What is so great about oats?

Oats are a grain, commonly eaten for breakfast as oatmeal.  Oats can benefit you in many ways.  Oatmeal is prepared simply by pressing grains of oat between two large rollers, flattening them so that they cook a little faster and are easier to chew.

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Oatmeal by itself is a stick to your ribs kind of breakfast, providing plenty of fiber, protein and calcium and potassium, which makes it beneficial for your heart.  Calcium and potassium are known to reduce blood pressure, while soluble fiber helps to keep your digestive system operating normally while regulating the rate that your body absorbs energy from your food.

Starting the day with oatmeal can get your day going by jump starting your digestive system with plenty of protein and complex carbohydrates to keep you fuller longer, and feeling more satisfied with your food. There is actually a compound in oats, known as β-glucan, that has been proven to actually help your body to not feel hungry.

Oatmeal can also make an excellent addition to smoothies.  Adding 1/4 cup of uncooked oatmeal to a fruit smoothie increases the protein and fiber content significantly, while adding all kinds of important nutrients.  Also, oatmeal lends a creamy texture to the smoothie, thickening it and making it more substantial.

What is Jiaogulan?

One herb that is growing in popularity in the US is known as Jiaogulan.  Also known as Gynostemma Pentaphyllum, "Poor Man's Ginseng" or "Southern Ginseng" because of the similarity of some compounds found in both ginseng, and jiaogulan.  Jiaogulan is a twisted, twining vine that defies cultivation because of it's tangly growth patterns and wild nature.  When translated from Chinese to English, the name "絞股藍" means "Herb of Infinite Blue Entanglement".

jiaogulan extract

It's definitely a tangly plant.  The vines grow long and quick, with a leaf group every 6 inches or so.  Each leaf has a single growth node that usually includes a tendril that is tenacious at grasping onto fences, wires or other plants.  The plant also grows with very little light.  It prefers partial shade, and grows quite well in the understory of a forest without any direct light at all.  

Jiaogulan is touted as an adaptogen, helping the human body to recover from stress quicker.  It has also been used to help people who have trouble regulating their blood sugar levels.  In terms of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), we could say that it has a balancing effect on the Chi.  It helps the body to regulate it's own energy levels, so that theoretically, an overweight person who consumes jiaogulan would tend to have a more balanced metabolism, which would result in a healthier body weight.

Long distance runners use jiaogulan to increase their stamina.  Horse owners use it to help treat laminitis in their horses.  It is known for helping people to regulate body weight and for regulating bad cholesterol levels in the blood.  It also contains saponins that have been known to improve heart health and colon health.  

While I have no personal experience with ingesting jiaogulan, I am growing it fairly successfully and am interested to learn more about how it can benefit people.  I have found many positive references to it and not a single negative comment about it's effectiveness.

Common herbs with uncommon properties

There are many common herbs that you can find at most supermarkets, that have really amazing properties.  Herbs like rosemary and thyme are easy to grow, easy to find at the store and can have some really awesome health benefits.  Some organic livestock operations even use them to improve the health of their animals.

Sage - By Jonathunder - Own work, GFDL 1.2

• Rosemary -  Rosemary contains compounds that have proven anti-oxidant effects.  Traditionally, rosemary has been used for a wide variety of ailments, including improving memory, reducing stress and soothing the digestion.  
• Thyme - Compounds in thyme have been shown to have anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties.  In fact, thymol, an oil found in thyme is a major ingredient in mouthwash, giving it the strong, medicinal flavor that helps to keep your mouth clean and feeling fresh.
• Oregano - Traditionally used to help improve digestion, oregano has a slightly spicy flavor and contains compounds that are anti-bacterial and sanitizing.
• Parsley - A common ingredient in many italian dishes, parsley contains some important nutrients and is able to improve the smell of a person's breath, especially if they've been eating raw garlic.
• Sage - Culinary varieties of salvia, or sage can have a variety of benefits for people.  

Herbs have been used for centuries to improve the flavor of food, and for their medicinal benefits.  Now, modern research is gathering more and more information regarding the specific compounds in the plants and how they can be used to help improve our health.

What are effective microorganisms?

A Japanese college professor, named Dr. Teruo Higa collected a sample of anaerobic bacteria and discovered that the bacteria improved the growth of grass in a particular area when it was applied to the soil.  He called the bacterial culture Effective Microorganisms (EM) and began researching why and how it works to improve the soil in some situations.  Since then, he has produced large quantities of this bacteria culture and used it around the world to improve the quality of soil and to reduce biological poisons in various situations.

In livestock production, lactic acid bacteria and bacteria that work in harmony with lactic acid bacteria, are able to reduce odors associated with livestock production by breaking down starches and other forms of free chemical energy into lactic acid instead of ammonia related compounds and other odoriferous compounds such as those that contain sulfur.

If you've ever been near a modern feed lot, you probably got a nice strong whiff of cow poop and urine, unless there is some method for dealing with the odor.  With Effective Microorganisms (EM), all that is required is regular application of the bacterial inoculant and the odor is converted to a mellow fermentation kind of an odor instead of the sharp odor of cow pee and poop that is fermenting without any kind of biological control.  To me, the odor of properly fermenting manure is really pleasant and it reminds me of my childhood living on a healthy working farm.

Once you have a sample of the bacterial culture, it is fairly easy to cultivate the bacteria and produce as much inoculate as you require for your specific project.  It is also fairly easy to cultivate other strains of lactic acid bacteria that have similar properties, either by gathering wild cultures, or by purchasing commercially produced lactic acid bacteria used in products like kefir, yogurt or other probiotic drinks.

Recipe for cultivating lactic acid bacteria

• 3/4 Cup - unsulfured molasses
• 1 Gallon - water
• 10-30 mL - bacterial culture

Mix it all together in a jug and wait for a day or so.  Keep the lid loose, because a properly growing cultivation will most likely produce some extra CO2, which will build up pressure inside the bottle or jar.  Release any gasses that form and give it a good sniff.  It should smell a little like fermenting apple cider and the color of the culture should change from dark black to a medium brown with a little sediment forming on the bottom of the bottle.  

Gathering and producing a culture of a wild strain is a little more complicated, but it can be accomplished.  Simply do a search on youtube or google and you should be able to find sufficient information to accomplish a safe cultivation of lactic acid bacteria.

Herbs that can benefit your health

With the proliferation of information that has occurred around the globe via the internet, it has become much easier to learn about herbs in different cultures and how they are used.  Here is a list of a few herbs that have been used in different cultures for various purposes and are now being used in the US.

• Jiaogulan - Gynostemma Pentaphyllum, or jiaogulan, is a wild vining herb that is often used to make a tea.  It is also known as "Southern Ginseng", or "Poor Man's Ginseng" because chemically it bears some similarity to ginseng, the popular root tonic in Traditional Chinese Medicine.  Jiaogulan is currently being used by long-distance runners to increase endurance and for treating horses suffering from laminitis.
• Moringa Oleifera - Leaves from the moringa tree contain a high density of nutrients such as calcium, iron, vitamin C etc.  and have proven effective as an organic nutritional supplement around the world in impoverished tropical areas, where it is being grown to help improve the health of children and nursing mothers.
• Gynura Procumbens - Also known as Sabungai or Longevity Spinach, Gynura is a plant that high levels of saponins, and when included in a healthy diet, it can help to moderate blood sugar levels and improve the cleanliness of the digestive system.  Also, studies have shown that it does have some anti-inflammatory properties.
• Wild Yam - Traditionally used as an anti-inflammatory and to sooth cramps, there is very little scientific evidence that it has any actual benefits.  Scientific research into this plant may one day produce some reason for it's traditional use since it is well known for it's traditional ability to reduce rheumatism and sooth muscles and cramps.

Herbs are used for various purposes around the world in different cultures and have been utilized for centuries in some cases to help people to live healthier lives.  In some cases, plants such as these are being studied at Universities around the world to discover why they are so effective at helping to improve people's health in various ways.  

Eating Clean

I was just reading an excellent book about eating a clean diet and living a healthier life called "Fit for Life", by Marilyn and Harvey Diamond.  It's an excellent book full of really great information about how to have a cleaner diet, which results in more energy and better, more resilient health.  It's full of excellent information, and although it was written several years ago, the information still remains true.

One of the most important points in the book is that eating healthier is about making healthier choices about what to eat and developing healthier patterns in your diet.  There is hardly any language in the book about what not to eat, instead it focuses on what is good for you and how to prepare and eat foods that can provide the nutrients that the human body requires for healthy, normal operation.

Eating foods that are full of good nutrients is something that takes some getting used to, but in general, if you're eating nutrient rich foods, then your body has more to work with.  When you're providing your digestive system with plenty of complex carbohydrates, fiber and nutritious fats and proteins, then there is a greater likelihood that your digestion will operate properly and support your health more effectively.