Archive for the ‘Food & Health’ Category

Guava is a tropical fruit that has enormous nutritional value. It is rich in Vitamin C and other essential nutrients like calcium, carbohydrates, fiber, protein etc. Let us discuss about its benefits:

• Guava has high fiber and zero cholesterol that helps in reducing weight.
• Guava is rich in antioxidants that effectively prevent cancer and heart ailments.
• Guava also helps in preventing chronic ailments like Alzheimer’s, rheumatoid arthritis etc.
• Guava is very good for the digestive tracts and helps to strengthen them.
• Guava removes extra mucus from intestines and cures dysentery.
• Guava is extremely generous in lowering cholesterol and sugar levels in our body due to the complex carbohydrates present in them.

Guava is known for its healing properties in curing various ailments like acidosis, asthma, obesity, high blood pressure, epilepsy, oral ulcers, bacterial infections and so on. Besides, the fruit also works wonders on skin and eyes and you can feast on them anytime you feel like.

Very few people actually realize that they are overeating when they go to a party or a restaurant or have prepared their favorite dish at home. The definition of overeating is a tricky one. People often describe overeating as eating more than the regular portion of food they indulge in, especially if it is a greasy food. However, even if you take a bite of apple after you are full, it qualifies as overeating.

Some easy tips to avoid overeating are drinking a glass of water just prior to having your meal, eating multiple, small meals in a day instead of three large meals and resisting the temptation to indulge in comfort foods every time you feel low. It is also important that you do not try to finish off an entire portion of a dish served at a restaurant. Instead, ask the waiter to pack half of it to go.

Every individual has a separate kind of digestive system. As a result not all food groups suit everyone. While, you will find some people who love to drink milk, others seem to suffer from lactic intolerance. Food intolerance is an extremely common phenomenon. Each one of us is allergic or intolerant towards certain food groups. The problem is that not always are we aware of these food groups.

Here are a few simple ways that will help you to manage food intolerances:
- Make a note of all those food items that have made you feel unwell, so that they can be avoided in future.
- Drink plenty of fluids. This is a great way to flush out those food elements that does not suit your system.
- Pay for an allergy or food intolerance test to understand which food groups suit you and which do not.
The key is to understand your system and choose your food accordingly.

Fluid retention bloating is a problem that many people suffer from, especially women. There are many ways to contain this problem, and one of the most effective is through proper eating. As much as it is important to ensure that you have included all the nutrients that you can get in your daily diet, there are some types of nutrients that can cause fluid retention in the stomach if taken in large amounts.

One of these nutrients is sodium. Most people take sodium in salt. If you know that you have a problem dealing with bloating that is caused by fluid retention, it is important to avoid taking too much salt in your food. Dehydration can also lead to fluid retention in your body. Make sure that you take as much water as possible in order to avoid bloating. Eating foods with diuretic components can also help you deal with water retention bloating.

Glycemic fruit index is the ranking of a fruit based upon its instant effect of blood sugar. The fruits that break down quickly have the highest ranking in the index, whereas the fruit that break down slowly is the slowest ranking on the glycemic fruit index.

This type of a ranking is very beneficial for the patients who are suffering from frequent rise and fall of blood sugar level. This type of a study of the effect of the fruits on their eating habits may help those people to plan their diet as far as their fruit diet is concerned. Such people can avoid taking those fruits that have high ranking in the glycemic fruit index.

Generally, a person who is suffering from blood sugar problems can frame out their diet chart of fruits with the help of the glycemic fruit index. An expert dietician plays a vital role here who can come forward with their idea about a proper diet based upon the glycemic fruit index.

Fruits are the greatest gifts of the nature. These fruits are very essential for the healthy growth of the body. Both canned fruits and fresh fruits are good for the human body. These fruits are capable of providing the body with all the nutritional advantages along with better health conditions.

If you make a comparison between the fresh fruits and canned fruits, then you will find the fresh fruits are slightly better as they are fresh in their qualities. These fresh fruits have more taste along with more nutritive values. They can provide the body with more advantages. On the other hand, the canned fruits are also good for the body as they also provide nutrition; however, this nutrition is less than the fresh fruits.

The canned fruits are preserved with the help of some recommended preservatives. These preservatives are very helpful in maintaining the nutritive value of the canned fruits. Always remember, fruits either fresh or canned are good for the human consumption.

Papaya is a wonderful gift from the Mother Nature. It is a food item that is enriched with a variety of nutritious products. This nutritious vegetable and fruit is very beneficial for the all around development of the body and its repairs.

This nutritious food item has both medicinal as well as nutritional value. The sap of Papaya is a very good medicine for any stomach disorder. Many herbal medicines are made with the sap of this fruit. This medicine is used as a natural remedy for many other health disorders.

Papaya has been a rich source of many nutritional products. It contains Vitamins A, C, E and K. Out of all these, the use of Vitamin C is known to everybody. Vitamin E also has a great importance as a great medicine for many other diseases related with skin disorders. As a matter of fact, Papaya is probably the only fruit and vegetable that works in many ways to provide treatment against many diseases.

1. Beet is highly enriched with betacyanin, iron, fiber and vitamin C. It helps in preventing cancer risk and in particular, colon cancer. Beet possess anti oxidant property which helps in reducing the risk of lowering total cholesterol thereby increasing the levels of good cholesterol.

2. Beans contain antioxidant, fiber and protein which contribute in preventing disease such as coronary heart disease and cancer thereby regulating blood sugar. Canned beans are very effective in treating disease rather than dried beans which are cheaper.

3. Dried plums have pectin which is a soluble fiber, potassium which is responsible for lowering cholesterol levels in the blood.

4. Eggplant has high amounts of vitamin B6, B3 and B1, nasunin and chlorogenic acid which provides protection to the brain cell lipids, helps in preventing arthritis and prevent cancer.

5. Pumpkin is highly enriched with antioxidant known as beta carotene which boosts up immune system thereby reducing the risk of developing heart disease and cancer.

Lycopene is usually found in tomatoes in high amounts and is a strong antioxidant which proves to be effective and beneficial in treating coronary heart disease and cancerous conditions. Lycopene is compound which is responsible for giving red color to fruits and vegetables. Lycopene is very useful in treating the prostate cancer in male. Studies have shown that men who consume abundant amount of tomatoes or tomato products are at a lower risk of developing prostate cancer than others.

Intake of lycopene rich diet rich will help to reduce the chances of developing prostate cancer in men. Lycopene taken along with cheese on pizza will help the body to absorb more amount of lycopene by intestine. Lycopene is naturally produced from fruits and vegetables and hence it does not have any side effects and it is absolutely safe for consuming by human beings. Prolonged consumption of lycopene in tomatoes and processed tomato products gives orange color to the skin.

Lactose intolerance is the inability of the body to fully digest milk sugar contained in dairy products. Though the condition cannot be said to be very dangerous, it can cause a lot of discomfort. This lactose intolerance is normally caused by the deficiency of the lactose digesting enzyme called lactase produced in the small intestines.

The signs and symptoms that come with the lactose intolerance condition include nausea, stomach cramps, bloating and flatulence. Diarrhea is the most common symptom. The severity of the symptoms usually depends on the age, ethnicity and speed of digestion of the individual suffering from lactose intolerance. Injury to the small intestines may cause the organ to produce less lactase than you actually need. Congenital lactose intolerance is also possible, but not very common. You can control your diet to ensure that you do not include the food that will cause lactose intolerance in your system.