Asparagus Juice For Cooking And Nutrition
Kevin Pederson

Asparagus juice is usually taken in the quantity of a sherry-glassful three times a day before meals. Asparagus extract has been used not only to remove water from the body but as a purifier of the blood, to tone up the nervous system and as a gentle laxative.

The thickness of the asparagus used has little effect upon the value, only upon the cost. So choose fresh looking stems that have not dried out and gone floppy. The white, woody base of the stem helps prevent it from losing moisture. It can be stored for a few days wrapped with a damp cloth around the base and kept in a cool place.

Asparagus is a luxury vegetable that still grows wild in Mediterranean countries. Old herbals called it sparrowgrass and farmers still call the plant 'grass’. A big helping will contain less than 40 calories and it is a good provider of vitamins C and E and folic acid.

The therapeutically active substance found in the asparagus is the alkaloid asparagines which exert a rapid effect upon the kidneys, stimulating them and coloring the urine a dark yellow within hours of consumption. The asparagines is much reduced in quantity during cooking, so that the use of quite a small amount of the raw juice produces a good diuretic effect.

Not only is the urine colored, the asparagus also imparts quite a strong smell to it, so do not think anything is amiss should this phenomenon surprise you. The essential oils which give asparagus its distinctive and pleasant flavor are very powerful because they are present in such small amounts that special analytical methods have to be employed to detect them.

Kevin Pederson has been managing a number of natural home remedies websites which have information on asparagus juice can be used as laxative as well as used for blood purification.

Lower Your Blood Pressure the Nutritional Way
Charles Kassotis

Hypertension has been called “the silent killer” because blood pressure can creep up quietly over time before striking suddenly via a heart attack or stroke. Often, people in their 40’s and 50’s will find out during their annual physical examination that their pressure is climbing, and they may need to go on medication to control it. But before it reaches the point of requiring medical intervention, you can implement some lifestyle changes that may lower your blood pressure before prescription meds are needed. You may want to check with your doctor first, but healthy adjustments like those described below can sometimes make a difference.

1. Get more calcium. Research shows that calcium products can play a role in reducing blood pressure. Look for low-fat varieties of certain dairy products, and experiment to find the foods or beverages you most enjoy. Try to get three servings of calcium-based foods each day. This could take the form of eight-ounce glasses of milk, a combination of yogurt and milk products, or even some foods that contain calcium, like broccoli.

2. Reduce your salt intake. Salt continues under investigation as a probable instigator of hypertension. Keep the saltshaker in the cupboard so you will be less tempted to use it. Don’t salt foods automatically while cooking them, and taste prepared food before adding salt as a seasoning. Beware of hidden salt in processed foods like lunchmeats or as a preservative in frozen foods, especially those that are precooked before freezing. Your body needs some salt, however; so don’t give it up altogether without your doctor’s knowledge.

3. Stay away from fatty foods. Fat clogs the arteries, thus contributing to a rise in blood pressure over time. Cut back on fried foods, fatty cuts of red meat, and foods cooked in oil or butter. Substitute other types of seasonings, like lemon juice or herbs, to replace the taste of fatty flavorings in salads or deep-fried items.

4. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. Many disease associations, like the American Diabetes Association or the American Heart Association, recommend a diet that includes several daily helpings of fruit and vegetables. These can be eaten fresh, frozen, canned, or cooked. Plant foods often contain fiber, which has been shown to reduce blood clotting and improve circulation, thereby contributing to lower blood pressure.

5. Cut back on sweets. Commercially prepared cookies, cakes, and other goodies often contain unhealthy levels of fat, salt, and calories. Eating these too often can interfere with the intake of healthier foods that can help to control blood pressure. When you want to snack, eat low-fat veggie dips, fresh fruit, or baked chips instead of the fried variety.

Changing your diet may not be enough to lower or manage your blood pressure. But it might delay an increase in your numbers, or when combined with other therapies like exercise, stress reduction, and medication, helps to keep your numbers where they belong. Ask your doctor about the role that nutrition might be able to play in controlling your blood pressure.

Boost the immune system the natural way
David McEvoy

Since Dr Peter Koeppel, one of the leading experts onimmunology and biochemistry at a leading Swisspharmaceutical company released a paper on the use ofnucleotides and RNA for human health applications. Muchinformation has been sought regarding these valuablebuilding blocks.

In part one of this series we will explain what anucleotide is and how it links in very closely with ourDNA. The beneficial implications of supplementing thedaily diet with these naturally derived conditionallyessential dietary building blocks, that are know asnucleotides will be explained in part 2.

Where do nucleotides come from?

As any good nutritionist will tell you, any thing that thehuman body needs can be obtained from food. Foods that are naturally high in nucleotides are listed below.
• Liver• Tripe• Lean Meat• Fish• Mushrooms• Fungi• Yeast extract

However to boost your immune system from nucleotides wemust take them in a more concentrated form, this will becovered in more depth in the next article.

Part 1.

Understanding Nucleotides and DNADr Koeppel states that nucleotides are the building blocksthat are necessary for making new DNA and RNA.To help usunderstand this better; we need to think back to highschool when we learned about the double-helix of DNA.Remember the spiral-appearing ladder with the differentcolored rungs? That is a model of the DNA that makes up thegenes and chromosomes found in us all. DNA is a very largemolecule, and the rungs of the DNA ladder are made of acombination of two different nucleotides. The nucleotidesare molecules, called guanosine and cytosine, that pair uptogether, or adenosine and thymidine, which also pair uptogether. Adenosine and guanosine are called purines.Cytosine, thymidine and uradine are called pyrimidines. RNAis similar to DNA, except that the molecule uradinereplaces thymine in that pair, and RNA is an intermediarybetween DNA and protein. A gene is a discrete sequence ofDNA nucleotides, and genes are what make up ourchromosomes. So, it makes sense that genes are made of DNA.

While all of this sounds very technical, what you need tounderstand is that nucleotides are molecules that areessential to the creation of new DNA and RNA moleculeswhich are then used by new cells of all kinds. This isimportant because nucleotides, either by themselves, or incombination with other molecules, are involved in almostall activities of the cell (and therefore, the body).

What is DNA in layman’s terms?

Deoxyribonucleic acid, DNA, which makes up the geneticmaterial in cells, is comprised of units callednucleotides.

Conclusion

Nucleotides can be simply described as the nutritionalbuilding blocks of new cells. There are 5 keynucleotides, which form the crucial building blocks of DNAand RNA, and are therefore essential for ongoing new cellproduction and system repair.

In part 2, we are going to explain how nucleotides areinvolved in many of our body’s vital functions, and moreimportantly how by supplementing our diet with nucleotideswe can help to boost our immune systems.

Tips and Advice for Better Health

SIMPLE WAY TO LOSE 15 POUNDS:

Modest physical activity for 30 minutes per day will knock as much as 15 pounds off your weight within six months - assuming, of course, that calorie intake is not increased.


WORST NIGHT TO BE ON THE ROAD:

Saturday night is a bad time tobe on the road. One out of every 10 drivers on that particular night is likely to be drunk. And the latest statistics tell us that drunk drivers now kill more than 25,000 people a year, and injure one-half million.

FOUR WAYS TO AVOID COLON CANCER:

(1) Eat a high-fiber diet(2)Consume milk and milk products daily (for calcium)(3) Get 20 minutes of sun exposure a day (for Vitamin D)(4) Exercise on a regular basis.

EXERCISE MAY BE THE BEST APHRODISIAC:

Researchers and commonsense have long held that exercise enhances health and makes people feel better about themselves and their bodies. This, inturn, makes them more sexually attractive and responsive. Now studies are sug-gesting that exercise is a potent stimulus tohormone production in both men and women. It may, in fact, chemically increase basic libido by stepping up the levels ofsuch hormones as testoster-one.

EASIEST WAY TO FLATTEN YOUR STOMACH:

Sit or stand upright and suck in your stomach. Hold for about 20 seconds, breathingnormally. Repeat about once every waking hour. You should startseeing results in four to six weeks.

FIVE WAYS TO BEAT WORRY:

(1) Separate worries into those you can do something about and those you can't. Deal with the firstgroup, and forget the rest.(2) Distract yourself with a walk, abook or a movie.(3) Behave as though you aren't worried. (Sometimes you can even fool yourself by blocking out worries)(4) Have long talks about your worries and anxieties with afriend(5) Use a relaxation technique such as meditation or yoga.

INSTANT LEG-CRAMP RELIEF:Leg cramps can usually be alleviated by firmly pinching your upper lip for 20 to 30 seconds.

LOWER YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE AND CHOLESTEROL WITHOUT DRUGS:

Simply cut down on fatty foods and eat more foods with potassium bananas, tangerines, and oranges. For quick results, try a dietof rice, fruit and vegetables. And if you don't already know your cholesterol level, ask your doctor about being tested.

WAYS TO ELIMINATE CANKER SORES:

Dissolve one-half teaspoon baking soda in a half cup of warm water and use as a mouthwash. Soak a cotton swab or cloth in castor oil and apply it directly to the canker sore. Apply a wet tea bag for temporary pain relieve. And once the sore has started to heal, gently apply some Vitamin E oil to the area.

PREVENTING HEARTBURN:

Don't overeat. Avoid tight clothing, especially waist-pinching belts. Stay upright for several hours after eating don't eat just before bedtime or lie down for a nap right after a meal. If you frequently suffer form heartburn, avoid those foods you know you have a problem with. Limit fat intake since fat slows the emptying of the stomach. Elevate the head of your bed by six inches or more. This may be the single most important mechanical alteration heart burn sufferers can make.