Orange juice benefits

Orange juice/Oranges
Quit bottled juice and squeeze one fresh orange juice glass which is most refreshing,tasty and healthy.

Sweet varieties suitable for juices are Valencia, navel, Jaffa and blood orange (hybrid species, more aromatic in flavor), clementine (loos skin and seedless).Choose loose skin varieties and extract juice when at room temperature, roll them first on a flat surface under the palm to get maximum juice. Orange juice squeezed fresh in small amount and served in glass is safer than squeezed in large quantity and stored in stainless steel jugs when heated up cause’s bacteria to grow. Orange juice can be stored up to 2 weeks at room temperature. Do not store wrapped to prevent moisture and mold. Orange juice should be consumed in small amount (high consumption can leach calcium from body and causes decay of bones and teeth) as it has high calorie content and can cause to gain additional weight.  One orange (131gms) contains nutrient % daily value, Vitamin C 116%, fiber 12.5%, folate 9.8% and considerable amount of vitamin A, B, K and calcium.

Orange juice prevents inflammatory ailments such as atherosclerosis and insulin resistance and enhances body’s essential vitamin C content up to 60% which retards hardening of arteries, stimulates white cells to fight infections and builds immune system and prevents early ageing signs of skin and tissue damage.it lowers chances of cold, flu and recurrent ear infections. Orange juice contains hesperidin which has strong anti-inflammatory effects and improves the function of blood vessels and lowers high blood pressure and cholesterol level. After being oxidized cholesterol sticks to the artery walls, builds plaque and blocks blood flow to cause heart attack. Vitamin C neutralizes free radicals and prevents oxidation of cholesterol.

Vitamin C in oranges is primarily water soluble antioxidant and prevents damage in aqueous environment both inside and outside cells. Inside cells a potential result of free radical damage to DNA is cancer.  In areas of high cellular turnover like digestive system, vitamin C prevents DNA mutations and is associated with reduced risk of colon cancer .vitamin C provides protection from asthma, osteo arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Oranges contain limonoids which help to fight cancers of mouth, skin, lungs, breast, stomach and colon. Long acting limonin is attached to glucose which is digested and utilized releasing limonin which is absorbed in amount as of vitamin C. Human liver cells produce less apo B structural protein which is necessary for LDL production when exposed to limonin.3% mixture of hesperidin and naringin which are polymethoxylated phenols from citrus fruits, work like statin drugs and inhibits the synthesis of cholesterol and triglycerides inside the liver.

Fiber from oranges keeps blood sugar levels under control and good for diabetics, also grabs cancer causing chemicals and keep them away from cells of the colon, reduces constipation(because of alkaline effects of oranges) or diarrhea in those who have irritable bowel syndrome.

Women’s  who drank  ½ to 1 liter  orange juice daily, their urinary pH value and citric acid excretion increases and significantly drops the risk of calcium oxalate stone formation. People who have highest level of vitamin C or take one orange/glass of orange juice have 25% less chances of peptic ulcer caused by Helicobacter pylori bacterium.

  

Watermelon

Water melon:

           Water melons are low in calories but rich in vitamin A, B and C, juicy and nutritious. Water melon contains lycopene which helps boost the immune system. They have best antioxidants and good for cardiovascular diseases, colon cancer and diabetes. They contain no fat or cholesterol, they fill you up fast because it contains 92% water content, after eating 3-4 slices you feel filled and won’t be carving for more carbohydrates. Water melon can be used with barbeque and prevent you from overeating.

         Choose water melon which is symmetrical and firm, free from cuts and bruises, yellow area on watermelon surface indicates that water melon was on the ground while ripening under the sun and is sweet and juicy,slap it and if it sounds hollow then it is ripened.

 Water melon (citrullus lanatus), belongs to cucurbitaceae family. Butter nut, pumpkin, sweet melon, cucumber are some of the members of the same family.

Watermelon lemonade recipe

Ingredients

1(12-pound) watermelon (preferably seedless).

4 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup sugar

16 cups ice cubes  

Garnish:

Fresh mint leaves and lemon slices

Preparation

Cut watermelon flesh into 3-inch pieces; remove seeds if there is any.

Make puree of water melon flesh in a blender with lemon juice, sugar, ice cubes and salt as per taste. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl and discard solids. Serve over ice.

If juice extracted many hours before, drink will separate in layers, re-blend before serving.

Bad foods

BAD FOODS

If you are of opinion that following foods are not good for health then you need to change your mind.

These are not bad foods at all.

PEANUT BUTTER:

Two leveled table spoon of peanut butter contains16 grams of fat (180calories) though it is high in fat but it does not mean it is fattening. It tastes good and really nutritious and helps in appetite regulation. Peanut butter provides protein and folate (B vitamin important for healthy development of new cells).

A teaspoon of whole nut variety carries only 30 calories. Peanut butter consumption is associated with lower total cholesterol, lower LDL (low density lipoprotein, bad cholesterol) and lower triglycerides, all are associated with lower cardio cardiovascular disease risk.

Eat only teaspoonful of natural peanut butter smeared on couple of oat cakes (under 150 calories) with no added sweeteners.

BUTTER AND CHEESE: 

When you need to choose among margarine (hydrogenated vegetable oil), buttery spread (mixture of soybean and canola oils extracted and oxidized by industrial solvents to form butter substitute) and liquid vegetable oils, always prefer butter.

Butter contains heat stable monounsaturated fats(human adipose tissue contains mostly the same and is body’s preferred fat for energy storage for later use).Excess glucose is even converted to palmitic acid(saturated fat before storage)if saturated fat is toxic why nature made our bodies to produce this in large quantity for energy storage. This needs your consideration. Butter from grass fed varieties of animals is a good source of omega 3 fatty acids and extremely low in omega 6, as long as you are not consuming lot of omega 6 you don’t need to eat omega 3; There is also CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) in grass fed animal varieties butter which is a naturally occurring trans-fat and have potential anticancer properties.

Grass fed varieties animal butter and cheese contain vitamin K2 which has potent anticancer, anti-osteoporosis and anti-atherosclerosis effects. One ounce of cheese contains130 calories.

Always choose individually wrapped fat free cheese.

COCONUT OIL

Avoid ---oils rich in omega 6 fatty acids like corn oil and vegetable oil and prefer to consume virgin coconut oil (120calories per table spoon)

 which contains medium chain triglycerides and metabolize faster than long chain varieties e.g. sunflower oil. They are rarely stored as fat because body prefer to use them for energy. It is found that supplementing women’s diet with 2 table spoon of coconut oil per day fueled reduction in abdominal obesity and elevation of HDL (high density lipoprotein, good cholesterol) level but there was no negative impact on LDL or blood pressure.

EGGS

Saturated fats and trans-fats are known as major cause in raising blood cholesterol than dietary cholesterol (in egg yolk). People who eat egg in breakfast felt more satisfied and ate less at lunch.

Egg yolk contain lutein and zeaxanthin which are linked with reduced risk for age related macular degeneration (AMD) which is the leading cause of blindness in people over 50years of age, egg also contain choline(micro nutrient necessary for fat metabolism and lipid clearance from liver)which protects against fatty liver, choline is the precursor of acetylcholine( important brain chemical in the formation of retention of memory),egg yolk also contain pre formed vitamin A which our body absorbs  far better than beta carotene, vitamin E, vitamin K2 and some omega 3 fatty acids. Single egg yolk contains nearly recommended daily allowance (RDA) for dietary cholesterol and also contains zinc, iron, vitamin A and Vitamin D

Egg white alone do not tastes good and is nutritionally bereft also, egg yolk do not adversely affect cardiovascular system.

Hardboiled egg makes a great snack and has only around 70 calories, make it sure it should not be accompanied by fattening companions such as butter, bacon and cheese.

RED MEAT 

Red meat is considered to be associated with heart diseases and wide waist lines but red meat is stellar source of satisfying protein (known ally in weight management), it requires time and energy to digest and helps to gain metabolically active muscles which burn more calories at rest than fat.

Grass fed varieties contains high concentration of CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) which is associated with lower body fat percentage. CLA disrupts enzymes that help deposit and store fat.

Lean cuts of beef are low fat, source of protein and iron (mineral essential for carrying oxygen from lungs to cells throughout the body) and child bearing women are particularly deficient in it.

Select deep red steaks with relatively small amount of fat.

POTATOES 

Potatoes have high glycemic index(GI),tends to cause spike in blood sugar and insulin helps glucose get into the cells, it is considered that it can cause some problem to diabetics but potatoes are good source of fiber, potassium and vitamin C . A high GI potato becomes a low GI meal if added with little olive oil because it slows down the absorption of potato carbohydrates.

If you want baked potatoes don’t add topping of butter or cheese on it instead use plain yoghurt.

BANANA

Green banana difficult to eat but it contains a type of dietary fiber known as resistant starch that our body cannot absorb and gives the feeling of fullness, also smell of banana helps reduce appetite. Resistant starch increases post meal fat burning. Butyrate is the byproduct of unabsorbed carbohydrates (which inhibit the body’s ability to burn carbohydrates forcing it to burn fat).

Make a smoothie of green banana in blender and sip it.