Clean Foot Print

The new movement is to get clean, healthy and rid of chemicals in our routines and bodies, yes I am writing about this – in a different way.

I can’t count the numbers of times I get to answer this question and every time I turn around some professional is sharing new information on how important this actually is for us.

Then the next challenge as seen by others is how, or it’s so expensive.  To start “fresh is best” my old tag line from the days when we had a spice and olive oil shop here in town.  “Eat the season” was also a comment I made regularly.  Our greatest ancestors had limitations, no guns and bows and arrows were a long way down the road, so hunting and fishing were very different.  Meats were limited, fish were more prevalent, but things from the land were the “spice of life” and the way we ate back then.  So our bodies have a predisposition to eat in the same fashion. 

I was, for many years, healthy and thin, strong and active, or at least I thought. Having experienced back pain, I started on a path with “Advil” many times a day, now I have to clean up my body to get back to health.  And that’s not the only thing that I was challenged with, Pepsi, sugar, foods that were processed, fast foods – although I hated most of these, I think you get the picture. 

Making the change wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be.  I grew up with 2 gardens in the yard, one was only raspberries, but I grew fond of being in the dirt.  So when I have the chance things got planted, even in pots around the patio when I was apartment living.  I have always had a greenish thumb!!  Then my love of cooking started to shine.  It is WAY less expensive to cook lobster, prime rib, crab, shrimp than go to the restaurant all the time and living in the Bay area I have access to some of the best seafood.  Then I discovered different vegetation that I can grow here that sweetly compliment the foods I just listed.  I even started to enjoy more fresh salmon and other fish I had shied away from previously.   So this became a regular habit, shopped the best sales bought twice my need so I could stock the freezer making my budget go further.  Then it was time to attack the things around the house making me sick.  I have a sinus that has a weakness to it.  Every time something hits my body, that is where it lands. Reading has informed me that smoke aggravates this condition so my love of candles had to go, or at the least down 100 notches.  As some of you know about 30 years ago I found essential oils.  Now these were a good solution, but not a great one.  At that time the oils that were available were not the best standard and those companies have not changed their ways, they still are not the best.  Then I was introduced to dōTERRA, yes I’m at it again but with good reason.  I share with those that have similar challenges to me and my successes and I do get a fair amount of budget issues back.  SO, here are some comparisons to help change your thoughts and help you change your investing thus changing your budget.

Then I found out the difference in cost savings:

This does not include the amazing savings I get from the other products, and there is an awesome supplement line.  I have some of my friends that state that they have to “try” to get sick and I believe them.  Between their travels and schedules they totally amaze me.  So that when they do get sick it is something that requires a doctors’ attention.  Oh, and did I mention that I get paid for the stuff I use also?

Turmeric, Curcumin and Pepper

It’s been some time since I wrote a blog about this information but it has come to my attention in the past month that I should share this again.

When we had out spice and oil shop I did A LOT of research in my quiet shop hours.  Although that was a few years back there were some things that stuck in my head, Turmeric (Curcuma Longa and is part of the ginger family) is one of them.  There are a lot of things being said that are not far from the truth but do need some clarification.  SO – here is some information that I hope we can all absorb and keep in the back of our minds.  Turmeric essential oil, and the powder, is extracted, or ground, from the root or rhizome of the plant.  When spoken of it is usually the cooking spice that is being referred to.  It is a bright yellow color with a peppery and somewhat pitter taste and is a staple of Indian cooking.  The component that gives us the numerous health benefits is the compound curcumin.  Curcumin first isolated in 1815 did not have a full chemical structure mapped until 1910.  The research on this has since exploded and is showing very promising health benefits. This compound is only 2-5% of the turmeric.  When eating the turmeric spice, you only receive a tiny portion of the curcumin.  We humans have a difficult time absorbing curcumin.  Consumed on its own it just passes through the body without being absorbed into the blood stream thus not providing any health benefits.  If curcumin is taken with piperine, a compound found in black pepper, the piperine enables our body to absorb the curcumin, and at a much higher rate.

So why do we want to include turmeric in our bodies?  Recent studies have shown that curcumin “stops pain and inflammation, and is being investigated for inhibiting tumors, fighting cancer, preventing fat growth and accumulation, regulating blood sugar, stopping depression and slowing the effects of Alzheimer’s disease”.  http://www.curcuminforhealth.com/the-difference-between-turmeric-and-curcumin/

Why take the oil?  Herbs and spices only carry about 25% of the potency of the essential oil.  That being said “Buyer Beware”.  Turmeric is an oil that is easily adulterated, you can read more at  https://aromaticplant.org/blog/post?s=2018-10-10-turmeric-adulteration.  So know who and where to purchase your oils.

To summarize, black pepper is needed for its piperine to process curcumin, turmeric does not although that being said a little black pepper in your dish adds a little spice and will motivate your metabolism!