1-7 February 2013
Wellness 19
Health & Vitality... Naturally!
Spring To Watercress { Jaspal Bajwa }
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pring is the time to shake off the winter blues … to get up and go. It is the season of activity. People desirous of losing weight can take advantage of the natural trends of spring, to help them be more active, and at the same time eat less. Of all the vital organs, it is the liver and the gallbladder that are in focus in spring. If these organs are well-supported and balanced, the entire body benefits. Rich, fatty foods, that make the liver struggle, also have a negative impact on the gallbladder – which can manifest as indigestion, flatulence, shoulder tension and a bitter taste. A liver in balance helps us get things done without stress. To assist blood flow, it helps to eat plenty of leafy greens, along with other foods that cool and calm the liver. A simple diet of cooked vegetables, grains and legumes is best. Specific foods that help speed up the cleansing process are lemons, limes, celery, lettuce, turmeric, parsnips, radishes, linseed oil, chamomile tea and seaweed. Watercress is particularly good, as it helps build yin (female energy) and blood. We are constantly bombarded with toxic materials that the liver must remove from our circulatory system. These toxins come from our environment, chemicals in our food supply, or naturally produced waste. However, the liver is hindered in its detox action when viral hepatitis strikes. Many experts believe that some of our safest, most potent allies are certain foods that can help the liver neutralize an overload of toxins better. This is particularly important when it
comes to preventing the progression of chronic viral hepatitis. Certain foods like garlic, kale, blueberries, lemon and grapefruit are particularly helpful, as they contain nutrients that the body needs – to activate dozens of enzymes involved in detoxification. According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), spring is the season of wind – both literally as well as symbolically. At this time it is best to eat foods with uplifting energy – such as young, green, sprouting above-the-g round vegetables. Some other good options are pine nuts, prawns, ginger, fennel, basil, black or yellow sesame seeds, sage and chamomile.
Tip of the week
If any of the spring foods referred above seem new, it is always better to introduce them slowly into the diet. Over-eating any of these new items in the diet can cause diarrhoea.
Nature’s Wonder Food of the week: Water Cress or Nasturtium
officinale or ‘Jalkhumbi’ Watercress looks like a common pond plant. Although mainly found in the wild, it is also widely cultivated as a salad herb, and can be had as sprouts as well. However, like many plants in this family, the foliage of watercress becomes bitter when the plants begin producing flowers. Loosely translated, Nasturtium means “wrinkled nose” in Latin. This probably
alludes to its pungent odour. Watercress contains a large amount of sulphur, which may add to the odour, but also adds to its benefits. Around since 400 BC, watercress is one of the first known leafy vegetables to be consumed. The Romans and ancient Egyptians were known to eat watercress for various health reasons. Watercress is widely found in temperate regions throughout the world. It thrives along, or in, fresh running water. Watercress is reported to be a super liver cleansing agent, as also an excellent overall detoxifier. Not only is it extremely nutritious, it contains very few calories. It provides four times more calcium than milk, as much Vitamin C as oranges, and more iron than spinach. It is rich in Vitamins A, C and K, as well as carotenoids and phytochemicals. In Chinese medicine, watercress is believed to reduce tumours, enhance night vision, and stimulate bile production, thus helping improve digestion and remove intestinal gas. It is
used as a remedy for jaundice, urinary problems, sore throat and bad breath. The leaves, flowers and seeds are the most commonly used parts. The leaves have a high vitamin and mineral content, and also help digestion. The juice of the fresh leaves has been used to treat acne, eczema, ringworm, rashes, and similar skin irritations and infections. Watercress has been used since the time of Hippocrates as a stimulant and expectorant in the treatment of coughs and bronchitis, and also helps in balancing the blood sugar level. Watercress tea or juice is valuable for eliminating accumulated fluids in body tissue—such as in gout—and for clearing mucus congestion from the lungs. Watercress has a diuretic effect, and is thought to aid in breaking up kidney or bladder stones as well. It’s best eaten raw, added to salads or a sandwich, or on its own with fish. It is important to wash the plant thoroughly, as unwashed leaves can contain liver fluke. u Registered Holistic Nutritionist (Canadian School of Natural Nutrition) For education purposes only; always consult a healthcare practitioner for medical conditions
Beetles Keep Eyes On Heavens { Berlin / DPA }
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species of African beetle that spends its nights gathering animal droppings to eat, turns out to also have a loftier ability: the dung beetle is a stargazer, new science shows. Even on the darkest of nights, the ball-rolling insects are guided by the soft glow of the Milky Way. While birds and humans are known to navigate by the stars, the discovery is the first convincing evidence for such abilities in insects, say Swedish researchers in the latest issue of Current Biology. It is also the first known example of any animal getting around by the Milky Way, as opposed to single bright stars. “Even on clear, moonless nights, many dung beetles still manage to orientate along straight paths,” said Marie Dacke of Lund University in Sweden. “This led us to suspect that the beetles exploit the starry sky for orientation.” Dacke and her colleagues found that dung beetles transport their dung balls along straight paths under a starlit sky, but lose the ability under overcast conditions. In a planetarium, the beetles stayed on track equally well under a full starlit sky and one showing only the diffuse streak of the Milky Way. That makes sense, the researchers explain, because the night sky is sprinkled with
stars, but the vast majority of those stars should be too dim for the beetles’ tiny compound eyes to see. When they discover a dung pile, the beetles shape a piece of dung into a ball and roll it away in a straight line. The beetles also use celestial compass cues such as the sun, the moon, and the pattern of polarized light formed around these light sources, Dacke said. “Celestial compass cues dominate straightline orientation in dung beetles so strongly that, to our knowledge, this is the only animal with a visual compass system that ignores the extra orientation precision that landmarks can offer.”u
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