Author Archives: marktsaloumas
Acid reflux is also known as gastroesophageal reflux (GORD), or simply heartburn because of the familiar burning sensation experienced behind the sternum in the vicinity of the heart. This occurs following a meal or upon lying down sometime afterwards, and may make the sufferer think of a heart attack. Fortunately it is a common and insignificant symptom, simply due to the acidic contents of the stomach refluxing into the oesophagus.
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The olive tree (Olea europaea) has been cultivated since ancient times in Persia, Mesopotamia and the Mediterranean, and some trees have been known to live for more than a thousand years. The olive tree has silvery-green leaves, a gnarled trunk and an oily, bitter fruits which are either prepared whole for the table, or the oil is extracted using cold-pressure or steam. Olives should preferably be cold-pressed in order to preserve the phenolic compounds in the oil, a process that produces extra-virgin olive oil. The production of oil reaches around eleven million tons per year.
(more…)Water is essential to life and is needed to support the function of every cell in the body. Without water all physiological processes go into decline, including nutrient absorption, the maintenance of electrolyte levels, pH balance, and the elimination of waste. It is therefore important to drink good clean water throughout the day while reducing the intake of tea, coffee and sugary drinks. Excess water consumption can also be a stress on the body, the actual quantity necessary being relative to visible urine concentration.
(more…)Gingivitis is an inflammatory gum disease caused by infection of the gums due to poor oral hygiene, infection, injury, poor micro-circulation or chronic stress. The condition is painless and therefore causes little initial concern; however, the gums are usually swollen, tender and bleed. The breath may smell bad due to oral dysbiosis. An early marker is the enzyme salivary lactate dehydrogenase, which is elevated when tissue breaks down.
(more…)A plethora of synthetic sweeteners are now available as an alternative to cane sugar and high-fructose corn syrup. Aspartame is one of the most prevalent, promoted for its supposed benefits to the obese and diabetic alike in a myriad of diet or low-calorie beverages and foods, and yet it is linked to disturbing research indicating that it may in fact be worse than the sugars it replaces.
(more…)Dental problems are widespread among people who eat sugar and the more that is eaten, the worse the problem. Refined sugars such as sucrose and high-fructose corn syrup are staples in the urban diet so it is not surprising that untreated tooth decay affects 36% of the world’s population.1
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Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) is a thorny tree found here and there along the railway lines and roadsides of Victoria where it reaches a height of up to ten metres. It was planted as an ornamental tree to remind the settlers of the ‘old country’, and the red haws, which appear soon after the pleasant-smelling flowers, contain a white flesh surrounding a hard seed.
(more…)Arnica (Arnica montana) is a well-known wound herb with a long history of use in the mountainous parts of Europe where injuries arising from falls are common. It is called leopard’s bane or wolf’s bane, and grows all the way from Siberia to the snowline in the Alps, preferring poor acidic soils.
(more…)The consumption of pasteurised dairy products is associated by some consumers with unpleasant symptoms that evidently arise from a food sensitivity or allergy. While these reactions can resemble one another, they are also often confused with lactose intolerance which is not a food sensitivity or allergy, but a straightforward problem with malabsorption.
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Baking old-fashioned sourdough bread can’t be hurried. First the baker has to feed the ‘starter’ with a mixture of organic flour and water on the evening before baking day, and by the morning it will have grown into a spongy mass. The starter is itself made from just flour and water exposed to the environment, which inoculates it with natural yeasts. The baker then mixes most of the starter with more organic flour, water and a little salt to make the dough, and leaves it to rise in a warm place before putting the loaf in the oven.
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