MILK DERIVATIVE - CHEESE

MILK DERIVATIVE - Cheese

Since milk in biblical times didn’t stay fresh very long, the people who lived then turned much of it into cheese or other by-products. Consequently, the people of the Bible were expert cheese makers. A gallon of fresh milk produced about a half pound of cheese that could then be utilized in many different ways while still retaining the numerous health benefits of milk.

Health and nutrition

In general, cheese supplies a great deal of calcium, protein, phosphorus and fat. A 30-gram (1.1 oz) serving of Cheddar cheese contains about 7 grams (0.25 oz) of protein and 200 milligrams of calcium. Nutritionally, cheese is essentially concentrated milk: it takes about 200 grams (7.1 oz) of milk to provide that much protein, and 150 grams (5.3 oz) to equal the calcium.

Heart disease

..Most clinical studies showed that full-fat natural cheese, a highly fermented product, significantly lowers LDL-C compared with butter intake of equal total fat and saturated fat content." 

Dental health

Some studies claim that cheddar, mozzarella, Swiss and American cheeses can help to prevent tooth decay.Several mechanisms for this protection have been proposed:

• The calcium, protein, and phosphorus in cheese may act to protect tooth enamel.
• Cheese increases saliva flow, washing away acids and sugars.

Effect on sleep

A study by the British Cheese Board in 2005 to determine the effect of cheese upon sleep and dreaming discovered that, contrary to the idea that cheese commonly causes nightmares, the effect of cheese upon sleep was positive. The majority of the two hundred people tested over a fortnight claimed beneficial results from consuming cheeses before going to bed, the cheese promoting good sleep. Six cheeses were tested and the findings were that the dreams produced were specific to the type of cheese. Although the apparent effects were in some cases described as colorful and vivid, or cryptic, none of the cheeses tested were found to induce nightmares. However, the six cheeses were all British. The results might be entirely different if a wider range of cheeses were tested. Cheese contains tryptophan, an amino acid that has been found to relieve stress and induce sleep.

Lactose

Cheese is often avoided by those who are lactose intolerant, but ripened cheeses like Cheddar contain only about 5% of the lactose found in whole milk, and aged cheeses contain almost none. Nevertheless, people with severe lactose intolerance should avoid eating dairy cheese. As a natural product, the same kind of cheese may contain different amounts of lactose on different occasions, causing unexpected painful reactions.

YOGURT – 2 Samuel 17:28-29

YOGURT – 2 Samuel 17:28-29

Since the earliest days of the Israelites, sour or curdled milk (or curds) was mixed with honey, flavored with dates, raisins, grapes or other fruits or nuts. Those curds, many Bible scholars believe, were what we now call yogurt.

Tradition says an angel promised Abraham that he would live a long life if he ate the biblical version of yogurt. He lived to be 175 years old!

Today, in parts of Turkey, Armenia and some of the more remote regions of the Caucasus Mountains, there is an unusually high number of very old people. Men and women often live well beyond 100 years while maintaining healthy, active lifestyles.

The reason is they eat plenty of yogurt. The longevity theory has never been tested on humans. But when scientists with the US Department of Agriculture were researching the effects of yogurt on salmonella infections in mice, they discovered one astonishing side effect: the mice that were fed yogurt did more than beat the infection – they lived much longer than those that were not given yogurt.

Yogurt is highly regarded all around the world as a super source of bone-building calcium.

 It may prevent colds and allergic reactions, fight cancer and strengthen the body’s immune system

. It also lowers bad cholesterol levels, prevents dangerous intestinal infections, improves bowel function and blocks ulcers.

Research has shown that once inside the intestinal tract, the lactobacilli in yogurt embarks on a search-and-destroy mission. Its target is E. coli bacteria that sneaks into our bodies, multiplies and wreaks havoc on the entire digestive and elimination system. E. coli makes us sick. In infants, it can cause diarrhea which can become fatal.

Yogurt also helps to maintain a normal balance between the “good” and “bad” bacteria that are constantly present in our bodies. Just a little dab of yogurt may be enough to cure most of the general gastrointestinal disturbances that are caused by a poor diet or infections.

Yogurt puts the bacteria we need into our systems and reactivates the energetic lactobacilli. With all the bacteria, yogurt is also a natural antibiotic, known to head off such diseases as dysentery and influenza.

Yogurt also lowers the bad cholesterol and raises the good cholesterol. To get the greatest benefits from yogurt, make sure it ingredients contain “live active cultures.” If it doesn’t state it on the label, it may not be real yogurt. The pasteurization process can destroy the active cultures necessary for yogurt to do its job.

GRAPE WINE – 1 Timothy 5:23

GRAPE WINE  – 1 Timothy 5:23

Making wine from grapes is one of the most ancient arts and the beverage of choice in the Bible.

 According to Genesis, one of the first things Noah did after the Flood was plant a vineyard to he could make wine.

Researchers are now rediscovering what the physicians of the Bible knew centuries ago.

 In moderation, wine has a profound impact on our health and healing.

 Just a single glass of wine a day may be enough to raise the good cholesterol by 7% and help the body put up a barrier to a variety of cancers.

One hundred years ago, doctors in France noticed that during one cholera outbreak, people who drank wine straight seemed less likely to be stricken than neighbors who added water to their wine. As a test, cholera and typhoid germs were added to containers of water, pure red or white wine and a half-and-half mixture of water and wine. Amazingly, while the germs in the plain water were unaffected, those cholera germs in both the wine and the diluted mixture were wiped out within 15 minutes. The typhoid germs in the wine lasted 24 hours before dying off.

Since then, similar tests have achieved the same results. But to everyone’s surprise, it turns out that the fermentation process releases polyphenols – chemical compounds that attack bacteria in much the same way that penicillin does.

 Researchers say that red win diluted in a 1-4 ratio with water has the same potency after 15 minutes as 5 units of penicillin per milliliter.

Wine also appears to help stop heart disease and cancer.

A study at the University of Ottawa in Canada concluded there is a clear link between wine consumption and lower rates of heart disease. Countries where more than 90% of alcohol is consumed in the form of wine have the lowest rate of heart disease deaths.

A British study of 100 men and women discovered that a single glass of wine or sherry everyday increased the HDL or good cholesterol. When the group abstained from drinking wine, the HDL level decreased.

Red wine also seems to strengthen the body’s defenses against cancer, just as it does against heart disease.

Researcher Dr. Hans Stich says “Wine, notably red wine, has high concentrations of gallic acid, one of the tannic acids that give the bouquet to the wine.

 Gallic acid is also anticarcinogenic.”

White wine may carry some of the same therapeutic benefits, but research so far seems to indicate that red wine is the most effective cancer-blocker.

WHEAT – Jeremiah 41:8

WHEAT – Jeremiah 41:8

For the people of the Bible, wheat was a great food treasure. It was a staple at most every meal. In addition, wheat could make the difference between life and death because of its nutritional value and the protection it offered against a host of disabling, often deadly, disorders and diseases.

Wheat was the “staff of life.” Because it was such an important part of everyday survival it became an important religious symbol for both Jews and Christians. An abundant harvest was a blessing from God.

Biblical people ate their grain boiled and parched, soaked and roasted, and even ate it green from the stalk. It was pounded, dried or crushed to be baked into casseroles, porridges, soups, parched grain salads and desserts such as puddings and flans.

Bible scholars say that Ezekiel’s Bread was intended to be a survival food during the dark days of the Babylonian conquest because it contains wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet and spelt. The Israelites put their faith in this multigrain foodstuff to maintain their health and stay fighting fit.

Much of the wheat the Israelites ate was actually the wheat bran, the outermost layers of the wheat kernel which is nearly all fiber.

 It is now well-established just how critical fiber is to healthy digestion and efficient bowel function. Wheat bran is also absolutely loaded with crucial B vitamins and protein.

Wheat germ ranks up there for its all-encompassing nutritional value.

 A ¼ cup packs 5 grams of fiber, as well as B vitamins, iron, magnesium and zinc.

 It’s also rich in chromium, manganese and vitamin E.

 Whole wheat bread contains triple the fiber found in white bread and is much richer in magnesium and vitamin B.

Wheat bran’s high fiber content is one of the richest dietary sources of insoluble fiber known. Nothing quite matches the power of this fiber in keeping wastes moving regularly throughout our systems.

The fiber in wheat is our best protection against – and cure of – constipation.

 It prevents intestinal infections, hemorrhoids, varicose veins, improves bowel function, and guards us against colon cancer.

Recently, a team of researchers at a nutritional clinic in England set out to compare the effectiveness of various vegetable fibers in our diets. Volunteers were given wheat bran, carrots, cabbage and apples to eat. The conclusion was that wile all the vegetables were useful, none came close to matching the effective of wheat bran.

Experts report that in other parts of the world where fiber intake is much higher than the US, colon and bowel disorder are rare. The same was true centuries ago in the lands of the Bible where fiber-rich diets, especially grains, were standard fare.

In a study in Finland, farmers whose normal diet is high in fats from dairy products, the rate of colon cancer was way down when it should’ve been very high, according to the American Health Foundation.

The reason is that these farmers also ate lots of whole grain cereal and whole wheat bread. This confirms the belief that the high fiber content of their diet somehow blocked the formation of the cancers that are often a result of a very high fat intake
.
Most people only need about 1/3 cup of 100% whole wheat bran cereal daily. But cereals and whole wheat breads aren’t the only way to add fiber. The Bible mentions several various types of grains and ways to use them.

According to most Bible scholars, the parched grain spoken of was the forerunner to tabbouleh, the bulgar-wheat salad which is still popular throughout the Middle East. Its popularity spread to other parts of the world with different variations.

The Bible’s cracked wheat, bulgar wheat and tabbouleh are actually whole wheat kernels that have been boiled, dried and cracked.
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ONIONS – Numbers 11:5

ONIONS – Numbers 11:5

Like its cousin, garlic, the onion is noted as a cure-all. And the folk healers hold it in high regard as far back as 6,000 years ago or more.

Although onion was only mentioned once in the Bible, it was within a list of foods with the best healing properties. Hence, its inclusion here.

Onions were considered such an important source of energy and endurance, wrote Herodotus, the Greek historian, that the Egyptian pharaohs spent nine tons of gold for onions to feed the slaves and laborers who built the pyramids. Whether of not it was an acquired taste history doesn’t say. But the Jews took a distinct fondness for the onion when they followed Moses into the wilderness.

So at least 3,000 years before the birth of Christ, onions were treasured both as food and for their therapeutic value – particularly in the treatment of kidney and bladder problems.

Onions have been used externally as an antiseptic and a pain reliever.

They’ve been taken internally as a tonic to soothe intestinal gas pains and to alleviate the symptoms of hypertension, high blood sugar and elevated cholesterol.

In some countries in the Balkans, people attribute their long life to a diet that includes high concentrations of onions and yogurt.

It’s said the fold remedies in many other cultures called for the juice of an onion and syrup made from honey to treat coughs, colds and asthma attacks.

 A tonic of onions soaked in gin or a similar distilled spirit was prescribed for kidney stones and to eliminate excessive fluids.

Modern herbalists recommend onion syrup as an expectorant (it helps eliminate mucus from the respiratory tract).

Onions are also believed to be diuretic and to reduce high blood pressure.

Onions also have a profound effect on blood cholesterol by raising the good and lowering the bad. In fact, Dr. Victor Gurewich, a professor of medicine at Tufts University, has made a careful study of cardiovascular disease and onions and simply advises: “Eat onions.”

The therapeutic components in onions also slow blood clotting in addition to regulating blood sugar, breaking up bronchial congestion and possibly preventing cancer.

Luckily, you don’t have to gorge on onions to get protection for your heart. Some doctors say as little as ½ a raw onion will boost good cholesterol by 30%.

 And a single tablespoon of cooked onions will nullify the adverse effects of eating a fatty meal.

Onions are also effective against bacteria like the deadly E. coli and salmonella.

 Onions possess a strong antibiotic that kills a variety of bacteria responsible for illnesses ranging from diarrhea to tuberculosis.

The people of the Bible were among the first to treat colds and similar ailments with onions. Now, technology is confirming that many of those age-old folk remedies have scientific proof.

OLIVES - OLIVE OIL

OLIVES - OLIVE OIL

The olive was certainly one of the most valuable and versatile tress of biblical times. It is mentioned frequently throughout the Bible.

Probably the most famous reference to olive oil and its healing powers is in the parable of the Good Samaritan, in which the Samaritan cares for a beaten and robbed traveler, treating his wounds with oil and wine.

Olive oil is a high-energy food and one of the most digestible of all fats.

The ancients of biblical times found ways to incorporate it in many of these meals.

 It was also used as a fuel, as part of religious ceremonies, as a cosmetic and to offer to guests as a sign of welcome.

 In addition to its healing properties as a food, olive oil mixed with wine was used to soften and soothe bruises and wounds.

The “anointing with oil” that was a sacred tradition among biblical people was probably done with olive oil.

One ancient piece of folk wisdom tells us that “olive oil makes all your aches and pains go away.”

For hundreds of years the benefits of olive oil nutritionally, cosmetically and medicinally have been recognized by the people of the Mediterranean which includes the Holy Land.

It was used to maintain the suppleness of skin and muscle, to heal abrasions and to soothe the burning and drying effects of the sun and wind.

Pliny and Hippocrates, the noted physicians of ancient Greece prescribed medicines containing olive oil and olive leaves as cures for such disorders as inflammation of the gums, insomnia, nausea and boils. Many of these old remedies have passed into tradition and become a part of folklore. But research today confirms that they are just as valid today as they were hundreds of years ago.

A study largely underwritten by the American Heart Foundation found that on the Mediterranean island of Crete, the mortality rate due to cardiovascular illnesses was the lowest in the world. They compared the figure and the diets with those of Finland and the United States. Those countries have the highest death rates from heart attacks.

The difference was in the types of fat in the diets. In countries with the highest rate of cardiovascular diseases, diets were heavy in saturated fats, which increased cholesterol levels. The saturated fatty acids are found in animal fats, such as butter and lard.

Monounsaturated fatty acids do not have cholesterol. Olive oil contains 56-83 percent of these acids, also called oleic acids.

Olive oil is rich in monounsaturated fats, which may lower blood cholesterol. A recent study found that LDL (bad) cholesterol levels can be reduced by some 7%

by substituting olive oil for margarine. Eating four or five tablespoons of olive oil daily dramatically improves the blood profiles of heart attack patients. And 2/3 of a tablespoon daily lowered blood pressure in men.

If you’re trying to reduce the amount of fat in your diet to avoid the risk of heart attack, think of olive oil as an ideal replacement. Anything you can sauté’ in butter, you can sauté’ in olive oil. Not only will you be helping your heart, but you’ll also be pleasing your taste buds.

The healthy aspects of olive oil are not limited to its positive effect in the battle against heart disease. The evidence is strong that it also retards cancer growth.

For example, olive oil seems to strengthen cell membranes, which makes them more stable and better able to resist the invasion of the “free radicals” that roam around through the body causing so much damage. Lately, free radicals have become major suspects as a leading cause of cancer.

Olive oil is rich in vitamin E, a great antioxidant. Experts believe that those antioxidants help human cells fight off cancer. In doing so, they fortify the cells and thus, slow down deterioration that accompanies the aging process since the cells are healthier and live longer.

Olive oil has been shown to reduce the normal wear and tear of aging on the tissues and organs of the body and the brain. And there may be more to the connection between olives and longevity because olive trees themselves have been known to survive for 3,000 years or longer!

Olive oil has been shown to reduce gastric acidity. It protects against ulcers and aids the passage of food through the intestines, thus helping to prevent constipation. It stimulates bile secretion and provokes contraction of the gallbladder, reducing the risk of gallstones.

Since olive oil contains vitamin E and oleic acid, it aids normal bone growth and is most suitable for both expectant and nursing mothers because it encourages development of the infant’s nervous system before and after birth.

Since olive oil works wonders at blocking the tendency of blood to clot, improving good HDL cholesterol levels and reducing the dangerous buildup of bad cholesterol in arteries, some experts now strongly recommend olive oil as an excellent way to cut the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

Physicians in Spain give heart surgery patients 4-5 tablespoons of olive oil per day as part of their recovery process. Within sic months, patients in one study showed so much improvement that they were deemed less susceptible to future heart attacks and strokes than patients who had not had the oil.

The University of Texas Health Science Center in Dallas also reported that the monounsaturated fats in olive oil dramatically lowered and favorable altered blood cholesterol.

 In tests on middle-aged people, olive oil reduced all blood cholesterol by 13% and the dangerous LDL cholesterol by an amazing 21% !

University of Kentucky researchers found that as little as 2/3 of a tablespoon a day reduced blood pressure in men by 5 systolic points and four diastolic points.

Caution: Olive oil has a slight laxative effect. So add it to your diet gradually.

Tip: The more pure the Olive oil, the better. Spend a little extra and get Virgin Olive Oil.

WALNUTS – Song of Songs 6:11

WALNUTS  – Song of Songs 6:11

Botanists today believe that Solomon’s “garden of nuts” referred to in Scripture was a rich grove of walnut trees. At the time, walnuts were prized for the oil they produced, which was regarded as only slightly inferior to olive oil.

The fact that walnuts were a delicious treat and highly nutritious was an added bonus.
In other cultures of the time, walnuts were thought to bring good luck and good health. The Romans called it the “royal” nut.

Again, it was no accident that these people of biblical times who included nuts in their diets apparently were not troubled by many of the health disorders that seem to plague us in these modern times such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes.

The belief that nuts were a powerful healing food continued into the Middle Ages. Walnuts were considered so powerful that they were included in a prescription to ward off even the dreaded Black Plague that swept Europe throughout the Middle Ages.

We now know that nuts contain the right mixtures of natural ingredients whose benefits include cancer prevention, a lower risk of heart disease and help for diabetics.

The oil found in walnuts is considered healthful because it is one of these “good guy” polyunsaturated fats and tends to lower blood cholesterol levels.

Nuts are just as much a part of the daily life and diet today in the countries surrounding the Mediterranean as they were in biblical times when Jacob instructed Judah to send them as a gift to Joseph, the governor of Egypt.