Showing posts with label vegetables. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vegetables. Show all posts

Friday, January 17, 2014

Where healthier eating raw vegetables or vegetable juice drink

Where healthier, eating raw vegetables or vegetable juice drink? - Some people prefer to eat vegetables by means processed into juice for taste different flavors. However, some others consider eating raw vegetables is more healthy though sometimes it does not fit on the tongue. Really?

Vegetables really should be consumed two to three servings per day. Portion could even increase with the activities undertaken. However, for the affairs of the nutrients contained between raw vegetables and vegetable juices, you need to listen to the explanation first as reported by the Health Me Up below.

Digestion

Whole foods such as raw vegetables enjoyed it took a long time to digest. While the juice is much faster and easier to be processed by the body.

Fiber

Unfortunately, cultivate vegetables in juice form apparently eliminates fiber content. Though the function of one of them eating vegetables is to meet the needs of the body fibers.

Should stop drinking vegetable juice?

Not really. Vegetable juice can still be enjoyed if you really want to get the nutrients in a way that is easy and fast. But instead of fiber, try to eat other foods such as fresh fruit and grain.

Balance both

Good eating raw vegetables or vegetable juice drink has its advantages and disadvantages of each. But no need to choose one of them. Instead, enjoy them in an equal number.

In addition to be juice, vegetables can also be processed into smoothies if it did not particularly like the original flavor of the vegetable itself.

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Eat seven portions of fruit and vegetables for happiness and mental health


Happiness and mental health are highest among people who eat seven portions of fruit and vegetables a day, according to a new report.

Economists and public health researchers from the University of Warwick studied the eating habits of 80,000 people in Britain. They found mental wellbeing appeared to rise with the number of daily portions of fruit and vegetables people consumed. Wellbeing peaked at seven portions a day.

The research was carried out in conjunction with Dartmouth College in the USA and is due to be published in the journal Social Indicators Research.

Most western governments currently recommend ‘5 a day’ for cardiovascular health and as protection against cancer risk.

In Britain today, a quarter of the population eat just one portion or no portions of fruit and vegetables per day. Only a tenth of the British population currently consume the magic number of seven or more daily portions. The study does not distinguish among different kinds of fruits and vegetables and it defines a portion as approximately 80 grams.

Study co-author Professor Sarah Stewart-Brown, Professor of Public Health at Warwick Medical School, said “The statistical power of fruit and vegetables was a surprise. Diet has traditionally been ignored by well-being researchers.”

She emphasized that much remained to be learned about cause-and-effect and about the possible mechanisms at work, and that randomized trials should now be considered.

Fellow co-author, economist Professor Andrew Oswald from the Centre for Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE) in the Department of Economics at the University of Warwick, said: “This study has shown surprising results and I have decided it is prudent to eat more fruit and vegetables. I am keen to stay cheery.”

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Eating bright colored fruits and vegetables may prevent or delay ALS



New research suggests that increased consumption of foods containing colorful carotenoids, particularly beta-carotene and lutein, may prevent or delay the onset of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The study, published by Wiley in Annals of Neurology, a journal of the American Neurological Association and Child Neurology Society, found that diets high in lycopene, beta-cryptoxanthin, and vitamin C did not reduce ALS risk.

Carotenoids give fruits and vegetables their bright orange, red, or yellow colors, and are a source of dietary vitamin A. Prior studies report that oxidative stress plays a role in the development of ALS. Further studies have shown that individuals with high intake of antioxidants, such as vitamin E, have a reduced ALS risk. Because vitamin C or carotenoids are also antioxidants, researchers examined their relation to ALS risk.

According to the National Institutes of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) roughly 20,000 to 30,000 Americans have ALS—also known as Lou Gehrigs disease—and another 5,000 patients are diagnosed annually with the disease. ALS is a progressive neurological disease that attacks nerve cells (neurons) in the brain and spinal cord, which control voluntary muscles. As the upper and lower motor neurons degenerate, the muscles they control gradually weaken and waste away, leading to paralysis.

"ALS is a devastating degenerative disease that generally develops between the ages of 40 and 70, and affects more men than women," said senior author Dr. Alberto Ascherio, Professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, Mass. "Understanding the impact of food consumption on ALS development is important. Our study is one of the largest to date to examine the role of dietary antioxidants in preventing ALS."

Using data from five prospective groups: the National Institutes of Health (NIH)–AARP Diet and Health Study, the Cancer Prevention Study II-Nutrition Cohort, the Multiethnic Cohort, the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, and the Nurses Health Study, researchers investigated more than one million participants for the present study. A total of 1093 ALS cases were identified after excluding subjects with unlikely food consumption.

The team found that a greater total carotenoid intake was linked to reduced risk of ALS. Individuals who consumed more carotenoids in their diets were more likely to exercise, have an advanced degree, have higher vitamin C consumption, and take vitamin C and E supplements. Furthermore, subjects with diets high in beta-carotene and lutein—found in dark green vegetables—had a lower risk ALS risk. Researchers did not find that lycopene, beta-cryptoxanthin, and vitamin C reduced the risk of ALS. Long-term vitamin C supplement intake was also not associated with lower ALS risk.

Dr. Ascherio concludes, "Our findings suggest that consuming carotenoid-rich foods may help prevent or delay the onset of ALS. Further food-based analyses are needed to examine the impact of dietary nutrients on ALS."