Spirituality and religion

There is a class at Texas A& M health science center on spirituality that I have been invited to teach.

The question arose, Are you spiritual  but not religious? SBNR

So what is religion- It is abiding set of beliefs as structured by a church or organization.

Spirituality is a higher or inner awareness that does not limit ones freedom." My own personal faith or direct relationship wit God- no church or organization needed.

The word religion comes from Latin word religare, which is a combination of re(back) ligament ( to tie or bind,suggesting that which restricts ,restrains or limits ones freedom.

Spiritual assumes a higher or inner or mystical awareness. That is unrestricted,unrestrained and does not limit ones freedom.

More to come another time.

However,just one thing, it has been proved that people who attend even once a week group prayers liv e longer than those who did not.

Flax( Linum Usitatissimum)

Flax seeds have Alpha Linolenic acid and lignans.

Flax is available as whole seeds,ground seeds and flax oil.

The benefits of using Flax seeds in diet are many.

Ideally,you can grind flax seed in a coffee grinder just before using it.

However to save time I use ground flax seed with added B vitamins to my smoothies.

It is available in my office for purchase at a very nominal cost of $9 for a big jar.

Refrigerate flax once can is opened.

Flax protects against metabolic syndrome,prevents constipation,is used in cancer prevention by protecting against DNA damage,reduce inflammation,inhibiting new blood vessel formation.

In a study reported in American Journal of Clinical nutrition,post menopausal women supplemented with 25 gems of flax for 16 weeks saw a significant increase in conversion of estrogen to 2 - hydroxyl estrogen,a weak form of estrogen that decreases breast cancer risk.

It can also help reduce blood sugar.it helps reduce Insulin resistance.

For patients with Proteinuriaor microalbuminuria,flax seed consumption was related to reduction in Proteinuria.

A tbsp of Flax provides dietary fiber,Manganese,thiamine,magnesium,phosphorus,copper,omega 3 fatty acids.

I have used lot of references to give you this information.

Beans and cholesterol

Almost every culture has some kind of bean incorporated in their culture.

We had gone to Costa Rica for a meeting and red kidney beans and black beans were the staple along with plantain bananas.

If you visit northern part of India,garbanzo beans,and red kidney beans( also known as Rajma) are favorite.

In southern part of India Yellow lentils cooked as Sambhar with spices is a favorite.

Cooked dry beans are a good source of protein,low in saturated fat and good source of fiber.

The cholesterol lowering effect of dry beans is probably due to binding and increased excretion of bile acids,disruption of cholesterol Michelle formation.Dry beans contain phytosterols and saponins which lower cholesterol.Beans have potassium,magnesium and antioxidants,are low in sodium.

One must rinse canned beans thoroughly with water before eating.

Beans cause gas.The viscous fiber and resistant starch that was left undigested in small intestine is fermented in colon ?It is this fermentation that causes causes gas.

The viscous fiber and starch act as prebiotics.The fermentation of viscous fiber and resistant starch promotes production of short chain fatty acids and reduces cholesterol production.

An easy way to eat black beans is to open a can of black beans, wash it very good,and add hopped onion,chopped bell pepper,warmed up cooked yellow corn,1/2 an avocado cut into small pieces,1 tomato chopped into small pieces.add salt, black pepper,lemon juice to taste.

I like adding peanuts to this too .