Who would have thought that your bowl of morning porridge may actually be doing more for your body than just filling your stomach and providing you with a nice warm start to the day.

Oats (Avena sativa) are one of the best rememdies for feeding the nervous system, especially when under any form of stress. It is considered a specific "herb" in cases of nervous debility and exhaustion when associated with depression. Easily taken in the form of a dose of morning porridge, this grain is a staple of many cultures but perhaps we have lost the reasons why over time.

The oat seed we use for porridge is 50% starch and rich in alkaloids including trigonelline and avenine; saponins; flavones; sterols and vitamin B. It acts on the human body as a nervine tonic and has anti-depressive actions, as well as being a nutritive, demulcent and vulnerary food.  Wow - it tastes great and calms and feeds your nerves at the same time as cleans you out, and has the potential to help put a smile on your face!

This is the kind of food we need to be eating more of to heal ourselves holistically from the inside out. With some of us experiencing such busy lives these days, full of anxiety and high stress levels, a food that acts as a calming agent, complete with anti-depressive properties has to be a good thing, let alone the long term benefits that come from feeding your nervous sytem., Do yourself a favour though and spend the little bit extra to purchase organic grain. This is readily available now and is not much more expensive, and more often than not you are also purchasing whole grain. This is vital to remember. Just take a look at whole grain oats and the ready to eat varieties next time you are at the supermarket. Some of the boxed cereal now contains alot more than just oats! It always pays to read the labels...

Oats have also been an active ingredient in skin preparations for millenia. The high levels of silicic acid in the oat straw will explain its use as a remedy for skin conditions, especially in external applications. Check out the natural beauty section of the website where you will find some interesting "recipes" for skin care made from the simplest of sources - most of which you can easily pronounce! There we will be providing some tried and true instructions and combinations to make yourself your own skin care range if that is your thing, as well as some readily available ranges we just love for the convienience of "off the shelf" products.