Hello from Florida:
Each of us have a defining moment, an act that says something about our heart and soul. Wandering through the delightful Asian Festival at Homestead, Florida’s Fruit and Spice Park, I chatted with my friend Craig. He, a native, told me about the jacaranda tree, which is native to Brazil, very tall and has beautiful flowers and seeds that are long pods resembling tamarind. Craig, a sculptor, leather worker, and horticulturalist, is expert in everything tropical that grows in south Florida. Those who love and protect beauty, appreciate it in many forms.
The Jacaranda Tree
We paused a moment during the Asian Festival at a booth sponsored by the Hope Foundation. Hope Foundation supports the Cox’s Bazar Hospital for Women and Children and Hope Medical Centers which aim to serve millions of people by providing education, acute medical care, treatment, and the rehabilitation of sick, injured, disabled and destitute women and children of Bangladesh. Bangladesh has a high rate of illiteracy, frequent natural disasters and lack of natural resources that constantly erodes its social and financial infrastructure. Despite tremendous efforts by hardworking Bangladeshis to improve their lives, the standard of living is constantly declining. Bangladesh has an extremely high infant and child mortality rate. Most of these deaths could be prevented with a mass education program of preventative health and early intervention to manage infectious conditions. The ratio of healthcare workers and health facilities is extremely low and consequently, the health needs of this country are vastly unmet. Due to overwhelming financial constraints of the Bangladesh government, these health needs cannot be addressed only through the local government. . . Before the woman representative at the booth could finish describing the work of the Hope Foundation, how it provides help to anyone in need, especially for destitute women and children, Craig reached into his pocket and placed twenty dollars on the table, his defining act given in a moment without any reservation.
The lovely anhingha dries his wings spread wide apart, stately Florida Deco at its finest. A great blue heron squawks his reply as a lazy gator submerges taking a fish. The drowsy faun-colored Everglades dreams a dream of tourists snapping photos with cell phones, chattering in foreign tongues and giving turkey buzzards a wide path. I shall miss Homestead–its fields of palms and fruit orchards and the slow Sunday parade of niño fruit-pickers down main street.
Driving through a country lane in the Redlands, faced with a gathering of peacocks, most likely introduced as fast-food by Spanish conquistadors, I am struck with awe.
This weekend was the annual Asian Festival held at the splendid Fruit and Spice Park. There are 17 varieties of banana trees found there, star fruit, Buddha’s hand citrus, and all sorts of wonderful tropical delicacies to delight the eye and tongue. I fell victim to the East Indian clothing and jewelry booths. Many informational booths were represented, including one offering Thai massage, one sponsored by Miami’s Thai Wat Buddharangsi temple, Asian foods, and live entertainment—Japanese drummers, Iranian and East Indian dancers, and a stunning group of Chinese acrobats. The girls were 18, 19 and 20 year old contortionists that did mind- and hip-boggling movements, while balancing objects and making flowerlike designs with lithe bodies, balancing on one leg like an Everglades bird.
March 8 (Reuters) – An initiative to get sugary drinks out of U.S. schools has begun to work, with diet beverages and smaller portions replacing some full-size, full-calorie varieties in school vending machines, organizers said on Monday. The American Beverage Association said an agreement with the American Heart Association and the William J. Clinton Foundation had cut shipments of full-calorie soft drinks to schools by 95 percent since 2004.. . . It is not going to work, nothing is going to work until we stop serving sugar at home. Try adding stevia to beverages. See sugar-free recipes–pies and no bake brownies etc, as well as natural remedies and recipes for diabetes in Feed Your Tiger. The Year of the Tiger is the year you can dare to do what you have always wanted. First lose weight and gain energy!
See this AMAZON SHORT for 49 cents: Feed Your Tiger Lose Weight and Love It!
I saw this today in Times of India:
Scientists have discovered that the AIDS virus can avoid treatment by infecting bone marrow, becoming dormant, and later converting into blood cells. Researchers at the University of Michigan, led by Dr. Kathleen Collins, discovered a cluster of dormant HIV virus cells within bone marrow, where they can avoid drugs and then re-emerge and cause renewed infection at a later date. The discovery helps explain why those infected with AIDS need to maintain therapy for life, lest the disease return if and when treatment is ceased, Collins recently told Ashley Hall of The World Today. “There was good reason to believe that this was due to the virus being able to hide out in so-called reservoirs in a very stable form and it is sitting there poised to reactivate so that when drugs are stopped and the virus can spread again, the virus can rebound.” My friends with AIDS have done well by combining the usual medical cocktail with immune-enhancing foods and herbs such as astragalus, reishi mushroom extract, Tibetan goji berries, along with a sane diet and stress-reducing techniques like yoga or Qi gung.
Most people know that garlic helps prevent colds and flu by enhancing immunity, that it acts as a liver tonic and that it kills intestinal worms, parasites and yeast. But interesting new research is coming to light concerning garlic’s other benefits. For example, garlic’s key ingredient-allicin may prevent primary pulmonary hypertension a form of high blood pressure.
New studies provide compelling evidence that garlic and its organic allyl sulfur components are effective inhibitors of the cancer process. These studies reveal that the benefits of garlic are not limited to a specific species, to a particular tissue, or to a specific carcinogen. Of 37 observational studies in humans using garlic and related allyl sulfur components, 28 studies showed some cancer preventive effect. The evidence is particularly strong for a link between garlic and prevention of prostate and stomach cancers. All of the available information comes from observational studies comparing cancer incidence in populations who consume or do not consume garlic (epidemiologic studies), animal models, or observations with cells in culture.
Several compounds are involved in garlic’s possible anticancer effects. Garlic contains allyl sulfur and other compounds that slow or prevent the growth of tumor cells. Garlic blocks the formation of powerful carcinogens, called nitrosamines, which may be formed during the digestion of food. Allyl sulfur compounds, which occur naturally in garlic and onions, make cells vulnerable to the stress created by products of cell division. Because cancer cells divide very quickly, they generate more stressors than most normal cells. Thus, cancer cells are damaged by the presence of allyl sufur compounds to a much greater extent than normal cells.
Salvador Dali would have loved this. He was famous for taking 5 minute naps daily. He held a silver spoon in one hand with his arm draped over a chair next to a silver platter. When he fell asleep and dropped the spoon, it made a clatter and woke him. Naps may or may not have been part of his great success. . . A new study involved 39 healthy young adults divided into two groups — nap and no nap. At noon, all the participants were subjected to a rigorous learning task intended to tax the hippocampus, a region of the brain that helps store fact-based memories. Both groups performed at comparable levels. At 2 p.m., the nap group took a 90-minute siesta while the no-nap group stayed awake. At 6 p.m., participants performed a new round of learning exercises. Those who remained awake throughout the day became worse at learning; those who napped did markedly better and actually improved in their capacity to learn. A warning about napping found in traditional Asian medicine comes from Ayurveda and Tibetan medicine: Don’t nap in the afternoon if you are overweight and clogged with phlegm (Kapha). It puts on weight because it slows metabolism. Earlier studies showed that 7 hours sleep is optimal for mental and physical well-being for most people.
Staphylococcus aureus 
(Reuters) – Pneumonia and blood-borne infections caught in hospital killed 48,000 patients and cost $8.1 billion in 2006, according to a report released on Monday. This study is one of the first to put a price tag on the widespread problem, which is worsening and which some experts say is adding to the growing cost of healthcare in the United States. “In many cases, these conditions could have been avoided with better infection control in hospitals,” said Ramanan Laxminarayan of Resources for the Future, a think tank that sponsored the study. Sepsis — a blood infection — killed 20 percent of patients who developed it after surgery, Laxminarayan and colleagues reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine. They studied hospital discharge records from 69 million patients at hospitals in 40 U.S. states between 1998 and 2006, looking for two diagnoses — hospital-acquired pneumonia and sepsis. How might you avoid infection?
It ‘s exactly a week after my second PRP and fat injection (using my own stem cells) given by Dr. Alan Lazar orthopedic surgeon at his office in Plantation, Florida. I feel great. The weather is finally nice after a month of rainy cold weather. Normally I would be limping. But thanks to the injections, I can deal with joint swelling and pain resulting from cold/damp weather. Today I actually sat and arose from a chair without using my arms for support. Nice. . . I remember the day when, as a girl, I walked and sat with a book balanced on my head. Since then, arthritis and joint and muscle weakness from normal wear and tear have made sitting and lacing my shoes a challenge. I will keep you informed of my improvements in mobility and pain-reduction using PRP injections at this website. Below is a video I made yesterday to give you an idea. My improvement at this point may be as much as 70% but I always feel great in Miami where it is warm and sunny. The real test will be this summer in cold, humid Vermont. Stem cells keep on working (to grow new cartilage) for up to a year after an injection. What a good deal!
Chinese medicine values Astragalus menbranaceus root, a member of the vetch family, as a major health-giving, energy-enhancing herb.
Known as a Qi-tonic, it is recommended for chronic weakness, fatigue, low immunity, and abnormal or excess sweating. It is sweet in flavor and very nourishing.
Most of us, who shop in Chinatown herb shops or groceries, buy the dried sliced 
root. You can simmer a handful of the slices in a quart of water for thirty minutes and have a refreshing, tasty beverage best used between meals.
Recently, I heard some exciting research about astragalus that was news to me: It is rejuvenating because an enzyme increased by astragalus called telomerase prevents DNA strands from collapsing and dying. That way the genetic material in the DNA is not lost. In other words, astragalus helps maintain vitality and life itself in the cells. Here is an excerpt from an upcoming book of mine that gives a lot more information about astragalus.
ASTRAGALUS: Adaptogen, Energy and Immunity Booster
Do you have tired legs, weakness, excessive sweating? Worried about Cancer? Astragalus is an inexpensive, natural energy tonic and a great rejunvenator!
