A Super way to get your good bacteria, Vitamen C and Vitamen K in one food.

I know, when I mention that super food is Sauerkraut, many of you will turn up your nose.
But I'm going to tempt you to try home made or naturally fermented Sauerkraut found at health food stores. I recently started making some at home and find it easy. I find it quite sweet with a slight hint of sour. If it's too sour one could rinse it off a bit. But not too much because you don't want to wash away the good bacteria.

And you can even make chocolate cake from it!

Linda Joyce Forristal, CTA, MTA writes in her article on the Weston A Price Foundation web site called
Sauerkraut: The Miracle Cabbage :


With winter upon us, I think it's a good time to talk about sauerkraut--one of man's most ingenious ways of enjoying the garden bounty during the months when fresh fruits and vegetables are unavailable. In my mind, the miracle of sauerkraut is that the brine does not have to be inoculated with bacteria for the process to work; the best sauerkraut is made simply with shredded cabbage and salt that is magically inoculated with atmospheric bacteria.

According to Harold McGee, the author of On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen, the ideal salinity for sauerkraut brine is 2.25 percent, with temperatures between 65-70ºF. These conditions produce the best environment for a bacterium called Leuconostioc mesenteroides to grow and produce lactic acid. When the acidity of the brine reaches about 1 percent, another bacterium, Lactobacillus plantarum, takes over to finish the job. The end result is tangy, crunchy bits of cabbage to top off a sandwich or round off a heavy meal.
A new book on sauerkraut, A Passion for Sauerkraut: The Humble Vegetable for Good Health by Sam Hofer, (Hofer Publishers, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, 2001) is full of interesting sauerkraut lore and fascinating recipes, including one for Sauerkraut Chocolate Cake!




The recipe can easily be doubled.

Sauerkraut, from Nourishing Traditions published by New Trends- Promotes Weston A Price philosophy.

1 half a head of cabbage shredded ( I use the food processor)

1 TBsp of sea salt.

1 tsp caraway seed (optional)

4 TBsp of whey ( optional, if used, use 50% less salt)

Crush or pound the cabbage with a meat hammer with the salt until there is a little bit of liquid. Transfer to a mason jar that can be sealed and punch down the cabbage so that it is covered with a layer of liquid. It should be at least 1 inch below the opening of the jar. Seal and leave at room temperature for 4-5 days before transfering to cold storage. The sauerkraut may be eaten immediately, but it improves with age. http://www.westonaprice.org/food-features/612-sauerkraut-miracle-cabbage?



Best of all  sauerkraut is nutrient dense and has a strong reputation for preventing illness. With the erosion of our soils and the gradual decline in the nutrient levels in our foods, it's always best to look for nutrient dense foods.

Read more about it's use for preventing illness and death here. 

To your health
Dr. Barbara   

You heard it first here: nicotine, main culprit in diabetes complications among smokers

This important study was presented at a meeting of the American Chemical Society in Anaheim on March 27, 2011.
Xiao-Chuan Liu, Ph.D., who presented the results said. “It is the first study to establish a strong link between nicotine and diabetes complications. If you’re a smoker and have diabetes, you should be concerned and make every effort to quit smoking.”
I would add that if you have any family history of diabetes or you have symptoms of pre-diabetes such as weight gain around your middle, hypoglycemic spells, mood swings and other mood issues such as depression, then you should stop smoking immediately. And if you have been using the nicotine replacement products for some time, more than a few weeks, you should stop them too and find an alternative....like acupuncture or laser, or a precription from your doctor.


ANAHEIM, March 27, 2011 — Scientists today reported the first strong evidence implicating nicotine as the main culprit responsible for persistently elevated blood sugar levels — and the resulting increased risk of serious health complications — in people who have diabetes and smoke.
“Nicotine caused levels of HbA1c to rise by as much as 34 percent,” said Liu, who is with California State Polytechnic University in Pomona, Calif. “No one knew this before. The higher the nicotine levels, the more HbA1c is produced.”

HbA1c is a form of red blood cell that shows an average of the blood sugar over 3 months or 120 days. It can show if one has an elevation of the blood sugar over time and so is useful in determening pre-diabetes and diabetes in those whose fasting blood sugar may not be elevated.

You can read more here.....


To your health
Dr. Barbara

The Hidden Diabetes Link No One is Telling You About... Statins

Here is an article describing another serious side effect of Statin drugs used to lower blood cholesterol levels writen by Suzy Cohen, R.Ph..

NEW Studies Reveal Alarming Hidden Cause of Breast Cancer

Every woman is afraid of breast cancer. For good reason. It is one of the leading causes of cancer death in women worldwide and breast cancer rates are increasing rapidly.
Recent studies have shown that free iron or iron toxicity found in breast tissue are associated with the diagnosis of breast cancer.

Dr Russell Blaylock MD  writes about this iron toxicity, the recent studies on breast cancer and the disturbing, suspected source of the iron toxicity: alcohol consumption and aluminium exposure especially from vaccines. He makes a compelling argument.

"Vaccines are a Major Source of Aluminum for Many


Many inactivated vaccines contain aluminum salts to boost the immune reaction. Studies have shown that this aluminum is slowly dispersed all over the body and may be concentrated in breast ducts.11
The amount of aluminum in vaccines is tremendous, especially in such vaccines as the anthrax vaccine, hepatitis vaccine and tetanus vaccine.
Since many American children are being exposed to multiple doses of aluminum containing vaccines by the time they are 6 years old, one would expect very high exposures to injected aluminum.
A recent study by Lucija Tomljenovik and Chris Shaw found that a newborn receives a dose of aluminum that exceeds FDA safety limits (5mg/kg/day) for injected aluminum by 20-fold, and at 6 months of age a dose that was 50-fold higher than FDA safety limits.12
Aluminum at this young age will accumulate in various tissues and with new vaccine recommendations, children and young adults may be exposed to many more aluminum containing vaccines every year throughout life.
With the ability of aluminum to displace iron from its protective proteins, we may not only see a dramatic increase in breast cancer, but also other iron-related diseases, such as liver degeneration, neurodegenerative disease, diabetes, heart failure and atherosclerosis.13 No one is addressing this very real danger. "

Iron toxicity secondary to aluminium exposure may be a leading cause of severe chronic diseases like Alzheimers!

Read more at NEW Studies Reveal Alarming Hidden Cause of Breast Cancer

To your health
Dr. Barbara

How to make your own B complex, whole food supplement.

The B vitamens, B1 B2, B3, B4, B5, B6, folate, choline and inositol, are extremely important for health maintenance and to prevent the illnesses of modern life. For many different reasons most people have to supplement to get enough of these essential vitamens.

B complex supplementation has been shown to reduce the risk of a MI, or  myocardial infarction by 25 %, reduced the risk of depression and Alzeimer's and reduced the risk of cancer both primary and secondary. And they do so much more.

Everyone should take a B complex supplement and for some the cost of supplementation can be a financial hardship.
Paul Fassa writes about making your own B complex.
'(NaturalNews) We are confronted with the prospects of worsening financial conditions for many, and the prospects of supplement suppression grow with new regulatory bills being introduced to hamper health freedom. It has already happened in the EU and Canada. It might be prudent to look into making your own Vitamin B Complex from yeast or simply ordering nutritional yeast products for your Vitamin B.'

He has full instructions and lots of info.

Just to remember, no B complex gives enough B12 to correct B12 deficiency which is usually caused by one or more of 3 reasons: low stomach acid, H. Pylori infection or and autoimmune process where intrinsic factor is disabled and can't deliver B12 that is ingested into the body.

The most common cause of any autoimmune disorder is gluten sensitivity. If you have B12 deficiency it would be wise to find out if you have gluten sensitivity. See my other blog http://www.celiacbrain.blogspot.com/ for more information.




Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/028516_vitamin_B_supplements.html#ixzz1FwBWt0hE

To your health Dr. Barbara

My Favourite Chocolate Cake recipe from Elana's Pantry

Here is my favourite Chocolate Cake recipe from Elana's Pantry called New German Chocolate cake.

The recipe fits the "Specific Carbohydrate diet"," GAPS "diet and the "Paleo" diet. She says it's a little complicated but you can make it in stages: make the cake the day before, make the icing an hour before you plan on serving it as it has to cool and thicken. If you are serving it for dessert at a dinner party, cool the icing just before serving the main course. It should be ready just when you're ready for dessert. I iced the cake infront of everyone after the main course, just before I served it. Everyone needs a little entertainment.

Just a final note: I never use agave because it is almost 100% fructose, instead I use honey and I adjust the amount by using 3/4 of what is asked for in the recipe.

Enjoy!
To your health
Dr. Barbara

Here's a health tip: Increase Your Fibre Intake

Dr Jonathan Whitaker, America's wellness doctor, states it well, we need more fibre than we are getting, and fibre is important for all sorts of aspects of our health.

He writes:


"When it comes to heart health, fiber is extremely important. We have known for decades that high-fiber   diets result in reduced cholesterol levels. And a recent study published in JAMA, which followed the dietary habits of men ages 40 to 75, suggests that adequate fiber also protects against heart disease. The study found a strong relationship between fiber intake and decreased risk of heart attack. My favorite source of fiber is flaxseed.

Flaxseed provides a high amount of soluble and insoluble fiber—one-fourth cup (50 grams) contains 11.7 grams of fiber. Other high-fiber foods such as black beans (7.2 g per cup), prunes (7.4 g per cup), and brown rice (4.8 g per cup) pale in comparison. Flaxseed is also rich in lignans, fibrous plant compounds that not only bind to cholesterol and carry it out of the body but have numerous other health benefits as well.


I suggest incorporating ¼ cup of freshly ground flaxseed into your diet each day. These tiny golden or brown seeds have a rich, nutty flavor and can be mixed into yogurt or soups or sprinkled on salads and other foods."


I too prefer ground flaxseeds to supplement for adequate fibre. We need about 30 grams a day. Ground flaxseeds have also been shown to lower the risk of estrogen induced diseases, such as breast cancer.

So start to get imaginative with the use of ground flaxseed, cook with it, sprinkle it and mix it.

To your Health
Dr.Barbara