I love shopping at my local farmers' market and marveling at the aisles full of colorful fruits and vegetables piled high on the makeshift shelves. Like many farmers' markets, mine carries fresh, in-season items, which not only taste delicious, but also tend to be less expensive because they’re locally grown.
The good news is that December brings us seasonal vegetables that are particularly good for your bones… let's explore three of these together right now…
Meet the Mushroom
Mushrooms grow low to the ground. Combined with their earthy color, these little veggies (more correctly, fungi) are easy to overlook both in their natural habitat and in the grocery store.
Mushrooms come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, and they are all healthful, alkaline foods that nourish your bones and more. Mushrooms are so bone-healthy, in fact, that they are included among the Foundation Foods in the Osteoporosis Reversal Program, where you’ll find an extensive list of Foundation Foods that are critical to your bone health. So there’s never any need to go hungry or eat a limited diet.
Mushrooms contain copper and zinc, two trace minerals that work together, and other important minerals like selenium and potassium. Also, mushrooms are one of the few food sources of vitamin D.
You may be wondering how best to prepare mushrooms. You can enjoy them sliced and eaten raw or sautéed and served over other dishes. But the the best way is to combine several Foundation Foods in one dish, so you can maximize your bone-building efforts.
For that reason, in the Osteoporosis Reversal Program I’ve included the Recipe Sampler where you’ll find delicious pH-balanced, bone-healthy recipes that include mushrooms along with other Foundation Foods. In the Sampler I also give you recipes to enjoy the next December vegetable.
Binge on Broccoli
Another Foundation Food in the Osteoporosis Reversal Program, broccoli is not only nutritious, it’s detoxifying, and one of my absolute favorites.
Broccoli is an alkalizing vegetable that contains significant amounts of calcium – one cup has about 175 milligrams. It also contains the detoxifying chemical d-glucarate, which opens up your body’s natural detoxification process.
It’s a versatile vegetable that does beautifully in casseroles but also stands alone as a bone-healthy food in itself. It’s as tasty raw as it is cooked, and it blends well with other vegetables.
Both mushrooms and broccoli are used in my mouth-watering Broccoli and Mushroom Quiche recipe, found on page 15 of the Osteoporosis Reversal Program Recipe Sampler (which is included as a bonus with the Osteoporosis Reversal Program. Recipes like this and others in the Sampler are an excellent way to get a jump-start on building your bones, and the handy Supplemental Sheets –- yet another component of the Program -– help you with making a bone-healthy shopping list and more.
The recipes included in the Program’s Recipe Sampler include breakfast, lunch, and dinner dishes, but they also act as springboards for your own healthful kitchen creations. In the Osteoporosis Reversal Program, you’ll learn about the attributes and nutritional profiles of many foods. As you try some of the recipes, you can then take that knowledge into the kitchen to create your own tasty meals. Variety is key, as is the ability to “customize” your bone-building diet.
There’s one more important vegetable to discuss in our list of 3 seasonal veggies for December, and it may be the most amazing, versatile, and flavorful of them all:
Use Garlic With Gusto
Garlic is actually an amazing food. It’s an alkalizing vegetable with bone-healthy nutrients, but it’s also a potent medicine. Garlic possesses astounding antibiotic, anti-viral, and anti-fungal properties, largely due to a biologically active compound called allicin. Allicin is also largely responsible for garlic’s anti-inflammatory properties.
When garlic is growing in the soil, allicin acts as a self-defense mechanism, protecting the plant from harmful microbes like parasites, harmful fungi, and bacteria. Allicin also blocks certain types of enzymes, which “aid and abet” infection-causing organisms in their efforts to invade cells. These enzymes can be found in a big variety of infectious organisms – from fungi to bacteria to viruses – which accounts for garlic’s ability to stave off so many different illnesses.
And as usual, nature has things in balance – garlic also has pre-biotic properties, meaning it promotes the growth of healthful bacteria in the gut, further aiding the immune system and preventing a massive die-off of healthy intestinal flora (as often happens when we ingest synthetic antibiotics).
One more word about the wonders of allicin – garlic also appears to block the enzymes that play a role in making cholesterol. So garlic seems to be a heart-healthy food as well as a bone-healthy one!
Garlic’s bone-healthy properties include the above, of course, but also key nutrients. In the Osteoporosis Reversal Program, I write about Foundation Supplements in addition to Foundation Foods. The Foundation Supplements are essential nutrients that act as building blocks toward healthy, strong bones. Garlic contains several of these Foundation Supplements, such as:
- Zinc
- Manganese
- Vitamin B6
- Vitamin C
Garlic also contains an important trace mineral that is essential for the proper functioning of vital organs like the kidneys, liver, and pancreas:
Selenium
Although not a Foundation Supplement, selenium is vital to liver function because among other things, it promotes tissue elasticity (a rigid liver tissue can result from chronic liver disease), thus enhancing circulation to this crucial organ. Selenium also acts as an antioxidant, and it also boosts immunity by working with vitamin E to produce antibodies that fight disease.
Why all this concern over the liver?
Quite simply, your liver is the major detoxification organ in your body, and supporting detoxification is a key element in building healthy bones. This is particularly important if you have taken osteoporosis drugs in the past and want to cleanse these chemicals from your body.
Detoxification is so important to bone health, in fact, that I wrote an entire cleansing program named the Osteoporosis Fresh Start Cleanse. As you go through the detoxification process I outline in it, you’ll see that liver-protecting foods such as garlic are included in the 7-day cleanse.
Because of its content of selenium and allicin, garlic is definitely a liver-friendly vegetable that acts as a powerful medicine against viral, bacterial, and fungal infections.
And that’s not all garlic has to offer. It’s also anti-inflammatory, as I write in the Osteoporosis Fresh Start Cleanse. Controlling inflammation is part of the cleansing process, and puts you well on the path to a healthy lifestyle. Inflammation can negatively affect all kinds of body processes, from digestion to bone remodeling.
Isn’t it amazing that these seasonal, health-promoting powerhouses are sitting right there in your grocery store and farmer's market? Celebrate the holidays with some new and healthful dishes, and get a head start on your New Year’s bone health resolutions.
And I'd like to wish Happy Channukah to everyone in the Save Our Bones Community who’s celebrating the “Festival of Lights” this week. May your lives be lit with joy, health and happiness always!
Till next time,
You May Also Like These Related Articles:
Beyond Osteoporosis: Health Repercussions Of Metabolic Acidosis Besides Osteoporosis- Save Our Bones Bulletin: Study Identifies Gene That Governs Bone Development; How Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone Impacts Osteoporosis Risk; Meta-Analysis Concludes That Walking Can Extend Your Life
- Which Is More Effective: Diet Or Drugs?
Beyond Osteoporosis: Health Repercussions Of Metabolic Acidosis Besides Osteoporosis
Save Our Bones Bulletin: Study Identifies Gene That Governs Bone Development; How Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone Impacts Osteoporosis Risk; Meta-Analysis Concludes That Walking Can Extend Your Life
Which Is More Effective: Diet Or Drugs?Comments on this article are closed.
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I was diagnosed with osteoporosis 4 years ago when my bone density loss was 17%. I was prescribed Alendronic acid and after one year I had a reaction, some of my teeth became loose, my throat began to close up and I couldn’t swallow my food. My doctor then prescribed Strontium which I found to be too sweet for me so I stopped all medication and increased my yoga practice. I started doing Bikram yoga every day as well as Sivananda.
Both of these together has strengthen my spine as well as my legs. As a vegetarian I focused on my diet and increased my calcium levels.
I have had another bone density scan recently and my results showed my bones were normal for my age. So there is an alternative to drugs. -
Hi V, and hi all, I know about the garlic, broccoli and mushrooms, and their health benefits. I read a herbalist doctor book, that he knows of someone who uses the garlic capsules, but still uses two raw garlic cloves. Eating two raw garlic cloves each day wards of a stroke attack. Vee, you are a terrific person, always seeking to help others, the best way you know how. I am supportive of the good work that you do. In the not too distant future, my desire is to get the save your bones program. God bless.
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I have nephrotic syndrome and sarcoidosis so I have to limit my potassium and calcium intake but I have to balance that with what my body needs. Great news about the garlic and broccolli but I have to limit the mushrooms, even though I love them. Is there anyway I can justify bananas? I know they have a lot of potassium, but they’re my favourite. Help!
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I need some thing that helps for hot and flush.
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I use a lot of broccoli slaw as a base for salads. Is this super-nutritious, too?
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Dear Vivian this Recipe Sampler must be in a new edition of the Save your
Bones program.
How do we obtain these recipes if we have an older copy.-
Hi Martha,
Please contact Customer Support by clicking on the smiley face in the upper right-hand corner of the page. We’ll be glad to help you out!
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I LOVE all three of them! Have them on a regular basis!
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I have just been for a bone density test and my bone density improved over the last 5 years. I take glucosamine and boswelia on a daily basis to assist with fluid between my joints and it helps with bone growth. I am also taking an organic calcium supplement which the Radiologist now indicate that I should stop. He referred me to studies done that calcium supplements are causing heart attacks in women, block arteries higher risk of many illnesses.
There are so many things said that one do not know what and who to believe. Today this is great tomorrow it might be killing you. What is your opinion regarding this?Regards
Anel-
Anel, I understand the confusion! There is a lot of conflicting information out there, which is why I am committed to bringing you the truth. 🙂 I have written a blog post on this very subject that may interest you. Here is the link:
https://saveourbones.com/calcium-heart-attack/
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Great news, mushroom, broccoli and garlic, I always cook them together.
Thanks. -
Vivian muy buena la informacion y ademas biene para traducirla
muchas gracias Carmen
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Vivian muy buena la informacion y ademas biene para traducirla
muchas gracias
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Vivian, love all U R comments on the broc/ and garlic, mushrooms information,
thanks for opening the eyes of public to valuable health sources..
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ThaNK YOU.VERY INFORMATIVE ARTIKLE.tHIS ONLY WHAT KEEP ME NOT USED OFTEN IT IS SMELL. oLGA.
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I thank so much for all the information, i really enjoy reading about health programs….it is an interesting knowledge….
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Thanks for sharing this vital information about Brocolli, mushrooms, and garlic… great to know because I do not take any vitamins, and I am 59…
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I also have the SaveourBones Program but I don’t have the Program Recipe Sampler. How do we get it?
Blythe
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I have the SaveourBones Program but I don’t have the Program Recipe Sampler.
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The Recipe Sampler can be found on page 208 of the Save Our Bones book (Power Package). If you can’t find it, please e-mail customer service by clicking on the smiley face in the upper right-hand corner of the page. 🙂
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Thank you for the information on garlic and its effect on protecting the liver. My question is that I take Kyolic every day. Is this just as good as taking raw garlic?
Thank you. I enjoy your email that I receive all the time.
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Garlic supplements are fine – I recommended some in this blog post:
https://saveourbones.com/flu-shot/
But I hope you’ll also try eating garlic – it’s a wonderful taste experience!
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great news, we love them, eat them a lot.
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Thank you for wonderful article. It contained great information.
Best wishes
Mina -
I need to know why my urine is acidic when I eat Apples or drink organic apple cider vinegar when it is suppose to be alkaline? Please answer!!
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Apple cider vinegar is a type of process vinegar. Vinegar is considered as an acidic, and depends how much did you drink. Try to eat apple and cucumber or carrot couple hours befor bed, then test your urine in the following morning again.
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Thank you very much for the info you sent I’ll include all thes vegetables in my diet.
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There is only one thing that makes all members of the human race equal: the Circadian Cycle. It demands protein for breakfast and lunch and carbohydrates for dinner. Read “The circadian Prescription”
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If you are cooking with garlic, crush it about 20 minutes before you use it. This releases the allicin and makes it more available.
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Yes, Julie, you are right about that. In nature, the allicin is released when the garlic is crushed, cut, or otherwise “injured.” 🙂
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Mushrooms, broccoli and garlic. They would mke a nice meal together.
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I have become a fan as I enjoy your health-friendly advice to keep bones walk tall.
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Welcome!
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I only eat vegys, fruits, nuts, fish, and beans. I consume onions and garlic. My garlic consumption is very very high daily and probably that is why I haven’t been to a doctor or taken any medicine for the last 17 yeras, beside my other nutrition components. I also daily make cardio tread mill exercise My Heart Beats crosses the 180 BPM I also practise Yoga too, accordingly health wise am close to very very high standard