Category Archives: Healthy Living

#thursdaythrive Pears

#thursdaythrive Pears!

There are over 3000 varieties of pears grown around the world.
Pears are native to Asia and Europe. The first pear tree was planted in the North America in 1620 in the Massachusetts Bay colony.
The Chinese considered the pear, which they call “li,” to be a symbol of immortality. The destruction of a pear tree symbolized tragic or untimely death.
Before tobacco was introduced in Europe, pear leaves were smoked.
The pear was sacred to two goddesses in Greek mythology – Hera and Aphrodite. It was also sacred to the corresponding Roman goddesses, Juno and Venus, as well as to Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruitfulness.
Towns with an abundance of pear trees often included the word Perry in the name of the town.

#thursdaythrive All about Spinach!

In the 1930’s U.S. spinach growers credited Popeye with a 33% increase in domestic spinach consumption.
The spinach growing town of Crystal City, Texas, erected a statue of Popeye in 1937.
Medieval artists extracted green pigment from spinach to use as an ink or paint.
Spinach is best eaten fresh. It loses nutritional properties with each passing day.
Oxalate, found in spinach, may cause kidney stones in some predisposed individuals.
California produces 74 percent of the fresh spinach grown in the United States.

#thursdaythrive Artichokes!

Until the 16th century, women were prohibited from eating them in many countries because they were still considered to have aphrodisiac properties.
The top artichoke producers today are Spain, France, and Italy.
. California produces 100% of the United States artichoke crop, with Castroville, California calling itself the “Artichoke Center of the World.”
In 1947 Marilyn Monroe, then still going by her given name Norma Jean, was crowned Castroville’s first Artichoke Queen.
One artichoke plant can produce more than 20 artichokes per year.

#thursdaythrive All about Garlic

Garlic has germanium in it. Germanium is an anti-cancer agent, and garlic has more of it than any other herb. In lab tests, mice fed garlic showed no cancer development, whereas mice that weren’t fed garlic showed at least some. In fact, garlic has been shown to retard tumor growth in human subjects in some parts of the world.
Another benefit of garlic is it helps regulate the body’s blood pressure. So whether you have problems with low or high blood pressure, garlic can help equalize it.
Garlic helps strengthen your body’s defenses against allergies; helps loosen plaque from the artery walls; helps regulate your blood sugar levels; and is the best choice for killing and expelling parasites such as pin worms from the human body.
Garlic and onions are toxic to cats and dogs.
It is traditional to plant garlic on the shortest day of the year. Whether this is for symbolic or practical reasons is unclear.