Popcorn has more antioxidants than fruit and vegetables

Yes, we know they mean without butter when proponents of popcorn tells us about the high level of antioxidents and all the great health benefits of plain popcorn.

Plain popcorn has already been hailed as a great diet food for its low calorie content but now a group of scientists claim it may even top fruits and vegetables in antioxidant levels.


Antioxidants - known as polyphenols - have really big health benefits as they help fight harmful molecules that damage cells.


Popcorn was found to have a high level of concentrated antioxidants because it is made up of just four percent water while they are more diluted in fruits and vegetables because they are made up of up to 90 percent water.


Researchers discovered one serving of popcorn has up to 300mg of antioxidants - nearly double the 160mg for all fruits per serving.


They also found that the  hulls of the popcorn have the highest concentration of antioxidants and fiber.

And oh yes, we like butter...on our popcorn.

Now, we realize that butter may have it's issues ( most foods do) but there are lesser-known benefits about butter.

1. It’s Filled with Immune-Boosting Vitamins
Spreading butter on your morning toast may not only improve your body’s immunity, but also help reduce cancer cell growth and increase red blood cell production thanks to vitamins A and D. One tablespoon of butter contains 7 percent and 2 percent of your daily values (DV) of vitamins A and D, respectively. Plus, because both vitamins are fat soluble, butter is a prime vehicle for aiding absorption of nutrients in the body.

2. It Keeps Bones Strong
Thanks to vitamin K and vitamin D, butter may also help increase bone and muscle strength. Known as the [blood] clotting vitamin, vitamin K not only helps maintain bone density but has also been linked to a 30 percent decrease in hip fractures in women who consume at least 110 micrograms per day, according to a study by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Adding one tablespoon of butter to a baked potato accounts for 1 percent of your DV.

3. It Reduces Symptoms of Diabetes
Found almost solely in cheese and butter, sodium butyrate has been linked to an improved response to insulin for patients with diabetes and increased energy in mice, according to a study published by the American Diabetes Association. It may also help alleviate constipation and may even help protect against colon cancer. 

4. It Fights Cancer
Found in dairy products, including butter, conjugated linoleic acid has been tied to tumor reduction in colorectal cancer and may even help fight breast cancer, according to an experimental pathology study conducted at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute.

5. It’s Better Than Margarine
Contrary to popular belief, some margarines – particularly first-wave varieties – are actually worse for you than butter due to high levels of trans fats. What’s more, researchers have also found that the vegetable fats contained in margarine are more likely to result in death among patients with heart disease than the saturated fat in butter.

6. It May Prevent Tooth Decay
Certain fat-soluble vitamins – including calcium and vitamins A, D and K – which are found in higher amounts in butter from grass-fed cows than in olive oil or margarine, may help fight cavities and even reverse tooth decay, according to research.

So, extra butter please...

Energy Frequency Vibration

 

Footprints In The Sand

Every time we repost this article it stirs up a lot of emotions from people who believe they are helpless.

We aren’t trying to make people angry, but this is how we feel and what we believe.

And so, here it is again…

Faith can move mountains. 

With faith anything is possible, okay, but faith in what, in who?

If they mean faith in your own abilities, in the person you want to become, we would agree.

But sermons on faith usually have little to do with self empowerment.

We find it troubling that people actually believe they are nothing without some higher power pulling the strings.

It's amazing how people are willing to believe in something invisible but not in the things that are right in front of them.

Many choose to ignore it and believe they are nothing without divine intervention.

As Pagans we believe in self empowerment, we are responsible for our own lives, we are at the helm, captains of our own journey, surrendering our power to no one.

We are told to trust the unseen, have absolute faith and hand over all personal power because God is in control of everything.

If we surrender and allow God to work his miracles, everything 

will be just fine.

Having faith in things unproven can be a slippery slope, it's pretending to know things you just don't know.

Telling us that a higher power is in complete control is difficult to understand, where does that leave us?

How do we grow or get stronger if we think someone or something is to to carry us every time we experience life's struggles?

There were only one set of footprints in the sand, in the famous poem we are told, "During your times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you."

We don't need to be carried, we need to learn our strengths and purpose, gain confidence and even though there will be people during your lifetime that will assist and befriend you, those footprints in the sand are yours and yours alone.

The footprints are yours because you decided to get up and walk, because you believe in yourself.

When people are taught that they are helpless, that they are nothing without some unseen higher power, they remain prisoners in their own doubts.

We will keep reminding people that you have the power within you.

As you learn to believe in yourself and reconnect with nature you reconnect with yourself, because we are one with nature.

It is only then you can grow in self worth and lose the chains of guilt, hate, anger and uncertainty.

Jesus in Japan, Who Knew?

There seems to be an effort to rebrand or reintroduce Jesus these days, we thought we would help out, introducing another narrative found in Japan.

Ok, the story goes like this: in a small village, called Shingo in the north of Japan is where Jesus Christ lived and eventually died, leaving behind his descendants.

According to the story, Jesus travelled to Japan at the age of 21 to study theology, spent 12 years in the country during a period that's not written about in the New Testament.

After returning to Jerusalem, and getting into trouble with the Romans, he somehow convinced his younger brother Isukiri to face the trial and crucifixion. 

As Jesus skips town, no one notices it’s a different person and his younger brother dies on the cross instead. 

Jesus then fled back to Japan, which involved a four year journey spanning 6,000 miles.

He became known as Daitenku Taro Jurai to locals, and lived in Shingo in exile, growing garlic.

Jesus fell in love with a farmer's daughter called Miyuko, and they married and had three children.

He is believed to have died in the village at the age of 106.