Eggplant For Healthy Aging

Aubergine (eggplant) is a vegetable with many benefits.  High in fiber but low in calories and fat, it contains an antioxidant which is beneficial for the brain. Vitamins B 1 and B6 as well as potassium, manganese, magnesium and copper are components as well.

Eggplant is an anti-cancer, anti-cholesterol vegetable due to substances which fight free radicals in the body.  However, when eaten in great amounts, it can increase joint pains in the body when arthritis is present, or influence gall bladder problems and activate stones due to the high level of oxalates.

On the whole eggplant is a very nutritious and valuable health-promoting food.

An easy way to prepare eggplant and to give them a taste of Provence is to cook slices on the barbeque. Simply slice the eggplant lengthwise into slices. Place them on the barbeque for about five minutes, turning them over once. Put them on a platter and dribble a bit of olive oil over them. It is a tasty way to enjoy healthy eggplant for healthy ageing.

Grandma Nature

Olive oil has been a life support in many countries for centuries. The golden nectar is known to be a miracle for the heart and for lowering cholesterol levels.  It can enhance your inner and outer beauty of age esteem.

In Greece, where olive oil and the Mediterranean diet (fish, wine, vegetables and olive oil) co-exist, people have one of the longest, if not the longest, life span on earth.  (It is also said that this is due to close family ties.)

Vincent Van Gogh painted olive groves in his beloved St. Remy in Provence in the south of France where he was hospitalized.  These are some of his most beautiful paintings, possibly captured from his hospital window.  They fulfilled him in a spiritual way.  In some orchards the olive trees are hundreds of years old. Looking at these lovely paintings brings a sense of peace to the viewer.

• Cold-pressed, virgin olive oil which should be used in salad sauces, on pasta and on bread among other foods.
• When cooking with olive oil, especially on high heat, the non-virgin, non-pressed oil should be used.

To accompany drinks eat olives instead of potato chips. Your body will thank you!  Olive oil is also used in beauty soaps which makes the skin smooth and is a natural ingredient as well.

Grandma Nature

Lavender for Age Esteem

Do you remember the song, “Lavender blue dilly, dilly, lavender green…”?

The lavender plant usually blooms in June-July with the vibrant purple flowers covering fields.  Carpets of lavender blooms highlight areas of Provence in southern France, England and in many other places adding dashes of color to gardens and backyards.

This lovely plant also has a sweet fragrance and calming effect on the nervous system.  Lavender has many uses in treating medical conditions as well as in making cosmetic products and even in food!

Aromatic oils are extracted from the various parts of the plants to use in aromatherapy.  –  A way of healing which utilizes the scent and medicinal properties of the plant. Forms of aromatherapy have existed since the very beginning of civilization.

Lavender essential oil is the most versatile of all the essential oils and is very beneficial for high blood pressure, stress, bronchitis and muscular pains.  These conditions can be treated by soaking in a warm bath of lavender oil or lavender bubble bath, or with a massage using the essential oil.

Lavender is also used in perfume and in beauty products. Even in this way the perfume can be beneficial for medical conditions as well as giving off  a beautiful scent.

Finally, the lavender flower may enhance a delicious crême brulée or even a cake.
So enjoy this aromatic plant and look and feel wonderful at the same time.  It can help to enhance your age-esteem.

Grandma Nature