Wednesday, December 2, 2015
2 Tumeric smoothie recipes
2 Smart Turmeric Smoothie Recipes to Optimize Turmeric Absorption
There is no doubt that turmeric is one of the most useful plants in the world. It has been used for long time to fight diseases and promote health conditions due to its medicinal properties. You will know how amazing of turmeric is after knowing the detailed information about its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, it even fights diseases like Alzheimer’s and cancers.
While you have to consume turmeric properly to get the full benefits of it. If you think simply eating it is enough, then you’re wrong, even you’re still can get some benefits from it. Because turmeric is fat-soluble, means it doesn’t fully dissolve unless it is in fat.
So the rule is: In order to make the most of turmeric, you have to take it with a bit of fat.
Following are two turmeric smoothie recipes that will help the curcumin to be better absorbed by the body to get its full positive benefits for your health:
A Spicy Tropical Smoothie
Ingredients
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1/2 cup pineapple chunks
- 1 banana
- 1/2 teaspoon each of ground turmeric, ginger and cinnamon
- ¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
- A little raw honey to taste
Place all of these ingredients in a blender and process until smooth. Drink it.
The fat in coconut milk and the key chemical piperine in black pepper are both promoting the absorption of curcumin by the body. It’s suggested to drink it after a meal, as it also aids digestion due to the benefits of pineapple.
Anti-inflammatory smoothie
Ingredients
- 1 cup green tea
- 1 cup berries (blueberries or cranberries, choose which you like)
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1/2 teaspoon each of ground turmeric and ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground chia seeds
Put all of them in a blender and process until smooth. Drink immediately. Green tea, berries and coconut oil all help for better curcumin absorption by the body. And the anti-inflammatory properties of the ingredients in this smoothie makes it super good for you to fight against many diseases.
source: blogs.naturalnews.com
Coconut Flour Pancakes
» Coconut Flour Pancakes
Coconut Flour Pancakes
REBECCA MACLARY
This is a recipe that I think perfectly encapsulates the wonder that is the coconut.
When it comes to making coconut flour pancakes, there needs to be a fine balance struck so that the finished product is neither too dry nor too soggy, and of course flatness can be a major obstacle to overcome.
I’m a real perfectionist when it comes to the small things in the kitchen, and in my quest to discover the perfect recipe for light and fluffy coconut flour pancakes, this is the recipe I finally decided to settle on.
Coconut Flour Pancakes
When it comes to making coconut flour pancakes, there needs to be a fine balance struck so that the finished product is neither too dry nor too soggy, and of course flatness can be a major obstacle to overcome.
Prep Time:10 minutes
Cook Time:10 minutes
Yield:2 people
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup coconut flour
- 1/8 tsp baking soda
- Pinch of salt
- 1/3 - 1/4 cup coconut milk
- 2 tbsp organic, cold-pressed coconut oil
- 3 eggs
- 1-2 tbsp honey
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- Maple syrup to taste
- Grass-fed butter for cooking (Kerrygold and Anchor are my favorite brands)
*The lecithin contained within the egg yolks is what lends itself to the firmness and fullness of the pancakes, so if you’re not happy with the overall consistency then I would recommend adjusting the egg quantity before anything else. An alternative fix is to simply add another spoonful of coconut flour, but I think that an extra egg will be the most common solution.
How To Make It:
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Before starting, please make sure you don’t mix your pancake batter too thoroughly. An overly mixed batter can often result in flatter, rather listless pancakes, so a good rule of thumb is to not worry about leaving lumps in the mix. In fact, lumps are a good thing!
Another thing to remember is that you won’t be able to see bubbles forming as much as you would with plain old wheat flour, so I’d suggest using a fork or spatula to gently lift your pancakes before flipping, just to make sure the underside is nicely browned.
- Thoroughly mix the eggs, coconut oil, and honey together.
- Add the coconut milk and vanilla extract.
- Throw in the coconut flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix, but remember, not too much!
- Melt a dab of butter in your skillet and then using a measuring cup, add a little batter to the pan. I recommend figuring out how many pancakes you’d like to make beforehand so that you can use an appropriately sized cup or ladle. This recipe should yield around 8 or so pancakes.
- Remember that you aren’t likely to see many bubbles forming on the top, so carefully check the underside of your pancake before flipping. Extra kudos points for those of you who can flip without a spatula!
- For best results, serve your pancakes right away.
- Drown those bad boys in maple syrup, grab your fork, and have at ‘em!
Pancakes have always been a serious weakness of mine, and there’s no way I’m letting you guys in on just how many batches I made in my attempts to find the perfect recipe…
Suffice to say, you’re in for a real treat!
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
Antibiotics and Risk for Diabetes by David Perlmutter, MD
Antibiotics and Risk for Diabetes
If you’ve been following the microbiome story you are likely aware of the emerging literature that squarely places gut bacteria in a pivotal position as it relates to any number of physiological processes. From regulating the balance of the immune system to determining the level of inflammation that a person may experience, it is now becoming mainstream knowledge that our gut bacteria are poised to regulate our most critical, life-supportive processes.
In Brain Maker, and certainly on this blog, I have written extensively on the important role of the microbiome in terms of regulating blood sugar and insulin sensitivity. As such, we would expect that environmental events that disrupt the gut ecology might have a causative role, or at least show correlation with type 2 diabetes.
Recall that several months ago I called attention to the interesting study from Israeli researchers in which changes to the gut bacteria brought on by exposure to artificial sweeteners were dramatically associated with increased risk for issues related to glucose regulation, insulin sensitivity, and, therefore, type II diabetes.
You might therefore expect, based upon your understanding of this relationship between the gut bacteria and regulation of blood sugar, that there might be a correlation between risk of type 2 diabetes and exposure to antibiotics. Antibiotics, while representing a powerful medical modality for a variety of bacterial infections, nonetheless dramatically affect the array of bacteria within the gut, for the most part negatively.
That said, a new study has in fact revealed a dramatic relationship between antibiotics exposure and risk of type 2 diabetes. The research, carried out in Denmark, correlated the development of type II diabetes with antibiotic exposure in a review of 5.6 million individuals over a 12-year period of time. The results of the study clearly related risk for developing diabetes to the degree of antibiotic exposure an individual experienced. Over the course of the study, risk of type 2 diabetes was increased by 53% in individuals receiving antibiotics of any type.
In their conclusion, the authors stated:
There is now mounting evidence from rodent models suggesting that antibiotics may drive changes in insulin sensitivity, glucose tolerance, lipid deposition, and energy harvesting potential by altering the gut microbiota composition.
For the record, I again want to state that antibiotics play an important role in healthcare. At times they are life-saving treatments for individuals experiencing bacterial infections.
It is clear however that we are dramatically overusing antibiotics. In fact, the World Health Organization has now indicated that over usage of antibiotics represents one of the top three global health threats of this decade.
Further, recognize that at least 80% of the antibiotics sold in America are actually used in livestock and poultry, whereby exposure to antibiotics makes animals gain weight, much as they do in humans. According to a recent publication in Consumer Reports, this misguided use of antibiotics represents a clear and present danger to humans.
With this new research, we are seeing a powerfully strong correlation between antibiotic exposure and risk of developing type II diabetes. So the take-home message is to think twice before you take an antibiotic the next time you have a cold or sore throat. Chances are, if you if you walk into a clinic with a cold, you will walk out with a prescription for an antibiotic. But please understand, well-respected, peer-reviewed scientific publications are now making it quite clear that taking an antibiotic is not a free ride.
Take care of your microbiome!
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