“Healthy nuggets of news
to keep your motor humming”

Welcome to our 26th issue of Healthy World Digest!

In this issue:

* Exercise by playing

* Sun exposure supplements

* Fat that helps you lose fat

* Herbal tea for high blood pressure

* Make sure coffee doesn’t raise cholesterol

* Recipe

Just a few important, interesting, up to date, super beneficial health items that you could easily apply to you life or pass along to loved ones.

Just fill in the brief eZine subscription form & start to take charge of your life easily, today.

I'm just getting back to working out after an elbow injury.

So here I go, back to walking, jogging, strength training, a little yoga, when out of the blue, trying to give my 11 year old son something to do, I introduced him to tennis.

So we're hitting tennis balls back and forth, having a good time. Twenty minutes turns into 30, turns into an hour and then beyond.

Afterwards, my son is beaming, completely enraptured by his new racquet as we walk home.

There is simply nothing as physically rewarding as working out by doing real life things like hiking, and even better, playing sports. Not to mention, emotionally rewarding.

The workout benefits from a game of tennis, or basketball or soccer far exceed those of set up workouts we normally engage in.

There are many reasons for this. But the best reason is that play demands your body do things, often quite unexpectedly, that set up workouts do not. You're asked to bend down suddenly, then jump and twist at once, sprint then go backwards. On and on.

It quite simply offers an incredibly varied interval workout, the most effective exercise strategy that you can engage in.

* Sun exposure supplements

We are heading into seasonal sun exposure, or for many, tanning season. Be careful.

I personally take extra beta carotene and get its protective effects by eating cantaloupe and carrots.

But you can even find some protection in lycopene. Get it as a supplement or have ½ a pink grapefruit to help reduce effects of sun exposure.

* Fat that helps you lose fat

I have come to use fats as an aid to my diet and fitness. Two fats are especially good for helping you lose fat.

Walnut fat and coconut fat are less likely to be retained as fat by the body. Instead the calories from both are likely to be used as energy.

I use coconut oil to sautee in stir frys. I sometimes make that the base for a curry dish. Absolutely delicious.

I also mix coconut milk 50/50 with soymilk and use in a 1:5 ratio to cream my coffee. I also substitute coconut oil for butter in appropriate dishes. For example, instead of butter on green beens.

I use walnut oil to lightly stir fry or in addition to olive oil in salads. Can also be added to stews and soups.

* Herbal tea for high blood pressure

Hibiscus tea lowers high blood pressure. About 2 - 3 cups a day should help out. I like it with a little honey and lemon.

Make sure coffee doesn't raise cholesterol

One herb that has been the subject of a whole lot of research controversy is coffee. My take is that coffee affects different people, different ways, given different amounts.

One potential problem with coffee is that some research has found that it can elevate cholesterol.

A very easy way of assuring that coffee doesn’t raise your cholesterol is to use paper filers.

Paper filters remove a chemical in coffee which raises cholesterol level. I usually use the brown, unchlorinated ones.

* Recipe

My family pronounced it - lo-va rue-ta laqua - our version of egg drop soup. Our name for it literally means “egg broken in water” in our old world Sicilian dialect (that is dieing out in Sicily).

Thing about this recipe, meant to stretch some eggs, stale bread and onions, is that it is healthy, delicious and easy to make.

I like it my family way but I’ve also found ways to vary the recipe and make it even healthier.

Basic recipe (for 4)

Lightly sautee a small sliced onion in a roughly 2 quart pot

About 4 cups of fresh cold, preferably filtered, water

Add salt and pepper to taste. I toss about a tsp of salt, less pepper

Bring to boil

Add 4 eggs, one at a time to preserve the integrity of the yolk

Let simmer depending on how soft you like yolk. I like it fully cooked

Scoop out into bowls

Use fresh crusty bread or, better yet, older stale bread to dip into soup and scoop out egg as you wish to eat along with the bread.

There’s usually a little broth left at the end to slurp up from your bowl.

Variations

1) Of course you could scramble the eggs and whirl them into the soup

2) I love Miso soup for its flavor and health benefits. I don’t have bread with this variation. Instead, I pour a tablespoon of cornmeal into soup to make a hearty dish.

After eggs and cornmeal are cooked, I add a tablespoon of fresh Miso paste and stir until it's dissolved in mixture.

This variation is extremely healthy, nourishing and delicious.

3) I love to add chopped garlic, fresh parsley and basil into above variation. I sautee the garlic and some of the parsley and basil in some olive oil before adding the water. Then add the rest of the fresh basil and parsley right before serving.

This dish is about as healthy a meal as I can imagine.

Well that's it for now. I want to go out and take advantage of the changing season. Hope you do the same.

Comments? Ideas? Feedback? I'd love to hear from you. Just reply to Healthy World Digest and tell me what you think.

See you next month!

Sal

Owner, Healthy World Online