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Great Benefit Local Fruits Indonesia

Posted by Thursday, 29 December 2016

Assalamualaikum wr,wb
Today, let see another way to choose a fruit.

 Local Fruit Indonesia - A variety of local fruits in Indonesia is a fruit that tastes delicious. Fruit is a type of tropical fruit. Apparently a variety of local fruit is delicious to eat but has many benefits even for health. Here are some of them.

Sapodilla

Brown is one common type of skin color is given for those who have little darker skin. This is not surprising because the skin and flesh colored chocolate brown fruit with very sweet flavor. Rich in carbohydrates because 20% portion of the sugar. Sapodilla contains vitamin A, vitamin B, vitamin C and high potassium content, so good for maintaining healthy blood vessels.

Persimmon

Persimmon is a fruit which is like wearing powder, because there is a section on the skin as white powder. Can be used to maintain dental health because it contains fluoride and is useful for maintaining healthy gums and mouth.

Grapefruit

Grapefruit has a thick skin and like a sponge. Shaped like an orange, but in a larger size and white or pink. Flavonoids, pectin and lycopene are compounds contained therein. Serves to lower cholesterol, prevent anemia and reduce the risk of heart disease. In addition, the skin of grapefruit can be made into a variety of interesting crafts.

Guava water

Guava water with red or green color is typical. This fruit contains a lot of water. Fruit is eaten with the skin it contains vitamins A, C, calcium and protein. The benefit to keep the skin moist and fiber for digestion.

Red Guava

Guava is a fruit with vitamin C in addition to a very high content of calcium, iron, phosphorus, vitamins A and B1. We recommend that you eat of this fruit with the skin because of the meat near the skin that contain vitamin C at most.

Duku

Duku is a fruit with a small round shape and has a flesh that tends to clear. Having a lot of minerals such as calcium, phosphorus and iron. Useful for treating diarrhea and digestive systems.

Carambola

Starfruit is the name in English. Star fruit is indeed a star-shaped with five angles. The content of vitamin E in it beneficial for skin beauty. The fruit is also believed to lower blood pressure in hypertensive patients.

Mangosteen

Guess-guess the mangosteen fruit. This fruit is often used as ingredients charades to guess the contents inside. Although his skin is black, but the flesh is white and has great benefits because the content of antioxidants, antibiotics and antiviral high. This fruit can relieve fatigue and vertigo problems.

Soursop

Soursop commonly eaten with added sugar, syrup or juice made. His skin is green and white flesh. Benefits as a regulator of blood sugar levels and fight bacteria in the body.

Bark

Pondoh Bark is a kind of barking in Indonesia are known to have the best quality. The taste is sweet and crisp enough to make this fruit is preferred. Brown scaly fruit can relieve a waste water continuously. It is also that should make you not consume too much, because you might be difficult to urinate.

Rambutan

Rambutan fruit with characteristic hair can be found easily on the season. The fruit is sweet like white children to adults. Antioxidant content in meat is very large, so good for health. One that has a delicious flavor is rapiah rambutan.

Pineapple

The flesh is yellow pineapple with sweet and sour taste, became one of the favorite fruits in the salad. The benefits of pineapple, among others, can help the problem in a closed vessel constriction of blood fats, aids digestion and is useful for you who are dieting.

Papaya

Papaya fruit has an orange-colored flesh and black seeds of small round object. Beta-carotene is the highest nutrient content in it. This fruit can also inhibit the growth of breast cancer cells.

Mango

One fruit that many preferred the mango. Fruit is usually desirable young pregnant women because it tastes sour. But, if it has matured, yellow flesh will taste sweet because the sugar content is high enough. Beneficial for skin health and controlling blood pressure.

In addition to cheaper, enjoy local fruit becomes one of the variations in enjoying the fresh fruit. So, do not hesitate to taste the freshness of the fruits of their own country and feel enjoy well as benefits.

How to Cure Acne

Posted by Wednesday, 28 December 2016

Assalamualaikum. 😁

Honey Acne: a Weapon to Fight Acne 
Natural healing ingredient contained in acne treatment product should be helpful, especially for those suffered from acne. Plenty of acne treatment products with natural healing ingredient had been developed, and here we should recognize one that is very popular these days: manuka honey acne treatment. Manuka honey acne comes with natural hydrogen peroxide, which became part of bees' digestive process and is produced by the bees particularly when they are making honey. Using manuka honey acne in the skin should be a quite good decision. It kills any kind of bacteria that helps triggering the presence of acne. Manuka honey acne treatment also comes with antibiotics; it functions as a main weapon to fight any infection that possibly appears on the affected area. 
More Benefit you can have from Manuka honey acne 

It appears that manuka honey acne won't be giving you a way to fight acne. It also gives your facial skin a younger and brighter appearance, which are acceptable for most people. Damaged skin cells are surely not problem for manuka honey acne. You all know that age, sun, and pollution contributing factors that damage your skin badly. That's why we need anything special, and such thing is now available within a single acne treatment product. 

The fact that manuka honey acne treatment work well for damaged skin cannot be denied by those who deserve brighter and younger appearance. First of all, it contains natural healing ingredient, so it won't cause damage even worse. Second, you can mix it with moisturizers and cleansers of your choice; you should find a flexible option, and these benefits can be found in a single product. If you want to have a nice appearance, perhaps it is great time for you to consider using manuka honey. Such product is rarely found on the market these days. 

Honey Uses for Treating Acne and Other Skin Problems 

Having anti-bacterial properties in it, manuka honey has been widely recognized as an effective weapon to fight acne and any other skin problems. Since it is not chemical product — a natural product — you can expect zero side effects. So basically it won't add more problems for your facial skin. Manuka honey uses for treating burns and minor wounds, though it's not all we will have from such product. Manuka honey uses for treating some other conditions, including treating and preventing cancer, reducing systemic inflammation and high cholesterol, treating, sinus, ear and eye infections, treating diabetes and treating gastrointestinal problems. So many benefits of manuka honey, and it's actually helps us in improving the overall skin health. 

Manuka Honey Uses: Some Benefits 

The general Manuka honey uses for treating skin problems can be traced back to ancient times. During ancient times, honey was used to treat multiple skin problems. It starts in the late 19' century when scientists was discovered antibacterial qualities in honey, which in essence protects against skin damage that mainly caused by bacteria. Some types of honey come with special property, from which you can have a nice repairer-substance that actually stimulates presence of special cells. These special cells can repair tissue that was broken by infection. Manuka honey uses in daily lives helps us to have brighter facial skin, so it becomes another great addition we can consider. It also has anti-inflammatory property that can reduce inflammation and pain. So many benefits we can find from manuka honey uses. 

Manuka honey uses for treating skin problems have not yet been proven whether it has any effect on some conditions like cancer, diabetes, or high cholesterol. So it would be better for you to consult the skin doctor first before you make star applying that. The honey could be possibly used to treat wounds, but you should pick up medical-grade honey which is prepared as a dressing and specially sterilized.

Embrio Freezing

Posted by Monday, 26 December 2016

Assalamualaikum wr,wb

 Embryo freezing is a procedure that allows embryos to be preserved for latter use. The first successful pregnancy resulting from freezing a woman's healthy embryos was in the 1980s.

The embryos may be stored to enable a future pregnancy, to donate to others, for medical research or for training purposes.

The process to begins by using hormones and other medication stop stimulate the production of potentially fertile eggs. The eggs are then extracted from the woman's ovaries to either be fertilized in a lab or frozen for later use.

Successful fertilization may lead to at least one healthy embryo, which can then be transferred to the woman's womb or uterus. Hopefully, the embryo will develop and the woman can carry the developing infant through pregnancy to a live birth.

Since fertilization often results in more than  one embryo, the remaining embryos can be preserved through freezing.

What is an embryo, and how is one created?
According to the Oxford Living Dictionaries, an embryo is "a human offspring during the period from approximately the second to the eighth week after fertilization."

 Before freezing can take place, suitable embryos have to be created. To create an embryo in the laboratory, the egg must first be harvested and fertilized.

First, the woman will be given hormones to make sure she ovulates correctly. She is then given fertility medications to increase the number of egg she produces.

If the woman wishes to become pregnant at once, in vitro fertilization (IVF) or intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) may used to fertilized the egg.

During the process of IVF, the egg are exposed to sperm and mixture is cultured in laboratory. Fertilization may take 16 to 20 hours. The fertilized egg are called embryos.

An embryologist will monitor the development of the embryos over the next 6 days, after which a suitable embryo may be chosen for implantation.

In ICSI, once the egg have been extracted, a single sperm is injected directly into an egg. This may be done if there is a problem with the sperm or if past attempts at IVF have been unsuccessful.

How is an embryos frozen?

 The main goal of embryos freezing is to preserve the embryo for later use. The biggest is the water within the cells. When water freezes, crystals can form. This expansion can burst the cell, causing it to die.

To prevent this happening, the water in the embryo's cell is replaced with a protective substance called a cryoprotectant. The embryos are left to incubate in increasing levels of cryoprotectant before they are frozen.

Once most of the water has been removed, the embryo is cooled to its preservation state through one of two methods of embryo Freezing.
  • Slow freezing : this involves protecting the embryos from damage in sealed tubes and then slowly lowering the temperature in the tubes. This prevents the embryo cells from aging and becoming damaged. Embryos can last much longer in their frozen state than in their state. However, slow freezing is time-consuming, and it requires machinery.
  • Vitrification : In this process, the cryoprotected embryos are frozen so quickly that the water molecules in the embryos do not have a time to from ice crystals. This helps to protect the embryos and to increase their survival rate during thawing.
After freezing, the embryos are store in liquid nitrogen until they are needed for future use.

Next to article.......

Success rate of thawing frozen embryos

The process of thawing an embryo is relatively successful. some research has indicated the embryos frozen through vitrification have a better chance of survival, both at the freezing stage and during thawing.

How long can embryos be frozen for?

A study posted in The International Journal of Reproductive Medicine looked at the result of over 1,000 cases of embryo transfer using either fresh or frozen embryos.

The result found no statistical different between using fresh and frozen embryos could also be used for additional embryo transfers in the future while fresh embryos could not.

Who is embryo freezing for?

Embryo freezing can be used by any woman, but there are certain group who may find it more beneficial than others.

These include women with genetic disorders of ovarian sensitivities, those who are during due to undergo chemotherapy, and those who take medications that affect fertility.

Women who are approaching advanced reproductive age and are not ready children yet may also benefit from freezing embryos for later use.

"Freeze-all" cycles

in a "Freeze-all" cycles, the embryo is extracted from a woman's body to be frozen for storage. This procedure may be offered to women who have a higher risk of ovarian stimulation syndrome.  This rare and potentially dangerous condition happens when a woman is receiving stimulating hormones to increase egg production.

There are ways to reduce the change of developing this condition.  for example, doctor may freeze the embryos and transfer them when the woman's ovaries are no longer stimulated. Woman who are going to receive a medical treatment that may affect their ovaries, such as chemoterapy, may choose to store their embryos.

Sometimes, a "Freeze-all" cycle is used to test an embryo for a genetic disorder. This involves removing a few strands of DNA from the embryo and testing their chromosomes. Embryos with a standard set of chromosomes are more likely to have a successful implant. Pre-screening can ensure that future offspring have a lower chance of developing genetic diseases.

Healthy Eating

Posted by

Assalamualaikum wr,wb

 Healthy Eating

 Tips for Planing, enjoying, and Sticking to a Nutritious Diet

 Healthy eating is not about strict dietary limitations, staying unrealistically thin, or depriving yourself of the foods you love. Rather, it’s about feeling great, having more energy, improving your health, and stabilizing your mood. If you feel overwhelmed by all the conflicting nutrition and diet advice out there, you’re not alone.
 
It seems that for every expert who tells you a certain food is good for you, you’ll find another saying exactly the opposite. But by using these simple tips, you can cut through the confusion and learn how to create a tasty, varied, and healthy diet that is as good for your mind as it is for your body.


How does a healthy diet affect mental and emotional health?
Studies have linked eating a typical Western diet filled with processed meats, packaged meals, takeout food, and sugary snacks with higher rates of depression, stress, bipolar disorder, and anxiety. Eating an unhealthy diet may even play a role in the development of mental health disorders such as ADHD, Alzheimer’s disease, and schizophrenia, or in the increased risk of suicide in young people.

Eating more fresh fruits and vegetables, cooking meals at home, and reducing your intake of sugar and refined carbohydrates, on the other hand, may help to improve mood and lower your risk for mental health problems. If you have already been diagnosed with a mental health problem, eating well can even help to manage your symptoms and regain control of your life.

While some specific foods or nutrients have been shown to have a beneficial effect on mood, it’s your overall dietary pattern that is most important. That means switching to a healthy diet doesn’t have to be an all or nothing proposition. You don’t have to be perfect and you don’t have to completely eliminate foods you enjoy to have a healthy diet and make a difference to the way you think and feel.

Set yourself up for success 
Changing everything at once usually leads to cheating or giving up on your new eating plan. To set yourself up for success, think about planning a healthy diet as a number of small, manageable steps—like adding a salad to your diet once a day—rather than one big drastic change. As your small changes become habit, you can continue to add more healthy choices.

Prepare more of your own meals. Cooking more meals at home can help you take charge of what you’re eating and better monitor exactly what goes into your food.

Make the right changes. When cutting back on unhealthy foods in your diet, it’s important to replace them with healthy alternatives. Replacing dangerous trans fats with healthy fats (such as switching fried chicken for grilled fish) will make a positive difference to your health. Switching animal fats for refined carbohydrates, though (such as switching your breakfast bacon for a donut), won’t lower your risk for heart disease or improve your mood.

Simplify. Instead of being overly concerned with counting calories, think of your diet in terms of color, variety, and freshness. Focus on avoiding packaged and processed foods and opting for more fresh ingredients.

Read the labels. It’s important to be aware of what’s in your food as manufacturers often hide large amounts of sugar or unhealthy fats in packaged food, even food claiming to be healthy.

Focus on how you feel after eating. This will help foster healthy new habits and tastes. The more healthy food you eat, the better you’ll feel after a meal. The more junk food you eat, the more likely you are to feel uncomfortable, nauseous, or drained of energy.

Drink plenty of water. Water helps flush our systems of waste products and toxins, yet many people go through life dehydrated—causing tiredness, low energy, and headaches. It’s common to mistake thirst for hunger, so staying well hydrated will also help you make healthier food choices.

Moderation is key
Key to any healthy diet is moderation. But what is moderation? In essence, it means eating only as much food as your body needs. You should feel satisfied at the end of a meal, but not stuffed. Moderation is also about balance. Despite what fad diets would have you believe, we all need a balance of protein, fat, fiber, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals to sustain a healthy body.

For many of us, moderation also means eating less than we do now. But it doesn't mean eliminating the foods you love. Eating bacon for breakfast once a week, for example, could be considered moderation if you follow it with a healthy lunch and dinner—but not if you follow it with a box of donuts and a sausage pizza. If you eat 100 calories of chocolate one afternoon, balance it out by deducting 100 calories from your evening meal. If you're still hungry, fill up with extra vegetables.

Try not to think of certain foods as “off-limits.” When you ban certain foods or food groups, it is natural to want those foods more, and then feel like a failure if you give in to temptation. Start by reducing portion sizes of unhealthy foods and not eating them as often. As you reduce your intake of unhealthy foods, you may find yourself craving them less or thinking of them as only occasional indulgences.

Think smaller portions. Serving sizes have ballooned recently. When dining out, choose a starter instead of an entree, split a dish with a friend, and don't order super sized anything. At home, visual cues can help with portion sizes–your serving of meat, fish, or chicken should be the size of a deck of cards and half a cup of mashed potato, rice, or pasta is about the size of a traditional light bulb. If you don't feel satisfied at the end of a meal, add more leafy green vegetables or round off the meal with fruit.
Take your time. Stop eating before you feel full. It actually takes a few minutes for your brain to tell your body that it has had enough food, so eat slowly.

Eat with others whenever possible. As well as the emotional benefits, this allows you to model healthy eating habits for your kids. Eating in front of the TV or computer often leads to mindless overeating.

Cut back on sugar 
Aside from portion size, perhaps the single biggest problem with the modern Western diet is the amount of added sugar in our food. As well as creating weight problems, too much sugar causes energy spikes and has been linked to diabetes, depression, and even an increase in suicidal behaviors in young people. Reducing the amount of candy and desserts you eat is only part of the solution as sugar is also hidden in foods such as bread, cereals, canned soups and vegetables, pasta sauce, margarine, instant mashed potatoes, frozen dinners, low-fat meals, fast food, and ketchup. Your body gets all it needs from sugar naturally occurring in food so all this added sugar just means a lot of empty calories. 

Tips for reducing sugar in your diet
Slowly reduce the sugar in your diet a little at a time to give your taste buds time to adjust and wean yourself off the craving. Avoid sugary drinks. Try drinking sparkling water with a splash of fruit juice instead.

Don’t replace saturated fat with sugar. Many of us make the mistake of replacing healthy sources of saturated fat, such as whole milk dairy, with refined carbs or sugary foods, thinking we’re making a healthier choice. Low-fat doesn’t necessarily mean healthy, especially when the fat has been replaced by added sugar to make up for loss of taste.

Avoid processed or packaged foods like canned soups, frozen dinners, or low-fat meals that often contain hidden sugar that quickly surpasses the recommended limit.

Be careful when eating out.  Most gravy, dressings and sauces are also packed with salt and sugar, so ask for it to be served on the side.

Eat healthier snacks. Cut down on sweet snacks such as candy, chocolate, and cakes. Instead, eat naturally sweet food such as fruit, peppers, or natural peanut butter to satisfy your sweet tooth.

 Eat Plenty of colorful and vegetables
Fruits and vegetables are low in calories and nutrient dense, which means they are packed with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber. Focus on eating the recommended daily minimum of five servings of fruit and vegetables and it will naturally fill you up and help you cut back on unhealthy foods. A serving is half a cup of raw fruit or veg or a small apple or banana, for example. Most of us need to double the amount we currently eat. To increase your intake, add berries to breakfast cereals, eat fruit for dessert, swap your usual side dish for a salad, and snack on vegetables such as carrots, snow peas, or cherry tomatoes instead of processed snack foods.
Greens. Branch out beyond lettuce. Kale, mustard greens, broccoli, and Chinese cabbage are all packed with calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, zinc, and vitamins A, C, E, and K.
Sweet vegetables. Naturally sweet vegetables—such as corn, carrots, beets, sweet potatoes, yams, onions, and squash—add healthy sweetness to your meals and reduce your cravings for added sugars.
Fruit. Fruit is a tasty, satisfying way to fill up on fiber, vitamins, and antioxidants. Berries are cancer-fighting, apples provide fiber, oranges and mangos offer vitamin C, and so on.

Choose healthy carbs and whole grains
Healthy carbs (or good carbs) include whole grains, beans, fruits, and vegetables. Healthy carbs are digested slowly, helping you feel full longer and keeping blood sugar and insulin levels stable.
Unhealthy carbs (or bad carbs) are foods such as white flour, refined sugar, and white rice that have been stripped of all bran, fiber, and nutrients. They digest quickly and cause spikes in blood sugar levels and energy.

Add calcium for bone health
Your body uses calcium to build healthy bones and teeth, keep them strong as you age, send messages through the nervous system, and regulate the heart’s rhythm. If you don’t get enough calcium in your diet, your body will take calcium from your bones to ensure normal cell function, which can lead to osteoporosis.  
Recommended calcium levels are 1000 mg per day, 1200 mg if you are over 50 years old. Try to get as much from food as possible and use only low-dose calcium supplements to make up any shortfall. Limit foods that deplete your body’s calcium stores (caffeine, alcohol, sugary drinks), do weight-bearing exercise, and get a daily dose of magnesium and vitamins D and K—nutrients that help calcium do its job.
Enjoy healthy fats (and avoid unhealthy ones)
Despite what you may have been told, not all fats are unhealthy. While “bad” fats can increase your risk of certain diseases, “good” fats are essential to physical and emotional health. Foods rich in certain omega-3 fats, for example, can reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease, improve your mood, and help prevent dementia.

Watch your salt intake
Sodium is another ingredient that is frequently added to food to improve taste, even though your body needs less than one gram of sodium a day (about half a teaspoon of table salt). Eating too much salt can cause high blood pressure and lead to an increased risk of stroke, heart disease, kidney disease, memory loss, and erectile dysfunction. It may also worsen symptoms of bipolar disorder.
Be wary of processed or pre-packaged foods. Processed foods like canned soups or frozen dinners often contain hidden sodium that quickly surpasses the recommended limit.
Use herbs and spices such as garlic, curry powder, cayenne or black pepper to improve the flavor of meals instead of salt.
Be careful when eating out. Most restaurant and fast food meals are loaded with sodium. Some offer lower-sodium choices or you can ask for your meal to be made without salt.
Buy unsalted nuts and add a little of your own salt until your taste buds are accustomed to eating them salt-free.
Resources and references
Healty eating and mental health
Mastering the mindful meal – Describes the importance of mindful eating, along with tips on how to eat more mindfully. (Brigham & Women’s Hospital)
Diet and Mental Health – How dietary factors affect mental and emotional health. (Mental Health Foundation)
Read more article : 6 health food worth adding to your grocery list in 2017 シ

10 Life Changing Reasons To Drink More Water

Posted by

Assalamualaikum wr,wb

 Has it occurred to you today that you are thirsty?

Your body is composed of roughly 60% water. That means when we are dehydrated and most of us spend our days constantly dehydrated to some degree-we are affecting the performance of the majority of our body. Nearly all off systems do not function as well without the proper water intake.

So, What does this mean? Why should we drink more water?
  • If you don't drink water, you will die. It's that important. Depending on our environment, we can live only a few days without water, maybe a week. We can live much longer without food. For most of us, we should prioritize the consumption of water far more than we currently do.
  • Prevent cancer. Yes, that's right! various research says staying hydrated can reduce risk of colon cancer by 45%, bladder cancer by 50%, and possibly reduce breast cancer risk as well.
  • Be less cranky. Research says dehydration can affect your mood and make you grumpy and confused. think clearer and be happier by drinking more water.
  • Perform better. Proper hydration contributes to increased athletic performance. Water composes 75% of our muscle tissue! Dehydration can lead to weakness, fatigue, dizziness, and electrolyte imbalance.
  • Lose weight. Sometimes 
    we think we are hungry, when actually we are thirsty. Our body just starts turning on all the alarms when we ignore it. For those of you trying to drop some pounds, staying hydrated can serve as an appetite suppressant and help with weight loss.
  • Have less joint pain. Drinking water can reduce pain in your joints by keeping the cartilage soft and hydrated. This is actually how glucosamine helps reduce joint pain, by aiding in cartilage’s absorption of water.
  • Flush out waste and bacteria. Our digestive system needs water to function properly. Waste is flushed out in the form of urine and sweat. If we don't drink water, we don't flush out waste and it collects in our body causing a myriad of problems. Also combined with fiber, water can cure constipation.
  • Prevent headaches. Sometimes headaches can be caused by dehydration, so drinking water can prevent or alleviate that nasty head pain. Next time your head hurts, try drinking water.
  • Make your skin glow. Our skin is the largest organ in our body. Regular and plentiful water consumption can improve the color and texture of your skin by keeping it building new cells properly. Drinking water also helps the skin do it's job of regulating the body's temperature through sweating.
  • Feed your body. Water is essential for the proper circulation of nutrients in the body. Water serves at the body’s transportation system and when we are dehydrated things just can’t get around as well. 
Quick rules of thumb for drinking water:
  • Drink half your body weight in ounces of water (if you weight 160lbs, drink 80oz of water each day).
  • Carry a bottle everywhere with you as a reminder to keep drinking.
  • Eat raw fruits and vegetables – they are dense in water. You can get water from food, not just from beverages.
  • Drink water and other fluids until you urinate frequently and with light color.
The end of our sharing on this time, may be useful for all of us.. Thank you for taking the time to read this article.

6 Healthy Food Worth Adding to Your Grocery List in 2017

Posted by Saturday, 24 December 2016

Assalamualaikum wr,wb

 Make it your New Year's resolution to add these healthy foods to your grocery list. Each delivers a host of health benefits-if you prepare them properly! Here's how.

1. Beets

Health Benefits:  Beets contain many important nutrients including vitamin A, B, C, E, and K plus protein, folate, dietary fibre, calcium, iron, and potassium. A healthy food that's readily available through the winter, this power full root vegetable is high in betacyanin, which helps fight cancer, and also high in folate and betaine, which lowers the risk of heart disease.



How to eat it: The beet greens are the most nutritious part, so try cooking and serving them like spinach or Swiss chard. For the beet itself boil it unpeeled to retain the nutrients and add it to salad or eat with plain Greek yogurt, dill and scallions, you can also eat beets, raw or cooked, in a salad and tacos. 


2. Cabbage

 Health Benefits: With just 20 calories in a cup of chopped raw green cabbage, it's a very low-calorie choice that is rich in vitamin C (33 mg per cup). Red Cabbage contains twice as much vitamin C as green cabbage, while green contains twice as much folate as the red. both have potassium and fibre. Cabbage helps prevent colon cancer and protects again breast and cancer of the uterus and ovaries due to the bioflavonoids and sulphorphane. 

How to eat it: Saute shredded cabbage and onion, then stir in broth and dill to make a soup, or toss shredded red cabbage, carrot, onion in Thai peanut sauce.


3. Carrots

Health Benefits:  Carrots are our most abundant source of beta-carotene, a compound that can function as an antioxidant and can also be converted by the body into vitamin A. The more vivid the colour, the higher the level of this important carotenoid. Carrots can also help reduce the cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and vision problems. One cup of cooked carrots has 70 calories, 4 g of fibre, and about 18 mg of beta-carotene. 

How to eat it: For your body to properly absorb the beta-carotene in the carrots, it need a small about of fat. Try adding a little butter or olive oil to cooked carrots to help your body fully utilize this nutrient. Cooking carrots actually increases their nutritional value because it break down the tough cellular walls that encase the beta-carotene.


4. Okra

Health benefits:  A relative of hibiscus, okra is a dark green starchy vegetable that's got just 18 calories in a 1/2 cup serving. Okra is also a source of vitamin A and C, folate, potassium, thiamin and magnesium. Okra lowers cholesterol because it contain high amounts of pectin, which helps decrease blood pressure, cholesterol, regulates bowels, and aids in weight loss.
  
How to eat it: Try adding okra to soup or stews because, as it cooks, it fats are released and thicken it. You can also stir-fry sliced baby okra with plum tomato and onion or pack them in a jar of leftover pickle juice and refrigerate for several days.


5. Squash

Health benefits: Acorn, butternut and spaghetti are some of the winter squashes in season now. Acorn and butternut squash are rich in beta-carotene, insoluble fibre, iron, potassium, zinc and other minerals and B vitamins.
How to eat it: Bake or steam winter squash instead of boiling to retain vitamin C and other nutrients. Serve with herbs and a drizzle of oil or add to bread, soups and stews.

6. Sweet Potato
Health benefits: Sweet potatoes are among the most nutritious vegetable and are an excellent source of vitamin C and Antioxidant beta-carotine. They are rich in potassium, which helps lower blood pressure and they keep your skin and eyes healthy, fight heart disease, and help blood sugar and cholesterol because they are packed with soluble fibre.
How to eat it: The skin has as much fibre as a half a cup of oatmeal for about 100 calories, so don't pell it!! Cook the sweet potato whole whenever possible since most of the nutrients are near the skin. You can also try cutting the sweet potato into thick strips, covering it with some spices and oil and baking or make meal with baked sweet potato topped with spinach ham, and shredded Swiss cheese 

7 Ways to Make Water Taste Better

Posted by Friday, 23 December 2016

Assalamualaikum Wr,wb


Simple tips for livening up your drinking water.-Not every body has a taste for water, but we all need it to ensure that our bodies continue functioning properly. If you want to drink more water, but aren't crazy about the taste (or lack thereof), here are some tips that can make it more enjoyable:

1. Add fresh fruit. Citrus fruits, such lemons, limes, and oranges, are classic water enhancers, but other fruit flavors might also tempt your body buds. Try crushing fresh raspberries or watermelon into your water, or adding strawberry slices. Cucumber and fresh mint are refreshing flavors as well - especially in summer.

2. Use Juice. Any fruit juice can be a good base flavor for water, but tart juices, like cranberry, pomegranate, grape and apple, are especially delicious. go for juices that are all natural, with no added sugars. And remember: Fruits and their juices don't just taste good - they contain vitamins and antioxidants that can benefit your health too.

3. Make it bubbly. Many people prefer sparkling to still water. if plain old water isn't inspiring to you, try a naturally effervescent mineral water. you can add fresh fruit or natural juice flavors to your seltzer, as suggested above, or look for naturally flavored seltzer maker for your home.

4. Get Creative with ICE. Some say that ice water tastes better than water served at room temperature. if that so, flavored ice cubes may make an even better drink. Use some of the flavoring suggestions above and start experimenting with fresh fruit, mint, or cucumber ice water, then freeze. You may also consider juice, tea, or coffee cubes. If you want to be more creative, use ice cube trays that come in fun shapes, like stars, circles, or even fish.

5. Drink Tea. Herbal, fruit, green and red teas are generally considered to be better for you than black teas (or coffee, for that matter) because they contain little to no caffeine. And there countless flavors of these teas to choose from. Start with the selection at your local market or health food store. If you're interested in pursuing more exotic flavors and sophisticated teas, start researching the vast array of specialty teas that come from all parts of the globe.

6. Try bouillons, broths, and consommes. If your palate leans toward the savory, you may pass on tea and start sipping one of these hot and savory liquids instead. Choose low-fat and low-sodium versions for maximum health benefits. because soup is water based, a cup of hot soup will count toward your daily fluid consumption.

7. Add fast flavors. If you're looking  for a quick-and-easy flavor booster, you might also consider sugar-free drink mixes, and flavors cartridges that can be used with your faucet filter system.