Spirulina is one of the early herbs (OK – it’s actually an algae!) which was hailed as a “superfood”.

Its advantages include its versatility and its unique nutritional profile.

Its versatility is that it can be either taken in tablets or used as a powder and mixed into any drinks – and the drink to mix it into is probably freshly juiced vegetables.

Nutritionally – it is one of the few vegetarian sources of complete protein – that is, it contains all eight of the essential amino acids. It also contains a myriad of other nutritional goodies including B vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.

One of its great health benefits is that some people find it helps to reduce any sort of craving. This is a useful benefit for a supplement which is so rich in nutrients anyway.

Some research also shows its benefits for cholesterol balance. Again – if you have cholesterol issues you might as well take spirulina as it has so many other nutritional benefits.

Personally, I take around 5 grams of spirulina a day, which equates to ten tablets.

A recent post about spirulina:
http://blisstree.com/eat/robyn-youkilis-what-is-spirulina-136/

Related articles

• Superfood of the Week: Spirulina (eatdrinkthrive.wordpress.com)

The Squeeze Juice Café in Warrenpoint, Northern Ireland, has made wheat grass juice for many years. They grow their own wheat grass using hydroponic technology. The problem they were experiencing was shelf life of the wheat grass juice: they found that it had to be drunk within 2 hours for maximum benefit.

However, working with a local research institute, they have managed to extend the shelf life to three weeks.

The key was the use of a pressure system to fill sachets, so avoiding the rapid oxidation which spoils the wheat grass juice.

This has proven to be popular both locally and over a new web site they have set up. They have also had export enquiries including from over the border in Southern Ireland.

Good luck to them!

Story from the Belfast Telegraph:
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/business/business-news/cuttingedge-technology-helps-wheatgrass-company-grow-16114944.html

Related articles

• The healing effects of wheat grass juice and wheat grass extract. ~ Donna Earnest Preval (elephantjournal.com)

Here is a vet – who uses slippery elm extensively in her practice.

Slippery Elm is brilliant for the digestive system – and that includes for animals as well as for humans!

Animals tend to respond well to herbs – and slippery elm is one which is so beneficial for the whole digestive tract, that it finds a great application in helping animals.

When animals are sick, often it is for fairly simple reasons: because animals are simply not as complex as humans. So simple remedies often work.

You can easily use slippery elm for animals – by adding it to their food. They will be persuaded to eat it easily – as it is virtually tasteless. Just mix it with their food.

Slippery Elm for Dogs

Slippery Elm can be a great help for your dog.

Related articles for slippery elm and pets

• Natural Hairball Remedies for Cats (brighthub.com)

Image via Wikipedia

Loneliness has been rated as a higher risk to health than smoking, by the World Health Organisation. The elderly are said to be highly at risk from loneliness. While it is well-known that loneliness produces psychological issues, the physical issues have been ignored, say a group of UK charities.

One in ten elderly people  say they suffer “intense loneliness”. As well as leading to depression, this will also lead to a reduced level of exercise as well as bad eating habits – which obviously have a detrimental effect on health.

More than half of people over 75 years of age live alone. A greater awareness the effects on health of loneliness will, perhaps, encourage all of this to reach out a hand to the elderly who will really welcome it.

Related articles to Loneliness, and the Elderly

• Why loneliness is hazardous to your health (mindblog.dericbownds.net)
• Loneliness a ‘hidden killer’ that threatens health as much as obesity (news.bioscholar.com)
• Treating Depression in the Elderly (everydayhealth.com)

Ambulances in the UK are having to be upgraded to deal with heavier and heavier patients.

Around 10 years agothe average patient weighed around 12 stone – 170 pounds. That is now more like 16 or 17 stone – 230 pounds. And it is not rare to come across a patient of 30 stone – 420 pounds.

This place heavey demands on ambulances and on their crew.

In addition to the ambulance itself, its equipment must be upgraded too. Larger stretches are needed which cost the best part of thousand pounds. On top of that, heavier duty winching equipment has to be installed to get the stretcher into the ambulance. One “hospital trust” in the West Midlands has just bought four new vehicles at a cost of £300,000.

The increasing costs of equipment to deal with obese patients is a huge drain on the already tight resources of UK hospitals and hospital trusts.

Related articles on Ambulance and Obesity

• Patients ‘too fat for ambulances’ (bbc.co.uk)
• Bigger stretchers for fat patients (mirror.co.uk)
• Ambulance Adds Hydraulic Lift for Obese Patients (newser.com)
• America’s Ambulances Upgrade For XL-Sized Patients [Emergency Vehicles] (jalopnik.com)

Karen Kingston pioneered the art of Space Clearing.

Space Clearing is closely tied in with feng shui and relates to the clearing and consecrating of spaces in buildings. Karen is widely recognized as the western world’s leading authority in the Space Clearing field.

Karen has two ground-breaking books which have been best-sellers internationally.

Karen recommended Specialist Herbal Supplies in both her books, particularly for herbs to help colon cleansing.

Karen believes – and we agree – that cleansing the body internally ties in very well with ‘cleansing’ you outside environment – your living and working space.

Every time one of her books is translated into yet another language, Specialist Herbal Supplies gets orders from yet another country!

Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui has now been translated into 26 languages worldwide. Karen’s other best-selling book is Creating Sacred Space with Feng Shui. These two books have sold over 2 million copies altogether – stunningly high sales for this type of book.

In fact, the latter book was on the Amazon.com best-seller list for the interior design category.

Karen has appeared on many TV and radio shows wordwide and in hundreds of articles in  newspapers and magazines. She is prominent on Twitter, receiving many mentions every day.

She is in high demand as a public speaker and Space Clearing and Clutter Clearing consultant. Karen also runs training classes and courses and has trained other consultants who work throughout the world.

To find out more about Karen Kingston, about her books, and perhaps see her speak do visit her Space Clearing site or Space Clearing blog for up to date information.

Obese child

Record numbers of children are being admitted to NHS hospitals in the UK for obesity-related ailments. Kids under 18 admitted have increased by 30% in the past 5 years.

Ailments for which the children have been admitted include joint, heart, liver and breathing problems.

More and more younger children are being admitted too. In 1998, 113 children were admitted, of whom 25 were under 10. In 2008, 210 under 18 were admitted, with 29 under 10.

About a third of children are obese by the time they start secondary school.

Childhood obesity rates in the USA have increased by 300% since 1980. Today, 1 in 6 children between 6 and 19 years old are either overweight or obese.

It is estimated that 70% of overweight adolescents go on to become overweight or obese in adulthood. As obesity increases the chances of suffering a heart attack, stroke or dying early from any cause, the US health system should brace itself for an onslaught of sick fatties in the next 20-30 years.

Did you ever wonder why a former boxer should put his name to an electric grill? Specifically, the George Foreman grill?

Well, here is some clarification:

“Grill marks provide 100% of your daily deliciousness and are high in awesome. It is therefore in your best interest to eat more grill marks.”

And I thought it was all about being healthy – now I’m beginning to understand!

Check out the rest of the story.

At last,  Stevia has been approved by a European country – France.

Stevia has been used as a calorie-free sweetener in the Far East for centuries. However, the EU authorities in their wisdom decided to ban it. It is even awkward to get hold of in the USA – it is sold as a ‘food supplement’ rather than a sweetener.

Stevia is herbal and it is many times sweeter than sugar. I have 4-5 drops on porridge myself sometimes and that is equivalent to, probably, a couple of spoons of sugar. It is ridiculous that stevia is not currently permitted. It is much safer than apartame – which is permitted.

The sweeteners market is dominated by aspartame and sucralose. Neither are natural, and aspartame has many clouds hanging over its head concerning its negative effects on health.

Stevia has no such health concerns associated with it that I have heard.

While full EU approval for stevia is still dependent on a scientific opinion from the European Food Safety Authority), France has taken advantage of window that allows individual member states to approve ingredients for a limited two year period.

I buy it when I am in the States. You can buy it and get it sent over if you wish. I recommend SweetLeaf brand, the ‘Clear’ type.