Posts Tagged ‘medicine’
Watermelon
Posted on: September 3, 2012
Watermelon is an amazing fruit to juice. It is very low in fat and calories and has an abundance of nutritional benefits. make sure to buy organic watermelons. You can e either juice it or just blend it until it liquefies.
Regular consumption of watermelon juice can increase blood concentrations of lycopene and beta-carotene. Studies suggest that these potent antioxidants may have protective eff
Lycopene and beta-carotene are compounds called carotenoids, which are highly colored pigments that help protect plants against damage from sunlight. Carotenoids are important because they have antioxidant activity and prevent free radicals from causing harm to the body, similar to other types of antioxidants such as selenium and vitamins C and E. Some carotenoids are also converted to vitamin A, which is necessary for normal immune function and development of cells.
And yes, there is a watermelon juice diet. The watermelon juice diet increased blood concentrations of lycopene and beta-carotene almost five-fold and two-fold, respectively, compared with the diet without watermelon juice. However, there was no significant increase in lycopene or beta-carotene levels when the amount of watermelon juice was doubled. Consumption of tomato juice produced a similar increase in blood lycopene concentrations, but failed to increase beta-carotene levels.
Studies show watermelon juice increases lycopene and beta-carotene blood levels. Lycopene from tomatoes reduces the risk of heart attacks too and may help prevent prostate cancer. The lycopene concentration in watermelon is 40% higher than the amount found in tomatoes. Other food sources of lycopene include guava, pink grapefruit, apricots, persimmons, and papaya.
Where i live organic watermelons are in full harvest. I just bought a case from a local farmer and it is being delivered tomorrow so i will add watermelon juice to my weight loss diet. I also like to blend several organic tomatoes along with a lime or a tomatoes and a little bit of cayenne…..
These juices are extremely powerful super foods, low in calories, no fat, no cholesterol and cuts the risk of cancer and heart disease significantly. I make my juice at the time i consume them. I never make them in advance and store then in a refrigerator. My theory is they lose much of their nutritional impact.
cantaloupe
Posted on: September 3, 2012
- In: Gardening | Healthy Body | raw food | veggie foods
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If you are looking to incorporate vitamin A sources into your diet then cantal
Aside from being a significant source of vitamin A, cantaloupes are also good sources of vitamin C. Vitamin C is an antioxidant which functions in the water-soluble parts of the body. As you know, antioxidants help fight free radicals in your body. Free radicals spread damage to your cells, causing diseases and signs of aging. Vitamin C also strengthens your immune system by stimulating your white blood cells. Your white blood cells are responsible for killing viruses, bacteria and other foreign elements that seek to enter your body.
A recent study showed that consumption of a vitamin A-rich food like cantaloupe is also beneficial to smokers. If you’re a smoker or someone who is constantly exposed to second-hand smoke then you might want to make cantaloupes a regular part of your diet. One of the carcinogens found in cigarette smoke reportedly created a vitamin A deficiency in the body. When you start incorporating more vitamin A into your diet, the deficiency is reversed and you also lower your risk of developing lung diseases like emphysema.
Cantaloupes are also rich in a compound called adenosine. Adenosine is typically administered to patients who have heart disease since this compound has blood-thinning properties. When your blood is thin, you can prevent blood-clotting in the cardiovascular system. The folate present in cantaloupes and all types of melons also help in preventing a heart attack.
Cantaloupe might also be an ideal fruit to eat during those times when you are feeling anxious and stressed. Cantaloupe is rich in potassium which normalizes the heartbeat and promotes the supply of oxygen to the brain. As a result, you feel more relaxed and focused.
Cantaloupe is another fruit that you must buy organic because of the high water content. I love eating cantaloupe as well as blending them into juice. They are great for maintaining your weight as well as your health……
Benefits of cashews
Posted on: August 31, 2012
- In: Healthy Body | raw food | veggie foods
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The cashew tree is native to Brazil, where its fruit is considered a delicacy. In the 16th century, the Portuguese introduced them to India and some African countries, where they are now also grown. What we call the cashew nut is actually the seed of this fruit. Cashews are rich in iron, phosphorus, selenium, magnesium and zinc. They are also good sources of phytoche
Here are seven health benefits of cashews.
1. Cancer Prevention
Cashews are ripe with proanthocyanidins, a class of flavanols that actually starve tumors and stop cancer cells from dividing. Studies have also shown that cashews can reduce your colon cancer risk. Their high copper content also endows the seed with the power to eliminate free radicals and they are also good sources of phytochemicals and antioxidants that protect us from heart disease and cancer.
2. Heart Health
Cashews have a lower fat content than most other nuts and most of it is in the form of oleic acid, the same heart-healthy monounsaturated fat found in olive oil. Studies show that oleic acid promotes good cardiovascular health by helping to reduce triglyceride levels, high levels of which are associated with an increased risk for heart disease. Cashews are wonderfully cholesterol free and their high antioxidant content helps lower risk of cardiovascular and coronary heart diseases. The magnesium in cashews helps lower blood pressure and helps prevent heart attacks.
3. Hair and Skin Health
Cashews are rich in the mineral copper. An essential component of many enzymes, copper plays its part in a broad array of processes. One copper-containing enzyme, tyrosinase, converts tyrosine to melanin, which is the pigment that gives hair and skin its color. Without the copper cashews are so abundant in, these enzymes would not be able to do their jobs.
4. Bone Health
Cashews are particularly rich in magnesium. It’s a well-known fact that calcium is necessary for strong bones, but magnesium is as well. Most of the magnesium in the human body is in our bones. Some of it helps lend bones their physical structure, and the remainder is located on the surface of the bone where it is stored for the body to use as it needs. Copper found in cashews is vital for the function of enzymes involved in combining collagen and elastin, providing substance and flexibility in bones and joints.
5. Good for the Nerves
By preventing calcium from rushing into nerve cells and activating them, magnesium keeps our nerves relaxed and thereby our blood vessels and muscles too. Too little magnesium means too much calcium can gain entrance to the nerve cell, causing it to send too many messages, and leading to too much contraction.
Insufficient magnesium leads to higher blood pressure, muscle tension, migraine headaches, soreness and fatigue. Not surprisingly, studies have demonstrated that magnesium helps diminish the frequency of migraine attacks, lowers blood pressure and helps prevent heart attacks.
6. Prevent Gallstones
Data collected on 80,718 women from the Nurses’ Health Study demonstrates that women who eat at least an ounce of nuts each week, such as cashews, have a 25% lower risk of developing gallstones.
7. Weight Loss
People who eat nuts twice a week are much less likely to gain weight than those who rarely eat nuts. Cashew nuts are indeed relatively high in fat, but it is considered “good fat.” This is attributable to the ideal fat ratio in the nut, 1:2:1 for saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated, respectively, which is recommended by scientists for tip-top health. Cashew nuts contain less fat than most other popular nuts, including peanuts, pecans, almonds and walnuts. They are dense in energy and high in dietary fiber, making them a very valuable snack for managing weight gain.
Health Info Round Up
Posted on: August 28, 2012
8 Health Benefits of Blackberries
Posted on: August 22, 2012
Blackberries are a delicious little “aggregate fruit” that grow wild on thorny bushes and are cultivated on every temperate continent, including Africa and Asia. Composed of many individual drupelets, each like a small berry with one seed, each drupelet contributes extra skin, seeds and pectin with dietary fiber value to the nutritional content of blackberries, making them among the highest fiber content plants in the world.
Blackberries can be eaten fresh, frozen and canned and are popularly made into jams, juices, desserts and even wine. Rich in vitamins, minerals and fiber, blackberries are highly nutritious and rich in antioxidants. They are also low in calories, carbohydrates, and fat, making them one of the best fruits out there for a balanced diet.
Cancer Prevention
Anthocyanins, which give blackberries their dark color, are an antioxidant shown to reduce inflammation. As an antioxidant, they destroy free radicals in the body that harm cells and lead to cancer. Research has also shown that the ellagic acid in blackberries may have anti-cancer properties. One cup of blackberries contains half of the daily recommendation of the antioxidant vitamin C, which protects the immune system and may lower the risk of developing certain types of cancer.
Researchers have found that blackberries may reduce esophageal cancer by relieving the oxidative stress caused by Barrett’s esophagus, a precancerous condition usually brought about by gastroesophageal reflux disease. Perhaps the greatest benefit from eating blackberries is their high level of phenolic acids which, besides having many other potential health benefits, are antioxidant compounds known as powerful anti-carcinogenic agents. Because of these compounds, blackberries have been given an ORAC value (oxygen radical absorbance capacity) of about 5350 per 100 grams, placing them near the top of ORAC fruits.
Cardiovascular Benefits
The anthocyanins that give blackberries their dark color are antioxidants shown to reduce inflammation by helping combat free radicals in the body that destroy cells and lead to heart disease. Vitamin C in blackberries acts as an antioxidant, and one cup of this delicious berry contains half of the daily recommendation of vitamin C. The immune system uses vitamin C to fight illness adequate vitamin C intake may lower the risk of developing heart disease. One cup of blackberries contains over thirty percent of the daily recommended amount of fiber, promoting healthy digestion and reducing the risk of heart disease.
Skin Health
As are all berries, blackberries are a great source of ellagic acid, an antioxidant shown to protect the skin from damage from ultraviolet light. Studies have also shown that ellagic acid may also repair skin damaged by the sun. Vitamin C helps heal wounds, and studies also show vitamin C may even lessen the appearance of wrinkles. Studies of cyanidin-3-glucoside, a compound found in blackberries showed it prevents skin cancer by inhibiting tumors from growing and spreading.
Eye Health
Vitamin C functions as an antioxidant in blackberries and one cup contains half of the daily recommendation of vitamin C. The body uses vitamin C for protection from immune system deficiencies, and may reduce the chances of macular degeneration, a condition in which fine vision deteriorates, resulting in central vision loss and is the leading cause of blindness in people over 50.
Women’s Health
Phytoestrogens are naturally occurring plant estrogens found in blackberries that may help relieve the common symptoms of PMS like bloating, food cravings, and even menopausal symptoms including hot flashes.
Digestive Tract Health
Just one cup of blackberries contains over thirty percent of the daily recommended amount of fiber, which promotes healthy digestion and aids in maintaining bowel regularity by bulking up the feces and reducing the time it takes matter to pass all the way through the intestines. Bowel regularity is commonly associated with a decreased risk for colon cancer.
Diabetes
Thirty percent of the daily recommended amount of fiber is to be found in just one cup of blackberries. The steady movement of fiber through the digestive system allows for a measured breakdown of food into its component parts. This even breakdown of food helps to curtail extremes regarding simple sugar uptake from the digestive tract. An excess of simple sugar uptake all at once can produce an unwanted blood sugar spike. A lack of simple sugar uptake may produce a rapid blood sugar drop. Either extreme can upset blood sugar balance. The quantity of fiber in blackberries helps avoid both extremes.
Bone Health
Blackberries are a good source of vitamin K, offering 36% of the daily recommended amount of this nutrient used by the body for the clotting of blood and to aid the absorption of calcium.
Pomegranate Benefits
Posted on: August 17, 2012
1. Antioxidants – These help to wrangle the hoards of free radicals in your system. Free radicals have an uneven number of electrons and like to balance themselves out by stealing from other molecules and cells in your body. These cells are oftentimes very important ones dealing with your DNA, and when they are destroyed, disease step
2. Blood Thinner – Pomegranate juice helps your blood circulation, making it easier for blood to travel to your heart, brain, and the rest of your body.
3. Cancer Fighter – Pomegranate has been known to reduce and prohibit the growth of cancer cells and tumors in your body.
4. Digestion Aide – Pomegranate juice is a natural remedy for diarrhea, dysentery, and great number of other digestive problems.
5. Anemia Relief – With a high content of iron, pomegranate juice is a great home cure for anemia because it promotes higher levels of hemoglobin.
6. Anti-Inflammatory – Pomegranate juice has properties that help treat sufferers of arthritis. It can also help cure a cough or sore throat.
7. Neonatal Care – It has been proven that pomegranate juice ingested by pregnant women can help protect the neonatal brain.
8. Artery Protection – It helps keep plaque from building up in your arteries.
9. Cartilage Protection – It works to prevent the deterioration of cartilage in your body.
10. Cholesterol Reducer – Pomegranate juice is capable of lowering blood pressure by as much as 6% in daily drinkers.
Anti Inflamatory Foods
Posted on: August 16, 2012
Certain conditions, such as asthma, allergies, arthritis, and auto-immune disorders, have an obvious inflammatory component. However, chronic, low-level inflammation (sometimes referred to as “systemic” or “silent” inflammation) has now been linked with diseases ranging from heart disease, diabetes, and cancer to depression, Alzheimer’s, and osteoporosis. Inflammation also appears to be a key factor in skin aging and other outward signs of aging. One of the biggest factors in chronic, low-level inflammation may be the food you eat every day.
Ginger benefits
Posted on: August 14, 2012
GINGER BENEFITS – 10 Health Benefits of Ginger
1. Ovarian cancer treatment, 2. Colon cancer prevention, 3. Morning sickness relief, 4. Motion sickness remedy, 5. Reduces pain and inflammation 6. Heartburn relief, 7. Prevention of diabetic nephropathy, 8. Migraine relief 9. Menstrual cramp relief, 10. Cold and flu prevention
By: Homesteading Self Sufficiency Survival
- In: Entertaining | Gardening | raw food | veggie foods
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