Category / Diet & Health

by micropaedia

The Importance of Being Grateful

WordsworthThe onslaught of technology has left us with little energy or mental space to ponder over creation. In times gone by, nature spoke the language of God; it still does but we fail to comprehend it. William Wordsworth, the celebrated English poet, repeatedly lamented the loss of the connection with the divine. His ode, ‘Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood’ begins with these words:

‘There was a time when meadow, grove and stream,

The earth, and every common sight,

To me did seem

Apparelled in celestial light

The glory and freshness of a dream.’  Continue reading →

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by micropaedia

Hot Punch Recipe

punchThis punch recipe is very good for a cold night. It was given to me by my English teacher Mrs Smethurst. I have retained and used it ever since. Never fails to leave a smile on all who drink it.  Enjoy!

Measure 1/4 pint of blackcurrant cordial into a pan and add 1 pint of water. Thinly peel rind of lemon, take two level teaspoons of brown sugar, 3 cloves, and grating of nutmeg. Heat and bring to the boil slowly. Switch off heat and allow to cool and infuse for 30 minutes. Strain and serve just before serving.

Add halved oranges for extra taste.

by micropaedia

Food Rules

fr-3If we can’t rely on the marketers or the government or even the nutritionists to guide us through the supermarket, then who can we rely on? Well, ask yourself another question: How did humans manage to choose foods and stay healthy before there were nutrition experts and food pyramids or breakfast cereals promising to improve your child’s focus? We relied on culture, which is another way of saying: on the accumulated wisdom of the tribe. (Which is itself another way of saying: on your mom and your grandma.) All of us carry around rules of thumb about eating that have been passed down in our families or plucked from the cultural conversation. Think of this body of food knowledge as samizdat nutrition: an informal, unsanctioned way of negotiating our eating lives that becomes indispensable at a time when official modes of talking about food have suffered a serious loss of credibility.

Continue reading →

by micropaedia

The Nature of One, Two, or Three daily Meals

“In order to arrive at a health-promoting eating schedule, one may want to take into account important physiological factors.

The night and early morning hours before approximately five a.m. are passive times of the day when the digestive organs need to rest. The liver in particular needs to complete numerous subtle metabolic functions unhampered by the early stages of digestive activity. One of these functions is blood purification, which is interrupted and altered when late meals are eaten. According to the “Chinese clock,” the most active time for the liver is between one and three a.m.

The Chinese clock is an ancient observation that the body’s internal organs have peak activity during two-hour intervals. This theory also suggests that an organ’s minimum activity is twelve hours away from its peak interval. For example, the peak activity of the stomach is from seven to nine a.m., and its minimum activity is twelve hours later from seven to nine p.m. Continue reading →

by micropaedia

The Fruit of the Date Palm: Its Possible Use as the Best Food for the Future

“Dates are cheap to produce and preserve, and are also very rich in nutrition. Dates contain a high percentage of carbohydrate, fat comprising 14 types of fatty acids, 15 salts and minerals, protein with 23 different amino acids, six vitamins and a high percentage of dietary fibre. Continue reading →