Banana Fruit: Plantain Health Benefits

Banana and longevity. Folk physicians of ancient Persia and India regarded this golden fruit as natures secret of perpetual youth. Even today, banana is known to promote healthy digestion and create a feeling of youthfulness. It enhances calcium, phosphorous and nitrogen retention which in turn helps in the regeneration of healthy tissues.

Banana (or Plantain) health food. The banana is of great nutritional value. It has a rare combination of energy value, tissue-building elements, protein, vitamins and minerals. It is a good source of calories since it is rich in solids and low in water content as compared to any other fresh fruit.

Banana for energy. A large banana supplies more than 100 calories. It contains a large amount of sugar that can be easily assimilated by the body. This makes it a good source of quick of quick energy and an excellent means to recover from fatigue. The use of bananas has been found beneficial in the treatments of several medical conditions such as intestinal disorders, constipation, arthritis, gout, anemia, allergies, kidney stones, tuberculosis and urinary disorders.

Home Remedies with Bananas

Eat banana at night to get relief from constipation. If suffering from diarrhea you can use raw bananas. Boil the raw banana, mash it and add a pinch of salt and butter. Eat it to get relief from diarrhea.

Banana or plantain has been widely used as an anti-wrinkle treatment. Mash 1/4 banana till it becomes a smooth paste. Cover your face with it and leave it for 15-20 minutes before rinsing with warm water followed by splashes of cold water. Pat it dry.

Mash one ripe banana in one cup of milk and drink it at least 2-3 times a day to treat skin allergies.

You can use banana peel inside out for treatment of warts. Use the peel inside out and cover the wart by taping it. Once the peel turns black remove and continue this for some weeks to get relief from wart.

You can use banana peel for treating poison ivy rashes. Rub the peel inside out over the rashes; it soothes the skin to provide a cooling effect.

Banana peel can be used if you have bruised yourself. Tape it overnight to see the positive results in the morning.

To get rid of hangover you can drink banana milk shake mixed with honey. Banana helps in soothing the stomach and body.

If you are pregnant, and want to avoid leg cramps, eat bananas before going to bed.

Eat three bananas a day to prevent ulcers. It will help to soothe your stomach and reduce the ulcer pain.

Consuming a banana after every meal helps in reducing the heartburn.

To decrease menstrual bleeding drink the mixture of boiled banana flower with buttermilk.

Consuming two tablespoons of burnt banana leaves mixed with honey helps relief hiccups.

Rubbing banana peel inside out is the best remedy for mosquito bites.

Bananas can help Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) sufferers as it contains natural mood enhancers and trypotophan.

It contains high levels of Vitamin C, A1, B6, and B12 which helps people give up smoking. The potassium and magnesium found in bananas helps the body recover from the effects of withdrawal symptoms.

Eat bananas in every form ripe, raw, cooked, milkshakes and desserts. It helps in treating many ailments related to your body.

Drinking extract from the stem attached to the banana cluster helps kill tuberculosis bacteria.

To combat alcohol addiction drink a small glass of the boiled mixture consisting of 3 banana peels, Tabasco, water or milk from 1 coconut, brown sugar or sugar loaf to taste. Let it ferment for 3 days and add snifter of liquor. Do this for nine days.

Warning: The reader of this article should exercise all precautionary measures while following instructions on the home remedies from this article. Avoid using any of these products if you are allergic to it. The responsibility lies with the reader and not with the site or the writer.

Fresh Fruits Vegetables

We offer range of fresh fruits, nutrition fruits, fresh vegetables, green fruits vegetables, cooking green vegetables sourced from quality producers.

The range we offer :

Fruits:

We deal in fresh fruits, nutrition fruits like: Lichi, mango, pine apple, banana, watermelon, green papaya, pomegranates, figs, apple, banana, grapes", orange, apricot, mango, etc.

Vegetables:

Raw red onion( Indian), raw potatoes, garlic, ginger, carrot, mangoes, onion ( Egypt), okra, asparagus, brinjal, cucumber, drumstick, curry leaves, snake gourd, ridge gourd, bottle gourd, etc.

Why Is Fruit Healthy for the Body?

Everyone knows that fruits and vegetables can do wonders with the human body. It is very beneficial not just to adults but more so with kids. By simply consuming adequate amount of foods in the daily diet, it will provide you with overall health improvement. Everyone knows that fruits and vegetables are rich in fiber and essential nutrients that are good for the body. Having enough fiber will be very beneficial to you in any health condition you may be facing right now. This can prevent and ease some ailments such as the following: 1. Colon cancer 2. High blood pressure 3. High cholesterol 4. Diabetes 5. Obesity 6. Boost metabolism 7. Prevents constipation 8. Aids in weight loss There are hundreds of reasons why people should consume fruits. A diet rich in fiber will surely provide numerous benefits that is beneficial for your overall health. Spending time to look for fruits that can provide you with a suitable result can be the best thing to do. When you start discovering the goodness of fruits and how it can help maintain a good and energetic life each day, you’ll probably stop eating junks and just concentrate on eating fruits. The fiber which you can find in fruits will surely make you livelier than you expected. Did you know that fruits contain 80% of water? To those who are not very much aware of the goodness of water to your life, why don’t you increase the amount of fruits you eat? This will provide you with enough amount of water essential for you to go through the day. Increasing the amount of fruits you eat will also lessen the cause of Alzheimer’s disease which you will likely to have when you get old and when you are very much inclined in eating red meat. The cytokines which is responsible for the inflammatory taking place inside the body will rule over if you don’t have enough fiber to wash them away. Fruits are very essential to humans because it aids in flushing away toxins that can be harmful to the body when not flushed right away. It shouldn’t stay that long inside the digestive tract. It will be taking back into the bloodstream when not flushed accordingly. Although the human body is capable of healing itself from wounds and other minor infections, it’s still best to aid your body by eating the right types of foods. You should help your body in the simplest way you can. By eating the right amount of fiber rich foods, you will be able to have enough doses of nutrients to fight common infections that can harm you later on in life. There are studies that show people who consumes larger amount of fruits in their diet will more likely to remember quickly than those who don’t. Replacing snacks that are zero calorie providers with fruits can be the best decision you can ever make in your life.

Health Drinks :Experience Healthy Fruit Drinks Benefits At LeVive JuiceShop

The famous quote ‘health is wealth' seems to be a history with the kind of life style most individuals have these days.
Deadlines, work pressures and daily life stress have hardly left an individual with anytime to fix a healthy life style. What comes as a respite for individuals with such stressful routine are various health drinks and nutritional drinks available in the market. These drinks not only provide instant energy but also avoid an individual from indulging in bad eating habits. These drinks can act as a substitute for food and raise our energy levels when required.
Though there are numerous companies in the market offering such drinks but the choice is strictly individual. There are drinks which may taste better than others but the same can be because of artificial sweeteners. The high sugar content not only gives us excessive calories but also defeats the entire purpose of having a health drink. A fruit juice from natural sources is anytime a better drink as compared to a fruit juice with added sweeteners, flavours or additives.
While going for a health drink its ingredients should be studied carefully so as to know its nutritional value. The nutritional juices or fruit juices made from fruits high in antioxidants are a good option as they not only help boost metabolism but also clean toxins from body. A few such fruits which are high in antioxidants include Pomegranate, Acai Berry, Noni Fruit, Pomegranate, Goji Berry and Mangosteen. Fruit juices with such fruit options are ideal for the ones on a fat loss diet as these kick up the metabolism thus causing weight loss. Also the added energy provided by these drinks can be used for diverse jobs.
These drinks provide good nutrition because of the presence of essential minerals as well as vitamins in them. Knowing ones deficiencies also help in choosing a nutritional drink. An individual can go for a drink rich in a particular vitamin, iron or potassium depending upon the deficiency. These drinks provide an additional boost to the health of an individual as at times have minerals etc which are not often found in the daily food consumed. These drinks can also be consumed by someone with a balanced diet for that extra energy.
While choosing such nutritional drinks or fruit juices beside the name of the company, the most important are ingredients listed on the particular drink. Much suited for the ones with a busy life schedule these drinks boost energy levels and give strength and stamina to fight daily stress and work pressures. These drinks further help in coping up with the mood swings caused by stressful way of working. Try these health drinks and fruit juices to experience a better and a healthy lifestyle as including these drinks can give experience of a lifetime.

Vitamin and Mineral Supplements May Reduce Breast Cancer

Vitamins and calcium supplements appear to reduce the risk of breast cancer, according to findings presented at the American Association for Cancer Research 101st Annual Meeting 2010.

"It is not an immediate effect. You don't take a vitamin today and your breast cancer risk is reduced tomorrow," said Jaime Matta, Ph.D., professor in the Ponce School of Medicine in Puerto Rico. "However, we did see a long-term effect in terms of breast cancer reduction."
Matta said the findings suggest that the calcium supplements are acting to enhance DNA repair capacity, a complex biological process involving more than 200 proteins that, if disrupted, can lead to cancer.

"This process involves at least five separate pathways and is critical for maintaining genomic stability," said Matta. "When the DNA is not repaired, it leads to mutation that leads to cancer."

The study included 268 women with breast cancer and 457 healthy controls. Women were more likely to have breast cancer if they were older, had a family history of breast cancer, had no history of breastfeeding and had lower DNA repair capacity.

Vitamin supplements appeared to reduce the risk of breast cancer by about 30 percent. Calcium supplements reduced the risk of breast cancer by 40 percent. After controlling for the level of DNA repair capacity, calcium supplements were no longer as protective, but the link between vitamin supplements and breast cancer reduction remained.

Raw Fruit Vegetable Diet

melon image by Maria Brzostowska from Fotolia.com

Raw Fruit & Vegetable Diet

Overview

From vitamins and minerals to disease-fighting antioxidants, raw fruits and vegetables offer a plethora of nutrients to boost your health. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, consuming fresh produce may help protect you against many types of pervasive health conditions. Although a diet consisting exclusively of fruits and vegetables may be too restrictive to maintain permanently, a short-term raw food diet can expedite weight loss and give your body a break from the processed foods that fill most modern menus.

Features

A raw fruit and vegetable diet consists chiefly of fresh, uncooked fruits and vegetables. As the Living and Raw Foods website explains, raw food diets eschew any items cooked above 116 degrees F, so steamed, boiled, baked or otherwise heated fruits and vegetables are not a part of this eating plan. Possible fruits to consume include bananas, mangoes, papaya, melons, citrus, apples, pears, berries, nectarines, apricots, peaches, grapes, pineapple and other in-season varieties; vegetables include bell peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, celery, carrots, radishes, broccoli, cauliflower, seaweeds, leafy green vegetables and other varieties that are edible in their raw state. Raw fruit and vegetable diets may also permit juices and smoothies made from fresh produce, and some versions of the diet allow additional raw foods such as nuts, seeds, nut butters and sprouts.

Function

People may choose to follow a raw fruit and vegetable diet to lose weight, have increased energy, improve immune function and give their bodies a break from processed ingredients and food additives. Because a raw fruit and vegetable diet contains no animal products or byproducts, some people may adopt this eating regimen as a form of animal rights activism.

Benefits

Because fruits and vegetables are packed with fiber and water, these foods have a low energy density and can keep you full with relatively few calories--which can help you shed unwanted pounds and reach a healthier weight. As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention explains, people who eat diets rich in fruits and vegetables have a lower risk of developing chronic diseases like cancer and heart disease, and the wide range of nutrients in fresh produce--including folate, potassium, vitamin C, vitamin A and antioxidants--can boost your immune system and keep your body running optimally.

Safety

Although a fruit and vegetable diet offers several short-term perks, a diet consisting only of these foods may fail to provide key nutrients needed for long-term health. Protein, essential fatty acids, iron, zinc, vitamin B12 and vitamin D may be chronically low or absent from vegan diets that omit grains, legumes, nuts and fortified foods, notes the American Heart Association. Consult with a health professional before drastically altering your diet, and consider supplementing with missing nutrients if you plan to eat an uncooked cuisine for an extended length of time.

Warning

Uncooked foods can harbor disease-causing pathogens, and a diet of raw fruits and vegetables may increase your risk of food-borne illness. According to the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse, raw produce such as lettuce, tomatoes, sprouts, spinach and melons can carry E. coli, Salmonella and Shigella, bacteria that can lead to symptoms such as abdominal cramps, fever, dehydration, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Freezing and refrigeration can slow the growth of illness-causing bacteria, but only cooking is capable of destroying them. Unpasteurized juices may be particularly likely to harbor pathogens.

Health Benefits of Fruit

Most people accept that eating fruit is beneficial to your health but many are not really sure what the actual health benefits are! This article will try to inform about the far reaching health benefits of fruit and the many ways they can help you fight off illnesses.

As a general rule, people who eat a lot of fruit are less likely to develop conditions such as diabetes; heart disease; Alzheimer's disease and cancer. Fruit also supplies your body with all the nutrients necessary to repair cells and combat many infections

Most people will admit they want to live a long and energetic life without the restriction of illness and disease. They are also aware that to do that it is important to stay as healthy as possible. By eating daily helpings of fruit as part of a balanced diet, we can all improve our health and increase our chances of living the lifestyle we would like to have in our older age.

Fruit is now more important than ever as our bodies need ever increasing vitamins and minerals to combat longer working hours, toxic fumes from pollution and increasing levels of stress. Eating fruit is a simple, natural and relatively cheap way of giving your body these nutrients to both help you deal with the stresses of daily life and to guard against future illnesses.

Consuming fruit on a regular basis will also supply your body with valuable antioxidants which help to stop free radicals from attacking the body.

Free radicals are molecules created as a result of our bodies reacting with oxygen. The damage caused when they react with other molecules within the body's cells can result in diseases such as Alzheimer's, heart problems and cancer as well as contributing towards the body's aging.

Additionally, pollution; sunlight; smoking and alcohol are all external factors that can prompt the body into producing free radicals. This means there are a number of factors that put us at the mercy of more free radicals than ever before.

Antioxidants produced naturally by our bodies neutralize free radicals, stopping them from attacking healthy cells, slowing down premature aging and reducing the chances of disease. However, as we are exposed to more and more free radicals due to the age in which we live, we subsequently need more antioxidants to neutralize them. Which brings us back to fruit!

Fruit is a fantastic source of antioxidants and eating 5 portions a day will give you a combination of all the nutrients and vitamins necessary to help put a stop to free radicals.

In addition, fruit is also full of dietary fiber which assists with your digestion, helping to expel waste products more easily and reducing the possibility of contracting colon and bowel cancers.

Eating fruit as part of a daily balanced diet will help to make you look better, feel better and be more energetic. It doesn't matter what fruit you eat - any will do, and it can be fresh; tinned; frozen or dried. Although you will lose some to the nutrients there is nothing like a cool glass of your favorite fruit juice.

Our site has a vast amount of information on fruit health benefits as well as lots of healthy and delicious fruit recipes. Come for a visit.

Nectarines Fruits Nutrition Values

The nectarine is a cultivar group of peach that has a smooth skin. Though fuzzy peaches and nectarines are regarded commercially as different fruits, with nectarines often erroneously believed to be a crossbreed between peaches and plums, or a peach with a plum skin, they belong to the same species as peaches. Several genetic studies have concluded in fact that nectarines are created due to a recessive gene, whereas a fuzzy peach skin is dominant. Nectarines have arisen many times from peach trees, often as bud sports.

Nectarines are similar to peaches. The good thing is that they have a smooth skin, without the fuzz of peaches. On the other hand, its flesh sticks to the pit of the nectarine, instead of coming off cleanly as it does in a peach.Peaches and nectarines provide very good sources of carotenes, potassium,flavonoids, and natural sugars.They are good sources of lycopene and lutein. Lutein gives the red, orange, and
yellow colors to fruits and vegetables. These phytochemicals are especially beneficial in the prevention of heart disease, macular degeneration, and cancer.

That beautifully orange yellow peel of the nectarine is overflowing with bioflavonoids; it is especially rich in carotenoids. Bioflavonoids are antioxidants found in plant pigment that help your body fight off cancer as well as other diseases. It accomplishes this by fighting against the damaged done to the body’s cells that naturally takes place as a result of the process of the body burning up oxygen. As if that weren’t enough, nectarines also provide protein.

Health Benefits Of Nectarines Fruits :

1.They are a good source of Vitamin A, beta carotene and potassium.

2. Nectarines are also a great source of antioxidants which can help protect the skin from damaging UV rays by counteracting free radical activity.

3.Nectarines are considered a subacid fruit and can be mixed with any fruit. They leave an alkaline ash, and are best eaten raw. They are wonderful dried.

4.Weight loss

5.. Nectarines are also naturally cholesterol free amin C helps to maintain a healthy immune system.

6. Nectarines are low in calories and are naturally fat free.

7. Low in Saturated Fat, Cholesterol and Sodium

8. Maintaining optimum health

9. High in Vitamin C, Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Niacin and Potassium

Fruit Nutrition Fact

Do you Want to know more about fruit nutrition fact?

Fruit, goldmine of vitamins, minerals and fiber are ideal to eat at minimum 4-5 servings in a day for a healthy diet plan. Considering they are in the natural form, justify for largest part of water and 100% bad cholesterol free a reason why is nutrition important. It's much easier for the body to process and absorb the vitamins and minerals from the new fruit one essential part of the nutrition pyramid.

Apple - Circular fruit with tons of fiber, vitamins A, C, E and foliate great for athlete nutrition. Available in green, red or yellow skin when ready. As a fruit nutrition fact, apples limit the risk of colon cancer, prostate cancer and lung cancer. They also help with heart disease, weight loss and controlling cholesterol, another way to gain a healthy diet for athletes.

Bananas - Long thick skinned fruit yellow in color when ripe. Great source of fiber, potassium, vitamins A, C, B6, E & foliate. Unseasoned or green bananas are used in cooking.

Cherries - small round fruit with a seed, red or black in color when ripened. Cherries often have to be ripe to eat. Cherries have in it anthocyanins that restrict pain & swelling.

Figs - Eaten either dried or fresh, figs contain vitamin A, C, foliate and niacin. A small sweet fruit filled of small seeds.

Kiwi - A wealthy source of vitamins A, C, E, B - complex, calcium, iron and folic acid, kiwi is a little egg-shaped fruit with slim brown skin, soft green flesh and black seeds. The skin is a acceptable source of flavonoid antioxidants.

Lime - Lime or lemon is the most cultured citrus fruit with green to yellow color brimming with vitamins A, C and foliate. Juice of lime is good for detoxification and has antioxidant properties.

Peach - Round juicy fruit with a yellowish red skin & flesh having a taste of acidic tang and sweetness contains a rough stone. Always to be picked and eaten ripe.

Orange - A round thick-skinned juicy esculent fruit that is a reddish-yellow color when ripe with sugary to sour flavor. Peeled and eaten fresh or squeezed to produce juice. Hold vitamin C, flavorless, provides pectin and rich in sodium when ripened in sunshine.

Plum - soft round smooth-skinned fruit with honeyed flesh and a flattish pointed stone. It is high in carbohydrates, low in fat and calories. An great source of vitamin A, C, calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, fiber and free of sodium and cholesterol.

Papaya - A melon identical fruit with yellow- orange meat with dozens of small black seeds enclosed in skin that ranges in color from green to orange. Either circular, pear-shaped, or long like a banana. Loaded in vitamins A, B, C, and D; calcium, phosphorous and iron. It is high in digestive quality and has a direct tonic effect on the stomach.

Pear - A sugary juicy yellow or green fruit with a blunt shape narrow to the stalk. Excellent eaten at room temperature, pear contains kalium and riboflavine. It is good for skin and contains tons of fibers.

Strawberry - A triangular shaped red color fruit. It is one of the richest sources of Vitamin C and fiber. It has high content of sodium and iron. It helps in whitening of the teeth. Used to relieve rheumatism.

Watermelon - a class of melon with smooth outer rind and succulent sweet red inside flesh. Extraordinarily invigorating to drink as juice or eaten when ripe and fresh. Useful for minerals, vitamins and sugar with useful amount of fibre and iron.

Pesticide Politics

Pesticides freak us out — and understandably so. The idea of otherwise healthy fruits and vegetables marred by residual poison unnerves us because, generally speaking, we’re clueless. We’re totally removed from the process of production. We don’t know what was sprayed, we can’t see the trace pesticides, we can’t measure them on our own, and, let’s face it, the vast majority of us don’t remotely understand how these agents work. The upshot is that we’re left to trust outside interpreters to assess the risk for us.

And this, as a recently hatched debate reminds us, can be equally unnerving. Earlier this month, 50 environmental organizations got together and demanded that California return a $180,000 federal grant awarded to the Alliance for Food and Farming, an agricultural non-profit based in Watsonville, CA. The AFF received the grant, in its own words, “to correct misconceptions that some produce items contain excessive amounts of pesticide residues.” The protesting organizations — notably the Environmental Working Group and the Organic Consumers Association — claimed that such a mission “strikes a blow” at the organic movement, adding that “it is inappropriate for state and federal officials to categorically take the side of conventional agribusiness in this scientific and policy debate.”

At the center of this emerging food fight is a popular pamphlet that the EWG has been publishing for years called the “Shoppers Guide to Pesticides.” In it, the EWG reports results of tests conducted for pesticide traces on 49 fruits and vegetables (conducted by the USDA and FDA). The takeaway from these high profile reports — the part that goes viral on the web and captures the headlines — is a list of the 12 most “contaminated” foods. This year’s “Dirty Dozen” includes blueberries, peaches, strawberries, kale and spinach. These are some of the healthiest foods that our good earth yields, but the EWG advises that you “can lower your pesticide consumption by nearly four-fifths by avoiding the 12 most contaminated fruits and vegetables.”

The Alliance for Food and Farming finds this suggestion to be counterproductive. Drawing on a study conducted by five scientific experts (which it commissioned), the AFF in no way denies that certain foods contain trace pesticides. Instead, it contends that exposure isn’t the same as toxicity. The Dirty Dozen, it explains, “is misleading to consumers in that it is based only upon exposure data while remaining silent about available information on the assessment of the toxicity.”

Public-relations wise, the AFF is in a tough spot. Taking a position that tolerates pesticides hardly attracts throngs of happy supporters. From a scientific perspective, however, the AFF seems to be on solid ground. The EWG report cites not a single study to support a direct link between pesticide residue and health defects. In fact, it openly admits that “the EWG’s shopping guide is not built on a complex assessment of pesticide risks.” But then it refers to some pesticides that are “linked to brain and nervous system toxicity” and others that are “linked to cancer.” All of which raises the confounding question: what do we mean by “linked”? Directly linked? Or linked in the way that the flap of a butterfly’s wings is linked to a monsoon on the other side of the world?

Easily missed in all the linguistic ambiguity is the well substantiated fact that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables — organic or not — is healthier than a diet lacking in these foods. “The consumption of fruit and vegetable-rich diets,” the AFF explains (citing several peer-reviewed studies), “is associated with a reduced risk for high blood pressure, reduced risk for heart disease, stroke, and probably some cancers.”

What apparently worries the AFF is that consumers who know they should be eating more fruits and veggies (but are unwilling to pay twice as much for organic) will use the documented presence of pesticide residues as a convenient excuse to avoid eating more fruits and veggies. In this sense, the EWG’s implied health threat is obscuring an important question: could the density and variety of nutrients in plant foods far outweigh whatever possible health defects are caused by ingesting trace amounts of pesticide residue?

As critical as this question is, it cannot be answered with complete certainty. After all, it’s impossible to assert with 100 percent confidence that a particular chemical doesn’t cause cancer, especially when so many agents do cause problems if delivered to lab rats in high doses. Still, to use the premise that certain pesticides could cause harm in order to dissuade consumers from eating conventional produce fails to consider several basic countervailing points, all of them summarized in the AFF-sponsored rebuttal.

First, the vast majority (as in 99+ percent) of the dietary pesticides we eat are natural. Plants have evolved their own chemical defenses. Many of these natural pesticides are equally, if not more, carcinogenic than their synthetic counterparts. Dr. Bruce Ames, the Berkeley biochemist who has dedicated a lifetime of research to carcinogens and aging, has famously noted that we ingest more carcinogens from a cup of coffee than from a year’s worth of conventional produce. “People got it in their head [that] if it’s man-made somehow it’s potentially dangerous, but if it’s natural it isn’t,” Ames groused to Reason magazine. “That doesn’t really fit with anything we know about toxicology.”

Second, although it’s de riguer to dismiss regulatory agencies, the EPA’s guidelines for assessing the risks of residues are impressive. Cancer risk is judged according to a one in a million “acceptable risk level,” while a 10-fold safety factor is applied when establishing acceptable levels of residue for infants, children and fetuses. The USDA’s monitoring of residues finds very, very few cases of over-exposure. In 2007, over 11,000 sample tests detected residue exceeding legal limits in only .4 percent of the cases. Moreover, legal exposure levels are ten times lower than levels known to have negative effects on animals, meaning that even the .4 percent was probably relatively innocuous.

Finally, the evidence is mixed at best that eating organic — the one alternative that avoids synthetic residues — is any healthier than eating conventional. In a way, such a comparison is of limited value — the nutritive quality of plants can vary according to an indefinite number of factors (which may or may not be linked to organic or conventional production). That said, the Institute of Food Technologies observed in 2006 that “pesticide residues, naturally occurring toxins, nitrates, and polyphenolic compounds exert their health risks or benefits on a dose-related basis, and data do not yet exist to ascertain whether the difference in the levels of such chemicals between organic foods and conventional foods are of biological significance.”

At this point, it’s worth returning to the original objection to the AFF’s relatively small grant. The fifty groups opposed to the FAA insisted that “it is inappropriate for state and federal officials to categorically take the side of conventional agribusiness.” I understand the concerns with industrial agriculture. But — given the unresolved complexity of the matter — are there even sides to take? Isn’t it the science that we should be concerned about? Rather than bicker over whether or not agribusiness is currying undo favor, shouldn’t we be asking our expert gatekeepers to objectively discern whether or not I should be eating the handful of conventional blueberries I consume every morning? Or has the politics of food gone so far down the rabbit hole of interest politics that we’re all doomed to make our dietary choices in complete darkness?

Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program

Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP) USDA grants have been awarded to 26 St. Paul elementary schools. The grant is administered by Minnesota Department of Education and coordinated by Nutrition Services. The grant will begin between the dates of September 7th and September 15th. The participating schools are:

• Adams Spanish Immersion Magnet
  
• Ames Elementary/Sheridan Elementary
• Barack and Michelle Obama Service Learning Elementary
  
• Benjamin Mayes Elementary
  
• Bruce F. Vento Elementary
• Cherokee Heights West Side School of Excellence
• Crossroads Montessori and Science
  
• Dayton's Bluff Achievement Plus Elementary
• Eastern Heights Elementary
• Farnsworth Aerospace Magnet at Walsh
  
• Four Seasons A+ Elementary
• Frost Lake Magnet
• Hancock-Hamline University Collaborative Magnet
• Hayden Heights Elementary/Prosperity Heights Elementary
• Jackson Preparatory Magnet
• Linwood Monroe Arts Plus — Linwood Campus
• Linwood Monroe Arts Plus — Monroe Campus
• Maxfield Magnet School of Academic Excellence
• Mississippi Creative Arts Magnet
  
• Museum Magnet
• Nokomis Montessori Magnet
  
• North End Elementary/Franklin Music Magnet
• Open World Learning Community School
  
• Paul & Sheila Wellstone Elementary
• Phalen Lake Hmong Studies Magnet School
• Riverview West Side School of Excellence

The goal of the FFVP is to:

• Create healthier school environments by providing healthier food choices
• Expand the variety of fruits and vegetables children experience
• Increase children's fruit and vegetable consumption
• Make a difference in children's diets to impact their present and future health

Sapote fruit nutritions

Sapote (marmalade plums) is a tropical fruit having the size of a grapefruit or orange and is bright green or brown in color. The outer surface of the sapote is brown in color same as potato and internally it has white pulp with sticky latex called as saponin in unripe fruits. When the fruit is ripe, the flesh inside is becomes red or brown in color. The flavor of this fruit is almost liked by everyone. The pulp of the fruit is deliciously sweet in nature with smooth or grainy texture. It contains 3-10 black colored smooth, shiny seeds which are “bean” shaped and present in the center of the fruit. Ripened sapotes can be stored for up to one week in the refrigerator.

Due to its delicious flavor, fruit is commonly used as an ingredient in ice creams. Also, these fruits are popular for private consumption in smoothies, salads, and desserts. Sapotes are available in various varieties such as the mamey, black skinned, green skinned, yellow skinned and about half a dozen more uncommon varieties pop up in grocery stores and farmer’s markets from time to time. Sapote is rarely available in the United States. It is commonly available in India. This fruit is a native of the highlands of Mexico, but has grown in California since the early 1800s. This fruits are best served when they are fresh and chilled, and then they can be cut into wedge. Many people believed that the flavor of the fruit bears a striking resemblance to caramel.

Nutrients present in sapote fruit are:

• Fat
  • Saturated Fat
• Carbohydrates
  • Dietary Fiber
• Protein
• Vitamin
  • Vitamin A
  • Vitamin C
  • Thiamin
  • Riboflavin
  • Niacin
• Mineral
  • Sodium
  • Potassium
  • Phosphorus
  • Magnesium
  • Calcium
  • Iron

Also, it contains following amino acids in very small amount:

• Tryptophan
• Threonine
• Isoleucine
• Leucine
• Lysine
• Methionine
• Phenylalanine
• Tyrosine
• Valine
• Arginine
• Histidine
• Alanine
• Aspartic acid
• Glutamic acid
• Glycine
• Proline
• Serine

Health benefits of sapote fruit:

• It is a good source of minerals like potassium, copper, iron and vitamins like folate, niacin and pantothenic acid which are essential for health living as they involve in various metabolic processes in the body as cofactors for the enzymes.
• Also, it contains good amounts of antioxidant vitamins like vitamin C and vitamin A. Vitamin A is essential for vision and also for maintaining healthy mucus membranes and skin. Regular consumption of natural fruits which are rich in vitamin A, protect the body from lung and oral cavity cancers. Vitamin C is helpful for the body to fight against infectious disease and it acts as a scavenger for harmful free radicals.
• Sapote fruit contains good amount of dietary fiber, which makes it a good bulk laxative. The fiber content of the fruit helps to relieve constipation and also it protect the mucous membrane of the colon from cancer causing toxins by firmly binding to them.
• The fruit is rich in antioxidant poly-phenolic compound tannin which has potential antiviral, antibacterial and anti-parasitic effects. Also, it has many medicinal applications such as anti-diarrheal, hemostatic, and anti-hemorrhoidal remedies.
• A fluid extract of the crushed seeds is employed in Yucatan as a sedative and soporific.
• A paste of the seeds is applied on stings and bites from poisonous animals.

Athlete Nutrition

Great nutrition is substantial to a athletic and healthy mind and body. It's true what they say - you are what you eat.

This affirmation points out very essentially that if you nurture your body with low nutritional and sugary garbage, your body has nothing to work with and you'll end up ultimately feeling like garbage.

On the other hand, if you maintain your body with food that is filled with nutrients in the nutrition pyramid such as vitamins, fiber, healthy fats, whole grains and omega-3's, you'll observe a huge distinction in how you look and feel...particularly if you make this group of food a dietary habit.

Right now we're at a crossroad - we understand we ought be eating better with fruit nutrition fact, but there are so numerous restaurants available offering "bad" food and it's making the obesity rate skyrocket. Even restaurants that tender fish platters and other health-conscious meals end up not so good because of the amount of calories you eat between the bread, large portions and dessert.

You have two options:

1. Stay away from fast rood restaurants - and when you eat out at restaurants, be meticulous about what you eat. Stay away from the bread and don't finish all things on your plate...carry the rest home for a meal you can eat the next day.

2. Create a meal at home yourself using ingredients you buy at the grocery store, not frozen entrees.

The target of this article is on number two because by making your own meal, you can oversee accurately what goes into it. The end outcome is a meal that you know is healthful and NOT filled with health-deteriorating ingredients.

Here's an example of the perfect meal you can make at home. It has everything you need for better healt and

hnutrition label.

What you'll need is:

1 9-10 ounce bag of baby spinach

1 can of wild Alaskan pink salmon

1-2 teaspoons of olive oil

1-2 teaspoons of balsamic vinegar

1/2-3/4 cup of brown rice

Here's a breakdown of each food's health advantage:

Spinach - this green leaf is filled with phytonutrients, vitamins and fiber - and it's low in calories.

Wild Alaskan Pink Salmon - yes, canned! It tastes superior than you think. The explanation this is recommended is because the food is a powerhouse of good fats, protein and omega-3's and is low in calories and carbohydrates. The salmon you would usually buy is potentially high in mercury, which is bad. This Wild Alaskan form is free of mercury...and it's inexpensive.

In case you're wondering, Omega-3's are vital for healthy weight loss, brain health and a healthy cardiovascular system.

Olive Oil - full of good fat which your body does need. When you buy olive oil, make sure it's 100% authentic. Some brands are now mixing olive oil with refined oils...the end result is olive oil, but not really.

Balsamic Vinegar - vinegar reportedly controls your blood sugar level when eating which is significant for complete health. As well, it gives the meal more flavour.

Brown Rice - whole grains are stuffed of vitamins and fiber. Check out Uncle Ben's instant brown rice...it's pretty good and fast to make.

Making the meal is easy. You merely lay the spinach out on a platter- you can more or less use regardless much you want- and sprinkle 1-2 teaspoons of olive oil and balsamic vinegar over the spinach.

Let this sit for 10 minutes or so- this gives the spinach a chance to drench up the oil and vinegar. While this is sitting, boil the brown rice and open up the can of salmon.

When ready, simply spread the salmon over the spinach and put the brown rice either on the side or in a separate bowl.

And now the best part of all - ENJOY!

This meal will take you 15 minutes max to make and each bite will nourish your body from the inside out. And once you get used to eating healthy, you'll find yourself experimenting with all types of different meals.

Fast Way For Dieting Consuming Fruits | Nutrition

While individuals possibly will think an excellent quick way to lose weight will be using a fad or crash diet plan, this particular concept is incorrect. Crash and fad diet systems happen to be destructive for a body. In addition, results are generally only short term. As a result an effective way to lose weight is utilizing a proper diet plan that not only assists lose weight but additionally enhances overall health.

An effective technique to reduce weight will be eating a variety of v

fast way for dieting consuming fruits nutrition

egetables and fruits per day. Fruits and veggies happen to be packed with minerals, vitamins and antioxidants. A person’s system packed with antioxidants, vitamins and minerals will be not as inclined to suffer from food desires. As a consequence, a person is not consuming tons of foods to curb their appetite. Furthermore, vegetables and fruits happen to be abundant with fiber and water. An individual experiences fewer cravings if she or he consumes food products packed with water and fiber.

us, a proper tactic for losing weight includes eating plenty of vegetables and fruits during munchies and meals.

Some ideal methods to get additional fruits daily happen to be adding fruit into yogurt, pancakes and cereal. Fruit goes great in main dishes, sides and salads also. An ideal way to lose weight will be making meals are tasty using healthy foods.

A great way for consuming more veggies per day includes swapping meat products in favorite recipes for vegetables. Awesome alternatives for

meat products will be beans and grilled vegetables. For example, while creating a made at home pizza instead of using pepperoni, ham, bacon and sausage put on mushrooms, onions, peppers and olives. If meat happens to be preferred, then create a chicken and pineapple pizza. Replacing meat products with vegetables is the quickest way for weight loss because the majority of meats have damaging fat whereas vegetables will be packed full of nutritious minerals, antioxidants and vitamins. Moreover, a single meat portion has lots more food calories compared to a serving of vegetables

One more approach fruits and veggies might be consumed is making them into juice. An effective tactic for weight loss does not always include eating solid products night and day. Fruit smoothies taste great plus supply lots of nutrients. Those beverages will be a fantastic substitute for sugar filled sodas.

An amazing way for dieting will be to learn to take pleasure in food product’s natural taste. As alternatives to smothering items under cheese sauce, oleo, mayo or gravy decrease how much is placed on food. Better still, an effective quick way to lose weight will be totally getting rid of those products. Instead, utilize homemade salsa or fresh herbs. A person might be amazed to discover real food items taste great.

A fast tactic for dropping pounds happens to be to incorporate some type of physical activity along with a nutritious dieting system. A work out activity used, no matter whether yoga, biking, walking, or perhaps some other option, should be matched with an individual’s interests and fitness level.

Some individuals think an amazing tactic for losing weight will be through just varying whatever foods they eat. Different folks try to lose body weight just through exercise. Although, for a terrific quick way to lose weight and for best overall health, people may want to combine doing exercises plus a healthy diet plan

Eat Your Way to Health and Longevity

Eating is one the most important events in everyone’s life. We enjoy eating - it’s part of who we are and part of our culture; in fact, eating is the hottest universal topic of all times. We depend on eating: the foods we eat are the sole source of our energy and nutrition. We know so much about eating: we are born with the desire to eat and grown up with rich traditions of eating. But we also know so little about eating - about how the foods we eat everyday affect our health. We are more confused than ever about the link between diet and health: margarine is healthier than butter or not; a little alcohol will keep heart attacks at bay but cause breast cancer; dietary vitamin antioxidants can prevent lung cancer or can not. Eating is a paradox and a mystery that our ancestors tried and modern scientists are trying to solve.

Based on experiences and traditions, our ancestors have used foods and plant materials to treat various kinds of illness. Manuscripts discovered from a tomb (dated 168 B.C.) in China described prescriptions for 52 ailments with herbs, grains, legumes, vegetables, animal parts, and minerals. Ancient Sumerians recorded the use of 250 medicinal plants on tablets five thousand years ago. Today, plant and food remedies are still the major medicinal source for 80% of the world’s population.

The pharmacological roles of everyday foods have long been neglected by modern medicine due to lack of proven scientific validity. The main focus of modern medicine has been on pharmaceuticals. With the invention of modern chemotherapy by Paul Erhlich in the early twentieth century and sulfa drugs and antibiotics in the 1930’s and 1940’s, it seemed as if chemical medicines would take care of all our ills. However, while there continues to be great strides made in the understanding and use of pharmaceuticals, there is also widespread dissatisfaction with both them and the system of medicine that utilizes them. This dissatisfaction is centered around the feeling that they are too disease-oriented, and perhaps too limited by their precision to cope effectively with the subtle factors and interrelationships that compromise human health and disease. The precise and pure nature of modern biomedical pharmaceuticals also tends to increase their side effects. In addition, with the victory over many common infectious diseases, more people are concerned with chronic degenerative processes and with prevention of disease. The increasing concerns have started a new movement in medical research. More and more mainstream scientists are reaching back to the truth of ancient food folk medicines and dietary practices for clues to remedies and antidotes to our modern diseases.

Research on pharmacological effects of foods is fast-paced and the results are exciting. The mystery of what foods can do for or to us has started to unveil. In order to effectively use foods for our health benefits, the following issues need to be considered:

• Keep up with the most recent scientific findings and make use of them for our health benefits
• Try to use variety of whole foods as much as possible instead of isolated dietary supplements for your health problems - they are safer, cheaper, and usually more effective since they can provide multiple and balanced disease fighting capabilities
• Choice of foods is important: since healing power of a food is depending on the content of pharmacologically active constituents that differ among foods, and certain foods may need to be avoided due to their disease encouraging activities
• How do you prepare and eat your foods can affect their pharmacological effects
• Concerns about multiple health conditions: foods that benefit one health condition may be harmful to others
• Overall nutritional values of foods

Benefits of Healthy Food Improved My Overall Health

We can all reap the benefits of healthy food, one way or another. I always have been conscious of what I was eating, though I would not refer to myself as always being a "healthy eater". When I went out to eat, I would order salads and drink water. At home I always tried to avoid making fried food, and ate things that I thought were healthy foods. At any one time you could find fat-free, low-fat, and organic foods all throughout my pantry and refrigerator.

In my mind I was eating good healthy food, so there was not a problem. Unfortunately my body told a different story. The body always tells the true story. I was not as active as I wanted to be or should have been. As it turns out, my daily eating habits were not made up of the things that would provide me the benefits of healthy food. I had the weight gains, and a variety of ailments (aches & pains, to cold & flu). Of course I would take the band-aid approach, as opposed to solving the root cause. If my weight was up, I would increase the exercise regimen, and watch my calorie intake. When I had a cold or a headache, I would take the appropriate measures to resolve that particular issue. That could be medication, or some natural remedy.

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This pattern went on for many years. Then one year during the winter holiday season, is where I had a change in my thought process. I was reading a magazine that had various articles on making better food choices. My timing may not have been the best, since the winter holiday season is the time of year I love to cook and eat the most. I determined that at that point, when the New Year kicked in I was going to implement a healthier eating plan.

During the first week of that New Year, I followed through on the eating plan I discovered from the magazine. This plan involved eating 6 times a day, and eating wholesome foods. Upon first glance, I did not think I could eat that amount of food in one day. It looked very intimidating in the beginning. That did not deter me, and by the end of the first week I felt a definite difference. This encouraged me to follow through on the second week of the plan. By this point I was hooked on this new healthier eating approach. I learned it was not all about fat-free, low-fat, organic products, or calorie counting.

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From that point, I had a huge appetite. That appetite was not only for food, but an appetite for learning all about healthier foods and nutrition. I was inspired also by a television ad for a weight loss program. There seemed to be some nutritional and scientific principles behind it, which inspired me to buy books to learn even more. All this time, I was not only reading about the benefits of eating healthy food. I was actually implementing them into my new healthy eating lifestyle.

Pretty soon the benefits of eating healthy food were becoming very apparent. For starters, I felt way more energetic and had fewer ailments. Including less aches and pains, and I managed to avoid severe symptoms during the prime cold and flu season. In addition to that, after a few months of keeping up the plan, I was losing weight. It was not even something I was consciously trying to do, but people who had known me for years kept asking the same question every time they saw me. "Are you losing weight?" My response was always "I guess so". I never weighed myself during the process. Though I knew how much I weighed prior to starting this whole process. When asked what I was doing to lose weight, I told everyone I was eating more food on a daily basis. Of course nobody believed me. In fact I was eating more than I ever had done in my lifetime. It was shortly thereafter that my clothes started feeling looser on me. This prompted shopping trips to find clothes that fit better. A trip I would gladly make at any time. Surely I am not alone in that feeling. This is another example of the benefits of healthy food impacting my life.

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It does not take anything extraordinary to change your eating habits. I am not a nutritionist nor am I a classically trained chef. I am just an ordinary person who loves to cook, and loves to learn as much as possible about the benefits of healthy food. There does not need to be a compromise between the two. Some of the better dishes I have made over the past few years have been very health conscious and received rave reviews by others. One of the things I learned was that I did not have to give up all the things I desired to eat. Let’s be honest, we all have those indulgences that we feel we have to have (ice cream, cake, cookies, etc...). If I did give up something there always seems to be a healthier yet still fulfilling alternative. Healthy food does not have to mean a compromise in taste or variety. It just takes a little bit of knowledge and some ingredient watching. If you are going out to eat, the same knowledge combined with some menu awareness will yield the same results. Aren't you ready to experience the benefits of healthy food?

Stay Healthy with Fruit Nutrition

Lots of research has been done on fruit nutrition and all of it indicates that eating high quantities of fruits and vegetables as part of your daily diet is beneficial in reducing the risk of many types of diseases. The nutrients in fruits and vegetables have been shown to decrease the risk of heart disease and stroke, to prevent many types of cancer, and to help stop such eye health problems as macular degeneration and cataracts.

Among the many nutrients in fruit are potassium, vitamin C, dietary fiber, and folate. Potassium can help lower blood pressure, aid normal heart function, and stop fat from building up to clog arteries. Potassium is also linked to maintaining bone density and may even reduce the risk of acquiring kidney stones. Potassium-rich fruits include bananas, dried peaches and apricots, prunes and prune juice, orange juice, cantaloupe and honeydew melon.

The dietary fiber in fruit helps to maintain good bowel movement, reducing constipation and diverticulosis. It also plays an important role in reducing blood cholesterol levels and helping lower our risk of heart disease. These advantages are from whole and cut-up fruits–the same fiber content is not present in fruit juices. The most fiber content found in juice is in those containing a large amount of pulp.

Vitamin C is one of the most important vitamins for human health. It is essential for the health of body tissues, strengthening the immune system, having healthy gums and teeth, and it aids in the body’s healing of itself should we have wounds or cuts. Vitamin C is an antioxidant, and as such it can protect us at the cellular level from free radicals that can cause all types of cell damage. Research has even shown that vitamin C may help reduce the risk of heart disease and some forms of cancer. Vitamin C is present in such fruits as strawberries, blackberries, bananas, apples, kiwi, oranges, cantaloupe, watermelon, lemon, grapes, tomatoes, peaches, and lime.

Folate, or folic acid is another component of fruit–nutrition essentials gained from folate are the production of red blood cells. These are especially important to pregnant women as the fetus needs lots of folic acid during the first trimester as it reduces the chances of certain birth defects. These include tube defects–spina bifida, a spinal cord defect, and anencephaly, a defect where the fetus doesn‘t develop a brain and usually dies in the womb or shortly after birth. Folate is the word used when this vitamin is found in fruits, and folic acid is what it’s called in supplements. Fruits having folate include kiwi, cantaloupe, blackberries, oranges, tomatoes, bananas and strawberries.

Vitamin A is present in blackberries, tomatoes, oranges, cantaloupes, kiwi, watermelon, and peaches. We need vitamin A for several different purposes, including strengthening the immune system, cell reproduction, and aiding in the growth of some hormones. It also helps us have healthy skin, hair, and mucous membranes. Research shows vitamin A can help prevent acquiring measles.

Eating adequate amounts of fruits and vegetables is the number one thing you can do stay healthy. Everyone should eat a minimum of 2 cups of fruit and 2-½ cups of vegetables every day. The most fruit nutrition benefits are obtained from having at least 5 servings every day–5 to 9 servings is ideal. Fruits are low fat, contain fiber, essential vitamins and minerals, phytochemicals, and antioxidants. They also have fruitose, a natural sugar, which is better for the body than the processed white sugars found in so many popular foods. So, add as many fruits as you can to your diet and you will live longer and be healthier.

Aging and Foods

Aging is the progressive decline over time in physiological functions, including reflexes, vision, hearing, short-term memory and learning, physical strength and endurance, digestion, cardiovascular function and immunity. Two well-supported theories have been proposed to explain the biological cause of aging.

Based on recent scientific findings, a revolutionary theory called free radical theory of aging has been developed to describe the roles of oxidative damages to cells in the process of aging. The theory hypothesizes that oxidative damage by free radicals to genetic materials, proteins, cell membranes, and other cellular machineries is the genesis of aging and its consequences. According to the theory, free radical damage to our cells accumulates but our inborn ability to resist and repair the damage with antioxidants and enzymes declines as we age, resulting in chemical disintegration of our bodies, increased risk of age-related diseases, and eventually death. Therefore, the battle between free radicals and antioxidants in the body is a major factor determining aging rate and life span.

The AGEs theory of aging is another one with solid scientific evidences. Since 1912 chemists have known that in the heat of an oven sugars and amino acids of proteins form tight chemical bonds - a reaction that turns roasted turkey, toast, and coffee to a tasty golden brown. This Maillard chemistry, as it is known in food circles, also occurs in our bodies. Doctors had noticed for years that uncontrolled diabetics seemed to undergo something resembling accelerated aging. Many of the common ailments of aging, such as cataracts, atherosclerosis, heart attacks, strokes, lung and joint stiffening, appeared earlier in diabetics. Years ago, Anthony Cerami put those observations on diabetics together with the Maillard chemistry and concluded that aging itself might be partially due to Maillard or browning products accumulating at a slow rate in the body. He noted that the end result of this reaction was a series of unalterable new chemical structures in our tissues, which he called Advanced Glycosylation End-products or AGEs.

You can never escape aging because natures plan builds it into your genes. Your maximal life span is probably determined by your genetic capacities. However, it is estimated that only 30% of aging characteristics are genetically based. Consequently, how a person lives is an important key to longevity.

Your foods can be powerful weapons in your effort to fight aging. By controlling what and how much to eat as well as what not to eat, you can maximize antioxidant and anti-AGEs capacity as well as minimize the levels of free radicals and the formation of AGEs in your body. Consequently, you can slow down the aging rate and live to the full extent of your genetic boundaries.

Aging is inevitable, but how rapidly you age is not. You can start your journey to youth and longevity with the powerful antiaging foods and herbs.

Mediterranean Diet Good for Diabetes Patients

Diabetes is a disease of the metabolism, disturbed in the way the body makes use of digested food for development and vigor.

Type-1 diabetes is an autoimmune ailment and there is not much that can be done to avoid it.

In contrast, Type-2 diabetes is the most ordinary type of diabetes and is often linked with age, fatness, physical immobility, and family history of diabetes, and there’s a lot that can be done to put it off or control it.

If diabetes is dealt with, it can have long-standing problems, which impinge on nearly all organs of the body. It can result in cardiovascular ailment, stroke, kidney failure, loss of sight, and even neuropathy and foot diseases.

Many studies, one of them being a medical examination by Diabetes Prevention Program started by National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), have revealed that individuals can reduce their odds of contracting Type-2 diabetes through right diet and exercise regimen.

Several researchers discovered that a Mediterranean diet may be helpful in patients with recently detected Type-2 diabetes or in persons who have a tall risk of getting Type-2 diabetes.

Fresh fruits and vegetables should be made part of daily diet. Olive oil should be used as main fat, substituting other fats and oils together with butter and margarine.

Watermelon

Scientific Name: Citrullus Vulgaris

Biological Background: The fruit of an annual vine belonging to the squash and melon family. Watermelon originated in Africa and has been cultivated since ancient times in the Mediterranean region, Egypt and India.

Nutritional Information: One slice of watermelon (480 g) contains 152 calories, 3 g protein, 34.6 g carbohydrates, 2.4 g fiber, 560 mg potassium, 176 mg vitamin A (RE), 47 mg vitamin C, 0.3 mg thiamin, 0.1 mg riboflavin, and 0.96 mg niacin.

Pharmacological Activity: Watermelon is rich in lycopene, glutathione and vitamin C. It has great activity against cancers and some antibacterial, anticoagulant activity.

Eating Tips: Choose watermelon with a deep red color.

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Proper Nutrition for Athletes

We have all heard and study quite a thousand times about the proper nutrition for athletes. We have been encouraged time and time again to trade fast food meals for meals filled of fruits and vegetables as a healthy diet for athletes. For most of us, healthy eating is a matter of changing the habits we have carried for years and choose a healthy diet plan. How amazing would it be if we did our children a favor and helped them to establish healthy eating patterns from the time of their birth?

I'm secure that the generation behind us would grow up greatly healthier and in much less need of notable diet or fitness alterations in their mature years. The more we instruct our children about the good nutrition, important of eating and the more we supply healthy options for them to eat, the better off they will be.

One of the larger reasons that parents do not acquire the time to supply healthy meals for their children is insufficiency of time. I mean really, who has the time to arrange a home cooked meal filled with fresh fruits and vegetables, lean proteins and whole grains every night? My suggestion to all busy parents is to realize how good nutrition important to the health of your children is. Only as you begin to make their health a priority will you fight for ways to provide healthy eating for them.

Establishing healthy eating patterns for children can be as easy as making some easy substitutions in your grocery shopping and menu planning. Trade whole milk for lowfat or skim milk and only get inexpensive fat yogurts or ice creams. Go for whole grain crackers and breads rather than stuffing your cart or their lunch boxes with potato chips or unhealthy snack crackers. Start their day off with healthy eating by only purchasing cereals and oatmeals that are low in sugar and high in necessary vitamins and minerals.

Healthy eating is a matter of making superior food choices. The next time your children beg you to get them fast food, do so only under the condition that they must select from the healthier chicken or salad items on the menu. Look for ways to comply as you bring healthy eating morals into your family.

As the parent it is your responsibility to make sure that your children are developing healthy eating habits. There is no better time to do this than now. Your kids will thank you one day when they are still eating healthy as adults.

Pineapple

Scientific Name: Ananas cosmosus

Biological Background: A tropical plant with stiff, spiny leaves that yields a single large fruit. Pineapple originated in Brazil.

Nutritional Information: One cup (155 g) of raw pineapple contains 76 calories, 0.6 g protein, 19.2 g carbohydrates, 2.95 g fiber, 175 g potassium, 124 mg vitamin C, 0.14 mg thiamin, 0.06 mg riboflavin, 0.65 mg niacin.

Pharmacological Activity: It suppresses inflammation due to Bromelain, an antibacterial enzyme. Pineapple aids digestion and helps to dissolve blood clots, and is food for preventing osteoporosis and bone fractures because of its very high manganese content. It is also antibacterial, antiviral and mildly estrogenic.

Eating Tips: Eat fresh. Canning destroys some pharmacological activities of pineapple.

Choose Red or Black Colored Grapes

Grapes

Scientific Name: Vitus spp.

Biological Background: Grape is a pulpy, smooth-skinned berry, growing in clusters on vines. Grape was domesticated before 5,000 B.C. and is one of the oldest cultivated fruits.

Nutritional Information: Ten seedless grapes (50 g) provide 35 calories, 0.3 g protein, 8.9 g carbohydrate, 1.0 g fiber, 105 mg potassium, 5.4 mg vitamin C, 0.05 mg thiamin, 0.03 mg riboflavin, and 0.15 mg niacin.

Pharmacological Activity: Grape is a rich storehouse of antioxidant and anticancer compounds, including flavonoids (anthocyanin), quercetin, and resveratol (red grape skin). Grapes can inhibit blood-platelet clumping and consequently blood clot formation, and boost good type HDL cholesterol. Red grapes are antibacterial and antiviral. It has strong activity against cancers.

Eating Tips: Choose red or black colored grape instead of white or green one and eat with grape skin on to get the most health benefits.

Brain Power Foods

Brain power is characterized by how alert, energetic, and concentrated your brain is in response to a task. Information in your brain passes through neurotransmitters, which are manufactured by the nerve cells using precursors. Different neurotransmitters will have different impacts on your brain activity. For example, serotonin is the calming neurotransmitter that usually makes you more relaxed, drowsy, and fuzzy-headed. While dopamine and norepinephrine are neurotransmitters that make you more alert, more attentive, motivated and mentally energetic.

Food affects your brain power by affecting the production of neurotransmitters in your brain. By supplying amino acids, which are used as precursors to manufacture neurotransmitters, and by affecting the entry of the amino acids into brain, foods can have a significant impact on your brain activity. High-carbohydrate foods in general tend to subdue brain activity. Protein foods, on the other hand, can counteract carbohydrate food induced sluggishness. In addition, foods and herbs can have effects on brain activity by affecting blood circulation - the supply line of oxygen, nutrient, and hormone to the brain.

Health Benefits of Broccoli

Scientific Name: Brassica aleracea

Biological Background: Broccoli is a dark-green vegetable with small, tight heads (curds) mounted on stem-like buds, and is a member of Brassica family of the Cruciferous vegetables. It is one of the most popular vegetables and was originated in Italy.

Nutritional Information: One cup of chopped and cooked broccoli (146 g) provides 46 calories, 4.6 g protein, 8.7 g carbohydrates, 6.4 g fiber, 178 g calcium, 1.8 mg iron, 220 RE vitamin A, 0.13 mg thiamin, 0.32 mg riboflavin, 1.18 mg niacin, 98 mg vitamin C.

Pharmacological Information: Broccoli is a spectacular and unique package of versatile disease fighters and abundant in numerous strong, well-known phytochemicals and antioxidants, including indoles, isothiocyanates, quercetin, glutathione, beta carotene, vitaminC, folate, lutein, glucarate, and glutathione. Broccoli is extremely strong in anticancer activity, particularly against lung, colon, and breast cancers. Like other cruciferous vegetables, it speeds up the removal of estrogen from the body, helping suppress breast cancer. Broccoli is rich in cholesterol-reducing fiber and has antiviral and antiulcer activity. It is a super source of chromium that helps regulate insulin and bloodsugar. Broccoli is also a good source of calcium, thus help fight osteoporosis. However, brocoli is one of the leading intestinal gas producers.

Eating Tips: Heavy cooking and processing destroy some of the anti oxidants and phytochemicals such as indoles and glutathione. Eat raw or lightly cooked as in microwave and stir-fry. To reduce its gas production, eat broccoli with ginger or garlic.

Food Allergies and Food Intolerance

We are on the brink of new health revolution. It is finally being accepted by more and more people that many chronic illness, physical and mental, often going undiagnosed for years and suffered by thousands of people, are caused partially or wholly by allergies and intolerances to the foods that most of us eat every day of our lives.

Food allergy refers to an immediate, often dramatic reaction such as a sore mouth, an itchy red skin rash, an attack of asthma, etc. Blood and skin tests for the allergenic food are positive. In this case, your immune system overreacts, and mistakenly identifies innocent compounds, for example, cows milk or nuts, as enemies like bacteria and viruses. This mistake throws the immune system into a chain reaction of alert. It produces antibodies called immunoglobulin E or IgE to lunch an attack on the false threats (antigens), releasing histamines and other chemicals that provoke the symptoms of allergies.

Food intolerance is in a sense similar to the case of classical food allergies, the body responds abnormally; however, the reactions may be subtle and more difficult to detect. It takes much longer for the complaints to come on. It takes more food to trigger the reactions, and blood and skin tests for the food may turn up either positive or negative. The immune system does not produce IgE. Food intolerance may cause a rage of maladies:

• Gastrointestinal complaints: stomach ache, irritable bowel, Crohns disease, ulcerative colitis
• Skin complaints: itching, eczema, acne, hires
• Joint and muscle complaints: atypical pains, rheumatoid arthritis
• Headache and migraine
• Pre-menstrual syndrome
• Hypoglycemia
• Depression and anxiety.