“Wonder Foods”

By aria{3MG}

Greetings Masters,
Greetings Mistresses,
Greetings slaves,

This month I have been doing some reading on foods that can be used as preventative measures for some diseases. “Wonder Foods”

When I was younger and probably most people now days tell their children “eat your vegetables”. That is as important today as ever.

Most fresh fruit and vegetables have little or no fat, cholesterol or sodium, rich in fiber and packed with nutrients and have few calories.

In a nut shell, the nutrients you find in fruits and veggies, help maintain and repair your body’s tissues, provide structure for bones, teeth and functions that keep your body healthy, active and energetic. Some studies indicate that people whose diets include lots of fruits and veggies have lower disease rates.

The Cancer Connection
National Cancer Institute estimates that more then one third of all cancer deaths are related to diet, and could be prevented if people ate more wholesome foods including fruits and vegetables.

The Heart Disease Link
The American Heart Association has recommended that people cut back on fat and increase their consumption of carbohydrate and fiber-rich fruit, vegetables, legumes and whole grains in order to lower the risk of developing heart disease. This may help lower blood cholesterol levels, prevent fatty accumulation in blood vessel walls that leads to heart disease and possibly protect heart tissue from damage.

Top 10 anti-cancer foods
You will see the term flavonoids used throughout many of the definitions. Flavonoids are any of a group of aromatic compounds that includes many common pigments, found in fruits, vegetables, and certain beverages.

• Tomatoes - cancers of the lungs, cervix, prostate and mouth.
• Blueberries - blueberries are shown to protect against several cancers. Blueberries contain chemicals that act as antioxidants, believed to protect the body against "oxidative stress," one of the biological processes that cause aging. So you could probably call blueberries the “fruit of youth.”
• Red Cabbage, Red Beets - All cabbages - including broccoli, cauliflower, kale, brussel sprouts bok choy are rich in calcium. They are also extremely rich in cancer-fighting flavonoids. Red cabbage is at the top of the list. It is the richest source of all vegetables, as well as red beets.
• Spinach - Spinach is a rich source of vitamin C, beta-carotene - both are potent antioxidants - and folic acid. It has been found that people who include two or more servings of spinach per week, have considerably lower lung and breast cancer rates.
• Garlic - They say women who consume garlic at least once a week also have a 32% lower incidence of breast cancer. Garlic is not just good for woman but for men as well. Its an all around health promoting food.
• Whole Wheat - The more whole grain there is in a woman's diet, the lower her risk of breast cancer and heart disease.
• Oranges - Oranges are rich in many potent cancer-fighting compounds. Associated with significantly lower lung and stomach cancers.
• Strawberries
• Beans - Beans are loaded with protease inhibitors, compounds that make it hard for cancer cells to invade adjacent tissue. Soybeans are especially rich in isoflavones, which appears to reduce the risk of breast cancer by blocking the tumor-growing influence of estrogen.

Reading all this and making oneself aware of certain foods can definitely make an impact on your health and how you feel all the way around.

I hope this has been informative and helpful to you all in some small way.
Thank you for your time.

Until next month, here is wishing you all well and a safe and happy October.

aria{3MG}