Vitamin C is also known as ascorbic acid. It is known to be a powerful antioxidant in the body. Vitamin C is a water-soluble essential vitamin that is quickly lost from your body, so daily intake is vital.
Key Functions
- Vitamin C is involved in a large number Read the rest of this entry »
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You will find this vegetable in two varieties, white or green. The white is grown underground and harvested as the tip hits ground while green has a greater vitamin content for simple reason that
sunshine has nourished it green.
What’s in it for me?
Asparagus containes large amounts of Read the rest of this entry »
Alfalfa can be considered as one of the most nutritive plants on earth. Why? Its roots can grow up to 30-40 feet fetching in all the minerals in the sub soil. That’s why most nutrition stores carry alfalfa tablets.
What’s in it for me?
Alfalfa contain large amounts of Read the rest of this entry »
Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin which is stored primarily in the liver. Vitamin A is available in two forms:
- Retinol, which is found in animal products.
- Beta carotene, which your body converts into vitamin A.
Key Functions
- Vitamin A is essential for Read the rest of this entry »
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Avocados are usually assumed to be a high fat food, but these are good fat, avocados are one of the only fruits that contain monounsaturated fat, which is the type of fat that a dietician would recommend as part of a healthy diet. One avocado might contain approximately 21g fat.
What’s in it for me?
Avocados contain a lot of monounsaturated fat, vitamin E, B and K minerals such as potassium, folates and the highest fibres that any fruit. Avocados are sodium and cholesterol free food.
Natural benefits of Avocado
- Nourishes and stimulates hair growth
- Promotes good skin tone
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Sometimes a remedy for dysentery (inflammation of small intestine with pain, diarrhoea and blood).
Some additional uses of avocado are Read the rest of this entry »
Protein is an essential nutrient whose name comes from the Greek word “protos,” which means “first.” To visualize a molecule of protein, think of a very long chain with links (these links are nothing but amino acids). These are essential for cell regulation, growth, and repair.
Key Functions
- The body uses protein to Read the rest of this entry »
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Fats are essential for good health. They aid in energy production, cell building, oxygen transport, blood clotting, and the production of extremely active hormone-like substances called prostaglandins. Fats can be saturated, polyunsaturated, or monounsaturated. Our bodies can produce both monounsaturated and saturated fats. Polyunsaturated fats, or essential fatty acids, cannot be produced in the body and must come from the diet.
Key Functions
- Fat is mostly stored in Read the rest of this entry »
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Apricots contain a chunk of vitamin C; beta-carotene (vitamin A) is more when it is fully ripened, also a source of vitamin B complex. It contains minerals including calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, sulphur, cobalt and bromine.
What’s in it for me?
About 100gms of apricot can supply 45% of the daily vitamin A requirement for the body. Apricots can be applied directly to facial skin to give a good skin tone. They also have beneficial effects in treating anaemia. Try choosing fully ripened fruits as they contain twice as much as vitamin A.
Natural benefits of Apricots
Builds healthy muscle and tissue
- Stimulates appetite
- Behaves as an astringent to the stomach
Dried apricot is good alternative but will only have a fraction of the vitamin C because the drying process destroys the vitamin C content. Try to buy dried fruits that are dark in colour because most commercial entities use sulphur dioxide to fix the colour. ‘Organic’ dried fruits are produced without sulphur; this causes the fruit to look very dark.
Apples contain large amounts of vitamin A, B complex, vitamin C, biotin and folic acid, they are also rich in minerals including iron, silicon, magnesium, chlorine, copper, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, sodium and sulphur.
What’s in it for me?
Its high mineral content makes it a great choice for hair, skin and nails. Organic apples are the best because a lot of nutrition is in the skin and also the fruit pectin helps in peristalsis (movement of food through the digestive system).
Natural benefits of Apples
- Stimulation of muscles and nerves
- Eliminate uric acid
- Pectin helps to reduce cholesterol
- promote normal digestion and liver function
- The malic acid in apple does both cleansing and healing in cases of inflammation.
Granny Smith, McIntosh, Golden Delicious and Pippin are good choices as they are good juice producers. Select hard crispy ones as they contain more pectin than the softer and mushier ones.
Is this question ticking everyone’s mind? Let’s clear it right away.
No you don’t have to, it is essential for your body. Just control the intake. An average healthy diet should have half of your daily calories coming from carbohydrates.
The question actually is, are you eating the right carbs? Complex carbohydrates are better for your diet than others, for example a slice of bread is healthier than simple and refined carbohydrates such as candy, sodas and pastries. Complex carbohydrate sources such as wholegrain, fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds and grains have great amounts of nutrition including vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and fibre, all of which are vital to good health. Whereas simple and refined carbs like candy, sodas, pastries and other junk foods usually are poor sources of nutrients and sometimes we refer to these foods as having “empty calories.” This means the foods have lots of calories with little or no nutrition.
One gram of carbohydrate, whether is it is sugar or starch, contains four calories. For example if an average male needs 2,000 calories per day. This means that 1000 calories must c
ome from carbohydrates, so if 1 gm equals 4 calories then 250 gms of carbohydrates have to be consumed. Of those 250 grams, about 10 percent can come from added table sugar and sweeteners. That would be about 25 grams for a 2,000 calorie per day diet. That would equal about half of a candy bar, or less than one can of sugary soda. Unfortunately many people exceed that amount every day.
One slice of bread has about 12 gms of carbohydrates; one typical chocolate bar may have about 50 gms of carbohydrates, one serve of carbonated soft drink may have about 40 gms and a medium potato has about 35 gms of carbohydrates.
Weight gain and carbohydrates
Weight gain is caused by consuming too many calories, whether they are from carbohydrate, protein or fat. A diet high in good Read the rest of this entry »
