Tahini is ground sesame seeds – it’s a product which is rich in nutrients and has been used in recipes and as a healing agent for centuries. The sesame plant is native to India and was found growing naturally from northeastern Africa to the far east. The seeds were primarily used for their oil, as a base for perfumes and as a seasoning. The name sesame is derived from the ancient Egyptian word sesemt and later from the Greek word sesamon.
Seaweed is often touted as some of the most nutrient dense food in the world. Seaweed has been used for centuries in the Far East and India, but only in the late 20th Century did it become popular in the United States where its primary introduction was during the health food trend in the 1970s. Today it is a popular addition to sushi. Seaweed is a term that defines many plants that grow in the ocean. Kelp is one of these.
Peppermint is in the genus Mentha which includes more than one hundred species, and is thought to be a natural hybrid of spearmint and forest mint. Its origin is believed to be in North Africa and the southern Mediterranean basin, and has been used in recipes and as a medicinal herb since 1500 B.C.E. It found its way as far north as Scandinavia and was mentioned in the Icelandic Pharmacopoeias in the mid-13th Century.
Cocoa is the bean from the cacao tree which is a native plant in the Amazon region of Brazil. It made its way throughout Central and South American during ancient times. The seeds are contained in a pod and were ground into powder. Today the food is known as cocoa powder.
While others curse its arrival in spring, I applaud it. The spunky little dandelion is a first flower for nectar-hunting honeybees. It pains me to see homeowners yank it from their yards, not only because they are eradicating an important food source for pollinating insects, but because the little plants can offer so much before their fluffy seeds are scattered to the wind!
The hemp plant has been cultivated for approximately 12,000 years and is one of man’s earliest crops. The benefits of the seeds have been known for about 3000 years, where it has been used medicinally and is a dietary mainstay in China. Hemp seeds are a compete protein containing all twenty amino acids.
Spirulina is a blue-green algae growing in fresh water and is rich in protein, vitamins and minerals and has many health benefits. Spirulina has been used by the Aztec people since before the Conquistadors.
Life on the French Riviera is not only gorgeous, but also quite delicious. My partner and I live in Nice, which is just a short (beautiful!) drive from Italy. A metropolitan hub with an airport on the Mediterranean Sea, Nice has always been a natural melting pot for a diversity of cultures. As a result, it is difficult to find traditional French dishes when one goes out in Nice for a bite to eat.
Kale is a member of the species Brassica oleracea, which includes cabbage, Brussels sprouts, kohlrabi, cauliflower and broccoli. It has been cultivated for more than 2000 years and though originally found wild in the Mediterranean region it is a cold climate tolerant plant. The term kale is derived from the Scottish word “kail” and the word was used in the 19th Century, referring to dinner.
I see many of my patients are living a healthy lifestyle and eating a plant-based diet. It is especially important for me to make sure that these patients have enough of the essential mineral: iron. I can determine if a patient is low in iron by looking at the size of their red blood cells, levels of iron circulating in the blood as well as the body’s storage of a form of iron called ferritin.