Moringa Seeds For Extreme Nourishment
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Showing posts with label seeds. Show all posts
Showing posts with label seeds. Show all posts
Wednesday, 17 December 2014
Wednesday, 3 September 2014
Moringa Seeds for Extreme Nourishment
Moringa Seeds for Extreme Nourishment
There are a number of products which claim to provide plenty of nourishment, but they often only cover one or two elements – with Moringa seeds, you could receive many nutrients in one. Vitamin A features in them in great amounts and is important for the health of your eyes, hair and skin, while vitamin C helps to protect the body and boost the immune system. Moringa seeds are also rich in oleic acid, which is a good fat that your body needs to help it to function. Calcium comes in spades when you eat Moringa seeds, so your teeth and bones get a boost, while muscles can be aided by the amount of protein that you get in the supplement, which can be snacked on like you may do with nuts. There are plenty of other benefits to consuming Moringa seeds and you can find out more about them by browsing ankhrah.com. - See more at: http://www.ankhrah.com/wpsite/health-and-nutrition-videos/moringa-seeds-p/moringa-seeds-for-extreme-nourishment/#sthash.9YiqnvPl.dpuf
Antioxidants = Anti Aging
Inside your body, an army of antioxidants is protecting you from the forces of aging and disease. Here's why we're huge fans of these stellar nutrients and how you can get more on your side.
Labels on everything from chocolate to pomegranate juice to moisturizer scream the benefits of antioxidants. And we're happy to report that it's not just hype. One study after another has shown that antioxidants help prevent cancer and heart disease, safeguard memory, reduce the risk of degenerative diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, protect joints, soothe pain, reduce muscle soreness and fatigue, avert blindness caused by macular degeneration and cataracts, and even ward off wrinkles.
That's all amazing news, but it begs two big questions: What exactly are antioxidants? And how can this super antioxidant possibly fight off such a wide array of health problems? We investigated these warriors of the health world and discovered how they patrol every part of our body, repairing damaged molecules that if allowed to run rampant would accelerate aging and disease. By the time you're done reading this, you'll want every meal you eat -- and every product you put on your skin -- to be packed with antioxidant power.
When Radicals Attack
Before we can get to the "anti," let's explain the "oxidant" part. Unless you're a monk living in the Himalayas, eating pure food, breathing pristine air, and thinking Zen thoughts 24/7, you're constantly being bombarded by negative elements -- from pollution to chemicals to UV rays -- that damage your cells. Even your own body produces stress hormones and toxic chemical reactions. These toxins weaken the molecules in your cells, causing them to lose an electron -- a unit in the cell that carries electrical charges and allows your cells to work together. These electron-deprived molecules, called free radicals, or oxidants, try to make up for their inadequacy by stealing electrons from other molecules; this damages, or oxidizes, those cells and turns them into electron-swiping free radicals too. Call it the invasion of the electron snatchers.
Once a free radical is created, the damage spreads fast. Free radicals in your blood vessels -- usually caused by things like deep-fried foods, cigarette smoke, or air pollution -- change the structure of the (bad) LDL cholesterol so it becomes more liable to gum up your arteries and cause heart problems. Sunlight and air pollution can create free radicals in your eyes, where they damage retinal or corneal cells, leading to cataracts and blindness, and in skin cells, where they damage cell DNA, raising the risk of skin cancer and accelerating wrinkle formation. And that's just for starters: "Free radicals can damage any cells that get in their way," says Jeffrey Blumberg, Ph.D., professor of nutrition and director of the antioxidant lab at Tufts University in Boston.
Thankfully, there's a nutrient police force that can deal with these delinquents. Even better, you can find them in the foods you love -- not just fruits and veggies but in wine, chocolate, and even beef. As their name implies, antioxidants stop the oxidative damage by replacing a molecule's kidnapped electron without damaging other molecules; this disarms free radicals and turns them back into law-abiding members of cellular society.
Antioxidants do more than rescue cells in distress. Like special ops agents, they're designed to take on specific enemies: Isothiocyanates, found in broccoli, home in on pollutants like nicotine and smog and help prevent them from causing cancer. Vitamin C blocks the uncontrolled cell division that leads to tumors. Selenium fires up the genes needed to break down carcinogens. Antioxidants are like a million microscopic Jack Bauers on a mission to save your bod from the inside out.
That's all amazing news, but it begs two big questions: What exactly are antioxidants? And how can this super antioxidant possibly fight off such a wide array of health problems? We investigated these warriors of the health world and discovered how they patrol every part of our body, repairing damaged molecules that if allowed to run rampant would accelerate aging and disease. By the time you're done reading this, you'll want every meal you eat -- and every product you put on your skin -- to be packed with antioxidant power.
When Radicals Attack
Before we can get to the "anti," let's explain the "oxidant" part. Unless you're a monk living in the Himalayas, eating pure food, breathing pristine air, and thinking Zen thoughts 24/7, you're constantly being bombarded by negative elements -- from pollution to chemicals to UV rays -- that damage your cells. Even your own body produces stress hormones and toxic chemical reactions. These toxins weaken the molecules in your cells, causing them to lose an electron -- a unit in the cell that carries electrical charges and allows your cells to work together. These electron-deprived molecules, called free radicals, or oxidants, try to make up for their inadequacy by stealing electrons from other molecules; this damages, or oxidizes, those cells and turns them into electron-swiping free radicals too. Call it the invasion of the electron snatchers.
Once a free radical is created, the damage spreads fast. Free radicals in your blood vessels -- usually caused by things like deep-fried foods, cigarette smoke, or air pollution -- change the structure of the (bad) LDL cholesterol so it becomes more liable to gum up your arteries and cause heart problems. Sunlight and air pollution can create free radicals in your eyes, where they damage retinal or corneal cells, leading to cataracts and blindness, and in skin cells, where they damage cell DNA, raising the risk of skin cancer and accelerating wrinkle formation. And that's just for starters: "Free radicals can damage any cells that get in their way," says Jeffrey Blumberg, Ph.D., professor of nutrition and director of the antioxidant lab at Tufts University in Boston.
Thankfully, there's a nutrient police force that can deal with these delinquents. Even better, you can find them in the foods you love -- not just fruits and veggies but in wine, chocolate, and even beef. As their name implies, antioxidants stop the oxidative damage by replacing a molecule's kidnapped electron without damaging other molecules; this disarms free radicals and turns them back into law-abiding members of cellular society.
Antioxidants do more than rescue cells in distress. Like special ops agents, they're designed to take on specific enemies: Isothiocyanates, found in broccoli, home in on pollutants like nicotine and smog and help prevent them from causing cancer. Vitamin C blocks the uncontrolled cell division that leads to tumors. Selenium fires up the genes needed to break down carcinogens. Antioxidants are like a million microscopic Jack Bauers on a mission to save your bod from the inside out.
Monday, 14 July 2014
Why You Should Eat Avocado Seeds
Why You Should Eat Avocado Seeds
Did you know that avocado seeds are full of great health benefits?
Avocado seeds have more antioxidants than most fruits and veggies and contain polyphenols similar to those found in green tea. They are full of more soluble fiber than most foods, which aids in digestion and circulation. In South America, avocado seeds are used to treat dysentery and other GI tract problems. The seeds contain lots of phenolic compounds that can prevent bacterial and viral diseases as well as gastric ulcers.
Eating the seeds may also aid in the prevention of cardiovascular disease and strokes. Avocado seed lowered cholesterol levels and may protect against arterial plaque formation, according to a study published in the March 2012 journal Plant Foods in Human Nutrition. Researchers credited the seed’s high content of dietary fiber in lowering cholesterol levels by binding to cholesterol in the intestinal tract and preventing absorption.
Antioxidant activity of avocado seed might also stop cardiovascular disease by preventing lipid oxidation, a process that leads to arterial plaque formation.
Avocado seeds contain a range of antioxidant phytochemicals, including flavanols and proanthocyanidins. These important antioxidants protect your body from free radicals associated with aging and disease. A 2003 study found that the seed of an avocado is much higher in antioxidants, as much as 70 percent greater, than the fruit itself.
Avocado seeds also have natural antibiotic and anti-fungal benefits. According to one study, avocado seed extracts inhibited an assortment of pathogens, including Candida and the mosquito that carries the tropical disease, yellow fever.
Reap the health benefits of avocado seeds today:
Step 1
Cut the avocado and remove the pit. To do this, slice into the avocado and cut it around the pit to remove the halves cleanly. Then insert the tip of your knife into the pit, twist and remove carefully, removing from the end of the knife. Use the avocado on sandwiches or in dips, remembering to save the pit.
Cut the avocado and remove the pit. To do this, slice into the avocado and cut it around the pit to remove the halves cleanly. Then insert the tip of your knife into the pit, twist and remove carefully, removing from the end of the knife. Use the avocado on sandwiches or in dips, remembering to save the pit.
Step 2
Grind the pit into a find powder using a very powerful food processor. The pit is very dense and hard and can damage a weaker food processor. It should have very sharp blades and be contained completely.
Grind the pit into a find powder using a very powerful food processor. The pit is very dense and hard and can damage a weaker food processor. It should have very sharp blades and be contained completely.
The seeds can also be dried in a plastic bag. Once dried, crush them with a hammer and grind in a heavy duty blender. The seeds can also be sliced and roasted in the oven. Avocado seeds are bitter, so the best way to eat them is to add them to smoothies or juices.
The Horrifying Truth About Avocados
- Beth Buczynski
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/the-horrifying-truth-about-avocados.html
Avocados are a truly spectacular food. Packed full of good fats, carotenoids, folate, and yes, even cancer-fighting nutrients, some have argued that the avocado could be the world’s most perfect food. Just a single bite of this creamy, earthy fruit (yes, it’s a fruit) and you’ll find it difficult to argue with this superlative.
If it seems too good to be true, you might just be right. I recently learned that like diamonds, avocados have a dark and bloody side that almost no one knows about.
The avocado tree is native to Mexico and Central America, so it comes as no surprise that this region still produces most of the world’s supply. In Western Mexico, “avocado farms occupy vast stretches of land, and the rows of low-growing trees resemble the olive gardens of southern Europe,” writes Jan-Albert Hootsen for Vocativ.com. This idyllic setting indicates nothing of the sinister side of the avocado trade, however.
In Michoacán, a state in western Mexico, the avocado is commonly referred to as oro verde, green gold, because it yields more cash than any other crop—including marijuana. And anytime there’s money to be made, corruption isn’t far behind.
“A drug cartel known as the Caballeros Templarios, the Knights Templar, has infiltrated the avocado sector, and now controls the local trade, from production to distribution,” writes Hootsen. “The cartel derived from an earlier group of drug traffickers known as La Familia Michoacana…Not content to traffic marijuana, cocaine and heroin, La Familia set up a variety of extortion rackets in Michoacán. The avocado business was one of them.” Now, farmers must deal with constant extortion, and the reality that The Templarios could take over their plantations and packing plants whenever they want.
The cartel always gets what it wants, both from the avocado farmers and the government bodies that are supposed to regulate them. Through bribes and the threat of violence, Templarios have gained access to official lists of farmers, how much land they cultivate, and how much they produce. This way, the criminals know exactly how much money to demand from the farmers.
“Every link in the avocado production chain is a cash cow for the cartel, from the quadrilleros, or pickers (whose employment agencies are forced to pay $3.50 per worker per day), to those who buy, develop and sell plantations,” writes Hootsen. “The extortion racket is lucrative. In some municipalities, the estimated proceeds come to $3 million per year.”
The truly horrifying part is that unlike drugs and human trafficking (the other favorite pastimes of the cartel) we are all culpable. More than 80 percent of Michoacán’s avocados are exported to the United States. That means every time we crack open one of these precious green fruits, every time we dip a chip into a bowl of guacamole, we’re helping to fuel the cartel’s violent takeover of the avocado industry in Mexico.
The only way to avoid being part of this vicious cycle is to seek out domestically grown avocados, such as those from California, and to support farmers’ rights around the world.
Tuesday, 1 July 2014
10 Healthy Snacks To Always Have On Hand
BY MARGARET WERTHEIM
Smoothie with Fruit, Hemp Seeds, and Chia Seeds
I love adding hemp seeds to smoothies, because they're fiber rich and packed with nutrients like magnesium, iron, zinc, and B-vitamins. Chia seeds are very rich in soluble fiber, meaning they absorb water and can thus help promote good digestion and elimination. Berries are always a great choice for smoothies, but experiment with adding avocados, apples, oranges, spinach, and other fruits or veggies.
Plain Yogurt with Berries, Nuts or Seeds
Flavored yogurts often contain more than 20 grams of added sugar. If adding fruit doesn't make plain yogurt sweet enough for you, add a small amount of honey, maple syrup or molasses.
Keep hummus or bean dip on hand for dipping vegetables like carrots, celery, cherry tomatoes, and cucumbers.
This delicious nutrient-rich snack is about as good as it gets. Coat chips with nutritional yeast or your favorite spices before baking for a savory and crunchy snack.
A very yummy and satisfying snack rich in vitamin E from the almond butter and the phytonutrient quercetin in the apple.
I know there are many people who crave chocolate. Choose chocolate with the highest cocoa content you can handle, and keep striving for higher cocoa content. Remember that certain things are an acquired taste. Generally, the higher the cocoa content, the lower the sugar content. There are only about 3 grams of added sugar in 1.5 ounces of 90% cocoa dark chocolate!
Pass on the pita chips or tortilla chips and boost your intake of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants by using vegetables, veggie chips, or flax crackers instead.
This nutrient-rich food gets an undeserved bad rap. Eat hard-boiled eggs plain, or put one in a corn tortilla with some spinach and guacamole for a very satisfying snack. Because hard-boiled eggs can be great for an on-the-go morning, boil or bake some up ahead of time to quickly grab.
For those really stubborn sugar cravings, try "ice cream" sweetened only with bananas. Try plain, strawberry orchocolate peanut butter
.
Thinly slice sweet potatoes and coat with a small amount of coconut oil and bake until crisp. They're an absolutely delicious snack packed with vitamin A, potassium, and vitamin C.
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