Reprinted with kind permission of Vivian Goldschmidt, MA

Are You Eating These 3 Delicious, Detoxifying, Bone-Building Herbs? From www.saveourbones.com

Today we’re going to take an in-depth look at the bone health, overall health, and detoxification properties of three flavorful easy-to-find herbs. I also give you a scrumptious recipe to get you started. Fortunately, as you’ll soon see, detoxification can be a pleasant — even delicious — experience! I’d like to start with a decorative herb that more often than not gets ignored. Don’t overlook the …

1. Parsley – This humble herb contains various Foundation Supplements that build bone, and it also has potent kidney-cleansing properties.

• Bone-Health Benefits Of Parsley

Parsley’s Vitamin C and Vitamin K content earned it a place among the Foundation Foods in the Save Our Bones Program. Because it’s both alkalizing and a flavorful garnish, it’s an excellent way to add flavor and healthful properties to your meals.

Now let’s take a look at the main micronutrients parsley contains:

Vitamin C is a Foundation Supplement that plays many roles in bone health. It acts as an antioxidant and a vitamin, and is vital in the production of collagen, which makes up the flexible “scaffold” of bone. Vitamin C is also involved in the production of norepinephrine, a neurotransmitter. Vitamin K, also a Foundation Supplement, is well known for the role it plays in blood clotting. It has a lesser-known role in bone health, where it works with Vitamin D to regulate osteoclast production and helps regulate bone turnover. B-Complex Vitamins are also found in parsley. These Foundation Supplements are vital for bone health, even though you won’t hear anything about them from your doctor. B vitamins reduce levels of a harmful amino acid known as homocysteine, which can weaken bones and undermine cognitive function.

Parsley also contains bone-healthy apigenin, a flavonoid that boosts osteoblast growth, increases collagen in bone cells, and also helps alkalize the body by stimulating an enzyme called alkaline phosphatase. Parsley has even more benefits that go beyond bone health.

• Whole-Body Benefits Of Parsley

Parsley may help inhibit cancerous tumors thanks to its myristicin content, an organic compound that counteracts free radicals and may offset the carcinogenic effects of tobacco smoke. Parsley also contains luteolin, an antioxidant that has been shown in studies to enhance memory. Luteolin is also a powerful anti-inflammatory that inhibits cytokine expression in nerve cells of the spine and brain.

Parsley has potassium, a very important nutrient that is necessary to balance sodium in the diet and regulate intra and intercellular water. Parsley’s connection with water and electrolyte balance, as well as its high B vitamin content, make it an excellent herb for cleansing the kidneys. Now, perhaps, you won’t be so quick to throw out that sprig of parsley on your plate! The type used for garnish is usually curly-leafed parsley, but flat-leafed has similar health properties. In fact, flat-leafed parsley resembles the next herb we’ll review next…

2. Cilantro

With its distinctive, assertive flavor, cilantro seems to be one of those herbs that people love or hate. But regardless of how you feel about the taste, cilantro contains several bone-healthy nutrients. Like parsley, it is also a cleansing herb.

• Bone-Health Benefits Of Cilantro

Vitamin C, Vitamin A works with antioxidants to guard your bones against oxidative damage, and it boosts the function of your primary detoxification organs, the liver and kidneys. This is far more important for your bone health than you may realize, because toxin accumulation is deleterious for bone density and integrity. Zinc is found in cilantro, a trace mineral that helps in bone tissue formation. In fact, zinc is vital for normal cell division and activation, regulating growth in children and stimulating bone building in the adult skeleton. Cilantro also contains calcium and magnesium, crucial minerals for building bone. Calcium’s role in bone health is well known, while magnesium is lesser known. But magnesium deficiency is surprisingly prevalent in Western societies, even though magnesium is required for more than 300 enzymatic reactions and much more. And approximately 60 percent of all magnesium in your body is found in your bones.

Like parsley, cilantro also contains potassium and it also has general health benefits.

• Whole-Body Benefits of Cilantro

Animal research suggests that cilantro protects the heart against oxidative damage, and prevents myocardial infarction.1 Like nearly all plant foods, cilantro has powerful antioxidants that protect not just the heart, but the whole body. The herb may also have calming effects, promoting sleep and reducing anxiety.2 Some herbalists recommend cilantro tea for calming digestive problems.

One of cilantro’s most remarkable benefits is its cleansing effect on the body. It is particularly effective at heavy metal chelation, which means it binds to the toxic ions of heavy metals like mercury and cadmium so they can be excreted from the body. It is particularly effective when combined with chlorella, a single-celled alga that is a popular vegan source of Vitamin B12.

Another herb with an assertive, fresh flavor is…

3. Peppermint

All of the many mints (spearmint, mountain mint, cat mint, etc.) have healthful benefits. Peppermint is an easy-to-grow herb that can be used in savory or sweet dishes.

• Bone-Health Benefits Of Peppermint

Peppermint (mentha piperita) makes an alkalizing, refreshing tea that can be enjoyed hot or cold, and it can be chopped and incorporated into several delicious dishes. As you’ll read next, it contains some important nutrients and Foundation Supplements.

Copper is a trace mineral and Foundation Supplement that your bones need for the manufacture of collagen. Copper is part of a crucial trio of zinc and manganese, also found in peppermint. Manganese is a Foundation Supplement that joins with copper and zinc to create a critical, bone-protecting antioxidant called Superoxide Dismutase. Vitamin C (see above) Calcium (see above)

It’s easy to overlook the powerful health benefits of an herb as common as peppermint; but this herb has benefits for the whole body as well.

• Whole-Body Benefits Of Peppermint

Like so many green, leafy foods, peppermint is rich in antioxidants. It is a well-known digestive aid, relieving nausea and many symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome. Peppermint relaxes smooth muscle tissue, which is one of the reasons it helps relieve the pain associated with bowel problems and sore throats. A study conducted in 2007 supports peppermint’s role as a muscle spasm relaxer, with peppermint oil relieving the colon spasms brought on by barium enemas. The same study showed peppermint to be an effective dyspepsia (indigestion) treatment as well.3

Like parsley and cilantro, peppermint is an effective toxin cleanser, largely because of its effect on the liver. Peppermint increases the flow of bile in the liver, helping to break down fats, including cholesterol. When fat digestion is facilitated, decreasing cholesterol, it helps boost a sluggish liver by removing a significant burden.

Using These Three Bone-Healthy, Cleansing Herbs

Parsley, cilantro, and peppermint are very “user friendly.” They are sold in just about every grocery store or supermarket and can be easily added to foods or made into teas. The following recipe is a delicious dish that uses fresh peppermint. It is not only delicious in itself, but it can also serve to give you ideas for using these herbs.

Crunchy Mint Quinoa – 100% Alkalizing

2 Servings

This crunchy, minty dish fuses savory flavors with naturally sweet mint.

Ingredients:

• 1 medium-sized red onion, cut into slivers
• 1/2 cup quinoa, cooked
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup fresh peppermint, chopped (reserve a few whole leaves for garnish)
• 1/4 cup almonds, slivered and toasted
• 1 tablespoon sunflower seeds
• Sea salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In a large pan on medium heat, sauté the onion with a dash of sea salt in 2 tablespoons of olive oil until soft and slightly caramelized. Add the quinoa to heat until warm. Meanwhile, lightly toast the almonds in a small skillet on a low flame for about 5 minutes. Stir frequently to prevent burning (they can go from toasty to burnt in just a second, so keep an eye on them the entire time). Chop the peppermint, reserving a few leaves for garnish. Stir the warm quinoa, cooked onion, toasted almonds and fresh mint until evenly mixed, and garnish with peppermint leaves. Cleansing Is Easy With Everyday Foods!

I love Crunchy Mint Quinoa as an alkalizing side dish to balance turkey or chicken. It also makes an excellent main dish. Regardless of how you serve it, the takeaway here is that cleansing foods can be incorporated into your bone-healthy diet.