A Drink To Your Heart!

I first learned about the health benefits of Cayenne pepper, Ginger, Acv (apple cider vinegar...Bragg's) and hawthorn berry tincture a few  years ago when reading a book called "Left for dead."  The book is very good and informative on the health benefits of these and other herbs which specifically target heart health.  I checked it out at my library when I read it.  If you haven't read it, it's definitely a worthy read.
 (Recipe below)

Product Description

(Via Amazon)

http://www.amazon.com/Left-Dead-Dick-Quinn/dp/0963283901/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1299122750&sr=8-3

From The Publisher Left for dead by his doctors after a 1978 heart attack and failed bypass surgery, Dick Quinn discovered an herb that saved his life. LEFT FOR DEAD tells his remarkable story and shows how he controls blood pressure and cholesterol, cleans arteries, prevents heart attack and enjoys a wonderful quality of life without drugs or special diets.

Heart Health Drink Recipe
Here is a recipe for a healthy heart drink based on the info.  I found in the book Left for Dead.

4-8 oz. filtered water

1-2 tsp Bragg's Acv 

(some will say up to 2tbsp but that is just too tart for me)

(Bragg's because it is raw and has living enzymes still present which makes it beneficial to your body)

1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper 

(the hottest you can find.  I have 140,000 HU (heat units) which I purchased from Azure Standard)

honey to taste or stevia
(I've used both and both are great)

1/2 tsp Hawthorn berry tincture

(I purchased my hawthorn berries from www.bulkherbstore.com  and then made my tincure)

1/4 tsp powder or fresh ginger

This drink has a sweet/ tart kind of taste, if it were not for the smell, I'd say it almost has a lemon flavor.  I actually kind of like it.  I am going to be working on a couple other "drinks" that I will share as I work out the ingredients.

It's not pretty and it smells of Acv so it's not for the squeamish but truly, it doesn't taste bad...really!

Cayenne benefits:

Excerpts from Left for Dead

One of the most effective stimulants, cayenne targets the digestive and the circulatory system primarily. Cayenne regulates blood pressure, strengthens the pulse, feeds the heart, lowers cholesterol, thins the blood, cleanses the circulatory system, heals ulcers, stops hemorrhaging, speeds healing of wounds, rebuilds damaged tissue, eases congestion, aids digestions, regulates elimination, relieves arthritis and rheumatism, prevents the spread of infection and numbs pain.

In the circulatory system, it helps the arteries, veins and capillaries regain the elasticity of youth by feeding the cell structure. It helps equalize circulation by regulating the flow of blood from the head to the feet. Cayenne strengthens the pulse by increasing the power, not the frequency... In addition to helping prevent the build-up of cholesterol which can narrow the veins and arteries, cayenne also helps thin the blood and prevent blood clots that can clog the arteries and cause heart attack and stroke.

By increasing the circulation of the blood to peripheral tissues throughout the body, cayenne helps deliver necessary nutrients to inflamed and infected areas. Studies show that the nutrients in food ingested with cayenne are assimilated faster and more easily.

Just a small quantity of Cayenne can dramatically increase the efficiency of most herbs, this catalyst herb is added to nearly every herbal combination available. Added to garlic, for example, Cayenne speeds up the antibiotic action of the other herb. Cayenne boosts the power of garlic so much it’s akin to taking liquid penicillin. Together, garlic and Cayenne lower blood pressure safely and rapidly.

Externally, the aromatic herb makes a very effective pain killer or anesthetic. Cayenne has been used in poultices for centuries as an irritant or counter-irritant. Exposure to the pungent herb can cause pain but prolonged exposure deadens the nerves to pain.

Hawthorn berry benefits

Excerpts from Left for Dead

Hawthorn regulates high and low blood pressure, arrhythmic heartbeat and irregular pulse. Hawthorn prevents hardening of the arteries, treats arteriosclerosis and cools inflammation of the heart muscle. Used regularly, hawthorn strengthens the heart muscle and the nerves to the heart.

Controlled medical studies in Europe showed that hawthorn lowered blood pressure and reduced the strain on the heart by dilating the blood vessels away from the heart, strengthened the heart muscle by increasing the metabolism of enzymes in the heart muscle, boosted the utilization of oxygen by the heart and slightly dilated the coronary vessels. Almost all the heart patients given hawthorn showed improvement. Hawthorn normalized and enhanced the function of the heart and circulatory system without side effects.

Hawthorn is a gentle heart tonic that nurtures the entire circulatory system. Hawthorn has proven effective as a treatment for functional heart disease arrhythmia, angina pectoris, age-related circulatory insufficiency, arteriosclerosis and regulation of the circulatory system.

To thwart the damaging effects of a heart attack hawthorn is the ‘ounce of prevention that is worth a pound of cure.’ Hawthorn improves coronary circulation by dilating the coronary arteries to bring more oxygen directly to the heart muscle and reducing the chances of heart attack or angina. Increasing the ability of the heart to function smoothly, hawthorn imparts a gentle but persistent toning action that compensates for age-related degeneration of the heart. Simply put, hawthorn helps keep the heart healthy enough to head off a heart attack.

Used in conjunction with a healthy diet and stress management, hawthorn is the perfect preventative prescription for persons who have a family history of heart disease. Considered a safe and effective long-term treatment for the gradual loss of heart function that comes with age, hawthorn is not habit forming, accumulative or toxic.

For patients who have already suffered a heart attack, studies show hawthorn speeds recovery, lowers blood pressure, strengthens the heart and forestalls any onset of coronary disease. No other herb in the plant kingdom provides the nourishing regeneration of hawthorn both before or after a heart attack.
Excerpts for this book obtained from: http://www.morethanalive.com  

How to make a tincture

To make the tincture, steep four ounces of the berries in a pint of brandy for 4 weeks, then filter and place in a glass jar with tight fitting lid and store in cool, dark room  (also, I double the recipe and make a quart at a time but that is up to you). Fifteen drops is considered one dose. For hawthorn tea, add one or two teaspoons of berries to hot water.

**Note:  If you are new to making tinctures, I encourage you to jump in and do it.  It's crazy easy and once the herbs have been submerged in the alcohol, the final product will last at least 3 years and some say indefinitely if stored properly in a cool dark place with secure lid.  I will do a post to list some herbs that you might consider having in your "medicine cabinet" soon.  I am a tincture freak.  I started making them as single ingredient but now often make them as multi-ingredient tinctures so they have more benefits.

Blessings, Traci

****Just in case a stranger stumbles in here who doesn't know me and reads this...This blog does not intend to give any medical advice. This is just common sense information that any Tom, Dick or Harry can apply to every day living situations.  You are responsible for whatever info. you find here and choose to use and for how you use it. I suggest you research this info for yourself also.  The writer of this blog is not liable for any problems arising from the use of this info.  Please check this book out if you can.

I guess I have to say stuff like that, so I did:)

Gooood day!

Reading together

***Note:  My links aren't working so it'll take me some time to get them all working...sorry!!!

The boys and I really like to read books together.   It’s nice to end the day sitting around together reading, we all (even Craig) really enjoy it. We recently made a list of some of our favorite books that we have read together because I love remembering these times together.  Some of the books the boys especially like are adventure, fiction, friendship, survival and some are series books.  Often, after reading a book from one author that we liked, we look for more of his/her books to read.   Sometimes to find good books I look through book lists or go by suggestions from friends or just take a chance based on the book’s description.   We have learned that Newbery award books (at least the ones we’ve read) are often good books that we can find at our library.   The books I've listed should be available at your local library but I've added links so the book description is available.

Here’s a few of our Favorite reads:

Author: Paulsen, Gary  

  (This is a Series.  The boys really enjoyed these and wanted to read them all and so did I)

Titles:

 Hatchet

The River

Brian’s Winter

Brian’s Hunt

Brian’s Return

Author: Peck, Richard

(The first two titles are sequential.  These were humorous and fun books for all of us.)

Titles:

A long way from Chicago

A Year Down Yonder

Here lies the Librarian   

Author: George, Jean Craighead

(A trilogy.  Tanner read the Far side of the mountain and Frightful’s mountain twice and wanted to read them again until I persuaded him to move on to something new!)

Titles:

My side of the mountain

The far side of the mountain

Frightful’s mountain

Author: Forbes, Ester

(This one’s a long one but it was still pretty good.  Early America setting.)

Title: Johnny Tremain

Author: Morpurgo, Michael

(This one was a real surprise.  It was a really good story!  We really enjoyed it but were unable to find anymore of this author’s books at our library)

Title: Private Peaceful

Author: Tenboom, Corrie

(We listened to this on audio in a play form.  The boys liked it a lot and we had a lot to talk about as we listened to it.)

Title:  The hiding place

Author:  Thedore, Taylor

(This was another unexpected surprise.  We loved this book and couldn’t wait to get back to it to see what was going to happen next.)

Title:  The Cay

Author: Trumbull, Robert

(I pulled this off the shelf at the library in the audio books and took it home based on the jacket’s description and was really surprised how quickly we were drawn into the story.)

Title: The Raft

Author:  Hemmingway, Ernest

(We got this book because it was listed as a reading assignment for Tanner’s language arts through literature class.  We got it on audio so we could all hear it and the story was kind of rough but still a story that you wanted to know what would happen at the end.)

Title:  The old man and the sea

Author:  Rawls, Wilson

Titles:

(These two books were books that the boys just really enjoyed.  I don’t like sad animal stories so I cried, cried, cried at Where the red fern grows but the boys were fine and liked it just the same.)

Summer of monkeys

Where the Red Fern Grows

Author: Daly

(This isn’t a long book so it’s a quick read but it is a story that held their attention.)

Title:  The small war of sergeant donkey

Dear America Series, My name is America

(This series has many books in it.  The boys just chose what they wanted to read and they chose to read quite a few of them.  This series is for boys but there is also a girls series too.  There are too many of these to post them all so here is just one.)

Author:  Maybury, Richard J.

(These are excellent books for high school level reading.  They are written in letter form and teach economics and justice but don’t let that make you think these are boring…they are great and written to be clear and interesting AND they explain what is wrong with our current economic and justice systems.  There are others in Maybury’s books to read but we haven’t read them yet but do have them on our shelf.)

Titles:

Whatever happened to penny candy

Whatever happened to justice

I wouldn’t say I endorse every line that is in each of these books as they are  mostly secular reading books off library shelves but we did enjoy reading these books together and the beauty of reading together allows us to censor if needed or discuss a passage if needed.   

We're looking for a new book now because we just finished a trilogy that we had a lot of fun reading.  I'm so thankful for this time together.

I'd Love to hear any reading ideas from others who would like to share:)

Book Review "Radical Homemakers" by Shannon Hayes

Radical Homemakers

by Shanon Hayes

This is an excellent book. I read nearly all 276+ pages in about 3 days. The title may be somewhat misleading though. It sounds like it may be about ladies who are looking to improve in what we have come to think "house work" is...nope, not even close. It is teaching the difference between consumer"ism" vs. producer. It's theme is discussing how big business, the industrial revolution and feminism has moved the family out of the home where the family once produced much of what they used for living for themselves. They did not work for "the man" and in most cases lived within communities in which others were also producers so that within the community they were able to find what they needed. Perhaps there is the guy who does iron work and the farmer who has beef, the farmer who produces chickens, sheep and gardens, the guy who blows glass, the guys who cuts hair, etc. People could pass on their skills to put up (can) food, sew, knit and so on.

The book discusses consumerism and the constant message (lies) of the media that is telling us we need this and that and some of those all in the interest of hope...the hope that somehow when I buy their product my life will be changed by owning it. It also covers what others are doing in their everyday lives in order to be less reliant on outside sources for their livelihood. It is such an inspirational book! It really makes you think about where we have come as a society in just a couple hundred years even and what we have been raised to THINK is "the way" things are supposed to be...SO NOT TRUE!

I like to write in my books when I see something in them that I like so I can go back and find it quickly...in this book I underlined almost every page. True, it would be a lot of work to produce for yourself but if you didn't have to go out everyday for 10 hours a day to get money to buy what "they" have produced for you then spent millions of dollars in advertising to you (granted you can't produce all things you're going to need) you would be spending that time at home gardening, canning, sewing, carpentry... What makes it worth more when someone else does it for you??? Nothing, that's a lie.

Anywho, if you've ever thought..."I wish I didn't have to spend my life away from my home and family..." this book is for you to read and think how your life can be different.

I give it a 2 thumbs up!

That's just my 2 cents;)

Book Review "The Great Physician's Rx by Jordan Rubin

The Great Physician's Rx by Jordan Rubin
This is a fantastic book on biblical,healthful eating and why we should eat biblically healthful. Jordan Rubin gives a very good explaination of why we should avoid certain foods as the bible instructs His people to do when He gives them "clean eating" rules for life. He sites the reasons why these "clean eating" rules still apply today (rules that are usually mistaught by most biblical teachers of today because of misunderstanding of scripture).
He discusses the fact that Yahuah (GOD of creation) wants His people to be a set apart people. Here is a paraphrase from his book: Yahuah lead Israel out of Egypt and explained to them...because I love you, I will give you commandments (instructions for life) to make you a separate, set apart people. I do this because I am a jealous GOD and I desire for you to live your life set apart to me because you love me. I want you to be my very own, not mingled with your ways but wholly doing the things I say because you love me. I have given you THE WAYs of life and when you do them, you will become a CITY ON A HILL!
He gives 50 days of example recipes along with lists of foods to aviod and foods which are created to promote our health. In the book, he discusses benefits of daily exercise and hygiene. He also gives resources. He has 2 web sites which you can go on to check out if you like: http://www.biblicalhealthinstitute.com/ and http://www.greatphysiciansrx.com/

You can find it at Amazon.com here:

http://www.amazon.com/Great-Physicians-Rx-Health-Wellness/dp/078521352X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1295133789&sr=1-1

This is a 2 thumbs up book and a must read for everyone, especially those who are of the house hold of faith!
Be blessed!