Okra And Its Health Benefits ,herbs vegetable

The Okra And Its Health Benefits

okra

The worldwide used versatile vegetable called okra is characterized by green color, elongated and tapering ridged pods infused with double row of seeds and slimy texture when cut open. This integral member of the cotton family is indigenous to regions around the Nile in North Africa and the Middle East for it was discovered dating as far as 3500 years ago in Ethiopia. Early Egyptians are known to love its taste. Okra later transcended to North America enroute slave trade and then to Europe, Asia and South and Central America.

Besides being low in calories it is aplenty with vitamins of the category A, Thiamin, B6, C, folic acid, riboflavin, calcium, zinc and dietary fiber. Eating okra is much recommended for pregnant woman besides other for it is rich in folic acid which is essential in the neural tube formation of the fetus during 4-12 weeks of gestation period in the mother's womb.

Research revelations by the eminent nutritionists' state

:: The mucilage and fiber found in okra helps adjust blood sugar by regulating its absorption in the small intestine.

:: The fiber of okra has many superior qualities in maintaining the health of the gastro-intestinal tract.

:: It helps reabsorb water and traps excess cholesterol, metabolic toxins and surplus bile in its mucilage and slips it out through the stool. Due to greater percentage of water in the bulk it thereby prevents constipation, gas and bloating in the abdomen.


:: It is an ideal vegetable for weight loss and is storehouse of health benefits provided it is cooked over low flame to retain its properties. This also to ensure that the invaluable mucilage contained in it is not lost to high heat,It'nice Okra.

okra

:: Okra facilitates the propagation of good bacteria referred to as probiotics. These are similar to the ones proliferate by the yoghurt in the small intestine and helps biosynthesis of Vitamin B complex.

:: For adding bounce your hair. Boil horizontally sliced okra till the brew become maximally slimy. Cool it and add a few droops of lemon and use this as the last rinse and see your hair spring back to youthfulness and jump.

:: Okra is an excellent laxative treats irritable bowels, heals ulcers and sooths the gastrointestinal track.

:: Protein and oil contained in the seeds of okra serves as the source of first-rate vegetable protein. It is enriched with amino acids on the likes of tryptophan, cystine and other sulfur amino acids.

Rosy Vohra works for Online books India


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rosy_Vohra

Thank natural to make herbals for good life!

Read More

Health Benefits of Vegetarian

This Vegetarian Food Guide is designed to reflect healthy patterns of dietary intake that are not only adequate but promote optimal health. This proposed document is meant to provide a range of portions and a general sense of frequency of servings. Its purpose also includes the promotion of an ongoing discussion among scientists and health-care practitioners, as well as vegetarians coming from different traditions, with the purpose of developing and refining a food guide that promotes optimal health.
Typically, food guides have translated nutritional standards into recommendations for daily food intake in an attempt to meet specific nutritional standards.

These standards have traditionally been based on experimental data involving non-vegetarian subjects and have been targeted to the general, non-vegetarian population. In contrast, we believe that studies relating to the dietary patterns of vegetarian populations who enjoy optimal health are valuable and valid sources of information, and can be used in developing a model of healthful eating.
A vegetarian diet can be very healthy, but it is not inherently so. Just cutting meat out of your meals does not automatically assure you all the benefits of the vegetarian diet - in order to be healthy, you need to eat healthy food, vegetarian or not.
The first and most important characteristic of a healthy vegetarian or other type of diet is a wide variety of food. Eating lots of different foods ensures that you get the nutrition you need and that no single food serves as your sole source of a given nutrient. In addition, eating too much of a single food can cause your body to develop sensitivity to that food, which can eventually lead to an allergy. The vegetarian food pyramid, created by researchers at Arizona State University, provides guidelines to the daily amounts of different foods needed for a healthy vegetarian diet.
Thank natural to make herbals for good life!

Read More

The Health Benefits of Food

The health benefits of food have been studied by various ancient civilizations and modern herbalists, naturopaths, and dieticians. Doctors have always told us that a proper balanced diet will help us prevent the incidence of a number of illnesses and diseases, treat most of the ailments, and live a healthy and happy life. Yet most of us limit ourselves to only a few types of food items.

Our body requires a variety of nutrients for its metabolism. Here is a short list of nutrients that our body requires – calories, carbohydrates, fats, proteins and fiber, minerals such as boron, calcium, chlorine, chromium, copper, fluorine, iodine, iron, magnesium, manganese, molybdenum, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, silicon, sodium, sulfur, vanadium and zinc, vitamins such as vitamin A, Retinol, Vitamin B, Vitamin B1, Thiamine, Vitamin B2, Riboflavin, Vitamin B3, Niacin, Vitamin B5, Pantothenic acid, Vitamin B6, Pyridoxine, Vitamin B8, Biotin, Vitamin B9, Folic Acid, Vitamin B12, Cyanocobalamin, Vitamin C, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin D, Vitamin E, Tocopherol, and Vitamin K. To get all these nutrients, it becomes necessary to eat a variety of food items.

Count the number of different food items that you have eaten in the past one month. In most circumstances, you will not cross 20. Now look at the different types of food items that are popular throughout the world.

Thank natural to make herbals for good life!

Read More

Study hints at milk thistle's heart health benefits

A crude extract from milk thistle reduced the oxidation of LDL cholesterol by up to 86 per cent, indicating significant potential to boost heart health, says a new study.

The in vitro study found that the milk thistle extract protected LDL cholesterol against oxidation in a dose-dependent manner, a result with potentially important implications since the oxidative modification of LDL has been reported to be a major part of the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, and subsequently cardiovascular disease.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD), the cause of almost 50 per cent of deaths in Europe, and reported to cost the EU economy an estimated €169bn ($202bn) per year.

"Thus, it is possible that the extract prepared from the fruits of an easily accessible plant could be useful to prevent the progression of atherosclerotic events," wrote lead author Sunny Wallace from the University of Arkansas.

"However, before important conclusions that could lead to prevention strategies are drawn, it would be of interest to determine the atheroprotective effect of silymarin in vivo using an atherosclerosis-prone apolipoprotein E or LDL receptor knockout mouse model."

The results are reported in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

Study details

Wallace and co-workers tested both the crude extract and purified forms of the major flavonolignans compounds that make up silymarin, the key flavanone in milk thistle, including silichristin (SC), silidianin (SD), silibinin (SBN), and isosilibinin (IS).

At doses of the milk thistle extract of 38, 75, 150, and 300 micromoles, LDL oxidation was inhibited by 18, 73, 82, and 86 per cent, respectively, said the researchers.


The individual flavonolignans were also associated with reductions in LDL oxidation with 300 micromole doses of SC, SD, SBN, and IS reducing LDL oxidation by 60, 28.1, 60, and 30.1 per cent, respectively, report Wallace and co-workers.

"These results showed that silymarin and SBN, likely through antioxidant and free radical scavenging mechanisms of action, inhibit the generation of oxidised LDL," concluded the researchers.

Significant further research is necessary if milk thistle and its extracts can be seen as providing a benefit to cardiovascular health. Indeed, the researchers identified animal studies with mice as the next step.

Milk thistle (Silybum marianum) has been used for a long time as a food in Europe. Young leaves are used in salads, the stalks eaten like asparagus, and the heads boiled like artichoke.

According to the Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives (Canada) milk thistle ranked 12th among the top selling herb supplements in the US mass market, with sales of over $3m in 1997.

Previously, silibinin has linked to similar benefits against lung cancer (Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Vol. 98, pp. 846-85) and liver cancer (World Journal of Gastroenterology, Vol.13, pp. 5299-5305).

Source: Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
Volume 56, Issue 11, Pages 3966-3972
"Milk Thistle Extracts Inhibit the Oxidation of Low-Density Lipoprotein (LDL) and Subsequent Scavenger Receptor-Dependent Monocyte Adhesion"
Authors: S. Wallace, K. Vaughn, B.W. Stewart, T. Viswanathan, E. Clausen, S. Nagarajan, D.J. Carrier
-
Thank natural to make herbals for good life!

Read More

many health benefits of garlic

I consider garlic (Allium sativum) a good remedy for almost anything that ails you. Yes, I've heard plenty of jokes about its odor keeping away vampires, or at the very least, your friends. But more important are the bacterial, viral and fungal infections that garlic fends off. This humble bulb has been shown to improve digestion, enhance the immune system and liver, and is good for the heart, circulation, and eyes. It is considered a tonic in traditional Chinese and Ayurvedic medicines, and its use is also backed by science. Herbalist and acupuncturist Christopher Hobbs, author of numerous herb books, recently surveyed the literature on garlic and unearthed over 2,000 scientific articles. The consensus of these articles is that garlic is one of the most important medicinal herbs we have. Not bad for a bulb often dubbed the "stinking rose."

Preventing heart disease

Garlic and garlic-derived supplements can help reduce the risk of heart disease in several important ways. Garlic lowers blood pressure and cholesterol, lessens destructive oxidation and decreases the formation of blood clots. It also slows hardening of arteries (atherosclerosis) and helps maintain their elasticity. At the same time, garlic decreases troublesome symptoms of atherosclerosis, such as poor circulation, fatigue and headaches.

Garlic's clot-reducing capability takes about three to four hours to peak and remains effective about a day, making garlic a reasonable substitute for taking aspirin to prevent clotting, provided your healthcare practitioner approves. In one study with 200 people who had heart attacks, garlic reduced the likelihood of another attack occurring in the next three years by two-thirds. Also, doctors used to think that once plaque developed in the arteries, it was there to stay, but new evidence, such as the results of a controlled, double-blind, placebo study at Humboldt University in Berlin, shows garlic and garlic-derived supplements can clean up existing plaque. This happens even when there are other risk factors such as high blood pressure, diabetes, or smoking.

When researcher Dr. Arun Bordia was working in Udaipur, India, he noticed the near absence of heart disease despite the population's habit of dousing their vegetables with butter. He also saw that they ate lots of garlic and wondered if there was a connection. Bordia discovered that when research volunteers dined on butter, their cholesterol levels fell, providing they ate garlic along with it. Take away the garlic, and cholesterol levels jumped. One way to achieve an even more dramatic drop is to decrease the use of butter and other concentrated fats and, of course, eat garlic. High cholesterol levels are lowered by garlic an average ten percent. In some cases, the drop is double that. In fact, the greater the blood cholesterol, the better garlic works.

By the way, thinning the blood is beneficial when trying to avoid blood clots, but can mean trouble if you need your blood to clot during surgery. Also, combining anticoagulant drugs with medicinal doses of garlic can thin blood too much, so work with your healthcare practitioner.

Purple power

The latest news on garlic is that red-purple tinged varieties are extra good for your heart (something Chinese herbalists have been saying for ages). The coloring is produced by anthocyanidins. These highly medicinal substances also color red wine, purple bilberries and blueberries, and make them super antioxidants that protect against heart disease, tone blood vessels and improve circulation. Of over a dozen red varieties, garlic connoisseurs rank Spanish Roja and Creole Red as two of the tastiest. Even the skin of garlic is good for the heart, so be sure to include it if you make your own garlic tincture or vinegar.

Antibiotic action

Garlic's compounds also have antibacterial and antifungal properties. I've seen garlic fight off all sorts of infections, including those of the lung, sinus, bladder, and vagina, as well as colds and flu. Garlic is a practical remedy used both internally and externally to treat fungal and bacterial skin infection.

Relatively low quantities of garlic--say one clove a day--have been shown to improve digestion and reduce intestinal bacterial infection, even dysentery. In a Chinese study, drinking a daily tea made by soaking three crushed cloves in two cups of water cured 80 percent of patients with diarrhea in a week. Garlic also helps knock out intestinal worms and other parasites.

According to Dr. Paul Sherman, a Cornell University behavioral scientist, humans have evolved a taste for spicy foods such as garlic because the foods kill the germs that cause spoilage. He looked at 5,000 traditional recipes from 36 countries and found that the hotter the climate and the faster food spoils, the spicier the seasoning. When he examined 43 spices for their ability to destroy germs, garlic and onions killed all 30 types of bacteria associated with digestive problems.

Read More

Vegetable juices and health benefits

For most people know how good the nature of vegetable to anyone but still some of us didn't pay attention to what healthy living is about. I'm not an exemption to that, oftentimes I ignore vegetables and still prefer meat or something which is delicious.

It's just recently that I, myself, experience how bad meat can be to my body. I always feel bloated, easily gets tired, generate lots of pimples, and many things which I attributed to not eating healthy foods like vegetables.

I learned now my lesson and I want to share you too what I learned, how beneficial vegetable juices are to our body.

Common let's give it a try, after all it's not only us who will benefit but moreover the people we loved dearly.

Here are some of the nature's good vegetable that makes also good nutritious juices for you and your family.

1. CELERY: It Promotes appetite, could lower blood pressure, help eliminate fat in blood, can reduce weight, helps with urination, eliminate stone, gives you strong teeth, normalize digestion system organs (internal organs)
2. CHINESE CUCUMBER (DUA Leo Loai NHo): This yummy thing cleans blood, lowers blood pressure, stops the feeling of thirst, helps with urination, eases inflammation, increases metabolism.
3. RED/GREEN BELLPEPPER (Ot My): Cleans liver during infection, cleans the large intestine when it is infected, remove moisture, make strong muscle and bone, remove spots, eases swelling and boil, good for lung.

Read More

health benefits of peanuts

Peanuts are a delicious and convenient legume with an array of health benefits. Adding a few handfuls of peanuts to your weekly diet can greatly improve well-being and decrease your risk for developing serious ailments.

Researcher Frank B. Hu found that 2 4 weekly servings of peanuts might reduce a person's risk of developing heart disease by forty percent. Another study by Rui Jiang in 2002 found that five weekly servings of peanut butter might reduce risk of developing Type II Diabetes by twenty one percent. The health benefits of regular peanut consumption are endless considering the many nutrients they pack.

People typically try to avoid eating nuts because they consider them a fatty food. However, peanuts are full of mono-unsaturated fats, which are beneficial to health. Mono-unsaturated fats are "good fats" in that they decrease risk of cardiovascular disease and lower the noxious LDL's responsible for transporting cholesterol to the arteries.

Diets consisting of "good fats" control weight better than low fat diets, thus making peanuts a great source for weight management.

Peanuts are a significant source of Niacin, a water-soluble vitamin, which provides many health benefits. Niacin assists the body in the stabilization of blood sugar, metabolism of fat, lowering cholesterol, energy production and cellular support. This vitamin prevents decline in cognitive function and may reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease while Folic Acid, also found in peanuts, helps reduce the onset of dementia.

The powerful antioxidant, Resveratrol, is in peanuts along with red grapes and red wine. Peanuts are close in competition to some of the top sources of antioxidants, such as berries. Resveratrol decreases risk of stroke by improving circulation and blood flow to the brain. Roasting peanuts increases their antioxidant output by twenty two percent.

The high quantities of protein found in peanuts will improve the health and appearance of your hair, skin and nails. There are many misconceptions about the benefits of protein, such as their use for building muscle, but they are the building blocks of life. All systems of the body utilize proteins for structure and adequate intake of peanuts will increase ability of the immune system.

Minerals, such as manganese and copper, are important nutrients found in peanuts. Copper plays a vital role in assistance to enzymes, yet American intake is generally low. Both copper and manganese promote strong and healthy bone structure. Manganese promotes blood sugar stabilization and improved thyroid function.

Peanuts are a simple addition to the diet for increased health benefits, unless there is an allergy. They are available in many varieties to suit your taste and compliment many meals. Increasing peanuts into your meals is easy as using peanut butter as a spread for breakfast and lunch or a handful to snack on during breaks. Whichever way you choose to incorporate them, the health benefits will be everlasting.

Read More

coconut oil Health benefits

Coconut oil is a common cooking oil among south asian populations. But is it beneficial or harmful to health? "Coconut oil has been used as cooking oil for thousands of years. Popular cookbooks advertised it at the end of the 19th century. Then came the anti-saturated fat campaign and the promotion of polyunsaturated fats, such as flaxseed, canola, soybean, safflower, corn, and other seed and nut oils plus their partially hydrogenated counterparts (margarine, "I can't believe it's not butter", etc.) as the way to go," says chemist, enzyme therapist, nutritionist, author and lecturer, Dr. Lita Lee, Ph.D.

Are there any people who live on saturated fats who are healthy? Yes, says Dr. Lee. "People who live in tropical climates and who have a diet high in coconut oil are healthier, have less heart disease, cancer, colon problems and so on, than unsaturated fat eaters. Two such groups of people include those from Melanesia and the Yucatan. These people are slightly hyperthyroid because of the thyroid stimulating effects of coconut oil plus a diet which includes protein (fish) and adequate fruit (stimulates thyroid function).

Citing research on the subject Dr. Lee goes on to say, "Many researchers have reported that coconut oil lowers cholesterol (Blackburn et al 1988, Ahrens and colleagues, 1957). In 1981, Prior et al. showed that islanders with a diet high in coconut oil showed no harmful health effects. When these groups migrated to New Zealand and lowered their daily coconut oil intake, their total cholesterol and especially their LDL cholesterol - the so-called evil one - increased. The cholesterol-lowering properties of coconut oil are a direct result of its ability to stimulate thyroid function. In the presence of adequate thyroid hormone, cholesterol (specifically LDL-cholesterol) is converted by enzymatic processes to the vitally necessary anti-aging steroids, pregnenolone, progesterone and DHEA. These substances are required to help prevent heart disease, senility, obesity, cancer and other diseases associated with aging and chronic degenerative diseases."

Why then is there a doubt about the beneficial effects of coconut oil? In an article titled, 'How a P.R. Campaign Led to Unhealthy Diets' by Beatrice Trum Hunter, MA, and published in www.coconutoil.com (Printed with permission from Beatrice Trum Hunter and
The Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation) she has this to say, "In 1988, N.W. Istfan of Harvard University Medical School's Nutrition Coordinating

Read More

The Health Benefits of Mint

For centuries, mint has been enjoyed for its wonderful aroma, its great taste, and its healing power. Long known for its ability to settle a nervous stomach, mint has a great many other health benefits as well. Whether as a soothing mint tea or part of a recipe, mint has long been part of both the cuisine and the medicinal cultures of societies as diverse as the Middle East, India and Europe.

Mint is well known for its ability to sooth the digestive tract and reduce the severity and length of stomach aches. In addition, mint teas and other herbal preparations have shown great promise at easing the discomfort associated with irritable bowel syndrome, and even at slowing the growth of many of the most harmful bacteria and fungi. The well-documented antifungal properties of mint are thought to play a role in the treatment of asthma and many allergy conditions as well.

It is even thought that mint may have benefits as an anticancer food. Mint is known to contain a phytonutrient called perillyl alcohol, which has been shown in studies on animals to prevent the formation of colon, skin and lung cancer. Further study is needed to see if this important benefit extends to the human world.

Mint is used in a variety of ways, but the most common is through the brewing of mint tea. There are many excellent mint teas on the market, and fresh mint tea can be made by pouring hot, but not boiling, water over fresh leaves of mint. When preparing mint tea, it is important that the preparation be covered while it is steeping to prevent the valuable volatile oils from evaporating.

For those who prefer their mint in pill form, there are a number of preparations on the market that make it easy to enjoy the many health benefits of mint. Supplements containing mint are widely available at health food stores, at supermarkets and of course on the internet.

Read More

Health Benefits of Spices and Herbs

Spices and herbs have been used by our ancestors for centuries for their medicinal qualities as well as for their culinary enhancements. Researchers continue to study the healing properties that can be offered by these natural remedies.

Questions you may have include:

What are some of the medicinal qualities of spices?
How are they used to heal?
What are some good spices to use?
This lesson will answer those questions. There is a mini-quiz near the end of the lesson. Health Disclaimer

Favorite spices
Here are a few of my favorite spices with their benefits:

Cayenne pepper and Tabasco sauce
Cayenne pepper and Tabasco sauce can increase metabolism and fat-burning ability by up to 25%.

Ginger
Ginger speeds metabolic rate, plus it inhibits nausea and vomiting often caused by morning sickness or motion sickness.

Peppermint
Peppermint is used to treat gastric and digestive disorders, as well as tension and insomnia.

Mustard
Mustard is a stimulant that can be used to relieve respiratory complaints.

Horseradish
Horseradish is a relative of the mustard family that acts as a digestive stimulant.

Cinnamon
Cinnamon is often used as an antidote for diarrhea and stomach upset as well as a metabolism booster.

Allspice
Allspice is an aromatic stimulant that helps to relieve indigestion and gas.

Garlic
Regular consumption of garlic can decrease blood pressure and cholesterol levels. It also aids digestion and prevents flatulence. Recent research shows garlic to be beneficial in the treatment of diabetes.

Turmeric
Turmeric is an antioxidant that neutralizes free radicals and therefore protects against cancer.

Summary
Use these spices to spice up your health.

Read More