body and improving blood supply to cells.”

* Low doses of resveratrol improve cell survival as a mechanism of cardio- and neuro-protection, while high doses increase cell death.

“The key difference is probably the result of activation of the sirtuins in the nucleus,” said Brown. “Low activation reverses age-associated changes, while high activation increases the process of apoptosis or programmed cell death to remove cellular debris. Similar changes are seen with low-dose versus high-dose resveratrol: low-dose resveratrol produces cellular protection and reduces damage, while high-dose resveratrol prevents cancers.”

10 Benefits of Consuming Grape Juice 

1) Flavonoids found in grape juice raise the level of HDL (good) cholesterol. This prevents atherosclerosis, blockage of arteries and improves cardiovascular health. Grape juice also improves nitric oxide levels in the the body which reduces the formation of clots in blood vessels.

2) Resveratrol found in grape juice prevents the formation of tumors in the body. Red grapes contain antioxidant compounds found to specifically prevent breast cancer.

3) Drinking grape juice daily helps in lowering blood pressure.

4) Antioxidants present in grape juice repair damaged cells and also prevent them from further damage.

5) Taking grape juice in the morning without sugar helps cure migraine headaches.

6) Grape juice cures blood disorders and is a very good purifier of the blood. It also flushes out harmful toxins from the body.

7) Grape juice cures constipation problem as it acts as a good laxative.

8) Red colored grape juice prevents infections and has strong antiviral and antibacterial properties.

9) Antioxidants present in grape juice can help in preventing aging related problems like Alzheimer’s disease.

10) Antioxidants present in grape juice boost the immune system

Prevent Cancer with this Simple Recipe

Prevent Cancer with this Simple Recipe

Cleaning the bowel using this recipe should last for a month. After that, your intestines will be reborn.

For this recipe you will need the following ingredients: a pound of fresh carrots, a pound of fresh beetroot, a handful of dried apricots, a handful of raisins, a spoon of honey. Try to find these ingredients from organic farms.

Preparation:

Take a pound of fresh carrots and a pound of raw beetroot. Finely shred the vegetables and put them in an intact enamel pot. Then pour boiling water over them, so that the water is two fingers above the vegetables. Then add one handful of dried and chopped apricots and raisins. Place the pot on the fire and wait for the water to boil. As soon as the water starts to boil, remove the pot from the fire.

When the mixture is slightly cooled, add one tablespoon of honey and let it stay covered for 12 hours in a cool and dry place. After that you need to squeeze the mixture and strain it well. Drink the liquid, and the rest of the mixture you can use it for culinary purposes. This amount of the cure should last you for about two days.

Consummation:

Drink half a cup (1-1.5 dl) three times a day before meals. Cleaning the bowel using this recipe should last month. After that, your intestines will be reborn. Keep the remaining liquid in the refrigerator.

VB code for best way for check Date is less then or Grater then Question :   What is the best way for date > or < Dim mMyDate as date Then we store date from perticuler tabel using Record Set like mMyDate=MyRst!Date_Of_Joining If mMyDate > now then Msgbox " Date_Of_Joining > Today" it is ok or we need to use format functione like If format(mMyDatem,"DD/MM/YYYY") > format(now,"DD/MM/YYYY") then Msgbox " Date_Of_Joining > Today" End if and one thing if we will use format(mMyDatem,"MM/DD/YYYY") > format(now,"MM/DD/YYYY") then result will be same or not? Answer (2)    The only correct way to test for formatted dates being greater or less than another is to format them in yyyyMMdd format.  _ For example, using the below with myDatem being 05/07/2009 and today being 04/07/2010, you would get 05/07/2009 being later than today which is clearly not the case. You must ensure the date values are left padded with zeroes for the months of January thru September and the day of the month < 10 and the way do to this is the use the yyyyMMdd format characters. _ If you were to format them as 2009/07/05 compared to 2010/07/04, the comparison would work correctly. _ Hope this helps. Answer (2)   If you have dates in the form of Date values (for example, if you retrieve  the value from a Date/Time field to a Date variable, or if you get the value  of the Now() function), you should compare them AS DATES:  * Comparison as dates if much faster than comparison as strings  * Conversion to formatted strings adds even more unnecessary  processing time  * String conversions can lead to incorrect results  In particular, the following statement:  ..  If Format(myDate, "dd/mm/yyyy") > Format (Now(), "dd/mm/yyyy")  ..  will give the wrong result approximately HALF THE TIME, because string  comparisons will compare the day number BEFORE comparing the month number or year number. Therefore, 29/01/1999 will be greater than 01/12/2010, because  29 is greater 01.  There is absolutely NO reason to convert dates to strings to perform  comparisons for greater than or less than.  However, you do need to be careful when comparing dates for equality. A Date  may be for any time of day. The statement:  ..  myDate = CDate("04/07/2010")  ..  will create a date/time value that is equal to:  ..  2010/07/04 00:00:00  ..  but the function Now() will return a value that may have any time value at  all. If you plan to do a comparison for equality, make sure that you  TRUNCATE your date/time value to only the date. While one way to do that is  to convert the date to a formatted string and then convert the string back  to a date, it's extremely inefficient. A much more efficient way to do it is  to use the various date/time functions:  ..  Dim today As Date  today = Now()  today = DateSerial(Year(today ), Month(today ), Day(today))  ..  In some environments, the Date() function MAY return a date/time value that  contains only the date (and an effective time of midnight). You should  verify that before using the Date() function without applying truncation to  the results.  Michael S. Meyers-Jouan

STUDIES SHOW FAKE HONEY IS EVERYWHERE – HERE ARE 10 TRICKS TO TELL IF YOUR HONEY IS TRULY NATURAL

STUDIES SHOW FAKE HONEY IS EVERYWHERE – HERE ARE 10 TRICKS TO TELL IF YOUR HONEY IS TRULY NATURAL

1. Read the contents

This is the first step that will help you find the right ingredients in order to choose good honey which contains no additives. The producer must appoint the contents and their percentage by a certain amount.

2. Natural honey is not sticky

A good test would be if you take a little honey and rub it between your fingers. Real honey is easily absorbed into the skin. If it remains sticky, It means that It contains sugar or artificial sweeteners.

3. Caramelizing

Put a few teaspoons of honey into a bowl and heat it to a high temperature in a microwave. Real honey gets caramelized, while the false becomes foamy and full of bubbles.

4. Paper

Put a few drops of honey on paper. If the honey does not break the paper after some time, it is a natural one. Otherwise, one that contains water in its composition will break the paper just a few seconds.

5. The trick with bees

Ants pass by real honey, produced by bees. Try this and put some honey in a corner. If ants do not touch it, it means that your honey is natural.

6. Water with honey

This is the easiest indicator of the correct composition of honey. Pure honey, when put in water, makes lumps and falls to the bottom of the cup, while the false one melts.

7. Tingling in the month

Pure natural honey causes tingling and mild inflammation of the tongue, while the false has no effect on the palate.

8. Honey on Bread

Put some honey on a piece of bread. If bread becomes hard, honey is completely natural. If it only dampens the surface of the piece of bread, it is false, because of the large amount of water in its composition.

9. Egg yolks

Mix one egg yolk with a little honey. If honey is natural, the yolk will look like cooked.

10. Crystallization

Pure honey crystallizes with time, while the other honey, even after a long period, keeps its liquid composition in the form of syrup.

Source: http://www.naturalcuresandhomeremedies.com/