| VEGETABLES |
Vegetables are a valuable source of vitamins and minerals. Care should be taken in their preparation to prevent
their ruin. Vitamin C is the easiest to loose by heat and by dissolving in cooking water.
Vegetables eaten in their raw state preserves their nutrients. However, when vegetables are cooked, the left
over water should not be thrown away; you will be throwing away vitamins.
Tomatoes, green and yellow, leaf vegetables are among the most, nutritionally important foods. Tomatoes are
an excellent source of Vitamin C, whether fresh or out of the can. Strongly recommended is one serving daily of
tomatoes or citrus fruit, rich in Vitamin C.
Yellow or green vegetables eaten every day are a must since they are rich sources of carotene, which the body
turns into Vitamin A. When vegetables are cooked, cook them in their jackets, peeling only when necessary. The
jackets contain most of the vitamins. Cook frozen vegetables in the smallest amount of water or better yet, steam
them.
Cabbage leave contains a tremendous amount of Vitamin C, especially the outer, wrapper leaves, which should
not be thrown away. Dried peas, beans, lentils, etc. gain enormously in Vitamin C if well soaked in changes of
water before cooking.
Onions are a good medicine. A whole onion eaten at bedtime will by the next morning break a cold. Garlic is an
effective antiseptic, which does not destroy the vital tissues or secretions of the body. Garlic cleans, destroys
bacteria and detoxifies the poisoned areas. It helps to tone the lymphatic cells and purifies the blood stream and
the intestines, thus allowing toxins to pass through the pores, kidneys and intestines.
Penicillin-like substances, hostile to germs, are found in leaves, fruits and other parts of plants including molds
and algae. The leaves of scotch thistle, mullein, peony, blueberry, currant, mountain ash and honeysuckle have
antibiotic substances in them.
Green leafy vegetables and salads contain magnesium, which is synonymous with chlorophyll in plants.
Chlorophyll is almost identical with hemoglobin; in the blood iron being the vital mineral of hemoglobin, magnesium
for chlorophyll. Therefore to get sufficient magnesium for health, we must eat enough green, leafy vegetables
and salads.
Many vegetables have medicinal properties such as:
Asparagus – gently stimulates the kidneys. In the form of a tea, it promotes free flowing urine.
Carrot – the seeds are ground into a powder and used to relieve colic and to increase the flow of urine.
Celery – used in the treatment of rheumatism
Potato – contains a juice, which produces wonderful results in curing swellings and other conditions of the joints
and muscles.
Pumpkin – the seeds of the pumpkin afford a remedy for worms, retention of urine and inflammation of the bladder
and bowels.
Rhubarb – an excellent remedy for constipation