Roasted pumpkinseed oil is made from an Austrian pumpkin whose seeds have no hulls! The oil is a dark color, and is extracted by drying, crushing and mixing the seeds with water and salt to make them more digestible, then roasted at low temperature to evaporate the water. Once dried, the seeds are pressed to extract the oil. It takes five pounds of roasted seeds, or about 35 pumpkins to produce one liter of oil! High in mono-unsaturated fats with goodly amounts of vitamins E, B1, B6, A, C and the mineral zinc, pumpkinseeds and their oil are said to be effective in the treatment of prostate problems and help reduce cholesterol. The oil is sensitive to heat, so don’t cook with it. It’s fine to drizzle on after cooking.
Monthly Archives: September 2013
Reishi: King of the Forest
Guest Column by Tyler Gisleson
Reishi mushroom is a superior tonic herb sharing the ranks with elite Chinese herbs like ginseng, deer antler and cordyceps. It’s arguably the most spiritual herb in the entirety of China’s medicine cabinet!
When walking in the woods in mid-summer, it’s an experience to lay eyes on a fully matured patch of reishis. These red and woody ‘shrooms are unlike anything else you’ll find in these northeastern forests – they’re almost alien looking. And based on some info I’ve learned from popular mycologist Paul Stamets they may actually be originally not of this world at all, which could explain their eccentric appearance (Paul theorizes that mushrooms may have floated through the cosmos to join us on Earth [no kidding!]).
Overcome Carb & Sugar Cravings
by Debra Stark
According to nationally reknowned, locally-based Dr. Mark Hyman, family physician and a four-time New York Times bestselling author, we’re battling a “diabesity” epidemic. Diabesity, he says, is when our bodies move from balanced blood sugar to insulin resistance (the state when our cells become numb to the effects of insulin and need increasing amounts of it), to full blown diabetes and obesity.
Diabesity occurs, Dr. Hyman says because we’ve drugged our cells with too much sugar and starch (yes, this is an oversimplification on my part…).
