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Consuming fruits and vegetables provide copious health benefits. Produce consumption has been shown to lower the risk of developing various chronic conditions and is protective against certain types of cancer. Experts recommend consuming a rainbow of colored produce to provide the various vitamins and minerals that are essential to maintain optimal health. Do your body and taste buds a favor and choose to add blueberries into your diet. Blueberries are packed with nutrients which provide many health benefits.
6 Main Health Benefits of Blueberries
(1) Vitamin C
Get 25% of your daily vitamin C requirements in 1 cup of blueberries. Vitamin C is essential for tissue growth and repair, keeping gums and teeth healthy, and aids in iron absorption. Vitamin C is also an antioxidant which can neutralize free radicals. Free radicals are responsible for the aging process on the body and may play a negative role in cancer, heart health, and inflammatory diseases such as arthritis.
(2) Manganese
One cup of blueberries contains 25% of your daily manganese requirements. Manganese is essential for tendon and skeletal development and may play a role in blood pressure, fertility, reproduction and energy production.
(3) Vitamin K
Obtain about one third of your daily vitamin K requirements by consuming 1 cup of blueberries. Vitamin K is essential in blood clotting. Blood clotting is important to prevent excessive bleeding with an open cut. Studies also suggest that vitamin K may also be involved in calcium metabolism and in maintaining bone health.
(4) Anthocyanins
Anthocyanins are compounds that provide blueberries with that rich blue/purple color. Studies suggest that, due to its antioxidant properties, anthocyanins may play a role in decreasing the risk of cancer, cognitive decline and heart disease. The disease-fighting powers of Anthocyanins is one of the many reasons experts, such as the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, recommend consuming a rainbow of different colored fruits and vegetables.
(5) Fiber
1 cup of blueberries contains 4 grams of fiber. Fiber is essential for bowel health because it promotes bowel regularity and reduces constipation. Fiber not only regulates blood sugar and helps with satiety, but it can also reduce blood cholesterol. Reducing blood cholesterol can help lower the risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, and diverticulosis.
(6) Low in Calories, Fat, and Cholesterol
One cup of blueberries provides only 85 calories and essentially no fat and cholesterol! Blueberries make a great snack (and treat!) for individuals trying to lose weight due to the low calorie content. Blueberries make a good heart healthy snack because they are low in fat and cholesterol. Consuming excess cholesterol can cause plaque to build up in the arteries which could lead to a heart attack or stroke.
For being low in calories, fat, and cholesterol, blueberries are packed with nutrients and antioxidants-making it a great snack to add to your diet. Not only is it a great food for weight-conscious individuals, but blueberries are also great for those whom want to eat a heart and bone healthy, bowel friendly, and antioxidant rich snack.
Sprouts are an amazing little nutrient dense, powerhouse superfood. Sprouts are shoots from a plant seed. They come in many different varieties and lucky for us a whole bunch of these are edible! Green, red leaf, alfalfa, radish, broccoli, and clover are a few different varieties of sprouts, but did you know that you can also sprout chickpeas, quinoa, lentils and even almonds?
There are many reasons why sprouting is a good idea: it is extremely economical, you can ensure that you are getting extremely fresh, organic, local food into your diet daily and you can do it from home all winter long. I don’t think there is one good reason not to sprout. Here are the top 10 reasons to eat sprouts daily.
1. Enzymes
It has been estimated that there can be up to 100 times more enzymes in sprouts than in uncooked fruits and vegetables. Enzymes are types of proteins that act as catalysts for all of your bodily functions. Enzymes extract more vitamins, minerals, amino acids and fatty acids from the foods that you eat and ensures your body has the nutritional building blocks to ensure every process works as effectively as possible.
2. More Fiber
Fiber is an extremely important factor in any diet, did you know it actually binds to fats and toxins within our bodies and helps us eliminate them? It also ensures that any fat our bodies break down is moved through the body before it has a chance to reabsorb through the walls of the intestines.
3. Higher Vitamin Content
The vitamin content from certain seeds, grains, beans and nuts actually increases by up to 20 times the original value after only a few days of sprouting. Mung beansprouts, for example, increase in vitamin B1 by up to 285 percent, vitamin B2 by up to 515 percent and niacin by up to 256 percent.
4. Your Body Can Easily Utilize Sprouts
During the sprouting process, minerals bind to the proteins in the seeds, nuts or grains making them more useable in the body. This is true especially for more alkalizing minerals such as calcium and magnesium, they help us balance our body chemistry for potential weight loss and better health.
5. Sprouts Have The Highest Concentration Of Phytonutrients Of Any Food
That is a pretty bold statement, but according to this study from the Journal of Applied Science it is true. Phytonutrients play an active role in the amendment of disease.
6. Research Shows Sprouts May Prevent Cancer
There have been numerous studies done to show that the consumption of sprouts can actually prevent various forms of cancer. One study in particular that was led by scientists from John Hopkins, found that a highly concentrated source of sulforaphane, a compound they identified in 1992 that helps mobilize the body’s natural cancer-fighting resources and reduces the risk of developing cancer. Broccoli sprouts, contain unusually high levels of glucoraphanin, the naturally-occurring precursor of sulforaphane.
7. Sprouts Can Help Alkalize Your Body
Sprouts themselves are quite alkaline, eating them can directly help maintain the acid alkaline balance within the body, which ultimately leads to good health overall. Nobel Prize winner Otto Heinrich Warburgh stated:
“Cancer cannot exist in an alkaline oxygen rich environment.”
8. Energizing
The energy contained in the little seed, nut, bean, or grain is ignited through the soaking and sprouting process.
9. Extremely Economical
Sprouting is extremely cheap! Sure you can buy little plastic containers at the store for around $2-$4 for conventional and $3-$5 for organic. Or you could save your money, save the environment, save the trip to the store and sprout your own for just pennies a batch!
10. Sprouts Are Extremely Easy To Grow Yourself Anytime Of The Year
Sprouts are grown indoors, most varieties need only water, and many don’t even need sunlight. All you need is a jar, a piece of mesh or old pantyhose, water and sprout seeds!
Bonus: Sprouts are extremely tasty! I like to eat them sprinkled in salads, on sandwiches, and on flatbread type crackers with Vegenaise and tomato slices. Mmm mm good!
How To Sprout Your Own Sprouts
What You Need:
- A thoroughly cleaned mason jar
- A piece of fine mesh or a piece from an old pair of pantyhose big enough to cover the top of the jar (cheesecloth doesn’t work very well for this because sometimes the seeds get caught in the material.)
- Sprouting seeds
- Water
Instructions:
- Put between 2 and 4 Tablespoons of any kind of sprout seeds you choose. I really like Mumm’s brand seeds. They are organic and they also have a variety of many yummy sprout combinations. My favorite is the “sandwich booster” blend. Sometimes I add a little “crunchy bean mix” and sprout these together. Its very simple.
- Cover the seeds with filtered water, let seeds soak for 8 hours or over night.
- Cover the top of the jar with the mesh or pantyhose and secure with either the ring only for the top of the jar or a tightly wrapped elastic band. Drain the water.
- Pour some more water over the seeds, then swirl the jar around to rinse them, then discard the water.
- Put the jar in a bowl or container so that it can sit downwards at about a 45-degree angle, so the water can drain out.
- Place the jar in a dark area, or in a cupboard. Rinse the sprouts and replace them in the downward position twice daily.
- Your sprouts should be ready in about 3-5 days, enjoy!
You can also buy nifty little sprouting devices in the form of jars or trays, but this isn’t really necessary. The method above has worked very well for me over the years. Happy sprouting!
Some of the health benefits of wakame include its ability to aid in weight loss, lower cholesterol, boost heart health, prevent cancer, boost energy levels, maintains hormonal balance, build strong bones, increase circulation, improve skin health, and protects infant health.
Introduction to Wakame
Wakame is a variety of seaweed that is commonly used in Japanese cuisine. Its scientific name is Undaria pinnatifida and although it is considered one of the most invasive species of seaweed on the planet, it is healthy and beneficial when added to any diet. In Japan, wakame is commonly used in soups and salads, as well as in the form of a side dish, like tofu. The taste is briny and salty, with a slightly sweet taste mixed in that flavors other foods in such a delightful way. Japanese sea farmers have grown this seaweed for hundreds of years, and it is beginning to gain popularity in other parts of the world as well, particularly in France.
However, the best thing about wakame, besides its taste and versatility, is the enormous amount of health benefits that it contains. Most of these health benefits come from the rich supply of vitamins and minerals contained in these delicate green leaves, as well as certain organic compounds that have only recently begun to be studied.
Nutritional Facts of Wakame
Wakame is a very important source of vitamins and minerals, including iodine, calcium, iron, and magnesium, as well as folate, vitamin A, C, D, E, K, and B2. Wakame also contains lignans and fucoxanthin, which have their own unique health benefits. Let’s take a closer look at some of these health benefits.
Health Benefits of Wakame
Weight Control: The extremely small amount of calories, carbohydrates, and fats in wakame are one reason why it fills you up without adding too many calories to your diet, but that isn’t the only reason why people turn to wakame to control their obesity. Researchers have discovered a compound called fucoxanthin in wakame that actually inhibits the accumulation of fat in the cells and stimulates fat oxidation. This unique compound, rarely found in vegetables, is the reason that wakame has its unusual brown color, because it also helps in photosynthesis.
Cholesterol and Heart Health: Along with its inhibitory affects on fat accumulation, fucoxanthin also stimulates the liver to increase its production of DHA, which is a particularly kind of fatty acid that actually lowers the levels of “bad” cholesterol in your system. This is the type of cholesterol commonly associated with atherosclerosis and artery blockage, so you are able to protect yourself from various heart diseases, as well as heart attacks and strokes by adding this brittle, salty seaweed to your soups and salads!
Circulation: The high content of iron in wakame means that it increases your production of red blood cells. Iron is an essential part of red blood cells, and higher levels means increased circulation in your cardiovascular system, which provides additional oxygen to essential parts of the body, boosts energy, increases the health of your skin, and speeds up the healing process of all the tissues and organs in your body!
Cancer Prevention: Although it might seem like an insignificant addition to your diet, wakame can actually help to protect your body from developing cancer. Iodine, which is an essential part of any diet, is very high in all seaweeds, particularly wakame. Iodine has been connected to lower levels of breast cancer, evidenced by the notable increase in Japanese men and women who turn to a more Western diet. Furthermore, the lignans found in wakame have also been linked to lower levels of breast cancer!
Energy Booster: Magnesium is an extremely versatile and useful mineral in our body. The high levels in wakame mean that this variety of seaweed can help our body transfer energy efficiently, regulate hormones throughout the body, and help our body produce and utilize protein, which is essential for almost every bodily function related to growth or repair.
Infant Health: Folate, also known as Vitamin B9, is extremely vital for pregnant women, as it has been consistently connected with lowered chances of neural tube defects in infants. Wakame contains significant amounts of folate, so pregnant women should add some Japanese dishes to their pregnancy diet!
Bone Health: Calcium is one of the most important minerals when it comes to protecting the integrity and durability of our bones. The high levels of calcium found in wakame help your body increase bone growth and speeds up repair, thereby preventing early onset osteoporosis and keeping you fit and active well into your old age!
Hormonal Balance: Iodine is the most important component of the hormonal balance in our body. It is an integral aspect of creating the thyroid hormone, which controls a number of processes throughout the body, and it is also necessary for the production of energy in the body. High levels of iodine in wakame have been praised around the world as a healthy, delicious way to keep your energy levels up and your hormones balanced.
A Final Word of Caution: Although the vast majority of the components in wakame are beneficial for your health, it does have a relatively high level of sodium, which isn’t the best choice for people already suffering from obesity or blood pressure problems. Sodium works against potassium to lower blood pressure, so be careful not to overdo it on the wakame in your meals. Other than that, enjoy this delicious Japanese delicacy!
