nutrition

Allergies, tofu, B vitamins, wine

modiin produce in Israel
Fruit in Modiin, Israel

I haven’t done a post on health topics for a while, so here are some recent internet picks:

  • Allergies: why are they on the rise? Lots of theories, such as a possible link to vaccines. Feel free to argue with any theory. I’m going to highlight this idea:

    Allergies And Ubiquitous Presence Of Some Foods

    Before the advent of freezers and airfreight most people ate local foods in season. Now most fruit and vegetables are available all year round, so that our systems are exposed to the same foods continually without respite.

    There has been a dramatic increase in people experiencing soya allergy, since soya has become a common ingredient in many processed foods. In Europe and North America rice allergy is relatively uncommon, whereas in Asia where it is consumed more frequently it is much more common.

    Note: In Israel one still eats local foods in season. It is difficult, for example, to obtain strawberries in the summer.

  • Why Tofu Wrecks Your Brain
    Always a good idea to read comments on Dr. Mercola’s posts
  • Can a good B vitamin help reduce susceptibility to sunburn? I’ve heard that B vitamin supplementation can ease the mosquito bites. However, my son claims he eats a lot of cereal, so he doesn’t think this is true. He gets very itchy mosquito bites.
  • Resveratrol in red wine prevents cancer

As I am married to a red wine lover, I’ll conclude with a photo from our trip to the Galil winery:
oak barrels
The wine is stored in these oak barrels (oak is either from France or the US) for a few years before being bottled and sold. We bought some Galil Pinot Noir and enjoyed it with our friends in Hashmonaim.

Tanks for fermentation and storage of wine are the answers to my quiz on this post.

Garlic and Ginger

Garlic and Ginger on a bed of lettuceFeeling like a cold is coming on? Throat a little scratchy? Got a bit of post-nasal drip? Two staples to stock in your kitchen are garlic and ginger. I’ve cooked up the following concoction for mild ear-nose-throat ailments:

– Peel one garlic clove.
– Cut off one piece of ginger from fresh ginger root.
  Slice off the skin of the root.
– Optional: a leaf of dark greens, such as collards or kale
– Optional: a dash of hot pepper sauce or a bit of a hot pepper
– Optional: fresh lemon (thanks for the reminder, Robin)

Place all ingredients in a mug. Boil some water, and pour it into the mug. Let it steep for about two minutes. Sip, and enjoy.

For my kids, who refuse the garlic, I put in a slice of ginger and a large spoonful of honey.

I am going to restate the obvious: make sure to get enough sleep. And may I add that if the cough or sore throat persists, please see your doctor.

In another post, I’ll write up my garlic spread recipe. Coming soon.

Another tip: try giving up sugar and dairy products for the duration of your cold; that may help the healing process along.

This post is dedicated to a friend that I hope is feeling better than when she asked me for a home remedy.