An excellent supplement that I’ve been taking recently and noticed a big difference is Vitamin B 12.

I am normally tormented by PMS symptoms on a monthly basis, but this time around it’s been less so. A combination of more exercise and adding Vitamin B 12 has really helped.

B 12 can be found naturally in calf liver, clams, mussels, sardines, and salmon. It’s not likely that I eat these type of food daily, so the next best thing is supplements.

Signs of vitamin B 12 deficiency include fatigue and depression. Vitamin B 12 is essential to our health as it involves the development of red blood cells. Long term deficiency can lead to anemia and cause damage to the central nervous system.

The best one to take is Methylcobalamin (Methyl B-12) because it is better absorbed and retained than other forms of B12.

- Methyl B-12 protects nerve tissue and brain cells

- promotes better sleep and reduces toxic homocysteine to the essential amino acid methionine

- Aids digestion by allowing food to absorb properly

- Improves energy levels

Give vitamin B 12 a try and see if it makes a difference. Vitamin B12 can be found at many health food store or online shops.

Other popular ways of getting vitamin B 12 supplements is with B 12 shots. But that requires a doctor’s prescription and usually not covered by insurance. And there’s also the *ouch* factor from needles.

With all the chaos I’ve been experiencing lately, knitting has provided me with a sense of calm and contentment.

Studies show that knitting helps reduce stress, pain, symptoms of depression, boost your immunity, and lower your blood pressure. And to think such a sedentary activity can offer such healthy benefits.

Speaking of healthy activities, how about knitting with “healthy” or “healing” yarn? I just found out about this neat yarn by KB Sifa.

Photo from knit outta the box.  Sifa Silver Cotton yarn is spun with 5% pure silver. 100 grams. Retails $10.50 $8.00

But you have to get them soon because it looks like they will be discontinued.

Here’s a little more the U.S. distributor of Sifa Yarn:

“Silver has been known for centuries to possess healing qualities, as well as an anti-bacterial element. In fact, the story goes that this yarn was created for the spinner’s mother who suffered from Rheumatoid arthritis and swore that every time she wore the socks she knit with the Sifa, her feet felt better. While I can’t make any claims that this yarn will cure all that ails you, I will say that every time I wear the socks, or put on the fingerless gloves that I knit out of Sifa, my hands & feet feel better.”

And from the British distributor Xena Knits:

“Sifa Silver Cotton is a luxurious blend of soft Turkish cotton and 10% real medical grade pure silver, enough to provide a little of the comforting properties of silver when worn; microbial, antiseptic, deodorizing, etc. It is anti-allergenic fiber. Especially knitted as socks or slippers, particularly useful for helping deodorize feet. This yarn is exclusive, one of a kind and protected fiercely.”

Photo from Kramer Yarn.  They also makes silver yarn right here in the U.S.A.

63% Superwash Merino
20% Silk
15% Nylon
2% Silver

3.5 oz./ 100 Grams. A luxury sock yarn but much more. The fiber content provides the luxury — 63% Superwash Merino, 20% Silk, 15% Nylon & 2% REAL Silver fibers. You will want this yarn for socks, but also for shawls and lace projects. The silver fiber provides a touch of elegance for evening attire. “  Retail price $20.95

Another neat thing is to knit up winter gloves with these sliver yarn and you’ll still be able to use all those touch pad devices. So no more cold hands.

Or even knit up a nice cable bracelet for a healing, warm, and soft jewelry.

Side note:  Dr. Yonas Geda of the Mayo Clinic notes that knitting (and sewing) seem to be neuro-protective. Which means it has been shown to reduce memory loss in later years by as much as 50%.

I’ve always suffered from back pain on and off. A few years ago I was doing some major cleaning and moving around lots of boxes. Then days later I woke up to a horrible back pain.

It took a month to fully recover from it. But what lingered was this unusual pain that radiated from my calves to my back.

I later found out it was something like a “pinched nerve” or sciatica. Then 6 months later I came upon a book by Dr. John Sarno “Healing Back Pain: The Mind-Body Connection”.

It was an interesting book and I finished it in a day. And the next day I woke up and the pitched nerve was gone. It turns out you can break the connection between your mind and your physical pain. And thus be cured. How amazing is that?

Dr. Sarno believes that the more we understand about how pain can be caused by stress and strong emotions, the better we will be able to understand ourselves and become free of chronic pain and other symptoms. The term he uses is TMS (Tension Mytosis Syndrome) and also referred to as the Mind Body Syndrome.

At that chapter of my life, I was going through some stressful and emotional stuff. One I am glad to be over with now. Once I realized that it was all in my mind, the nerve pain was gone.

What’s interesting about Dr. Sarno’s approach is that it doesn’t involve drugs or therapy. Just acknowledge the stress and your body will be free of it. And it doesn’t just work for back pain, it also works with allergies, headache, and even skin disease.

Dr. Sarno’s idea has been around for nearly 40 years yet is not accepted by mainstream medicine. I personally thought his idea made sense because I knew that if you don’t feel well inside that it’s always going to affect your outside.

Emotional problems are just as draining. Dr. Sarno’s books described two follow-up surveys of his TMS patients. The first in 1982 interviewed 177 patients selected randomly from those Dr. Sarno treated in the preceding three years. 76% stated that they were leading normal and effectively pain-free lives.

A second follow-up study in 1987 restricted the population surveyed to those with herniated discs identified on CT-scans, and 88% of the 109 randomly selected patients stated that they were free of pain one to three years after TMS treatment.

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Given a choice between green tea or black tea, I always go with green. Yet there are also health benefits to drinking black tea.

A small German study found drinking black tea significantly improved the ability of arteries to relax and expand to keep blood pressure healthy.

Another study at The University College London also found that black tea helps cut levels of the stress hormone cortisol circulating in the blood.

Professor Steptoe said, “This has important health implications because slow recovery following acute stress has been associated with a greater risk of chronic illnesses such as coronary heart disease.”

Once I had my first cup of St. Dalfour organic Earl Grey tea I just love it. It took me a while to find black tea this good.

The bergamont in this black tea makes it that much better. Made with pure organic Ceylon tea. Selected and blended under the direction of the tea experts of St. Dalfour France. Enhanced by the all natural flavor of bergamot.

St. Dalfour tea come from the Himalayas of India and the highlands of Ceylon. St. Dalfour describes this about their tea:

“Since tea is made directly from tea leaves plucked on a continuous basis during harvest (and these tea leaves are not washed), it is vitally important to make certain these leaves are free of any chemicals. Be confident of having pure, wholesome tea when buying St. Dalfour.”

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I used to get my chaga from a health food supplier out of Florida, but they have been out of stock for some time now. So I did a search for “wildcrafted chaga mushroom” and found many on Ebay. I chose the chaga from Maine.

Chaga (scientific name: Inonotus obliquus) also known as cinder cork. It’s a unique fungus that grows especially on the wounds of birch trees. But it can also be found growing on ironwood, elm, alder, beech and other hardwood species.

To prepare chaga, it has to be dried. Some advise simmering the dried chaga for a few hours. Just to be on the safe side, I let mine simmer on high in the crock pot for 10 hours. I used 2 small pieces along with 3 quart of water. The color was very intense, looked very much like coffee. The smell was pleasant, very fresh and woodsy.

This is 1/2 chaga extract with 1/2 water. It taste very pleasant and no bitterness at all.

Chaga has the highest antioxidant concentration of any known natural food. When made into tea (and no sweetener added), the taste is suppose to be slightly bitter. Like many herbal medicines, the bitterness seems to be a common factor.

Due to chaga’s health benefits, it’s been referred to as “King of Herbs” and “Nature’s Silver Bullet”. Chaga has been researched as an antiviral, anti-tumor for breast and uterine and other cancers, and diabetes.

Cheers to Chaga!

Note: Survival Topics has a neat post on how to harvest and prepare wild chaga.

Some advise to boil while others say to simmer for hours. For best result, take 30 minutes on empty stomach before a meal.

Two leaves & a bud is one of my favorite tea company. The latest tea from their line that I’ve tried is Organic White Peony.

The white tea is minimally processed, gently sun-dried to preserve the mellow, smooth and savory flavor of the tea. So it’s a very light tea with a floral note.

White tea is prized for it’s high levels of antioxidant and other health promoting properties. It gets the name white tea from the silvery bud that forms along with the two leaves of the tip of the plant.

Tea Notes:

* Caffeine: LIGHT
* Top note: Smooth
* Middle Note: Robust and sweet
* Finish: Complex texture

I like how this tea never gets bitter after steeping. I can also steep it 2 or 3 times before tossing it out.

This tea is also easy to drink with any meal. A cup of White Peony is perfect for this time of year.

Comes in an eco-friendly cylinder holding 50 grams of loose tea. Makes 25 cups.

The company is also on a mission to support all Fair Trade teas. Their teas come from small farmers.

We need more small family farms and should do our best to support them. Both at home and around the world.

“Our journeys to the gardens show us time and time again that great growers deserve to be rewarded for great tea. As a result, we pay more for premium whole leaf teas, ensuring that more money makes it back to the source.” - two leaves & a bud.

It was exciting and really worth it to make homemade yogurt. I started off making a smaller batch than the other recipes because I didn’t think I could eat that much yogurt.

Here’s my first jar of homemade yogurt. I’ve already finished half of it and it was delicious! It’s really creamy and not as tangy or thick as the store bought one.

The usual recipe calls for 8 cups of milk and 1/2 cup of starter yogurt. I used 4 cups of milk and 2 heaping tbs of plain yogurt. I got 2 mason jars of yogurt.

For a starter I used Nancy’s organic yogurt which has billions of live cultures of acidophilus and bifidum. But any plain yogurt will be just fine.

Directions:

Using a 2 quart crockpot (which is the smaller one) I measured out 4 cups of skim milk (1% fat milk). Let it cook in the crockpot for 2.5 hours at LOW setting.

Then unplug and let it sit there for 3 hours. After 3 hours, take out 2 cups of the warm milk and add in 2-3 tbs of plain yogurt. This plain yogurt is the starter that will provide the good bacteria.

Whisk the yogurt into the warm milk thoroughly then add the it to the crockpot. Stir well, close lid. Take a towel and wrap it around the crockpot for 8 hours. If you have a gas stove with a pilot light you can always stick the crockpot ceramic into the oven for the next 8 hours. The longer you keep it wrapped and warm, the more sour it gets.

After 8 hours just transfer the yogurt into a clean sterile jar and refrigerate. It should keep for 1-2 weeks.

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I used to eat lots of yogurt, especially those with fruit on the bottom. I liked the variety of fruits they used, but it was always too sweet. And the fact that is was loaded with sugar, especially high fructose corn syrup made me stop eating them.

Then I discovered Greek yogurt which is not as sweet and much thicker in consistency. And it fills me up for a long time too. That’s because it has more protein then regular yogurt.

It seems I’m not the only one that prefers Greek yogurt over regular yogurt. Sales of Greek yogurt has been doing very well, even when it’s twice as expensive as regular yogurt.

Yoplait Greek yogurt with blueberries on the bottom. It’s very thick!

The Altantic reports, “Just five years ago, Greek yogurt was a $60 million market in the U.S. (Too sour! Too thick!) But sales have increased 2500%, accelerating through the Great Recession despite the fact that the “Greek” stuff (it’s actually more Lebanese, but anyway) tends to be twice as expensive as normal yogurt.”

Yogurt is consider one of the world’s healthiest food. It’s health benefits includes building stronger bones, enhances immunity, lowers blood pressure, and may even have anticancer and weight-loss effects. Also improves lactose intolerance and provide probiotics for healthy digestion.

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There are plenty of fresh citrus in the market this season. Recently I bought a bag of organic oranges and saved the peels to add to my tea. This time of year is also when we get Meyer lemons from a friend’s tree. I also saved those peels and add them to tea.

The peels can be fresh or dried. To dry them, just leave them sun or in the oven. But make sure it’s fully dry so it doesn’t get moldy. And store them in a air tight container.

I used fresh orange peel with this cup of green tea. It gives the tea an orange tint and it’s not bitter at all. The skin actually gets soft and you can just eat them too. And if you like it sweet, add a little bit of honey.

When you are cooking with citrus peel, it’s best to use only citrus that are not sprayed with pesticides. This is because the precious citrus oils are located in the outer skin and can absorb the chemicals.

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I’ve been eating this new fruit I found at the Asian grocery store. It’s called sourop, but also goes by many other names too.

In Brazil, it’s referred to as Graviola or Brazilian paw paw. And guanábana in many Spanish speaking countries.

Soursop is a cousin of the delicious cherimoya but not as sweet. It looks almost similar except for the spines. The spines on the skin do look scary for a really healthy fruit. Photo collage above from Wikipedia.

Not only do they have the frozen soursop at the market, but they also have soursop drink. The drink is way too sweet and I find it to be too mushy to drink up. So it was better eaten with a spoon.

The frozen soursop is not as sweet, but still sweeten with syrup. The fruit taste both tangy and sweet. It’s difficult to describe, more like ripe pear, hint of mangosteen and of pineapple. On some occasion, the frozen fruit pulp had lots of fiber, so it was very tough and chewy.

More info about graviola or soursop:

Graviola is native to tropical South America. They mainly use it to make shakes and sorbets (sherbet), but it is also enjoyed fresh when ripe.

This plant can also be grown successfully in Florida. But it is commonly grown in South America as well as in Asia.

It is a small, evergreen tree, with large, glossy, dark green leaves. The fruits are heart-shaped and yellow to green in color. While the inside flesh is white.

All parts of this plant is healing. Including the bark, leaves, fruit, and seed.

Raintree Nutrition noted the following healing benefits:

All parts of the graviola tree are used in natural medicine in the tropics, including the bark, leaves, roots, fruit, and fruit seeds. Different properties and uses are attributed to the different parts of the tree. Generally, the fruit and fruit juice are taken for worms and parasites, to cool fevers, to increase mother’s milk after childbirth, and as an astringent for diarrhea and dysentery. The crushed seeds are used against internal and external parasites, head lice, and worms. The bark, leaves, and roots are considered sedative, antispasmodic, hypotensive, and nervine, and a tea is made for various disorders toward those effects.

Many clinical studies many have also been done concerning graviola. Researchers in Taiwan reported in 2003 that the main graviola acetogenin, annonacin, was highly toxic to ovarian, cervical, breast, bladder and skin cancer cell lines at very low dosages saying; “. . . annonacin is a promising anti-cancer agent and worthy of further animal studies and, we would hope, clinical trials.”

It would a great addition to have one of these healing plant growing in your backyard. You can make tea or tincture with it. The fruits are a tasty and healthy treat too.

But if growing a tree isn’t possible, then be on the look out for this fruit at your local Asian market.

Soursop cheesecake anyone? Here is a neat recipe from Cap Trib Exotic Fruit Farm in Australia.

Another note, I am always amazed at how much of nature is one big pharmacy! The more reason we should be protecting our rain forests.