This video, part of the "Today's Nutrition" series, focuses on how certain spices can promote longevity and health, drawing inspiration from healthy elderly populations in Italy. The host, Deb Ford, explains how our current medical system focuses on disease rather than prevention, and how diet and lifestyle, including specific herbs and spices, can reverse biological aging. The video details the benefits of astragalus, ginger, rosemary, and saffron for various aspects of health, such as cardiovascular health, immune boosting, anti-inflammatory effects, and mood improvement.
Key Takeaways
1
The video's theme focuses on longevity, inspired by a town in Italy where many residents live to be over 100 years old and healthy.
2
Our medical system is mostly geared towards treating disease rather than preventing it, leaving us with chronic illnesses.
3
You can reverse your biological age with diet and lifestyle, as supported by research.
4
Herbs and spices are rich sources of phytonutrients, plant compounds that have anti-aging effects and help repair daily damage to our DNA.
5
Astragalus is an ancient herb known for staying youthful, lowering stress, fighting disease, boosting cardiovascular health, and protecting telomeres on DNA.
6
Ginger is a powerhouse spice with over 100 compounds that fight cancer, protect the brain, support heart health, regulate blood sugar, and relieve pain.
7
Rosemary, frequently consumed in the longevity-focused town of Acciaroli, provides rich antioxidants, lifts mood, stimulates hair growth, and promotes metabolic health.
8
Saffron, an expensive spice due to its labor-intensive harvesting, boosts cardiovascular health, possesses anti-cancer effects, alleviates PMS, promotes satiety, and improves anxiety and depression.
9
Always consult with your doctor before starting any new herb or spice, especially if you are on medication, pregnant, or nursing.
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0:01
good morning and welcome to another
0:03
edition of today's nutrition where we
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look at what is hot in the news what's
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new in research or any topic that can
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help us lose weight feel great or live
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longer better well this month I am
0:14
focusing on longevity and it was kind of
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spurred by me falling over some research
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by Alan masel an American
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cardiologist who notice the high number
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of extremely healthy older residents in
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that small little town of acheri Italy
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with a population of little I mean maybe
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a thousand people 300 of those live to
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be over 100 years old W and healthfully
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so what's their secret many of them may
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be one of the spices that I'm going to
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talk about today it could be why they
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have the cardiovascular profile of a 20
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to 30y old they are no different
1:01
from you and me same genes same
1:03
everything except how they live and what
1:06
they eat so why is this critical for us
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to know well our medical system is
1:12
geared at disease not Health almost
1:15
nothing is geared at prevention and what
1:19
we're left with is chronic disease with
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decades spent visiting one doctor after
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another we want Health vitality and
1:28
Longevity and the secrets to those are
1:31
hidden in plain sight diet and exercise
1:35
too simple to be treasured by most
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recently I talked here about Dr Dean
1:41
ornish and Dr Dale
1:44
bredeson that I think should share the
1:47
Nobel Prize their undying dedication to
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transforming Health Care to True Health
1:53
Care rather than disease care is
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admirable reversing heart disease
1:59
reverse se en Alzheimer's disease and
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even cancer this should be headlined
2:06
everywhere and should be put into
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National policy all these diseases we
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consider normal aging have the same
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metabolic pathways in common oxidative
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stress and inflammation that our
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lifestyle is pushing hard while
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chronological age is set in stone you're
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born at a certain date and every year
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you're getting and one year older but
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biological age isn't as Dr Cara
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fitzgeral proved with her research that
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published in the bestseller younger you
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yes you can absolutely reverse your
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biological age with diet and lifestyle I
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do it with my clients every day because
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although chronological age can't be
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reversed slowing down and even reversing
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the rate of biological aging aging is
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and entirely possible to achieve now I
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love research and mainly use PubMed to
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look at published studies focusing on
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different things this week it was the
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herbs the active compounds against aging
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and age related conditions you know and
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although I love research I always say
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look at populations that have Health and
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Longevity and just do what they've done
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while re resarch figures out the wise
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and howtos research doesn't know what it
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doesn't know and we often don't even
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know what to test for what to look for
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and it takes 20 to 30 years from
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research to filter down to practicing
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medicine usually only because there is a
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huge financial gain on the part of the
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pharmaceutical companies herbs and
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spices are rich sources of
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phytonutrients one of the reasons I
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wholeheartedly recommend eating a lot of
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vegetables every day is because the
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25,000 fighter nutrients plant compounds
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like flavonoids terpenoids saponins
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polysaccharides that appear to have
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anti-aging effects like improving
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cognitive Health reducing cardiovascular
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risk increasing telome Mir on your
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chromosomes and inumerable able
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seemingly unlimited number of metabolic
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pathways that enhance Health they're
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just built into our DNA to help repair
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the daily damage with food with
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nutrition moreover these work as
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antioxidants and improve the resistance
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to DNA damage which is really more
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important every day with our exposure to
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man-made chemicals and toxins that we
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are literally swimming in so the first
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herb I'm really excited to tell you
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something about is the amazing
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astragalus ancient herb that has been a
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go-to for staying youthful lowering
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stress levels and fighting off disease
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for centuries it's incredible how
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something so natural can have such a
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profound effect on health you might be
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wondering what's so special about
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astragalus what is a stralis well it's a
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pretty amazing herb Studies have shown
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it can boost cardiovascular health fight
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off tumors even ease the symptoms of
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chemotherapy in China many cancer
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patients start taking a strus before
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their chemotherapy to improve their
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chances and reduce side effects but of
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course always check with your doctor
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before starting any new herb especially
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if on medication pregnant or
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nursing so what exactly is a stralis
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well it's a perennial flowering plant
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known as Wong Chi The Roots harvested
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from plants have to be at least 4 years
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old that's the magic part and here's why
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a straggas cont contains three powerful
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components of saponins flavonoids and
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polysaccharides I know they're just
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names but they have to categorize them
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because saponins are known to lower
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cholesterol boost the immune system and
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even help prevent cancer
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flavonoids like coratin are fantastic
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antioxidants that among other things
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help prevent heart disease cancer and
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imuno deficiency
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viruses who doesn't need those in this
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day of post pandemic and the
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polysaccharides antimicrobial antiviral
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and anti-inflammatory so let's break
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down some of the things that astragalus
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has been researched to help when
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anti-inflammatory powder immune booster
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tumor fighter research shows that
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components in estrus can help slow down
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and even prevent tumor growth you know
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shown promise in reversing drug
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resistance in liver cancer and enhancing
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the effect of the
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chemotherapy number four heart protector
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helping to keep those arteries clear a
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diabetes regulator goinging to help
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insulin resistance and anti-aging Hero
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by protecting the telr on your DNA
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astragalus will slow down the aging
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process and wound healing it's great for
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healing up the wounds and potentially
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even minimizing scars okay then when I
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talked to you about the chemo symptom
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alleviator like preventing helping to
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reduce side effects like nausea and
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diarrhea and then my favorite one that
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we've used for infants all the way
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through our senior citizen it's a cold
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and flu def Defender you know great at
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antiviral properties I think it's best
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taken regularly to prevent especially
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during the Cold and Flu winter months so
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today's world we play We face many
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health challenges and a straga stands
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out as a Powerhouse benefits are
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extensive and super super safe next I'm
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going to talk about Ginger thrilled to
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tell you about the spice that's not only
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delicious but packed with Incredible
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health benefits you know everything from
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motion sickness to boosting brain
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function it is a Powerhouse of tasty
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natural goodness magic comes from its
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antioxidants anti-inflammatory products
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properties and phytonutrients like
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gingerol chagol paradol and
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zingerone believe it or not there more
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than one 100 compounds that have been
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isolated in ginger giving it the amazing
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properties to help fight cancer protect
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the brain and support heart health it's
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nothing new it's been used worldwide for
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thousands of years ancient Chinese Roman
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Greek Arabic and Sanskrit text all
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praise this spice for its medicinal
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properties today a lot of research on
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treating nausea and morning sickness
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treating fungal infections protecting
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against stomach ulcers easing menstrual
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pains inhibiting cancer growth because
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of a powerful compound called six
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gingerol it can inhibit the growth of
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cancer cells so in a 2018 study even
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found that Ginger derivatives exhibit
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super significant anti-tumor activities
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then it also regulates blood sugar and
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fights
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obesity there was in 2015 a study
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reduced fasting blood sugar by 12% and
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improved long-term blood sugar by
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10% also 2021 study found had
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anti-obesity effects reducing weight
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gain blood sugar and cholesterol and
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even fatty liver in mice great for
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relieving joint and muscle pain lower
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cholesterol support brain function oh my
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gosh it's antioxidants and inflammatory
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properties can help protect against
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aging brain and cognitive decline okay
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even improve function and
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attention then bacterial infections
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easing inflammation just so many good
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things and let's not just forget about
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the simple joy of ginger tea nice cup of
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ginger tea perfect remedy after a long
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stressful day or maybe even just a sque
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a queasy stomach just grate some ginger
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into water you can also just marinate it
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in the fridge and enjoy personally I
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love Sassy Water where you take grated
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Ginger sliced lemon sliced cucumber and
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crushed mint oh my gosh marinate it so
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refreshing so delicious or maybe grating
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it over roasted vegetables with a little
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bit of olive oil love it so let's
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Embrace that delicious power of Ginger
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and all the amazing benefits it brings
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to our health and happiness with that
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little see ginger in our lives
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third thing
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Rosemary from My Little Italian town of
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aari it is the epicenter of Rosemary and
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they enjoy it on just about every dish
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they prepare you know we think of Italy
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as a country all about food and the
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Italians do take their food very
11:53
seriously well we may think the
11:54
Mediterranean diet is carb rich in pasta
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and pizza and gal W that's gets the
12:01
attention from the visitors but the
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Italian residents they tend to eat a
12:05
diet rich in local seasonal vegetables
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lots and lots of olive oil and aari
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spices it up with
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rosemary what a wonderful herb it is
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according to an article published in
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nutrition today Rosemary has been used
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in folk medicine for centuries confirmed
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that promotes Digestive Health uh
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menstrual pain mental decline epilepsy
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pain relief mental Clarity improving
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hair and skin Health also helps us relax
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because it's packed with protective
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compounds like Cino and camper and pyen
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and borol and rosic acid rosmanol carcol
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and caronic acid they are powerful
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powerful phytonutrients essential oils
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packed with these okay so what all is do
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we know for a fact that research proves
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it's good for well provides Rich
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antioxidants and could this be why
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residents of aari residents have a
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cardiovascular profile of a 20-year-old
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it also lifts your mood could that be
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because it reduces cortisol stimulates
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hair growth relieves indigestion
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antimicrobial and promotes metabolic
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health so if you have fresh Rosemary
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Twigs you can easily add them to your
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meals rinse them with water remove the
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stem the sprigs from the stem chop
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finely put them in stews and meat dishes
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but make sure you remove that stem
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before serving you don't want to eat the
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whole twig okay or a soothing drink why
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not rosemary tea in Dr Cara Fitzgerald's
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research she had subjects drink rosemary
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tea daily and remember they reverse
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their biological age by the average of
14:05
3.23 years in just 8 weeks so embracing
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the amazing benefits of
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rosemary daily to increase your health
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and happiness and a life enriched with
14:18
the wonders of nature lastly I'm going
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to talk about
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saffron lot of insights to this very
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valuable and expensive spice saffr
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incredible spice known for its vibrant
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color it's got a special place in
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history it's one of the top 14 herbs
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mentioned in the Bible and why is it so
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pricey why is it $400 a pound well it
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takes about 75,000 to
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125,000 flowers to produce just one
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pound of saffron it's crocus sativus
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which is part of the iris family family
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of flowers and it actually the spice
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comes from the stigma of the flower you
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know so the stigmas are not only crucial
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for cooking but they're used in
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cosmetics and pharmaceuticals and fabric
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dyes the flower is purple but the spice
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is a pent red and kind of a yellowish so
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Egyptian he healers used it for GI
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issues Roman times used it for
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respiratory and in aurvedic medicine
15:28
saffron was used as an expectorant a
15:30
sedative an adaptogen so much more and
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even the Song of Solomon highlighted the
15:36
significance so what do we know about
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saffron in our own research we knows it
15:42
we know it boosts cardiovascular health
15:45
and probably because of the benefits
15:48
from the metabolic syndrome and
15:50
atherosclerosis possesses potential
15:52
anti-cancer effects alleviates PMS
15:56
promotes satiety and weight loss A
15:59
Malaysia study found that saffron
16:01
extract help reduce snacking and
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promoted weight loss and also improving
16:06
anxiety and depression love it saffron
16:10
has been used in Persian traditional
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medicine for depression so good so
16:17
that's not all saffron does it
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suppresses
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inflammation it also like for things
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like rheumatoid arthritis and ulcerative
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colitis so why not add a little saffron
16:28
to your life and enjoy the incredible
16:31
benefits you know remember to chat to
16:34
your healthcare worker about any of
16:36
these just to make sure it's right for
16:38
you in case you're on some medicine that
16:40
that may be contraindicated but I just
16:42
wanted to tell you about also my
16:45
favorite spice Turmeric but I ran out of
16:47
time next week I'm going to tell you all
16:49
about turmeric why it's my number one
16:52
spice that I eat every day in one form
16:55
or another fantastic but they're my four
16:58
for today and next week we're going to
17:00
dig a Little Deeper but thanks for
17:02
listening to another edition of today's
17:04
nutrition I hope it helped you or
17:06
someone you love as always you can
17:08
listen again on my website Deb for.com
17:11
on YouTube or any place you listen to
17:14
podcasts have a delightful day and
17:16
remember to spice it up for health
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4 Spices
Deb Ford DCN RDN
35 views
Jul 30, 2024
17:20
Herbs and spices are rich sources of over 25,000 phytonutrients, -plant-compounds like flavonoids, terpenoids, saponins, and polysaccharides, that appear to have anti-aging effects like improving cognitive health, and reducing cardiovascular risks, increasing chromosome telomere length, and enumerable- seemingly unlimited number of metabolic pathways that enhance health. These are built into our DNA to help repair daily damage which is more important every day with our exposure to manmade chemicals and toxins that we are literally swimming in.