Citronella Oil: A Newspaper's Answer to Dengue

Mawbima, a Sri Lankan newspaper, is certainly doing its part to fight dengue.

During the country's National Dengue Week in April 2014, the paper published a series of articles to educate their readers about the dangerous mosquito-borne dengue virus. And they infused their printing ink with citronella oil!

It seems incredibly genius and obvious! Citronella oil is widely used as an insect repellent. So why not use it in the newspaper?

Here's a great video from LeoBurnettAsia explaining it all.

What is dengue?

The dengue virus is transmitted by infected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Dengue fever, which is caused by the dengue virus, has symptoms like high fever, headaches, joint and body pain, nausea, diarrhea, and rashes. Although there is no cure, dengue fever is manageable with rest, constant re-hydration and painkillers.

However, severe cases of dengue fever result in dengue hemorrhagic fever. Symptoms such as stomach pain, persistent vomiting and diarrhea, weakness, breathing problems, and internal bleeding do occur. For children or patients with other complications, dengue hemorrhagic fever can be fatal.

Dengue Stats

The World Health Organization estimates there are between 50 - 100 million dengue infections per year. The infections are mainly concentrated in Asia and Latin America. WHO also estimates 500,000 of these cases are diagnosed with dengue hemorrhagic fever.

Mawbima newspaper is doing its part to help reduce dengue infections. We should do ours too! Get citronella oil!

Bay Essential Oil

Bay essential oil is pretty unique. It comes from the West Indian bay tree (also called the bay rum tree). And West Indians use it for colds and rheumatism. Learn more about bay essential oil.

Quick Glance at Bay Essential Oil

Pros: Bay essential oil is anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and anti-bug.

Cons: The main compound in bay essential oil (eugenol) is known to irritate mucous membranes.

Precautions: Check with your doctor before using especially if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.

Properties of Bay Essential Oil

You can find some properties of bay essential oil below.

Name

The botanical name for the West Indian bay tree is Pimenta racemosa.

Sometimes bay essential oil is confused with bay leaf or bay laurel essential oil. The latter's botanical name is actually Laurus nobilis and is quite different from the bay tree. That's why it is so important to verify the botanical names before buying your essential oils.

Color & Smell

Bay leaves are used to make this essential oil so it retains its flavorful spicy scent. The oil also has a deep yellow color.

Components

About 35 compounds have been found in bay essential oil but the main compounds include: eugenol (which makes up about 45% of the oil), myrcene (25%), chavicol (10%), limonene (3%) and linalool (2%).

Benefits of Bay Essential Oil

Here are just some benefits of bay essential oil.

1. It is anti-inflammatory

As I said before West Indians use bay oil for rheumatism. And, this study proves it's more than just folk medicine. The study showed that bay essential oil had anti-inflammatory properties and provided participants with pain relief.

So use it to reduce inflammation, ease arthritis pains, and more.

2. Bay oil is antioxidant

A 2007 study proved bay essential oil had free radical scavenging and antioxidant capabilities even at very low concentrations.

This is amazing since free radicals can damage your skin, cause wrinkles and may encourage cancer cells to develop. Yikes! We certainly don't want that!

3. Bay kills microbes

Bay essential oil is one of the best antimicrobial essential oils.

That is according to a study that compared the antibacterial and anti-fungal properties of more than 52 essential and carrier oils. The study showed bay oil inhibited drug-resistant microbes (i.e. super hard to kill microbes) at concentrations lower than 2%. Imagine what 5% could do?!

4. It kills spiders too

There are several studies that prove bay essential oil is a potent arachnid killer. That means it kills arachnids like spiders, mites, and ticks, even at very low concentrations.

5. Bay essential oil kills insects

Basically, bay essential oil murders everything you really don't like. It is a powerful fumigant, as evidenced by this study that tested the effects of 98 essential oils on cockroaches. And it showed larvicidal and insecticidal properties in this study on mosquitoes.

So if you have a bug, spider, bacterial, or fungal problem, reach for bay essential oil! It'll kill 'em all!

Uses of Bay Essential Oil

You have seen just how powerful bay essential oil is. So now let's look at the uses of bay essential oil.

Inhaling

Add 1-2 drops of bay essential oil to your diffuser for a wonderful spicy smell. Note, eugenol is known to irritate mucous membranes like your nasal cavity and throat. So use the oil sparingly in your diffuser.

You can also blend bay with other spicy essential oils like eucalyptus, ginger, rosemary and ylang ylang.

Massaging

If you are using bay oil for the first time, do a patch test! It is too powerful to be trifled with.

Once you're not sensitive to the oil, you can add 1-2 drops of bay essential oil to 1 teaspoon of carrier oil (i.e. 1-2% concentration) before applying it onto your skin.

Cleaning and Repellent

Lastly, you can create your own cleaning solution and bug spray. Aim to create a 1-2% mix with water and/ or alcohol because you don't need much to get the job done. Pair it with other repellent and antimicrobial oils like citronella, peppermint and tea tree for an extra powerful all natural spray.

Get Bay Essential Oil:

What's next?

Return to:
- Essential Oils Listing
- Carrier Oils Listing

Why We All Need to Rise and Dine

This is the first part of a three part, Back-To-School series, focusing on the benefits and strategies for eating a healthy breakfast, lunch, and dinner for busy folks and families.  This week focuses on why we all need to rise and dine.


For Phyllis McCourty, making sure her identical twins had a healthy breakfast each morning before school was a top priority.  “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day so I made sure that my boys started each day off with healthy foods they liked: cereal, milk, and fruit,” claimed Mama McCourty.

Good call. 

Photo:  NFLRush.com

Years and cases of cereal, fruit, and milk later, Mama McCourty produced not one, but two, current National Football League (NFL)  players: Jason McCourty, who plays for the Tennessee Titans and Devin McCourty, who plays for the New England Patriots.  Mama McCourty has given a new meaning to the phrase “the breakfast of champions.”

While eating a healthy breakfast may not necessarily guarantee that you or your child will land a career in the NFL, it clearly has health benefits.  From your brain to your waist, eating a healthy breakfast can help you and everyone in your family in numerous ways.

Research continues to emerge that skipping breakfast can negatively affect alertness, attention, memory, and problem solving for children and young adults in the morning hours.  Children have a higher rate of metabolizing glucose, the fuel that feeds the body, in their brains as compared to adults.  This higher rate of using glucose, coupled with their longer nighttime slumber, puts children at a higher risk for depleting their storage of glucose, called glycogen, in their body overnight.  Thus, eating breakfast, or “breaking the fast” so-to-speak, is physiologically important to provide children with the energy-charged glucose to kick start and fuel their brains.  Translation:  If your child wants to ace school, acing breakfast may help. 

Research also suggests that children who do not eat breakfast are at a higher risk of being overweight.  For adults, the evidence is mixed whether or not eating breakfast will help you stay trim.  However, what we do know is that eating a healthy breakfast is not associated with being overweight and even may help you better manage your weight.    According to the National Weight Control Registry, a common trait among individuals who have successfully maintained their weight loss is that they eat breakfast daily. 

Lastly, the quality of the breakfast eaten is also important.   A review of over 20 studies suggests that habitually eating a high quality (providing at least 3 different food groups), nutritious breakfast may have a positive effect on a child’s academic performance in school.   Here is a picture perfect way to  visual what this would look like:

If having breakfast at home is a scheduling nightmare for your child, the National School Breakfast Program is a hidden gem.   The program operates similarly to the National School Lunch Program and provides a healthy breakfast at school containing at least three food groups and can be free or purchased at a reduced rated based on the family’s needs.  

Because of the healthy habits their mother has instilled in them, both Jason and Devin McCourty have committed some of their off-field time to the Fuel Up to Play 60 program, which is the nation’s top in-school wellness program. The program created by the National Dairy Council and NFL encourages students to eat healthy and be active and is designed to let students take the lead with the program at school. Fuel Up to Play 60 is offering funds to schools to expand their school breakfast program. 

Another good call.

Be well, Joan

Follow Joan on Twitter: @JoanSalgeBlake

Bergamot Essential Oil

Bergamot essential oil has a wonderfully unique odor. That's why it is the main ingredient in eau-de-cologne and many other perfumes. See more about bergamot essential oil below.

Quick Glance at Bergamot Essential Oil

Pros: Bergamot essential oil reduces depression, relieves pain and protects against free radicals, cancer and neuron damage.

Cons: Alpha-bergaptene (a compound in bergamot oil) is photo-toxic and can cause skin irritation and redness when exposed to sunlight.

Precautions: You should get bergaptene-free bergamot essential oil to reduces chances of skin irritation.

Bergamot Oil Properties

Here are some properties of bergamot essential oil.

Name

Bergamot's botanical name is Citrus bergamia.

From the name alone, you can tell bergamot is part of the citrus family. It is the hybrid of sweet lemon and sour orange trees. So naturally, you would expect bergamot to have that familiar citrusy smell and wonderful health benefits.

When looking to buy this essential oil, you may come across wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa). Wild bergamot is actually a herb from the mint family and not citrus related. So be sure to double check the botanical names when buying bergamot essential oil.

Color & Smell

Bergamot essential oil has a greenish to yellow-green color. It also has a sweet citrusy, floral scent with balsamic tones.

Components

Over 30 compounds have been found in bergamot essential oil. The main ones are: linalyl acetate (which makes up 41% of the oil), limonene (26%), linalool (15%), and gamma-terpinene (10%).

Other notable compounds in bergamot oil are beta bisabolene, alpha-bergaptene, alpha-bergamotene, terpinolene, myrcene, and geranial.

You should know alpha-bergaptene (sometimes spelled bergapten) is photo-toxic. That means it can burn your skin in the presence of light. So if you are exposed to sunlight with bergamot oil on your skin, you will see skin redness and irritation, similar to a really bad sunburn.

Don't swear off bergamot oil though. Many essential oil brands sell bergaptene-free bergamot essential oil, which isn't photo-toxic and is safe to use outdoors.

Benefits of Bergamot Essential Oil

Here are a few benefits of bergamot essential oil.

1. Bergamot oil eases anxiety and depression

There are many studies that prove bergamot's calming effects.

One 2008 article showed that terminally ill cancer patients felt less anxious and less depressed after being given a 5-minute hand massage daily for one week. The massage blend included bergamot, lavender and frankincense essential oils in sweet almond oil.

Another study asked young, healthy individuals to either listen to music or inhale bergamot essential oil for 15 minutes. The results proved that doing both together was a very effective method of relaxation.

2. Bergamot relieves pain

The same calming effects of bergamot essential oil also caused a reduction in pain felt by the terminally ill cancer patients, mentioned above.

So you can use bergamot oil to calm your nerves, reduce your depression and relieve pain!

3. Bergamot may be anticancer

Another benefit of bergamot essential oil is that it has cancer fighting properties. And there are many studies that prove this!

A 2013 study went further and noted the combined effects of the main compounds, linalyl acetate and limonene, were responsible for cancer cell deaths caused by bergamot essential oil.

4. It may be neuro-protective

Like if these bergamot essential oil benefits weren't enough, the oil also protects your neurons and nervous system. It does this by reducing excitotoxic neuron damage which has been linked to strokes, traumatic brain injuries, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and alcoholism.

Way to go bergamot!

5. It is antioxidant

A 2010 study compared the antioxidant properties of 25 essentials oils and proved bergamot EO was one of the most antioxidant oils tested.

6. Bergamot oil is antibacterial

Bergamot, like many other essential oils, is very effective against bacteria. And the main compound linalool is responsible for its antibacterial effects.

7. It is anti-fungal

There are many studies that prove bergamot essential oil is antifungal. This 2007 one went into great detail too. It tested bergamot against 7 common types of dermatophytes (fungi) that cause athlete's foot, jock itch, ringworm and nail infections. The study proved bergamot oil is a potent antifungal agent.

8. It is also an insecticide

Another one of bergamot essential oil's benefits is that it kills insects and larvae. And linalyl acetate and linalool are the compounds responsible for these effects.

Bergamot Essential Oil Uses

You have already read bergamot essential oil benefits and properties. Here, you will see how to use bergamot essential oil.

Inhaling

You can add a few drops of bergamot essential oil to your diffuser to ease your anxiety and depression. And adding grapefruit oil creates a wonderful citrusy scent. Geranium essential oil also combines well with bergamot to create a great mood booster.

Mixing bergamot with marjoram, lavender, wild orange, frankincense, vetiver, and Roman chamomile oils makes an effective sleeping blend. All these calming oils can send you straight to dream land.

Massaging

It is really important to get bergaptene-free bergamot essential oil if you are planning on using this oil on your skin. Otherwise, bergamot oil is phototoxic and will cause you to get dark spots when you go outdoors.

And if it is your first time using bergamot, do a skin patch test to make sure you aren't allergic to it. Here's a quick guide on doing your own patch test.

Once you are not allergic, you can combine 2-3 drops of bergamot essential oil with any carrier of your choice and massage the blend on your skin. You can even follow the blend mentioned above under the first benefit of bergamot. Combine 1 drop each of bergamot, lavender and frankincense essential oils to 5mL of sweet almond oil and give yourself a wonderful hand massage.

You can also use the bergamot-carrier oil blend to ease pains, especially menstrual cramps. Adding clary sage to this blend also helps with pain relief.

Finally, you can add 1 drop of bergamot to 1 tablespoon of fractionated coconut oil and store the blend in a dark container. You can take a few drops at a time and apply under your arms for a deodorant replacement. It makes you smell amazing, I mean, bergamot is the main ingredient in eau-de-cologne after all!

More precautions

Like with all essential oils, please check with your doctor before using bergamot especially if you are pregnant, breastfeeding or planning to use it on small kids.

Get Bergamot Essential Oil:

What's next?

Return to:
- Essential Oils Listing
- Carrier Oils Listing

Photo Credit: Copyright: mirina | 123RF Stock Photo

Can Chickpeas Help You Lose Weight?

Source:  Pulse Canada

Could eating pulses, which are a specific type of legumes that includes, dried beans, peas, chickpeas, and lentils, help you better manage your weight?  Maybe…according to a recent study published in the journal, Obesity. 

In this study, researchers in Canada systematically reviewed nine studies involving a total of 126 subjects and uncovered that individuals who consumed about a cup of pulses as part of their meals felt about 30 percent fuller after eating that meal compared to when they consumed a similar meal without the pulses.   This study was partially funded by Pulse Canada and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, which is the equivalent to the National Institutes of Health in the United States.  

Other studies have also shown that adding pulses to meals can help increase satiety or that feeling of fullness after you eat.  Feeling full or satiated after eating may help you avoid snacking on unwanted calories between meals.

“Pulses are not only high in fiber and a good source of protein, but also contain a type of starch that is digested more slowly,” states John L. Sievenpiper, MD, at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto and the senior researcher in the study.  “All of these attributes help explain why pulses can make you feel fuller, or increase satiety, when consumed as part of a meal.”

Swapping out other sources of protein with pulses can also reduce some of the calories at the meal without sacrificing meal satisfaction.  Try these mealtime ideas:

• Using a ½ cup of kidney beans (105 calories) instead of the same amount of shredded cheddar cheese (227 calories) on your lunchtime salad will shave off a fair amount of calories.  
• 
  
• Replacing part of the ground beef in a chili recipe with black beans can cut over 225 calories from the entrée.
• 
  
• Adding a combination of beans, chickpeas, veggies, and some pasta, can create a meatless, minestrone soup that ladles up only 343 calories for a hearty 2 ½ cup dinner serving.  Add a salad with the meal and you will likely be stuffed until you go to bed.

Your waist aside, a heart-healthy diet containing dried peas and beans, which are low in saturated fat and cholesterol-free, has also been shown to help lower high blood pressure and cholesterol. 

Enjoy!

Joan

Follow Joan on Twitter:  @JoanSalgeBlake

Basil Essential Oil

Basil is one of my favorite herbs. It's so good on pizza! And basil essential oil has some awesome benefits. Find out more about basil essential oil, its properties, benefits and uses.

Quick Glance at Basil Essential Oil

Pros: Basil essential oil is antioxidant, anticancer, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial.

Cons: -

Precautions: Check with your doctor before using basil essential oil.

Properties of Basil Essential Oil

Here are some properties of basil essential oil that you should probably know.

Name

The botanical name for basil is Ocimum basilicum. Be sure to check this name when buying the essential oil. You will also come across sweet basil. But don't worry, it's the same thing.

Color & Scent

Basil essential oil has a light green color and smells mildly peppery just like the herb.

Compounds

At least 25 compounds have been found in basil essential oil. The most prominent ones are: methylchavicol or estragole (which makes up 45% of the oil), geranial (20%), neral (15%), geraniol, nerol, and caryophyllene.

Basil Essential Oil Benefits

The properties and compounds in the oil add to the many basil essential oil benefits. Here are just a few of them.

1. Basil essential oil is anti-inflammatory

This oil is able to reduce any redness, swelling and inflammation you may have. In fact, a 2014 PLoS One article proved basil essential oil was highly effective even at very low concentrations. The article went on to show just one drop of basil oil added to one teaspoon of carrier was able to give a 98% reduction in inflammation. Impressive, right!

2. Basil is antioxidant

Free radicals are harmful compounds that can damage your cells' DNA while antioxidants are free radical scavengers that neutralize these radicals and stop them from harming your body.

Basil essential oil has very powerful antioxidant and free radical scavenging effects! That is according to the study mentioned above (in #1).

3. Basil oil can kill cancer cells

The same 2014 article also investigated basil's cytotoxic effects on prostate cancer cells. The study revealed basil essential oil has significant anti-proliferative effects and recommended the oil for anti-tumor drug designs.

Basil essential oil is just amazing!

4. It is antibacterial

There are a lot of studies that prove basil oil kills bacteria. A recent one was published in the Food Science and Nutrition Journal in 2014. It showed basil essential oil was very effective against several types of bacteria including E. coli and Staphylococcus aureus (the bacteria that causes skin infections and sinusitis).

5. Basil oil is anti-fungal

The study outlined above also proved basil oil can kill fungi, even at very low concentrations. And the fungi tested in the study were Aspergillus niger (the fungus that causes black mold in plants) and Candida albicans (the species that causes yeast infections and nail fungus).

So use basil oil to take care of all your mold, yeast and fungi problems.

6. It fights ear aches

A 2005 animal study published in the Journal of Infectious Disease tested basil oil on ear infections. Two drops of the oil were added to a piece of cotton wool and placed over the ears of infected rats. A few days later, more than 75% of the infected rats were cured.

These effects were due to the antibacterial and antifungal benefits of basil essential oil.

7. Basil essential oil is an effective insecticide

Another 2014 study, this time in the Parasite Journal, tested the effects of basil essential oil on mosquito larvae and the protozoa species that causes malaria (Plasmodium falciparum). The results were promising. The study recommended the oil for the development of insecticides and anti-malaria products.

There you have seen some of the many basil essential oil benefits.

Basil Essential Oil Uses

Let's now look at some basil essential oil uses.

Inhaling

Add basil essential oil to your vaporizer for a wonderful, spicy aroma. You can also pair the oil with other spicy blends like marjoram, rosemary, and sage.

Massaging

Before using basil essential oil on your skin, do a patch test to make sure you are not sensitive or allergic to the oil. Once you don't see any redness, feel free to add 3-5 drops of the essential oil to 1 teaspoon of any carrier oil for massaging.

More Precautions

Be sure to get the all clear from your medical practitioner before using basil essential oil. This is especially important if you are pregnant, breastfeeding or planning to use it on small children.

Get Basil Essential Oil:

What's next?

Return to:
- Essential Oils Listing
- Carrier Oils Listing

Gourmet Foods For You and Your Pooch?

Source:  ift.org

Megan Lokay, a 25-year old accountant, has food preferences of that a typical millennial in her generation.   She reads labels to make sure that the food she is buying is healthy and eats only organic fruits and vegetables.  What’s good for Megan is good for Teddy Lokay, her 14-year old Lakeland Terrier who eats only homemade meals of fresh, cooked lean ground beef or pork and vegetables with a side of whole grain oatmeal.  Salmon-flavored treats are part of his daily diet.

Since the majority of pet owners consider their four-legged pets as members of their family, it’s not surprising that a Mintel report showed almost 80 percent of the adults surveyed believe that the quality of the giblets in their dog and cat dinner bowls on the floor is as important to them as the quality of food being served on their dining room table.   This attitude is just hunky dory with the pet food industry who wants to cater to this upscale trend.  

According to the Institute of Food Technologist (IFT), the sale of specialty foods and beverages for people and their pets has boomed to $70 billion in 2013. While gourmet chocolate, specialty oils, and cheese were the top specialty foods on the list for human consumption, foods that look and taste like human foods and marketed to improve the pets’ health were the best-selling new pet foods last year according to IFT.  

Believe it or not, you can now buy gluten-free food and energy bars for dogs and merlot flavor treats for cats.    In fact, pet food specifically designed to mimic the human nutrition concerns that we are hearing in the media, such as antioxidants and probiotics, are in high demand among pet owners:

Source:  ift.org

From a nutrition standpoint, are these specialty pet foods really better for the health of your pet?  Not necessarily, claims Cailin Heinze, VMD, Assistant Professor of Nutrition at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University.   “Pet owners are being marketed to buy these specialty foods that contain buzz words such as natural, organic, antioxidant-rich, or grain-free, yet there is no evidence that these expensive pet foods lead to better health,” claims Heinze.    “Rather, it is more important that the food be made by a reputable company that follows the nutrition guidelines for the pet’s appropriate life stage as determined by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) and that the pet is doing well on it.”

Rather than look to the Internet or advertisements for the answers to your pet’s nutrition concerns, Heinze recommends that you talk to your veterinarian, or if you have more in-depth questions or your pet has complicated healthy problems, a Board Certified Veterinary Nutritionist, for your nutrition advice.  These specialists are veterinarians who have continued their training in nutrition with a residency and have passed a board certification examination administrated by the American College of Veterinary Nutrition.

Teddy, the Lakeland Terrier, was assessed by his veterinarian to be allergic to chicken and in the need of more nutrient-rich vegetables and treats in his diet.  These dietary changes have made a noticeable improvement in his health.   Click here to find Board Certified Veterinary Nutritionist in your area. 

Be well, Joan

Follow Joan on Twitter at:  @JoanSalgeBlake