Remember the Old Adage, An apple a day will keep the doctor away?

Not that we could or even would want to do away with doctors but there’s definitely something to be said for keeping ourselves as healthy as possible and taking responsibility for our own good health. So what’s the big deal about apples? Apples, especially Red Delicious Apples and Gala Apples, are among those "super foods" rich in antioxidants as are blueberries, raspberries, fresh spinach and red beans, just to name a few.

Antioxidants are crucial to maintaining a healthy, relatively disease-free existence. I recently read that Oxidative Stress (a term coined to describe the metabolic effect of the overload of free radicals) is a primary cause of various diseases such as diabetes and cancer and the loss of cognitive ability as we "age". Eating a diet rich in antioxidants is our bulwark of protection from these debilitating diseases.

Our bodies can and do handle a certain amount of free radicals very well. It’s only when we begin to reach a state of overload that the damage becomes severe and disease results. Think of the oxidation process on metal and the rust that develops. That "rusting" process is very similar to what happens to us.

We’re all aware of certain causes of external oxidative stress – cigarette smoking, environmental pollution and the like. This problem exists within us as well as a product of both normal metabolic functions and poor health habits. This is so easily corrected and managed by incorporating super antioxidant-rich foods into our diets on a daily basis such as "An apple a day".

Last year, my husband was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma and I went on a mind-bending quest for information on beating the "beast" of cancer. I remember the visit with his oncologist right after the diagnosis was confirmed when my husband laughingly told her which supplements and foods I was now trying to force on him. I anxiously sat for just a moment waiting for her to say (condescendingly) something to the effect of, "Well it won’t hurt." But, instead, she looked him straight in the eye and very seriously said, "All YOU have to do is do what I tell you to do and what she tells you to do and together we’ll beat this thing." I’ll love her to my dying day. I took home a more cooperative husband than the one I had arrived with. Throughout the chemo and the attendant loss of appetite, he still would eat as much of those wonderful foods and take as many of those supplements as he possibly could. Even though he is now in remission, that diet is his for life and he knows it and feels better for it.

Some of the very best of these super foods are:

Blueberries
Apples (Red Delicious with the peel and Gala apples)
Fresh Spinach
Raspberries
Pecans
Red Beans
Tomatoes (When cooked their antioxidants are more potent than when eaten fresh)
All brightly colored fruits and vegetables

Begin to incorporate these foods on a daily basis and, not only will you be healthier, you’ll look healthier, too. Your skin and hair will love you for it!

The Internet abounds with information on antioxidants and diet. I recommend "tooling along the information highway" for more and better information than I can possibly give you. ~Ari

http://www.arishomespa.com/

Beekeeping and the Healthful Benefits of Bee Pollen

Yesterday, I met a local beekeeper. He owns 150 hives, 20 of which are on his own property. Mr. Bradfield provides organic raw honey and bee pollen from his hives and I have to say the honey is absolutely wonderful. Now he's "turned me on" to the benefits of Honeybee Pollen as food.

For years I've read and heard, just as you have, of the health benefits to be derived from honey, royal jelly and propolis extract. Eating Bee Pollen was a new concept for me. Turns out that the benefits of eating Honeybee Pollen include natural weight control, increasing vital oxygen-carrying red blood cells up to 25% boosting the blood's nutrient delivery to the cells, skin restorative powers for both aging and acne-prone skin and the reduction of wrinkles and age spots. Hey, I'm a girl and I'm definitely "up" for all that!

Mr. Bradfield explained that the bees don't eat simply the honey they produce but eat the bee pollen they "process" together with the honey instead. The traps he uses to collect the pollen can only be left in place for a short time to prevent the bees from starving.

So what is Honeybee Pollen and how is it made? Glad you asked because I find it absolutely fascinating! Besides collecting nectar from flowers, bees select only those pollens that contain the greatest amounts of protein and other nutrients. The bees mix these pollens with nectar and some of the bee's own secretions and take them to their hives for food. This "mix" of the nectar and the bee's secretions is honey.

Honeybee Pollen looks like tiny roundish grains almost like seeds and they vary in color from yellow to tan to orange to brown depending on the plants from which it comes. Some bee pollen has a slightly sweet and nut-like flavor. Some is bitter. I was fortunate in that the batch I bought yesterday falls in the sweet, nut-like category. That certainly pleases me!

Bee Pollen contains differing amounts of nutrients depending on its source. This is a very good reason to buy it from a beekeeper who controls where his hives are located.

Typical Nutrient Profile of Honeybee Pollen

Typically, Bee Pollen contains eight essential amino acids and ten other amino acids. In addition, the typical composition of nutrients would include Vitamins A, C, E, B1, B2, B6, B12, Biotin, Folic Acid, Niacin, Pantothenic Acid, Potassium, Selenium and Sodium. Of course, this got me to thinking about eating the natural, organic raw pollen rather than taking the plethora of supplements I ingest on a daily basis. The food composition is 22% Protein, 7.6% total Fiber, 9% Fat and 51.8% Carbohydrates. Some pretty healthy-looking stuff, huh? I thought so. So, starting today, I began taking 1 teaspoon each morning in my protein drink. I'll let you know what benefits I see as I go.
~ Ari




http://www.arishomespa.com/