Chemistry, Nutritional Supplements Or Whole Foods – To Maintain the Health Tripod, Body-Mind-Spirit

Increasingly, as if there is a “new” discovery parade for the latest cure-all, probiotics have come again to the forefront. As I read the varying articles and studies, I am struck by how far afield we have come from normal, common sense.

In order to maintain a healthy body, there is a tripod of health: body, mind, and spirit. Knock out one leg of that stool, and the stool topples over. Probiotics, diet, dietary supplements address only the “body” leg of the health tripod. So let’s start there.
Anything taken externally, whether it is natural or medical (chemical or surgical) in support of the physical, has only ever been intended as temporary support until we have regained or achieved the necessary consciousness to support complete and perfect health; much as you might use a crutch to recover from a broken leg. When the leg is healed, we throw the crutch away as we should throw the supplements and medications away. Continue reading “Chemistry, Nutritional Supplements Or Whole Foods – To Maintain the Health Tripod, Body-Mind-Spirit”

Are Vitamin Supplements Better Than Whole Foods?

At the end of World War II, chemical companies started selling nitrate/ phosphate/ potassium (NPK) fertilizers that made using traditional farming methods unprofitable. By the 1960’s, 97% of American farms were recorded to have become fully dependent on NPK fertilizers to grow cash crops. Plants need the constituents of an NPK fertilizer to grow; however, humans need much more than Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium to grow.

Due to the fact that the NPK fertilizers are replacing only Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium other soil nutrients (like selenium, magnesium, boron, chromium) necessary for a balanced nutrition will become deficient and plants grown on that soil are deficient of them. If these nutrients are not present in the soil, we cannot get them when eating crops grown on those soils. Even if we eat a lot of fruits, these fruits are also deficient of these nutrients.

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Why Whole Foods Can Help Your Child Avoid Childhood Obesity

You’ve heard it before – you are what you eat. And while this is just a statement, it is surprisingly true. What we feed our children will impact them for the rest of their lives. If we feed our children healthy foods, they will grow to be healthy. If, however, we feed our children fatty foods, they will grow to be obese. If your child is on their way to childhood obesity, start changing the way they eat now! A whole foods diet can help your child to avoid childhood obesity. To find out how, continue reading this article. Throughout the article we will discuss the many ways that a whole foods diet can keep your child at a healthy weight and in a healthy state.

If we want to know how a whole foods diet can help prevent childhood obesity, we must first understand what factors contribute to weight gain. Let’s speak about some of these factors, beginning with calories. Continue reading “Why Whole Foods Can Help Your Child Avoid Childhood Obesity”

Find Out Why A Gluten Free Whole Foods Diet Is Better For You

A whole foods diet does not mean a diet of foods from Whole Foods Market.

A gluten free diet of whole foods means that you eat a diet that consists of only the complete food. No food isolates or foods that are refined, diluted, rearranged or manipulated by man (or woman).

Whole foods means you eat food in the form that mother natures delivers it. Your grains are whole not refined and processed into a different substance with the same name.

There is a huge body of evidence that eating a whole foods diet is the healthiest way to eat. If you are eliminating gluten but you still eat the same foods just not any that contain gluten, you may not be able to reach any new levels in your health. Continue reading “Find Out Why A Gluten Free Whole Foods Diet Is Better For You”

What Are the Pros and Cons of Whole Foods?

Some say eating whole foods is an entire lifestyle. It’s not just about eating raw foods or eating unprocessed meals. It is about so much more. It’s about bringing environmentally-conscious reusable tote bags to pack your groceries in; it’s about riding your bike instead of driving to work; it’s about dyeing your hair with henna rather than chemicals; it’s about wearing clothes made of hemp; it’s about solar panels, reducing our carbon footprint and backyard composting. Others say the offerings at Whole Foods Market stores are overpriced and overrated.

There are many benefits to eating whole and natural foods. As Whole Foods Market chairman John Mackey says, “There’s no inherent reason why business cannot be ethical, socially responsible, and profitable.” Shoppers can pat themselves on the back for helping the small organic farmer in America, versus foreign workers across the country.

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Ma Po Tou Fu (Bean Curd With Chili Sauce)

Ma Po Tou Fu is Sichuan’s well known characteristic dish. Tradition has it that during the Tongzhi years of Qing Dynasty, there is a small inn at the WanFu (Innumerable Blessings) bridge outside the north gate of Chengdu, Sichuan. The woman owner Chen is pretty good at cooking. She uses bean curd, tiny sliced beef, hot pepper, Chinese prickly ash, thick bean sauce and other ingredients to cook. The dish tastes hemp (a unique flavor from the Chinese prickly ash), spicy, fresh, fragrant, and it is delicious, it is extremely well received by the people around the town. At that time there was no official name for this dish. Because Chen has pockmarked face (“ma” face with “ma” happens to be the same character as the “ma” or “hemp” flavor from the Chinese prickly ash), people then started calling it “Ma Po To Fu”. “Po” in this case means woman, wife. So to translate accurately it means “wife of pockmarked face Tou Fu”. From then on it became well-known around the entire nation. It is now a world-renowned Chinese cuisine 100 years later. All the Sichuan restaurants must have this dish. Continue reading “Ma Po Tou Fu (Bean Curd With Chili Sauce)”

Dumplings – Global Comfort Food

Name a country, and no question they will have their own version of dumplings, and certainly more than one. They are traditional foods for millions, eaten during religious and festive holidays, enjoyed with meats, covered with gravy, served as desserts or simply alone as a light meal. They can be dipped, stuffed, boiled, fried, or steamed.

Dumplings are an ancient food. Historians believe that cavemen actually prepared some version. (Perhaps ground up dinosaur formed into a ball and dropped into boiling water, once they figured out how to create fire.) Filled dumplings probably developed centuries later, known as iiaozi, most likely about 2,000 years ago. Credit for their creation is given to a man named Zhang Zhongjian, a renowned doctor of herbal medicine during the Han Dynasty. Many poor people in his hometown suffered from the cold temperatures and had frost bitten ears. He made up big vats of boiled vegetable soup, added herbs, then dropped in dumplings and fed the concoction to the populace. (Surely this was the forerunner to chicken soup for colds and flu.) The dumplings were made from thin wheat sheets and chopped vegetables. The herbal soup was filling, soothing and helped unthaw the locals. They actually resembled the same shape and size you see today in Chinese restaurants. Continue reading “Dumplings – Global Comfort Food”

What to Do at Hong Kong International Airport

When you think of Hong Kong, you might think of bright lights, lots of people, Victoria Harbor and the light show on the buildings each night. But did you know that the city’s International Airport is a destination by itself? Rated consistently as one the world’s best airports (voted #3 in 2012 by Skytraxx World Airport Awards) Hong Kong International Airport is a traveler’s delight.

Hong Kong International Airport Facts

Hong Kong International Airport opened its doors on July 6, 1988.
It had been constructed at a cost of $20 billion and took six years to complete.
It is built on an artificially created island that added approximately 1 percent to the city’s total surface area.
It has 74 moving walkways in total (30 in the Arrivals hall, 34 in Departures, and 10 at the Ground Transportation Center).
The passenger terminal is 1.27km (0.8miles) long.
Over 50 million travelers passed through Hong Kong International Airport in 2010. This ranks the airport as the eleventh busiest airport in the world.

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Chicago for Food Lovers – Inside or Outside the Loop, Chicago is a Foodie’s Town

Whether your idea of a perfect meal is a melt-in-your mouth steak, main-dish veggies, Chicago-style pizza, classic diner food, or exotic dishes from another culture, you will find a restaurant favorite in Chicago.

For steaks and red-meat lovers, The Capital Grille (633 N Saint Clair Street) features the finest in dry- aged steaks and award-winning wines. Everything from the signature Veal Chop with Roquefort Butter Sauce to Steak au Poivre with Courvoisier Cream is oh, so tantalizing. Viand (155 East Ontario) has more than just red — pastas and fish are also served — but why not enjoy a great red meat dish from a chef whose family owns the oldest meatpacking company in Chicago? If you like sports served with your red meat, check out NFL Hall-of-Famer Mike Ditka’s Restaurant (100 E. Chestnut), with an upstairs cigar lounge.

If you are more the veggies as a main course type, you can’t go wrong at the Green Zebra (1460 West Chicago Ave), where the emphasis is on unique vegetarian dishes, changed seasonally. Or try a different kind of diner experience, at The Chicago Diner (3411 N. Halsted Street), which claims it is “meat free since ’83.” Continue reading “Chicago for Food Lovers – Inside or Outside the Loop, Chicago is a Foodie’s Town”

Caja China Cooking History and Delicious Recipe Ideas

Seemingly, there is as much mystery surrounding the origins of the “caja china” as there is about how to use one for those not familiar with the roaster. Stories have been told about the roughly 150,000 Chinese laborers who came to Cuba in the 1850’s, and that they brought the cooking style to the island, hence the term “caja china.” Research, however, indicates no known record of the roasting box dating this far back. In fact, there appears to have been relatively little co-mingling between the Chinese and Cuban cuisines. So where then did the box originate, and where did the name “la caja china” (the Chinese box) come from? Continue reading “Caja China Cooking History and Delicious Recipe Ideas”