Quinoa and Cranberry Burgers

Quinoa and Cranberry Burgers

These sweet yet savoury mini burgers could be your main dish, or even make them bite-size for canapés. If you don’t have nutritional yeast flakes, don’t worry, but they do add extra vitamin B12 and a slight cheesy taste.

serves 4

100g (3 1/2oz) sweet potato, chopped

3 tbsp olive oil

100g (3 1/2oz/1/2 cup) quinoa

2 tsp bouillon powder

40g (1 1/2oz/1/3 cup) dried cranberries, soaked in water for 4 hours and drained

7g (1/4oz) parsley, chopped

2 heaped tbsp nutritional yeast flakes

15g (1/2oz) arrowroot flour

Pinch of Himalayan pink salt

1 egg white

Olive oil, for sautéing

For the sauce

50g (2oz/1/3 cup) macadamia nuts

2 tsp tahini

1 tsp grated fresh root ginger

Juice of 1 lemon

2 tbsp water

Pinch of cayenne pepper

Pinch of ground cumin

To make the sauce, place all the sauce ingredients in a blender, whizz until smooth and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 170°C/340°F/gas mark 3 1/2.

Place the chopped sweet potato on a baking tray (cookie sheet), drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and bake for 30 minutes, until tender. Transfer to a mini food processor (or use a hand-held blender) with the remaining olive oil and blend to a purée. Increase the oven temperature to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4.

Meanwhile, measure the volume of the quinoa and bring twice the volume of water to the boil in a pan. Add the quinoa and bouillon powder, bring back to the boil, then simmer for 20 minutes, or until the ‘germ’ separates. Drain and set aside.

Place the sweet potato purée in a bowl with the quinoa and the remaining ingredients and mix to a sticky consistency. Form the mixture into 8 burgers.

Heat a little olive oil in a frying pan and, working in batches if necessary, cook the burgers for about 2 minutes on each side, until golden. Transfer to a baking tray (cookie sheet) lined with baking parchment and bake for 10 minutes.

Serve the burgers at once, with the sauce.

WHAT IS HIMALAYAN PINK SALT?

This delicately pink crystalline salt originates from ancient seas. It’s naturally dried by the sun and is totally pure and full of amazing minerals.

 

 

Spicy Tofu Skewers with a Chilli Pesto Dip

Spicy Tofu Skewers with a Chilli Pesto Dip

Tofu loves to soak up flavours… With this easy recipe you can serve an impressively fancy dish very quickly, and the dip is just delectable!

serves 2

1 red onion, chopped

75g (3oz) butternut squash, chopped

1 fennel bulb, chopped

2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for sautéing

1/2 tsp harissa

200g (7oz) tofu, cubed

First, make the dip (see below). Next, preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4.

Toss the chopped vegetables in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, then place on a baking tray (cookie sheet) and bake for 35–40 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix the harissa with the remaining olive oil in a bowl and toss the tofu cubes in the mixture. Heat a frying pan, add the tofu cubes and cook for 6 minutes, turning frequently.

Thread the tofu cubes and roasted vegetables onto wooden skewers and serve at once, with the dip and Mint-and-Mango-Marinated Courgette Spaghetti 

NUTRITIONAL NUGGET

The bright colours of all squashes and pumpkins pack a carotene-rich punch – generally speaking, the richer the colour, the higher the concentration of carotenes, which protect against heart disease. What’s more, they are an excellent source of folic acid, which is important during early pregnancy, and vitamins B1, B6 and C.

Feta, Cucumber and Spinach Salad

Feta, Cucumber and Spinach Salad

This can be thrown together in a nanosecond and is a perfectly balanced meal. It also makes a lovely side dish – with or without the feta, depending on the dish you are serving it with.

serves 4

1/2 tsp bouillon powder

6 tenderstem broccoli stalks

40g (1 1/2oz/1/3 cup) frozen peas, defrosted

1 small yellow pepper, deseeded and diced

1 spring onion (scallion), finely sliced diagonally

60g (2 1/2oz) cucumber, diced

5cm (2in) piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and grated

2 tbsp olive oil

Juice of 1 lemon

100g (3 1/2oz) feta, crumbled

70g (2 3/4oz) baby spinach leaves

Place the bouillon powder in a pan with about 7.5cm (3in) of water, bring to the boil, add the broccoli and simmer for 3 minutes. Add the peas and cook for a further 2 minutes, until the broccoli is just tender and the peas are completely heated through. Drain and set aside.

Place the yellow pepper, spring onion (scallion), cucumber and ginger in a bowl, add the olive oil and lemon juice and stir thoroughly, making sure the ginger is evenly mixed in. Add the broccoli, peas, feta and spinach and toss gently to combine.

Sweetcorn and Broad Bean Fritters

Sweetcorn and Broad Bean Fritters

These colourful fritters are unbelievably delicious. They give you the impression of being substantial and really rather naughty, but leave you feeling light and bright.

serves 2

2 large eggs

100g (3 1/2oz/scant 2/3 cup) frozen sweetcorn, defrosted and drained

115g (3 3/4oz) frozen baby broad (fava) beans, defrosted and drained

50g (2oz/1/3 cup) rice flour

2 tbsp finely chopped coriander (cilantro)

1 bird’s eye chilli (Thai chilli), deseeded and finely chopped

Juice of 1 lime

1/4 tsp Himalayan pink salt Freshly ground black pepper

Sunflower oil, for sautéing

For the dressing

2 tsp white miso

1 tsp agave syrup

1 tsp lemon juice

To make the dressing, whisk the ingredients together and set aside.

To make the fritters, whisk the eggs in a large bowl and add the sweetcorn and broad (fava) beans. Add the flour and stir well to combine. Add the coriander (cilantro) and chilli with the lime juice, season with the salt and plenty of black pepper, and stir in.

Heat a little sunflower oil in a large frying pan and, working in batches, cook spoonfuls of the mixture on both sides, until golden. Depending on the size you want, use 1 or 2 tablespoons of mixture for each fritter.

Serve the fritters with the Feta, Cucumber and Spinach Salad (see next recipe) and accompanied with the dressing.

NUTRITIONAL NUGGET

Sweetcorn is one of the highest sources of vitamin D – so not only do they look sunny, they are!

Noodle and Smoked Tofu Salad with Mirin Dressing

 Noodle and Smoked Tofu Salad with Mirin Dressing

This distinctly Asian recipe is both delicious and beautiful to behold, with the carrot and courgette (zucchini) spirals. The buckwheat (soba) noodles add a hearty feel to the dish.

serves 2

For the salad

125g (4oz) buckwheat noodles

50g (2oz) carrot

30g (1 1/4oz) courgette (zucchini)

20g (3/4oz) daikon, thinly sliced

20g (3/4oz) mangetout (snow peas), thinly sliced

20g (3/4oz) mizuna leaves

20g (3/4oz/1/4 cup) beansprouts

50g (2oz) pomegranate seeds, plus extra to garnish

4 tsp sesame oil

125g (4oz) smoked tofu, cut into 6 chunky squares

2 tsp tamari

Coriander (cilantro) leaves

Sushi ginger

50g (2oz/1/3 cup) dry roasted cashews, to garnish

For the dressing

25g (1oz) white miso paste

25ml (1fl oz/2 tbsp) mirin

2 tsp sesame oil

2 tsp umeboshi plum purée

125g (4oz) sushi ginger

1/2 tbsp rice wine vinegar

1 tbsp lime juice

75ml (3fl oz/scant 1/3 cup) olive oil

2 tsp water

To make the dressing, whizz all the ingredients in a blender until thick and smooth.

Use a spiraliser to make carrot and courgette (zucchini) spirals. Cook the noodles according to the packet instructions, then rinse in cold water and drain well. Place in a bowl with the carrot and courgette (zucchini) spirals and mix well. Mix in the remaining vegetables, pomegranate seeds and 2 teaspoons of the sesame oil.

Just before serving, heat the remaining sesame oil in a frying pan. Add the tofu and cook for 2 minutes, until brown on all sides. Add the tamari, toss to coat and glaze the tofu, and cook for 2 minutes. Thread onto 2 wooden skewers, layering the tofu cubes with whole coriander (cilantro) leaves and sushi ginger.

To serve, add the dressing to the noodles and toss gently to coat. Arrange a heap of salad on each plate and scatter with roasted cashews and pomegranate seeds, then sit a tofu skewer at one side.

NUTRITIONAL NUGGET

In spite of its name, buckwheat is not related to wheat and, like quinoa, is classed as a pseudocereal. Buckwheat is particularly high in rutin, which strengthens and protects the delicate lining of our capillaries and arteries – this is a heart-healthy meal.

Roasted Aubergine with Sumac and Tahini Dressing

 Roasted Aubergine with Sumac and Tahini Dressing

This Lebanese-influenced dish tastes lighter than most aubergine (eggplant) dishes from that region. The sumac has a sharp lemon flavour and is a key ingredient in Middle Eastern cooking.

serves 4

2 aubergines (eggplant), cut widthways into 1cm (1/2in) slices

Olive oil, for brushing

2 tbsp pine nuts, toasted

Large handful of basil leaves

Seeds from 1/2 pomegranate 

Himalayan pink salt

Freshly ground black pepper

For the dressing

40g (1 1/2oz/generous 1/8 cup) tahini

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

3 tbsp lemon juice

4 tbsp hot water

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 tsp sumac

Himalayan pink salt

To make the dressing, place all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk until smooth. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary, then chill until required (the sauce can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days).

Lightly brush both sides of the aubergine (eggplant) slices with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and black pepper.

Grill on both sides on a very hot griddle pan until soft and golden. Alternatively, roast for 20–30 minutes in a preheated oven, 220°C/425°F/gas mark 7. (This can also be done up to 3 days in advance – store the roasted aubergine (eggplant) slices in the fridge, but bring to room temperature before serving.)

To serve, arrange the roasted aubergine (eggplant) slices on a serving dish, slightly overlapping. Drizzle with the dressing and sprinkle with toasted pine nuts, basil leaves and pomegranate seeds.

TIP

When you add the water to the tahini and start to stir it will look like its curdling but fret not – just keep whisking and it will become smooth.

When I make a salad I look at it like constructing a house – build up the different layers of flavours, texture and colour to create the ‘wow’ factor.

Healthy Pizza Recipes

Healthy Pizza Recipes 

When it comes to toppings for your pizzas, you can simply invent your own to suit your mood or what’s in season. Here are a few of our favourites.

Mini Pizzas

My mother could never eat pizza because of a wheat intolerance, so it’s been my mission to put pizza on her plate. And here it is! (The pizza toppings recipes that follow are per mini pizza, so double or quadruple up, as necessary.)

makes 8

For the bases

1/2 tsp active dry yeast

170ml (6fl oz/2/3 cup) lukewarm water

285g (9 1/4oz/2 1/4 cups) white spelt flour

1/2 tsp Himalayan pink salt

For the sauce

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 garlic clove

2 tbsp capers, rinsed and drained

Pinch of dried chilli flakes

300g (10oz) tomatoes, deseeded and diced

1 tbsp fresh or 1 tsp dried oregano

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6. Mix the yeast with the water, cover and set aside in a warm room for about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the pizza sauce by heating the oil in a pan and sautéing the onion and garlic gently until the onions start to go soft, then add a splash of water to cool and add the remaining ingredients. Simmer for 15 minutes until the right consistency.

Whisk the yeast and water mixture and leave for another 5 minutes.

Place the flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre and pour in the yeast mixture. Turn out onto a work surface and knead for 5–10 minutes until smooth and silky to the touch, adding a little more flour if necessary.

Divide the bread dough into pieces, roll each piece into a ball, place on a baking tray (cookie sheet) lined with baking parchment and flatten into a circle. Smear on some tomato sauce followed by your choice of toppings (see opposite), then bake for 5 minutes, rotate and bake for a further 5 minutes, or until ready.

NUTRITIONAL NUGGET

Spelt is an ancient wheat-based grain that is far lower in gluten than most modern wheats. The mineral content is far richer and much less processed. Many people who have a wheat intolerance are able to tolerate spelt.

Artichoke and Basil with Mozzarella

2 canned artichoke hearts, thinly sliced

2 basil leaves, shredded

20g (3/4oz) buffalo mozzarella, torn into small pieces

Courgette and Lemon with Feta

15g (1/2oz) courgette (zucchini), thinly sliced

3 strips of lemon rind, finely sliced

15g (1/2oz) feta, crumbled

Fennel and Sweet Potato with Goat’s Cheese

10g (1/2oz) fennel, thinly sliced

15g (1/2oz) sweet potato, thinly sliced

6g (1/4oz) hard goat’s cheese, grated

Roasted Garlic, Beetroot and Feta

3 garlic cloves, roasted and squeezed out of the skins

7g (1/4oz) beetroot (beet), thinly sliced

10g (1/2oz) feta, crumbled

Prevention Before Cure :The benefits of the Alkaline Food

Prevention Before Cure :The benefits of the Alkaline Food

Prevention Before Cure

All too often, we wait until illness occurs before changing our eating and lifestyle habits. At Honestly Healthy, we know how well you can feel if you take care of yourself and make sure that illness rarely happens. This is a choice and, while it takes time and dedication, the rewards of ongoing good health are so abundant that we want to encourage you to start aiming for great health, rather than simply good health.

How a ‘dis-ease’ is created in the body

Our immunity is vital to our overall health, with an army of different types of immune cells present in our bloodstream, but especially in the digestive tract, as this is our interface with the outside world. It is estimated that as much as 70% of the total of our immune cells are present in the gut – which we experience in a major way when we have an upset tummy or, worse, food poisoning. These immune cells are present throughout the length of our digestive tract from our mouth to our bowels, ensuring that any pathogenic invaders are quelled at the appropriate point or expedited through the system as fast as possible.

Recognising your body’s toxicity

Take a good look at the toxic symptoms in the box (below) and discover how burdened your body’s system actually is. Some of these symptoms can be due to other causes, but by following the Honestly Healthy Alkaline Programme for just three weeks, you will find that many of these symptoms simply disappear. Why not make the investment of this time and see for yourself?

Toxic symptoms

You may be surprised to recognise just how many of these symptoms apply to you:

Headaches/migraines

Joint and/or muscle pain

Indigestion

Heartburn

Bloating

Constipation

Diarrhoea

Stomach cramps

Bad breath

Metallic taste in mouth

Sensitive gums

Food intolerances

Excessively painful menstruation

Watery or itchy eyes

Shortness of breath

Sweating

Skin irritations (eczema, psoriasis)

Dry skin

Unexplained hair loss

Lank or dull hair

Acne or constantly spotty skin

Cellulite

Insomnia

Broken sleep

Fatigue

Mood swings

Depression

Lack of motivation

Inability to focus on anything

Irritability

Anger

Sugar cravings

Salty food cravings

Food bingeing

Allergies and intolerances may be the key

Food allergies are those reactions that are immediate, severe and potentially life-threatening, such as swelling of the mouth and lips and closing of the back of the throat, preventing air getting to the lungs. This is called anaphylaxis, and fortunately occurs relatively rarely. However, food intolerances occur far more frequently, sometimes being more difficult to detect as the reaction can occur up to 70 hours or so after the offending food has been eaten. There are several different ways of testing food sensitivities and, generally speaking, blood tests provide by far the most reliable results, as it is in the bloodstream that most reactions occur.

On a more practical level, keeping a detailed ‘food and symptom’ diary may well provide you with some simple answers without having to wait for blood tests to be taken. For example, if you are suffering from severe headaches on a regular basis, plot a chart over the course of a few weeks of when they occur and see how frequently the foods that you eat almost daily tie in with those.

Well-recognised links to headaches include chocolate (commercially produced, including sugars and sweeteners rather than the more natural cacao and agave, yacon and xylitol alternatives included in our recipes); cheese, red wine and caffeine, all of which contain compounds that are linked with migraines and severe headaches.

Hives and other skin rashes are often associated with strawberries and other red fruits (which can be overly acidic to the body, despite being sweet to taste). Lesser-known links include wheat-based products such as bread, biscuits and cakes with fatigue and mild depression, eggs with joint and muscle aches and pains, and mushrooms, yeast and moulds with chronic fatigue, perpetual flu-like symptoms and low energy and mood.

What is going on here?

The answer is inflammation

Inflammation is now considered to be the major cause of most chronic diseases, including heart and cardiovascular, lung and digestive problems, skin problems. Inflammation of any tissue in the body attracts extra fluid to the site, and an imbalance of electrolytes (such as sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium) at a cellular level is commonly found as a result of such inflammation. It is precisely this electrolyte balance that the body is seeking to maintain on a moment-to-moment basis.

Magic minerals The minerals calcium, magnesium, potassium and phosphorus are found in all alkaline foods, and these are the vital minerals for regulating the pH of the body’s fluids. Calcium and magnesium also work in balance to regulate the beat of the heart, the building of bone and ligaments, the regulation and response of the nervous system, cognitive function and mood. Both iron and iodine are required for blood transport, for cardiovascular health and for metabolism, which is regulated by the thyroid gland.

Perfect proteins

It is important to note that protein is found in any nut, seed or grain that can be planted and will grow into a tree or flower that is substantially larger than the seed – remember that sunflower, which is many thousands of times larger than the seed it originated from. Soya beans and tofu provide all eight essential amino acids for rebuilding and repair, strong immunity and energy production.

How an alkaline state can help to cure ailments

Eating a highly acid-forming, animal-protein-based diet may lead to intestinal inflammation (ulcerative colitis, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and Crohn’s disease all being at the worst end of the spectrum), as well as chronic rhinitis and skin problems (such as eczema and psoriasis). As meat is difficult to digest, and dairy- and wheat-based foods are commonly eaten daily, it is no wonder that so many people are plagued by a collection of minor illnesses. Sadly, few doctors understand – or even know of – the connection between the foods we choose to eat and the illnesses that occur as a result.

The good news is that once we know how to balance acid and alkaline foods in our diet, massive change can take place. Within a matter of days of removing foods that are causing either inflammation or intolerances, aches and pains start to disappear as the body starts to heal and repair. This is why we recommend the Cleanse phase , whereby all the potentially offending foods and drinks are removed, toxins are reduced in the environment around you and an abundance of life-giving, energetic foods (such as hemp seed, chlorella and spirulina) are recommended to cleanse the body and alkalise the system; and subsequently the Lifestyle phase , which is a programme for life, to ensure increasingly good health.

Alkalising foods begin by literally ‘balancing’ each cell in the body, supporting its natural energy production and waste-clearing processes by creating the correct electrolyte balance of sodium and potassium. Without getting too technical, the vitality of a cell depends upon sufficient nutrients to allow it to function at its best, and this happens far more readily in an alkaline environment. If the fluids surrounding each cell are too acidic, the sodium/potassium balance is thrown into disarray, causing cellular dehydration. When we talk about ‘hydrating’ the body, we don’t just mean ‘drink plenty of water’ – we are talking about nutrient-rich juices, green smoothies and alkalising pH drops to add to your water. These are now readily available in most health food shops and online worldwide 

Take the test and see!

We recommend that you drink at least two juices daily over a period of ten days to evaluate improvements to whatever is troubling you at present – headaches, recurrent colds and infections, aches and pains. As your body starts to rebalance its pH levels, your symptoms will start to diminish and the power of eating the alkaline way will be revealed.

Healthy Meal Prep

Healthy Meal Prep

Single? Married? Got a family? the simplest Healthy Meal preparation Recipes I actually have here is for you! Seriously, meal preparation could be a life saver for busy folks and that i grasp you're all busy.

If this {can be} the primary time you're hearing the term meal prep…I can make a case for. It’s after you take in some unspecified time in the future out of the week (usually a weekend) and prepare all of your food for the week.

We’re talking breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and dessert…the full treatment. This makes healthy uptake throughout the week very accessible and provides you NO EXCUSES to eat like crap ?

My favorite day of the week to meal preparation is Sunday. It’s after I have the foremost time and it sets Pine Tree State up for achievement for my wild weekday. Lately, I’ve been into all things BOWLS. I wrote a post on however I’m addicted to buddha bowls as a result of they’re the proper meal preparation recipe…

Meat
Veggies
Grains
Toppings
The best thing regarding meal prepping a buddha bowl is that you just will serve it numerous alternative ways. you'll eat it with chips. With an egg. Cold. Warm. For breakfast. For dinner. YAS.

Essential Oils and How They Work

Essential Oils and How They Work

WHAT IS AN ESSENTIAL OIL?

Essential oils are more than just highly concentrated plant extracts. Most possess potent medicinal qualities, and many are valued for their exceptional cosmetic qualities. While the whole plants or plant parts they are derived from possess beneficial qualities, essential oils are much more powerful.

Sometimes referred to as ethereal oils or volatile oils, essential oils carry the actual essence or fragrance of the plants from which they are extracted. A few popular essential oils are derived from whole plants, but most are derived from specific sections of the plants for which they are named. Some essential oils, including almond and nutmeg oils, come from seeds. Many, including patchouli, eucalyptus, and tea tree oils, are extracted from leaves. Still others come from wood, flowers, resin, or roots. Some plants, including cinnamon and bitter orange, are used as sources for more than one distinct type of essential oil.
Professional practitioners use approximately three hundred essential oils to treat a vast range of illnesses, but home practitioners typically use between ten and twenty essential oils on a regular basis. Some favorites include lavender, eucalyptus, clary sage, and orange essential oils.

A BRIEF HISTORY

Cave paintings discovered in Lascaux, France, suggest that prehistoric people used medicinal plants on a daily basis. These fascinating images have been carbon dated to approximately 18,000 BCE.

Humans have possessed an understanding of the healing power of plants for thousands of years. While it is not clear when essential oils were first distilled, we know that these oils were used in various cultures, and we know that they were used for religious ceremonies as well as for healing purposes.

Herbs and Essential Oils in Ancient Times

The Egyptian people are widely renowned for their achievements, so it might not come as a surprise that ancient Egyptians were among the first to use essential oils. In fact, records show that aromatic oils were part of daily life in Egypt as early as 4500 BCE. Cinnamon, myrrh, sandalwood, and frankincense were treasured favorites; they were of such great value that they were sometimes purchased with pure gold.

In Egypt, pure essential oils were believed to be sacred, and only high priests and royalty had the authority to use them; each deity was assigned a signature essential oil blend. Images and carvings of gods and goddesses were frequently anointed with precious oils during religious ceremonies. Each pharaoh used a variety of unique essential oil blends during meditation and intimacy, and even during preparation for war.

Around 3000 BCE, scholars in India developed the science of Ayurveda, which relies heavily on curative potions containing a wide variety of essential oils. Ancient Vedic literature lists more than seven hundred

curative substances, including some of today’s favorites, such as ginger and cinnamon essential oils.

In China, aromatic herbs and essential oils made their way into remedies for a whole host of ailments. Many of these compounds are still used by today’s Eastern medicine practitioners. Chinese scholars first recorded the use of essential oils between 2697 and 2597 BCE, during Huang Ti’s reign, and the fabled Suwen, or Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine, remains a significant text today.

Essential oils are mentioned in both the New and Old Testaments of the Bible—over two hundred times. Some very popular biblical essential oils are cedarwood, cinnamon, fir, frankincense, myrrh, and spikenard. These oils were used for anointing, for religious purposes, and, it seems, for the pure enjoyment of their fragrances. They were also highly valued as gifts; in the story of the Magi, the precious gifts they brought to Jesus of Nazareth at his birth included frankincense and myrrh.

Greek and Roman ancients also used essential oils, mostly for aromatherapy, therapeutic massage, personal hygiene, and medicine. Essential oil of myrrh was blended into an ointment for battlefield use; it proved an effective remedy for preventing post-injury infections.

We know Hippocrates as the “Father of Medicine.” Between 500 and 400 BCE, he documented the medicinal effects of essential oils and elements from over three hundred plants, many of which are still popular today. Hippocrates taught his students that “a perfumed bath and a scented massage every day is the way to good health.” His wisdom continues to influence modern medicine in the form of the Hippocratic Oath taken by doctors.

Galen was an influential Greek medical practitioner. Born in 131 CE and educated in Alexandria and Smyrna, he gained fame during his tenure as the surgeon to the gladiators of Pergamos. Thanks to Galen’s vast knowledge of the effective use of essential oils and other medicines, no gladiator died of infection while under his care. Galen’s success led him to an assignment as personal physician to Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius. He remained a part of the Emperor’s court for the rest of his life, which he spent composing a vast body of medical texts that included plants in various medicinal categories. Though Galen died around 201 CE, his work lives on in the form of Galenic medicine, which is still practiced in India and Pakistan.

Essential Oils, Aromatherapy, and the Dawn of Modern Medicine

When Rome fell, physicians fled, carrying books by Hippocrates and Galen with them. These books made their way into Persia, where they were translated into several languages for distribution to scholars. Ali ibn Sina, who was often referred to as Avicenna the Arab, was a child prodigy born in 980 CE. He was educated as a physician and is said to have begun practicing medicine at age twelve. Ibn Sina catalogued approximately eight hundred plants, describing their effects on the human body in detail. He’s also credited with refining and recording traditional distillation methods for extracting pure, high-quality essential oils from aromatic plants.

Europeans gained firsthand knowledge of essential oils and herbal medicines after crusading knights visited the Middle East. These knights and their armies began wearing and carrying perfumes, and many acquired knowledge of distillation techniques.

During the bubonic plague epidemic of the 1400s, desperate doctors decided to try Ayurvedic blends in place of ineffective medicines. These ancient remedies, which included essential oils of camphor, meadowsweet, rosemary, and lavender, proved to be effective. At the same time, frankincense and Scots pine were burned in the streets to ward off evil spirits. Fewer people died of the plague in areas where this practice was common.

Nicholas Culpeper’s 1653 book Complete Herbal offers detailed remedies for many medical conditions. These venerable tonics contain essential oils and other effective plant-based compounds that are still widely used today.

The powerful therapeutic properties of essential oils were rediscovered in 1910, when French chemist René-Maurice Gattefossé badly burned his hands in a laboratory explosion and gangrene quickly developed. Gattefossé subsequently treated his hands with a single application of lavender oil, and healing began swiftly. Following this incident, Gattefossé and a colleague conducted further research on the healing properties of lavender essential oil before introducing it to French hospitals.

Later, Parisian doctor Jean Valnet used therapeutic-grade essential oils to treat injured soldiers during World War II. Two of Valnet’s students, Dr. Paul Belaiche and Dr. Jean-Claude Lapraz, conducted extensive research, examining essential oils for their antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal, and antiseptic properties. They concluded that these powerful natural substances have substantial healing capabilities.

The using of aromatherapy and essential oils in North America is a fascinating one. We know that Native Americans relied heavily upon nature’s pharmacy, utilizing plants to increase well-being in a variety of ways.

Echinacea, which is used today in a variety of forms, including whole herb and essential oil, was a favorite treatment for headaches, including painful migraines. Skunk cabbage was used to treat nervous disorders, horsemint was applied to ease back pain, and wild cherry was used to treat coughs. White pine, which Native Americans used for treating colds, remains a popular aromatherapy cold treatment today. If you’ve ever used arnica to help bruises, you are using a well-known Native American remedy.

When European settlers came to North America, they brought favorite European herbs with them. At first, these precious plants were their only source of medicine, and the plants were also used to make food more palatable. Pennyroyal and wormwood were useful for controlling fleas and other insects. Later records show that in 1631, John Winthrop, Jr. of Suffolk ordered a vast amount of seeds to be taken to America’s Massachusetts Bay Colony. Among the forty-eight plant species he ordered at a cost of £160, which was a fortune in those days, were rosemary, clary sage, angelica root, hyssop, catnip, and lovage—all of which are available as essential oils today.

As it turns out, the ancients and those who followed the pathways they laid were right. Many bacteria, fungi, and viruses die when placed in contact with certain essential oils, particularly when those oils contain terpenes, thymol, carvacrol, and phenols. Essential oils and chemical reproductions of their active ingredients are widely used in compounding modern pharmaceuticals. Extensive studies and clinical investigations are ongoing, and thanks to modern technology, many of today’s medical professionals incorporate remedies containing essential oils into holistic practice.

KETOSIS : The Basics

KETOSIS : The Basics

what it means to be in a state of ketosis.

For our entire lives, we’ve been told that the primary source of energy for our bodies is carbohydrates, or glucose. However, there is an alternative fuel source that our bodies can use under various conditions—a fuel source that is more efficient and often underutilized. That source is ketones.

Ketone bodies are produced when the body metabolizes, or breaks down, fat. The cells in the body are able to utilize these ketones as fuel to help power everyday functions. There are three kinds of ketone bodies:

• acetoacetate (AcAc)

• beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB)

• acetone (Acetone is actually produced by breaking down acetoacetate, making it more of a by-product, but for our purposes, it can be considered a ketone body.)

Each type of ketone body serves unique functions and can be tested for. For example, BHB in the blood can be tested using a finger prick, AcAc in the urine can be measured using a urine strip, and acetone in the breath can be measured using a breath meter.

All of us, at some point in our lives and routinely throughout the day, have some amount of ketones in our blood, yet we often don’t realize it. For example, if you ate dinner at 5 p.m. and didn’t eat again until 10 a.m. the next day, you likely would be in a minor state of ketosis since you hadn’t eaten food and had been fasting for seventeen hours. Our bodies naturally make ketones under these circumstances; however, most people never achieve a consistent state of ketosis due to the constant supply of carbohydrates in their diet. Therefore, instead of breaking down and metabolizing fat, our bodies metabolize carbohydrates—or, rather, glucose. In other words, when glucose is available in the blood, the body will use that to make energy instead of dietary fat or stored body fat. However, when glucose isn’t as readily available (glucose is still around but isn’t as high), the body turns to breaking down fat, and ketones become its primary fuel source.

Ketos is is, essentially, the state of having elevated ketone levels, typically above 0.5 millimole per liter, or mmol/L. How a state of ketosis is induced, how high a person’s blood ketones are, and what benefits are achieved from that degree of ketosis vary widely from individual to individual.