Sour, salty and chockfull of health benefits, umeboshi plums have been a staple in Japanese cuisine for centuries. Also known as the “sour plum,” “Japanese apricot” and “Japanese plum,” the umeboshi plum is made from dried and pickled ume fruit, a type of fruit closely related to the apricot. Umeboshi are round and wrinkled with…
The portobello mushroom is one of the most widely consumed mushrooms in the world. Among most other types of mushrooms, especially those called "medicinal mushrooms," portobellos are known as natural cancer-fighters and protectors of the immune system. Compared to more expensive and sometimes difficult-to-find mushrooms — like shiitakes or reiki mushrooms, for example — portobello mushrooms…
A recent Monsanto lawsuit outcome feels like a win for the people. Finally. More than two years after the World Health Organization labeled the main ingredient in Monsanto's Roundup as "probably carcinogenic to humans," the court system ruled the billion-dollar company is liable for its product's potentially cancer-causing effects. Roundup is the most popular weedkiller in…
Everyone is familiar with massage therapy and its healing abilities for both the body and the mind. However, most people probably don't know that massage therapists use many Reiki techniques in their work. What is Reiki? I'm glad you asked. Reiki is thought to be a natural application of health in which massage practitioners place…
Roughly 1 in 75 women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer at some point during their lifetimes. According to the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition, in women between the ages of 35–74, ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related deaths. (1) Considering how serious ovarian cancer tends to be in its later stages, both preventive…
About one in every nine men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during his lifetime. The risk for developing prostate cancer is greatest for men over the age of 65, especially those who African-American. In the Unites States, second to skin cancer, prostate cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in men. It's estimated that about…
Alcohol. Cigarettes. Asbestos. Bacon? The headlines came fast and furious last week, after a panel under the auspices of the World Health Organization (WHO) said there’s sufficient evidence that processed meats cause colorectal cancer. This puts bacon, hot dogs and sausages into the WHO’s Group 1 category, the same as substances like tobacco and asbestos. The…
Has anyone else noticed that the FDA sometimes approves ingredients without really understanding how they might affect the human body? The preservative known as tBHQ is no exception. tBHQ — or tertiary butylhydroquinone, also referred to as tert-Butylhydroquinone or t-butylhydroquinone — got press a few years ago when a popular natural health blogger began exposing…
The mention of fir needle most likely conjures up scenes of a winter wonderland, but this tree and its essential oil are year-round sources of enjoyment as well as good health. Fir needle essential oil is extracted through a process of steam distillation from fir needles, which are the soft, flat, needle-like “leaves” of a…
Did you know that 1 in 5 Americans will develop skin cancer in their lifetime? Each year more than 5 million cases of nonmelanoma skin cancer are treated and there are more new cases of skin cancer than cancers of the breast, prostate, lung and colon combined. In fact, over the course of the past…
