How Thoughts & Emotions Influence Your Health

How Thoughts & Emotions Influence Your Health

Everything is energy.

This is a simple statement with profound implications. Everything in the universe is made up of atoms and molecules, contains information and vibrates at a certain frequency. But most of us go about our daily lives not really thinking about the fact they we are energetic beings with a human energy field (EF) surrounding us. After all, we feel solid. We have bones, muscles, organs, glands and blood flowing through our arteries and veins. But we are 100% energy – just like animals, plants, rocks, mountains, buildings, and books. Even your thoughts and emotions are a form of energy. Positive emotions like love and joy have a high vibration and negative emotions like fear, guilt, anger and self-doubt have a low vibration.

Why is this important to know?
Energy flows and attracts and is influenced by other energy. It is well documented that stress is linked to disease. We are bombarded each day with negative energy such as news stories about violence and war, pollution, stress at work, your own negative belief systems, addictions and even poor diet choices. If you are like most people, by the time you are in your early twenties (source: Caroline Cory), you have had years of programming your cells with thoughts like, “I am not wanted,” “I am responsible for my parents’ divorce,” “I don’t fit in,” “I’m confused about my life purpose,” and “I’m not good enough”. This negative energy gets registered in our bodies and damages the DNA in cells. Over time, it can lead to disease.

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Plant-based4Health.com Relaunches with Focus on Immunity

Plant-based4Health.com Relaunches with Focus on Immunity

We are excited to announce that Plant-based4health.com, founded in 2015 by Kathy Parnay and Mary Gospe, has relaunched with a new focus on empowering you to build and maintain a healthy immune system – naturally.

The original goal of the site was to share the story of Kathy’s husband, Stefan, who cured his aggressive prostate cancer at age 47 by adopting a low-glycemic, alkalizing plant-based diet that starved the cancer of sugar and an acidic environment. We invite you to check out our extensive content on Healing Cancer with Food if you or a loved one have cancer or are interested in prevention.

In addition to aiding in the prevention and reversal of cancer, obesity, diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure, a plant-based diet helps strengthen your immune system.  The CDC tells us to wear masks, practice social distancing and wash your hands frequently, but does not mention the importance of maintaining a healthy immune system in the fight against disease.

As we enter the second year of the Covid-19 pandemic, we hope to educate and empower you to take control of your health by learning how to support your immune system through diet, nutrition and lifestyle changes. We encourage you to use plant-based4health as a resource to live a healthy and vibrant life.

We invite you to explore our new site’s rich content, including:

We also invite you to subscribe to our mailing list if you’d like to receive our periodic articles in your inbox. [mc4wp_form id=”3577″]

We hope you like the new site and would love to hear your feedback, questions and comments.

To your health!

Mary Gospe & Kathy Parnay

The Importance of Zinc for Immunity

The Importance of Zinc for Immunity

Zinc is an essential trace mineral that plays an important role in your immune health. According the the National Institutes of Health, “Zinc is involved in numerous aspects of cellular metabolism. It is required for the catalytic activity of approximately 100 enzymes and it plays a role in immune function, protein synthesis, wound healing, DNA synthesis, and cell division.” Zinc is an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antiviral agent. It has been shown to lesson the severity of the common cold by boosting white blood cells and interfering with the attachment of rhinoviruses to our cells.

According to Dr. Michael Greger, “researchers have found that zinc is indeed beneficial in reducing both duration and severity of the common cold when taken within the first twenty-four hours of symptom onset. Zinc lozenges…appear to shorten colds, by about three days…with significant reductions…in nasal discharge and congestion and hoarseness, and cough.” He goes on to recommend “…lozenges containing around 10 to 15 milligrams of zinc taken every two waking hours for a few days, starting immediately upon symptom onset, as either zinc acetate or zinc gluconate without zinc binders such as citric acid, tartaric acid, glycine, sorbitol, or mannitol may work best.”

In a recent study published this month, “Zinc against COVID-19? Symptom surveillance and deficiency risk groups,” researchers determined that “zinc should be included as part of preventative supplementation for COVID-19 and in general for support of immune health.” They conclude that “zinc provides a safe and cheap alternative to enhance immunity worldwide, both to correct chronic nutritional deficiencies and to address acute deficiencies resulting from a viral infection and host immune response.”

Zinc is not stored in the body and therefore required in our daily diet. Zinc absorption diminishes as we age and deficiency is frequently found in elderly patients. Symptoms of zinc deficiency include loss of appetite, unexplained weight loss, wounds that won’t heal, lack of alertness, decreased sense of smell and taste, and diarrhea.

Plant-based sources of zinc include legumes, grains, nuts, seeds, oats and tofu. It is often added to fortified foods and is available as dietary supplement. According to the NIH, “phytates—which are present in whole-grain breads, cereals, legumes, and other foods—bind zinc and inhibit its absorption. Thus, the bioavailability of zinc from grains and plant foods is lower than that from animal foods, although many grain- and plant-based foods are still good sources of zinc.” Soaking, fermenting, sprouting and cooking beans, grains and seeds reduces the phytates, thus increasing zinc bioavailability.

The current RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) of zinc is 11 mg for adult males and 8mg for females with 40 mg of zinc a day to be the upper limit dose for adults.  When purchasing supplements, it is important to make sure that the supplement company uses third party quality control testing and clearly identifies the nutrient sources.

Lemon – A great way to boost your immunity

Lemon – A great way to boost your immunity

When you’re feeling fatigued or concerned you might be getting sick, here’s a quick and easy immune boosting recipe: blend one whole lemon with one tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil and one cup of water. Yep the whole lemon, including the rind. 

Lemons are an excellent immunity booster, providing your body with essential vitamin C, antioxidants, antivirals and antibacterial support that your immune system needs to keep you healthy. Lemons are also a great way to alkalize your body in an effort to balance your pH and fight cancer and other chronic diseases. Visit our website for more information about balancing your pH.

The lemon oil from the rind is exceptionally powerful. It contains limonene which is a potent antimicrobial that kills microorganisms and prevents their growth, as well as having anti fungal properties. Research also shows that the flavonoids from the citrus peel help fight cancer and reduce respiratory inflammation. Adding olive oil to this drink helps your body release toxins from your liver.

Try our recipe:

  • 1 small whole lemon or lime – cut into small pieces – rind and seeds
  • 1 cup of water (more for larger lemons)
  • 1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil 
  • 1 handful of ice cubes, optional

If the sour flavor of lemon is too strong, add 1 tbsp of date paste or a pinch of stevia. 

Instructions:

  1. Wash lemon well then cut into small pieces to make it easier for your blender to liquify. (Do not remove the rind or seeds.)
  2. Put lemon pieces in blender and blend for a few seconds to break down the lemon.
  3. Add the water and oil (and date paste or stevia and ice cubes, if using) and blend until liquefied.
  4. If your blender is not super powerful, you may have small bits of residual rind. Do not strain. Drink and enjoy!
Probiotics can help ease anxiety and depression

Probiotics can help ease anxiety and depression

The power of food to heal through the gut-brain connection

It’s common knowledge that our thoughts and emotions directly affect the health of our gut. Negative feelings like stress and anxiety can lead to an upset stomach, heartburn, nausea, loose stools, etc. This is called the gut-brain connection  But did you know that this relationship between our brains and our gut also works in reverse? 

Researchers have found that the health of the microbiota in our gut (the community of microorganisms) can impact our behavior and emotions.

By altering bacteria in the gut through specially designed diets with probiotics/prebiotics, researchers have discovered that the health of your gut microbiota can be used as a tool to support psychiatric therapies by easing anxiety and depression.  Although the current studies are small, their findings are promising.

Probiotics are the live bacteria found in fermented foods and prebiotics are types of dietary fiber that feed the good gut bacteria. Although supplements can provide an easy way to get your probiotics, consuming probiotics and prebiotics through whole foods offers a greater source of overall nutrition than taking them as supplements. If you choose to add probiotics to your diet, be aware that not all fermented foods contain live bacteria due to the type of processing they have gone through and the way they are stored. For example, pasteurizing kills bacteria and some pickled foods are not actually fermented. 

Vegan probiotic foods that support gut health:

  • Sauerkraut (fermented cabbage)
  • Kimchi (spicy fermented red cabbage)
  • Fermented vegetables (not all pickled vegetables are fermented)
  • Kombucha (fermented tea)
  • Tempeh (fermented soy)
  • Miso (fermented soy in the form of a broth)

Common prebiotic foods:

  • Onions
  • Garlic
  • Leeks
  • Asparagus
  • Bananas
  • Barley
  • Oats 
  • Apples
  • Cocoa
  • Flaxseed
  • Seaweed
Amazing Avocados

Amazing Avocados

Avocados are a amazing creamy fruit (technically a berry) and one that I try to eat daily. I love them spread on toast, sliced in a sandwich, diced in a salad or as a topping on chili. And let’s not forget guacamole for an delicious appetizer!

Packed with nutrients, avocados have over 20 vitamins and minerals, including vitamin E, potassium, folate and brain-healthy omega-6 fatty acids.  According to nutritionfacts.org avocados are anti-inflammatory, can help lower cholesterol and triglycerides, and decrease prostate cancer risk in men.

Some of the healing properties of avocados according to Medical Medium Anthony William include:

  • Helping with digestive disorders
  • Having an aspirin-like quality without thinning the blood
  • Reducing polyps in the intestinal lining
  • An anti-aging effect on the skin, reducing dryness and helping to eliminate dark circles under the eyes
  • An easily assimilable food with protein ratios that are equal to breast milk

And research from nutritionfacts.org states that eating avocados with other foods such as tomatoes, helps with absorption of nutrients such as lycopene and beta-carotene.

Avocados have a small about of Vitamin K which can interfere with the anticoagulant medication Coumadin, also known as Warfarin. So please avoid avocados if you are on that medication. Otherwise, enjoy this healthy and delicious fruit.

-July 2018