Figs for Healthy Skin

Today's entry on how to use figs for healthy skin was written by my friend Victoria, the creator of the wildly popular solution for natural dental health, Tooth Soap.

You Can't Beat Figs for Health

People have been using figs since ancient times. In the Old Testament, King Hezekiah was sick unto death and Isaiah called for a lump of figs, and the king recovered.

The active agent in figs is benzaldehyde. The Japanese identified this ingredient after giving it to cancer patients and seeing dramatic results.

Fig juice has also killed bacteria in test tubes and roundworms in dogs. The enzymes in figs, called "ficins" aid digestion.

The patients that the Japanese gave the fig substance to generally lived longer. So eat your figs because they are a tasty age-defying food.

Fig Exfoliators

Fresh figs also make wonderful mild exfoliators. They contain an active enzyme that helps to remove dead skin cells from the surface of the skin just the way pineapple and papaya does.

Fresh figs are always best, but dried figs will do if fresh are not available. If using dried figs, first soak them in water for 15-20 minutes to soften them.

You can use figs in the shower to scrub your body. The tiny seeds in the figs will gently polish your skin.

Fig Facial Mask

Slice the fig in half and turn inside out. Scrape out the flesh and mash well with a fork. Apply to the skin and leave on for up to 5 minutes. Because of the fig's high enzyme content, don't leave the mask on longer than 5 minutes. Rinse with tepid water.

Many thanks to Victoria for sharing these tips on how you can use figs for healthy skin.

Chet Day
Editor, The Health Circus
http://chetday.com

Carrot Salad Recipe

Pound for pound, carrot recipes are a great investment in health and good eating.

Today, I'd like to share a simple carrot salad recipe that I learned from Penny LoPresto way back in 1999. This is a good one, so be sure to give it a try.

Penny's Carrot Salad Surprise

5 large carrots grated
1 parsnip grated
1 cup soaked raisins
1/2 to 3/4 cup of all natural coconut (fine without sugar added)
Enough fresh pineapple blended into small pieces to flavor

Mix all together and refrigerate for an hour or so before serving. This carrot salad can be eaten immediately, but the flavors will blend better and increase in intensity if you let it set for awhile.

Chet Day
Editor, The Health Circus
http://chetday.com

Stress Tip

I collect stress tips as well as recipes, and here's a nifty one that I learned from the late Declan Twohig.

Find somewhere quiet and comfortable, close your eyes, and allow your breathing to slow and deepen for a couple of minutes.

Then make a picture in your mind of a hamster running around inside its wheel in its cage.

Just like your racing thoughts, hamster can’t stop running on the spot.

Watch him for awhile and note how all this frantic running gets him nowhere.

Notice that you can’t even see the rungs of his wheel because he is running so quickly.

Then visualize the wheel slowing to a walking pace.

Slower and slower he walks until the wheel stops turning round... you can see each rung in detail now.

The hamster is still inside his wheel, but he has turned over onto his back, closed his eyes, and is using the wheel as a hammock, rocking gently backwards and forwards, backwards and forwards.

Each time an outside thought intrudes into your head, bring your attention back to the gentle rocking of the wheel, backwards and forwards.

After a while, the rocking stops and the hamster is asleep...

And you are relaxed and stress-free!

Chet Day
Editor, The Health Circus
http://chetday.com

Garlic Marshed Potatoes

Mash some garlic potatoes in your crockpot.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

2 lbs baking potatoes with peel, 1/2-inch cubes
1/4 cup water
2 Tbs butter, 1/8-inch pieces
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 to 1 cup milk

Place all ingredients, except milk, in crockpot; toss to combine. Cover and cook on LOW 7 hours or on HIGH 4 hours. Add milk to crockpot. Mash potatoes with potato masher or electric mixer until smooth.

Josh Day
Editor, Crockpot Crazy
http://crockpotrecipes101.com

Quit Smoking with Kale?

Quit smoking with kale?

Well, no, not exactly, but smokers can benefit by eating kale as a preventative medicine.

Kale, you see, helps prevent several types of cancer, in particular lung cancer.

Although it's far from the world's most popular vegetable, kale contains more carotenoids (anticancer agents) than any other green vegetable.

You'll want to eat kale both raw and cooked. Some of the carotenoids are destroyed during heat, but cooking also makes more carotene available for bodily use.

An extra half cup of kale a day will give you cancer-blocking benefits.

Smokers in particular need to load up on kale, which may well boost your resistance to developing smoking-related cancers.

Here's an excellent kale recipe, courtesy of Cynthia Lair's Feeding the Whole Family...

Kale and Beet Salad Recipe

In natural medicine, beets are considered a liver support food, important for renewing the liver’s vital functions of keeping the body free of toxins. This vivacious salad boosts the body’s immune system as well by offering a high dose of antioxidant power via carrots and kale. Intensely colorful, flavorful, and so healthful, you may call this your “Vitality Salad” once you’ve tried it!

Salad
4 large beets
1/4 cup toasted pumpkin seeds
1 bunch kale
3 scallions
1 medium carrot

Dressing
3 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbs balsamic vinegar
3/4 tsp dijon mustard
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 Tbs chopped fresh basil
1 tsp finely diced garlic

Wash beets and bring to a boil in a large pot. After boiling bring to a simmer, continue to simmer for one hour, until tender. Let cool, then peel beets and cut into 3/4 inch pieces.

In the meantime, lightly toast the pumpkin seeds by placing them in a dry skillet and cooking over medium heat. Constantly stir the seeds to ensure even cooking. When they begin to pop and give off a nutty aroma, they are ready. Set aside to cool.

Wash kale and place in a large pot of boiling water for 30 seconds. Place in strainer and cool with cold water, cut into bite size pieces. Finely dice the green onions and peel the carrot. Slice into 1/8-inch rounds.

Place all dressing ingredients in a bowl and mix well with a wire whisk. In a separate bowl place chopped beets, chopped kale, diced green onions, sliced carrots and pumpkin seeds. Add dressing and toss gently. Serve chilled. Makes approximately six servings.

Even if you don't have to quit smoking, you should have some kale in your diet every week.

Chet Day
Editor, The Health Circus
http://chetday.com

Colon Cleansing Natural Approach

Colon cleansing is a popular topic in the world of natural health.

It's also a major cash cow for the folks who sell various "colon cleanser" products.

Well, you don't have to spend an arm and a leg if you want a healthy colon.

You see, eating a high-fiber diet with at least six big servings of whole fruit and vegetables every day will help keep the colon free from disease. Fiber sweeps the intestines clean and reduces the chances of constipation.

Want something else in addition to a high fiber diet for your colon cleansing routine?

Then add a little olive oil to your eating plan every day.

Spanish researchers (Gut 2000;46:191-199) suggest that olive oil in the diet may offer benefits in terms of colon cancer prevention. This study showed that rats eating a diet supplemented with olive oil had a lower risk of colon cancer than brother and sister rats fed a diet supplemented with safflower oil.

Studies say it may be the high concentration of squalene, an element of olive oil, that gives olive oil its cancer-fighting powers.

Other studies have linked fish oil to a reduction in colon cancer risk.

Here at CasaDay, we use Carlson's delicious lemon-flavored fish oil.

So help your colon keep everything moving properly by adding a tablespoon of olive oil to your salad each day.

Enjoying a tablespoon of Carlson's fish oil before the evening meal is a great idea, too.

And it doesn't even taste like fish!

Chet Day
Editor, The Health Circus
http://chetday.com

Healthy Raw Granola Recipe

I'm practically a nut case when it comes to healthy granola recipes.

I mean, seriously, I collect them the way some people collect stamps.

Here's one of my favorites that you and your family and friends will go ape over...

Ernestine's Healthy Raw Granola Recipe

Soak in pure water 1 1/2 cups of each of the following for 24 hours:

Sesame seeds
Sunflower seeds
Oat groats
Pumpkin seeds
Almonds
Walnuts

Rinse, drain, and grind the nuts (with a nut chopper). Mix everything together and add 5 cups of rolled oats.

Next, blend in your Vita-Mix, food processor, or blender:

1 cup olive oil or coconut oil
1 cup raw honey
2 Tbs vanilla

Stir this into the seed, nut, and oat mixture. Add raisins and other favorite dried fruits to taste and then spread onto dehydrator trays for 48 hours.

You can't buy granola as tasty or healthy as this in any store.

This healthy raw granola works great for snacking or for energy boosts during the afternoon blahs if you're stuck in job prison somewhere.

Chet Day
Editor, The Health Circus
http://chetday.com

Natural Hair Shampoo

If you've ever wanted to learn how to make your own natural hair shampoo, you've come to the right place.

My friend Victoria adapted the natural shampoo recipe you'll find below from Janice Cox's version in her Natural Beauty for All Seasons.

You should try this non-soap shampoo if your hair is really dry.

Potato Flour Hair Shampoo

Combine 1/4 cup potato flour with 2 cups water in a saucepan. Mix well with a wire whisk until smooth and creamy. Gently warm the mixture on low heat for 20 minutes, but do not boil.

Remove from heat and stir in 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar.

Let the shampoo cool completely, then pour into a clean container.

Use this as you would any shampoo product.

Hey, that's pretty easy to make, isn't it?

No chemicals, no preservatives, no additives...

And this natural hair shampoo costs a whole lot less than what you'd pay for a brand product.

Chet Day
Editor, The Health Circus
http://chetday.com