July 21st, 2009 by AmyJo
Not to brag, but I’ve never broken a bone. Never. Not even a toe. And I’d like to say that it’s because I drank gallons of milk as a growing child, but honestly, milk was never my thing. Carrots, however were. And even though most people don’t think of carrots as bone-strengtheners, it’s time to break out of the milk carton and realize that there are other nutrients that keep your bones strong.
A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests that fruits and vegetables rich in carotenoids help keep your bones strong. A carotenoid is a pigment found in fruits and vegetables with vibrant yellow, orange and red color. Carotenoids like lycopene and beta carotene act as antioxidants which ward off dangerous Read the rest of this entry »
July 15th, 2009 by AmyJo
Cherries are about as all-American as apple pie. Minus the fat and laborious effort to prepare a good crust. And because I’m flat out sick of the exotic berry craze stealing attention from other great super-foods, I’m about to toot some cherry horn.
Like other berries, cherries contain plentiful antioxidants, but that’s just the tip of the iceburg. Researchers at the University of Michigan Cardiovascular center found that cherry-rich diets reduce both cholesterol and inflammation. Also in the study, animals fed cherry-enhanced diets had 14% lower body fat than the other animals.
But my favorite thing about cherries (besides the sweet deliciousness that they are in your mouth) is the sleep-aiding effect they offer. Cherries are one of just a few food sources of an antioxidant called melatonin. Melatonin is usually Read the rest of this entry »
March 30th, 2009 by AmyJo
Grapefruit seems to be one of those foods that you either love, or hate, or force yourself to eat because it is supposedly so good for you. But maybe if you actually knew why it is so good for you, you’ll stop having to force feed yourself this superstar fruit.
If you think Vitamin C is all that grapefruit has to offer, you are SO wrong. While it does provide a good amount of your DV for vitamin C, you actually get more than double the amount of that vitamin C from kiwi than from grapefruit. Among the more outstanding qualities of grapefruit, are the lycopene and antioxidant content as well as soluble fiber.
The pink and red colors of grapefruit come from Read the rest of this entry »
