Trying Sumac For Antioxidants

**UPDATE**

 As a CKD stage 3b patient, I cannot eat a lot of sumac. While it's highly antioxidant and a diuretic, I found some information that will keep my use of it at a minimum. As always, you should talk with your doctors before trying anything new in your diet. Just because something is healthy that doesn't mean it is healthy for you!

 Have any of you ever heard of Sumac? Have you ever used it?

I had never in my life heard of Sumac until the other day. It was mentioned in a chat among other sarcoidosis folks as being very high in anti-oxidants. It's been about 4 years since I blogged about ORAC numbers (ORAC = Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) and measurements of antioxidants in foods and other things. Sumac is on one of the lists I posted but... I guess because I had no idea what it is, I just spaced it out.

Anyway.

Let's talk about Sumac. When it was mentioned as being such a healthy spice, my American brain immediately thought salty/savory or spicy hot. What a surprise to learn that it is more sour/lemony/tangy.

When I heard about the flavor makeup, I realized that I probably would not use Sumac on meats. I started Googling for more info on the spice, looking for other ways I could use it. I started seeing all these recipes for "Sumac Lemonade" and I got so excited at the description "Think hibiscus-tea-meets-pink-lemonade!" on this page.

I have been drinking so much water the past few months, there are days when I feel I could float away. I occasionally drink calorie-free sparkling water but I always want something with a little oomph to it. Maybe this could be it?

Other than wanting the supposed health benefits, I would also like to forgo any sodium. I have ordered a sodium-free powder and today is the day. I wrote all of this so that I could take some photos and do a taste-test before I give you my opinion. Kind of an on-the-spot/in-the-moment blogging thing. So, give me one minute...

Okay. Here is what I think after trying it right out of the bag, then on a small piece of baked salmon, as a hot tea, and as a cold "lemonade".

Right out of the bag, this was such an interesting flavor. It's weird because it's new but kind of familiar somehow. (Keep in mind that this brand has sodium and I will be testing a salt-free one soon.)

It's salty-tart with a taste of hibiscus. Interesting. I knew right away that, yes, I would be able to eat this on savory foods. So, why not?

On the salmon - a leftover bite of some I had baked with a little butter and nothing else (I like seasoning the salmon on my plate). The sumac I have is dry so I moistened the fish with a few drops of water and warmed it in the microwave. I lightly sprinkled it with sumac and, man... That is tasty. It's almost like I used a blend of seasonings instead of just the sumac. The piece of fish was way too small so I'm going to have to make some more so I can use a little more butter with the sumac. But, yes, yes, yes, the sumac is definitely a "go" with the fish. This particular brand is salty to me so maybe that's why it was good on the fish?

As a hot tea, this was better than I expected but way too salty. I had to add a little bit of sugar. It was pretty yummy but I will wait until I get a brand that is totally salt-free.

The "lemonade" is just what I threw together by making a larger glass of the tea, adding a bit of sugar, and letting set all morning in the fridge. I think I like this salty brand better cold than hot. Still...

I have contacted the seller about the salt in this. They mark the label as "no added sugars" and there is zero sugar shown. However, they don't label it as "no added salt" and the sodium shows as being 77mg per tablespoon. When you say "no added" whatever, I take that the whatever is naturally occurring. When you just show an amount, then I think it's added. That's not a lot of sodium and, as I said, it worked on the fish. The thing is, I have since seen the label of another brand showing zero sodium. 

Bottom line, this is a yummy spice with a lot of seasoning possibilities. I can tell that I would not need to add any salt to the salmon. However, there is no way that I would add this brand to non-savory drinks and smoothies. I am hoping to return this one and get a salt-free version. I really wanted this to use as a tea and lemonade.

To summarize:

Antioxidants are important. Do your research. Talk with your medical care team or health care providers. Ask questions about antioxidants found naturally in foods and beverages.

Peace

--Free

**REVIEW** Organic Black Seed Oil

Here I go, trying another oil for my health.

From Sun Essential Oils

That right there, folks, is Black Seed Oil. Another of the remedies that's supposed to be good as an anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory because of the Thymoquinone in it.

(Believe it or not, I actually take most of the oils and other natural remedies I talk about here; I just stagger their use and try not to overdo it.)

I have managed to gag down a dose of this for a few days. It's tough though. If my sister were here, she'd say that this oil could "gag a maggot". I can barely get it down and I only take a little less than the teaspoon recommended.

Looks harmless. 

First off, the smell is off-putting. Black Seed Oil smells like what I imagine crude oil to smell like if you threw in a couple drops of car-ready gasoline. I am very serious. I have to plug my nose every time I bring the spoon anywhere near my face.

Next up, this oil has one of the weirdest textures ever. And I use lots of oils - face oil, hair oil, skin oil, foot oil. If there is an oil out there on the general market, I have probably tried it. Just like with the smell, the texture of this reminds me of the stuff I see being drained out of car engines.

This is the streaky, stinking, residue in a little bit of orange juice I used to mask the taste. (The orange juice did nothing to mask the smell or taste, by the way.) Notice how it sort of clings to the sides of the cup? Yeah. That's the way the taste clings to the tastebuds.

By the way, I was so concerned about the taste that I Googled it, and apparently, lots of people use words like oil, turpentine, gasoline, and motor oil to describe it. I have a tribe.

As I said, I wanted this oil for the anti-blah blah blah properties. When I was reading up on it, I learned that it's possibly good for weight loss. That's no wonder. For about two hours after I take this oil, I can't eat or drink anything else without that nasty taste echoing back into my mouth. I really can taste this stuff for the longest time. However, I do think there is something to the weight loss thing. For some reason (and not just the gag factor), my appetite goes way down after taking this first thing in the morning. Not sure what that's about because I haven't done much more research.

I didn't realize how small the bottle was going to be with that 9 dollar price. I just wanted to get one that had the best reviews and feedback at a decent price. At first, I was a little annoyed that the bottle is so teensy -

- but after tasting this stuff, I am glad I will quickly finish it off. I like what it's doing to relieve some of my general fatigue so I will probably buy more - in a pill form. though.

As far as using this on my skin or hair, that is a big old nope. This smells as strong and awful as Neem oil does - just in a different way. I don't want to walk around smelling like I work at Jiffy Lube. I have enough issues.

Some benefits (it is claimed) of using this oil on the hair and skin:

• Anti-Bacterial In Nature. The oil is anti-bacterial in nature and when applied on the skin may prevent acne by fighting off skin infections
• Packed With Antioxidants
• Fights Hair Fall
• Improve Hair And Scalp Health
• Fights Skin Infections

The smell of it could run off any kind of infection, I am sure. Still, I am tempted to use it when I know that I won't have to get within 50 feet of another human being. If you want people to keep their distance during this COVID thing, just wear some of this oil or some Neem oil. Yuck.

If you do decide to try this orally, I suggest just taking it straight. Swallow it down fast and then take a sip of lemon or lime juice. If I try any on my hair and skin, I will certainly let you know how that goes.

To Summarize:

There are natural remedies for health and wellness. Do your research. Talk with your medical care team. Ask questions. Find out what other people are using to solve problems/issues similar to your own.

Peace
--Free

**REVIEW** Cascara (aka: Coffee Fruit Tea)

**UPDATE** I have CKD stage 3b. I have learned that that I have to be careful using this coffee product. As always, you should check with your medical care team before adding or trying anything new in your diet. Every healthy thing is not healthy for everyone. 

So, way back about this time last year, I was talking about coffee and some of the brands I like drinking black and sugar-free. Luzianne was my favorite for that but I haven't been able to find it lately. Well, I can find it all over Amazon but only if I want to use my entire grocery budget to pay for it.

Anyway. I'm not here to talk about regular coffee.

I might have mentioned it in that coffee post or in another of my rambles but the product I am talking about today is cascara - also known as coffee fruit and coffee fruit tea. So, coffee but not coffee the way most of us are used to it. Actually, cascara is the husk of the coffee bean. It kind of looks like extra-dry raisins.

It's an interesting thing, cascara. Nothing like coffee and nothing like any tea I've had. The taste of it is more of a fruity-syrupy-tasting beverage. As a matter of fact, I just realized that the taste reminds me a bit of raisin. Hmmm.

Hot or cold, the taste is about the same but I do prefer it cold. If I drink it hot, I am tempted to add honey to it for some reason.

As a beverage, it's referred to as cascara tea. Odd, right? Since it's the husk of the coffee bean. The husk is actually considered a "waste" product. Eat Cultured is more concise and precise, saying:

"Cascara, which translates as "husk" or "peel" in Spanish, refers to the outer husk of the coffee cherry that wraps around coffee beans. Since it's essentially the "fruit" of the coffee tree, it's also a valuable source of fiber and antioxidants." (source)

I am drinking the tea because of those antioxidants. I've been talking about ORAC values again recently and I am happy to say that cascara tea is the best-tasting thing I've tried from that list. 

By the way, this happens to be the brand I am trying. I ordered from Amazon but the coffee is from Twin Engine Coffee. 

They do have a Facebook page and they were super-responsive to questions and requests for info.

I think it's a shame that cascara has been getting tossed away all this time. We all ingest a lot of silly foods and beverages and we've been trashing something as ORAC-packed as cascara. Makes me wonder what all else has been going to needless waste...

Anyway, I have been replacing about half the daily coffee I drink with the cascara. I will either drink it cold and solo or add it to one of my sparkling waters. Last week I had a dry night-time throat so I sipped on some of the hot tea with raw honey before bed. It didn't keep me awake and it was soothing to my throat. 

One of the benefits I heard the tea offers is a mild laxative effect. I have not found myself with a huge change to my, er, movements but I do feel a bit more regular. I also pee a lot. That's because I tend to drink a lot of clear or sparkling water with the tea or after having some. I've read reviews where other people feel more of an energy boost.

I am always fairly fatigued, even on the best of my days, and I haven't noticed a prolonged boost of energy but I do seem to be a little more focused for a few hours after drinking a couple cups of tea. 

Now that I am used to having the tea as a staple, I am learning that the best way to prepare it is by soaking some beans overnight so that I have the drink on hand for the next day. This is not a brew-and-go tea. Even when steeping in hot water, it takes a while to get a decent cup. It's just easier for me to always have some soaking and ready to either heat up or drink cold.

It didn't come in that tacky jar.
I just wanted to show what it looks like

If I start noticing any better energy effects over time, I will update this post. Keep in mind that the drink might be more energizing to someone with more normal health.

The price of the tea is reasonable and I am sure that as I shop around, I will find even better prices. One thing I plan to do is to dry the remains of the used husks and dry grinding them to add to smoothies. I want to get every last bit of use from the tea.

Until I have an update, that's it for now.

Peace

--Free

P.S.: Since I wrote the draft of this post a few weeks ago, I do have an update. I have been baking a lot of bread and have a couple of times added the liquid from the tea in place of water. Results are not bad.

I hope the post makes sense. I went back in and added a little info and photos just now so. Please forgive any errors.

**Info Probe** Tumeric (for flavor, health & beauty)

Since I posted about the types and benefits of butter (and ghee), I've been thinking of some of the other easily accessible products that we could all be taking advantage of. I'm thinking mainly of food items that lots of other cultures already make use of - and that we Westerners don't.

Turmeric became one of my favorite cooking powders several months back. I started adding it to my coffee and baked foods when I heard that it was supposed to be anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory. Due to the aging process (and maybe some of the meds I've been on), I needed the anti-inflammatory properties. What I didn't know about turmeric is how many other healthy benefits it can have.

Just like when I was posting the information about butter, I want to point out that it pays to look to a variety of cultures for healthy ideas. Turmeric is, I learned, used in Ayurvedic medicine for treating a number of disorders. Of course, I know very little about the religious/spiritual aspects of Ayurvedic medicine, I can appreciate the things that are beneficial to physical health.

Other than the flavor it adds to food, one of the things I like most about turmeric is the vivid yellow color of the powder. When I bake meats and veggies, I love to add the yellow turmeric with some deep red curry powder.

The yellow color is not just something to please the eyes. Apparently, the main active ingredient in turmeric is something called curcumin. The amounts of curcumin found in turmeric is small and since it's not easily absorbed by the body, some people prefer to get the curcumin in higher doses via supplements. On the other hand, curcumin is better absorbed when combined with fatty substances or black pepper. I am intrigued by the anti-oxidant (and other healthy) claims of a curcumin extract so I've ordered some. Of course, I will let you all know how that works out.

As far as non-food/uses for turmeric, you've probably already heard about using it as an eyeshadow. I think the first time I heard about that was when everyone was doing beauty hacks using cocoa and sugar and other kitchen staples. I'm careful about what I will use on my face - even natural products. I suggest that anyone planning on experimenting with this will make sure to use a lot of caution. I'm not sure if turmeric can

Just for kicks, I did a quick search for beauty tips using turmeric and... there are lots. Pinterest is, of course, loaded with various ideas and then there are all the folks selling books and products that include turmeric. As soon as I saw that turmeric can be used for hair removal, I was out. Here's just one link to give you an idea of some beauty uses. Like I said, proceed with caution.

Because I really like the Wellness Mama site, I wanted to include this link about turmeric. I was paying attention to the cautions as well as to the general info provided.

Since turmeric is mainly used for food, I am including some links for using it in the kitchen:

• I had not thought yet of adding it to my greens! I'm gonna be all over this next time I cook up some collards and kale. There is also a recipe for a ginger-turmeric tea that I want to try out.
• I hate slideshow articles but , hot dang, if Bon Appétit doesn't make stuff look yummy.
• Recipe for making golden paste  - which pairs turmeric with the pepper and oil to increase absorption.
• A few more ways to use turmeric and golden paste in foods/beverages.

So, there you go. There are lots of reasons to look into using turmeric and lots of ways to do so. If anyone has any tips and/or recipes, don't be shy about sharing.

Peace
--Free

**NOTE - For anyone who, like me, wondered if curcumin was the same as cumin, the answer is no.  Maybe I ought to do my next Probe on cumin!



No-brainer DISCLAIMER: I assume you all know that I am not a doctor or any other type of medical professional. You should use your common sense and your doctor's advice when it comes to your health.

**FOLLOW UP** Honey as a Healing Agent

It's not often that I get to come back and give details of dramatic results about products I've reviewed. It's an awesome feeling.

Back in April, I was posting about the different types of honey. My main interest was in the great taste and the natural healing powers of the different varieties. I've been using honey for a long time - adding it to my beverages and cereals, and just taking a little bit by the spoonful when I'm not feeling well. Honey is a great throat soother and, because of the sarcoidosis, I tend to cough. Sometimes, I cough so much that I get hoarse, and all my life I've been prone to laryngitis. Honey has become a regular part of my natural medicine cabinet.

In the past several weeks, I've broken out with a rash. It started like a minor dry-skin problem but it was isolated to small sections on both ankles and in minute patches on my palms and fingers. My hands healed rapidly and the rash never even really developed past the minor stage. I suspected I was suffering from a lack of iodine and, since I have some J. Crowe's, I took a few drops every day. The dry spots on my hands healed up, but my ankles got worse. I stopped taking the iodine and contacted my doctor. It's possible that my meds (chemo and an infusion treatment) may be the cause, so I have an appointment coming up to check on that. In the meantime, I tried using a hydro-cortisone cream. Moisture is not my problem, though, and the cream wasn't helping much.

I know that doctors must hate patients who go all renegade with their own healthcare and, because I trust my specialist more than he will ever know, I usually don't do anything without checking with him first. That rash was driving my nuts though! It is dry and ugly and it was starting to itch. Of course, you know me...

I woke up last night because the rash was feeling itchy. I went straight to my natural medicine shelf. I still don't have any of the whole manuka honey, but I do have an antioxidant honey blend that has some manuka in it. ----->>>>>>>>>>

















This is what the rash looked like yesterday (and this doesn't even show how scaly and dry it was!)

This is how I dressed it after applying a good dollop of honey with a Q tip:

This is what the rash looked like once I washed off the honey with a warm wet towel:

To be fair, the lighting and color from the camera seems better, but the difference really is this startling.  Best of all, the itch is gone. I am probably never going to be able to afford a decent amount of Manuka honey, but that might be all right. I'm hearing more and more about Scottish heather honey. Because the price is affordable ($17/12-oz jar), I've ordered some from Amazon using my saved up reward points. Another bonus: a high iron content in the heather honey.

For now, I'm just excited about how the honey blend I used has helped with this rash. I can't wait to tell my doctor. Well, I can kind of wait because I know he'll probably give me one of those looks!

You have to admit that this is pretty impressive. It proves to me what I've heard for years - from my mother and all those old ladies from my youth. Honey can be a natural healing agent.

Like I said, it's not often that I can come follow up with such dramatic results, but honey really, truly did do the trick for me. I still need to see what caused this, but I'm hoping that, until I see the doc, the honey continues soothing the itch and moisturizing the dry patches.

I'm not recommending that anyone substitute honey for medical care - I'm certainly not doing so. I just wanted to share my personal experience in this one instance. By the way, I did double check some references once more before I actually applied the honey to the rash on my foot. I found some sources that back up what my mama taught me about honey and healing:

• This, from a wound care journal, about using honey in dressing wounds, and
• an overview of honey uses from Web MD (yeah, yeah, yeah...).
• Some background about the use of honey in healing.
• Here is more objective (and scholarly) info on the subject from the NIH Library of Medicine.

Peace
--Free

ORAC Numbers. Really?

When I was looking up information on the different oils the other day, I learned something new. There is a system for scoring the antioxidant value of common foods.

Did any of you know about this? If you did, why didn't you let a sister in on the news???

Anyway.

source

The ORAC thing is a little more complicated than I just stated but, if you want the nitty gritty on that, you can check Wikipedia. That's what I did.

I'm interested in the ORAC values of food, of course, but I do most of my reviews on essential oils. I was happy to see that there are E.O.s listed on the charts I found. At least, there are some E.O.s listed.

Here are some more charts and other information (sources as shown via links). Thanks for all the sources for having the information out there to share with the rest of us.


The USDA has a PDF downloadble that's kind of complex. Kind of. Or maybe it's just me.

Well Being does a better job of explaining antioxidants for the laymen

Superfoodly has a searchable list that's awesome. I mean, it is searchable. (And how cool is the name 'Superfoodly'?)

Bio Source Naturals has a chart and a Pinterest-friendly graphic.

source

It's been hard to find a chart of ORAC numbers for only E.O.s, so I'm showing a bunch for now.

source

source

Now, as for me and my house, the following are the most common oils & EOs that have been used (and some that I have recently started using). I will show their ORAC score if I can find it.

• Jojoba oil
• Camelina oil 
• Baobab oil
• Lemon EO 660
• Argan oil
• Grapefruit 22,600
• Lavender EO 360
• Peppermint EO
• Clove EO 1,078,700
• Frankincense EO 630
• Castor oil (reg)
• Castor oil (Black Jamaican) 
• Myrrh 379,800
• Peach (I have Peach kernel oil)
• Rosemary (I steep the leaves for a skin & hair spray) 330

I am still on the hunt for more numbers. In the meantime, isn't it interesting to look at which EOs have the higher numbers? I noticed that, other than Clove, I don't hear as much about those high number EOs. Might be something to think about when adding to your supplies, huh?

Since I started on these numbers, I thought I might as well add some Pins and charts for the ORAC score of foods and such. I mean, healthy is healthy, and beauty is a holistic kind of thing.

source was temp down

source

Source: A Handy Guide to Antioxidants

Peace

--Free