In Greek the herb basil is called βασιλικός – vasilikos – a word that also means royal or regal, and known as the king of herbs.

And so it is proving to be.

This humble little plant is turning out to be a real multi-tasker for us.

Food-wise it’s used to enhance the flavor of tomato and pasta dishes, and the leaves also make a nice addition to a salad. But even before the food gets to the table, basil has a role to play. It can be ‘companion planted’ to act as both a flavor enhancer to other plants and a natural insecticide.

It’s proving really effective as a natural remedy for insect bites: just rub with the leaf until the sap starts to run; it takes the itching and inflammation away. We also have pots around the doors and windows, again as an insect repellent. My herb book suggests it will also sooth snake bites – here’s hoping we never get to try this one out!

In Ayurvedic medicine basil is valued as a tonic, giving divine protection, spiritual healing and strengthening the immune system. As an essential oil it is used to lift fatigue, anxiety and depression, and also good for bronchitis, colds, fever, gout and indigestion. The Egyptians even used it in the embalming process.

And all this from a humble herb that you can buy in your local supermarket.

Many Greeks grow ‘standard’ basil plants as decorative additions to the garden. Here’s one we’re cultivating that is just coming into flower.

Not just good to look at, basil also has many culinary and medicinal uses

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I recently picked up a new book at a local charity book exchange. REAL AGE by Dr Michael F Roizen was published back in 1999 and claims to be ‘An Age Reduction Program That Can Make You Live And Feel Up to 26 Years Younger’.

I think it would be difficult for anyone to achieve that much unless they’re in pretty bad shape already and can benefit to the maximum amount from all the recommendations made in the book. They fall into the usual categories: weight, cancer, high blood pressure, stress, smoking, exercise etc. and you’d have to have been living on another planet not to be aware of many of them, although the technique of equating each with its potential for earning you extra months or years helps to bring the message home.

Here’s one I really like: flossing your teeth regularly can help you live longer.

What? Just say that again …

Daily flossing, together with regular brushing, help to prevent periodontal diseases by removing the bacteria lurking in plaque. And it’s suggested that these same bacteria can trigger responses in the immune system that cause arteries to swell, which restricts blood flow, which in turn can lead to a higher incidence of cardiovascular disease.

Apparently several studies have found that people with periodontal diseases have a higher mortality rate than those who have healthy teeth and gums. Chances are that anyone who significantly neglects their dental health to the extent that they develop gingivitis and periodontitis may also neglect other areas of their health but, everything else being equal, Dr Roizen estimates that a man with no dental disease could ‘add’ as much as 6 years to his life at age 70, while a woman could ‘add’ almost 5 years.

I’m convinced of the benefits of flossing for getting at those irritating little bits that get stuck in my teeth, a common occurrence since I eat home-made muesli for breakfast, crammed with small seeds, but now I know I’m improving my general health as well it’s doubly worth it!

Good dental hygeine could add years to your life

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In my last post I said that telling me not to think about chocolate would stack up there as one of my worst nightmares. So you can imagine my reaction to the proposal from a Scottish doctor, reported on the BBC website today, to TAX CHOCOLATE!!

When I’d calmed down enough to read it I had to admit that there is sense behind his reasoning:

Increased chocolate consumption is contributing to increasing rates of obesity and type 2 diabetes according to Dr David Walker, a Lanarkshire GP who is also a trained food scientist and nutritionist. He goes on to suggest that many people have stopped seeing chocolate as an occasional treat, and that the almost 1,200 calories contained in a 225g bag of chocolate sweets is approaching 50% of a man’s recommended daily calorie intake. On top of normal meals, that’s a massive increase in daily calories which, Dr Walker estimates, would take 3 hours continuous walking to burn off.

The negative health implications of increased chocolate consumption create additional costs for health services in the same way that alcohol and cigarette related illnesses do, not to mention the impact on the health of the individual. He comments that fast food and junk food get a lot of negative publicity, but chocolate escapes this. Dr Walker believes a tax would help reduce consumption, and suggests the money could be used to fund sports facilities.

“I had one patient recently who said to me she thought chocolate was good for you. People are being brainwashed into believing this.” He says in the article.

And there’s the rub:

Studies also show that chocolate makes you feel good. And Dr Walker isn’t suggesting we give it up altogether; he believes some people are eating too much on a daily basis and need to reduce their intake to more sensible levels.

Just after Christmas I wrote a post about how you can give up chocolate which will help if you think you eat too much. The method will work for any food or drink you want to consume less of.

The BBC report a similar debate back in 2003 failed to achieve any action, and that general opinion is that such taxes mean people spend more, rather than having the desired effect. But what do you think?

Should chocolate be taxed?

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Two recent news stories add further weight to the importance of getting in the right frame of mind for successful weight loss:

A recent study from Brookhaven National Laboratory, reported by Time Magazine, found that men were more successful in weight loss than women because of their greater ability to repress their emotional cravings for food. The study involved volunteers fasting for seventeen hours, then being presented with the sight, smell and even taste of a favorite food, but not allowed to actually eat it.

Instead they were told to think about something completely different for 40 minutes while certain parts of their brain, that have a role to play in eating, were monitored.

Could you not think of your favorite food for 40 minutes?

Mental torture or what? Imagine fasting for a whole day before being bombarded with sensations of a favorite food (chocolate in my case), then hearing those immortal words: ‘Don’t think about  chocolate for the next 40 minutes’. And to cap it all, the chocolate is left there in full view and you’re not allowed to close your eyes except for normal blinking!

I’m surprised the researchers survived to write up their findings.

It seems that all the volunteers were able to lower their sensations of hunger, but the women struggled to repress their emotional cravings for the food, while the men were better able to do this. Here’s a method that can help anyone get their mind onside for successful weight loss.

The second piece of research was carried out by Dr Sarah Armstrong, director of the Healthy Lifestyles Program at Duke Children’s Hospital , and reported in Time Magazine. Dr Armstrong took a group of obese teen girls through a 6 month weight loss program, dividing them into 3 groups.

The only difference in the program followed by each of the groups wasn’t about food at all.

One group read a novel about an overweight teen who learned about healthy eating and lifestyle. Another group read a novel without this heroine, and the third group read nothing at all. At the end of the study, girls in the first group had lost more weight than those in either of the other two. Seems they had identified with their overweight heroine without realizing it.

Read more about how your mind can influence weight loss here

The Journal of the American Medical Association recently reported that the proportion of overweight and obese 6-11 yr olds appeared to have plateaued at about 32% between 1999 and 2006. So if you’ve got 3 or more kids between age 6 and 11, statistically speaking one of them will be obese. It doesn’t bear thinking about.

Obesity across all age groups costs billions in health care costs and lost productivity. Experts predict that overweight and obese people will form the majority of the population in the UK in 10 -15 years.

Excess weight brings with it so many negative factors related to physical and emotional well-being, but so often dieting and exercise alone aren’t enough. Here’s a method that makes sure your mind is fully supporting your weight loss strategy.

Other Articles That May Interest You

Using Your Mind for Weight Loss

Want to Give Up Chocolate?

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It’s been quite a winter.

Freezing cold temperatures leading to frost, ice and snow bring delights for children, who get time away from their frozen schools to play to their heart’s content.

But for many this same bad weather brings worse tidings. Aches and pains often feel worse in the cold, damp weather. Ice and snow can cause additional grief for back pain sufferers, picking their way cautiously as soon as they step outside their front door. Clearing paths for safe walking also takes its toll as susceptible muscles are called into action to wield cumbersome spades and shovels.

Driving in difficult conditions calls for extra concentration, which often leads to more mental and physical tension than normal. Maneuvers are made with extreme care, holding the body  ready to react – or more likely over-react – at the first hint of a skid.

Find lasting relief from back pain

Even playing with the kids is not always safe. Moving too quickly to dodge a snowball, or return a well aimed hit; dragging a sled behind you, complete with child; these pleasurable activities can easily aggravate an existing condition, or be the trigger for new pain.

Back pain sufferers deserve a solution to their back pain.

Rubs and medications may provide temporary relief, but they don’t always get to the heart of the problem.

Learn how to get effective, lasting relief from back pain.

Other Articles That May Interest You

Self Help for Back Pain

Back Self Help – Eating and Exercise

Watch Your Back!

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Happy or miserable - what will YOU choose?

It’s funny how people don’t realize how strongly their attitude affects their life.

Today we met an elderly British lady who in many ways has a much easier life than her Greek counterparts, but who has chosen to be unhappy. Here’s her story:

She and her husband lived in Greece for some years. About 4 years ago, following a particularly hot summer, they left for somewhere that they thought would give them a less extreme climate, especially for their passion of gardening. So they moved to France, but the weather wasn’t as good as they had hoped, especially in winter, and things didn’t work out for them.

Viewing their stay in France as a mistake they upped and moved back to the UK, but within a couple of weeks of arriving they decided their real mistake had been to leave Greece in the first place. They were lucky, they were able to make the move back to Greece, back to the area where they had been happy, and are at present renting a house.

But this lady is full of regret for what she lost when they first left Greece: a house she loved, with a view across to the mountains; a garden they’d developed over a few years, and which gave them fresh vegetables and fruit for 10 months of the year.

Her speech is peppered with references to the mistake they made, how her health suffered as a result, and how they can’t recover from this mistake. She seems sure they won’t be able to have a home that comes near to what they had before. I don’t know if this is due to money – I didn’t want to ask – but I suspect it’s more to do with attitude.

The truth of the situation is that it’s most unlikely they can get back the house they sold. But beyond this their life can and will be what they choose to make it.

Rather than dwelling on the past and the life they willingly gave up for what, at the time, seemed sound reasons, she could choose to look to the future and make it a happy choice. She could see their return to Greece as an opportunity to find a different living solution to that they had before. It will only be worse than their previous life if they choose to see it in this way. In fact, it might turn out to be better. There’s no reason they can’t find a good view, and recreate their garden, if they want to.

Sadly I suspect she will judge every opportunity against the home she gave up, and they will all fall short of her idealistic expectations. She’s choosing to wallow in her past, rather than move forward into her future. Unless and until she can stop mourning the life she left behind she won’t be able to embrace the future with optimism and enthusiasm.

And it is a choice – no-one is making her feel sorry for herself except herself. She could just as easily choose optimism and happiness to pessimism and misery. What about you?

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January is a dreadful time to start a diet for weight loss.

Even if you did over-do it during the festive season, getting back into the swing of working and seeing the long year stretching ahead doesn’t inspire you to want to give up your favorite foods and treats, even if successful weight loss is the prize. In many areas the weather is at its worst, and what you crave are comfort foods and lots of them, rather than small portions of things you wouldn’t normally choose to eat.

If you’re suffering from the economic downturn in any way (and who isn’t?) then chances are you’ll shy away from anything else that makes you feel down. And after the euphoria of the few early but unsustainable pounds dropping away, diets usually make you feel anything but upbeat.

Add to this the fact that, if you listed weight loss as a New Year resolution, you’ve more chance of failing because of the psychological pressure you’ve put yourself under.

But all this doesn’t mean that you can’t succeed in reaching your ideal weight this year. Successful weight loss is still an attainable goal.

But you need to change the way you look at the challenge, the way you think about it, and use a method that will help you succeed in your weight loss efforts without getting dragged off track by all the doom and gloom you see around you.

Find out more here…

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Should people in government be able to make decisions about what children can and can’t eat, or should parents take responsibility for guiding their children into good habits? And if parents don’t do this, should the state be able to step in and take over?

I’ve been reading some news stories from the BBC recently which have got me onto this topic. Wales, or at least the grandly named ‘Appetite for Life Action Plan’ introduced by the Welsh Assembly Government’s education department, has had a lot of coverage.

The intention is laudable: providing free breakfasts for some primary school children, and healthy food in all their nursery, school and college facilities.

But some nurseries, schools and colleges are interpreting the general guidelines in such a way that they’re likely to drive children away, as well as gaining so much unwelcome publicity for the education department.

Some of the foods that schools are banning. Marmite image courtesy of http://www.freedigitalphotos.net

Marmite and lemon curd have been banned by some primary schools’ breakfast clubs for their high salt and sugar content respectively, although the makers of Marmite claim the amount used on toast is small, so the salt impact is not excessive. Low fat jam (jelly) can be spread on toast, but lemon curd is not available. Sugar can be added to porridge but not cereal.

A parent commented that her child’s nursery had also banned home made, salt and sugar free tomato puree in case it instills bad habits (today that nice healthy tomato puree you love, tomorrow you’ll be eating sugary ketchup spread over everything??).

A secondary school went so far as banning pupils from having sugar in their drinks (but allowing them to use sweeteners provided at their own expense). A protest by pupils, supported by the head teacher, overturned the ban which was replaced by a limit of two spoonfuls per cup. Perhaps the threat of a boycott in favor of local cafes swung the argument.

Sixteen year old Emma-Jayne Morgan offered some useful advice to the leader of Rhondda council:

“Prohibiting certain foods and drinks to young people will only make them more determined to buy them through some other means.”

That’s a sixteen year old who knows full well that the nanny state can’t provide the answer to the health and obesity problems affecting her generation. Maybe they should offer her a job in government when she leaves school. Her first task could be a survey of government and council colleagues, to find out how many of them don’t eat Marmite, lemon curd or ketchup, prefer porridge with sugar to cereals without, and take their (decaffeinated of course) tea and coffee without sugar.

If the authorities continue like this they’ll have local fast food outlets, cafes and supermarkets laughing all the way to their tills as pupils desert school facilities in search of less regulated food sources. Surely it’s better to eat mostly healthy food with the odd dash of ketchup or Marmite at school, than to eat far less healthy options from the local fish and chip shop?

Schools and parents have the important job of teaching children the benefits of healthy eating, and guiding them to put this into practice. But what happens if I tell you not to think about the color blue? What are you thinking about? The color blue of course. Emma-Jayne said it all.

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First think of something you really wouldn’t want to put in your mouth. Something that would be absolutely disgusting to you. Dog mess is usually a good one, but maybe there’s something else, some hated food or another substance that would have a similar effect for you.

Make a picture of this in your mind, and make it as vivid as you can. Answer the following questions to make your picture:

What color is it?

What texture is it? (solid, light, smooth, heavy, flaky, crumbly and so on)

What size and shape is it? (ideally similar to the chocolate you would be eating)

What does it smell like? (remember this is something you really wouldn’t want to eat so make it as repulsive as possible)

Is there anything else noteworthy about it?

For example, if you’re imagining dog mess, it might be fresh, still warm and strong smelling, slightly soft to the touch, solid, dark brown. Or it might be old and dried out, off white, light and flaky, almost falling apart as you touch it.

Once you’ve got this picture clearly in your mind, make it small and darken the colors, and put it in a corner of your mind.

Now make a picture of you eating chocolate. Again make it vivid, but now you’re describing something you know well — that favorite bar that’s always your downfall, or the image of a square of chocolate broken from a larger block — so it should be easy to do.

Make this picture as big and bright as the other one was, with color, smell, and everything else it needs.

Now imagine you’re about to eat this favorite bar. You’re just bringing it towards your mouth for that first bite.

As you open your mouth to bite, quickly change the picture into the one of the dog mess.

A good way to do this is to ‘click’ on the dog mess picture to open it up again, while saying ‘click’ at the same time.

Repeat this several times.

If you’ve got the images vivid enough and the changing ‘click’ right, you’ll quickly find that even thinking about eating chocolate immediately brings up the dog mess image.

Be warned:

If you don’t really want to give up chocolate it’s best not to try this as it works very well!

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You Can Lose Weight at Christmas

Christmas is a difficult time for anyone who’s watching their weight.

There’s not just more food around, there’s more fattening food, more chocolates, snacks and alcohol freely available, and more pressure to consume.

Hosts and hostesses who’ve put lots of effort into their Christmas feasts expect guests to show their appreciation by demolishing it, not by picking at it. It can be difficult to stand your ground against them. All those good intentions can quickly fly out the window…unless you’re approaching your weight loss in a way that can stop those ‘well intentioned’ people in their tracks.

Lose Weight NOW! can help you get into good eating habits before the Christmas battle rears its ugly head, and to keep those habits – and that weight loss – into the long term; making sure that your resolution to finally lose weight in 2009 actually works out.

Know someone who’s trying to lose weight? Give them a gift they will appreciate, find out about Lose Weight NOW!

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