It’s no secret that a poor diet can lead to poor health. Scientists and doctors agree that poor nutrition can contribute to a patient’s likelihood to develop a number of significant health problems. Some important health problems that can be negatively impacted by a poor diet include: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and type 2 diabetes. Even heart attacks and strokes may be related to a patient’s poor diet. In fact, there is a current trend towards patients developing these detrimental diet-related ailments in the United States and in most Western countries.

It is quite possible to reverse the trend of poor health caused by a poor diet. The answer is to eat healthier, more nutritious foods and to increase the amount of exercise each individual does. Most people would like to follow a more nutritional diet plan, but they simply don’t have the knowledge to accomplish their goal. Much of the average person’s diet consists of fats, carbohydrates, and proteins. People simply don’t know what foods are best for them and they may not have the resources to get the information that they need. (more…)

“To my favorite honeydew, do you carrot all for me?
My heart beets for you, with your turnip nose, and radish face.
You are a peach. If we cantaloupe, lettuce marry.
Weed make a swell pear.” ~ Author - unknown

“Eat your vegetables and fruits” is one of the most heard recommendations and it holds true for every age group, from children to the elderly.

Most people that eat meat do not consume enough vegetables and fruits. They believe that their nutritional requirement is being met with meat. This is a totally wrong notion as plant food includes more fiber and less cholesterol and fat than a meat diet.

Irrespective of the age of the person, it is important to ensure that the body is deriving the benefits of all the essential nutrients, by eating a well-balanced diet with the addition of plenty of vegetables and fruits. This will provide the body with the much needed vitamins and proteins that keep all sorts of diseases, such as heart diseases at bay.

Researchers have confirmed that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables lowers the risk of stroke and heart disease. They believe that the higher the intake of fruits and vegetables, the lower the chances of cardiovascular disease. Although, all the vegetables and fruits contribute towards the health of the heart, green leafy vegetables such as spinach, lettuce, mustard greens and Swiss chard; cruciferous vegetables such as cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts; citrus fruits such as lemons, limes, grapefruit and oranges (even juice) are excellent for the heart.

The main risk for stroke and heart disease is high blood pressure, which needs to be kept under control. People take medications on a regular basis and diet is considered to be an extremely effective means of lowering blood pressure. Consuming a diet rich in vegetables and fruits has been found by researchers to lower the systolic blood pressure by almost 11 mm Hg and the diastolic blood pressure by 6 mm Hg, which is as good as any medication. Blood pressure can be lowered even more when carbohydrates in the diet are replaced with unsaturated fat or protein. (more…)

I am sure everyone who grew up listening to, “I yam what I yam and that’s all I yam,” would remember Popeye the sailor. For mothers, it was the “spinach advantage” as they could get the kids to eat spinach by telling them that they would possess superhuman strength just like Popeye.

It is amazing to note that all the spinach farmers from Crystal City honored Popeye by erecting his statue in the town, for saving the spinach industry from dying. The influence these cartoon characters have is simply unbelievable.

Scientists now are singing the same song as Popeye, that it is possible to get bulging biceps like Popeye, by eating his favorite food – spinach. They have recently found that this green leafy vegetable does boost the strength, because spinach contains phyteocdysteroids, a type of steroid that works on development of muscles.

Scientists used extracts of phyteocdysteroids on lab samples of muscles and were amazed to find that the muscle growth speeded up by almost 20%.

Even studies conducted on rats saw an increase in the strength of the rats in just one short month.
Researchers say that eating spinach, apart from being good for increasing muscle growth, is also very good for the eyes, teeth, gum problems and anemia. It has the potential to keep a lot of frequently occurring diseases at bay.

Looks like the creators of Popeye could look into the future too. There is a story that goes to say that they in fact wanted to make garlic as Popeye’s strength enhancer, when they were devising the original comic in 1919, but by 1932 he was eating spinach that gave him his superhuman powers. (more…)