Archive for April, 2010
April 30th, 2010 -- Posted in Green Living, Healthy Eating, Natural Beauty, Natural Remedies |
Raspberries are fragrantly sweet and convey a near ‘melt-in-your-mouth’ texture. They are absolutely wonderful fruits in that they are chock full of powerful antioxidants that have incredibly powerful effects in the body.
I like to say that antioxidants are protectors of the fortress (the body), a shield to fend off free radicals that cause damage to our cells.
Raspberries possess almost 50% higher antioxidant activity than strawberries, three times that of kiwis, and ten times the antioxidant activity of tomatoes, shows research conducted in the Netherlands and published in the journal BioFactors.
Vitamin C that is found in raspberries helps the body to develop strong connective tissues and an immune system able to ward off the attack of micro-organisms. Raspberries contain about 50% of the recommended daily allowance of vitamin C.
Besides being a good source of vitamin C (an antioxidant beneficial in the fight against cancer), raspberries contain a phytochemical, ellagic acid, believed to have additional anticancer properties.
They also contain calcium, vitamins such as A, C, E, fiber and folic acid. Half to one pound of raspberry fruit per day can provide twenty to thirty grams of fiber which is adequate for an adult daily nutrition requirement.
Raspberries are also thought to contain compounds which are important towards having a healthy vision. The substance that appears to be responsible for this is called lutein.
They are also a good source of nutrients such as copper, folate, riboflavins and magnesium. These provide a rich supply of B vitamins and mineral content to the body.
The berries can be used in a variety of food dishes. If you know someone who doesn’t like to eat fruit, simply add raspberries to the dish. And, continue reading »
April 30th, 2010 -- Posted in Green Living, Healthy Eating, Natural Beauty, Natural Remedies |
Raspberries are fragrantly sweet and convey a near ‘melt-in-your-mouth’ texture. They are absolutely wonderful fruits in that they are chock full of powerful antioxidants that have incredibly powerful effects in the body.
I like to say that antioxidants are protectors of the fortress (the body), a shield to fend off free radicals that cause damage to our cells.
Raspberries possess almost 50% higher antioxidant activity than strawberries, three times that of kiwis, and ten times the antioxidant activity of tomatoes, shows research conducted in the Netherlands and published in the journal BioFactors.
Vitamin C that is found in raspberries helps the body to develop strong connective tissues and an immune system able to ward off the attack of micro-organisms. Raspberries contain about 50% of the recommended daily allowance of vitamin C.
Besides being a good source of vitamin C (an antioxidant beneficial in the fight against cancer), raspberries contain a phytochemical, ellagic acid, believed to have additional anticancer properties.
They also contain calcium, vitamins such as A, C, E, fiber and folic acid. Half to one pound of raspberry fruit per day can provide twenty to thirty grams of fiber which is adequate for an adult daily nutrition requirement.
Raspberries are also thought to contain compounds which are important towards having a healthy vision. The substance that appears to be responsible for this is called lutein.
They are also a good source of nutrients such as copper, folate, riboflavins and magnesium. These provide a rich supply of B vitamins and mineral content to the body.
The berries can be used in a variety of food dishes. If you know someone who doesn’t like to eat fruit, simply add raspberries to the dish. And, continue reading »
April 27th, 2010 -- Posted in Fitness, Healthy Eating, Weight Loss |
A crash diet is the one that severely restricts calorie intake. It differs only slightly from real starvation and is meant to achieve rapid weight loss. It is not meant to last for long periods of time, at most a few weeks.
In order to support all of the functions that your body performs on a daily basis, your body needs to burn a certain amount of calories. The rate at which your body burns calories is known as your metabolism.
During crash diets, your body eventually clues in to the fact that it is receiving a very low number of calories. As a result, your body actually adjusts its metabolism, so that it burns fewer calories in order to perform all of its necessary bodily functions.
Your metabolism slows down to conserve what little nutrition it’s getting. When you start eating again, the body continues to conserve energy for quite some time. As you eat more food, you will gain weight at a faster rate.
Research suggests rapid weight loss can slow your metabolism, leading to future weight gain, and deprive your body of essential nutrients. What’s more, crash diets can weaken your immune system and increase your risk of dehydration, heart palpitations, and cardiac stress.
So, what’s the harm? You’ve lost 6 pounds of fat in one week and you’re on the way to fitting into that bikini. Well, you haven’t really lost that much fat. You’ve mostly lost water. And, continue reading »
April 24th, 2010 -- Posted in Green Living, Healthy Eating, Natural Remedies |
There’s a very practical reason to grow herbs in your garden—they taste great. And they’re also a bargain, because even if you can find top quality fresh herbs for sale, they’ll probably cost you a pretty penny.
The few times I succumbed to those expensive, tiny plastic packages of so called ‘fresh’ herbs at the supermarket, the experience almost killed me—especially when I was buying something I often have growing in profusion, like dill.
When you grow perennial herbs such as oregano, rosemary, thyme, and chives, your initial plant or seed purchase will often reward you for years to come.
If you’ve only used dried oregano in cooking, I urge you to get yourself some of the fresh stuff, and fast. There’s no comparison when it comes to flavor, and when using fresh herbs that are stemmy like oregano and thyme, you can use just the leaves in your cooking.
Much of the oregano plant is stem, and because dried herbs are usually made from the entire plant, you’re often paying for—and eating—a lot of stems.
Oregano is prized not only for its strong flavor and pleasant aroma, but for its health benefits as well. And, continue reading »
April 24th, 2010 -- Posted in Green Living, Healthy Eating, Natural Remedies |
There’s a very practical reason to grow herbs in your garden—they taste great. And they’re also a bargain, because even if you can find top quality fresh herbs for sale, they’ll probably cost you a pretty penny.
The few times I succumbed to those expensive, tiny plastic packages of so called ‘fresh’ herbs at the supermarket, the experience almost killed me—especially when I was buying something I often have growing in profusion, like dill.
When you grow perennial herbs such as oregano, rosemary, thyme, and chives, your initial plant or seed purchase will often reward you for years to come.
If you’ve only used dried oregano in cooking, I urge you to get yourself some of the fresh stuff, and fast. There’s no comparison when it comes to flavor, and when using fresh herbs that are stemmy like oregano and thyme, you can use just the leaves in your cooking.
Much of the oregano plant is stem, and because dried herbs are usually made from the entire plant, you’re often paying for—and eating—a lot of stems.
Oregano is prized not only for its strong flavor and pleasant aroma, but for its health benefits as well. And, continue reading »
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