Wednesday 9 April 2008

Linseed, Cacao, and Manuka Honey

Linseed is in the family Linum usitatissimum. Linum is an erect annual herb with a glabrous stem and few branches, growing about 60cm in height and cultivated in most temperate and tropical regions. The stem bears alternate, sessile, simple entire lanceolate to oblong leaves. Each branch produces one or two violet-blue five-petalled flowers in a terminal cluster from June to August, and a globular capsule containing about ten seeds. There are two types linseed: brown linseed and golden linseed.
Cacao Nibs are from Cacao Seeds, and are made by peeling and breaking the cacao seeds. In fact cacao nibs are the middle thing prior to chocolate. There are two types of cacao nibs. One is from roasted cacao beans, and the other is from raw caco beans. The roasted cacao nibs are made from the process whereby the cacao seeds are roasted in large, rotating ovens, at temperatures of about 210-290F. Roasting lasts from half an hour up to two hours. The heat brings out more flavor and aroma, and it dries and darkens the seeds. The Himalayan Crystal Salt is not same with the table salt we have in our day-to-day lives. The mineral particles in crystal salt are organic and so tiny that they are easily metabolised for the bio-chemical functioning of human cells. Because of this, Himalayan crystal salt is one of nature's most effective natural remedies. The best way to experience the healing and cleansing properties of salt is to drink sole (solay). Sole is a 1% water/salt solution (the same as our blood, tears and the ocean).
Manuka honey is a type of honey which has a high value in the marketplace because it has a distinctive flavor or other attribute due to its being predominantly from the nectar of one plant species. While all honeys have some medicinal value, active manuka honey containing the Unique Manuka Factor (UMF) has been shown to have higher antibacterial activity than other tested honeys. Manuka honey is well known for its antibacterial and natural anti-biotic properties. It is now being tested in hospitals and by cancer research groups to see just how effective it in is aiding post operative wounds.