Thursday 14 March 2013
Wednesday 24 October 2012
Junk is conquered!
10 ways to triumph over the evil.
Calorie cares: Inspite of their fat content, Avacados are capable of lowering cholesterol. Replacing 5% of your calories from saturated fat (butter & cheese) with monounsaturated fat – present in Avocados –reduces the risk of heart attack by more than a third.
Avacados are high
in beta-sitosterol, a plant sterol that blocks the absorption of cholesterol
from food, and the anticancer compound glutathione, a powerful antioxidant.
Protein: Beans are very good for your heart because of their soluble fibre by
atleast 10-15% that soaks up cholesterol that sticks like glue to artery walls.
Blood sugar also benefits from the same soluble fibre combined with beans
protein. Furthermore, magnesium relaxes arteries, giving extra room for the blood
to flow and lowers blood pressure.
Enzymes: Broccoli is the No.1 chosen soldier to fight cancer, thanks to its
sulfur compounds, such as sulforaphane, which you can smell as broccoli cooks.
These compounds signal our genes to boost production of enzymes that detoxify
potentially cancer-causing compounds. The risk of breast, lung, stomach and
colon cancer, all can be fought with this weapon. Sulforaphane has also been
found to kill the bacteria that cause ulcers. Broccoli's is a non-dairy source
of calcium and potassium, making it good for your bones as well as your blood
pressure. Its vitamin C and beta-carotene protect your eyes from cataracts and
safeguard your brain cells from memory-robbing attacks by free radicals.
Flavonoids: Dark chocolate-The ultimate flavonoid farmer. It contains hefty amounts of
disease-fighting flavonoids, antioxidants also found in red wine and
many fruits and vegetables. In fact, it appears to have more flavonoids than
any other food. Its antioxidants can improve blood pressure, prevent blood
clots, slow the oxidation of LDL cholesterol (making it less likely to stick to
artery walls), and reduce inflammation. Some research suggests that eating 45
grams (1.5 ounces) a day can cut heart attack risk by 10 percent. Eating dark
chocolate can also lower insulin resistance, the main problem behind diabetes.
Soluble fibre: A tablespoon of ground flaxseed over cereal or yogurt provides an easy 2.3 grams
of fibre, more than what is in the cereal itself! But flaxseed is most revered
for its lignans. They act like estrogen in the body, blocking estrogen
receptors on cells and contributing to reduced rates of certain hormone-related
cancers, such as breast cancer. Flaxseed is also a fantastic source of
alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), an essential fatty acid the body uses to make
omega-3 fatty acids. ALA thins the blood and makes it less sticky, reducing the
risk of heart attack and stroke. The little seeds also can lower cholesterol,
thanks to their big stocks of soluble fibre. Their anti-inflammatory power may
also help keep various conditions, from acne to asthma, at bay.
The anti of everything: Garlic-has more health benefits
than any other food. Garlic has antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral
properties; it even appears to banish some antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Most
of its disease-fighting potential comes from its sulfur compounds, which act as
antioxidants, providing many of its cardiovascular benefits. Garlic lowers
cholesterol only modestly, but it also acts as a blood thinner, reducing the
formation of blood clots and your risk of heart attack and stroke. Just 6 or
more cloves a week can slash your risk of colorectal, stomach and prostate
cancer in half, compared to eating one clove a week or less. The sulfur
compounds flush out carcinogens before they can damage cell DNA, and they force
cancer cells that do develop to self-destruct.
Favoured Fat: The fat in salmon is like liquid gold when it comes to your blood
vessels. Just 2 servings of salmon a week can reduce your risk of dying from
cardiovascular disease by 17 % and your risk of having a heart attack by 27 %.
And the benefits appear to go beyond the heart. People who had the highest
levels of omega-3 fatty acids in their blood were 53 % less likely to report
feeling mildly or moderately depressed.
Vitamin K: Spinach, in addition to protecting your eyes from age-related
macular degeneration, thanks to its carotenoids, has high concentrations of
vitamin K, which can help maintain bone density and prevent fractures. The
green stuff is also a powerful source of potassium and magnesium as well as
folate, all of which can keep blood pressure low, reducing the risk of stroke.
Folate also appears to reduce the risk of lung cancer in former smokers.
Calcium: Yogurt is a great source of bone-building calcium, but its
armour is bacteria, known as probiotics, that keep down the growth of harmful
bacteria in your gut. Too many "bad" bacteria can lead to gastrointestinal
and other health problems. Eating more yogurt could help with inflammatory
bowel disease, ulcers, urinary tract infections and vaginal yeast infections etc.
Probiotics also produce immunity-enhancing compounds and natural antibiotics
that help reduce levels of nasty bacteria in the gut.
With the bow of 10 healthy foods, set fire to junk. Happy Dussehra!
Monday 8 October 2012
Beer it all!
*A healthy high!
Curiosity about the best misjudged drink forces me to hop around the
health head retention in the buddy beverage. Keeping aside its beer belly stardom,
under the influence tag and no one can have just one reputation; beer is afterall
a healthy drink. The idea behind this article is to ferment healthy thoughts
about beer under strict PG.
Cheeerssssssss!!!
Beer is fat-free, cholesterol-free and low in carbohydrates—a
341-ml bottle of beer with 5 % alcohol has 5 gms of carbohydrates, while a pear
with the skin on has 26 gms. Relax, take a deep breath before you stop exercising
your elbow to start guzzling. We are not asking you shove the healthy
vegetables and fruits in cold storage attic. Instead pair it with your beer to
get twice as healthy high. Beer consumption in MODERATION can actually be a
healthier beverage choice than soda or sugary fruit cocktails. This is especially
true when you are counting calories.
Beer
can be nutritious, but you got to be cautious
Beer is made from hops, barley and wheat, so the brew naturally comprises of the same nutrients that grains do, including B vitamins, riboflavin, niacin and zinc. A bottle of beer can contains 92 mg of potassium, 14 mg of calcium and 48 mg of phosphorus, all minerals that are essential to a healthy diet. With the presence of barley (a source of soluble fibre), 2 glasses of beer can provide 10 % of your recommended daily fibre intake. Lowering the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes, warding of osteoporosis, preventing cancer etc are the other benefits of beer consumption.
Eat to yeast
With beer, flavour intensity involves a
variety of qualities such as alcoholic strength, malt character, hop
bitterness, sweetness, richness and roastiness. All this adds to identify the right pairing with beer. To top it all, we
are reinforcing health pairing… feels like, ‘let’s gulp it down for now, will bother with the bulge later.’ Infact
it’s not that bad at all. It all depends
on how your beer tastes that determines the right kind of food to go along with
it.
Tap your taste, health and fun buds.
Tap your taste, health and fun buds.
Salt flavours in food counters
acidic flavours in beer-sour or wild ales become less acidic with salty foods.
A few examples of sour beers include, Berliner Weiss, Gueze, Lambic,
Flanders Red & Brown, and many "wild" or funkified beers.
Acidity
Acidity exists to a certain
extent in all food dishes, especially tomato dishes and many salad dressings.
When you match acidic food with acidic beer, they nullify each other and only
mute the acidity tasted. This is desirable and helps enhance the enjoyment of
both the dish and the beer. Our tabled salad offerings are best suited for
any kind of beer, all tossed with olive oil.
http://www.bunkthejunk.com/?page_id=17
Sweetness in either food or beer paired with an acidic counterpart increases the acidity. It’s advisable to avoid pairing sweet and acidic flavours together—imagine toothpaste and orange juice. This is why so many more beers with natural sweetness work so well with dessert compared to so few wines. Our healthy cakes, muffins fit in perfectly well here.
Fat
For now, let’s gulp down the good health hiccups of beer. Coming soon, more on Bunk The Junk food pairings.
Happy Oktoberfest!
Savour the drink and your health responsibly!
* Prescribed in MODERATE consumption only.
* Prescribed in MODERATE consumption only.
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