Bernando’s Medicine Chest
Bernando’s Medicine Chest: Garlic, Cinnamon, Honey, Raw Chocolate, Olive Oil
As a young boy Bernando watched his father pack his doctors bag with cabbage and onions before going to make a house call. Inquisitive, Bernando wanted to know of the people his father were going to see were hungry.
“Oh no, this is medicine. ” LaPallo, Sr. replied.
This exchange between father and son opened the door for Bernando to understand and implement in his own life the power of foods and the meaning of “You are what you eat”. Today we are taking about 5 foods that he would call his medicine chest. Bernando would recommend eating as “close to nature as God intended” and “eating organic whenever possible”. Organic garlic, raw chocolate, extra virgin olive oil, uncooked raw honey, and true cinnamon from Ceylon (formerly known as Sri Lanka) were his top 5.
Garlic – Bernando used chopped garlic daily for lightly sauteing his green vegetables. He used garlic daily in his Dr Schulze Superfood Smoothies. High in Vitamin C, he felt it was a natural immune booster helping regulate his blood pressure by protecting his heart and warding off colds. For clients suffering with acne, he would apply a paste of honey and garlic to the affected areas on the skin. When crushed garlic produces allicin which is antibacterial. High in antioxidants. There are 150 varieties.
Cinnamon – Bernando drank cinnamon tea made from what we is called ” true cinnamon” obtained from Ceylon. He felt this kept his blood sugar under control and aided in digestion. Ground into a powder he sprinkled it liberally on his oatmeal daily.
Honey – Raw uncooked unprocessed honey good for healing skin irritations such as acne. Bernando considered honey to be “God’s perfect food- it never spoils” and used it exclusively to sweeten his green tea and oatmeal. He used it instead of sugar.
Raw Chocolate – High in trace minerals such as magnesium, raw unprocessed chocolate in quite different than it’s commercial counterpart that is over heated and laden with sugar. Magnesium is one of the essential nutrients that helps the nervous and metabolic system function properly including the heart.
Olive Oil Extra Virgin – It was on a trip to Greece while touring the olive groves that Bernando first became impressed with the value of olive oil to the human body. He subsequently used it daily and was noted for his beautiful wrinkle free skin. He attributed that to his daily use of extra virgin olive oil on his skin rubbing it on all over his body, feet and face and even under his eyes after a hot shower. With his pores opened the olive oil had a chance to sink in thoroughly without being greasy. Skin is the largest organ of the body protecting one from disease externally. It’s very important it remain healthy. He had no bags under his eyes, had soft feet free of callousses and bunions. “Don’t forget your knees and elbows.”
Foot bath: He soaked his feet after a long day standing in a combination of olive oil and castille soap, scrubbing them lightly with a pumice stone to remove dead skin and dirt embedded in the feet. Hair Pomade: He recommended men dress their hair lightly once a week with olive oil instead of using alcohol based gels that dry out the hair and scalp. Internally, Bernando’s baseline was two tablespoons per day using it at a low temperature to sautee his green vegetables. Extra virgin olive oil was his base for the garlic paste he would add to his smoothies. He felt his regular use of olive oil kept the triglyceride level in his blood low.
“Let Food be They Medicine and Medicine Be They Food” – Hippocrates