Welcome to the Rethinking Cancer Newsletter #26
We’re booked – e-booked, that is! Our publication, Detoxification by Ruth Sackman (next up:Triumph Over Cancer – My Recipes for Recovery by Doris Sokosh), is now available on Kindle at Amazon US, UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy; Sony US and Canada; Nook (Barnes & Noble); and soon, as an ibook on iTunes. A great holiday gift to a loved one or to yourself! (Feel free to post your review.)
We’ve rejiggered our Recipes page. Recipes are now listed by categories for easier access and menu planning. We welcome your input. If you have a favorite recipe using relatively few, easily attainable, healthy ingredients, we’d love to consider adding it to the page, with special acknowledgment to the sender, if used (with your permission, of course).
Thanks for all your support this year! Have a wonderful, healthy holiday!
Foundation for Advancement in Cancer Therapy (F.A.C.T.)
P.S. If you’re looking for other gift ideas, there’s always the Rethinking Cancer DVD or good, old-fashioned paper editions of our books! (All purchases are tax-deductible and greatly appreciated for the continuation of our work.) As always, keep in touch on Twitter and Facebook.
To Buy or Not to Buy Organic?
By Michael Pollan
Michael Pollan, author, activist and professor of journalism at the University of California-Berkeley, has been speaking out about food, nature and culture for over 25 years. In 2010 he was named to the TIME 100, the magazine’s annual list of the world’s 100 most influential people. Here he offers common sense answers to some frequently asked food questions.
Should I buy local foods or stick to organic?
It depends on what you value most. If keeping pesticides out of your food is your highest value, then buy organic. If you care most about freshness and quality or keeping local farms in business and circulating money in your community, buy local. But very often you can do both. Re
Why Junk Food Is Aging
If you need another reason to kick the soda habit, here it is. Research published online in theFASEB Journal (Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology) shows that high levels of phosphates may add more fizzle to sodas and processed foods than previously thought. New evidence shows that ingesting these accelerates signs of aging by increasing the prevalence and severity of age-related complications, such as chronic kidney disease, cardiovascular calcification and severe muscle and skin atrophy. Read More
Red in the Face!
Cranberries for Skin Care
Cranberries, first used as food by Native Americans, as well as wound medicine and dye, are a holiday staple today in the U.S. and parts of Europe. The berries are a good source of Vitamin C, dietary fiber, manganese and other nutrients and the juice has proven effective against bacterial infections, especially in the urinary tract. But, cranberries are not only good for our insides, it appears they have something to offer our outsides, too:
A cleanser/moisturizer for dry skin:
Use ½ cup fresh cranberries.Chop fine in a blender or food processor. Press through a strainer to get the juice and mix with 1 teaspoon raw honey. Rub this onto your face and leave on for 2 minutes, then rinse off with lukewarm water. Your face should feel fresh and clean.
A toner for oily skin:
Use pure cranberry juice (not a sugary, commercial blend). Saturate a cotton ball with the juice, wipe your face, then follow with cool water. Do this regularly for firm, glowing skin.
Spice of the Month: Clove
Cloves (Eugenia caryophyllus), the dried flower buds of an Asian evergreen tree, look like crude-shaped nails – so no surprise the word “clove” comes from the Latin clavus, meaning “nail.” The Chinese wrote about this pungent, slightly sweet tasting spice as early as 400 B.C., including records of courtiers told to keep cloves in their mouths to avoid offending the emperor while addressing him. Today, the custom continues in Asia where cloves are often used as an after-dinner breath freshener.
This is one of the most penetrating spices on the planet. Eugenol, the oil of clove, is so powerful, if you apply it to skin, you’ll get an instant rush of localized numbness, making it especially useful for toothaches. The oil is a mild anesthetic, as strong as benzocaine, the chemical commonly used to numb oral tissue before the dentist sticks in a needle. But clove has much more to offer than dental relief. A multi-purpose remedy, it is effective in an impressive array of situations like improving digestion, aiding childbirth, fighting infection and dissolving blood clots. Read More
Hot Mulled Cider Supreme
- 2 quarts unfiltered apple cider
- 12 whole cloves
- 3 star anise
- 3 cinnamon sticks, broken in half
- 2 tablespoons crystallized ginger, finely chopped
- 1 organic orange, unpeeled, thinly sliced
- extra cinnamon sticks and orange slices for garnish
- Pour the cider into a large pot. Stir in the cloves, star anise, orange slices, cinnamon sticks and ginger.
- Using medium heat, bring the contents to near boiling, but DO NOT BOIL. Turn down heat and simmer for about 30 minutes.
- Strain and, if you want to serve straight away, return the mulled cider to the pot to keep warm. If not, allow to cool and reheat when ready to use.
- Serve in mugs with a cinnamon swizzle stick and an orange slice.
Variations: Try this with grape or cranberry juice or organic red wine. Instead of having to strain the whole mixture, you can tie the spices up in cheesecloth and remove after cooking.
For the holidays, you may want to step things up a notch: add a splash of rum or brandy to each mug before adding the mulled cider. To fill your whole house with tantalizing spicy aromas, prepare this in a crockpot – cook on low 4-5 hours, then keep on warm setting for serving. Makes 8 cups. Happy Holidays!
More about clove
