If you want to have more control over the foods and drinks you put into your body, you should consider making your own juice. With just a few ingredients you can make drinks that are as nutritious as they are delicious! Here are the steps for making your own juice, using antioxidant-rich fresh berries, such as blueberries or raspberries.
Rinse berries, thoroughly, then place them in a heavy saucepan. Add just enough water to make them bob. Bring berries to a slow boil. Mash berries with a potato masher and then bring back to a boil. Remove from heat and...
Fight Fatigue with Food
Today, people are busier than ever—rising early in the morning and going non-stop until late in the evening. Between working, kids, school, working out, holding multiple jobs, preparing dinner, and more, it’s easy for fatigue to hit throughout the day. One way to help fight fatigue is with energy foods. The next time fatigue strikes don’t reach for snacks and drinks high in sugar, like candy or soda. Instead, reach for an energy food that contains a complex carbohydrate and protein, like a whole-grain cracker with low-fat cheese or a whole wheat peanut butter sandwich. These complex carbohydrate-protein foods help...
Eggs Offer Eggcellent Health Benefits
Even though eggs have been singled out for high cholesterol levels, they’re also touted as offering health benefits. Eggs are a good source of high-quality protein, and eggs contain choline, a nutrient found mostly in the yolk. One function of choline in the body is that it is an important component of acetylcholine—a neurotransmitter that carries messages from and to nerves. One study revealed that women with a high intake of choline were24 percent less likely to get breast cancer. And eggs are high in the antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin, which have been shown to help prevent macular degeneration. And...
Healthy Halloween Treats
Let’s face it, there’s no shortage of sweets on Halloween! That doesn’t mean, though, that you have to settle for eating and passing out sugar-laden goodies. Why not incorporate good-for-you-foods on Halloween to mix things up? They’ll be a welcome relief to parents, and to kids—well, they may not get eaten right away—they’ll be something different but still delicious. Here are some great ideas that will fit into any Halloween party or bag:
Carrots. This vitamin A-rich vegetable helps support healthy mucous membranes that trap pathogens and, in turn, helps prevent diseases and viruses.
Peanuts. Roasted peanuts make a great...
Foods to Help Fight Osteoporosis
When it comes to bone diseases, osteoporosis is the most common type. Osteoporosis is the thinning of bone tissue and loss of bone density over time. Did you know that researchers estimate that about 1 out of 5 American women over the age of 50 have osteoporosis, and about half of all women over the age of 50 will have a fracture of the hip, wrist, or vertebra? Osteoporosis is a serious bone disease that every woman should be aware of. When the body does not form enough new bone or when too much old bone is reabsorbed by the...
Sweet on Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes are a root vegetable most known for the Thanksgiving side dish—sweet potatoes! But this terrific tuber offers wonderful health benefits that should be incorporated into the diet year-round. It’s an excellent source of vitamin A, a very good source of manganese and vitamin C, and a good source of copper, fiber, potassium, tryptophan, and vitamins B3, B5 and B6. And sweet potatoes are chock-full of beta carotene—a carotenoid with antioxidant properties. By consuming foods rich in beta carotene you can help keep your body healthy and happy. In the body, beta carotene is stored in the liver, and...
Vitamin C
Did you know that the body is not able to make vitamin C on its own? That’s why it’s important to include vitamin C-rich foods into your diet. In the body, vitamin C serves many roles: to help form an important protein used to make blood vessels, ligaments, skin and tendons; to help heal wounds and form scar tissue; and to repair and maintain bones, cartilage and teeth. Vitamin C is also a powerful antioxidant that helps block some of the damage caused by free radicals.
There are many fruits and vegetables that contain vitamin C so it’s easy to...
Lycopene-Rich Tomatoes
When it comes to foods rich with antioxidants, the tomato is one leader in the good health category. Tomatoes are chock-full of lycopene: the carotenoid pigment that gives the tomato its dark red color. Lycopene is a natural antioxidant that has been shown to lower risk of certain types of cancer, including cancers of the lung, prostate, and stomach. And tomatoes are an excellent source of vitamin C and beta carotene, a very good source of manganese, and a good source of vitamin E. Another health benefit from tomato’s lycopene content is bone health.
Here is one easy and flavorful...
Eat Your Spinach!
This bright green leafy vegetable is a nutrient powerhouse. Spinach is an excellent source of calcium, folate, iron, magnesium, manganese, potassium, tryptophan, and vitamins A, B2, B6, C, E and K! And spinach offers a high concentration of health promoting phytonutrients such as carotenoids and flavonoids; carotenoids and flavonoids help provide antioxidant protection. All of these combined help protect the body against bone problems, cancers, cardiovascular risks, inflammatory problems, and oxidative stress-related problems like atherosclerosis and high blood pressure. Some studies have shown that spinach may play a role in preventing eye problems like age-related macular degeneration. And the plant...
Carrots: A Rich Source of Beta Carotene
A relative of parsnips, carrots offer great phytonutrient antioxidant benefits including carotenoids, hydroxycinnamic acids, and anthocyanindins. Orange carrots, the most popular, offer a rich source of beta carotene. In the body, beta carotene is stored in the liver, and from there the body converts it into vitamin A. And beta carotene may help increase memory and protect your cells from free radical damage. In one carrot intake study, deep orange foods seemed to be the most protective against cardiovascular disease (CVD). And another health benefit associated with carrot intake is eye health, particularly lower rates of glaucoma. A deficiency in...
