Tag Archives: Antioxidant

Natural Skin Care, Quick & Easy DIY Beauty Recipes

Japanese Beauty Secret

December 8, 2015 Suzana Vukcevic 1 Comment

What Japanese Ladies Have Known for Centuries…

Besides being the staple food, the rice also has been part of Japanese women’s beauty rituals since ancient times.

Geisha used leftover water from washing rice in the bath for smooth and luminous skin. The rice has been appreciated for its ability to make the skin clearer, brighter, provide even tone, lessen the dark spots and give the skin a smooth texture.

The rice promotes collagen production due to the presence of linoleic acid. As a result the rice is able to diminish the wrinkles and rejuvenate the skin.

Simple Rice Mask

Mix some rice flour or powder with some mineral water, apply and leave it on the skin for 10-15 minutes. Wash it off gently with warm water.

Instead of water you can use milk or yogurt and add some honey.

Rice Water

Wash and cook the rice and use the leftover water. Wet the cloth or towel and pat onto your skin for few minutes. Let your skin air dry. Feel the difference 🙂

Which Rice to Use?

Which rice is most beneficial (from over 40,000 types of rice, including white, brown, black, and wild varieties) is a complex and controversial topic. Some advocate white over brown, some wild over brown etc. More serious concern to me that today most of the rice contain arsenic (this is due to the rice being grown in contaminated soils) and some rice contains even plastic.

I concluded that all varieties of rice are good in moderation but it has to be organic and preferably Jasmine rice from Thailand and Basmati rice from Pakistan and India as they have been shown to contain the least arsenic among rice varieties.

In addition, adding whole rice bran to your diet can offer a rich source of Vitamin E and linoleic acids which benefit your skin and your body.

Rice bran oil also contains squalene, a potent antioxidant, and gamma oryznol, which helps heart health and reduces cholesterol.

Rice bran oil is very good to use for cooking as it can support higher temperatures.

Be Beautiful Inside and Out

Blueberries, Natural Little Helpers

Blueberries – The Food For Thought

June 2, 2014 Suzana Vukcevic Leave a comment

Blueberries are a true “powerfood” with long list of amazing medicinal properties.

Blueberries are strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory, they are known as ultimate “memory food”, help protect against heart disease, beneficial against cancer, prevent age-related vision problems and regulate blood sugar in persons with type 2 diabetes.

Strong Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory

Researchers at the USDA Human Nutrition Center have found that blueberries rank #1 in antioxidant activity when compared to 40 other fruits and vegetables.

Blueberries belong to one of the top anthocyanin-rich foods. Anthocyanin, the pigment that makes the blueberries blue, is a powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compound that helps neutralize the free radicals and prevent oxidative stress on your brain. Inflammation and oxidative stress are linked to every major disease, including cognitive diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Jonny Bowden in his book The 150 Healthiest Foods in World explains that antioxidants and phytochemicals in blueberries create synergy and exhibit the most potent cumulative free-radical absorbance effect of any fruit.

Ultimate “Memory Food”

The research suggests that blueberries can be very effective in improving memory, age-related neurodegenerative disease, dementia and other neurological diseases.

The polyphenol antioxidants in blueberries not only improve your existing neurons, but can actually enable your brain to grow new neurons. Dr. Jonny Bowden calls blueberries the “ultimate memory food” and describes that daily consumption of blueberries can significantly slow natural age-related cognitive decline.

Heart Disease

Blueberries help protect against heart disease in a number of ways. Blueberry flavonoids can help stabilizing elevated blood pressure levels, decrease the risk of hardening of the arteries, prevent or reduce arterial inflammation and the buildup of arterial plaque. Research has also found that these compounds can also help lower both total and LDL (“bad”) cholesterol levels, as well as triglycerides. Blueberry flavonoids can help stabilizing elevated blood pressure levels.

Beneficial Against Cancer

Laboratory evidence suggests that blueberry compounds help to prevent cancer in a variety of ways. Blueberry compounds help to prevent DNA damage by keeping healthy cells from becoming malignant during their ongoing cycle of reproduction. According to Dr. Bowden, the specific flavonoids in blueberries can also inhibit an enzyme that promote the development of cancer cells. Blueberry is also important anti-angiogenic food that is able to prevent the growth of blood vessels that feed a tumor (process called anti-angiogenesis).

Vision

Consuming blueberries can decrease the risk of age-related vision issues. Studies have found that the flavonoids can prevent an unhealthy growth in eyes’ blood vessels that normally leads to macular degeneration and vision loss.

Type 2 Diabetes

Blueberries have shown to have a favorable impact on blood sugar regulation in persons already diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

Freezing Blueberries

New studies make it clear that we can freeze blueberries without doing damage to their delicate anthocyanin antioxidants. After freezing blueberries at temperatures of 0°F (-17°C) or lower for periods of time between 3-6 months, researchers have discovered no significant lowering of overall antioxidant capacity or anthocyanin concentrations. This is great news for anyone who has restricted access to fresh blueberries.

Organically vs. Conventionally Grown

Organically grown blueberries have significantly higher concentrations of total antioxidants than conventionally grown blueberries.

Sources and Credits

Flu and Cold Remedies, Garlic, Natural Little Helpers

Garlic – Nature’s Little Miracle

May 10, 2014 Suzana Vukcevic

Garlic – Nature’s Little Miracle

Garlic is certainly one of nature’s miracle plants. It has been known since the beginning of recorded history for its ability to heal and strengthen the body.

Garlic Is A Powerful Antibiotic.

Garlic destroys both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria including streptococcus, staphylococcus, cholera, bacterial dysentery, typhoid, diphtheria, tuberculosis, tetanus and many others.

A significant finding from Washington State University shows that garlic is 100 times more effective than antibiotics.

Laboratory made antibiotics are non-selective and, besides harmful, they kill also “friendly bacteria” needed for proper metabolic function. This is causing us digestive problems, yeast and fungal overgrowth. Our bodies become immune to these antibiotics over time and dangerous resistant strains of bacteria are occasionally developed.

Garlic, on the other hand, is “selective” and magically kills only bacteria that is harmful and at the same time enhances our friendly bacteria and improves our intestinal flora and digestion!

In addition to that, when the properties of garlic are present in the bloodstream, many aspects of our immune system are enhanced.

Garlic Is A Powerful Antiviral Agent.

Garlic destroys various viruses that cause respiratory infections and influenza. Garlic destroys on contact the viral infections of measles, mumps, herpes simplex #1 and #2, herpes zoster, viral hepatitis, scarlet fever, mononucleosis, chicken pox and others.

Garlics Is A Strong Antifungal Agent.

In the laboratory, garlic has proven to be more potent than any known antifungal agent including Nystatin. Garlic will also regulate the overgrowth of candida albicans.

Garlic Helps With Heart Disease.

Garlic prevents and helps with conditions like high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

Garlic has been found to reduce the buildup and inhibit the formation of atherosclerotic plaque in our arteries.

Garlic extract supplements are proven to reduce high cholesterol levels and blood pressure in people with hypertension.

Garlic Is Used As Cancer Treatment.

The National Cancer Institute has reported that cancer incidence worldwide is lowest in the countries where garlic consumption is highest.

Garlic has been proven to increase protection and help against: breast, colon, lung, ovarian, prostate, esophageal and stomach cancer.

Organo-sulfur compounds from garlic have been found to be effective against glioblastoma, a type of highly aggressive brain tumor.

Allicin from garlic may be useful as a cancer treatment. According to one study, when garlic compounds were injected into a tumor cell, the reaction not only penetrated the cell but also killed it.

Garlic Is A Powerful Antioxidant.

The component of garlic, allicin, which causes the smell and familiar flavor, is an extremely effective antioxidant. As allicin digests in our body it produces a compound that goes after dangerous free radicals. This is another way how garlic protects us from cancer and suppresses chemically induced cancers.

How To Consume Garlic

The best way to eat garlic is to take a whole, fresh clove, chop it, smash it or press it, then wait around 15 minutes for the conversion (from alliin into the beneficial allicin) to occur, and then consume it. The active compound loses potency rapidly and can disappear completely within about an hour of chopping.