Building block for maintaining natural immunity – Herbs and Spices
Choosing to use high quality herbs, spices and salts is critical in life. To stay safe in a world that is rapidly depleting its own natural resources, quality is and has become a precious commodity. In these turbulent times it should be in every person’s interest to increase their understanding of how the immune system works and what building blocks we have available to support it.
Our body is our temple, and not giving the body the attention and compounds it needs, in terms of minerals, vitamins, oils, proteins, healthy sugars etc., will always ultimately result in the weakening of the immune system and natural immunity leaving us exposed to external threats from viruses and infections.
Shortcuts are dangerous
Over the past 30-40 years humanity has especially focused on shortcuts. Taking medicine, pills, supplements etc. to support our immune system has become a staple in society, but why have they risen in popularity? Because they are easy to sell and use, all you need is to manipulate people into believing in the benefits of manmade solutions and ‘facts’. The idea sounds logical to people, boost the areas of the body that need support and you will feel fine without having to do almost anything.
The problem that persists is that this is nothing but a shortcut, a poor solution to counteract our increasingly poor and lazy lifestyle and the choices that come with it, which obviously governments and businesses would like to see humanity moving towards, why? Because people who are ill require treatment, treatment that is governed, monitored and provided through government, which is probably the greatest money spinner ever.
In reality, our diet is actually the key to many and most of our health problems. As the quality and nutritional value of our diet decreases we can see a clear rise in lifestyle related diseases, cancer, infections etc. Maintaining our health is not a question of focusing on isolated problems and deficiencies like doctors like to tell you, but rather to maintain an overall healthy intake of all necessary compounds our body needs organically.
Naturally this is best achieved through food and drink, as this is the way mother nature intended, not through pills or other methods.
Neglecting our duty of care
It is very visible now in 2021 what happens when we neglect our duty of care towards our health and wellbeing. Our body and mind becomes weak and incapable of fighting off naturally occurring or manmade or natural dangers.
The issue with the immune system is that we must earn our immunity, which means it takes work and consequently neglecting the duty of care weakens us over time and cannot be repaired rapidly.
The body needs time to recover and pick up its strength, which is why I always say that our lifestyle, and especially dietary, choices are the only real long-term point of actions for maintaining a sufficient immune system.
It is worth pointing out key areas that present risks for weakening our immune system.
- Food quality is the first major concern to highlight, general rule of thumb for, the more industrial the product, the more it hurts our immune system, why? Because, mass- and speedy production damages biodiversity and key compounds like vitamin and mineral structure in organic food, which in turn means products do not meet the organic needs of our body.
- The second major concern can be found in medicine, which has been created with the focus of curing specific ailments, but very rarely looks at supporting the body holistically. People should take the dangers of any, even basic, medication seriously and work on minimizing the need to use medicine, supplements or other man made synthetic solutions.
Everything our body needs can be found organically, out of which herbs and spices present a great opportunity for administering effective self-care and reducing the need and reliance on man-made solutions, pills and medicine.
Tasty and healthy food sits at the core
Best of all, high quality herbs and spices play an essential role in preparing tasty and healthy food, as well as beverages. Unfortunately we humans often do become a bit complacent and forget to be mindful of the actual quality of the ingredients we use, because in the end packaging is rarely actually regulated and often does not truly represent the quality it promises, so do check and be bold enough to always question the quality of any nutritional product.
Herbs and spices are at best a gateway between cultures and help us connect socially.
No wonder that there is an old saying ‘the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach’, which means that if a woman wants a man to fall in love with her, she needs to be able to prepare excellent meals, which in turn demands understanding and appreciation for herbs and spices and how to best use them.
How to identify ingredient quality?
- Aroma > if there is a strong aroma it is a sign of quality, try comparing ingredients of high and low quality to realize the difference in aroma.
- Taste > is the taste strong and potent or flat and boring, does the taste fuse with other ingredients and actually change the taste of the food.
- Visual > is the color of the ingredient vibrant or lifeless, this is a direct reflection of biodiversity. However we should remember that companies widely use chemicals, color and other additives to improve the look (and taste) of ingredients, so always check the ingredients list.
- Origin > understand where the ingredient is from, most companies purchase and package the ingredients they sell, which means the origin may be in doubt.
- Health > how do ingredients make us feel short, medium and long term, is there any impact on metabolism, immunity, skin, lungs, mind, brain… organic high quality ingredients always leave their mark on us.
- Trust > do not trust empty words and promises, advertising, companies, and even people, because the world is primarily focused and geared towards selling rather than caring for people and their wellbeing or needs. With selling comes the problem of profit and to achieve high profit these days’ ethics and quality ultimately suffer. If you cannot establish a link to:
- How it is made (production method);
- Where it is from (what area and who is the producer);
- When it was grown and processed (harvesting, processing and distribution);
- And finally why it is being offered (reason for someone offering this ingredient)
Then the provider should not be trusted. You may purchase and try the product, but do not for one minute trust the quality. Transparency is key, because the world is full of empty promises and false advertising, do not let it become the thing that jeopardizes the health and wellbeing of yourself and your surroundings.
How should we use herbs and spices?
- Awareness > it is important to note that quality often increases impact, which means that body and mind will receive more benefits from the ingredient, this is why one should always start with less and increase intake in line with how body and mind react.
- Approach > it is wise to widen the use of spices rather than sticking to a few trusted ones, because each herb and spice has its own composition and therefore impact on body and mind.
- Creativity > be creative, trying new combinations often results in diversity in terms of diet, which is a very positive thing.
- Quantity > high quality herbs and spices are more potent compared to regular or low quality ones, therefore use them more scarcely. General rule of thumb, only use half the amount of high quality herbs and spice compared to regular quality use.
- Impact > high quality herbs and spices have diverse nutrient and therapeutic properties, which is why variety is important, too much of the same is rarely good for body and mind.
Note, there is no need to fear high quality spices, just start with small doses and see how you go, and if you are unsure you can always ask for advice, Dolce Vita Global will answer your questions info@mydvg.eu
Finally, at DVG we have our own OQG (Organic Quality Guarantee), which means that any and all our ingredients must meet the following standards:
The origin of the product and their growth and production conditions correspond to our organic high standards (no toxins, minimal pollution, hand harvesting, bio-diversity etc.).
DVG knows the producer and has oversight of their whole supply chain, production methods and ensures these are of the highest possible standard
The quality of the product is trusted when it passes our internal check, which includes us personally using any ingredient for a minimum of six months to analyze impact on body and mind before entry to market.
Any ingredient on sale will be undergoing OQC-I (Organic Quality Guarantee Inspection) every six months after going on sale.
If something is not good enough for our owners and artisan chefs, it will not ever enter our store!
[Marinated Chicken for Risotto]
Slice chicken breast into strips and leave to marinate for 12-24 hours with salt, 5-10 g of curry powder and juice of 1 lemon.
[Vegetable Broth for Risotto]
Add salt, oil, 2 onions, 2 garlic cloves, 2 potatoes, 2 zucchini, and 2 carrots into large pan covered with 1.5 litre of water (not part of ingredients list). Boil for 1 hour on medium heat.
[Curry Risotto]
Add finely chopped onions and garlic, as well as larger slices of carrots into pan with oil and salt, sauté on medium heat for a few minutes. Add rice into pan and continue cooking for 2-3 min so that the rice gets slightly toasted. Add wine, honey, marinated chicken, and remaining curry powder into dish and cover for 2-3 min. Add 2 ladles of vegetable broth and keep stirring, then continuously add broth when liquid reduces to half until rice is al dente.
[Serving Instructions]
For perfect result make sure to not over cook the rice, when al dente turn off the heat and leave to rest for 5 min. Garnish with olive oil, oregano and matured cheese.
[Ingredients List, Serves 4 People]
350 g of chicken breast
10-20 g of curry powder
1 glass of dry white wine
1 tbsp. of high quality honey
2 ½ glasses of Italian risotto rice
3 small onions and 2 cloves of garlic
2 medium carrots
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt to taste
Matured cheese to taste
Oregano
