CARDINAL RIDGE

Open House at Mike and Colleen's Nursery, Cardinal Ridge
Three Saturdays in September: 

9/4, 9/11 and 9/18

Also open by appointment; call (484)213-1147
271 Oaks Road
Oxford, PA  19363
 
Fall is a great time to plant. 

Let your plants get established before the heat and drought of next summer.
 
We have a variety of perennials, shrubs and ground covers.
 
Fall Flowering Plants
Caryoptris-Blue Beard, Cherone Hot Lips, Sedums
 
Fall Foliage Plants
Itea-Henry's Garnet, Ninebark
 
Plants with berries
Winterberry, Beauty Berry
 
One of a kind and overgrown plants are half price.
 
Hope to see you at Cardinal Ridge!

If every household in PA spent $10 a week on regionally produced food, $48 million dollars would stay in the local economy each week. That's about $200 million every month and nearly $2.5 billion per year.

Tuesday is the last day to vote!

Oxford Village Market may be voted one of America's Favorite Farmer's Markets

Get ready Oxford, Oxford Village Market is one of the contestants in the 2010 America's Favorite Farmers Markets contest hosted each year by American Farmland Trust.

www.farmland.org/vote.

PLEASE VOTE TODAY.  CONTEST ENDS AUGUST 31, 2010

American Farmland Trust is a national nonprofit organization working with farmers and ranchers to protect the land, produce a healthier environment, and build successful communities. As the nation's leading advocate for farm and ranch land conservation, AFT has ensured that more than three million acres of land stay bountiful and productive. AFT's national office is located in Washington, D.C. The phone number is 202-331-7300.

The Health Benefits of Papa's Shiitake Mushroom Cuisine

Papa's Pastry Shop provides a wide variety of "global fusion" foods.  An ingredient often used in these culinary creations is the shiitake mushroom.  Besides the profound taste that this mushroom provides, its health benefits are numerous.

Shiitake mushrooms are an edible variety of mushroom native to China, and particularly known for their healing properties.  The shiitake mushroom has been cultivated in Asia for well over 1000 years with records of its growth as early as 1000 AD.  This is the third most widely produced mushroom in the world.

The shiitake mushroom has been used as a symbol of longevity in Asian countries for its health promoting properties.  They are a good source of selenium, iron, protein, dietary fiber and vitamin C.¹

A study in Sweden highlights the significant health benefits of shiitake mushrooms - in particular, its ability to reduce blood cholesterol levels.  The cholesterol-reducing compound in shiitake mushrooms has been identified as eritadenine.²  This finding was also confirmed at the Department of Bioresource Science, University  of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine in Obihiro, Japan.

High blood pressure means your heart has to do extra work and ca lead to a stroke or heart attack.  Preliminary studies have suggested that dietary shiitake and other types of mushroom consumption may prevent increase in blood pressure.³

Shiitake mushrooms also contain an active compound called lentinan, which not only helps boost the immune system, but also promotes anti-cancer activities A number of studies have highlighted the anti-cancer benefits exhibited from the lentinan extract from shiitake mushrooms.  Studies in Kobe, Nagoya, and Tokyo have all shown the various effects from reducing and slowing growth, to regression and even increasing activity to combat the spread of a tumor.⁴  Each of the studies cited lentinan as the key to this, since it can stimulate the immune system, and therefore, help activate certain cells and proteins that attack the cancer.  Its use has been particularly linked to helping gastric cancer.

Thrombosis, the formation of a blood clot that inhibits blood flow, has been shown to be significantly reduced by individuals consuming shiitake mushroom oil.  The Department of Agriculture and Biological Chemistry at Nihon University in Japan has demonstrated that the levels of lenthionine found in shiitake mushrooms inhibited platelet aggregation.⁵

Please visit the Papa's Pastry stand in the farmers' market this week and indulge in better health and fine foods.

References:

1. USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference.
2. Enman J. Roya U, Berglund KA., "Quantification of the Bioactive Compound Eritadenine in Selected Strains of Shiitake Mushrooms (Lentinus Edodes)", Journal of Agricultural Food Chemistry, February 2007.
3. Kabir Y. Yamaguchi, "Effect of Shiitake and Maitake Mushrooms on Blood Pressure and Plasma Lipids,"  Journal of Nutritional Science (Tokyo), October 1987.
4. Suga T. Shiro and Maeda Y Chihara, "Anti-tumor Activity of Lentinan in Murine Syngenetic and Autochthonous Hosts and its Suppressive Effect on 3-methylcholanthrene Induced Carcinogenesis," Journal of Cancer Research, November 1984.
5. S. Shimada and K. Komamura, "Inhibitory Activity of Shiitake Mushroom Oil Against Platelet Aggregation," Biofactors, January 2004.

- Tom Oei