lemongrass

[Guest guest]

Maureen, how bout putting it in a " clean " coffee grinder. I use one to

ground oatmeal to a powder.

Shaye

Lemongrass

Has anyone used their own lemongrass in soap? I need some tips on getting

it chopped fine.

--

Maureen Barger CIT/ID

Cornell University

http://mo.cit.cornell.edu/

If I didn't start painting, I would have raised chickens. - Grandma Moses.

[Guest guest]

I wondered about that. I only have a " dirty " one ... today ;-)

I did try using a small food processer but the stalk pieces went round and

round without getting any smaller. Guess I should break down and get

another grinder.

<quote who= " Shaye " >

> Maureen, how bout putting it in a " clean " coffee grinder. I use one to

> ground oatmeal to a powder.

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Mo!

Would a coffee grinder work for that? I know it's pretty coarse stuff.

Another thing might be to chop it up as fine as you can get it and infuse it

in some olive or other type of oil and then depending on your preferences,

maybe strain it out or leave it.

HTH!

Lemongrass

> Has anyone used their own lemongrass in soap? I need some tips on getting

> it chopped fine.

>

>

> --

> Maureen Barger CIT/ID

> Cornell University

> http://mo.cit.cornell.edu/

>

[Guest guest]

Hi,

I would like to bring out the subject of lemongrass because my friend

mentioned her friend cook lemongrass every week.She said it was very good for

our health. It is suppose very good for our body and may be even kill cancer

or prevent cancer. I never buy lemongrass and often see it in chinese store.

Does anyone know how to make it to drink as tea, making it as soup or any good

receipts for cooking? I would like to try but don't know how. Helen

---------------------------------

You rock. That's why Blockbuster's offering you one month of Blockbuster Total

Access, No Cost.

[Guest guest]

It is really easy to grow your own lemongrass either in your backyard or in a

container inside or out on a verandah. To use in a drink, simply cut the grass

into small pieces 1/4 " or so and about a tablespoon full. Either add to a cup or

use a mesh bag or bodum add hot water and let it steep for a few minutes. Add

honey or maple syrup and sweeten to taste. My favorite is to add equal parts of

lemongrass and spearmint for a mmmmmmmm yummalicious drink :-)

I hope this is helpful.....

Helen Wang wrote:

I would like to bring out the subject of lemongrass because my friend mentioned

her friend cook lemongrass every week.She said it was very good for our health.

It is suppose very good for our body and may be even kill cancer or prevent

cancer. I never buy lemongrass and often see it in chinese store. Does anyone

know how to make it to drink as

tea, making it as soup or any good receipts for cooking? I would like to try

but don't know how. Helen

[Guest guest]

Rub it on you skin in the summer ,it will keep away the biting bugs

without toxic chemical of bug spray!!

[Guest guest]

I suspect that lemongrass is just a natural way to help alkalinize (sp?)

the body, although it may well have other natural benefits too.

Alkaline water is probably along the same line..

Dave

On 4/4/2008 10:07:15 AM, Helen Wang (dingyung49@...) wrote:

> Hi,

>

> I would like to bring out the subject of lemongrass because my friend

> mentioned her friend cook lemongrass every week.She said it was very

good

> for our health. It is suppose very good for our body and may be even

> kill cancer or prevent cancer. I never buy lemongrass and often see

it in

> chinese store. Does anyone know how to make it to drink as tea,

making it

> as soup or any good receipts for cooking? I would like to try but

> don't know how. Helen

>

[Guest guest]

Fresh lemon grass

A few weeks ago, an article on the medicinal powers of lemon grass went

the rounds of internet. There's no harm trying this. A bunch of lemon

grass is cheap. Or you can plant it in your backyard for a steady

supply.

The article is by Kaplan Sommer:

" At first, Benny Zabidov, an Israeli agriculturalist who grows

greenhouses full of lush spices on a pastoral farm in Kfar Yedidya in

the Sharon region, couldn't understand why so many cancer patients from

around the country were showing up on his doorstep asking for fresh

lemon grass.

" It turned out that their doctors had sent them.

" 'They had been told to drink eight glasses of hot water with fresh

lemongrass steeped in it on the days that they went for their radiation

and chemotherapy treatments, " Zabidov told ISRAEL21c. " And this is the

place you go to in Israel for fresh lemon grass.'

" It all began when researchers at Ben Gurion University of the Negev

discovered last year that the lemon aroma in herbs like lemon grass

kills cancer cells in vitro, while leaving healthy cells unharmed.

" The research team was led by Dr. Rivka Ofir and Prof. Yakov Weinstein,

incum-bent of the Albert Katz Chair in Cell-Differentiation and

Malignant Diseases, from

the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at BGU.

" Citral is the key component that gives the lemony aroma and taste in

several herbal plants such as lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus),

melissa ( officinalis) and verbena (Verbena officinalis.)

" According to Ofir, the study found that citral causes cancer cells to

'commit suicide: using apoptosis, a mechanism called programmed cell

death.

" A drink with as little as one gram of lemon grass contains enough

citral to prompt the cancer cells to commit suicide in the test tube.

" The BGU investigators checked the influence of the citral on cancerous

cells by adding them to both cancerous cells and normal cells that were

grown in a petri dish. The quantity added in the concentrate was

equivalent to the amount contained in a cup of regular tea using one

gram of lemon herbs in hot water. While the citral killed the cancerous

cells, the normal cells remained unharmed.

" The findings were published in the scientific journal Planta Medica,

which highlights research on alternative and herbal remedies. Shortly

afterwards, the discovery was featured in the popular Israeli press.

" Why does it work? Nobody knows for certain, but the BGU scientists

have a theory.

" 'In each cell in our body, there is a genetic program which causes

programmed cell death. When something goes wrong, the cells divide with

no control and become cancer cells. In normal cells, when the cell

discovers that the control system is not operating correctly - for

example, when it recognizes that a cell contains faulty genetic

material following cell division - it triggers cell death, " explains

Weinstein. " This research may explain the medical benefit of these

herbs.'

" The success of their research led them to the conclusion that herbs

containing citral may be consumed as a preventative measure against

certain cancerous cells.

" As they learned of the BGU findings in the press, many physicians in

Israel began to believe that while the research certainly needed to be

explored further, in the meantime it would be advisable for their

patients, who were looking for any possible tool to fight their

condition, to try to harness the cancer-destroying properties of

citral.

" That's why Zabidov's farm - the only major grower of fresh lemon grass

in Israel - has become a pilgrimage destination for these patients.

Luckily, they found themselves in sympathetic hands. Zabidov greets

visitors with a large kettle of aromatic lemon grass tea, a plate of

cookies, and a supportive attitude.

" 'My father died of cancer, and my wife's sister died young because of

cancer, " said Zabidov. " So I understand what they are dealing with. And

I may not know anything about medicine, but I'm a good listener. And so

they tell me about their expensive painful treatments and what they've

been through. I would never tell them to stop being treated, but it's

great that they are exploring alternatives and drinking the

lemon grass tea as well. "

" Zabidov knew from a young age that agriculture was

his calling. At age 14,

he enrolled in the Kfar Hayarok Agricultural high

school. After his army service, he joined an

idealistic group which headed south, in the Arava

desert region, to found a new moshav (agricultural

settlement) called Tsofar.

" 'We were very successful; we raised fruits and

vegetables, and, " he notes with a smile, " We raised

some very nice children. "

" On a trip to Europe in the mid-80s, he began to

become interested in herbs.

Israel, at the time, was nothing like the

trend-conscious cuisine-oriented country it is today,

and the only spices being grown commercially were

basics like parsley, dill, and coriander.

" Wandering in the Paris market, looking at the variety

of herbs and spices, Zabidov realized that there was a

great export potential in this niche. He brought

samples back home with him, " which was technically

illegal, " he says with a guilty smile, to see how they

would grow in his desert greenhouses.

Soon, he was growing basil, oregano, tarragon, chives, sage, marjoram

and , and mint just to name a few.

" His business began to outgrow his desert facilities, and so he decided

to move north, settling in the moshav of Kfar Yedidya, an hour and a

half north of Tel Aviv. He is now selling " several hundred kilos " of

lemon grass per week, and has signed with a distributor to package and

put it in health food stores.

" Zabidov has taken it upon himself to learn more about the properties

of citral, and help his customers learn more, and has invited medical

experts to his farm to give lectures about how the citral works and

why.

" He also felt a responsibility to know what to tell his customers about

its see. 'When I realized what was happening, I picked up the phone and

called Dr. Weinstein at Ben-Gurion University, because these people

were asking me exactly the best way to consume the citral. He said to

put the loose grass in hot water, and drink about eight glasses each

day.'

" Zabidov is pleased by the findings, not simply because it means

business for his farm, but because it might influence his own health.

" Even before the news of its benefits were demonstrated, he and his

family had been drinking lemon grass in hot water.