Food – Hālau 'Aha Hūi Lanakila™

La’au Lapa’au | Chicory Root

September 16, 2019 Nā Hālau ʻĀha Hūi LanakilaLeave a comment

You may know the chicory root as a popular coffee substitute. In fact, it was widely used during the Great Depression and World War II when coffee was in short supply or too expensive. Today, it is used around the world and in the US, particularly in New Orleans, as a natural caffeine-free substitute for coffee. However, it’s much more than a rich drink. […]

Source: Chicory Root

Health | Could CBD Treat Autoimmune Diseases??

August 13, 2019 Nā Hālau ʻĀha Hūi LanakilaLeave a comment

Autoimmune diseases are some of the least understood and most difficult medical conditions to treat. There are up to 80 different types of autoimmune diseases that affect up to 50 million Americans according to the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association (AARDA.) While each illness is unique, the common thread connecting all of these diseases is that they cause the immune system to attack healthy cells as if they were foreign. Since the root cause of these diseases can often be veiled in mystery, most treatments only address the symptoms instead of the cause.

A growing body of medical research suggests that studying the endocannabinoid system and how it is activated by the cannabinoid cannabidiol (CBD) may lead to the development of promising therapies.

These statements have not been evaluated by the food and drug administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Some of the most common autoimmune diseases are:

Inflammatory Bowel Diseases – a group of diseases that cause the inflammation of the colon and small intestine
Type 1 Diabetes – a condition that destroys cells that produce insulin in the pancreas
Rheumatoid Arthritis – a condition that causes severe inflammation of joints and surrounding tissues
Systemic Lupus Erythematosus – a condition that affects joints, kidneys, brain, skin, and other organs
Psoriasis – a skin condition that produces thick, silver-white patches of flaky skin along with irritation and redness
Celiac Sprue Disease – an autoimmune reaction to gluten (found in barley, wheat, and rye) that damages the lining of the small intestine
Pernicious Anemia – a condition that leads to decreased red blood cells because of an inability to absorb vitamin B-12
Vitiligo – a condition that produces white patches on the skin as the result of loss of pigment
Scleroderma – a disease of the connective tissue causes changes in internal organs, blood vessels, skin, and muscles
Hashimoto’s disease – a disease that causes the thyroid gland to become inflamed
Addison’s Disease – a disease that causes insufficient adrenal hormone production
Graves’ Disease – a disease that results in an overactive thyroid gland
Reactive Arthritis – a condition that may cause sores on the skin and mucus membranes and that causes inflammation of the joints, eyes and urethra
Sjögren’s Syndrome – a disease that causes dry mouth and dry eyes by destroying the glands that produce saliva and tears. It can also affect the lungs and kidneys.

What you might notice about all of these diseases is that they disrupt the bodies’ ability to achieve homeostasis or a healthy balance.

How the Endocannabinoid System Could Treat Autoimmune Disease…
Let’s talk about the amazing potential of the endocannabinoid system because of its ability to help the body achieve homeostasis. The endocannabinoid system is made up of cannabinoid receptors that are embedded throughout the entire human body in immune cells, organs, connective tissue and glands. The reason why this system is gaining so much medical attention and is believed to have a wide application for the development of effective therapies is because these receptors send signals to nearly every system and cellular structure in our bodies to promote homeostasis.

Dr. Dustin Sulak—an American physician who uses cannabinoid rich cannabis based treatments in his integrative medical clinics in Maine and Massachusetts—offers an example in his article Introduction to the Endocannabinoid System that is particularly relevant for those suffering from autoimmune diseases:

“At the site of an injury, for example, cannabinoids can be found decreasing the release of activators and sensitizers from the injured tissue, stabilizing the nerve cell to prevent excessive firing, and calming nearby immune cells to prevent release of pro-inflammatory substances. Three different mechanisms of action on three different cell types for a single purpose: minimize the pain and damage caused by the injury.”

Dr. Sulak’s example illustrates the endocannabinoid system’s ability to use cannabinoids, like CBD, to send signals to different areas in the body that result in the reduction of inflammation caused by an overactive immune response. This same therapeutic property has been the focus of many scientific studies related to autoimmune diseases. These studies suggest that CBD based therapies could be developed to effectively treat and manage a wide range of autoimmune diseases from rheumatoid arthritis and types 1 diabetes to multiple sclerosis (MS) and inflammatory bowel diseases such as colitis and Crohn’s disease.

While the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not yet substantiated the benefits of CBD, integrated medical practices across the United States like Dr. Sulak’s are utilizing this medical research to benefit their patients. More research on the endocannabinoid system and its use of CBD to achieve homeostasis could lead to the development of effective therapies for a wide range of autoimmune disorders.

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Foodstyles | Vegan “Caviar”?

July 13, 2019 Nā Hālau ʻĀha Hūi LanakilaLeave a comment

They have been hailed as being the most exciting gastronomic discovery in recent history. They are one of six citrus species native to Australia, yet they are totally different the others – both there and abroad. Nothing else on earth is like them.

What is a finger lime?

The Australian finger lime is an elongated fruit roughly the size of a human thumb, on average. Their skin is green, maroon, or any shade in-between. Hundreds of tiny juice-filled capsules are inside, which resemble caviar.

Native to the wild rainforests of Queensland and New South Wales, it’s an understory shrub – meaning it grows under the shade of the forest canopy.

While it may have been found earlier, the finger lime was not mentioned in published literature until 1989… it’s barely 30 years old! (1)

It’s so new, even the botanical name remains up for debate.
You will see Wikipedia list Citrus australasica, yet according to many botanists, it differs too much on a genetic basis from regular limes, lemons, and oranges to be part of the Citrus genus. They argue it belongs in a new genus; Microcitrus. As such, you will see some sources list the scientific name as Microcitrus australasica. (2)

Unlike other citrus fruits which have stringy flesh, the inside of finger limes have juicy encapsulated pearls. When you bite into them, they explode in your mouth with a burst of lemon-lime flavored juice. The green varieties are sour, while the pink taste sweeter.

It’s not that the tart flavor is that unique, but rather that it’s completely isolated within the caviar-sized globes.

Both professional chefs and foodies alike can get creative with these little beads, by adding another layer of flavor to just about any dish.
What to do with finger lime is far more diverse than the uses for lemon and lime juice. Because they’re enclosed balls of juice, their flavor won’t percolate throughout the rest of the food and overpower the other flavors. That means they work for both sweet and savory recipes.

As a dessert topping, you can use Australian finger limes as a lip-puckering flavor burst to complement the sweetness of ice cream, chia pudding, and cheesecake.

You don’t want to cook with these fruits, because heat can cause them to burst. Add them in after cooking. Entrees of pasta, rice, and seafood, as well as hors d’oeuvres, can all be augmented with a sprinkling of finger lime.

They will also serve as quite the conversation starter, when added to alcoholic and non-alcoholic cocktails. A finger lime mojito recipe is basically the concept of having little balls float inside. Some fine dining establishments in Australia are even using them in champagne, as seen above.

Nutrition facts and health benefits

There are around 225,000 food entries in the USDA National Nutrient Database, but you won’t find this one.

As with other unrefined fruits and vegetables, retailers aren’t required to provide nutritional values. Fortunately there is a produce supplier who has tested and published the data.

Finger Lime Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 2 oz (55g)Calories15% Daily Value*% Daily ValueTotal Fat 0g0%Vitamin A0%Saturated Fat 0g0%Vitamin C25%Trans Fat 0gCalcium2%Sodium 0mgIron2%Total Carbs. 6g2%Fiber 2g8%Total Sugars1gProtein 0g*Percent Daily Values (DV) are based on a 2,000 calorie diet
Source: Frieda’s organic finger limes

For comparison, the average apple is 70-100g (2.5 to 3.5 oz). Finger limes are only 15 calories per 2 oz serving, which means an apple-sized portion is just 25 calories with 2g of sugar. You would also be getting 16% of your daily value for fiber and 50% for vitamin C. Sounds like a perfect food for weight loss!

The fruit’s high vitamin C content contributes in part to its high level of detected antioxidant activity. Its ORAC value, which is the best way to measure the total amount of antioxidants, was published by the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO). (4)

For a 100g (3.5 oz) amount, green finger lime have an ORAC of 4,590. Pink finger lime are even higher at 6,510.

Both have higher antioxidant content than dried and fresh goji berries, which are 3,290 and 4,310, respectively. Conventionally grown blueberries are lower too, with an ORAC value of 4,669 for the same weight.

This is a pleasant surprise, as finger limes have over 3x the antioxidants versus other citrus fruits.

Oranges average 2,103, tangerines are 1,627, lemons with peels removed are 1,346 and regular limes are lowest at just 82 for their ORAC. That means the fingered variety are giving you over 50x the concentration of antioxidants as a normal lime!

As to what health benefits exist for these lime fingers is unknown. Searching the nearly 30 million pieces of medical literature in the PubMed database will only yield 2 results for the Citrus australasia plant.

Among those is research out Switzerland, reporting low amounts of the essential oils which are normally found in lime; γ-terpinene, a-pinene, ß-pinene, citral. What the found instead was 6 unique essential oil molecules that have not been seen in any other plant. The oils will be most concentrated in the skin/peel. Certainly, this finding opens up the possibility that there might be unique benefits this fruit can offer (5)

Anyone who may be interested in studying its essential oil should give California-based Shanley Farms a call

How to grow trees and seeds

They’re called “native finger lime” in Australia, but they’re certainly not native to America. Only recently introduced, this is not exactly the type of tree you can run over to Home.

Where to buy the fruit

If you’re like us, you probably don’t have the patience, time, or inclination to start a citrus grove inside or outside your home.
Fortunately, more stores are starting to sell finger lime fruit.
At the Whole Foods in El Segundo, California we recently spotted these…

They were in the produce section, in the refrigerated case. Yes, they are 100% fresh. The difference is that Shanley Farms, out of Morro Bay in California, came up with an ingenious way to sell them; remove the rinds and just sell the edible pearls AKA the vegan caviar.

Read full article: https://www.superfoodly.com/finger-lime/