cholesterol – Juice Health Benefits & Recipes

23 Jan

Garlic – Anti-bacterial Superfood That Keeps Vampires Away

I think most of us have heard that garlic is good for you. And that it keeps the vampires away. How it does that, why is it healthy and why vampires hate it? Read on and you’ll find out.

First a few things about the plant itself. Garlic is botanically called allium sativum and is a type of bulb, that is a part of the onion genus. It is closely related to rakkyo, chive, onion and shallot. Most sources suggest that people have been using garlic for over 7,000 years! It originally came from Central Asia but today, it is available in all parts of the world and used for a wide range of purposes.

Why Is Garlic Considered a Superfood?

Why vampires don’t like garlic? The rational explanation is that this belief evolved from the fact that garlic was an ancient method of fending off many different evil spirits and vampires were considered to be one of these evils. A more detailed and vampire connected explanation says that since garlic is a natural antibiotic it kills bacteria which includes a certain type of bacteria that vampires have in their blood and can not live without. And this is why they need to stay away from it. Then again “newly” popular vampires from Twilight say that they don’t mind garlic at all. Anyway – next time you are attacked by a vampire try garlic and let us know.

Super foods are not by a set of rules defined number of foods. They are simply foods that are very rich with nutrients, minerals, and antioxidants and are able to help you fight diseases, lose weight, slow down the aging process, and more. They have properties that other “normal” foods don’t have. Garlic is considered a superfood because it has anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties and is also packed with antioxidants.

Used By Egyptians And Ancient Greeks

In the past, the Egyptians would eat garlic before they built the pyramids. The ancient Egyptians believed that the garlic gave them strength. They also believed that garlic could help prevent bladder infections. The ancient Greeks would eat garlic before they went into battle. Additionally, during the Middle Ages, people would eat garlic because they thought that it would help combat the plague.

What Are Some of the Health Benefits of Garlic?

Garlic has been shown to have a protective effect against heart disease. High cholesterol and high blood pressure are two of the major risk factors that can make a person more susceptible to developing heart disease. Garlic helps lower low density lipoprotein, or LDL. LDL is also known as the bad cholesterol because it is the type that accumulates in the arteries.

While garlic is lowering bad cholesterol, it is simultaneously raising HDL, or the good cholesterol. HDL helps remove plaque from the arteries. Garlic can also help lower blood pressure and protects our blood cells and blood vessels against inflammation. It also contains a long list of sulfur compounds (allicin, allyl polysulfides, diallyl sulfide, diallyl disulfude and many more) that help protect us from oxidative stress (what is oxidative stress?).

There was a study done on pre-hypertensive patients. They were divided into two groups. One group was given a garlic clove every day while the other half was given a placebo. The results of the study showed that the subjects who were given the garlic clove had lower blood pressures than the subjects who were in the control group.

You might smell later, but it’s healthy.

There has also been evidence to suggest that garlic can potentially help prevent cancer. Garlic helps reduce the amount of free radicals in the body. Free radicals are compounds that can encourage the growth of cancerous cells. Studies show that high consumption of garlic helps prevent nearly all types of cancer except prostate cancer and breast cancer. The anti cancer benefits of garlic may be again attributed to its allyl sulfide compounds, which are found to activate Nrf2 molecule. This specific molecule modifies certain cell responses, helps cells prepare for a strong survival response, and inhibits the formation of potentially cancerous cells.

One of the studies that showed that garlic can have a protective effect against cancer was performed in China. The study compared two counties, Gangshan and Quixia. The residents in Gangshan County ate about 20 grams of garlic per day. This county had a gastric cancer death rate of about 3.45 per 1,000 residents. The residents in Quixia County very rarely ate garlic. This county had a gastric cancer death rate of 40 per 1,000 residents. This is of course a very simplified explanation of the study.

Additionally, garlic can help boost the immune system. Garlic contains aliin, which gets converted into allicin when the garlic is crushed. Allicin is a natural antibiotic. It can help fight bacterial infections, such as streptococcus, which is what causes strep throat. Furthermore, garlic has been shown to help fight colds and influenza. In fact garlic’s ability to fight against infectious agents is probably its most renowned feature. Several studies have been conducted to investigate and validate garlic’s antibacterial and antiviral properties. Interestingly, recent studies showed that garlic also helps in the treatment of chronic infections involving bacteria which have developed resistance to prescription antibiotics. Certain compounds in garlic were also found to be effective in preventing infections caused by the fungus, Candida albicans as well as the bacteria, Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Other benefits of garlic include lowering our levels of homocysteine with the help of its high amounts of B complex vitamins. This is another key factor that helps prevent cardiovascular problems. Garlic may also enhance our immune system function with its high vitamin C content.

Do you know it can be turned into a tea? Read on to find out how.

A Few Suggestions For Eating It

Even though garlic can be consumed in its raw form, it is very acidic, and it can cause nausea. It also makes your breath smell…well…not the most pleasantly. That is you may want to consider cooking garlic before you consume it. There are many ways to use it in your everyday cooking.

Garlic can be:

added to bread,
mashed potatoes,
pasta salad or regular salad,
to almost any meal with vegetables,
etc…

You should try to eat between two and five grams of garlic per day. If you do not like the taste of garlic, then you can get it in a form of a supplement.

Garlic Tea

To finish this garlic article – here is an unpleasant recipe for garlic tea :). It tastes quite horrible. But it’s really good if you have a cold, feel sick etc… You will need:

a piece of ginger root,
5 or 6 garlic cloves,
2 lemons
at least 1/4 gallon (1 liter) boiling hot water.

This is how to prepare ginger garlic tea:

Boil the water.
Peel the ginger and cut it into pieces.
Peel the garlic cloves and crush them, its best to use garlic press.
Pour boiling hot water on ginger and garlic and let the “tea” rest. You should wait at least an hour or two but its best to prepare it in the evening and leave it overnight.
When its ready you can reheat it if you want (it might be a bit easier to drink hot than cold), squeeze the lemons, and add lemon juice to the tea. It says two lemons but the more lemons you add, the less garlicky the taste will be.
Drink it cup by cup throughout the day. I won’t type enjoy here :)

Two More Garlic Recipes

I’ve dug out two cool recipes that include garlic. One is for garlic pasta and the second one is for roasted garlic. Roasted garlic becomes very soft and sweet. A nice addition to a whole range of meals.

and

13 Jan

Which Fruit Has The Most Dietary Fiber?

If you’re confused about dietary fiber, you’re not alone. We all know we need it, but it’s difficult to know how much and what kind. Fiber plays an important role, and understanding that role and how to get the fiber you need is essential for good health.

What is Dietary Fiber?

Dietary fiber is the parts of fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains that our bodies can’t digest. Unlike fat, protein and carbohydrates, fiber just passes through the stomach, intestines and out of the body mostly intact. There are two kinds of fiber: soluble and insoluble. Soluble fiber is found in apples, whole grains and beans. It helps lower cholesterol and blood glucose levels. Insoluble fiber is found in whole-wheat flour, nuts and lots of vegetables. It helps with constipation.

Dietary Fiber in Our Bodies

Fiber is important because it helps keeps our bowels healthy. It gives us normal bowel movements by making stool soft and bulky so it passes easily through the body. This decreases the risk of constipation, hemorrhoids and diverticular disease. Fiber also helps lower cholesterol by lowering “bad” cholesterol levels. It helps improve blood sugar levels by slowing down the absorption of sugar by the body. Fiber also helps us feel fuller longer when we eat, so we eat less.

Adults should eat 25 to 40 grams of fiber a day. It should be a combination of soluble and insoluble fiber. Not eating enough fiber can cause constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, diverticular disease and many other health problems. When you start adding more fiber to your diet, do it slowly: adding a lot of fiber too quickly can cause gas and cramping. Increase the amount gradually over a few weeks. Also increase the amount of water you drink. Fiber needs to absorb water for bulky stools.

The Health Benefits of Apple Juice

It’s hard to find a fruit in nature that’s healthier than the apple. In fact, even when you take it in the form of apple juice, there are lots of health benefits you get whether you are a child or an adult. The apple is used for alcoholic products too, and the best thing about it is that having all those health benefits, its one of the cheapest fruits that you can find.

Apple Juice and Your Health

Apple juice contains lots of different nutrients that are necessary in the body for optimum health. Almost all types of apples contain vitamin C which helps your body fight disease. One of the diseases that apples will help you fight, although rare today, is scurvy. Although there is still no solid scientific evidence, vitamin C has also been said to help fight off colds.

Apple juice also contains antioxidants which are the body’s armor against disease, both for prevention and cure. When you are under a rigorous exercise regimen, apple juice will help you boost energy levels as well as help muscles which might tear due to strain. Exercising also forces the body to produce oxidants, as much as 10 times more than when your body is at rest. These lead to more fatigue than usual and a glass of apple juice will help you to clear these out of your system. Antioxidants have also been shown to fight off certain kinds of cancers and if consumed in moderation. It’s a great weight loss booster as well and helps to reduce cholesterol.

Apple Juice for Alzheimer’s

A study in 2009 showed that drinking apple juice regularly as one grew older helps to delay the onset of dementia, a condition which eventually leads to Alzheimer’s disease. In the same study, mice that were fed regularly with apple juice showed improved brain function and they were better able to cope with orientation, one of the most debilitating conditions that comes along with Alzheimer’s. It also showed that apple juice slowed ageing of the brain and ultimately, the brain remains in good function for a longer time (for more foods that can slow down the aging process you can visit anti aging nutrition).

Other Nutrients in Apple Juice and Their Benefits

Apples are one of the greatest sources of fiber. In fact, most sources of fiber are not sweet, but with apples, you get to enjoy the fruit as well as help your digestion.

Apple juice is also rich in iron, but you shouldn’t take too much of it as the antioxidants in it will bind the iron and it wont be absorbed into your blood stream. This of course will lead to iron deficiencies and eventually diseases like anemia.

The juice is also an antioxidant, and people who smoke or suffer breathing problems should take it to help detoxify and therefore clean the lungs for easier breathing.

Although apple juice contains a lot of the nutrients that are needed for daily function, it has no calories that can make you gain weight, even when you add artificial sweeteners to it.

The benefits go on and on. Apple juice is excellent for people suffering from anemia, stomach disorders, rheumatism, arteriosclerosis, diabetes, and obesity. It also helps prevent liver and kidney disease, formation of uric acid and chronic colitis. It will detoxify even heavy metals like radionuclide from the body.

It also helps fight off dysentery, respiratory diseases and laryngitis. It has calcium which helps strengthen bones especially in pregnant women and children.

Cloudy Apple Juice

This is actually the healthiest form of apple juice. When you buy apple juice from the store, it’s usually clear and this is because of the continuous filtration that has been done to it. Filtration removes 2 major ingredients: pectin and starch. It will also remove some of the natural fibre and vitamin C. These are some of the most beneficial elements in apple juice, so a store bought apple juice will not give you full health value.

In the US, unfiltered apple juice comes in the form of apple cider and can be bought in stores. You should be aware though, that in the UK, apple cider is actually an alcoholic drink made of apple juice and alcohol.

Side Effects of Apple Juice

The FDA, after testing apples and apple juice, says that there are few if any side effects. The only times you may have problems is if you take too much of it at once or if you go on an apple juice diet for detox without consuming anything else. All ingredients in apples and apple juice have a high level of tolerance before they actually show up in the blood to cause any negative side effects.

Of course, they can confidently tell you that “an apple a day keeps the doctor away!”

Juice Health Benefits & Recipes

Health benefits of natural juices and recipes for making them

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