Know Your Sugars

A Brief History of Sugar 

500 years ago, sugar was a rare spice or medicine, imported to Europe from India. Then it became an expensive commodity primarily produced in overseas tropical colonies. Later it grew into a less-costly commodity produced and traded among countries, and finally became a cheap everyday commodity, produced from both sugarcane and sugar beets. By about 1970, approximately 9% of all available food calories in the world were in the form of sucrose. No other food in world history has had a comparable performance.

Sugars

Sugars are one of the most misunderstood parts of our daily food supply. They are a common food ingredient and are found in many forms. Since sugars are carbohydrates, they contribute calories to the body - an important energy source.

There are no nutritional differences among sugars. The body uses all types of sugars in the same way. During digestion, sugars are broken down, they enter into the bloodstream and travel to the cells where they provide energy and help form proteins. As carbohydrates, sugars are preferred as a fuel during high-intensity activities.

Fructose (Fruit Sugar)
Highly soluble. It is much sweeter than cane sugar and is found in honey, ripe fruits, and some vegetables.

Glucose (Dextrose, Grape Sugar, or Corn Sugar)
Somewhat less sweet than cane sugar and is soluble in hot or cold water. It is found in sweet fruits such as grapes, berries, and oranges and in some vegetables such as sweet corn and carrots. It is prepared commercially as corn syrup.

Lactose (Milk Sugar)
Produced by mammals and is the only carbohydrate of animal origin of significance in the diet. It is about one sixth as sweet as sucrose and dissolves poorly in cold water. The concentration of lactose in milk varies from 2 to 8 per cent, depending upon the species of animal.

Maltose (Malt Sugar) 

Does not occur to any appreciable extent in foods. Maltose is produced in the malting and fermentation of grains and is present in beer and malted breakfast cereals; it is also used as a source of carbohydrates for some infant formulas.

Sucrose
The table sugar with which we are familiar and is found in cane or beet sugar, brown sugar, molasses, and maple sugar. Many fruits and some vegetables contain small amounts of sucrose.
#naturalfoods #healthy eating

Natural Cleaning Tips

Recently a friend asked me for some natural cleaning tips; so I put together this starter list to share with all of you. Enjoy trying some of these and any other ideas and recipes are welcome.

Borax
Baseboards, countertops, and walls: Dissolve 1⁄2 cup borax in 1 gallon hot water and pour the solution into a spray bottle. Spritz generously, wipe down with a damp cloth, and let air-dry.

Cut down on water spots in the dishwasher: add 1 tablespoon in the detergent cup.

Pots and pans: Rub borax into cookware with a damp sponge and rinse well.

Trash can odor: Add small amount to bottom of trash cans to keep them smelling fresh

Castile Soap
Floors: You can mop almost any type of floor with a solution of 1⁄4 cup liquid Castile soap and 2 gallons warm water. If the floors are greasy, add 1⁄4 cup distilled white vinegar to the bucket.

Leather upholstery: Add 2 drops liquid Castile soap to 1 quart warm water. Apply to the leather with a barely moist sponge.

Marble countertops: Stir 1 tablespoon liquid Castile soap into 1 quart warm water. Dampen a cloth with the solution and wipe surface. Rinse, and then dry with a clean cloth.

Stovetop and vent hood: Add a few squirts of liquid Castile soap to 2 cups hot water. Apply to the stovetop, the burners, and the vent hood to cut through accumulated grease.

Essential Oils
Lavender
Add a few drops of lavender essential oil to a cotton ball and place it in closets and drawers to scent linens and repel moths and insects.

Place a few drops of lavender essential oil on a wet cloth or dryer sheet to deodorize and freshen your laundry.

Lemon
Use 1–2 drops of lemon essential oil to remove gum, oil, grease spots, glue or adhesive, and crayon from most surfaces.

Add 10–15 drops of lemon essential oil to a gallon of carpet cleaning solution to help pull out stains, brighten carpet and rugs, and leave a fresh smell in the room.

Place a few drops of your favorite citrus essential oil on a cotton ball and put in the refrigerator to help eliminate odors.

Peppermint
Add a few drops to your favorite homemade spray cleaners and spritz the mixture on areas that need particular antibacterial attention, like bathrooms and kitchens. As an added bonus, peppermint also acts as a natural pest deterrent.

Tea Tree
Works especially well to get rid of mildew and mold around the house, simply mix two teaspoons tea tree oil with two cups water in a spray bottle. Then, spritz the mixture on moldy or mildewy areas, like showers. Don't rinse off the mixture. Let it work away at those yucky substances. You can also use this spray anywhere that has a musty smell.

Lemons
Dishes: To increase the grease-cutting power of your dishwashing detergent, add a teaspoon of lemon juice.

Faucets: Combat lime scale by rubbing lemon juice onto the taps and letting it sit overnight. Wipe with a damp cloth.

Hands: When you touch raw fish, the smell can linger on your fingers. Rub your hands with lemon juice, which will neutralize the odor.

Laundry: To brighten whites, add 1/2 cup lemon juice to the rinse cycle for a normal-size load.

Vinegar
Freshen baby clothes:

The addition of 1 cup of white distilled vinegar to each load of baby clothes during the rinse cycle will naturally break down uric acid and soapy residue leaving the clothes soft and fresh.

Refrigerator: Definitely skip the toxic chemicals where you store your food. Instead, wipe up spills with a 50-50 vinegar-water mix.

Clean and disinfect wood cutting boards: 
Wipe with full strength white distilled vinegar.

Streakless windows: 
Window cleaning with vinegar will make your windows gleam and will not leave the usual film or streaks on the glass. Mix equal parts of white distilled vinegar and warm water. Dry with a soft cloth.
#greencleaning #healthyliving

Essential Oil Tips

NOC is a Frontier Co-op Member; we use Aura Cacia Essential Oils, Carrier Oils, and Specialized Ingredients when creating the unique products and synergies offered to you.
Here is a short list of Essential Oil uses and tips…

Sweet Basil is an anti-oxidant, and is used as a stress remedy.

German Chamomile is a fantastic anti-inflammatory.

Clary Sage is a powerful euphoric, and it’s a great anti-spasmodic also. Often used for menopausal symptoms because its good for mood swings.

Clove oil is use for toothaches.

Jasmine is one of the most soothing oils there is. If you are stressed out just the smell of Jasmine will have a greater effect on lowering your stress level than any other oil. Applied topically it may have

an even greater effect.

Lavender - If you don’t know what oil to use; use lavender, what doesn’t it do… its calming, soothing, great for burns, emollient for wounds, its anti-allergenic for skin allergies, anti- inflammatory. It’s a good anti-oxidant and it’s a good anti-microbial too.

Lemon is great oil; it makes you work harder, and its great for cleaning things.

Myrrh is a great anti-microbial and good for the gums.

Peppermint Oil is the single best gargling oil; it leaves your mouth refreshed, and kills bacteria. 

There isn’t any reason to use commercial products when you have essential oils, 2 or 3 drops in a little water to gargle with. It’s good for nausea, and often used for headaches.

Rose absolute is great for damaged skin and ultra irritated areas. It is soothing and calming, it has been found to lower high blood pressure and its very safe.

Rosemary is a mental stimulant. It’s very good for boring meetings, and its very effective in a car to keep you mentally alert. It is the most effective anti-oxidant we have along with sweet basil oil, and a good anti-microbial on the skin.

Sandalwood is way underutilized (it is very expensive). Recent studies have been done with sandalwood in treating herpes showing it will stop the replication of the herpes virus 100% of the time. It will stop herpes from spreading. It is an incredible anti-fungal agent also.
#aromatherapy #essentialoil

I've heard that black pepper stays in your body for many years and is a health hazard. Is that true?

No, it's not true. First of all, black pepper is a complex food composed of many different substances. No complex food that we eat stays inside our body whole and intact. Complex foods don't even get absorbed into our body as whole, intact foods. Instead, they are broken down into much smaller parts in our digestive tract before they ever get absorbed.

Therefore, at the very most, it would only be some isolated component of black pepper (not black pepper itself) that was absorbed into our body (via our bloodstream) and then stayed either in storage or in transit for a long period of time. However, this also is not the case. For example, one of the substances that can act as a type of irritant in black pepper (and provoke a sneeze, for example) is a well-studied alkaloid called piperine. In animal studies, researchers have found that it takes between 6-24 hours for over 90% of this substance to be cleared from the body. Other important substances found in black pepper, like the polysaccharides that have been shown to have potential immune-supportive properties, would also be readily metabolized.

For a food component to stay inside our body for any extended period of time, it would have to be stored inside some body tissue that kept it fairly strongly attached. Minerals found in food can sometimes be stored in this way when they become part of the bone matrix. It's possible for the bone matrix to hold on to some of its mineral content throughout the course of a lifetime.

However, the whole, intact foods that we eat only serve as the initial carriers of these minerals from the outside world into our body. The foods themselves do not stay inside us undigested.

from: The George Mateljan Foundation
#naturalfoods #herbs #spices

Some Facts about Stickers on Fruit

As you probably know there are tiny stickers on almost all fruit; along with the bar code for check out, there is a number code.

A sticker with just four digits means the fruit was conventionally grown (think pesticides, herbicides, etc.) Some stickers have the country where the fruit was grown too.

Organic fruits have a five digit number beginning with a "9".

Genetically Modified fruits begin with an "8".

Therefore an organic banana would say 94011 while a genetically modified banana would say 84011. And you thought you only had to read labels on packaged foods!
#healthyliving #naturalfoods

10 Health Benefits of Cinnamon

1. Studies have shown that just 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon per day can lower LDL cholesterol.

2. Several studies suggest that cinnamon may have a regulatory effect on blood sugar, making it especially beneficial for people with Type 2 diabetes.

3. In some studies, cinnamon has shown an amazing ability to stop medication-resistant yeast  infections.

4. In a study published by researchers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Maryland, 

cinnamon reduced the proliferation of leukemia and lymphoma cancer cells.

5. It has an anti-clotting effect on the blood.

6. In a study at Copenhagen University, patients given half a teaspoon of cinnamon powder 

combined with one tablespoon of honey every morning before breakfast had significant relief

in arthritis pain after one week and could walk without pain within one month.

7. When added to food, it inhibits bacterial growth and food spoilage, making it a natural food preservative.

8. One study found that smelling cinnamon boosts cognitive function and memory.

9. Researchers at Kansas State University found that cinnamon fights the E. coli bacteria in unpasteurized juices.

10. It is a great source of manganese, fiber, iron, and calcium.
#spices #naturalhealth

Aromatherapy is the use of natural essential oil products to enhance and revitalize our lives and environment starting with the first time we use them…

Our NOC synergy blends many be added to a personal inhaler for support, or used in a diffuser for room or environmental fragrance. Our pure essential oils are blended, diluted in carrier oils and used with hydrosols for massage and body-care, added to the bath for self-care, and used in keeping green households. This broad range of synergy uses allows us nourish and restore our health; emotional, physical, and spiritual, and is especially helpful as an alternative for chemically sensitive individuals.
#aromatherapy #noordinarychick