September 2012
Welcome to the monthly Ask Dr. Marty Newsletter. In response to several requests, I have decided to share some information based on questions that I frequently receive regarding natural health topics. I promise to keep the newsletter short. But if at any time you get overwhelmed with emails, please let me know and I’ll be glad to take you off of the mailing list. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the newsletter and hope that you will forward any questions you may have as well. Even if they don’t make it into the newsletter, I promise to answer all questions. All questions will be anonymous.
Question: What are you doing? You want to come join me for a treat?
Answer: Yes, that was an actual question I received from a neighbor and great friend, Dr. T. She is a wonderful veterinarian, and should not be confused with Mr. T, who is very muscular and wears large gold necklaces.
I arrived 3 minutes later. The word “treat” from a veterinarian did not scare me off. Luckily, there were no milk bones when I arrived, but there was an emerald colored tall glass of something. Now I am no stranger to juicing. I like to juice, and should do it more often. Juicing is great when you want high-powered healing without the effort of your body having to break down food for digestion. Juicing is great, but keep your juice mainly from vegetables. The juice from fruit is obviously very high in sugar. Although it’s a natural sugar, it still elevates blood sugar and should only be used in juicing to sweeten the vegetable juice a little. I have a highly efficient centrifugal juicer, but it is the dickens to clean. So it tends to grace the inside of my pantry and rarely gets to see the light of day. Besides, I always feel a little guilty throwing away all that fiber. So here I am staring at this beautiful green drink, thinking that for it to be so green, it must be all vegetables, no fruit. Hmm…
Ok. So I have to confess. I’m somewhat of a wimp when it comes to drinking strong-flavored vitaminy beverages. I can tolerate them, but will not welcome them as a frequent inhabitant of my kitchen. But this drink was more opaque than typical juice. I tried it. It was DELICIOUS. Dr. T explained that it was fresh kale from the farmer’s market around the corner with some lemon and ginger. I was surprised. I thought of kale as being very tough and strong flavored, but I WAS WRONG. And that afternoon, no cravings. No late afternoon slump. Let’s take a look at why.
Kale is especially rich in:
– B vitamins, which provide a steady stress-busting energy.
– highly absorbable calcium, which is so important for anyone concerned about arthritis and osteoporosis.
– antioxidants such as carotenoids (like beta carotene), which are especially powerful as cancer preventives, especially cancers of the stomach, mouth, esophagus, throat, breast, bladder, prostate and colon.
– vitamins A,C, E, sulfur, and selenium, which all build the immune system. And with cold and flu season nipping at our heels, this green is a good choice.
– alkalizing minerals, like calcium, potassium, magnesium and sodium. Balancing your pH is critical to keeping inflammation and disease at bay.
The lemon is a great source of vitamin C and citrus bioflavonoids (powerful antioxidants). Lemon is one of those strange foods that is acid when you eat it, but it leaves an alkaline ash in the body.
Ginger is great for digestion, inflammation, circulation, respiratory problems, is used to lower cholesterol, and is a very effective blood thinner*.
So I won’t make you wait any longer on the recipe. I will guestimate the amounts, since this is definitely not a precise set of measurements.
Emerald Energy Drink
1/8 of one average size lemon
Fresh ginger, to taste. I use a chunk about ½ inch square
One loosely packed blender full of fresh kale
One iced tea glass of ice cubes
One iced tea glass of good water
Place the ingredients into a good blender in the order shown. Tamp down the kale safely if needed. Blend until thoroughly mixed.
I often add a piece of fruit first to the blender, like a banana, peach or melon to sweeten the drink and get my fruit in for the day. If you want to make it even sweeter, you add your favorite natural sweetener, like stevia, agave juice, or xylitol. The more you get away from sweet, processed food, you will find that the kale tastes sweeter. I have also been adding a little bit of organic coconut oil to the blender for a tropical taste and added essential fatty acids. There’s no limit to what you can sneak into the juice! Use your imagination.
*The ginger is spicy hot and should be avoided by anyone who is already taking a blood thinner.
Make sure your ingredients are washed in an organic cleanser like Sunshine Concentrate to remove almost all of the pesticides and all of the bacteria from non-organic and organic produce. I purchased packaged kale a couple of times from the big box store and was very disappointed. I didn’t feel any different after I drank it. The kale had a “swampy” taste and smell, limp, thin texture and whitish cast. I believe that the kale was probably treated with a weak chlorine solution to extend shelf life and kill germs. As always, buying from local farmers is fresher and tends not to have the processing, like bleach baths and waxed coatings, that most grocery produce has. Another benefit is the price. My corner farmer’s market has great prices. Much of the produce in grocery stores has been picked green, stored, and gassed for ripening just before delivery to the store. This practice of picking produce green and processing often causes these fruit and vegetables to be acid, rather than alkaline.
Technically this is a smoothie, but it is thinner than most smoothies. It is very light tasting and fresh, and is loaded with vitamins, minerals, and fiber. It also counts toward your water quota for the day. It costs less than 60 cents for 2 large glasses. And, yes, I timed myself. It took less than 4 minutes to remove the produce from the refrigerator, get my equipment out, make the smoothie and clean up. Give it a try!
Thanks Doctor Tonia!
Hot Tip: At times when you can’t get good kale, you can use Ultimate Greenzone Powder that contains kale.
Next month…Cholesterol
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Maureen (Marty) Kernion is not a physician and does not diagnose nor prescribe. She received a bachelor’s degree in secondary education from Louisiana State University, and a Master of Science degree and Doctorate of Natural Health degree from Clayton College of Natural Health. She is the author of Going Natural with Herbs. Marty lectures on natural health topics across the country and has been featured at 78 Barnes and Noble book stores since her book was published. She is also a retired adjunct professor with Clayton College of Natural Health where she authored 39 courses in nutrition and herbal remedies.
It is always wise to advise your pharmacist or health care practitioner about any change in diet or supplements you plan to take, especially if you take any prescription medication.
“Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing.” Ezekiel 47:12
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