Of old and new things.

----We all want to start the New Year with uttermost good intentions ..........so start the day of you child and yourself off with a good breakfast!
Some good whole wheat bread or some high quality cereal [I highly recommended at the moment "Dorset-cereals" from England.][Certainly not cornflakes and the likes]
A good whole grain breakfast may prevent serious diseases like diabetes and early hypertension, obesity and heart diseases
Whole-grain products can help to establish an excellent blood sugar control for most of the day.
The Talmud already mentioned the pat shacharit] which literally means, "morning bread".
The Mishna Berura notes that there are 83 diseases that can be avoided by eating breakfast each morning.[but only a proper healthy breakfast]

----Another health issue;
Recently it has been shown again without doubt that certain food colouring and food additives [for example sodium benzoate ] can play a major role in children who are diagnosed as "impossible"[ hyperactive, ADHA].
Should it halachically be allowed to get a kashrut stamp on these products if we know for sure that that children may be endangered by these compounds and "as a result of this" may be prescribed harmful drugs like ritalin just because we often ignore health issues as not being halachic issues?

---Almonds are considered a miracle superior food.
The Rambam highly praise them highly: "Figs, grapes and almonds are always beneficial, both fresh and dried. One may eat of them as much as he requires.. However, he should not eat them constantly even though they are the most beneficial of fruits".[hilchot de'ot chapter 4, halacha 11, translated by Rabbi Za'ev Abramson and Rabbi Eliyahu Touger].

The Hebrew text follows:

:התאנים והענבים והשקדים, לעולם טובים בין רטובין בין יבשין ואוכל אדם מהם כל צורכו ולא יתמיד אכילתם, אע"פ שהן טובים מכל פרי האילנות

They are extremely rich in important vitamins and minerals and can prevent and heal diseases of heart and blood vessels.
Instead of using dangerous "statins drugs", one may consider using after most meals a handful of almonds [remove the brown skin first because this may make the almonds hard to digest]
If women are afraid to eat almonds, because of weight problems, then I can assure them that they often will loose weigh instead of gaining by eating this very healthy product.

---As many as 50 percent of breast and colon cancer cases could be prevented by increasing intake of vitamin D.
Is this fact not be worth advertising
daily via the Israeli media? I would think so.
Please check your D level first {called: 25[OD] D} to know how much vitamin D you should take, to start with.
[See an earlier alon/bulletin where vitamin D is discussed extensively]

----Do you know that coughing during an injection can lessen the pain of the needle stick?
[Just tell the nurse that you are going to cough, so that she does not get frightened that something happened when you suddenly start coughing....]

---To relieve pressure in the sinus /nose area , alternately presse your tongue against the roof of your mouth, and then press between your eyebrows with one finger. This will open blockages and you may feel within a minute that the mucus starts draining.

---- If you think you should loose weight, then please don't go on "crazy diets".
Consult a doctor working in this field
Homeopathic dilution of Thyroidinum C30 [thyroid hormone ,but in non-measurable dilution] did affect the rate of body weight reduction in fasting patients.[ research from 2002]

---If you suffer a lot from dandruff ["kaskasim"] or seborrhoeic dermatits and you are on a healthy diet already, then you may try the following: potassium bromide, sodium bromide, nickel sulfate, and sodium chloride ,all in a potency of D6 [together 50 cc, equal parts]. [Print this out for the French pharmacy or for Oplatka] [the homeopathic pharmacies we mostly work with]
Take morning and evening under the tongue some 7 drops until there is improvement.
Let me know you experience, in case you used this.

---Lactobacillus GG [available as Culturelle from the U.S.A, one of the most stable and examined probiotics] has been shown to be quite effective in prevention of dental decay [caries]especially for three- and four-year-old children.
This probiotic can be used for many other purposes such as colitis, crohn's disease etc and possibly as well in children with autism.

----Broccoli and cauliflower : eating this vegetables regularly can prevent prostate cancer [which is very common and in general highly over treated] to a high degree from becoming more aggressive.[there are many more things to know about this issue, b"h a next time]

---Garlic: to end with this humble" vegetable":
if you want to benefit from garlic, then use it in 3 ways:
partially raw, partially cooked and partially fried.
All these three ways may bring a different medical benefit of garlic to the surface.
Important to know: if you want to use garlic with its anti-cancer benefits, then peel the clove and leave it standing[open] for some 15 minutes before you use it !! [So, only after 15 minutes you add it to your cooking etc]
Just recently it has been shown that garlic may have an incredible effect on a very malignant brain tumour: glioma/glioblastoma.

May we all be blessed with a happy and healthy new year and may we all do what is in our possibility to speed up a real "tikun olam".