Carotenoids, more than meets the eye.

Photo: Peddhapati

Did your mother bribe you to eat your carrots to protect your eyes?

"Here honey, these mushy canned vegetables are magic!"  Ya right mom.

Here's the lowdown on carotenoids...

They need fat to be absorbed.  Olive oil anyone ;)

Carotenoids simplified = orange vegetables. (Eat the rainbow!)

They have Vitamin A activity and convert to retinol. 1 Cup of pumpkin has 245% of your daily value of Vitamin A.  Wo!

Vitamin A boosts your immune system

They also act as antioxidants

In your eyes carotenoids stop blue and near-ultraviolet light from being absorbed to protect your retina. These lights can also cause cataracts. Dang it my mom was right! The degeneration of the retina is the leading cause of blindness in adults.  Protect those eyes! Don your giant sunglasses and eat those orange vegetables.

Carotenoids help your cells to communicate with each other.  This is especially important because cancerous cells lose this ability.

Carotenoids may protect against Cardiovascular Disease as they are very fat soluble and travel with lipoproteins in your bloodstream.  They have shown some reduction in IMT halting or reversing atherosclerosis. (sorry, big science words...are you still here? whew!)  This seems to indicate an anti-inflammatory effect, which is one of our highest goals to fight our modern diseases.

Eat up!

Eat raw vegetables and gently cooked too.  To absorb all the nutrients you can.

Alpha-Carotene Content of Selected Foods
Food	Serving	Alpha-Carotene (mg)
Pumpkin, canned	1 cup	11.7
Carrot juice, canned	1 cup (8 fl oz)	10.2
Carrots, cooked	1 cup	5.9
Carrots, raw	1 medium	2.1
Mixed vegetables, frozen, cooked	1 cup	1.8
Winter squash, baked	1 cup	1.4
Plantains, raw	1 medium	0.8
Collards, frozen, cooked	1 cup	0.2
Tomatoes, raw	1 medium	0.1
Tangerines, raw	1 medium	0.09
Peas, edible-podded, frozen, cooked	1 cup	0.09

Beta-Carotene Content of Selected Foods
Food	Serving	Beta-Carotene (mg)
Carrot juice, canned	1 cup (8 fl oz)	22.0
Pumpkin, canned	1 cup	17.0
Spinach, frozen, cooked	1 cup	13.8
Sweet potato, baked	1 medium	13.1
Carrots, cooked	1 cup	13.0
Collards, frozen, cooked	1 cup	11.6
Kale, frozen, cooked	1 cup	11.5
Turnip greens, frozen, cooked	1 cup	10.6
Pumpkin pie	1 piece	7.4
Winter squash, cooked	1 cup	5.7
Carrots, raw	1 medium	5.1
Dandelion greens, cooked	1 cup	4.1
Cantaloupe, raw	1 cup	3.2

2.

Now where will we find some orange vegetables around here?

Photo: Liz West

Warnings:

"additional β-carotene from supplements is unlikely to be beneficial and may actually be harmful" 1.

Sources:

http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2601/2

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carotenoid

2. http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/phytochemicals/carotenoids/

Allergies, over active immune systems and what you can do about it Part 2

Photo: Nomadic Lass 

What to add to your daily routine to help your allergies...

Vitamins...

Vitamin A- helps your immune function. Emulsified (fish oil) is easily absorbed. Can also be found in lemon grass, beta-carotene, 

Zinc- Is needed for your immune and reproductive systems and is found in whole grains, seeds, and nuts. If you are taking it in supplement form use one with the transporter picolinate as it has been proven to be more effective. (especially for men over 40)

Vitamin C- Very high doses of vitamin c can raise your health.  It repairs your immune system and and can play big role in treatment of allergic symptoms.  Many people are deficient in this nutrient. Your body will only absorb as much vitamin c as it needs. Dr. Null suggests that you can determine how much your body needs by bowel tolerance- yes that's exactly what it sounds like- stay with me here... Your bowel will absorb the exact amount it needs and release the rest.  Progressively increase the dosage of vitamin c until bowel movements are loose and then back off until the loose bowel movements cease. Phew, we made it through it. Know that it may be 3-5 grams 3x per day. (note that's g not mg)  Try it and see if your symptoms are reduced.

BioFlavonoids- work hand in hand with vitamin c and often come with foods that contain vitamin c. flavinol and quercetin and pycnogenol.

GLA Gamma Linoleic Acid- restores immune function.  Can be found in evening primrose oil, borage oil and black current seed oil. 

Vitamin E- Builds immune function.  Many women are often deficient in vitamin e.  Female problems cause a deficiency of vitamin e and may affect your immune system. Naturally vitamin e can be found in soybean oil.There is also a water soluble version. Try 200-400IU per day  (also helps ovarian function and skin rejuvenation)

Selenium- trace mineral- is a very important component of the immune system. This mineral comes from the soil and is in decreasing supply due to conventional farming which is stripping nutrients from our soil.  Go organic and you will gain lots of nutrients from your food getting to live in that rich compost that comes from rotational planting.

Vitamin B- helps your immune system (are you starting to see the immune system allergy link?) Is best from food sources as your body absorbs it best.

Garlic- Stimulates the immune system and is  anti-bacterial, anti-viral, and anti-fungal. So eat up! (together preferably so you can't smell it)

Other things to consider...

Inflammatory foods and lifestyles lead to a host of health problems.  Asthma is an inflammatory disease as are many allergy symptoms.  reduce the foods in your life that lead to inflammation and add those that help reduce swelling. (And yes, there's an article coming soon about just that! lucky you!)

sources: 

Vitamin C from Puritan's Pride

-No More Allergies by: Dr. Gary Null (This is a great example of read with attention.  Some of Dr. Nulls ideas seem far fetched but there is invaluable information and research in the book.  So read, skim, note and re-read.  Then compare it to other sources.)

-http://fightinfoods.blogspot.com/p/sources-addictions.html

Beautiful Berries

For being such a sweet treat, berries pack quite a fighting punch!

Some thing to note:

Frozen Berries do not lose anti-oxidants, so stock up when those organic frozen ones are on sale!

They protect you from free radicals. (and therefore cancer too)

Now for the specifics...

Blackberries-

• Blackberries have the highest antioxidant content of all berries (other than Acai)
• They inhibit tumor cells.

Contain

• Vitamin A
• Vitamin C
• Vitamin E
• Vitamin K
• Folate
• Potassium
• Zinc
• Beta Carotene
• Lutein

Blueberries-

• Wild blueberries have high anti-oxidants so get picking!

Contain

• Vitamin C
• Manganese (hard to find)
• Fiber
• Anthocyanins (protect cells in body from free radical damage.)

Acai Berries-

• Freeze dried are a great source
• Anti-inflamitory
• Artritus relief
• Cox-1 and Cox-2 inhibitors

Contain

• beta-sitosterol
• phytosterol which competes with cholesterol for absorption and lowers LDL.
• Vitamin A
• Potassium
• Vitamin B1, B2, B3
• Vitamin C
• Vitamin E
• Magnesium (very important and hard to find)
• Copper
• Zinc
• Phosphorus which protects from Leukemia.

It's overwhelming all the health benefits these berries pack. Go grab a bowl, then get Googling all those 'what on earth?!' words.

Harvest Time! Watermelons

               Photo: Harsha K R

Back up the truck! It’s time to load up on watermelons.

Some studies have found watermelon to have 40% higher lycopene than tomatoes and the brighter red the better! (“1 ½ cups of watermelon contains about 9 to 13 milligrams of lycopene”)  Lycopene is a powerful antioxidant and may reduce the risk of heart disease and some kinds of cancer.

Did you leave your watermelon out at that picnic? Not to worry! Studies have found 140% higher beta carotene when watermelon is warm than when it’s in the fridge. Leave your watermelon on the counter instead of taking up room in the fridge.

That’s not all. Watermelon is also full of ; vitamin C, pantothenic acid,  copper, biotin, potassium, vitamin A, vitamin B1, vitamin B6,  magnesium, and thiamin.

Looking for a quick way to eat your watermelon? Try slicing it in half then place both halves on their flat sides.  Slice straight down in rows then turn it ninety degrees and do the same. You’ll have a green handled stick of watermelon perfectly bite size.

Sources:

http://fightinfoods.blogspot.com/p/sources-addictions.html

http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/jun02/lyco0602.htm

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=31

http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/news/20060728/warm-watermelon-more-nutritious