The Coconut Palm

Coconut: The High Functional Food

The coconut palm, scientifically known as Cocos Nucifera belongs to the Arecaceae family of palms, which is widely grown in the tropical regions. The tall palm with cylindrical trunk which can reach the height of 100 feet has leaves and 10-20 clusters of nuts at the summit. Coconut is hard-shelled, single seeded fruit, with solid white oily flesh and a hollow core filled with sweet water rich in eclectrolytes. It is known as functional food because the health benefits of the coconut are not limited to its nutritional values, but goes way beyond it.
The flesh of the coconut is widely used in cooking whereas the water of tender coconut is consumed for quenching thirst and for its various health benefits. The dried flesh is used as copra, which yields the valuable coconut oil used commercially in production of cooking oil, soaps, candles, hair oils and moisturizers.

No part of the coconut palm goes to waste, as the dried leaves are used for thatch, making mats, screens and baskets. The coir is used in manufacture of ropes, door mats and beddings. The trunk gives wood where as the sap is fermented to produce palm wine, spirituous liquor. No wonder the Pacific Islanders refer to the coconut palm as the ‘Tree of Life’ as they believe that it has cure for all illnesses.

Medicinal Properties

Coconut not only adds taste to the recipe, in addition it supplements the dish with fiber, nutrition, vitamins and minerals. It is also a rich source of amino acids, calcium, potassium, protein, fatty acid, electrolytes and magnesium. Regular consumption of coconut boosts immunity, whereas the antiviral, antifungal and antibacterial properties of the fruit will help in maintenance of overall good health. It is also known to provide relief from bacterial, viral, fungal or parasitic infections due to high anti-parasitic property.
Coconut is a boon for people who are lactose intolerant, as its consumption improves the body’s ability in absorbing calcium and magnesium, thus aiding in development of strong bones and teeth.
Coconut is known to fight illnesses such as:

• Osteoporosis
• Influenza
• Urinary Tract Infection (UTI)
• Herpes
• Gonorrhea
• Bronchitis
• Lice
• Tapeworms
• Giardia
• High cholesterol
• Ageing of skin
• Obesity
• Dehydration

Tender Coconut Water

As the matured coconut has less amount of water, often the immature fruit is harvested to provide refreshing drink in the humid tropic regions. Due to its health benefits and nutritional value, it is fast gaining popularity as a sports and health drink. Research has proven that the coconut water has the same electrolyte levels as the human plasma, which has seen it being used for plasma transfusions.

Coconut Oil

Coconut oil is preferred as cooking oil by many, because it is known to reduce weight, even when some contradict the belief. Through rich in saturated fatty acids, the medium-chain triglycerides are easy to digest making it preferable over other oils. The people of Asia and Pacific islanders have extensively used the coconut oil in traditional medicines. The oil which is a source of lauric, capric and caprylic acids comes with great benefits of hair and skin care, relief from stress, help in metabolism, provide relief from kidney, heart and digestive problems and improve bone strength, to name a few.
www.medfoods.net

Health Benefits of Ginger

Not only is ginger a culinary marvel, its health benefits are stunning. It has been shown to be more effective against staph infections than antibiotics—and without the adverse effects.

Ginger's culinary qualities are a delight, but its health benefits are simply stunning. It has been shown to be more effective against bacterial staph infections than antibiotics. It can kill cancer cells. Its anti-inflammatory effects are already famous. It can resolve brain inflammations, and ease or cure a variety of gut problems, such as ulcerative colitis and acid reflux. And ginger can even alleviate the effects of gamma radiation. What's not to love about this incredible herb?

Standard in many kitchens and cuisines, ginger is the seasoning that gives life to a host of dishes. It's been used medicinally for more than 2,000 years. Though best known for its gastrointestinal soothing effects, that's just the beginning of its uses. The plant parts used for both culinary and medicinal purposes are the rhizomes, the root-like stems that grow underground. The primary plant used medicinally is Zingiber officinale.

Several compounds in ginger may be related to its health benefits, including shogaol, zingerone, and gingerols, which are similar to chili pepper's capsaicin, noted for its pain relieving ability. However, as we've seen with separating aspirin from willow bark, trying to find the active ingredient in a herb and using it alone tends to both diminish its effects and remove the balancing components that can both increase positive effects and decrease or eliminate adverse effects.


Some information in this article is derived from studies that have isolated single ingredients, generally with the goal of developing drugs. Though this may be accomplished, a history of pharmaceuticals demonstrates that it is both hubristic to believe that nature will be improved and naive to think that isolating a single chemical can possibly be done without removing the balancing elements that mitigate against harmful effects. Nonetheless, such studies do help demonstrate that there is strong medicine in ginger.

Ginger's Health Benefits

Let's take a look at some of the areas that ginger has been shown to benefit health:

• Cancer: Several studies have demonstrated ginger's ability to defeat several types of cancer cells, including some of the most aggressive and difficult to treat: lung, ovarian, colon, breast, skin carcinoma, prostate, and pancreatic.^{(1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8)}
• Diabetes Prevention: Studies have shown that diabetes may be both prevented and treated, along with the related abilities to lower blood sugar, cholesterol, and blood fats.^(9,10)
• Antiobiotic: Ginger's antibiotic effects may be exceptional. At least one study⁽¹⁰⁾ that compares the effects of ginger and antibiotics on Staphylococcus aureus and S. pyreus infections shows that ginger extract may be superior. The effects on drug-resistant infections are, as yet, unknown. Ginger has been shown to have an antibacterial effect on respiratory and periodontal infections.^(11,12,13)
• Antifungal: Fungal infections are among the most difficult to treat, and drug-resistant fungi have been developing. However, there's no need to despair, as ginger has been found to have antifungal capability, including to drug-resistant forms.⁽¹⁴⁾
• Ulcers: Intestinal ulcers can be prevented with ginger. There is a generally recognized acceptance now that the Helico pylori bacterium is associated with ulcers, and at least one study has shown that a derivative of ginger has been shown to inhibit H. pylori. One study has demonstrated that ginger can inhibit existing ulcers, too.^(15,16)
• Diabetes Complications: Complications of diabetes may be limited by ginger. Studies have shown that it may reduce urine protein levels, decrease water intake and urine output, and reverse proteinuria. It's been shown to aldose reductase inhibitors, which reduce damage done by diabetes. Ginger can protect nerves in diabetes and lower blood fat levels. ^{(17,18,19,20)}
• Inflammation: Inflammation is a serious problem with many chronic conditions, both in terms of causing them and causing pain, and ginger can be highly effective in managing it. Neurodegenerative diseases may be aided by ginger's ability to inhibit nitrous oxide production and proinflammatory cytokines. Its antiinflammatory ability may be helpful in arthritis, cancer prevention, prostate disease, and general inflammatory processes.^{(21,22,23,24,25)}
• Gastric Distress: Ginger's ability to ease gastric distress is superior, and it does more than simply ease pain. In a double-blind study, ginger capsules were taken orally in people suffering from dyspepsia with slow emptying of the stomach's contents. It stimulated the emptying of the stomach without any negative effects. It has been found to have an antispasmodic agent, which helps explain some of its beneficial effects on the intestinal tract. As previously stated, it inhibits H. pylori, which helps prevent ulcers. It also protects gastic mucosa.^(26,27,28)
• Toxicity: Ginger helps prevent the toxic effects of a wide array of substances, including the pesticide lindane, a cancer drug, the chemical bromobenzene, and the excitotoxin monosodium glutamate (MSG). Lindane was shown to modulate oxidative stress in rats exposed to the pesticide lindane, a neurotoxin, simply by adding it to their diet. The cancer drug doxorubicin damages kidneys, but ginger has been shown to help alleviate the harm. Brombozene is highly toxic, used in chemical reactions, and can rapidly damage the liver and nervous system. Ginger has been shown to alleviate its liver damage. Ginger extract has been shown to protect against MSG nerve damage.^29,30,31,32)
• Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (Fructose Damage): Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NFLD) has a variety of causes, but it's now on the increase because of the prevalence of fructose as a sweetener. Research on ginger's function with regard to NFLD is in the very early stages. However, NFLD is known to be associated with dyslipidemia and excess triglycerides in the liver. Ginger may help this condition by lowering serum cholesterol. Research showing this is very new, published just this year, so it's hardly definitive. However, ginger does appear to hold promise as a treatment for NFLD.⁽³³⁾
• Heartworms in Dogs: Dirofilaria immitis, heartworms, are a common canine infection. The standard medical treatments are risky, frequently causing neurological disorders and circulatory collapse. Resistance to them is also developing. It's therefore quite fortunate that ginger has been shown to be effective against heartworms. The treatment that's been tried is injections of the extract, and it does take time. However, after 55 days, an average 83% reduction, up to a maximum of 98%, was found. About half the dogs exhibited lethargy early in the treatment, but it's believed to be a result of their bodies' need to dispose of the worms, as opposed to an adverse effect.^(34,35)
• Menstrual Pain: A double blind study of young women suffering from menstrual pain compared with mefenamic acid (a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory marketed as Ponstel), ibuprofen, ginger powder in capsules, and placebo was performed. Ginger was found to be as effective as both mefenamic acid and ibuprofen.⁽³⁶⁾
• Radiation: With radiation in the news lately, it's wonderful to learn that ginger has been proven to provide significant benefit against it. One study has demonstrated that it can help prevent vomiting and taste distortion associated with radiation poisoning. Another study administered high doses of ginger extract to mice before their exposure to gamma radiation, and compared them to mice that had received only distilled water before exposure. It reduced the severity of symptoms and mortality. They were protected from gastrointestinal and bone-marrow-related deaths. It's interesting to note that treatment after exposure provided no benefit.^(37,38)
• Gout, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Knee Osteoarthritis, and Indomethacin: Indomethacin is an anti-inflammatory drug commonly used to treat the pain from inflammation of gout, rheumatoid arthritis, and osteoarthritis of the knee. Studies comparing the effect of ginger extract with indomethacin consistently show that ginger is, at a minimum, just as effective, and sometimes even more than indomethacin. Since indomethacin's adverse effects include renal insufficiency in 40% of the people who take it, jaundice in 10%, headaches in 12%, and elevations in liver function tests indicating harm to the liver, plus a host of other nasty problems, it's difficult to imagine any legitimate reason for doctors prescribing the drug when they could simply have their patients take ginger extract.^(39,40,41)
• Nausea and Motion Sickness: Ginger has been well studied for its classic ability to ease nausea in all sorts of situations. It has long been used for motion and sea sickness. Studies have been done both to ascertain whether it's effective—which, of course, it is—and also to try to figure out how it works. Morning sickness, nausea, during pregnancy causes misery for a lot of women. Women suffering from morning sickness were given beverages with ginger during the first trimester of pregnancy and compared with women given placebo. Ginger alleviated the nausea in a highly significant percentage of the women. A trial of taking ginger and protein after chemotherapy demonstrated that patients were able to lessen their intake of anti-emetic medications.^{(42,43,44,45)}
• Bacterial Diarrhea: The primary cause of death in young children in developing countries is bacterial-induced diarrhea. The bacteria don't cause it directly. The toxins they release do. Zingerone, a compound found in ginger, binds the toxin so that it cannot interact with the gut, thus preventing diarrhea and the resultant death. The standard treatment now is antibiotics coupled with electrolyte replacement, which would indicate that the antibiotics are not particularly effective. Since the long term effects of antibiotics are now known to be disastrous and antibiotics are expensive, it's hard to imagine a legitimate reason for not implementing large-scale trials of ginger on children suffering from bacterial diarrhea.⁽⁴⁶⁾
• Other Benefits: The benefits of ginger are amazing, and they don't stop with the ones listed above. Here, briefly, are a few more that have been studied:
  • Post-stroke neurological urinary incontinence can be helped with ginger-salt-partitioned moxibustion.⁽⁴⁷⁾
  • Patients with hospital ventilator0induced pneumonia benefit from ginger extract.⁽⁴⁸⁾
  • Trigeminal nerve pain is alleviated with a traditional Japanese herbal combination that includes ginger, Saiko-Keishi-To.⁽⁴⁹⁾
  • Blood urea nitrogen, the BUN of blood tests, is markedly decreased by ginger extract.⁽⁵⁰⁾
  • Cerebral ischemia, small stroke, causes brain damage, including memory loss. Ginger extract significantly reduces damage and alleviates the loss of memory.⁽⁵¹⁾
  • One study demonstrates that ginger extract may help prevent heart attacks.⁽⁵²⁾

Astounding, isn't it? The range and severity of conditions that ginger can help is stunning, and the degree of effectiveness is even more amazing. It's time for modern medicine to take a step back and ask itself how it got on such a wrong track. When drugs and treatments that are less effective and also full of adverse effects are used instead of first looking to a natural treatment like ginger, then surely a wrong turn has been taken.

Adverse Effects of Ginger

Ginger is almost completely safe. It is possible, though exceedingly rare, to experience an allergic reaction associated with anaphylactic shock. Obviously, if that occurs, you should not attempt to take it again.

Ginger interacts with many drugs. In most cases, the effect is additive, not contradictory. You are told not to take ginger with these drugs—but frankly, one should ask why the doctor doesn't start with ginger and add the drugs if needed. Here are some of the drugs involved, according to Drugs.com⁽⁵³⁾:

• Any heart medication.
• Diabetes medications, including insulin, glipizide (Glucotrol), glyburide (Glynase, Diabeta, Micronase), chlorpropamide (Diabinese), tolbutamide (Orinase), tolazamide (Tolinase), troglitazone (Rezulin), rosiglitazone (Avandia), repaglinide (Prandin), metformin (Glucophage), and others.
• Warfarin (coumadin).
• Aspirin or other NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) such as ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil), diclofenac (Cataflam, Voltaren), etodolac (Lodine), indomethacin (Indocin), meloxicam (Mobic), nabumetone (Relafen), naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn), piroxicam (Feldene), and others.
• Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) including ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, Nuprin, others), naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn, Naprelan, Anaprox, others), ketoprofen (Orudis KT, Orudis), indomethacin (Indocin), etodolac (Lodine), nabumetone (Relafen), oxaprozin (Daypro), piroxicam (Feldene), sulindac (Clinoril), tolmetin (Tolectin), and others
• Blood thinners, usually used for deep vein thrombosis (often during surgeries), including ardeparin (Normiflo), dalteparin (Fragmin), danaparoid (Orgaran), enoxaparin (Lovenox), or heparin.

Of course, if you take other herbs with ginger, be sure to check if they're blood thinners. If so, you may need to stop either the ginger or the other herb. At least, add one or the other slowly to assure that there are no adverse consequences.

Forms of Ginger

In general, for personal use, there are two forms of ginger: extract and tea. Extracts may be purchased, of course, but be aware that there are two forms of extract, water and alcohol based. With many herbs, water based extracts are fine. However, alcohol based ginger extract has proven to be far superior over and over. Therefore, if you're planning to use ginger extract medicinally, you should take the alcohol-based variety.

Ginger tea is a treat for many of us. You can buy ginger teas in tea bags, but they're generally not as beneficial as making your own. It's not difficult. Just follow these instructions:

Peel about a cubic inch of ginger. You may either slice it thinly or grate it. Boil it in about 1½ cups of water for about 10 minutes. If you wish, you could add a bit of lime or lemon juice. If you want it sweetened, add some honey or stevia. Pour into a cup and enjoy!

Everyone's taste is different. This is a starting point. Use more or less ginger as suits you.

With a special thank you to GreenMedInfo - a wonderful resource! By Heidi Stevenson.

A Generous Nature

I've added this KFC Bucket to my Pinterest page, because it reminds me of the picnics we had in the early 70's.

My mom would fill up our cooler with tons of food, and we'd stop at KFC on the way to Stanley Park or some other place with friends and family in tow.

Mom always made a TON of food.  I don't remember ever being hungry or feeling like I wished there was MORE food in the house.

Whatever's in the House Ginger Oatmeal Cookies

I didn't measure anything so... use whatever's in your house:

Canola oil (1/2 - 3/4 c)
Sugar
1 Egg
Vanilla
Unbleached flour
Rye flour
Baking soda
Oatmeal
Walnuts
Raisins
1 chopped apple (less about 4 slices I ate after peeling)
Ginger (the strained remains from ginger beer*)

Stir together, scoop out by spoonful & form by hand on to an ungreased baking pan.

Bake 375degree oven about 10 minutes...

Removed from pan with a handy tool my mom gave me....

:-)

Whatever's in the house - Spicy Potato Cakes

Grate (I'm using a Saladmaster #1. shredder cone)
4 medium-sized, left over previously microwaved (or baked) potatoes,
1/4 onion and
3 slices of left over natural smoked turkey sandwich meat
(or whatever you have in your fridge)
into a bowl (Saladmaster 5 Qt. mixing bowl shown here)



Add:
2 tsps garlic powder (I keep a lot of this on hand)
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 small crushed red pepper packet (left over from pizza delivery)
1 small parmesan cheese packet (left over from pizza delivery)

 Add: 1 tablespoon of parsley and 1 egg

Stir together with a large fork






Prepare a skillet on medium heat
(I used 1 tbsp coconut oil in a 11" Saladmaster covered skillet)

Scoop by tablespoonful into a hot skillet

Cook (okay to cover for a few minutes) until brown.






Remove cakes from skillet and serve on bed of fresh spinach - or whatever's in the house!

Do you play croquet?

One of the songs I remember fondly from Gisele Mackenzie's - Alice in Wonderland record, is "The Queen of Hearts' Croquet Game".  I tried to find it online but, I haven't had much success.  It's a really fun song, so I'll try to get the record from my parent's place on my next visit and somehow get it online...

So, I found myself singing it last night (throwing my husband for a bit of a loop), and decided to see if I could remember all the lyrics and share them, here:

(It wasn't until I started searching for images that I remembered we had a croquet set and how much fun we had playing croquet in the back yard! Strange how you forget...)

"The Queen of Hearts' croquet game was a difficult game to play;
The mallets were real flamingos - a bird you don't see every day.
The balls were lively hedgehogs, which all kept running away.
The Queen of Hearts' croquet game was a difficult game to play.
 
Alice's flamingo kept looking in her face.
And Alice's young hedgehog wouldn't stand still in his place.
She tried to hit the hedgehog with the flamingo, once or twice,
Until they both remarked to her, "Now really, that's not nice!"
 
And if that wasn't quite enough to put her in despair,
The Queen of Hearts keep shooting here and there, and everywhere
She cried, "Off with his head! Off with his head!
Give a little chop! Give a little chop!"
The population's just about to drop!
 
She cried, "Off with his head! Off with his head!"
Who will think it's grand? She will think it's grand.
That's one less guest for dinner than I planned.
 
Then Alice murmured sadly, "How I used to enjoy croquet.
But, the Queen of Hearts' croquet game
Is a difficult game to play!"

 

Jean-Honore Fragonard Painting

Well, this isn't a Caribbean themed photo, but, it was a painting I grew up with.  I need to ask my mom about this - where she got it from, and why she liked it.

A Young Girl Reading - Oil on Canvas - Rococo 1776

This painting was one of a series of paintings featuring young girls. Although the model in this painting is unidentified, it may well have been Fragonard’s daughter, who frequently worked as one of his models. Contemporary x-rays have revealed that this painting, depicting a young girl in a sunshine yellow dress, deeply absorbed in her reading, was painted over a different image. As in many of Fragonard’s paintings the viewer gets the impression that he or she is witnessing a private moment, and is at once struck by the beauty and intimacy as well as the desire to give the girl her privacy and let her read.

2/13/13
Asked Mom about this over the weekend.  She said it was in the house on 17th road when we moved in... left there by the previous owner.

Caribbean Mom