Home Guide to Herbs - davies


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The Complete Home GfuoidoedtoanHderbnsu, tNraittuioranl Healing, and Nutrition  
64  
seeds and sprouting  
Whole and sprouted seeds are a wonderful source of nutrition and can be  
used in cooking in a number of ways. Choose pumpkin (rich in copper,  
zinc, and phosphorus), alfalfa (rich in all vitamins, minerals, and trace  
elements, along with fiber), sunflower, or many others. If you combine  
sprouted sesame, sunflower, and pumpkin seeds, you can arrive at a total  
protein supplement. Sprouting is easy to do. If you have never tried it  
before, start with alfalfa seeds, because they sprout very quickly.  
Directions come with any sprouter box you buy from a health-food store.  
grasses  
Try growing organic wheat, rye, alfalfa, corn, millet, or barley in a tray  
with a little soil exposed to the sunlight. Once it has reached a height of  
one inch, cut it off and add to salads. It is incredibly rich in minerals,  
vitamins, and enzymes. It is also tasty, cheap, and versatile. For in-depth  
advice on this subject, read Light Eating for Survival by Marcia Madhuri  
Acciardo. Wheat grass is often dried commercially and can be found in  
good-quality organic nutritional drinks.  
seaweed and green foods  
Seaweeds are rich in minerals and trace elements, especially when  
harvested from the least-polluted waters. Seaweeds are vital to a vegan  
diet and important to most others. It is in seaweed and algae that sunlight  
is most easily accessible to us. The plant structures are simple, and the  
sun’s energy is readily released with minimal digestion. Seaweeds such as  
kelp, nori, dulse, and wakame are rich in iodine, calcium, and sodium,  
which are vital for the proper functioning of the thyroid. Spirulina algae,  
which are not quite the same as seaweed but are very similar, are rich in  
protein, chromium, manganese, niacin, riboflavin, thiamine, vitamin A,  
and zinc. Both can be sprinkled over food for a salty flavor and much-  
needed nourishment. Many green foods have a high chlorophyll content  
that is highly therapeutic. In fact, the chlorophyll content of any edible,  
nonsprayed weed will provide more nourishment than the average  
nonorganic store-bought vegetable. For instance, just four or five  
dandelion greens contain approximately 14,000 IU (International Units)  
of vitamin A, compared to only 33 IU in the same amount of supermarket  
iceberg lettuce. You need only a few dandelion leaves to gain a good daily  
intake of vitamin A, compared to the pounds of iceberg lettuce you would  
need to achieve the same result! Try drinking nettle tea daily, a cheap  
green tonic that can be collected or bought.  


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72 73 74 75 76

Quick Jump
1 79 159 238 317