Black Bean Chipotle Soup

1 Can of Black Beans
2 Stalks of Celery, diced
2 Carrots, peeled and cut
1 yellow onion, cut into 1/4 inch
2 Chipotles, chopped
1 Cup crushed tomatoes
1 Can chopped mild green chilies, drained
6 Cups chicken or vegetable stock
2 Teaspoons Cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
Sour Cream
Thick and chunky salsa
Fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
Avacado sliced

Add all ingredients to the crock-pot. Cook on low for 7 plus hours until vegetables are tender. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve and top with sour cream, cilantro, salsa, and avacado.

*If you cook over the stove, cook on high heat until carrots and celery are tender then simmer for a few more minutes

1 can of black beans

Worry about Cancer? There are natural preventatives you can take

I recently had to write a paper for my Pathophysiology class this past week on cancer prevention. It was a very interesting assignment to research a little and read that there are natural fresh fruits and vegetables that help your body prevent cancer cells from growing. 

Some of the best sources to help your immune system and overall heath to help prevent cancer would be to increase your daily intake of organic or locally grown fruits and vegetables. There are substances found in them that are known to protect the body against cancer. Phytochemicals include pigments such as carotenes, chlorophyll, and flavonoids, dietary fibers, enzymes, vitamin- like compounds, and other minor dietary constituents. It is important to choose fruits and vegetables that change with the season help get your bodies organs ready for that new season. Also, it’s a very good idea to cleanse and detox the body for spring and fall. Some of the fruits and vegetables that have been helpful are colors that are green, yellow, and orange. I have listed some of them that were listed to be helpful:

Green (Dark)	Yellow/ Light Green	Orange
Artichoke Asparagus Green Bell Pepper Broccoli Brussels sprouts Chard Collard Greens Cucumber Green Beans Green Grapes Honeydew melon Kale Leeks Lettuce (Dark greens) Mustard greens Peas Spinach Turnip Greens	Apples (green and yellow) Avocado Bananas Yellow Bell peppers Bok choy Cabbage Cauliflower Celery Fennel Kiwi Lemons Light green lettuce Limes Onions Pears (green and yellow) Pineapple Squash Zucchini	Apricots Orange Bell pepper Butternut squash Cantaloupe Carrots Mangoes Oranges Papaya Pumpkin Sweet potatoes Yams

The information provided in the Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine was very informative for preventing cancer. There are some helpful ways to help keep optimal health. The optimal health food diet is based on the following principles:

1.    Eat an assortment of fruits and vegetables – mainly green, yellow, and orange colors, but the other colors can be good too.
2.    Reducing your daily exposure to pesticides, heavy metals, and food additives. If you can’t afford organic you can peel off the skin or remove the outer layers of the leaves to reduce the pesticide levels.
3.    Eat to support your blood sugar control. You don’t want to eat more sugar than your body actually needs.
4.   Consuming high intakes of meats and other animal products put ones self at a higher risk for heart disease and cancer. If you want to eat meats it should be fish, white meat or poultry.
5.  Eat the right types of fats. Some healthier options are olive oil, coconut oil or macadamia nut oil. Keep salt intake low, potassium intake high. Try to use salt substitution or low-sodium foods. American diets is the reverse of sodium to potassium with a ratio of 1:2. The average health ratio for potassium to sodium is 50:1. The average K: Na ratio for some common fruits and vegetables are carrots 75:1, potatoes 110:1, apples 90:1, bananas 440:1, oranges 260:1.
6.     Avoid food additives. If you can avoid foods that have artificial food colors, especially those that begin with FD&C. Also, cutting out artificial sweeteners (Aspartame, Acesulfame-K, and Saccarin)
7.  Take measures to reduce foodborne illness. Washing your fruits and vegetables with spray or some soap and water will help remove and unwanted germs from the outer layer. Keeping the temperature of chicken and other meats used when sitting out. Make sure any canned or boxed foods you purchase don’t have dents or cut open.
8.     Drink sufficient amounts of water each day. It’s good to drink a minimum of 48oz a day.
9.    Exercise is an important aspect of removing toxins that build up in our muscles. This is just another way to detox the muscles from unwanted build-up of lactic acid and other things. 

Here is a diet below includes anticancer phytochemicals

Upon Rising

·         8 ounce glass pure water with fresh juice from half a lemon (carotenes, coumarins, flavonoids and limonoids)

Morning – Breakfast

·         3 egg white omelet with tomatoes, peppers, celery, and spinach (carotenes, coumarins, flavonoids and limonoids)

·         2 cups green tea (polyphenols)

Morning – Snack:

·         Handful of raw natural almonds (lignans and sterols)

Afternoon – Lunch

·         Smoothie – scoop of whey protein powder, flaxseed, kale, ½ avocado, ½ cup blueberries, ½ cup raspberries, ½ cup blackberries, unsweetened green tea (carotenes, dithiolthiones, glucosinolates, and thiocyanates, flavonoids, lignans, and polyphenols)

Afternoon – Snack

·         1 ounce dark chocolate (at least 70% cacao)

·         Handful of pumpkin seeds (lignans and sterols)

Evening – Dinner

·         4 ounces chicken breast

·         Serving of baked sweet potatoes

·         Serving of brussels sprouts

·         Bowl of fresh mixed berries

·         2 cup of green tea (carotenes, dithiolthiones, glucosinolates, and thiocyanates, flavonoids, and polyphenols)

The above diet calls for drinking an adequate amount of fresh water.  For a 150 pound individual this would mean 75 ounces per day.  Fiber goal should be 25 grams daily.  Eat more fish and use turmeric which is a polyphenol for flavoring.  Avoid red meat and limit alcohol consumption, red wine in moderation is a good polyphenol.  Do not eat trans fats and limit your salt intake. 

Eating a healthy diet and being physically active are good for you. That's why the American Cancer Society developed nutrition and physical activity guidelines. This printable pdf contains tips to help you make those guidelines a part of your everyday life and to help you stay well (Living Smart, 2010).  Once you learn the food items that help to prevent cancers you can easily incorporate them into your daily diet.  The diet plan I made above is very extreme and includes mostly foods that have phytochemicals that have antioxidants, enhance the immune function, antitumor properties, enhance antioxidant mechanisms, block cancer-causing compounds from damaging cells, enhance detoxification, direct antitumor effects, block estrogen receptors, modulate hormone receptors, block carcinogens, and block carcinogen formation.  

Reference:

Murray, M. T., & Pizzorno, J. E. (1998). A Health Pomoting Diet. In Encyclopedia of natural medicine (3rd ed., pp. 48-67). Rocklin, CA: Prima Pub.

Stay Healthy. (n.d.). Retrieved June 25, 2015, from http://www.cancer.org/healthy/index

How to Avoid Food Additives & Preservatives. (2013, January 16). Retrieved June 25, 2015, from http%3A%2F%2Fhealthychild.org%2Feasy-steps%2Favoid-risky-food-additives-preservatives%2F

Living smart: The American Cancer Society’s Guide to Eating Healthy and Being Active [Consumer brochure]. (2010). Retrieved from American Cancer Society Inc. website: http://www.cancer.org/acs/groups/content/@editorial/documents/document/acspc-044197.pdf

Bruises and how to heal them faster nauturally

I haven't posted anything for a while with school consuming my extra time. I thought I would write something about bruising and what has been my lifesaver. I have had 2 experiences in the last 6 months with the use Arnica salve. I first stumbled upon it at my local Target. I originally purchased it due to dry skin here in Arizona. Since my amazing purchase I have used it on several bruises I just happen to find. 

Christmas day (2014) was one of those days that went down in "Nelson" history.... That morning my youngest sister and I really wanted waffles and fresh squeezed orange juice. I went to grab the pitcher and not knowing there was a crack grabbed for the pitcher and sliced my finger almost to the bone. My sister at the time is waiting for nursing school and she was great! First we poured vinegar on the wound to help clout the blood faster. After 4 hours of bleeding we went to urgent care and I ended up with 3 stitches. What an experience! Once I pulled out my own stitches the healing process began and the skin finally closed up.
Since my tragic accident at Christmas causing me 3 stitches in my finger, the wound began to heal nicely with a combination of Tea Tree Melaleuca alternifolia, Lavender Lavandula angustifolia and Lemongrass Cymbopogon citratus essential oils. The skin started closing up within 2 weeks, but the 3rd week I removed my stitches myself. Once the skin was completely closed i began to lather Arnica salve Pomada de Arnica on which sped up the healing time and reduced the scar to a small line as you can see in the last photo. 

My next mishap was just  March 8th, 2015. It was your typical Saturday...... I was chatting on the phone with my sister while sitting on my small bathroom sink. Suddenly, I fell backwards and twisted which caused me to land sideways on the toilet seat before falling to the ground (it was a horrible experience that happened very fast).The right side of my body hit the hardest causing a huge bruise on just above my right hip. When I landed on the tile floor my ribs were extremely sore and still hurt almost 3 months later. My middle sister heard the whole thing take place and was about to drive over to make sure I was alright, I told her I was fine and I would be over later to watch a movie. 

Boy, after a few hours the skin didn't discolor- just hardened, but I could feel it was coming. A lump the size of a baseball, red and purple discoloring of the skin and multiple broker vessels. I also think I might have badly bruised or even fractured my ribs. Each day I began to lather the Arnica salve each night before I went to bed to see if it would help heal it faster than just naturally doing nothing. Low and behold I took pictures of the progress and the healing that took place. Normally bruises last 2+ weeks for me, but after 8 days you can see that it was almost all gone. I have been very fortunate to not have had this bruise longer and that it was in a good place to cover up. I laughed with my sister and said it looked like I had been in a nasty fight. Thank goodness I wasn't. 

Here are some useful benefits for Arnica:

• Bruises
• Sprains
• Soreness and swelling/ muscle spasms from sports activity
• arthritis that is set off by seasonal change or general muscle and joint pain

Available In:	Tincture, homeopathic ointment, cream, salve and pills
Herb Drug:	Some people are sensitive to the compound helenalin found in arnica. If you develop a mild rash, then you are probably helenalin-sensitive and should stop using arnica.
Interaction:	Arnica is toxic if it gets inside the body. Never apply arnica in any form on broken skin or on an open wound. Never take arnica internally unless it's in the form of homeopathic pills that contain too little arnica to cause harm.
When Buying:	Look for pure arnica extract, homeopathic pills with 30x dilution, or topical applications.
Dosage and Warning:	External ointments and tinctures: Rub or massage arnica tincture freely onto injured area, only if skin isn't broken. Arnica compresses: Mix 1 tablespoon of arnica tincture in 1 pint of purified water. Dip a gauze pad in the mixture, then put it on the arthritic joint or bruised area. Homeopathic arnica pills: Pour 4 pills into the cap of the bottle, them toss them into your mouth, under the tongue. (Never handle homeopathic pills, in order to preserve their energetic qualities.) The pills can be taken every two hours for the first 24 hours after the injury, but not within a half-hour of eating. Use the 30x dilution as a first aid treatment for minor injury and prior to dental work to reduce bruising.
Child Dosage:	Half the adult dose