Streptococcus Salivarius Lozenges

    "NOW® OralBiotic™ contains the naturally occurring probiotic organism Streptococcus salivarius BLIS K12®, which has been clinically shown to support oral and throat health.  OralBiotic™ BLIS K12® successfully colonizes the oral cavity at the expense of other bacteria, promoting oral and upper respiratory health"http://www.blisk12.com/tag/lozenges/ 

There are some interesting studies below. The lozenges may help our children prevent getting sick, as they go back to school this week:

1.     Drug Healthc Patient Saf. 2016 Nov 21;8:77-81. eCollection 2016.
Positive clinical outcomes derived from using Streptococcus salivarius K12 to prevent streptococcal pharyngotonsillitis in children: a pilot investigation.

 

2.      J Med Microbiol. 2016 Dec;65(12):1456-1464. doi: 10.1099/jmm.0.000377. Epub 2016 Oct 24.

Oral cavities of healthy infants harbour high proportions of Streptococcus salivarius strains with phenotypic and genotypic resistance to multiple classes of antibiotics.
Palma TH1, Harth-Chú EN1, Scott J2, Stipp RN1, Boisvert H2, Salomão MF3, Theobaldo JD1, Possobon RF4, Nascimento LC5, McCafferty JW2, Faller L2, Duncan MJ2, Mattos-Graner RO1.

3.      Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci. 2016 Nov;20(21):4601-4606.
Effect of administration of Streptococcus salivarius K12 on the occurrence of streptococcal pharyngo-tonsillitis, scarlet fever and acute otitis media in 3 years old children.
Di Pierro F1, Colombo M, Giuliani MG, Danza ML, Basile I, Bollani T, Conti AM, Zanvit A, Rottoli AS.

Serafima

 

The video has now both English and Romanian subtitles. In Romanian it is called: "Neobisnuita calatorie a Serafimei", or "Seraphima's strange journey".

The Song of the Three Holy Youths

And the Romanian variant:

Potato, Radish Greens Soup

Ingredients:

4 medium size potatoes, unpeeled, cut in quarters

1 onion, peeled, cut in half

6 garlic cloves

1 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp turmeric

5 cups of radish greens

3 tbsp olive oil

Salt, pepper to taste

Directions:

Boil together in 4 cups of water, on low to medium heat (lid on) the first four ingredients (use only half of the garlic amount). When done, save 1 cup of the liquid, but blend the rest until smooth. Put the puree back in the pot.

Separately, blend together the spices, remaining garlic, the greens and olive oil (for extra protein and omega 3 fatty acids, one can add 3 tbsp. hemp seeds). Add the cup of the water in which the potatoes boiled and mix well. Combine with the potato puree and serve. May store in the fridge for 1 day.

 

There is Hope even Today

I am thankful for being able to listen to this great podcast called " Crazy days" by Fr. Josiah Trehnam. It provides great encouragement to go forward and not be ashamed or abandon The Church:
Fr. Josiah Trenham is the pastor of St. Andrew Orthodox Church in Riverside, California. He is also the founder and director of Patristic Nectar Publications, a non-profit corporation dedicated to the propagation of the inspired theology of the Church Fathers.

Crazy Days

Icon of St. Polycarp:
http://orthodoxpathway.blogspot.com/2012/09/polycarp-letter-to-philippians-8.html

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven"

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:3)

Yesterday, the orthodox calendar commemorated among so many other saints, St. Euphrosinos The Cook (see my old post from 2014)- who is so dear to my heart! To me St. Euphrosinos  is such an amazing example of a soul who was indeed "poor in the spirit" and found the reaches of Heaven, while living. He was not smart, knowledgeable or achieved as we all think in the modern terms, but he was a true citizen of Heaven on Earth.

St. Euphrosinos please pray for us, the prideful souls living today.

 

The Venerable Euphrosynus the Cook of Alexandria was a monk of the ninth century at one of the monasteries in Palestine who had been translated to Paradise while fulfilling his obedience as a cook. His feast day is September 11.

 

https://orthodoxwiki.org/Euphrosynus_the_Cook
 

And since I started with the first Beatitude, what do the Holy Fathers say about the above bible verse?
https://oca.org/orthodoxy/the-orthodox-faith/spirituality/the-beatitudes/poverty-in-spirit

more info here:

The Beatitudes
Fr. Josiah
"The Beatitudes, or the blessings, pronounced by our Lord Jesus Christ upon His faithful followers constitute the opening salvo in our Savior’s most famous teaching: The Sermon on the Mount. In these eight lectures each beatitude, one by one, is unveiled revealing the universal character of an authentic Christian. Those who inculcate these sacred dispositions manifest the face of Jesus Christ to the world. By incarnating the qualities of Jesus Christ our Savior, that is, poverty of spirit, mourning, gentleness, hunger and thirst for righteousness, mercy, purity of heart, peacemaking, and the joyful acceptance of persecution - believers become the salt of the earth and the light of the world.  We hope you will be greatly challenged and inspired by these lessons on authentic Christian character, the kind of character that manifests the presence of the Kingdom of God on the earth."

http://patristicnectar.org/free.html

and again:
“The Beatitudes” with Saint Paisios of the Holy Mountain
 

Orthodox Cartoons

I am delighted that we have now quite a few orthodox cartoons for the children to enjoy. Some are now with English subtitles:

 This is my choice

 

 

The Battle of Kulikovo

 

 

 

for other cartoons see:

https://orthodoxchristianchildren.com/occ-tv-100002