Tag: antioxidants
Lemon Water And Alkalinity
Lemon water packs a powerful punch with some amazing benefits. It balances pH, keeps your skin clear and glowing, it kick starts your digestive system, helps with weight loss, and helps to control your coffee habit. Lemon is also a natural energizer, it hydrates, it detoxifies, and it oxygenates the body so it feels revitalized and refreshed!
Increase pH Levels:
Lemons are one of the most alkalizing foods for the body. Sure, they are acidic on their own, but inside our bodies they’re alkaline (the citric acid does not create acidity in the body once metabolized). Lemons contain both citric and ascorbic acid, weak acids easily metabolized from the body allowing the mineral content of lemons to help alkalize the blood. Disease states can occur when the body pH is acidic. Drinking lemon water regularly can help to remove overall acidity in the body, including uric acid in the joints, which is one of the primary causes of pain and inflammation.
The energy a human receives from food comes from the atoms and molecules in your food. A reaction occurs when the positive charged ions from food enter the digestive tract and interact with the negative charged enzymes. Lemon is one of the few foods that contain more negative charged ions, providing your body with more energy when it enters the digestive tract. The scent of lemon also has mood enhancing and energizing properties. The smell of lemon juice can brighten your mood and help clear your mind. Lemon can also help reduce anxiety and depression.
Cranberries Nutrition Facts!
According to several research studies, cranberries are one of the foods with the highest antioxidant content, since they are an excellent source of phytonutrients anthocyanins, proanthocyanidins, resveratrol and tannins that give them their blue, purple and red pigments.
They are rich in vitamins A, C and E; and a good source of organic acids (such as malic, succininc and citric acids), selenium, manganese and copper, just to name a few important trace minerals. They also provide moderate amounts of the B vitamins, folate and iron. So how do these powerful berries compare to other types of super fruits? Lets take a closer look!
Anti-Aging Effects:
Several aging-related conditions, such as degenerative disorders of many organs and tissues and certain types of cancer, are associated with cellular damage from free radicals. Due to their high content in antioxidants, cranberries can help prevent and fight such free radical induced damages and hence protect the body against the risk of developing aging related diseases and conditions.
Cranberries and Cardiovascular Health:
Cranberries lower the risk of developing heart related ailments and improves cardiovascular health. The flavonoids and antioxidants present decrease the threat of atherosclerosis, a condition in which the arteries get constricted owing to the accumulation of fat in it. This obstructs the flow of oxygen rich blood to various parts of the body which can lead to heart attack or stroke. These compounds suppress the oxidation of low density lipoprotein and encourage the formation of blood platelets.
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Benefits Of Spinach For Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetics
The American Diabetes Association denotes spinach as a superfood for type 1 and type 2 diabetics. Low in calories and high in vitamins, spinach is one of the most nutrient-dense foods in existence. One cup of the leafy green vegetable contains far more than your daily requirements of vitamin K and vitamin A, almost all the manganese and folate your body needs and nearly 40 percent of your magnesium requirement. It is a good, very good or excellent source of more than 20 different measurable nutrients, including dietary fiber, calcium and protein. And yet, 1 cup has only 40 calories and is an excellent choice for nutrition without high calories.
Spinach and Antioxidants:
Lutein and zeaxanthin are potent antioxidants and have a vital role in protecting the macula and the retina in general. Research suggests that this amazing superfood can play a vital role in prevention of age related eye problems such as macular degeneration. Spinach is an excellent source of many other antioxidants such as vitamin C, beta-carotene, and manganese. Medical science knows that oxidative stress is a key contributor to numerous health problems including high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke and an overall decrease in longevity.
Medicinal Uses Of Aloe Vera:
At first, I thought aloe vera was only used for things such as burns, boy was I wrong. Aloe is not only an excellent treatment for skin conditions such as burns and but also eczema. It is often reported that burns can be healed remarkably quickly and the pain reduced very quickly with topical application of Aloe Vera to the burn area. As well as applying topically, Aloe can also be taken internally so it is just as useful for internal epithelial tissue as it is for the skin. For example, mouth and stomach ulcers, nasal and sinuses, bowels, lungs and genital tracts. Aloe works on membranes and surfaces. Lets examine some of the many additional benefits of aloe vera!
Aloe Vera And Immunity:
Aloe juice contains many antioxidants which fight the free radicals found in our bodies. Free radicals are unstable compounds that are a side-effect of metabolism and contribute the process of aging as well as cause various ailments. Therefore when you drink aloe vera juice on a regular basis, your body will have the antioxidants it needs to fight these free radicals and boost your immune system.
Aloe For Weight Loss:
When we drink aloe juice, the body can naturally cleanse its digestive system. Because our diets have many parts that can lead to exhaustion or fatigue, having aloe regularly can fight this. That means that aloe juice will give you a better feeling of well-being, assisting in weight loss and helping you keep a body weight that is healthy and increase energy levels.
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Pomegranate: Health Benefits and Polyphenols For Diabetics:
Jen (my wife) first introduced me to pomegranates roughly 10 years ago and I immediately fell in love. Not only is pomegranate jam packed with nutrition, this super-food has some seriously amazing health benefits. Maybe you currently incorporate pomegranates as a part of your daily diet and maybe you don’t, but lets take a look as to why if they are not currently a staple in your diet, why they should!
Whether fresh in its natural state or in the form of juice, extract, oil, or even dried and used as a spice as it is in India, pomegranate is relatively low in calories, making it a choice addition to any diet.
Nutritional research science, now, suggests that all parts of the pomegranate, seeds, juice, and peel offers its own unique polyphenol protection. Polyphenols are plant antioxidants (natural chemical nutrients) that help protect us from developing many different kinds of diseases.
As in the case of this particular fruit, which consists primarily of juicy seeds called “arils“, ellagic acid is the main polyphenol found in pomegranates, and it is this substance that helps control several types of cancer. There is also a high level of punicic acid, which is closely related to conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a healthy trans fat found in nature. Daily drinking 6 to 8 ounces of pomegranate juice seems to prevent or inhibit cancer growth in prostate, breast, and reduces inflammatory enzymes in colon cancer.
Pomegranate And Polyphenols:
Pomegranate juice is also abundant in polyphenols, which have shown significant positive effects on the brain cells of Alzheimer’s patients. Polyphenols boost the brain cells’ resistance to oxidative stress, help to control the degeneration of fats and also appear to avert the death of the cells.
Pomegranate and Heart Health:
The American Journal of Cardiology” published a study that concluded that pomegranate juice improves blood flow to the heart by as much as 17 percent. This may help those who are suffering from heart disease, or are at risk of developing it. Pomegranate juice may help reduce arterial plaque. It also lowers bad cholesterol (LDL) and raises good cholesterol (HDL).
Goji Berry Health Benefits For Diabetics
Want to talk about a powerhouse super fruit, well, meet the goji berry! The goji berry, a sweet red fruit native to Asia, serves as both a botanical medicine and a food, and has a very pleasant taste – somewhere between a cherry and a cranberry. It has been used as a medicinal food for thousands of years, and has been studied extensively in modern times to substantiate its health benefits. With over 4g protein, 21 essential minerals, and 18 amino acids, as well as lycium barbarum polysaccharides (LBP), the goji berry is a nutrient-dense superfood in a class all its own. I have a goji powder daily and here’s why!
Goji Berries And Eye Sight:
As diabetics we all understand how important it is to stay on top of our eye health. High blood sugars can wreak havoc of the small blood vessels that supply the eye. Taurine, a compound in goji berries, may be helpful in protecting eyes from diabetes related vision loss. It’s also rich in an antioxidant called zeaxanthin, which protects the retina by absorbing blue light.
Berries And Antioxidants:
Antioxidants are key elements in preventing damage of our cells by free radicals, or polluting molecules in our bodies. The total antioxidant power of goji berries, according to ORAC (oxygen radical absorbency capacity) tests used by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is about 10 times that of blueberries; one of the highest levels in the food world.
Cacao Nibs: Cacao Health Benefits
I mean, who doesn’t live a little chocolate! Cacao is a type of tropical tree, part of the evergreen family, that produces the world’s chocolate in raw form, before all that lovely fat, sugar, and other “sweeteners” are added. The cacao tree grows in a few specific regions of the world naturally, including Mexico and South America, where most of the cacao or chocolate beans/seeds come from. Cacao trees only grow in tropical areas with the right combination of climate, temperature, and environment factors. You can’t just plant a cacao tree anywhere – it won’t grow or survive in the wrong conditions.
Cacao And Antioxidants:
Cacao is packed with vitamins and antioxidants that make it almost a super food or natural Multi-Vitamin! The beneficial ingredients found in the cacao nibs (raw chocolate) are Antioxidants, Theobromine, Phenylethylamine, Essential Minerals and Vitamins.
One of the main health benefits of chocolate is its high concentration of antioxidants. Although processed chocolate still has a good concentration of antioxidants – the processing and cutting (adding new ingredients and mixing them together) of the raw cacao seed tends to lower that amount. If you want the best hardcore antioxidant power of cacao beans/seeds, then you will want to get it in its natural raw state – nothing added, nothing taken away.
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Health Benefits Of Papaya Fruit
There are many papaya benefits for your health and this beautiful yellow orange tropical fruit is proof that nutritious food can also have an amazing taste. Papaya is a rich source of antioxidants, phytonutrients, vitamins, minerals and special digestive enzymes that have a remarkable effect both internally and externally.
If you’d like to improve your skin, relieve digestion problems, protect your eyes and heart and possibly lower your risk of many diseases like cancer, then consider the many benefits of eating super fruit!
Digestive Issues?
Papaya is a great source of proteolytic enzymes that are very important in digesting food. The most important of these proteolytic enzymes is papain. Papain breaks down proteins in food, allowing for better digestion. Papain is used in prescription of digestive enzymes to treat individuals with cystic fibrosis or pancreatic conditions; producing for them what the body cannot produce naturally. Eating this amazing fruit is also a benefit because papain taken orally treats less serious digestion disorders such as bloating and chronic indigestion. In these cases papain is extracted, dried and sold as tablets.
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