Bible Health Guide
By Philip St. Vincent Brennan
Chapter Nine
Bread, Grains, Fiber, and Miracle Herbs
Bread was really the staff of life for the people of the Holy Land. Also important were oats, millet, and barley. They are free of fat, loaded with minerals, the all-important B vitamins, protein, fiber, and zinc. They are rich in no-fat fiber, and metabolize slowly, providing nutritional energy and fending off hunger pangs for long periods.
Millet
Millet is the king of grains. It's richer in vitamins, minerals, protein, and unsaturated fat than any other grain, and is loaded with essential amino acids, vitamins A & C, riboflavin and thiamin, potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, iron, and fluorine. It contains lecithin, a producer of choline, which helps to keep cholesterol in a semi-liquid state, thus helping to prevent some forms of gallstones, hardening of the arteries, and blood clots.
Bran
Eating just two ounces of oat bran a day lowers cholesterol levels. A large bowl of oat bran every day will help boost the levels of good cholesterol after about three months.
Researchers say that wheat bran can help prevent colon cancer. In one study, it was shown that eating just one ounce of all-bran cereal shrank precancerous polyps in just six months.
Bran also promotes regularity. Adding high-fiber wheat cereals, 100% whole-wheat bread, and miller's bran to your daily diet can keep you regular and prevent constipation.
Nutrition experts say that adults who sprinkle a couple of ounces of miller's bran on their cereal every day will never have a problem with constipation. It's known that wheat bran fights breast cancer by lowering the body's estrogen production. Rich in the B-family of vitamins, iron, magnesium and zinc, wheat germ contains lots of chromium, manganese, and vitamin E. A mere quarter of a cup has five grams of fiber! Just sprinkle a quarter cup on your breakfast cereal.
Brewer's Yeast
Brewer's yeast is one of the richest sources of all the B vitamins.
It also contains such valuable minerals as selenium and chromium, and immune system-boosting nucleic acid. It's also loaded with a wound-healing substance known as Skin Respiratory Factor (SRF), used in the antihemorrhoid medicine Preparation H. It is probably the reason that patent medicine products have been said to treat wrinkles and other skin problems. Studies in the U. S. and Israel have shown that SRF and glucan, another substance in brewer's yeast, speed wound healing.
Herbs
The Israelites used spices and herbs to flavor their food, and in the process reaped their health-giving benefits. Herbs such as ginger and other spices are tasty, and have plenty of healing power, so adding them to your regular diet is easy—you simply pep up your food with them. But all of them are valuable weapons in the war against disease.
Among the spice herbs, ginger stands out for its dual powers as an enhancer of food and as a healer. Medical studies have shown ginger to be a valuable aid in overcoming sea-sickness and other forms of motion sickness. It also relieves indigestion and nausea, and soothes abdominal cramps. It is recommended by some herbal experts for the relief of menstrual cramps as well.
Asian researchers have reported that ginger can kill flu viruses and boost the immune system, and for centuries herbalists have used the spicy root to relieve arthritis symptoms, an idea now bolstered by research that shows ginger to contain anti-inflammatory substances.
A study reported in the New England Journal of Medicine revealed that ginger reduces cholesterol levels, prevents blood clots, and lowers blood pressure.
Feugreek
Get it at your supermarket. It is known to help control insulin production and balance sugar levels, and is valuable in treating diabetes. Fenugreek also helps prevent diarrhea, treats ulcers, and has anticancer properties. It also lowers blood pressure.
Horseradish
Scholars say that horseradish was the bitter herb into which Jesus dipped his bread at the Last Supper.
It has long been used as a decongestant and expectorant to help break up mucus in the airways, and to clear the nasal passages and lungs. Horseradish speeds up the fat-burning metabolism to burn off excess calories. It's a powerful diuretic that eliminates excess fluid from the body and cleanses the system of toxins. As a spice, it adds zest to food.
Turmeric
This spice, also widely available on the spice racks of supermarkets, contains a blockbuster compound, curcumin, a first-rate anti-inflammatory agent that has proven helpful in relieving arthritis. Studies show it can prevent blood clots, lower cholesterol, protect against cancer, safe-guard the liver from toxicity, and lower blood sugar in diabetes patients.
Mustard
Mustard has the same medicinal effects as shown above for horseradish.
Bible Health Guide Table of Contents