G-A-R-L-I-C

#1 of Health 101- GARLIC! Love this food and herb! It's always been one of my favorites to cook with and take as a regular supplement. Its a member of the onion and leek family, and as such it tends to have an odor that can sometimes be overbearing or noticeable. Suprisingly, the same stuff (i.e. compounds like thiosulfinates, sulfoxides and dithiins) that cause the odor also are responsible for many amazing health effects (how can something so good cause something so not good! ha ) Garlic works as:

• An Antibacterial and Antiviral (AKA prevention for colds, flu, other illness etc.)

Garlic can be taken as a PREVENTATIVE mainly to help get rid of symptoms of the cold and flu. It indirectly effects the immune system as a whole as it fights off illness! I take a Garlic supplement I found at Wild Oats a while back. It is garlic oil in a softgel, contains 500 mg per serving and you take it twice daily as needed with food. I do Not take it everyday of course, mainly when I feel my immune system is down a little, or I feel a cold or sore throat coming on. I have noticed however, that when I am sick, eating raw garlic or taking this supplement cuts my cold time in half, at least! (One time I was told to eat a whole clove, just peel and eat. IT WAS SO STRONG! I could literally feel it going down my throat as if it was burning every bacteria it touched). Although I probably wouldn't do that again anytime soon, I do recommend cooking with it if you don't have supplements. However, there are different ways to cook it. CRUSHING and CHOPPING activate the enzymes (these help speed up processes with your bodies cells or help break down foods etc. so your body can process and regulate itself). Research tells us that microwaving or boiling garlic in its whole form deactivates tons of its nutrients and enzymes!

• An Anti-Inflammatory

Garlic helps our musculoskeletal and respiratory systems! There are many Sulfides in garlic that have been shown to produce anti-arthritic properties. It also assists with airway inflammation (asthma etc.). Research also believes that it may help decrease the development of fat cells, which includes an inflammatory process! Eat up!

• A Cardiovascular promoter
  

Garlic will lower triglyceride and cholesterol production and helps control our blood pressure by triggering dilation of our blood vessels. Remember Sulfides??? It turns out that polysulfides found in garlic, can be changed by our Red Blood Cells (RBC's) into a gas called hydrogen sulfide (H2S). This H2S dilates our blood vessels! There is more on this but that is all I will share...

• Anti-Cancer Properties

Have u heard of oxidative stress?! Your cells undergo this a lot even though you may not even know. This deals with ANTIOXIDANTS, heard of these? Foods rich in antioxidents are good for you! An antioxidant is a molecule that stops oxidation of other molecules. Oxidation is a chemical reaction dealing with electrons and these Oxidation reactions can produce free radicals (BAD). In turn, these radicals can start reactions that damage cells.

Free Radicals= Damaged cells= Abnormal cells= Cancer

ANTIOXIDANTS (i.e. Garlic)= Helps kill free radicals= Intact cells= normal functioning cells= Absence of disease/sickness

Garlic has TONS of Antioxidants!

Nutrients!

Garlic has vitamin C, vitamin B6, selenium and manganese etc. Garlic is a very good source of Vitamin C which helps with your immune system, overall health etc. Garlic's vitamin B6 helps prevent heart disease. The Selenium also works with vitamin E in a number of vital antioxidant systems! The trace mineral, manganese helps as a factor in many other important antioxidant defenses as well.

Garlic 1.00 oz-wt 28.35 grams 42.24 calories
Nutrient	Amount	DV (%)	Nutrient Density	World's Healthiest Foods Rating
manganese	0.47 mg	23.5	10.0	excellent
vitamin B6 (pyridoxine)	0.35 mg	17.5	7.5	very good
vitamin C	8.85 mg	14.8	6.3	very good
tryptophan	0.02 g	6.3	2.7	good
selenium	4.03 mcg	5.8	2.5	good
calcium	51.31 mg	5.1	2.2	good
phosphorus	43.38 mg	4.3	1.8	good
vitamin B1 (thiamin)	0.06 mg	4.0	1.7	good
copper	0.08 mg	4.0	1.7	good
protein	1.80 g	3.6	1.5	good

Go to these sites for more info:
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=60#howtouse
http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/garlic-000245.htm

As you can see, our beloved GARLIC with all its smells, is very beneficial for you!

Health 101

So...its the new year. I get really excited about new things and hobbies to do, resolutions etc. The last three years in fact I have been amazing at typing up several resolutions on several pages and looking at them monthly to see how I am coming along. Looking back at them this month and deciding what I get to choose for 2011 was pretty cool seeing that I actually have grown and achieved several things! Tonight I was inspired about something I have been wanting to do for awhile. We had a church activity focused on nutrition, healthy bodies, approving of yourself however you look and paying more attention to how you FEEL instead of how much you weigh, eat ETC ETC ETC :) Some of you know that I graduated from nursing school last year. The human body and health essentially is a fascination of mine. Nursing school was awesome for me because I absolutely LOVED learning about how to make your body work better and best, and how to make it function properly. Its incredible to learn about how tiny chemicals can affect the cells in your body and amazing how the body can repair itself! All are miracles. I just love all of it. For this reason, I also love to teach about health. It's weird how people now ask me about diseases or procedures because of my degree. Even though I don't know everything about the body and probably never will because of its complexity, I love to share my knowledge and if I don't have it, try to find out the answers to their questions. When I was little I always told my MOM I wanted to be a doctor! Even though I admire that profession, its not a reality for me and for my life's goals and dreams, but a nurse is next best!

For 2011, a resolution of mine is to post nutritional or health information on this blog weekly for you to read. Some things will deal with foods to eat, nutritional supplements (herbs for example; I Love Natural!), things to help combat colds, sicknesses etc. or just things that I have learned to love. I also believe that the mind and body work together on MANY things! Being mentally healthy is also so important...

ENJOY my Health 101!

Greatest of All

We watched an amazing video today focusing on the topic charity...Go to this:

http://videos.videopress.com/Ih3s9f3Y/cheering-each-other-on_std.mp4

Or this to watch:

http://mormonsoprano.com/2010/03/03/a-cheerleading-victory-like-no-other/

“Charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things”

"Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail—" Moroni 7:46

Been learning so much about this principle, and the blessings it brings to my life....

1st Christmas...

WHAT an awesome Christmas we had!!!



We got lots of new movies to add to our small, but growing movie collection! Including the Bourne Identity series which we love, Twilight, Elf, The Holiday, Batman etc.



Josh got some tools...



We got a new comforter for our wonderful, large bed!



Then I sent him on a scavenger hunt to find his last gift!



A new phone! Yeah for T-mobile and cheap phone plans, ours rocks!



He loved it and I was so glad!!! The Optimus T...



Christmas was wonderful this year, and spending it together made it way better. Josh definitely made my Christmas and did an AMAZING job stuffing my stocking, giving me the cutest pajama pants and a sweater that I absolutely love!, some lotions (those are the best), and an i-home!!!



I'm lucky to be married to this wonderful guy... :) Thanks to our families for the amazing Christmas and gifts. WE feel so blessed!

Hope ya'll had an awesome Christmas and Happy New Year! Much Love...