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 Amber_Glow
Sat Chit Anand
Registered: 09/02/02
Posts: 1,543
Last seen: 2 months, 20 days
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 Re: Mind/Body Health 101  [Re: Lion]
#8200686 - 03/27/08 11:58 AM (5 years, 1 month ago) |
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Quote:
Lion said:
I like to stay away from eggs but I have no logical reason for this other than that the yokes are high cholesterol.
Your local grocer probably sells egg whites by the carton. These are what I eat. They are nothing but pure protein. No fat, no cholesterol, wow! I highly recommend.
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 Az0th
quantum transfiguration
 
Registered: 02/13/00
Posts: 53,469
Loc: The Void 
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Great thread 
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~Thought Creates Reality~
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AlteredAgain
Think Spherical
Registered: 04/27/06
Posts: 11,051
Loc: Sol III
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 Re: Mind/Body Health 101 [Re: Az0th]
#8603647 - 07/07/08 12:24 PM (4 years, 10 months ago) |
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Time for a proper update. 
Fruits are not everything - but without them everything is nothing.
Fruits symbolize the gifts that mother Earth gives us. In all mythologies, the fruit was the favorite food of the gods. Practitioners of yoga see them as the food that "paves the path to inner and outer cleansing." Even our most conservative medicine men admit that nearly nothing strengthens the body's defenses more than regular fruit fasts.
In the bible, and in all other famous religious works, one can find many references to fruits. In fairy tales they also play an important role as the "Fruit of Good" and the "Fruit of Evil."
Why exactly do fruits carry this clearly thousand year old symbolism? U.S. Psychologist Barbara Walker explains: Because in the past, numerous people almost never had enough to eat, so that the sweet fruits came to symbolize their wishes for nutritional satisfaction. Today, eating fruits has become a kind of icon for the healthy lifestyle. It is the idea that one could only remain completely healthy with a daily consumption of a variety of fresh fruits. As idealistic as this statement may seem, there is quite some truth to be recognized here.
Few calories, no cholesterol.
Let's first praise the many benefits:
- Fruits are one of our most beautiful and healthiest nutriments. When it comes to taste, almost nothing beats the flavor of a ripe, juicy apple, a sweet banana, a sun kissed grape, or a peach that just overflows with heavenly aroma. 
- With fruits there is no problem concerning the calories, and no cholesterol problem because they contain little protein and fat (with exception of the avocado). However even their few proteins are valuable, because they relieve the liver and kidneys from other uric acid forming proteins. 
- Fruits are very rich in carbohydrates, but because their natural sugars barely require any digestion and are simply "injected" into the blood stream, fruits are always welcomed wherever quick energy and performance is called for, whether it be physically or mentally. 
- Fruits deliver us plenty of fiber, which is why these foods happen to assist our digestive process so well. It is true that 200g wholegrain contains about 3x more fibers than 200g of fruit, but it is only the fruit fiber that contains extra helpful bioactive substances such as flavonoids, phenolic acids, terpenes, and carotenoids. Noteworthy at this point however is pectin, a substance more commonly found in the skin of apples, in quinces, bananas, carrots, blackcurrants, strawberries, raspberries, and also in medlars.
What's so great about pectin is that it especially benefits heart and intestinal functions! In World War I, experienced military doctors healed people suffering from dysentery. They discovered that pectin powerfully detoxifies the intestinal tract. Since then so-called "Pectin Days" are called for during troublesome cases of diarrhea. U.S. professor Ancel Keys advised in 1961, that the best way to prevent arteriosclerosis and heart attack is to eat two or three apples daily because its pectin (15g per day recommended) is enough to sufficiently sink cholesterol levels in the blood. Latest studies confirm this effect. 
- Fruits are excellent sources of vitamins A, B, C, and essential minerals which assist our entire metabolism, all digestive organs, the blood circulation, the lymphatic system, the nervous system, and the brain. The fruits contain a valuable balance of calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus (which we need for strong bones and teeth as well as for the smooth functioning of the circulatory and nervous system) along with rare trace elements such as chromium, cobalt, manganese, iodine, fluorine, and selenium. Their favorable proportions of sodium and potassium are also worth mentioning (water regulation and heart support).
- Above all fruits contain many of the still mysterious bioflavanoids which continually turn out to be a subject of heightened interest. They are those yellow, red, and blue plant pigments that have been found to help against blood clotting, infections, and allergies, and that to an extent also have hormonal properties similar to cortisone. The flavonoids were discovered by Hungarian biochemist Albert Szent-Györgyi, who received the nobel prize in medicine in 1937. Flavonoids have long been underestimated since their discovery and research is today still far from completed.
Bioflavonoids are what gives flowers, leaves, and of course all fruits and vegetables their radiant colors. Over 500 different types have been defined. Their active substances, for example quercetin, citrine, rutin, hesperidin, appear in all plant nutriments that are known to be healthy for us. Hopefully in some years they will play a significant role in the healing of heart ailments, stroke, and cancer cases in the mainstream medical establishment.
So far in the U.S. "Nutrition Almanac" there are already countless pages of scientific accounts documenting the benefits of flavonoids. They are shown to treat radiation damage, vein infections, hemorrhoids, menstruation problems, rheumatisms, ulcers, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol levels. Most of all they strengthen the immune system and act as a detoxifier against mold, viruses, and harmful bacteria. For example it is said that they can neutralize the cancer encouraging mycotoxin Aflatoxin.
The reason for all these phenomenal effects: Bioflavonoids are potent antioxidants, and namely always in combination with vitamin C. Their intimate connection with ascorbic acid is required because the vitamin is very easily absorbed by the body. Only that way are the flavonoids able to reach out deep into the cellular structures. Along with vitamin C, the flavonoids strengthen the capillaries and protect the cell walls from the invasion of destructive free radicals. A deficiency of bioflavonoids (and vitamin C) expresses itself for example in the form of rheumatism and arthritis.
When you contemplate that our capillaries, the finest hair thin blood vessels, are responsible for the provision of the whole supply of nutrients, liquids, and oxygen, as well as for the removal of all metabolic waste, and that the entire capillary web of a human being (when stretched out on a line) is over 100,000 kilometers long, or could be wrapped around the Earth two and a half times, then one needs little imagination to picture just how important the capillary protecting flavonoids are for our bio-organism. 
These treasures can all be found in high amounts in blackcurrants, rose hips, plums, blueberries, raspberries, elderberries, blackberries, cherries, yellow plums, red grapes, and in the citrus fruits.
- Last but not least, fruits deliver us many fruit acids that not only refresh us and quench our thirst, but even more so stimulate the digestive juices, revive the circulatory system, and help to disinfect. Take warm lemon juice for instance when you have a cold or the flu. The acids hold vitamin C and B1 very well.
Final Tips
Eat fruit solo or before a meal.
Let us take nature as a role model.
Here we find acids and sugars in combination, like in oranges, pineapples, and grapefruits. That is good.
We find starch and proteins together in whole grains and vegetables. That is also good.
Just as well do we find proteins and fats matched together in nuts, seeds, or milk.
But nowhere in nature do we ever find the harmful combination of acids and starches in ripe fruits - only in green hard apples, and green peaches. And these fruits don't taste good at all.
So if you happen to find yourself with stomach aches, then check to see if you are eating raw fruits, even more sour fruits, on a full stomach and after heavy meals. In contrast to hamburgers and French fries, fruits are the authentic fast food. They speed through the stomach and from there are sent directly to the intestines where the nutrients are quickly absorbed. Now if you eat fruits at the end of a heavy meal, then what happens is that your dinner, since it takes longer to pass through the stomach, blocks the path for the fruits, then there's a huge mess, the intestinal tract gets confronted with this fruity starch mix and in the end the digestive system becomes irritated. This same drama plays itself out when you drink large amounts of orange, lemon, or apple juice during a meal.
So again, it is better not to combine raw fruits and fruit juices with a main course meal, even if it's only vegetables (with exception of celery, carrots, red beets, and salads. They get along with fruits). Certainly a little bit of fruit during or right after a meal isn't going to end in a catastrophe, but larger amounts may just happen to break the dam. Use your food sense.
And another common rule is: Eat the juicy and sour fruits first. They are cleansing. Wait 20 minutes, then eat the more concentrated and nourishing fruits such as bananas and avocado.
Fruit fasts are cleansing.
To lose weight, or for detoxification, a 24 hour fruit fast is very beneficial. Take about three pounds of ripe fruits, divide them in five or six portions, and eat them over the course of the day. Chew well. No avocados, no dried fruits, also few bananas, grapes, or sweet cherries if possible. Drink calorie and caffeine free herbal teas for plenty of liquids and use only warm water.
In fruits we trust. Amen. 
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LiteBrite
Stranger
Registered: 12/04/06
Posts: 16
Loc: east coast
Last seen: 1 year, 11 months
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green drinks such as greens plus are great
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AlteredAgain
Think Spherical
Registered: 04/27/06
Posts: 11,051
Loc: Sol III
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 Re: Mind/Body Health 101 [Re: LiteBrite]
#9698795 - 01/29/09 09:17 AM (4 years, 3 months ago) |
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So I thought I'd bump this thread with two book recommendations. On my quest for health there's been some difficulty in discovering new information regarding unrefined whole foods, optimal sources of nutrition, and recipes. I've always had to look in different places for it, read a myriad of books, surf the net for websites, still not feeling like I am getting the complete picture of what is available out there. This hurdle has now been overcome since I've stumbled across these two books:
Healing With Whole Foods by Paul Pitchford
This book is a 753 page reference volume packed with the essential information for becoming skillful in healing through diet. It does not promote any specific way of eating, but actually encourages the reader to discover his own path to health by teaching practical applications of traditional Chinese medicine fused with the modern scientific knowledge of nutrition. Containing facts about nearly every aspect of food and healthy nutrition, it is the most detailed sourcebook I have ever come across. And it's loaded with recipes as well. 
The Dictionary Of Wholesome Foods by Embree De Persiis Vona, Anstice Carroll, and Gianna de Persiis Vona.
This rather smaller 240 page dictionary is a nice and simple A-Z guide, another valuable addition to the food reference shelf. It provides practical guidance on how to make sense of the burgeoning selection of healthful foods, herbs and supplements, and provides a concise understanding of the sources, characteristics, benefits, and uses of health foods. This is the perfect shopping companion or armchair read; sure to delight information seekers and food writing enthusiasts alike. Also includes recipes that require no fancy ingredients.
Both books have been worth every penny for me and are proving invaluable to my home kitchen.
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Rev. Morton
Registered: 07/12/99
Posts: 6,711
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Thanks, I'll check those out.
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AlteredAgain
Think Spherical
Registered: 04/27/06
Posts: 11,051
Loc: Sol III
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Haven't updated this thread in a while so today I would like to share some of the movements I have been making in regards to good diet. Being in the standpoint of having a sensitive stomach and intestinal system, I've recently found myself adjusting back into a way of eating that empowers me physically, mentally, and emotionally.
I have little money, but I am able to do buy the healthiest foods in the world for about $30 - $40 at the produce shop, where I go once per week. This is luckily due to a locally owned market that has much to offer.
My primary nourishment is the blended green smoothie. My blender is one of the few gadgets I would never move out of the house without. Best prepared upon waking, a harmonious mixture will set the foundation of energy I need for the day.
Here's what it contains (experiments are ongoing):
Pineapple is my base, for flavor and liquid. Its enzyme bromelin increases digestive ability and the fruit is thirst-quenching also. Then I prepare the greens,
Kale. Benefits the stomach. Is an exceptional source of chlorophyll, calcium, iron, and vitamin A. This has been my favorite green for quite some time. I use a bunch of it.
Collard Greens. These are becoming a favorite as well. Makes me feel like a real herbivore when I pick their big leaves. Much like
parsely,
dandelion greens,
swiss chard, kale, and other greens which I still look forward to trying, they are treasure coves of vitamins and minerals, an exceptional promoter of the growth of beneficial intestinal flora, and provider of chlorophyll, a key green phytonutrient made from light!
I'll drink these smoothies and never regret the meal. Over time I even found my laziness to prepare the food, to wash and cut it, is diminishing, as I learn more that the reward is undeniable.
It's fun to mix and match different fruits for added nutritional source or to just get to know how they make you feel. I always tend to keep the ratio of greens very high as I've discovered that with the right balance of sweet fruits, you can still use a lot more greens than you would usually estimate and the flavor remains deliciously pleasant. I drink out of a 1 liter German beer mug as I make one full blender my meal.
Apples
and bananas
are often my fast food to go, something I can eat on whim, or on my way home from work.
I eat raw walnuts and almonds, only when I have a nutcracker around. If I need serious calories for weight lifting I cook brown rice and couscous with garlic, or mushrooms.
These are just some of the things I've been incorporating more and more lately. I feel that my health is paramount as is my choice of foods. I consume meat rarely, but I still eat it. I aim to eliminate it entirely one day. It is incredible how many vegetational crops don't even reach another human being. Most is grown for livestock food and biofuels about 50% of it I hear. If this is true then world hunger is completely solvable without mass meat production.
Last is water. Lots and lots of water, but not right before or immediately after a meal. When I'm at home, I always brew a tea, right now it's a bag of green tea and a bag of ginkgo biloba in a 1 quart jar. Today I just picked up a ginger royal jelly extract that comes in little glass vials which I mix with the tea.
Overall, I feel like I'm vibrating on a higher frequency than what I know. 4 good weeks into this already, results are definitely showing along with the gains of exercise. Hunger is more of a need than a desire now. If I eat the occasional luxury food, my favorite being pizza, I eat until first sign of satiation. I won't eat until full.
This is just some of my personal accounts so far relating to my own Mind/Body 101.
If not inspiration, hopefully I could leave some pieces of useful knowledge!
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ChiefGreenLeaf
Registered: 01/11/07
Posts: 1,498
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you would like my smoothies
barleygrass, wheatgrass, alfalfa, sprulina, powders
I buy a lb of each and mix them together
they are organic and come from a really great supplier
I use the blended powder in pills and smoothies
the smoothies go something like this....
3 REALLY big scoops of the superfood pwdr
certain combinations of frozen berries, mangos, peaches, cherries
ripe banana
raw cacao powder
dash of cinnamon and/or cardamom
additive free whey protein pwder
unfiltered, organic apple juice
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AlteredAgain
Think Spherical
Registered: 04/27/06
Posts: 11,051
Loc: Sol III
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right on  sounds like i'd love them
since my money is tight at the moment i'm still waiting to buy bulk powder of algae and grasses. but not for long. 
i like your addition of peaches and cherries. sounds like it would go really well with parsley too.
i use cinnamon for pears. makes them taste amazing.
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stereolab
zig zag wanderer
Registered: 06/08/09
Posts: 940
Loc: NY
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Great stuff here, I think I'm gonna try fasting sometime this week now. I've never done it... at least not intentionally. I'll let you know how it goes.
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The spiritual revolution
starts inside.
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LbDub
Registered: 10/24/07
Posts: 1,647
Last seen: 1 year, 7 months
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Re: Mind/Body Health 101 [Re: stereolab]
#12056079 - 02/18/10 08:59 PM (3 years, 3 months ago) |
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I just reread this entire thread again from start to finish. Was my third time through I believe, but I'm always game for a refresher course(especially one as beneficial as this).
Anyways, thought I'd bump this to the top, and say thanks to everyone who contributed. Shine on
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t00th
something terrible
Registered: 12/03/07
Posts: 3,874
Loc: the dirty dirty
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Re: Mind/Body Health 101 [Re: LbDub]
#12136735 - 03/03/10 08:26 PM (3 years, 2 months ago) |
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awesome thread, thanks!
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AlteredAgain
Think Spherical
Registered: 04/27/06
Posts: 11,051
Loc: Sol III
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 Re: Mind/Body Health 101 [Re: t00th]
#12150705 - 03/05/10 10:20 PM (3 years, 2 months ago) |
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PDU
travel kid vs.amerika
Registered: 12/04/02
Posts: 9,517
Loc: beautiful BC
Last seen: 5 hours, 36 minutes
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Great thread - i am going to buy some Kale to add to my smoothie tomorrow!
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GO OUTSIDE.
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AlteredAgain
Think Spherical
Registered: 04/27/06
Posts: 11,051
Loc: Sol III
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Re: Mind/Body Health 101 [Re: PDU]
#12954018 - 07/26/10 05:17 AM (2 years, 9 months ago) |
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I hope some of you, like me, who shake their heads at those "got milk?" AMP ads, will enjoy the above.
Maybe I'll get another update in here soon.
Be well!
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marmarlun
!
Registered: 09/25/08
Posts: 346
Last seen: 2 years, 2 months
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AlteredAgain, In one of your posts you praised fruit for not having cholesterol - do you know what cholesterol is? Please, give it a shot, tell me why it's bad for you while you're at it, you seem pretty passionate about it in your posts.
why do you post about things you don't really understand? At best, you come off as a douche to those who actually know something about what you post, at worse, you spread misinformation to those who don't know anything about what you post.
good job.
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AlteredAgain
Think Spherical
Registered: 04/27/06
Posts: 11,051
Loc: Sol III
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Re: Mind/Body Health 101 [Re: marmarlun]
#12954205 - 07/26/10 07:35 AM (2 years, 9 months ago) |
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Do quote where I said that fruits have no cholesterol so I know what you're referring to..
I'm sorry if you're not getting much out of this thread. It isn't meant to be a scientific journal or anything of that sort. It's a general guide. If you spot any misinformation I'm open to hear about it.
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AlteredAgain
Think Spherical
Registered: 04/27/06
Posts: 11,051
Loc: Sol III
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Breasts, Broccoli, and Cancer
    
Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer in the World today. More than 1.1 million women each year are diagnosed with breast cancer and over 200,000 of these women are Americans. These statistics are frightening especially in light of the fact that we are increasingly being told that genetics play such a major role in the development of cancer. The result is that most women feel helpless – as if getting cancer is as likely to happen as getting the flu.
Fortunately, we are coming to understand that influences other than genetics are far more important in the development of cancer and can even override genetic “tendencies.” In January of 2008, the National Institute of Health announced that it would invest over $190 million during the subsequent five years into researching epigenetics. Epigenetic processes determine how a gene will be expressed and therefore control growth and development.
What Does This Have To Do With Broccoli?
Epigenetic refers to the fact that it is the environment of the cell that determines which genes will be turned on and which genes will be turned off. Clearly, if all of the 30,000 to 35,000 genes in our cells were turned on simultaneously, we would not only be totally dysfunctional and unable to sustain life, but we would not even look human. So, it is not the genetic code that influences health and disease but rather the delicate coordination of these genes turning on and off. It is this symphonic interplay of gene expression, which results in the unique complexity of every individual. Even identical twins change differently over time when exposed to different environments.
What determines the environment of a cell? Diet and environmental conditions!
Researchers have also come to understand that epigenetic changes can be passed on from generation to generation. So, what you eat and how you live can actually influence how your grandchildren will fare when they are born. This “inheritance” is far more important than any amount of money or property that one could or would leave.
Let Health Be Your Legacy
There are over 300 case-controlled studies that clearly demonstrate that eating vegetables (more specifically vegetables that are in the genus of plants known as Brassica, and more specifically, broccoli) protects against the development of cancer. Other vegetables in this category include cabbage, watercress, kale, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, kohlrabi, and many others including Peruvian maca and mustards.
As the number of servings per month go up, the odds ratio of developing cancer drops significantly. For example, the odds ratio for breast cancer when five or more servings per week are eaten is 0.58, which is almost a 50% reduction in risk!
Although researchers at the University of California at Berkeley discovered that DIM in Brassica vegetables is a powerful modulator of the immune system resulting in potent anti-viral, anti-bacterial, and anti-cancer activity, it is Dr. Jed Fahey who has been at the forefront in this explosive area of research.
Dr. Fahey is a Faculty Research Associate in the Department of Pharmacology, Laboratory of Molecular Pharmacology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and a plant physiologist who manages Johns Hopkins University's Brassica Chemoprotection Laboratory. Much of the fruit of his work has been in developing cruciferous (Brassica) plants as chemoprotective agents.
This information is becoming critically important and supremely relevant today, since the World Health Organization (WHO) announced last year that by 2010, cancer would become the leading cause of death worldwide. The Multinational Brassica Genome Project (MBGP) and much of the research in this area can be found at http://www.brassica.info/.
Brassica Vegetables Kill Cancer
Researchers in Italy published in the June 2005 issue of the Journal of Nutrition that when they mixed cauliflower juice with breast cancer cells, not only did the cancerous cells stop growing, but at higher doses they were actually killed (they exploded), and not by the usual mechanism known as apoptosis. Furthermore, normal cells were not affected because, for some unknown reason, cauliflower has a preference for breast cancer cells over other mammalian cell lines. Even more remarkable is that this same effect was seen in both estrogen-receptor ER (+) and ER (–) cells. There is an obvious implication here that not only are these vegetables protective regarding the development of breast cancer, but they may even be useful in treating cancer once it has arisen.
It is not estrogen that is the problem in breast and other cancers, it is what the liver does with the estrogen – the metabolites. The cytochrome 1B1 enzymes in the liver are stimulated by cigarette smoke, charbroiling of flesh foods, the burning of different fuels (e.g., gasoline and coal), as well as many other environmental toxins. These enzymes, in turn, convert estrogen into 4-OH-estrone (E1), a potent genotoxic (cancer producing) substance. On the other hand, 2-OH-E1 is a “good” estrogen metabolite that is produced by the cytochrome 1A1 enzymes of the liver stimulated by broccoli and its Brassica cousins. One can easily measure the ratio of the 2-OH E1 to the 16-alpha-OH E1 in the urine over time (24 hours). If the ratio is low, the risk for breast cancer is increased; and, if high, the risk is reduced. In fact, one pound of broccoli per day (approximately 500 grams) shifts the ratio significantly. For every 10 grams of broccoli consumed per day, there is an increase in the ratio of 0.8. Therefore, the recommended amount to be consumed for different individuals can be calculated readily, once these results have been obtained. The conclusion drawn by a respected cancer journal is that broccoli is an effective and acceptable strategy to prevent breast cancer.
Brassica Vegetables Are Detoxifiers
In addition to the metabolism of estrogens, the Brassica plants stimulate certain enzymes in the liver to enhance detoxification, which is of considerable import since we swim in a sea of carcinogenic toxins.
The liver utilizes two mechanisms to remove toxins, referred to as Phase I and Phase II detoxification. In Phase I, liver enzymes modify toxic substances in order to make them recognizable to Phase II enzymes. In Phase II, a different set of enzymes convert these modified toxins into more water-soluble forms, which can then eliminated through the urine or the feces.
The compounds in Brassica plants that make them bitter and give them a strong and sometimes disagreeable odor are actually the active, anti-cancer components. They function as the defense system of the plant, sort of like its “immune system.” They are known as phytoalexins. These substances are actually modified and used by the agriculture industry to develop pesticides and fumigants.
Chemically, these compounds are known as glucosinolates, which are modified to become isothiocyanates (ITC), the active, anti-cancer compound. An enzyme known as myrosinase is released when these plants are injured, which then converts the glucosinolates into ITC, hence chewing is required to activate these anti-cancer compounds. The normal gut flora (healthy bacteria) also produces myrosinase, however, most Americans have taken too many antibiotics and other toxic chemicals, both voluntarily and involuntarily resulting in very unhealthy and unbalanced gut flora. So, it is advisable that we all chew thoroughly, just in case.
These ITC compounds, after conversion from glucosinolates, greatly induce Phase II enzymes in the liver, which results in excretion of the carcinogens circulating throughout the body. Although these compounds from Brassica vegetables may modify the Phase I enzymes, they have a much greater effect on Phase II, which is why they are so important. Environmental toxins, such as dioxin (extremely poisonous), have their effect by inducing only Phase I enzymes, which activate many carcinogens. Without the concomitant activation of Phase II enzymes, the results are often fatal.
These Brassica-derived chemicals also stop the growth of cancer cells after the initiation phase (cancer cells begin), interfere with promoters that make cancer cells grow (such as estrogen), interfere with angiogenesis (blood vessel growth in tumors), activate apoptosis (cell death) and block rapid growth of cells. This data is found throughout the scientific literature in both in-vitro and animal studies.
There are many excellent supplements containing flavonoids, quercetin, sulforaphanes, and the other compounds derived from Brassica plants; but if one wishes to obtain these benefits in the most potent, efficacious, and natural way, just eat them.
A word of caution, though, is in order. About 97% of these nutrients are lost with microwaving and 66% with boiling. Steaming is an acceptable way of preparing these vegetables for consumption; but raw, fresh, and organic will give you what nature intended – a long and joyful life.
By Thomas Lodi, M.D.
http://www.thenhf.com/articles/articles_1171/articles_1171.htm
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Edited by AlteredAgain (08/14/10 07:36 AM)
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golden1
Registered: 06/18/08
Posts: 1,707
Loc: north korea
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AlteredAgain
Think Spherical
Registered: 04/27/06
Posts: 11,051
Loc: Sol III
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 Re: Mind/Body Health 101 [Re: golden1]
#13719029 - 01/02/11 02:22 PM (2 years, 4 months ago) |
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IMMUNITY BOOSTING FOODS PART I: CITRUS
Immunity Strengths: Citrus fruits benefit the cardiovascular, glandular, digestive/detoxification, and musculoskeletal immune centers.
On an average day, 50 percent of all Americans eat no fruit at all, according to the USDA. But when they do, they (and perhaps you, too) are likely to reach for an orange. Citrus are surpassed only by apples and bananas in terms of the quantity in which they are produced and eaten—and they’re a good choice. Besides helping prevent your next rhinovirus infection, the flavones in oranges reduce LDL (bad) cholesterol and increase the good HDL. All our favorite citrus—from street oranges to exotic satsumas—are also rich in vitamin C, folate, potassium, and bone-building vitamin D, as well as capillary-supporting and antiviral bioflavonoids. But that’s not all.
Immunity Benefits
An orange a day provides big nutritional self-defense for four of the body’s immune centers—starting with digestion-maximizing and cholesterol-minimizing fiber.
Easily Digested Fiber.
That grapefruit or tangerine beats bacon at breakfast. Unlike meat, which has no fiber and creates waste products during the forty-eight-hour digestion period, high-fiber, fat-free citrus is efficiently digested two hours aft er you put your grapefruit spoon away, advises Elson Haas, M.D., at the Preventive Medical Center of Marin in California, making citrus a perfect immunity-boosting breakfast starter.
Drink OJ for LDL.
According to researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the flavones in oranges stabilize cholesterol levels so effectively that high cholesterol sufferers might consider upping their intake of oranges before downing statin meds. (But remember, statin meds and most other prescription drugs don’t mix with grapefruit juice, which increases the effects of many meds.) Citrus fruits like grapefruit also provide pectin, a soluble fiber that helps regulate cholesterol.
Think Citrus, Think Cancer-Fighting.
Like tomatoes, red (but not white) grapefruit supplies lycopene, one of the top ten nutrients for fighting off and preventing prostate cancer and heart disease. A grapefruit supplies more lycopene than do sun-dried tomatoes or sweet red peppers.
According a recent Nurses’ Health Study, women with the highest intake of luteolin, a flavone found in oranges and other citrus (as well as spinach and broccoli) had a 34 percent reduction in ovarian cancer risk, the fourth leading cause of cancer death among women.
Ascorbic Acid, Plus.
Citrus fruit offers four times the vitamin C of bananas and more than three times the ascorbic acid of apples. If it’s organic, you get 30 percent more vitamin C, according to researchers at Truman State University, plus a healthy dose of potassium. Potassium helps lower blood pressure and risk of stroke and is in short supply in the traditional diet. If you’re getting your share (2,700 mg to 3,500 mg), you’re probably eating oranges or drinking orange juice, which rank above bananas as a source.
Boosts Iron Absorption.
The ascorbic acid in citrus boosts your body’s absorption of non-heme iron found in plants. Having a glass of grapefruit juice before you fork up that spinach salad can help you absorb two to four times as much energizing iron as that salad would supply solo, according to the American Heart Association. The vitamin C in that lemonade or grapefruit also boosts your production of collagen for healthy, youthful-looking skin.
Citrus for Your Cerebellum.
All citrus contain flavonoids for stronger brain power and a sharper mind. Try a cup of grapefruit sections raw at breakfast sprinkled with soy lecithin granules (for more cerebral muscle) or toss tangerine sections or a few kumquats in your tossed salad at lunch. Do citrus, not Xanax. Up your mood by squeezing a lemon wedge into a glass of water. According to Japanese scientists, the scent of lemon affects a portion of the brain called the cerebellum, lifting your spirit and reducing mental fatigue. A whiff of lemon is also said to affect stamina.
Fruit or Juice?
A citrus juice like grapefruit juice, says a study by the University of Florida, contains more nutrients per calorie than apples, prunes, grape, or pineapple juices. Oranges have an ORAC rating of 750, surpassed by only eight other fruits. To limit both calories and sugars, choose the tangerine or navel orange over the juice. A glass of OJ adds 110 calories and 20 grams of sugar (as much as a small Almond Joy) to your daily totals. (A warning to people with diabetes: fruit juice raises blood sugar levels faster than a whole citrus does, because the high fiber of the fruit is digested more slowly.) High blood sugar levels make it harder to lose weight and may predispose you to type 2 diabetes. A third reason to reach for the whole fruit rather than the carton or can is that processed juices are heated and pasteurized, destroying some of the vitamins A, C, E, and B complex and, just as important, damaging the enzymes that aid in digestion and detoxification.
Sipping (Not Staring at) Our Navels: The Most Nutritious Fruit Juices.
On the other hand, according to a report in Pediatrics, children who drink orange, pineapple, and other fruit juices have higher intakes of potassium, folate, and vitamin C. Oranges are citrus with the highest visibility. But there are plenty of other-than-oranges citrus worth bringing home. Consider other members of this large extended family:
. Blood orange (including Ruby Red, Moro, and Tarocco)
. Mandarin oranges (satsumas and clementines)
. Tangelos (a cross between the mandarin and the grapefruit)
. Ugli fruit (outsized tangelos from Jamaica)
. Murcott (a cross between the tangerine and the sweet orange)
. Grapefruit (white, pink, red, and golden)
. Pomelo (Chinese grapefruit)
. Lemons (including Eureka, Lisbon, and Meyer)
. Limes (including Persian, Kaffir, and Mandarin)
. Kumquat, almost the only citrus with an edible skin (The Meyer lemon can be eaten whole but probably rarely is.)
There are even the sour tangerine-sized Japanese yuzu, the limequat, and the lemonquat among the oddball citrus.
Buying, Storing, and Preparing
. Eat locally grown citrus. Citrus fruits imported from other countries are invariably fumigated, and all the travel miles leave a big carbon footprint.
. Pick fruit that is ripe, small, thin-skinned, but heavy for its fruit. If organic, don’t demand cosmetic perfection.
. Think twice about commercial oranges that may have been dyed red to appear ripe and waxed (thus trapping pesticide residues) for a longer shelf life. Nonorganic citrus is sprayed with fifty different pesticides, and traces always remain.
. Avoid green oranges. They’re less sweet because they haven’t matured, are lower in vitamin C, and may aggravate existing joint pain.
. Chill your citrus to keep it fresh, but bring it to room temperature before eating or cooking with it.
. Wash with a vegetable wash or rinse with hydrogen peroxide (one tablespoon to a quart of water) before eating to remove mold, bacteria, and pesticide residue (if commercial).
Enjoy now and eat with love.
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