1. Eat a banana if you have heartburn. The Journal of Nutritional
Biochemisty (February, 2001) attests to the anti-ulcer properties of the
banana. Bananas act like a natural
antacid to the stomach. In this article, they identified the secret
component in the banana, the flavonoid leucocyanidin. Studies show that
bananas can protect against aspirin-induced gastritis and can
significantly increase the mucous membrane lining of the stomach.
2. Bananas are high in fiber and vitamins. A single banana contains 16%
of the dietary fiber, 15% of the vitamin C, 11% of the potassium and
20% of the vitamin B6 recommended each day.
3. Bananas are good
for the heart. Potassium is an essential mineral needed to regulate
water balance, acidity level and blood pressure of the body. A lack of
potassium may cause muscle weakness and irregular heartbeat. For
patients taking a diuretic medicine, they should take 2 bananas a day to
keep the potassium level up. Take note also that bananas have zero
sodium (good for high blood pressure) and zero fat and cholesterol (good
for those with high cholesterol).
4. Bananas may reduce
strokes. Numerous studies have shown that low potassium levels can cause
heart palpitations, which can then lead to a stroke.
5.
Bananas help counter stress and insomnia. Bananas contain tryptophan, a
type of protein that the body converts into serotonin. Serotonin is a
hormone that is known to make you feel happy and improve your mood.
6. Diabetics may take bananas in moderation. Snacking on bananas
between meals helps to keep the blood sugar level up. The glycemic index
rating for a ripe, yellow banana is 51 which is fairly good. This means
that the carbohydrates in a banana have a medium to slow effect in
raising your blood sugar levels. However, as bananas ripen, the starch
in the fruit turns to sugar and may cause your blood sugar to rise more.
The lesson is: it's okay to eat a banana, but not the overripe one.
7. Bananas for fatigue and anemia. Have you seen Roger Federer eat a
banana between games? The high potassium content prevents cramps and
gives ready energy with its easily digestible starch. Bananas are also a
rich source of iron, thus it is helpful in patients with anemia.
8. Bananas may prevent leukemia. A study published in the American
Journal of Epidemiology by Kwan et al. (Dec 2004, pp. 1098-107) shows an
association between regular consumption of bananas and oranges in
children from ages 0-2 and a reduction in childhood leukemia.
9. Bananas may prevent childhood asthma. A European study of 2,640
primary school children in South London concludes that eating bananas at
least once a day reduces episodes of wheezing and asthma attacks in
children (European Respiratory Journal, Feb. 14, 2007). Eating apples
and other fruits were not as beneficial.
10. It's cheap! The
best news about the lowly banana is that it's cheap. And it comes in a
great package. A banana can fit cleanly in your bag. Just cut it high up
in the stem. When you feel hungry and stressed, reach for a banana.
The only downside with bananas is that some people may get
constipation. If this is the case, then maybe you can mix your bananas
with other fruits like papayas and watermelon to loosen your bowels.
Taking in lots of water also helps.
I hope you can discover the
wonders of the banana and add it to your daily diet. It just might cure
you of your medical problems. Remember: Two bananas a day can keep the
doctor away.
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Benefits Of Bananas
Posted by Lisa at Thursday, July 18, 2013Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Benefits Of Cucumber
Posted by Lisa at Tuesday, July 02, 2013Spice up your 8 glasses per day of water with a slice or two of
cucumber. It's wonderfully refreshing, but there are amazing benefits to
cucumber as well. Cucumbers are cooler than you think ...
1. Fat busting: Do you ever wonder why women put cucumbers on their
eyes to relieve puffiness? The photochemical in cucumbers makes the
collagen in your skin tighten, thus the lack of puffiness. Did you know
that you can rub a cucumber on a problematic spot of cellulite anywhere
on your body to lessen the visibility of it? Did you also know that it
has the same effect on wrinkles? Wow, it makes purchasing those fifty
dollar creams seem a little silly, doesn’t it? You can also rub a little
bit under your kiddo’s eyes after a long bout of crying to avoid that
puffy ‘I cried for an hour straight’ look.
2. Defogger: Do you
get annoyed when you get out of the shower and you have to fight the fog
on the mirror? Who has time for that when the kids will be awake at any
moment? Try rubbing a slice of cucumber on the mirror before you hop in
and not only will you get a fog-free mirror, but you’ll have a nice
smell that will boost your mood.
3. Headaches: If you suffer
from headaches from chasing your babies all day (or pets or your
husband), or had a little too much wine with dinner and want to avoid a
hangover, eat half of a cucumber before bed. Cucumbers are high in B
vitamins, sugar, and electrolytes, and they replenish the nutrients
missing in your body to help you avoid a hang over or to beat that
headache that’s been threatening to take over.
4. WD-40
replacement: Did you know you can get rid of a squeak by rubbing a
cucumber on the hinge? Wow, now you don’t have to tear your garage apart
looking for that little can with the red straw, and the baby won’t wake
up when you slowly open the nursery door to check on him.
5.
Crayon on the walls: Take an unpeeled cucumber and rub the crayon off of
the walls in the event that your kiddo left you some art. You can also
use this technique to erase a pen mistake.
6. Halitosis killer:
Take a slice of cucumber and put it on the roof of your mouth. Hold it
there with your tongue for 30 seconds. The photochemical that you love
for cellulite and puff reduction will also kill the bacteria that is
causing your bad breath.
7. Tarnish remover: If you’re finding
tarnish on your stainless steel kitchen faucets and appliances? Rub it
off with a cucumber slice. Not only will it remove years of tarnish, it
will leave it streak free and your hands will thank you, and your kids
won’t be put at risk from a dangerous chemical.
8. Energy
booster: If you’re feeling tired in the afternoon, don’t give Starbucks
your five bucks. Instead, grab a cucumber. There are just enough
carbohydrates and B vitamins to give you a longer-lasting and healthier
boost of energy than soda, coffee, or those health hazard energy drinks.
9. Munchy madness: Did you know that European trappers ate cucumbers
for energy and to keep from starving to death? If those big burly manly
men can eat a cucumber to keep from starving, you can eat one as a
healthy choice when the munchies hit. Slice some up and take them in a
small plastic container to the movies if your theater doesn’t offer
healthy alternatives to munching on butter soaked popcorn.
10.
Frugal facial: Slice up a cucumber and boil it in a pot of water. The
chemicals inside of the cucumber will mix with the steam. Remove the pot
from heat and lean over it, letting the steam hit you. Your skin will
be more radiant and healthy, and you will feel relaxed and rejuvenated.
11. Shoe polish: Cut a slice off of your cucumber and rub it on your
shoe. It will not only shine it up, but it will repel water.
12. Pest control: Put three or four slices of cucumber in a small pie
tin and place them in your garden. The chemicals in the cucumber have a
reaction that pests hate. You won’t smell it, but it will drive them
from your garden all year long. Replace them periodically.
13.
Sunburn: Sometimes sun block doesn’t always protect your little ones
from sunburn. If you have burnt little kiddos you don’t have any aloe,
rub some cucumber on them. Many doctors even use cucumber to treat
patients with irritated skin and sunburns.
14. Blood pressure:
Cucumber has been long used to treat high blood pressure. If you have
it, add cucumbers to your daily diet. There is also ongoing research
into the use of cucumbers for lowering cholesterol.
15.
Constipation remedy: The seeds of a cucumber are a diuretic. If you’re
constipated, try eating a cucumber. If you suffer from chronic
constipation, add cucumber to your daily diet.
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Eggplant
Posted by Lisa at Thursday, January 24, 2013Eggplant (or talong, a Philippine vegetable) is loaded with vitamins and
minerals and appears to play a vital role in managing and preventing
serious conditions including Cancer and Type 2 Diabetes.
1. Prevents Cancer
Eggplant can provide many health benefits, including being important in the treatment and prevention of cancer.
1.1 Fiber
Eggplant has been found to be especially useful in the treatment of
colon cancer due to the high amount of fiber found within eggplant.
Fiber is important in the treatment of colon cancer because it is a
relatively porous nutrient, and because of this, as it moves through the
digestive tract, it has the tendency to absorb toxins and chemicals
that can lead to the development of colon cancer. For best results,
individuals who are interested in reducing their risk for the
development of color cancer should be sure to include the skin of the
eggplant during consumption. Research has found that the skin of
eggplant may contain more fiber that the actual eggplant itself.
1.2 Chlorogenic Acid
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural
Research Service found chlorogenic acid to be the dominant antioxidant
compound in eggplant. They report that this is significant because
chlorogenic acid has a great capacity to fight free radicals. It is also
antimutagenic, which means it can protect cells from mutating into
cancer cells; and it is also antimicrobial & antiviral.
1.3 Nasunin
Nasunin is an antioxidant compound found in the peels of eggplant. The
August 10, 2005 issue of the "Journal of Agricultural and Food
Chemistry" reports that a study shows the nasunin in eggplant has
anti-angiogenic abilities. The Cancer Center at the Angiogenesis
Foundation explains that when something is angiogenic, it stimulates new
growth of blood vessels and blood supply. Cancerous cells can gain
angiogenesis ability, which means they can develop a means to increase
their own blood supply, which can cause a cancerous mass or tumor to
grow rather quickly. Nasunin in eggplant has the ability to prevent
angiogenesis from occurring.
2. Promotes Weight Loss
As stated above, eggplant contains high amounts of fiber, making it a
great food in the fight against cancer. But, the fiber found in eggplant
has other uses–namely, its ability to be a useful tool for people who
are trying to lose weight. Fiber is a relatively “bulky” food, meaning
that is takes up a lot of room in the stomach. Therefore, by eating
eggplant in a salad or appetizer before a meal, dieters are likely to
have a greater feeling of satiety, and generally eat fewer calories
(thereby achieving a substantial weight loss with time). In addition,
fiber is slow digesting, and takes a long time to move from the stomach
to the digestive tract. Because of this, the eggplant keeps dieters
feeling full for a longer period of time–and therefore, they won’t be as
tempted to snack between meals, which will again aid in weight loss.
3. Better Skin Tone
Finally, eggplant contains a high amount of water–and similarly, aside
from fat and bone, our bodies are composed of almost primarily water.
Water has important roles in a variety of pathways through the body, but
has been found to be especially important in the maintenance of healthy
skin and hair. Individuals who are dehydrated are more likely to
exhibit hair that is thin, dry and has split ends, along with skin that
appears to be flaky, dry, with a greater number of lines and wrinkles.
Consuming adequate amount of water through either water itself or
through food items such as eggplant can not only improve the quality of
your hair and skin, but also the general performance of your body. For
best results, eat the eggplant raw–research has found that cooking it
removes some of the water that is so beneficial.
4. Prevents Cellular damage in Brain
Along with manganese, eggplant skin contains the antioxidant nasunin. A
study in the journal "Toxicology" published in August 2000 found that
nasunin from eggplants helped prevent cellular damage in the brains of
rats.
5. Lowers Cholesterol
Chlorogenic acid in Eggplant is able to lower LDL (bad) cholesterol.
6. Manages Type 2 Diabetes
The National Diabetes Education Program, Mayo Clinic and American
Diabetes Association recommend an eggplant based diet as a choice for
management of type 2 diabetes. The rationale for this suggestion is the
high fiber and low soluble carbohydrate content of eggplant.
Study results indicate that phenolic-enriched extracts of eggplant
inhibit enzymes that provide a strong biochemical basis for management
of type 2 diabetes by controlling glucose absorption and reducing
associated high blood pressure (hypertension).
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Top 10 Benefits of Carrot Juice
Posted by Lisa at Tuesday, January 08, 2013Benefit #1 :-
Carrot juice contains less calories and is very beneficial for weight loss.
Benefit #2 :-
The functioning and health of liver and digestive tract improves by the intake of carrot juice.
Benefit #3 :-
Carrot juice contains Vitamin E which helps in preventing cancer.
Benefit #4 :-
Aches and pains associated with aging lessen with the intake of carrot juice.
Benefit #5 :-
Vitamin A present in carrot juice improves eye-sight and helps in bone disorders, osteoporosis etc.
Benefit #6 :-
It contains potassium which helps against cholesterol.
Benefit #7 :-
Carrot juice is extremely beneficial for the liver as it reduces fat and bile in the liver.
Benefit #8 :-
The juice revitalizes and tones the skin.
Benefit #9 :-
Carrot juice is very rich in beta-carotene which is an antioxidant and it prevents cell degeneration. The aging process is also slowed down.
Benefit #10 :-
Carrots contain beta-carotene which is converted into Vitamin A by our body. This natural vitamin A is very good for our body.
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Benefits Of Papaya
Posted by Lisa at Tuesday, November 13, 2012While
it may not be a popular fruit or ranked among your favorites, the
papaya is nature’s gift to a healthier mind and body. Beyond its buttery
sweetness, the effects of its regular consumption are amazing. Here’s
what is there to know:
Stomach disorders are quite a common problem but not with a regular intake of papayas. The fruit is rich in proteolytic enzymes, the active one being papain. Also prescribed for patients of cystic fibrosis, the papain takes care of digestion and keeps the tummy light.
2. Aging
Papaya helps maintain vitality of the body if taken daily. This reduces the various signs of aging, and also leaves you feeling more fit.
3. Virility
Papaya happens to be rich in the enzyme called arginine that stimulates blood flow in the male reproductive organ. So, do not miss out on this fruit which will keep you active in the game.
4. Antioxidants
The fruit is a wonder as it has an abundance of antioxidants. The presence of beta-carotenes and essential vitamins like C and E are known to act crucially in inhibiting the growth of cancerous cells.
5. Inflammation
These could possibly be the most traumatic problems of the human body but with papaya as part of your diet, inflammation is not to be worried about. The very active protein-digestive enzymes chymopapain and papain help reduce inflammation in cases of burns, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, while speeding up the recovery process.
6. Cleanser
What better way to treat your skin than to go natural! So, just take a pint of papaya juice, mix it with any other herbal combination and treat your skin to some miraculous cleansing within minutes.
7. Heart
Papaya is definitely a boon when it comes to the heart. The antioxidants fight the cholesterol present in the blood and prevent it from building into plaques that clog the arteries. Apart from that, the rich fibre content of the fruit breaks down toxic substances like the homocysteine into easily absorbable amino acids, reducing chances of heart stroke.
Well, who could have known that this humble looking fruit could contain so much goodness? Now that you know, let your mornings include a healthy helping of the fruit. Enjoy your breakfast!