A Surprise Superfood
The real power to prevent and cure illnesses and diseases is not in prescription drugs but in eating healthy food. Raw fruit ranks especially high on the list of healing food. It is not widely known to the average person just how powerful these fruits can be in building a healthy body. Here are a few fruits that are noteworthy to mention.
Kiwis offer an unusual array of health promoting substances. They are extremely rich in vitamin C and offer folate, potassium, fiber, carotenoids, polyphenoids, chorophyll, gluthione, and pictin.anti-oxidants Although everyone might not be knowledgeable about what these various substances are, that doesn't really matter. What is really important is they can help us build, restore and maintain a healthy body.
Kiwis are super antioxidant all stars offering a rich bounty of vitamin C.- more than the equivalent amount of an orange- kiwis can help neutralize the free radicals that damage cells, ultimately leading to inflammation which in turn, can lead to cancer and other chronic diseases.
Vitamin C plays such an important role in so many bodily functions including the immune system. It's even associated with preventing many ailments such as asthma, atherosclerrosis, osteoarthritis and colon cancer.
I didn't realize until recently what a powerful punch this fruit has regarding your overall health. This next news is really important . Kiwis also promote health heart. It lowers triglycleride levels, it reduces platelet hyperactivity - which in turn seems to play a role in the development and stabilityof artherosclerotic vascular plaques. Kiwi's can also promote heart health by limiting the tendency of blood to form clots. Now let's move on to some other fruits with amazing health benefits.
Oranges might have been America's first health food. It's long been recognized as a potent source of vitamin C. While they are a little bit of an effort to peel they are tasty and juicy to eat. It doesn't seem that too many people get excited about oranges but they should. The power of the orange to support heart health and prevent cancer, stroke, diabetes and a host of chronic ailments (as well as the common cold) should be a significant component in a healthy diet.
It's important to know that 20 to 30 percent of America's adults have marginal blood levels of vitamin C and 16 percent are deficient in the vitamin. Humans and a few animals can't manufacture vitamin C in their bodies.
It's water soluable and not retained in the body, so we need a constant replenishment from dietary sources to maintain adequate cellular and blood levels. What's even more alarming is a high percentage of children consume only minimal amounts of vitamin C. Because many people are so deficient in vitamin C we are seeing epidemics of heart disease, hypertension and cancer. Vitamin C along with other nutrients can play a major role in reducing these high levels of chronic disease.
Let's talk about another fruit now that is not so commonly known. I really never knew much about it myself but I'm now interested in giving it a try..
One of the joys of the autumn season, pomegranates are not only beautiful and exotic looking, but they also have health benefits that have long been known. Pomegranates can range in color from yellow to red to purple. They are rich in potassium, vitamin C, polyphenols and vitamin B6.
Pomegranates juice may have two to three times the antioxidant power of equal amounts of tea or red wine. As low as one quarter cup of pomegranates juice daily may improve cardiovascular health by reducing oxidation of LDL (bad) cholesterol. Pomegranates posesses yery potent anti-flammatory phytochemicals and consumption of pomegranate juice has been shown to lower blood pressure in hypertension volenteers.
Studies of several fruit juices and wine have reported the highest polyphenol concentration in pomegranate juice followed by red wine and cranberry juice.
The last fruit I want to tell you about is one who most people think of as a decorative gourd rather than a highly nutritious and desirable food ... it's the pumpkin. Usually we buy a pumpkin at Holloween to carve out and use it as a lighted decoration by putting a candle inside it and placing it in an appropriate place for people to look at and enjoy it. We usually only eat it once a year in a Thanksgiving pie.
This is unfortunate because the squash known as pumpkin is one of the most nutritionally valuable foods known to man. (By the way, pumpkin is not a vegetable, it's a fruit) It's also very inexpensive and available year round in canned form, incredibly easy to incorporate into recipies, high in fiber and low in calories. Pumpkin really is a nutrition super star.
The nutrients in pumpkin are really world class. Pumpkin packs an abundance of disese fighting nutrients, including potassium, pantothenic acid, folate, magnesium, niacin, and vitamin B1,C and E. The key nutrient that boost pumpkin to the top of the Superfoods RX list is the synergistic combination of carotenoids.
Pumpkin contains one of the richest supplies of bioavailable carotenoids known to man. A half-cup serving of pumpkin gives you more than two times the recommended daily dietary intake of alpha-carotene and 100 percent of the recommended daily dietary goal of beta-carotene.
Well these four fruits should give you some idea of just how powerful nature's medicine can be. I know there are plenty other fruits that have some remarable healing qualities too.
It will be interesting to find out at a later date about other fruits also I will be anxious to review them and when I do I will write another article about them.. In the meantime why not experiece any of these fruits you haven't already experienced and see what they might do to enhance your overall health condition. You might be totally surprised what they might do for you.
To your health,
Sonny Julius www.HealthyAsCanBe.net
Labels: kiwi, pumpkin, Superfoods