Antioxidants Naturally Found in Foods

Why do we need to eat foods that are found to be naturally high in antioxidants?
What are antioxidants?
Which foods do we need to eat, in order to naturally fight free radicals?

Scientists have found that the body forms unstable oxygen molecules, called free radicals; every cell produces tens of thousands of them each day. A free radical is basically an atom with an odd number of electrons in its outer ring. Since electrons have a very strong tendency to exist in a paired rather than an unpaired state, free radicals indiscriminately pick up electrons from other atoms, which in turn convert those other atoms into secondary free radicals, thus setting up a chain reaction, which can cause substantial biological damage. This, in short, is bad. There are also many kinds of free radicals, which we are exposed to everyday, for example, pollution, radiation, cigarette smoke and herbicides.

Antioxidants are thought to neutralise and stabilise these free radicals.

So, which antioxidants are naturally found in which foods?

We have:

Vitamin E: a fat-soluble vitamin found in vegetable oils, nuts, green leafy vegetables, and fortified cereals. Some of the foods containing the highest amounts of vitamin E are wheat germ oil, almonds, sunflower seeds, sunflower oil, hazelnuts, peanuts, spinach, broccoli, kiwi and mango.
Vitamin E is an antioxidant vitamin involved in the metabolism of all cells. It protects vitamin A and essential fatty acids from oxidation in the body cells and prevents breakdown of body tissues.

Vitamin C: Ascorbic acid is a water-soluble vitamin present in citrus fruits and juices, cabbage, green peppers, broccoli, spinach, tomato, kale, guava, cantaloupe, kiwi, papaya, and strawberries.
It is important in forming collagen, a protein that gives structure to bones, cartilage, muscle, and blood vessels. Vitamin C also aids in the absorption of iron, and helps maintain capillaries, bones, and teeth.

Beta-carotene: Beta-carotene is a precursor to vitamin A. It is present in liver, egg yolk, milk, butter, spinach, carrots, squash, broccoli, yams, tomato, cantaloupe, peaches, and grains.
Studies have been done on beta-carotene's effectiveness for heart disease, cancer, chronic fatigue syndrome, Alzheimer's disease, fibromyalgia, male infertility, and psoriasis.

Coenzyme Q10: CoQ10 boosts energy, enhances the immune system, and acts as an antioxidant. A growing body of research suggests that coenzyme Q10 may help prevent or treat some of the following conditions: heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, and others. Primary dietary sources of CoQ10 include oily fish, organ meats such as liver, spinach, broccoli, peanuts, wheat germ and whole grains.

Selenium: Selenium is a trace mineral that is essential to good health but required only in small amounts. It helps synthesize antibodies; helps synthesize co-enzyme Q10and helps transport ions across cell membranes. The best sources of selenium are Brazil nuts, wheat germ, molasses, sunflower seeds, whole wheat bread and dairy foods.

You should note that there are many other antioxidants naturally found in foods.
You should also note that the best way to take antioxidants is naturally, through fresh, vibrant food.
One more thing; sometimes less is more. Some of these antioxidants are only needed in small amounts, so check into whether you need to take more or not, before you start overdosing on antioxidants!

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Are The Foods You Eat Putting Your Health at Risk?

Food (and water) is the absolute first thing you need in order to ensure life. Without it you would wither away and die. You need food for its nutrition and for its sustenance. But are the foods you consume today supplying you with good solid nutrition, or are many of them slowly robbing you of your health and taking years from your life?

Here are some things to consider:

THE HAZARDS OF EATING MEAT
Eating meat (particularly pork and red meat such as beef) in of itself is unhealthy especially when eaten in too large of quantities. Certain meats, such as beef, can take up to 72 hours to digest completely. Therefore, if you eat meat two or three times a day, you could still be digesting the food you had for breakfast the other day while you are again consuming another round of it.

This explains why many autopsies reveal from 5 to as much as 40 pounds of undigested meat still in the systems of many people! Now, imagine how unhealthy it becomes if the animal where the meat came from was treated with antibiotics and other artificial health sustainers? These chemicals stay in the meat fibers; and no amount of washing, cooking, or boiling will get rid of them. Do you really want that in your food?

Hence, many people today are immune to antibiotics for humans. They ingest the antibiotics from animals, and the extra strong antibiotics kill both the good and bad bacteria in the human body. The more you eat chemically treated meat, the more you weaken your body抯 defense mechanisms. This hazard is aggravated further when the meats are processed with artificial flavors and preservatives.

PRECAUTIONS WHEN CONSUMING FISH
Many 揻resh?fish in the market today are loaded with preservatives to lock in their 揻reshness.?Some use formalin, a chemical used in embalming human corpses, to preserve newly caught fish. A few wicked sellers may wash marketed fish with food coloring or textile color to give these fish a 揻resh?look. To ensure your safety and enjoy the nutritious benefits of fish, buy them from trusted sources only.

PRECAUTIONS WHEN CONSUMING BREAD
Many white breads are hard to digest. Their hard residues stay long and may form blockades in the intestines. Moreover, eating white bread actually rapidly elevates blood sugar levels in your body. Whole wheat bread is a healthier food alternative to white bread as it supplies better nutrition, but many of the whole wheat breads today still have preservatives because they are commercially produced. Make sure it is made with 搘hole wheat flour?and not 揺nriched whole wheat flour? Always check the ingredients just to be sure.

CHEMICALS IN FOOD
Aside from having their nutrition values greatly reduced, a lot of food today is treated with harmful chemicals. Washing, cooking, and boiling for long hours may lessen the chemicals in your food, but these harmful substances may not be fully eliminated. Peeling the skin off some fruits will not ensure safety either.

Imagine swallowing and accumulating all those fertilizers and pesticides in your body. Do you still wonder why we have so many deadly diseases today that were unheard of in the days of our ancestors?

Insects know better. They will not touch crops with pesticides. That is why you will find these crops sold in the market without any sign of insect bites. People buy them because they look clean and delicious. They don抰 know that these outward appearances conceal inner hazards of the food they are buying. Some people think it is a good option to eat fruits and vegetables that show a few nibbles from insects.

PROCESSED FOOD
After having your veggies and fruits treated with fertilizers and pesticides (and these are given to farm animals as part of feeds), they also undergo artificial processing to prolong their 揻reshness.?They are treated with preservatives, which mean more chemicals. Some instant noodles are treated with chemical wax, which may be cancer causing. Do you know that these noodles are banned in some countries?

Because processed food terribly lacks real nutrition, their sellers sometimes put synthetic vitamins in them and pass them off as 損lus factors?for good health when actually; these synthetic vitamins often do little to nothing for you or in some cases can even harm your health.

If you want to live a long, happy, and healthy life, always be on the lookout for the presence of preservatives in your food. Look at the labels and find out if some of the ingredients can be harmful to your health.

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

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Addictive Foods and their Harmful Consequences

Most of us are fond of at least one product that has the effect of a stimulant and that eventually becomes an addiction. These products include exercise stimulant drinks (they come in cans and look like cola), fizzy aerated drinks, tobacco, betel nut, betel leaf, strong coffee, strong tea, mahuang (an ephedrine-like compound consumed in china), and alcohol.

Before I tell you why we shouldn抰 consume these products, I抎 like to deal with the question of why we do consume them in the first place.

There抯 no one who doesn抰 know that products like these, consumed in excess, can severely harm our bodies. Yet, we still find them hard to resist. The need to eat stimulant food is a simple human weakness that has existed for ages: humans (and many animals) have always indulged in foods that give a sort of emotional high. In clinical terms, this means rapid heart beat, a little sweating, dilation or constriction of the pupils of the eye, a warm flush on the face, and a sense of greater sensitivity, concentration and perception.

These sensations of 慼igh?die down within a few hours, and we are left feeling listless and low. This leads to a craving for that food again, to experience the high one more time. And there we are going round and round in a vicious circle.

The physiology of addictions is as follows:

When you eat an addictive food, it stimulates the hormone like substances found at the end of your nerves, which triggers an avalanche of similar stimulatory substances and you experiences a high. As the substances near the nerves are depleted, you get into the low phase, which leads you to crave that food again. This yo-yo phase of nerve stimulation and depletion leads to a pattern of addiction.

Consuming addictive foods is one of the oldest unhealthy food practices and, despite a revolution in health consciousness; it shows no signs of dying out.

Below are some side effects of certain addictive foods.

Alcohol Addiction: Erosion of stomach and intestinal lining, liver damage, nutritional deficiency.

Tobacco: Erosion of gum and tongue can lead to cancer of the buccal mucosa.

Betel nut: Leads to the discoloration of teeth, erosion of the lining of the mouth, and cancer of the mouth and upper tract. It also leads to heart problems among people who already have a weak heart.

Ma huang: It contains ephedrine and leads to heart problems.

Aerated drinks: High doses of caffeine.

Caffeine and xanthine: Found in tea, coffee. These become harmful only in very high doses; don抰 consume more than five cups a day.

Mixed drug reactions: People who consume medications for the heart, hypertension and asthma have to be very careful about the interactions of the drugs with stimulant foods, as mixing the two can be fatal. After years of experience, all doctors know how difficult it is to break the food addictions of their patients. So like them, I can only advise a good compromise. If you can抰 break the addiction, then at least you should practice moderation.

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Eat healthy Foods - It Makes Sense!

We all know the importance of eating healthy foods for their vitamin and mineral content. However, in recent years, scientists have discovered that there are hundreds of substances in food that have healing and disease prevention properties.

So why, if there are foods that will heal many of our common ailments, have we not heard more about them? Maybe it's because, just as we've become a fast food society, we've also become a fast cure society. We're always looking for the easy way to cure and prevent diseases by just popping a pill.

Just look at the increasing number of ads on TV and in magazines for drugs. Often the side effects are worse than the disease they're meant to prevent or cure!

Wouldn't it be better to use natural remedies? Remedies with no side effects, to cure and prevent diseases? Of course it would! That's why I decided to write this article. Here's to a healthier life!.

Perhaps as a child you were told by your mom to eat all your carrots because they were good for your eyes? As you grew up, you may have cynically been told by others that this was just an "old wives tale". Guess what, recent studies have shown that Mom was right! Foods can prevent eye disease, heart disease, arthritis and much more.

Some Basic Science:

In recent years scientists have discovered that foods contain "phytochemicals", which is a fancy name for naturally occurring chemicals. This is not the same as nutrients, which we all know are the substances necessary for sustaining life.

Phytochemicals have properties that can aid in disease prevention and cures. Scientists have identified thousands of these chemicals in the foods we eat and a single serving of fruit or vegetables can contain as many as one hundred different phytochemicals.

The most commonly known phytochemicals are the antioxidants. Antioxidants protect our cells from damage by toxic substances and free radicals (a by-product produced by our bodies which converts oxygen into energy). Free radicals can damage cells in our bodies which can lead to disease. Antioxidants protect the body from oxidation and reduce the risk of acquiring many common ailments.

The full article is a big one and covers:

Fruits and Vegetables
Healing Properties Of Fruits
Healing Properties Of Vegetables
Seeds, Nuts, Oils and Fish
Healing Properties Of Seeds, Nuts, Oils and Fish
Grains
Healing Properties Of Grains
Healing Properties Of Beans and Lentils
Healing Properties Of Herbs and Spices
Healing Teas
Other Healing Foods

Hit the link below to continue reading it.

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Are The Foods You Eat Putting Your Health at Risk?

Food (and water) is the absolute first thing you need in order to ensure life. Without it you would wither away and die. You need food for its nutrition and for its sustenance. But are the foods you consume today supplying you with good solid nutrition, or are many of them slowly robbing you of your health and taking years from your life?

Here are some things to consider:

THE HAZARDS OF EATING MEAT
Eating meat (particularly pork and red meat such as beef) in of itself is unhealthy especially when eaten in too large of quantities. Certain meats, such as beef, can take up to 72 hours to digest completely. Therefore, if you eat meat two or three times a day, you could still be digesting the food you had for breakfast the other day while you are again consuming another round of it.

This explains why many autopsies reveal from 5 to as much as 40 pounds of undigested meat still in the systems of many people! Now, imagine how unhealthy it becomes if the animal where the meat came from was treated with antibiotics and other artificial health sustainers? These chemicals stay in the meat fibers; and no amount of washing, cooking, or boiling will get rid of them. Do you really want that in your food?

Hence, many people today are immune to antibiotics for humans. They ingest the antibiotics from animals, and the extra strong antibiotics kill both the good and bad bacteria in the human body. The more you eat chemically treated meat, the more you weaken your body抯 defense mechanisms. This hazard is aggravated further when the meats are processed with artificial flavors and preservatives.

PRECAUTIONS WHEN CONSUMING FISH
Many 揻resh?fish in the market today are loaded with preservatives to lock in their 揻reshness.?Some use formalin, a chemical used in embalming human corpses, to preserve newly caught fish. A few wicked sellers may wash marketed fish with food coloring or textile color to give these fish a 揻resh?look. To ensure your safety and enjoy the nutritious benefits of fish, buy them from trusted sources only.

PRECAUTIONS WHEN CONSUMING BREAD
Many white breads are hard to digest. Their hard residues stay long and may form blockades in the intestines. Moreover, eating white bread actually rapidly elevates blood sugar levels in your body. Whole wheat bread is a healthier food alternative to white bread as it supplies better nutrition, but many of the whole wheat breads today still have preservatives because they are commercially produced. Make sure it is made with 搘hole wheat flour?and not 揺nriched whole wheat flour? Always check the ingredients just to be sure.

CHEMICALS IN FOOD
Aside from having their nutrition values greatly reduced, a lot of food today is treated with harmful chemicals. Washing, cooking, and boiling for long hours may lessen the chemicals in your food, but these harmful substances may not be fully eliminated. Peeling the skin off some fruits will not ensure safety either.

Imagine swallowing and accumulating all those fertilizers and pesticides in your body. Do you still wonder why we have so many deadly diseases today that were unheard of in the days of our ancestors?

Insects know better. They will not touch crops with pesticides. That is why you will find these crops sold in the market without any sign of insect bites. People buy them because they look clean and delicious. They don抰 know that these outward appearances conceal inner hazards of the food they are buying. Some people think it is a good option to eat fruits and vegetables that show a few nibbles from insects.

PROCESSED FOOD
After having your veggies and fruits treated with fertilizers and pesticides (and these are given to farm animals as part of feeds), they also undergo artificial processing to prolong their 揻reshness.?They are treated with preservatives, which mean more chemicals. Some instant noodles are treated with chemical wax, which may be cancer causing. Do you know that these noodles are banned in some countries?

Because processed food terribly lacks real nutrition, their sellers sometimes put synthetic vitamins in them and pass them off as 損lus factors?for good health when actually; these synthetic vitamins often do little to nothing for you or in some cases can even harm your health.

If you want to live a long, happy, and healthy life, always be on the lookout for the presence of preservatives in your food. Look at the labels and find out if some of the ingredients can be harmful to your health.

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Why Low Glycemic Foods?

Some currently popular eating plans like The Perricone Prescription, A Week in the Zone and The Protein Power Lifeplan recommend low glycemic foods.

The theory is that sugar and high glycemic carbs that rapidly convert to sugar trigger a release of insulin to control the level of sugar in the bloodstream. Excess sugar in the bloodstream is inflammatory and causes a cascade of free radical damage.

To explain how dangerous this is, Dr, Perricone points out that diabetics with poorly controlled blood sugar age one third faster than nondiabetics and are prone to kidney failure, blindness, heart attack and stroke.

So insulin comes to the rescue to clear the excess sugar from the bloodstream. And what do you suppose the insulin does with all this sugar? It stores it as fat. And worse yet, until the insulin sweeps up the excess sugar, it runs rampant throughout the body causing glycation and cross-linking of the body抯 collagen.

The effect is visible on the skin, which becomes leathery and inflexible as we age. Though it can抰 be seen, the same damage is taking place inside the body where it affects other vital organs including the kidneys, lungs and brain.

So far, so good. Nutritionists have recommended that people cut their consumption of sugar for decades. The surprise when one ranks sugars and carbs by their glycemic index, is that some foods we normally think of as healthy show up as being bad for you.

The glycemic index is a ranking from 1 to 100, with 100 indicating the increase in blood sugar from eating table sugar (or white bread in one scale). Whichever scale is used, the important thing is a rank ordering of a food抯 effect on blood sugar.

The low glycemic food diets mentioned above have different cut off points. For example, Dr. Perricone抯 28-day program prohibits any foods that score above 50 on the glycemic scale. That leaves out such things as bananas, bagels, carrots, corn, potatoes, rice and watermelon.

You can read more about the glycemic index (GI) and view the whole table http://www.mendosa.com/gi.htm here. This site is authored by David Mendoza, a freelance medical writer and consultant specializing in diabetes. The site is a gold mine of information.

Mr. Mendoza points out that a food抯 glycemic index tells you how rapidly a particular carb turns into sugar, but not how much of that carbohydrate is in a serving. In other words, it抯 not just the quality of the carb, but also the quantity, that counts.
The version of glycemic index on his site (courtesy of Professor Jennie-Brand Miller of the University of Sydney) includes a column called glycemic load (GL) as well as a column of serving size in grams. A glycemic load of 20 or more is considered high; 11 to 19 is medium; and 10 or less is low.

Looking at this bigger picture, some of the 揵ad?carbs in low-glycemic food diets turn out to be not so bad. A 120g serving of watermelon has a horrible GI of 74 but a very low GL of 4. A medium banana (129g) has a bad GI of 51 but a medium GL of 13. An 80g serving of carrots has a borderline GI of 47 but a low GL of only 3. The same amount of corn has a GI of 47 but a low GL of 7.

On the other hand, some carb foods look bad whether you go by the GI or the GL. A 70g bagel has a high GI (72) as well as a high GL (25). A 150g serving of boiled white rice has a GI of 56 and a GL of 24. A medium baked potato (159g) has a high GI (60) and a marginal GL (18).

If you decide to concentrate on low-glycemic foods, I recommend you focus on a food抯 glycemic load. Just be careful to adhere to the indicated serving sizes (or adjust the calculation accordingly), GL is a better measure of how much sugar in total is being poured into the bloodstream and the amount of sugar that will be stored as fat.

This article is for informational purposes only. It does not purport to offer medical advice.

For more articles on diet and nutrition, visit http://www.ageless-beauty.com/antiaging-nutrition.html

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The Healthiest Foods You Can Get

The following is a list of the healthiest foods that

you can get. This will help you get an idea as

to what foods are the best for your body.

Fruits

Apricots

Apricots contain Beta-carotene which helps to

prevent radical damage and also helps to protect

the eyes. A single apricot contains 17 calories,

0 fat, and one gram of fiber. You can eat them

dried or soft.

Mango

A medium sized mango packs 57 MG of vitamin C,

which is nearly your entire daily dose. This

antioxidant will help prevent arthritis and also

boost your immune system.

Cantaloupe

Cantaloupes contain 117 GG of vitamin C, which is

almost twice the recommended dose. Half a melon

contains 853 MG of potassium, which is nearly

twice as much as a banana, which helps to lower

blood pressure. Half a melon contains 97 calories,

1 gram of fat, and 2 grams of fiber.

Tomato

A tomato can help cut the risk of bladder, stomach,

and colon cancers in half if you eat one daily.

A tomaton contains 26 calories, 0 fat, and only

1 gram of fiber.

Vegetables

Onions

An onion can help to protect against cancer. A

cup of onions offers 61 calories, 0 fat, and 3

grams of fiber.

Broccoli

Broccoli can help protect against breast cancer,

and it also contains a lot of vitamin C and beta-

carotene. One cup of chopped broccoli contains

25 calories, 0 fat, and 3 grams of fiber.

Spinach

Spinach contains carotenoids that can help fend

off macular degeneration, which is a major cause

of blindness in older people. One cup contains

7 calories, 0 fat, and 1 gram of fiber.

Grains, beans, and nuts

Peanuts

Peanuts and other nuts can lower your risk of

heart disease by 20 percent. One ounce contains

166 calories, 14 grams of fat, and over 2 grams of

fiber.

Pinto beans

A half cut of pinto beans offers more than 25

percent of your daily folate requirement, which

protects you against heart disease. Half a cup

contains 103 calories, 1 gram of fat, and 6 grams

of fiber.

Skim milk

Skim milk offers vitamin B2, which is important for

good vision and along with Vitamin A could improve

allergies. You also get calcium and vitamin D as

well. One cup contains 86 calories, o fat, and 0

fiber.

Seafood

Salmon

All cold water fish such as salmon, mackerel, and

tuna are excellent sources of omega 3 fatty acids,

which help to reduce the risk of cardiac disease.

A 3 ounce portion of salmon contains 127 calories,

4 grams of fat, and 0 fiber.

Crab

Crab is a great source of vitamin B12 and immunity

boosting zinc. A 3 ounce serving of crab offers

84 calories, 1 gram of fat, and 0 fiber.

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Addictive Foods and their Harmful Consequences

Most of us are fond of at least one product that has the effect of a stimulant and that eventually becomes an addiction. These products include exercise stimulant drinks (they come in cans and look like cola), fizzy aerated drinks, tobacco, betel nut, betel leaf, strong coffee, strong tea, mahuang (an ephedrine-like compound consumed in china), and alcohol.

Before I tell you why we shouldn抰 consume these products, I抎 like to deal with the question of why we do consume them in the first place.

There抯 no one who doesn抰 know that products like these, consumed in excess, can severely harm our bodies. Yet, we still find them hard to resist. The need to eat stimulant food is a simple human weakness that has existed for ages: humans (and many animals) have always indulged in foods that give a sort of emotional high. In clinical terms, this means rapid heart beat, a little sweating, dilation or constriction of the pupils of the eye, a warm flush on the face, and a sense of greater sensitivity, concentration and perception.

These sensations of 慼igh?die down within a few hours, and we are left feeling listless and low. This leads to a craving for that food again, to experience the high one more time. And there we are going round and round in a vicious circle.

The physiology of addictions is as follows:

When you eat an addictive food, it stimulates the hormone like substances found at the end of your nerves, which triggers an avalanche of similar stimulatory substances and you experiences a high. As the substances near the nerves are depleted, you get into the low phase, which leads you to crave that food again. This yo-yo phase of nerve stimulation and depletion leads to a pattern of addiction.

Consuming addictive foods is one of the oldest unhealthy food practices and, despite a revolution in health consciousness; it shows no signs of dying out.

Below are some side effects of certain addictive foods.

Alcohol Addiction: Erosion of stomach and intestinal lining, liver damage, nutritional deficiency.

Tobacco: Erosion of gum and tongue can lead to cancer of the buccal mucosa.

Betel nut: Leads to the discoloration of teeth, erosion of the lining of the mouth, and cancer of the mouth and upper tract. It also leads to heart problems among people who already have a weak heart.

Ma huang: It contains ephedrine and leads to heart problems.

Aerated drinks: High doses of caffeine.

Caffeine and xanthine: Found in tea, coffee. These become harmful only in very high doses; don抰 consume more than five cups a day.

Mixed drug reactions: People who consume medications for the heart, hypertension and asthma have to be very careful about the interactions of the drugs with stimulant foods, as mixing the two can be fatal. After years of experience, all doctors know how difficult it is to break the food addictions of their patients. So like them, I can only advise a good compromise. If you can抰 break the addiction, then at least you should practice moderation.

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Fight Cancer With These 10 Foods

More than a third of all cancers could be prevented by changes in diet and exercise. One of the most important things you can do to reduce your risk is lose excess weight - and one of the best ways to lose weight is through a filling, fiber-rich diet including plenty of fruits and vegetables.

But that's not the reason why the National Cancer Institute recently approved the dietary guidance: "Diets rich in fruits and vegetables may reduce the risk of some types of cancer and other chronic diseases." These foods are packed with antioxidants and other compounds that protect your DNA and fight free radical damage.

Since these substances work synergistically, it's best to eat a variety of fruits and vegetables rather than relying on one particular produce item to serve as a magic bullet against disease. That said, recent studies have uncovered specific benefits in the following foods that would recommend making them a part of any healthy diet.

1. Tomatoes: Lycopene, also found in watermelon and pink grapefruit, has been linked to lower risk of prostate, ovarian and cervical cancer. It also targets the free radical that is implicated in lung and digestive cancers.

2. Broccoli sprouts: One forkful triggers a cascade of antioxidant activity that lasts for days.

3. Berries: Blueberries, cranberries, cherries, raspberries, strawberries, grapes - all rich in anthocyanins that repair and protect DNA.

4. Soybeans: Isoflavones such as genistein may help prevent and treat prostate cancer and may reduce breast cancer risk

5. Tea: Both black and green contain powerful compounds shown in countless studies to lower the risk of several types of cancer.

6. Pumpkin: This unsung super-food is a super-rich source of both beta-carotene and alpha-carotene, two hard-working carotenoids that combat lung and ovarian cancer.

7. Spinach: Popeye's favorite may help ward off cancers of the liver, ovaries, colon and prostate. The active antioxidant lutein is also found in kale and other leafy greens.

8. Garlic: Allium veggies (which also include onions and scallions) work to get your body's own antioxidant defense systems in gear. This process provides protective benefits against stomach, esophageal and breast cancers.

9. Pineapple: The enzyme bromelain may inhibit the growth of malignant cells in both lung and breast cancer, while the phenolic compounds also provide a protective benefit.

10. Apples: Can one a day help keep cancer at bay? Studies show quercetin may reduce the risk of lung cancer and impede growth of prostate cancer cells. Other antioxidants together with pectin help halt colon and liver cancer cell replication.

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Super Green Foods - Have Some Today!

Super Green Foods
Super green foods are derived from young cereal grasses such as wheat, barley, rye, oats and alfalfa, as well as spirulina, chlorella, kelp, dulse and other sea vegetables. Perhaps the most nutrient-dense foods on earth, these grasses are richer in nutrients than spinach, broccoli, eggs and chicken in virtually all categories including protein, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium, zinc, copper, manganese, vitamin C, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B6, folic acid, vitamin B12, carotenoids and vitamin E.

Super green foods are the only foods in the vegetable kingdom that enable animals to continually maintain their weight, strength and optimal health even if consumed alone. They abound in unidentified growth factors, powerful antioxidants, immune boosters and many other health enhancing nutrients.

Super green foods are a category of phytonutrient-rich nutritional products derived from green plants, algae and cereal grasses. Green superfoods contain high concentrations of natural chlorophyll and are harvested seasonally to take advantage of high potencies of naturally occurring vitamins, minerals, amino acids and enzymes. Green superfoods are a natural source of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, enzymes, plant sterols and other nutritional constituents. There is no better natural source of vitamins than green superfoods. They are safe, effective and the perfect adjunct to your daily diet.

Benefits
?naturally occurring vitamins, minerals, amino acids and enzymes
?contains antioxidants and chlorophyll
?safe and effective

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Nutrition Zeroes or Heroes? Four Misunderstood Foods

While superfoods like blueberries, tomatoes and spinach have achieved the nutrition equivalent of celebrity status, other fruits and vegetables generate little excitement - and even confusion.

The researchers and scientists at the Dole Nutrition Institute took another look at several foods commonly regarded as "nutrition zeroes" and found out that some of them are actually "nutrition heroes." Here is a list of four under-appreciated - and even misunderstood - fruits and veggies that deserve a place on your plate:

* Avocados: Some of the smartest folks I know avoid avocados as "high fat" foods, but the monounsaturated fat in avocados protects your heart by lowering LDL "bad" cholesterol while raising HDL "good" cholesterol. Avocados also contain fiber and the phytonutrient beta-sitosterol, which also help control cholesterol, and lutein, which promotes eye health.

Looking for a food source of vitamin E? Avocados have the highest gram-per-gram content of this powerful antioxidant. Finally, if there was a "superfood for your liver" category, avocados just might qualify. In one Japanese study, avocados beat out 22 other fruits as the best defense against liver damage.

* Celery: A dieter's standby, celery is often dismissed as a nutrition nonentity. But it turns out that two stalks provide an excellent source of vitamin K and a good source of vitamin C, folate and potassium - all for just 20 calories. Celery is also loaded with phytonutrients such as quercetin, which promotes prostate and brain health, and apigenin, which may help slow prostate tumor growth.

* Parsley: Regarded as little more than a garnish, parsley actually packs a powerful nutrition punch. Just 1/4 cup provides more than 300 percent of the Daily Value of vitamin K and contains an excellent source of vitamins A and C.

Parsley is also a top source of the antioxidant flavonoid apigenin, which, in addition to protecting the prostate, may also help reduce the risk of breast, colon, skin and thyroid cancers. Parsley's abundance of phytonutrients - beta-carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin - can help safeguard your sight, and chewing on a sprig can help freshen your breath.

* Potatoes: The fact that spuds are America's favorite vegetables wouldn't be so bad if they weren't usually deep-fried, processed and drowned in saturated fat. In fact, a medium baked potato with skin has 163 calories, no fat, and provides an excellent source of potassium and vitamin C, plus a good source of fiber, magnesium, copper, manganese, niacin, vitamin B-6 and folate.

Potatoes also supply chlorogenic acid, a phytonutrient that may block the formation of carcinogenic nitrosamines and reduce the risk of liver and colon cancers. A recent British study discovered compounds in potatoes called kukoamines, which may help lower blood pressure levels. When eating a potato, leave the skin on for added fiber and nutrients.

So, if you've been dismissing one of these nutrition heroes as a zero, give it another chance and see if you don't end up feeling more hale and hearty yourself.

Jennifer Grossman is the director of the Dole Nutrition Institute. - NU

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Foods And Exercises For A Healthy Heart

A healthy heart is necessary for a healthy life. If you get any heart disease then you will lose a lot in your life even though you have a lot of money. Eating healthy to maintain a healthy heart is an essential thing in life. You have to be careful in choosing your food so that you can avoid any heart disease. Your food should contain less of fat, sodium, calories and have more fiber content.

Meat, butter, cheese, and milk contain more fat and hence they should be taken in fewer quantities. If you take less sodium your blood pressure is reduced to some extent and this helps in avoiding the risks of a heart disease. Problems of the heart come to the persons who are obese. It is essential to reduce the weight to avoid a heart disease. To reduce weight you have to take fewer calories. Foods that contain more fiber content can be taken. Fruits, vegetables, and grains contain more fiber content.

One of the other factors that lead to a heart disease is a sedentary life style. People who have this style of life should do some exercise that aims at strengthening your heart. With the advent of technology based jobs more and more people are working in computers. These people who work in the computer often sit before the computer without doing any physical activity. The only thing that is active is their brain and their fingers! Such people should take frequent breaks to have a little walk which can refresh them to a greater extent. Some people try to relax by sitting before the television. Either you sit before your computer or in front of the TV. This is also a bad habit. If you want to relax try to take a walk outside. Walking is a good exercise for your heart. A brisk walk for about 40 minutes daily will change your life beyond your expectations. Try it.

Cardiovascular or aerobic exercise can also be done to strengthen your heart. Some of the aerobic exercises are bicycling, jogging, jumping rope and skating. These exercises can be done for at least 20 to 30 minutes, 3 or 4 times a week. It is better to have an exercise schedule every alternate day. This habit makes you do your exercises regularly and without getting tired. If you are overweight then it is time to a look at your work schedule and allot some time for exercises. This will help you in the long way to have a healthy heart.

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