Participants: Agatha Thrash, Don Miller
Series Code: HYTH
Program Code: HYTH000165
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00:01 Hello, I'm Agatha Thrash, a staff physician from
00:05 Uchee Pines Institute 00:06 Here, we deal a good bit with foods and most people 00:11 like very flavorful foods... 00:14 They like them intensely flavorful. 00:16 Some of them pungent enough that they might even be 00:19 harmful to us. 00:20 During the next half an hour, we'll be talking about some of 00:23 these things... having to do with very flavorful foods. 00:27 You might like to join us and see which of those are good 00:30 and which may not be good. 00:52 Welcome to "Help Yourself to Health" 00:54 with Dr. Agatha Thrash of Uchee Pines Institute 00:57 And now, here's your host, Dr. Thrash 01:01 You have probably heard the old proverb... 01:04 "Variety is the spice of life" 01:09 We like to say that and, in fact, we like to have 01:12 our food so that it's spiced up 01:14 And we even say that about our food... 01:16 when it's nice and spicy, we say... 01:18 "This is a variety of food that we like very much" 01:24 And so, as we think about spicy foods and very flavorful foods, 01:29 some of which are intensely flavorful... 01:32 such things even from salt to cinnamon. 01:35 We sort of like all of these and we believe that we have 01:39 done well when we have food that tastes so pungently 01:43 flavorful that we call it a spice. 01:46 Some of these spices are SO STRONG that they actually burn 01:49 the insides of the mouth. 01:51 If they burn the inside of your mouth... 01:53 is it possible they may damage you somewhere else? 01:56 They may be uncomfortable in the blood or 01:59 maybe in the kidneys or perhaps in the digestive tract. 02:03 We'll be discussing some of these issues and 02:06 what makes a spice a spice, or an herb and herb... 02:09 and if there are some ways that we can get nicely flavorful 02:13 things without using something that may harm us. 02:16 I have asked Dr. Winn Horsley, who is one of my colleagues at 02:20 Uchee Pines, to join me in presenting this program. 02:24 This is Dr. Winn Horsley, a staff physician at Uchee Pines 02:28 originally from Canada and now lecturing widely 02:33 in the United States and one of our teachers at Uchee Pines 02:37 ...A staff physician who sees a lot of our patients, 02:42 is a board certified physiatrist 02:46 and we're very happy to have you with us today. 02:49 So, with all of this, now I'd like to ask you some things 02:53 about herbs... not having to do with patient care much but 02:57 ...what is the difference, or how can we distinguish, 03:02 or does it make any difference... 03:04 what is a culinary and a medicinal herb. 03:09 What we use in the kitchen and what we might use 03:12 to help people who are sick with something... 03:14 I think it is a worthwhile distinction. 03:18 A "koolinary" or culinary which is the right way? 03:23 Well let's see, with all your language talents, 03:28 maybe you could say what it ought to be... 03:31 Culinary or "koolinary?" 03:32 Culinary is what I've heard maybe more... 03:34 But in my experience with spices, actually I would 03:39 say that Mexico has given me more background than any 03:42 and there in Mexico, they do use kitchen spices quite a lot. 03:49 Of course they're used here in the U.S. 03:51 And the big distinction, I think, is this... 03:54 aside from just saying one is for the kitchen and food, 03:57 and medicinal herbs are for sicknesses, 04:00 and it's this... that if it is spices or herbs for food, 04:06 it's something that you would hopefully be able to use 04:09 quite continuously time after time without any ill effect. 04:15 And a medicinal herb would hopefully not have to be used 04:21 very much... it would be used, you know, perhaps for a few days 04:25 to get a person over the hump of some sickness that he's in 04:28 and perhaps, if one could tolerate then, some negative 04:34 features to it if it were to be used for a long time 04:37 but one would put up with that 1 or 2, or even a dozen uses 04:41 for the days that the person is sick. 04:43 Are you thinking of something like ginger? 04:46 Yes, now people might argue on that one... 04:50 I was never one that was very happy with ginger cookies though 04:57 ...That kind of hot taste didn't attract me 05:01 But the Orientals, I've heard... they love to use ginger 05:05 customarily in their cooking and perhaps it could be argued 05:11 that it has a place as a culinary herb... Um hm 05:13 In places in Asia where I have been... 05:17 the use of ginger is VERY widespread but EXTREMELY 05:23 small quantities. 05:25 You're hardly aware that it's in the food. 05:29 Sometimes you may say there's a flavor here that I 05:33 think I recognize but I don't know what it is... 05:36 and they will say it's ginger... 05:38 And of course, then you say... "Well yes it is, it's ginger" 05:42 But, you have not been so aware of it... not like 05:46 gingerbread cookies... Okay. 05:47 You know, you can tell the difference quite a lot. 05:49 Now that actually makes a good point because ginger 05:53 in those instances is being used as a culinary herb... 05:57 And yet, it is a very effective medicinal herb 06:01 It relieves nausea, dizziness, motion sickness. 06:09 A study was done comparing it to one of the common antiemetic 06:14 or motion sickness drugs that's used... Dramamine 06:17 And they found that the ginger was just as effective 06:21 but without the side effects. 06:23 Now, a lot of times, we are concerned about anything 06:27 that's used just ordinarily... 06:30 we're concerned about its use in pregnancy. 06:33 Do you know if it's safe in pregnancy? 06:36 Whether it is or not, when my sister was pregnant, 06:39 and had an awful lot of nausea... just intolerable, 06:42 I sent her quite a dose of it, to put into little capsules 06:46 I don't think... maybe I did look that up, 06:50 I don't think that there is a danger to it in pregnancy. 06:52 I have also just looked and have NOT found anything 06:57 that would indicate that there was any danger in pregnancy 07:00 ...but didn't know if anything new had been discovered on that 07:04 But, I have always felt quite safe in telling a woman who has 07:08 nausea and vomiting of pregnancy that she could use ginger. 07:13 And, if you consider the drug alternatives, 07:16 there's no comparison... 07:18 I would absolutely take the ginger... Absolutely! 07:20 ...because the drugs work through the nervous system 07:24 and ginger works more locally. 07:26 So we can be very thankful for that. 07:29 Then there are some other herbs and spices that you might 07:36 think of as being something you can use for a short period 07:40 rather than on a long-term basis... 07:44 ...something like cinnamon 07:47 Now I know that in a lot of countries and, in fact, 07:50 in this country, we use quite a lot of cinnamon... 07:54 It's a favorite... 07:56 It was a favorite of mine in childhood... cinnamon toast 07:59 It was one of the best things ... Oh, and mine too 08:01 and cinnamon tea and cinnamon buns and rolls 08:05 I never got to know cinnamon tea until I was down in Mexico 08:08 I was in the north of Mexico where they have pretty cold 08:11 winters and they would serve a BIG kettle of cinnamon tea 08:16 to the whole church group that had gathered 08:18 And it was amazing, the effect was that you'd come in with 08:22 quite cold fingers and toes, you'd drink the tea 08:26 and within a few minutes, they would just warm up 08:29 It was a very definite effect. 08:31 It wasn't just warming up from being in the warm room. 08:33 It was a sort of flush that you could feel in the fingers 08:38 You could feel that blood just going through the fingers. 08:41 Yes, I remember a similar thing with Russian tea 08:44 I don't know if it originated in Russia. 08:47 I actually had it in Canada... 08:50 Russian tea... and it had a very strong cinnamon taste... 08:56 A delightful tea... this was probably 40 years ago 08:59 and I remember having cold hands and the flush 09:03 that you would get from it. 09:04 I had forgotten about that until you mentioned that. 09:09 But, it is very good to warm up the hands. 09:14 In that regard, I think one should say something 09:18 because people often use alcohol for that effect too 09:21 It does cause dilation of blood vessels and brings 09:24 blood to the extremities. 09:25 In either case, it would be unwise to use it if the person 09:30 is going to be facing more cold weather... 09:32 Because in fact, that is going to cause more loss 09:35 of one's body internal heat. 09:37 So, I've read stories of where someone would take his 09:41 bit of alcoholic beverage when he's still out facing 09:44 the cold and it would bring on, you know, cold... 09:48 He thought he was doing something good and it actually 09:50 made him freeze to death... That's right. 09:52 Well that, of course, is a thing that we need to be 09:55 concerned about anytime we tell someone to use 09:59 this or that for a special effect. 10:02 I have asked Shannon Jenkins to show us some other things 10:08 that can warm up the hands, and one thing that's VERY nice 10:12 is a hand rub. 10:17 You know hand rubs and arm rubs 10:21 are not the most common thing... 10:24 We usually think of a back rub or a foot rub 10:26 but not a hand and arm rub. 10:29 And, the several times that I have had the very GOOD 10:32 opportunity to have hand rub, I've always been very 10:37 happy for that. 10:38 It has made quite a great deal of difference 10:41 to the way that I felt, and I was also amazed 10:46 that I felt, during the time that I was getting the rub, 10:50 that I actually needed it... 10:52 Maybe I felt that my arms were under spasm, 10:56 or I was more tired than I had thought... 10:59 and just does marvels of good. 11:02 So, I have asked Shannon Jenkins to show us how to do a 11:07 hand and arm rub. 11:09 Shannon is a Lifestyle Educator student in our classes 11:14 at Uchee Pines, 11:15 and this is Melissa Thrash, under the sheet here, 11:19 who is going to be the very happy recipient of a 11:22 hand and arm rub. 11:23 So Shannon, show us how that goes. 11:26 Begin by putting a sheet over the client that you are 11:30 going to be massaging... 11:32 And then, over the arm, just place your hands and press 11:38 This is the first thing you do before your skin 11:41 touches their skin. 11:42 That looks as if it might be VERY relaxing... 11:45 Yes, it is very nice and you just go up and down 11:48 the arm once. 11:49 Then you'll want to uncover the arm and apply something... 11:54 I have lotion here but that's actually not the best thing 11:57 to use because it will soak in quite fast. 12:00 Massage oil or cream is much better. 12:04 You want to just, with a long stroke, apply this. 12:09 Well, that looks soothing. 12:13 All the way down the arm. 12:15 Just do this a couple of times... 12:17 Hold the wrist with one hand while you do this. 12:20 It looks Like you sort of get a rhythm there that goes in a very 12:25 soothing way up and down... Um hm... 12:27 Hand over hand... 12:28 And then on the upper arm, just lift and squeeze the skin. 12:35 That massages the biceps muscle there. 12:39 We can do it on the back also... get the triceps. 12:44 And the tired muscles just relax under your hand. 12:49 And move to the forearm and do the same thing. 12:52 ...A long, smooth stroke. 12:56 And then lift and squeeze on the top and underneath. 13:04 And, on the other side of the arm, with the thumb 13:07 just alternate with each hand... 13:10 long, smooth strokes. 13:15 And then go all the way up the arm again 13:21 And all the way back up to the hand... 13:23 and with your thumbs, rub back and forth on the back 13:27 of the hand. 13:30 There are bones right in here, you can feel in between 13:33 the bones... push just lightly up to the wrist bones 13:41 and then down on the knuckles of the fingers, 13:44 circle each knuckle and lightly press in between and then 13:48 slide down and pinch right at the end. 13:52 Just go around each knuckle, slide down, pinch at the end. 13:57 Around every finger just the same way. 14:03 Piano players would really enjoy this... wouldn't they... 14:06 after they've had a session of practice... Yes 14:11 All right... then you turn the hand over and just rub 14:17 in like a fan-sort-of-motion, back and forth. 14:21 So you start with those big muscles down there at the 14:25 heel of the hand... Um hm 14:26 And then take your thumb and press and go kind of in a circle 14:31 in the middle of the hand. 14:34 And the person just concentrates on relaxing... Yes 14:38 If they get tense, just give them a little shake there 14:41 and they will loosen up... 14:44 Looks as if she's pretty loose. Yes... 14:48 The metacarpals here, you kind of shake them to loosen them 14:52 up a little bit and make them a little more relaxed. 14:57 Now, raise the arm above the head and rest it on the hip 15:03 And with your hands towards the back of the arm, 15:05 go down with pressure and come lightly up... 15:09 and down on the other side, and come lightly up. 15:12 Now you're squeezing UP or you're squeezing together? 15:15 Together... Ah ha 15:17 Squeeze your fingers together and slide up... Okay 15:22 Repeat that a few times... 15:24 And then rest the elbow on your abdomen and go 15:30 with a smooth stroke down to the shoulder and slightly drag it up 15:39 And then, a nice long stroke and come up here 15:45 and just lift and squeeze on both sides 15:53 ...a nice long stroke and then return it to the table 16:00 and do a nice long stroke and then... 16:05 Is that a light stroke now? 16:07 Yes, a little bit of pressure.. but not too hard. 16:10 Does that mean you're about to finish? Yes. 16:14 Then slowly just tap their arm and you can do a 16:20 nerve stroke lightly with the fingers and then 16:24 drape their arm again and do compressions one more time 16:32 ...down and up the arm. 16:36 And that finishes it. 16:38 Now I can already tell, that she is much warmer than she was 16:41 Here, let me check... Sure enough! 16:45 The hand is a lot warmer than it was. 16:47 Now I'd like to point out that while Shannon has been taught 16:51 how to do this in a class, you can see that 16:54 it's so easy to do, that anyone can do it... 16:57 It's simply a rub and it can do the same kind of thing 17:00 for you by physical means that many people depend 17:07 on something chemical, like the cinnamon tea. 17:10 So it's very easy to accomplish this kind of thing without 17:15 going through the nerves. 17:17 Thank you Melissa and Shannon 17:19 and we'll let you take this with you as you go. 17:24 And I am SO grateful that the Lord has made it so that we can 17:28 respond to this kind of thing. 17:31 Now, we also respond in the extremities with various foods 17:37 that we eat. 17:38 And, I have a very nice demonstration for you with 17:44 Lidia Seda. 17:45 Lidia is a Lifestyle Counselor at Uchee Pines 17:50 and knows a lot about foods... 17:52 So what are you going to tell us about foods today? 17:55 Well, Dr. Thrash, what I'd like to share with you today 17:58 is about vinegar. 18:00 Vinegar is commonly used in salad dressings, 18:04 and in pickles. 18:05 Now, the thing is that vinegar, basically is apples, 18:10 or some sort of product that's been decomposed 18:13 and it's fermented. 18:15 Usually the flavor that we may taste from vinegar 18:20 is an acetic acid and that acid has been known 18:24 to cause problems with nerves and the stomach. 18:27 And, in actuality, vinegar in of itself, can cause gastritis 18:33 Between that, aspirin and alcohol, they're the top 3 18:38 gastritic causes or the cause for gastritis 18:42 in the United States. 18:44 And, what we also have found is that, as I mentioned, pickles 18:49 also have vinegar. 18:50 But it's possible to have vinegar-free pickles, 18:55 and if you would like to have that recipe, 18:58 just please contact... WWW.3ABN.org 19:05 and then go onto the link and you would be able to be 19:09 connected with the Uchee Pines website and this way 19:14 you will be able to get that recipe... 19:17 But, right now, let me also share with you about 19:20 for other ways of food or products being fermented 19:25 even within our bodies. 19:26 If we are eating in between meals, 19:29 there is fermentation. 19:32 Our food should be digested within 5 hours. 19:36 If food is delayed more than that time, 19:38 fermentation starts to begin. 19:41 Even eating something as small as an almond perhaps... 19:43 or even a slice of an apple can cause fermentation 19:48 if our food has not been able to digest... have a full 5 hours 19:53 to digest, then what happens? 19:56 Well, Dr. Agatha, we have problems again with gastritis 20:00 We might have problems with perception. 20:02 Our thinking is just not the way we would like it to be. 20:05 We may also get a headache... 20:07 That's also true... 20:08 A stomach ache, a backache, 20:10 and we may not function well. 20:12 And it's poor functioning when the stomach gets out of order, 20:16 the whole body is out of order. 20:18 And, I think also, what they have found is that 20:21 children, if they're given candies or cookies, even juice, 20:25 in between meals, they have found these young people 20:30 to be more susceptible to infections as well. Um hm... 20:33 So, the best idea is... 20:35 Have our children eat their meals, 20:37 take nothing between meals, 20:39 and they will eat a better meal and be healthier for it. 20:43 Exactly... That's very good, thank you so much, Lidia. 20:46 You're welcome. Appreciate that about vinegar... 20:48 And, of course, if vinegar gets in the bloodstream, 20:52 the acetic acid gets in the bloodstream, 20:54 then we can have damage to the kidneys as well. 20:58 ...And this just means bad news everywhere 21:02 So acetic acid, which is what gives the sour flavor 21:05 of many salad dressings and the like, 21:08 is not the very best for the interior of the body. 21:12 Now, Don Miller has some things that I would like him 21:16 to present for you on what a culinary and what a medicinal 21:22 herb might be and what can you do to substitute for 21:28 spices in the kitchen. 21:30 This is Don Miller, who is a 21:32 Lifestyle Counselor at Uchee Pines. 21:34 It's the big debate... you know there's lots of debates in the 21:37 food arena. 21:39 What's a fruit? What's a vegetable? 21:41 And also the one about... 21:43 Which is an herb and which is a spice? 21:46 And we don't really want to debate this too far, 21:48 but I'm going to mention a few that we consider to be spices 21:52 and what I differentiate between an herb and a spice... 21:56 A spice... when it's hot in your mouth is heating your mouth 22:01 with an aromatic oil... 22:02 And when you swallow that aromatic oil, 22:05 it stays hot all the way through your body. 22:07 These are things like curry, nutmeg, cloves, ginger... 22:12 ...we've already mentioned some of these... cinnamon 22:15 And, granted, they taste great. 22:17 But they do burn all the way through. 22:20 And we find that countries who take things like the hot spices 22:26 like red pepper or cayenne... 22:29 these things burn the mouth, burn the body... 22:32 And the countries that use a lot of these products, 22:34 seem to have more esophageal and stomach cancer. 22:37 We find countries like India with their curry... 22:40 We find countries like Mexico with their cayenne pepper... 22:43 And then we find places like Korea, as Lidia just mentioned, 22:47 with the fermented foods in their kimchi, 22:50 will have large incidences of esophageal and stomach cancer 22:54 And so, these things are burning all the way down 22:56 and all the way through the body. 22:58 There are other things that we take that are also 23:00 very hot in the mouth. 23:01 I've bitten into some onions that would make my eyes water 23:05 but that's an enzyme, and as soon as it's in the stomach, 23:08 it's denatured and it's no longer burning. 23:11 Garlic can do the same thing... 23:13 And so I find that if I want to spice up my food, 23:16 I spice it up with things like onion or garlic. 23:20 Now I don't think I'd really want to have a 23:22 sweet roll with garlic on it... 23:23 So how do I make a sweet roll that used to be the old 23:26 cinnamon bun... cause I used to love cinnamon buns! 23:30 You can make some nice combinations with things like 23:32 cardamom and coriander... 23:34 ...usually about 4 parts of coriander with 1 part cardamom 23:39 mixed together and sprinkle that over it. 23:41 Now, we've got to be honest with ourselves, 23:44 we're used to the taste of cinnamon... 23:47 and now, we're trying to break the habit. 23:49 Just like trying to break the habit from chocolate to carob. 23:53 At first, it doesn't quite taste the same... 23:56 As a matter of fact, for some people, it's no where 23:57 near the same. 23:58 But, it's an educated taste that we develop, 24:01 and the more you use these things, 24:02 the better they will taste. 24:05 So, let's learn how to use the herbs... 24:07 like thyme and all these very nice herbs that we can find. 24:12 I don't want to mention them all... you can go to your 24:14 grocery store and see a whole shelf of the things 24:17 Learn to cook with nice herbs in your food... 24:19 And stay away from these things that burn your mouth 24:22 and burn all the way through. 24:23 And I think we'll find ourselves having a little bit 24:25 better health in the long run. 24:27 Yes, I feel quite certain that we will. 24:30 I have, right here, a report showing that the active 24:34 ingredient in cinnamon, cinnamaldehyde 24:37 is probably toxic to human cells. 24:40 So, that really hurts me because I really 24:44 do like the flavor of cinnamon. 24:46 Thank you so much... Don Miller 24:48 Then, I have here another big one... 24:50 and that's curcumin. 24:52 Curcumin is in turmeric and we have a lot of Oriental foods 24:58 and some South American foods depend on turmeric 25:03 for a nice color and a nice flavor. 25:06 Turmeric is one of those what we might call a spice 25:13 for the kitchen that is also medicinal 25:16 If it has irritating qualities, it's only very slight... 25:21 not very big, just very slight irritating properties 25:26 and curcumin has some anti-inflammatory properties 25:32 and some slight anticoagulant properties... 25:36 meaning that it will assist the body not to clot its blood 25:40 inside our blood vessels. 25:42 A very nice article that came out of Miyazaki, Japan 25:47 ...showed that curcumin is nontoxic and it is tolerated 25:52 quite well and it's anti-inflammatory, antioxidant 25:56 AND anticancer properties are beginning to be quite well known 26:02 in many parts of the world. 26:05 So that's a very good thing to know... this research 26:08 was reported in the very prestigious medical journal 26:12 named "Cancer. " 26:14 Unfortunately, I should say something about coffee... 26:18 I wish I could say that people did not drink coffee 26:22 Coffee is a medicinal herb... 26:25 It is not a beverage drink. 26:28 It is not a good beverage tea. 26:29 It has so many things that it does wrong to the human body. 26:34 I have here, from the New York County Medical Association, 26:37 an article on coffee and its deleterious effects 26:41 on the nervous system. 26:43 Then, we have written a book called, 26:45 "Poison With a Capital C" which tells about the evils of coffee 26:52 Again, I wish I didn't have to tell you about this because 26:55 the aroma of coffee is good and it used to be my very 26:58 favorite drink. 26:59 But it isn't good for the pregnant woman. 27:01 It isn't good for the unborn child. 27:04 And it isn't good for the woman who is past the age of 50 27:07 because it leaches calcium from her bones 27:11 and makes it so that her bones are less firm and 27:14 and more likely to break than they need to be. 27:19 And then, of course, some things about chocolate... 27:22 ...another excellent flavor but no so good for the body. 27:27 We have a very good chocolate substitute called "carob" 27:31 Carob looks like, tastes like and works up like chocolate... 27:36 But is not chocolate and does not have the deleterious 27:39 effects on the body that chocolate has. 27:42 Now, our Heavenly Father has made for us an enormous 27:48 variety of foods that can please our palates without using 27:52 anything that might be harmful to us. |
Revised 2014-12-17