Tag: Health Benefits

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Kamut: An Ancient Grain With Many Health Benefits

Once referred to as “the staff of life,” wheat has become a controversial food. Although people have been consuming wheat in various forms for thousands of years, increasing numbers of health conscious individuals are turning their backs on what was once regarded as a satisfying, nourishing staple.

In some cases, avoiding wheat is essential for health. Those with celiac disease—a serious inflammatory condition caused by an abnormal immune response to gluten—should never eat wheat or any other gluten containing grains. But while only 1% of people have celiac disease, millions more have adopted a gluten free diet—in particular, shunning wheat.

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The Many Health Benefits of Anthocyanins

When I think of foods that have “super” health-promoting properties, berries are on my list of top ten favorites. Not only are they delicious, but bilberries, black currants, blackberries, blueberries, cranberries, elderberries, raspberries, strawberries—in fact, every berry you can think of—offer an enormous range of health benefits. What all of these berries have in common are anthocyanins—the pigments that give them their rich deep red and purple coloring. Although berries are perhaps the best-known sources of anthocyanins, other foods with the same colorants—for example, beets, cherries, eggplant, plums, pomegranates, purple cabbage, purple grapes, and red onions—also contain these valuable compounds. Grape seed extract, an especially rich source of anthocyanins, is the most widely researched anthocyanin supplement. Another excellent anthocyanin source—and one of my favorites—is a blend of fruit anthocyanins, which contains red grape, elderberry, blueberry, aronia berry, pomegranate, and red raspberry.

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The Many Health Benefits Of Bread

“There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread.” ~Mahatma Gandhi

In my post last week on the many benefits of bread, I promised that I would share with you more in-depth information on the particular health benefits of bread. As I discussed in my last post, many people have given up bread in the erroneous belief that grains are unhealthy. Nothing could be further from the truth (unless, of course, you have an allergy to grains).

I enjoy bread and consider it to be an important part of my diet. But I would never consume the refined, processed creations that masquerade as bread in grocery stores and restaurants. There’s no question that those types of bread products are detrimental to your health.

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Bread As Sustenance For Body And Soul

In almost all cultures, bread is considered a staple food. There’s good reason for this—good bread is so nutritious that it’s possible to survive for a long time on merely bread and water. Of course, I don’t recommend a diet of bread and water, but I do believe that whole grains, including bread, are an essential part of a healthy diet.

Bread provides more than physical sustenance. We use the phrase “breaking bread together” to indicate the sharing of a meal with someone. In a spiritual and social sense, bread binds us together in our humanity and offers a sense of community. “For we many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread,” (1 Corinthians 10:17). In the Jewish Passover meal, bread plays an integral role. The Jews were to eat unleavened bread during the Passover feast and then for seven days following as a celebration of the exodus from Egypt. God rained down “bread from heaven” to sustain the nation (Exodus 16:4), referring to it as “manna” (Exodus 16:31).

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Simple Tips For Happiness

To achieve optimal health and well-being, we must not only pay attention to how we care for ourselves physically but also attend to our emotional, intellectual, and spiritual well-being and happiness. This may involve questioning long-held beliefs and ways of being in the world that no longer serve us.

For example, most of us worry from time to time—and some people worry most of the time. But the reality is that worrying is a futile activity. Worrying about world events, other people’s lives or even your own life has no effect on the outcome. In fact, worrying does nothing except create fear and unhappiness in the precious moments of your life. But interestingly enough, while worrying doesn’t ever improve a situation, cultivating an attitude of happiness and trust can.

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