Grapefruits, Lemons and Limes

These are great fruits to keep around during the summer to keep you cool and give you plenty of vitamin C.  Eat a grapefruit mid-morning or at lunch.  In the afternoon, cut a lemon or lime in half.  I use 1/2 a lemon or lime, but some may like a whole one during the day.  Squeeze the juice into your water, add a pinch of sea salt to taste.  Sea salt has trace minerals.  It's not like table salt.  Your body utilizes all the minerals in the sea salt.  Don't forget to eat the pulp of the lemon or lime.  Remember, eat the whole food because it is packaged with all the nutrients that work synergistically. 

All 3 of these fruits are loaded with vitamin C.  This is a great way to keep your immune system boosted all summer long!

Rose Hip Tea

Rose hip tea is an excellent source of Vitamin C.  When I had gum problems I drank lots of rose hip infusions.  This is a natural way to get your Vitamin C without taking a lot of pills.  You can even mix it with other teas or infusions.

Roses were used by American Indians for a number of ailments such as mouth sores, fever sores, blisters, diarrhea, and for the male and female reproductive systems.  The parts of the rose that can be used are the petals, hips (buds), leaves, leaf buds and bark.  Use rose hips for colds and flu and to boost the immune system.  Rose hip nutrients are:  Vitamin C, B complex, carotenes, Vitamin E, selenium, chromium, niacin, phosphorus and many more.

Here's how I make my Rose Hip Tea
1 quart jar
1/4 - 1/2 cup dried rose buds (or 1-2 handfuls)
boiling water

Pour the rose buds into the jar, pour in boiling water and steep up to 4 hours.  You can drink part of it and refrigerate the rest for the next day.  Or just drink it throughout the day.

A great place to get rose hips is Mountain Rose Herbs

Pineapple-ness

c2008 Shanna Ohmes

I love pineapple. It adds a great tangy flavor on pizza and that Christmas ham. But did you know all the health benefits of this exotic fruit?

Pineapple has sugar, Vitamin C, bromelain, potassium, calcium, manganese, and fiber. Bromelain helps break down protein and also fights infections.

The list of ailments that pineapple can help relieve is varied. I'm sure as more research is done, we'll see this is truly an amazing fruit, as most of nature's plants are.

Pineapple is an anti-inflammatory and can be taken internally or applied topically. All the properties of pineapple aid the digestion, which is the seat (pardon the pun) of our health. Other benefits are:

• helps relieve angina and clears out plaque and blood clots
• clears bronchial passages, relieving coughs and loosening mucus
• symptoms of arthritis are lessened
• use after surgery and injuries, it repairs connective tissue
• builds healthy bones- for the young and old alike-good for those with osteoporosis
• use for colds
• gum disease, which leads to heart problems
• prevents and relieves constipation
• prevents and relieves nausea

The suggested use is 200-250 ml of raw pineapple juice daily (3x day for angina).
Include raw pineapple itself for the fiber to help process the juice.

I can attest to the pain relieving benefit. I injured my elbows while pulling weeds in the garden this summer. I could not pick up a glass of water without almost dropping it. This last week I started drinking a pineapple smoothie everyday, and within a week the pain is almost gone and I can now pick things up.

This is the smoothie I made up:
1 c. pineapple juice
1 c. orange juice
1 c. milk or yogurt (I use whole raw goat's milk when available, or 1/2 c. whipping cream and 1/2 c. milk)
1/2 of a 15.25 oz can of pineapple chunks, or you can use some fresh pineapple
2 bananas
6 ice cubes

Blend on ice crush setting in your blender. This makes 2 servings.