Tag Archives: antioxidants

Chaga

By now, we all pretty much know that antioxidants are important for optimum health thanks to the numerous reports, studies and research that have been conducted over the last 10 years. But is there a way to get more concentrated antioxidants aside from eating a punnet of blueberries and pomegranate which are consistently hailed in the media for being a "superfood"? Hey, I love blueberries but if I can augment my health and the amount of antioxidants I can get in one sitting, I'm game. Enter medicinal mushroom Chaga.

Now don't confuse this with magic mushrooms - that is some trippy stuff apparently! I'm talking about super potent Chaga, the heavyweight champion of all antioxidants that knocks açaí, pomegranate and the blueberry out of the water (or whatever they are each grown on!)

Aside from the supercharged antioxidants it contains, Chaga possesses strong immune-boosting and anti-viral properties. Plus it is thought to be an amazing health and longevity tonic full of phyto-nutrients that slow the aging process.

It is highly valued throughout Asia and Europe as a health food and as a medicine and has been used for various ailments and illnesses from stomach and lung cancers to gastritis, ulcers, colitis and inflammatory diseases such as cancer and arthritis as well as HIV. That's pretty impressive in my book!

Check out Daniel Vitalis talk about this amazing magical mushroom.

According to Daniel, this "tonic herb" as he calls it is;

• anti-bacterial
• anti-fungal
• anti-microbial
• anti-candida
• an immune system modulator
• anti-viral
• an adaptagen
• has the highest ORAC level of any natural food

I have been using it in my smoothies and adding to my raw chocolate concoctions which I'm really enjoying adding into my diet, especially given it's unique and amazing ability to create optimum health and vitality. I definitely recommend it.

Baobab Powder

I recently got my hands on some baobab.  I always get excited trying out a new superfood, thinking about how I can add it in to my already supershero-esque diet.  Baobab is actually an African tree which grows lush green fruits inside of which are a pale powder that is super sweet and tangy.  It’s a powerhouse of nutrtition including potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium,  vitamin C, and B vitamins. It’s a fantastic antioxidant, has anti-inflammatory properties, and is an effective prebiotic.  What more can you ask for?

Baobab certainly doesn't disappoint.  It's very reminiscent of camu camu with it's fruity sweet and tangy flavour but with a lot more depth.  What's more exciting though is just how versatile a product it is.  Of course it fits in well with smoothies and nut milks (goes really well with purple corn and berries) but also chocolate recipes and savoury dishes!

I got a wonderful recipe courtesy of one Kate Magic and the lovely people at www.baobabsuperfruit.com which I enjoyed over some spiralised courgette.

Kate’s terrific Baobab sauce

• 3 tomatoes
• 1 red pepper
• 6 sundried tomatoes
• 2 TBSP olive oil
• 1 TBSP apple cider vinegar (didn’t have any, used lemon juice)
• 1 tsp tamari
• 1/4 red onion
• 1/2 avocado
• 1/2 red chilli pepper
• 1 TBSP baobab

You can blend it all together but I used the food processor and it worked a wee treat!  Yummy!

Purple Corn Extract

This is definitely one of my favourite super dooper foods.  The reasons are it tastes great!  I put some in my herb teas and it tastes like hot blackcurrant - without the nasties.  Add to chia for some fruity taste, in my nut mylks for a nice pinkie colour and blackcurrant taste.  It is so versatile!  You can add it cacoa, sweet or savoury and it tastes good.

Secondly, for its amazing powers, as people claim that purple corn can help us open our third eye chakra, since its colour is purple. The third eye chakra is responsible for increased intuition, and opening up to spiritual truths.  It has indeed helped me develop my intuition and to listen more deeply.

Lastly for the amazing scientific background as to why Purple Corn is up there as a fantastic powerful antioxidant that keep us looking young and protects us from disease,  promotes blood flow and reduce cholesterol.  It also is a complex of flavonoid that produces blue, purple or red colours which provides anti-inflammatory and encourages connective tissue regeneration.  It also stabilizes and protects capillaries and blood vessels from free radical damage, and they have been shown to promote collagen formation (which is great for our skin) and improve circulation.

Purple Corn has a higher antioxidant capacity than blueberries, making it one of the most exciting new superfoods of our time. And speaking of exciting, there is an ancient Hopi prophecy that says when purple corn comes to the West, that is a sign that great changes are happening on the planet.