The Magic Of Tulsi

Posted on March 20, 2014March 20, 2014 by Shelli Thompson

Magic of Tulsi

The Magic of Holy Basil or Tulsi
(Ocimum Tenuifloum)

Ayurveda considers that all disease is derived from stress whether environmental, nutritional, job related or mental. Because we all suffer from stress in some form it is wise to have tools to counteract the stress that seems to creep into our daily lives.

What are the tools that help control stress we already know about? There are many things that we can control, like our diet. Organic, local, fresh produce is always best. It is important to remember that our body deals with toxins that are not within our control every day. We don’t want to add to toxins by eating foods containing anti-biotics, pesticides and other harmful chemicals.

How stressful are your thoughts? Do you find yourself worrying about things that may possibly never happen? There’s a difference between being prepared and worrying about a catastrophic event. We make ourselves sick with worry and that leads to other health related concerns. This is another area that we have control over, it may not seem like it at times because our mind can be pretty powerful. With training in meditation and some activity along with proper diet and herbs, you can get your “run away” mind under control.

How can the magic of Tulsi support our bodies?

We can turn our focus to herbs with properties that assist the areas we need help with. When it comes to stress it is important to support the systems of the body what are some of the things that we look for?

Adaptogens are great to include along with antioxidants to help rid the body of free radicals.
Anti-inflammitory because many stress related diseases will present at first with inflammation and then progress to a higher disease state.
Germicide, fungicide and natural anti-biotic to help the body fight off infections thus alleviating stress from illness.
Diuretic and detoxifier to cleanse the kidney and reduce uric acid in the blood.
Acetic acid to break down kidney stones
Analgesic property to help with pain.
Anti-carcinogenic to stop the progression of breast and oral cancers.
Decongestant to assist with allergies.

It may sound like we would give you an entire handful of herbs to address all of these areas. There is one herb that checks off all the boxes.

Tulsi or Holy Basil is like Magic

Headaches: Helps with all sorts of headaches from sinusitis to migraine due to its decongestive and analgesic properties.
Stress: Normalizes Cortizon in the body is an adaptogen (anti-stress), soothes nerves, regulates blood circulation, fights stress produced free radicals.
Kidney Stones: Dissolves stones due to acetic acid, diuretic, detoxifier, reduces Uric acid in blood good for Gout, analgesic.
Quit Smoking: Reduces urge to smoke due to stress. Chewing the leaves when urge arises reduces stress.
Diabetes: Antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, helps beta cells in pancreas to regulate release of insulin, increases the sensitivity to insulin lowering the blood sugar levels, helps cells overcome oxidative stress.
Protects Heart: Tulsi is shown to lower cholesterol, especially LD types, keeps blood pressure lower, Eugenol (anti-oxidant) helps keep free radicals from damaging heart tissue.
Fever: Germicide and a fungicide as well as an anti-biotic so it helps relieve fevers from the common infection to more serious diseases.
Respiratory: Anti-bacterial, Anti-fungal, anti-allergetic, fights infections, relieves congestion and cough it a good expectorant and is immunomodulatory (good for the immune system)
Hair and skin: Last but not least because of it’s purifying properties it is good for reducing acne and pimples. The anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties assist in preventing break outs. It purifies the blood when the leaves are chewed raw and it reduces excess hair fall and itchy scalp.

Enjoy the magic of Tulsi in your diet

Seasonal Cleansing, Get The Spring Back into your step.

Posted on March 17, 2014March 17, 2014 by Shelli Thompson

Kapha season is late winter and early spring, time for seasonal cleansing.

At that time of year our Kapha energy is more likely to go out of balance. Kapha is immobile and stable and strong. During the late winter Kapha tends to accumulate, we become less active and many times we crave comfort foods which tend to be Kapha-genic. This is usually a time that suggests it’s time for seasonal cleansing.

With spring comes a shift in the weather and it becomes time to rid our bodies of excess Kapha. In order to do that we plan some seasonal cleansing (ridding ourself of excess Earth and water elements in order to avoid imbalance).

Ayurveda provides a nourishing and effective approach to seasonal cleansing of the body that seeks to balance and restore harmony to the system.

Ayurvedic Suggestions for Seasonal Cleansing:

Drink lots of water and shift your diet to lighter fare. What we eat has the greatest overall impact on our health and Most Americans get less than half the required amount of fiber-needed daily.

Ayurveda suggests a diet that support the bodies natural purification systems. Including complete servings of fiber and protein in order to stave off hunger between meals. Herbs and spices are used to help detoxify and cleanse the body as well as make the foods tastier.

What are some signs that you need Seasonal Cleansing?

Crave Junk food and sugar but have a poor appetite
You notice it takes longer to feel hungry after a meal
You find yourself eating large portions
Feeling heavy, congested or constipated
Bloating and gas cause discomfort
Feeling tired with little energy
Mind feels a little foggy and “spaced out”
Lack of motivation.

What is the first thing you need to do when preparing for a seasonal cleanse?

The first thing is to remove the foods that create sludge or Ama in the system such as foods with preservatives and additives, junk food, sugar, cheese, deep fried foods, carbonated drinks and left overs. These may be things that you normally do not consume but you may have found that some of them have snuck into your diet.

Do not eat raw foods, they are harder to digest and we are trying to cleanse the system. Foods that are cooked are partially digested since digestion is our systems way of cooking. Eat plenty of cooked vegetables and eat fresh fruits (ripened fruit is not considered raw as the ripening process is the plants way of “cooking” the fruit until it is done).

Eat foods that are whole, fresh and organic as much as possible and make sure you are eating according to your dosha. When we eat according to our dosha it makes the food easier to digest for each of us individually. Make sure and eat your cooked food warm and drink only warm or hot water.

Tea is a great way to help detoxify your body. Boil equal parts of coriander, cumin, fennel and ajwain, take it from the heat and let it set for about 20 minutes to seep. Drink the tea throughout the day, make fresh tea every day.

For seasonal cleansing the best vegetables are cabbage, celery and cilantro, and fresh ginger, and lemon are excellent herbs to assist the system your detox.

Get plenty of rest because a rested body will digest and assimilate the foods more effectively. Exercise is very important as it will increase your metabolic levels, help sweat out toxins and increase energy levels.

Using healthy oils on your skin and in your diet will help to loosen toxins embedded deep in the layers of the bodily tissues. Generally coconut oil for Pitta and Sesame oil for Kapha and Pitta.

Regular elimination is also important when seasonal cleansing, including lots of vegetables and fresh fruits in your diet will help such as cooked apples and pears, prunes, pomegranates and pineapple.

Within a week you will feel the fog lift and you will feel more energetic, as you continue you will feel lighter and release weight. When you began you may have been craving your old lifestyle, after a while you will wonder why you would ever want to go back to unhealthy eating again.

What’s For Dinner?

Posted on February 13, 2014February 13, 2014 by Shelli Thompson

images-3 In our fast paced world with all of the conveniences at our fingertips it’s hard to imagine having enough time to actually cook a nutritious meal that doesn’t have some ingredient that is processed. Many recipe’s today include opening a can of this or a box of that. I may be a cooking snob but when I see these things I usually discard the recipe unless I can make the ingredient fresh.

The media helps us in this thinking that we need nothing but convenience when it comes to our meals. I love the Olympics so I dusted off the TV and turned it on and really enjoyed the stories of the athletes and their competitions. What I didn’t enjoy is the bombardment of the media and their convenience foods. The Mom talking about how “toasted” she is at the end of the day so she stops by KFC and gets her family a meal.

I was thinking now she isn’t only toasted she’s fried too!!

With a little bit of planning it is not difficult to cook healthy meals with nutritious single ingredient simple foods. The best place to start is on the weekend, this is a great time to plan the weeks meals and strategize about how to make it more simple and convenient. Planning ahead will guarantee you will have all ingredients at hand and any prepping can be done ahead of time.

Todays meal is Cajun Chicken Gumbo so I planned ahead.
This take about 7 hours to cook in a slow cooker so the best part about it is that you put everything together and leave it. When you get home, dinner is cooked.

Last night because we had a planned out meal it was simple to chop up the onions, peppers, celery and garlic and seal it up in the fridge. Then this morning I took 15 minutes to make my roux and cook my sausage at the same time and drain. A small amount of Italian sausage is the only processed item in this recipe, Gumbo just isn’t the same without it. When it is pre-cooked and drained it is much healthier than cooking it in the gumbo like most recipe’s call for.

Another thing that I do for convenience is that I can organic chicken breast meat in jars. It is amazing for quick meals where chicken is called for. I only use it if time is an issue or there is no chicken on hand, it is an amazing time saver. I will go through the steps for you so you can learn how to can your own chicken in an upcoming blog but for now lets stick to the gumbo.

Shelli’s Cajun Chicken Sausage Gumbo:

1/3 cup Flour
1/3 cup Canola oil/ cooking oil
3 cup Water
12 OZ Cooked Italian Sausage
1 1/2 cup Cooked Shredded Chicken
1 cup Onion chopped
3/4 cup Sweet Green Pepper chopped
1/2 cup Celery chopped
6 cloves Garlic minced
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Black pepper
1/2 tsp crushed red peppers
3 cups cooked rice

Prep time 30 minutes
Cook time 7 hours

To make roux: combine oil and flour in pan, cook on medium heat for about 15 minutes stirring constantly until it is a rich dark reddish brown color like the photo, set aside and let it cool (hint: take if off the heat before it is to the finish point and it will finish as the pan cools, make sure and stir it occasionally)
Cook and drain the sausage and cook and shred the chicken (or open a jar of home canned chicken)
Chop all vegetables.
Add 3 cups of water to a pan, add the roux, it will look like the photo

Add the sausage, chicken and vegetables and let it simmer all day.
When you get home it will be done. Serve over rice. it’s delicious!

Because dinner was so easy tonight, you can plan for tomorrows meal and prepare anything that needs to be chopped ahead of time.

A great hint if you don’t have a timer on your crock pot is to buy one for the wall and plug the crock pot into that, set the time for 7 hours and head off to work.

There is no substitute for fresh locally grown food that is cooked freshly delicious.

Bon Appetite!

On Taking A Handful of Vitamins and Jumping Off A Cliff

Posted on August 4, 2010August 4, 2010 by Shelli Thompson

Video 4 0 00 14-25 — No Choice but To give an Interview...=D

We all are comfortable in our routines, at our homes or at work. We do certain things to keep us comfortable, healthy and happy.

But what happens when you are away from home and out of your natural routine? It can be easy to ignore all of the little things that we are used to, like for instance 8 hours of sleep. Sometimes we completely loose our routine and we find our self out of whack.

You see when you allow this to happen, not only are you heading down hill to the “outta whack” place but it also takes time to come back from that place and all of that time reduces your productivity.

It is imperative that you bring some comforts of home with you when you are away, maybe some food that you are familiar with or it could be as simple as your pillow.

I had the pleasure of interviewing a friend of mine, Wayne Allyn Root. He talks about the ways he keeps him self in top notch condition and about his “healthy addictions” and how they work positively in his life.

The key here is that he refers to what he does as a habit. He has made a habit of having healthy, affirmative, positive things in his life and because it has become a habit, he doesn’t leave his habits behind when he leaves home. He continues to exercise, watch his nutrition, take his supplements, meditate and all of the other healthy habits he talks about in the video. Make sure and check it out.

We had a wonderful day on the zip lines in Jamaica and we were all able to do that because we were all fit enough to go and we were all below the 250 pound weight limit. Not only that but we were all willing to try something new and adventurous, with terrific friends and I have to tell you there is nothing better for your health.

I really appreciate the time that Wayne took to talk about his healthy habits because as you can tell, He is a very busy person, he is generous with his time and such fun to hang out with.

Wayne is the economic advisor to Wealth Masters International and lends his name to that organization because he believes in what we are doing collectively, in addition to what he tells you on the video which is impressive all in itself. He has written several books, his latest is Conscious of a libertarian and I suggest you pick it up and read it, it’s an eye opener.

Wayne is someone worth following so I suggest you find him on Face book and connect, he has some great things to say and he makes it his business to find out what is going on and keep all of us informed.

How You Can Change Your Biochemistry

Posted on June 29, 2010 by Shelli Thompson

It seems that there is new information every day about the newest, the latest, the greatest diet, exercise, new past time or sport but what really doesn’t change at all is what our bodies really need.

First and foremost is good positive thoughts, wholesome nutrition, body movement and exercise, and stimulation for the brain of some sort.

We read all of the time how this benefits that and that help this and so on and so forth but if you really want to get down to the nitty gritty it seems to be a nutrition issue. What to eat, when to eat it, what combinations are good and how much.

Lowering intake of sugars will certainly help you to loose belly fat. The reason for that is belly fat is closely related with blood sugars and insulin.

However there are ways that you can do more.

When measuring biochemical changes in our bodies, scientists look for alterations in the metabolites. Some of these metabolites help us to stabilize our blood sugar and burn fat, to stay brief. While studying exercisers they found changes in more than 20 different metabolites.

What that means is that being in optimum weight and exercising 4 to 5 times a week helps us maintain healthy glucose and insulin levels because of the sensitivity of our insulin receptors.

In order to enjoy good health it is essential to maintain healthy insulin levels. In doing this we prevent all sorts of disease such as diabetes, heart, cancer you name it.

So even if you appear to be in good shape and don’t exercise you are putting yourself at risk.

The good news is that if you are out of shape or over weight, you can regain your health it just takes longer depending on how far you have to go and how determined you are to get there. It isn’t an easy road so the best thing to do is watch it and don’t let it get out of control.

If you are really out of shape it’s nice to know that even 10 minutes of brisk walking will lead to beneficial biochemical changes and they last up to an hour. So what if you were able to take several 10 minute brisk walks throughout the day? You could accomplish a lot.

If you are already in good shape, chances are you go for a good “steady state” work out several times a week, but what would you say if I told you there was a better way to get results?

What if I told you that you could CUT BACK on the time you work out each week and get better results than what you are getting?

You would be interested wouldn’t you?

Stay tuned and we will talk about this more next time, we will make some changes and see how it works for you.

For now check out the importance of weight training here

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Importance of Weight Training

Posted on February 24, 2010June 24, 2010 by Shelli Thompson

weights — click picture to go to Health Pulse Magazine-Weight training

Many Americans under estimate the importance of weight training.

Many Americans under estimate the importance of weight training. Not only that but they have a misconception about what weight work can mean for them. Many times when I ask someone if they do any type of resistance training they say, “oh, I hate weight work but I do it anyways.” Or,” I don’t” and they leave it at that. Many women say that they don’t want their bodies to look like a man. So there is the misconception.

Weight work need not include the “bulk up”. Some women like that on them self but it is hard to maintain for women especially (who aren’t made to look that way). It includes many hours at the gym and most likely a trainer.

What People need to understand is that first off, muscle weighs more than fat but it takes up less room. Muscle burns more calories than fat to maintain. Resistance work also increases the density of bones. This is a crucial factor for women because we tend to decrease our density as we grow older and sometimes our diets aren’t very helpful.

What is helpful for women is to lower the weight way down and do more repetitions. The reason that you do this is because with smaller weight you will not bulk up at all, you will just tone and give shape to what you already have.

You will strengthen your muscle in a different way, a way that will increase the endurance of the muscles. This will allow you to continue doing your favorite activities for longer periods of time without being tired.

The most recent testing on the human body concluded that weight training burned more calories and fat than aerobic training. That does NOT mean to discontinue your aerobics because that is exercising your heart. A strong heart is an important key in keeping your blood pressure down.

If you don’t belong to a gym, you can do simple weight training exercises at home with simple house hold items. Be aware of what the weight is and go for it.

Read our article here about weight training

The Magic of Holy Basil or Tulsi (Ocimum Tenuifloum)