Pineapple 'The Stomach's Friend'

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  Fresh pineapple is low in calories. It is a storehouse of several unique health promoting compounds, minerals and vitamins that are essential for optimum health.
  
  
• 100 g fruit provides just about 50 calories equivalent to that of apples. Its flesh contains no saturated fats or cholesterol; however, it is rich source of soluble and insoluble dietary fiber like pectin. Pineapple or fresh pineapple juice consumed before meals reduces appetite and constitutes a good complement to weight-loss diet.
  
  
• Pineapple fruit contains a proteolytic enzyme bromelain that digests food by breaking down protein. Bromelain also has anti-inflammatory, anti-clotting and anti-cancer properties. Studies have shown that consumption of pineapple regularly helps fight against arthritis, indigestion and worm infestation.
  
  -Stomach cancer: It has been shown that pineapple is a powerful inhibitor of the formation of nitrosamines. These carcinogenic substances form in the stomach as a chemical reaction between nitrites and certain proteins contained in foods
  
• Fresh pineapple is an excellent source of antioxidant vitamin; vitamin C. 100 g fruit contains 47.8 or 80% of this vitamin. Vitamin C is required for the collagen synthesis in the body. Collagen is the main structural protein in the body required for maintaining the integrity of blood vessels, skin, organs, and bones. Regular consumption of foods rich in vitamin C helps the body protect from scurvy; develop resistance against infectious agents (boosts immunity) and scavenge harmful, pro-inflammatory free radicals from the body.
  
  
• It also contains small amount Vitamin A (provides 58 IU per 100 g) and beta-carotene levels. These compounds are known to have antioxidant properties. Vitamin A is also required maintaining healthy mucus membranes, skin and essential for vision. Studies have suggested that consumption of natural fruits rich in flavonoids helps the human body to protect from lung and oral cavity cancers.
  
  
• In addition, this fruit is rich in B-complex group of vitamins like folates, thiamin, pyridoxine, riboflavin and minerals like copper, manganese and potassium. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids, helps controlling heart rate and blood pressure. Copper is a helpful cofactor for red blood cell synthesis. Manganese is a co-factor for the enzyme superoxide dismutase, which is a very powerful free radical scavenger. Manganese is also actively involved in the formation of reproductive cells, both male and female. It is therefore recommended for those suffering from sterility due to insufficient production of germinal cells (sperm in men and ova in women).
  
  1 cup of pineapple chunks contains:
  
• Calories: 74 kcal
• Carbohydrates: 19.5 g 
• Protein: 0.9 g
• Fat: 0.2 g
• Fiber: 2 g
• Glycemic Index: Medium

 How to Include More Pineapple in Your Diet

• Add to salad or make this easy Pineapple salsa to accompany grilled seafood
• Include pineapple in your smoothies
• Top sandwiches or burgers with pineapple slices
• Serve grilled pineapple slices for dessert: Cut a fresh pineapple into thick rings, lightly brush with canola oil, and grill for 2 minutes on each side

6 Foods That Will Lower Your Cholesterol

High cholesterol puts many at risk for a number of related illnesses including heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure. Many factors, including genetics, predispose many people to high cholesterol. However, diet and exercise play a major role in maintaining healthy cholesterol levels. Moreover, there are a few scientifically proven foods that will help to lower LDL levels also known as BAD cholesterol.

 1. Strawberries: This bright red fruit not only tastes great, but now researchers are finding that the antioxidants in strawberries can help to lower cholesterol. According to recent research out of Università Politecnica delle Marche, scientists found that eating strawberries reduced the total overall levels of bad cholesterol. However, the levels of HDL or good cholesterol remained the same. The findings were published in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry.

 

2.       Fish Oil: The American Heart Association recommends eating at least two servings of fish per day because of its high amount of omega-3 fatty acids. However, when that is not always available, taking fish oil in a concentrated form like a supplement or capsule is more than sufficient. In other research, scientists also found that fish oils also have beneficial effects on patients with preexisting coronary heart diseases.

3.       Tree Nuts: Tree Nuts are low in saturated fats and high in unsaturated fatty acids, making them cholesterol’s worst nightmare. “A summary of studies conducted to date shows that tree nuts reduce LDL cholesterol by 3-19 % compared with Western and lower-fat diets,” according to a study published in Medline. The information shows that LDL is lowered from an unsaturated fat source, such as tree nuts. Tree nuts include almonds, cashews, chestnuts, pecans, pistachios, and walnuts.

4.       Fenugreek: It’s a common ingredient in the Indian subcontinent used in many dishes that comes in varying forms, such as a seed or leaf sprouts. CNN Health reported that, “Several studies from the 1990s have reported that, in high doses, various fenugreek seed preparations can lower total cholesterol and LDL, in some cases dramatically.”

5.       Onions: Researchers at the Texas A&M University AgriLife Extension Service found that people who ate at least one half of a raw onion per day saw a 30 percent increase in their good cholesterol. They also noted that onions increase circulation, lower blood pressure, and prevent clotting.

6.       Turmeric: This deep orange-yellow spice, known for coloring many South Asian cuisines, does more than add color to many dishes. In animal studies, University of Michigan researchers found that turmeric extract lowered cholesterol levels and “prevented bad cholesterol from building up in blood vessels because it stops platelets from clumping together."   

                                                             

Source: Medical daily

Pear "Effective blood pressure controller"

Pears are a juicy, sweet fruit with soft flesh and a grainy-textured skin. Their characteristic shape makes them readily identifiable; they most often have a large, rounded bottom that tapers toward the top. The skin varies in color and may be yellow, light green, brown, red or a combination of these colors. They have a seeded core and are rich in dietary fiber and a number of vitamins and minerals. Many varieties of pears are available; the fruit is usually available in one more varieties year-round.

Pears are noted for their content of sugars while they are lacking in proteins and fats. The most abundant of these sugars is fructose and levulose, which makes them well tolerated by diabetics.

Pears contain small amounts of vitamin C, E, B. The most important of the minerals they contain are potassium, magnesium and iron. They are also a good source of trace elements such as copper and manganese, and a lower proportion, zinc. The pear's vitamin and mineral content is slightly greater than that of apples

Pear is also a good source of vegetable fiber. The pear is diuretic, remineralizing, a mild astringent and refreshing. 

Pear has the capacity to lower blood pressure, this is attributed to its diuretic effect, they contain no sodium, a mineral that tends to retain water within the body, thus increasing blood pressure. Additionally, the pear is very rich in potassium, a mineral with the opposite effect of sodium.

The pear also stimulates renal function, thus it is recommended fruit in cases of renal failure due to nephritis or nephrosis.

Pear consumption promotes elimination of uric acid and nitrogenated substances through the urine. it has an alkalizing effect on the blood, which is of benefit in detoxifying diets used to neutralize excess acid residues produced by high-meat diet.

The pear should be included in weight loss diets because of its mild diuretic action and its depurative effect.

Vitamin D May Double Chances of Surviving Breast Cancer

In a new study, researchers found that breast-cancer patients who had high levels of vitamin D were twice as likely to survive than women with low levels. They reviewed five studies that observed more than 4,440 women

Vitamin D may be saving women with breast cancer.

In a new study published in Anticancer Research, researchers found that breast cancer patients that had high levels of vitamin D were twice as likely to survive than women with low levels. They reviewed five studies that observed more than 4,440 women with breast cancer.

“The study has implications for including vitamin D as an adjuvant to conventional breast cancer therapy,” study co-author Dr. Heather Hofflich, an associate professor of medicine at the University of California San Diego, said in a press release.

The researchers recommend that vitamin D should be added to the various treatments given to women fighting breast cancer. The body naturally produces vitamin D when exposed to sunlight, but milk, fatty fish and other foods can also boost production.      Patients could also take vitamin D supplements.

Source: TIME

Make exercise a daily habit – 10 tips

Whether you’re looking for motivation to start exercising, or are interested in changing up your current routine, here are 10 tips for making exercise a daily habit. 

1. Piece your workout together. You don’t need to get all your exercise at one time. Ten minutes morning, noon, and night can give much of the same benefit as 30 minutes all at once.
2. Exercise with a friend. Finding a workout partner can help keep you on track and motivate you to get out the door.
3. Keep it brisk. When you walk, make it brisk, since this may help control weight better than walking at a leisurely pace. What is brisk enough? Walk as though you are meeting someone for lunch and you are a little late.
4. Move your feet before you eat. Hit the gym or go for a 20-minute walk with coworkers, and have lunch afterward.
5. Try a pedometer. Step-counters (pedometers) are an easy, inexpensive way to motivate yourself to be active. Work up to 10,000 steps per day.
6. Turn off the TV, computer, and smart phone. Cutting back on screen time is a great way to curb your “sit time.” Move around instead, by visiting the gym or even cleaning the house.
7. Turn sit time into fit time. Try to combine cardiovascular exercise with a sedentary activity that you already do. For example, try doing simple exercises while watching TV, or set a reminder at work to get up and walk a few minutes every hour.
8. Sign up for a class. Check out the fitness course schedule at your local gym or community center, or the dance or yoga class schedule at a nearby studio. You may find that having the structure of a class helps you learn a new activity and keeps you on track.
9. Plan exercise into your day. Set aside a specific time in your schedule to exercise and put it in your planner.
10. Reward yourself. Set short-term goals—and reward yourself for achieving them. Try targeting a specific event, such as a road race or a walk-for-charity, to participate in—this can help keep you motivated.                                                                      Source: The nutrition source

Choosing Healthy Protein Foods

1. Upgrade the protein on your plate. The Healthy Eating Plate encourages you to eat protein-rich foods like beans, nuts, tofu, fish, chicken, or eggs in place of less-healthy options like red and processed meats.

For example, try a turkey or black bean burger instead of a traditional beef burger. Or slice up a fresh-roasted chicken breast or salmon for your sandwich instead of using processed high-sodium lunch meat.

2. Don’t stress too much about protein quantity. Most reasonable diets provide plenty of protein for healthy people. Eating a variety of healthy protein-rich foods—for example an egg with breakfast, some turkey or beans on your salad for lunch, and a piece of salmon or tofu with a whole grain side dish for dinner—will ensure that you get all the protein and protein building-blocks (amino acids) you need. Choose higher-protein foods instead of bulking up with pricey protein shakes or powders, since some of these are loaded with sugar or other additives.

3. Try a meatless Monday—or more. Diets high in plant-based proteins and fats can provide health benefits, so try mixing some vegetarian proteins into your meals. Going meatless can be good for your wallet as well as your health, since beans, nuts and seeds, and other minimally-processed vegetarian protein sources are often less expensive than meat. Eating plant protein in place of meat is also good for the planet. It takes a lot of energy to raise and process animals for meat, so going meatless could help reduce pollution and has the potential to lessen climate change.

4. Eat soy in moderation. Tofu and other soy foods are an excellent red meat alternative. In some cultures, tofu and soy foods are a protein staple, and we don’t suggest any change. But if you haven’t grown up eating lots of soy, there’s no reason to begin eating it in large quantities. And stay away from supplements that contain concentrated soy protein or extracts, such as isoflavones, as we just don’t know their long-term effects.

• Scan the Nutrition Facts label before you buy highly-processed vegetarian “fake meat” foods, since these are often as high in sodium—or higher in sodium—than their processed red meat counterparts.

5. Shift the balance of carbs and protein. Cutting back on highly processed carbohydrates and increasing protein improves levels of triglycerides and protective high-density lipoprotein (HDL) in the bloodstream, and so may reduce your chances of having a heart attack, stroke, or other type of cardiovascular disease. This shift may also make you feel full longer, and stave off hunger pangs.

Source: The nutrition source

Tips On How To Keep Pre-Diabetes From Turning Into Diabetes

Pre-diabetes is determined by your fasting  blood glucose ("blood sugar") level.

Normal fasting glucose                                70 - 100mg/dl

Pre-Diabetes(impaired fasting glucose)       101 - 125mg/dl

Diabetes                                   126mg/dl or higher on two occasions

TIP 1

- Include daily physical activity

The muscles use sugar/glucose for energy, activities like walking, bicycling, jogging, swimming etc help to lower your blood glucose. Aim for 30-60 minutes or more per day.

TIP 2

-Lose weight if you are overweight

Extra body fat contributes to insulin resistance and pre-diabetes, cut your calorie intake by 250-500calories per day. For example

- Reduce your portion sizes

-Reduce your intake of high carbohydrate food such as bread, pasta, rice, chips, cookies and other sweet desserts etc

-Limit nuts to a small handful (1/4cup or less) per day

-Choose Low calorie dressings or use regular salad dressing sparingly

TIP 3

-Reduce intake of carbohydrates

Carbohydrates cause blood sugar levels to rise, carbohydrate intake usually needs to be reduced and spread evenly throughout the day, foods such as bread, garri, semo,cassava, chips, fruit juices, sugars etc

LOWER-CARBOHYDRATE EATING PATTERN

- Don't eat too much carbohydrate at one meal or snack. Combine a carbohydrate food with lean protein (fish, skinless chicken) and unsaturated fat for balanced meals and snacks

- Try a lower carbohydrate breakfast e.g a slice of whole grain bread (wheat bread) with an egg white omelet

- Choose high fiber, unrefined, whole grain carbohydrate (oatmeal, brown rice, wheat bread etc) you still must watch your portion sizes

-Eat a heart-healthy diet low in saturated fats (diary and animal products), trans fat (fast foods and many packaged foods) and cholesterol (egg yolk, organ meats etc). Foods high in unsaturated fats e.g (olive oil, nuts, avocado, fatty fish) can be included.

 *Remember high fat foods are high in calories*