Pecans: Nutritional powerhouse

Pecans are a natural and high-quality protein source that contains a minimal amount of carbohydrates and is free of cholesterol. They have a low carbohydrate content, with just 4 grams per ounce of pecan halves, primarily consisting of fiber.

Considered a high-fat nut, pecans provide 20 grams of fat per ounce. However, the fat in pecans mainly comprises beneficial monounsaturated fats. Choosing foods rich in monounsaturated fats like pecans instead of saturated fat sources like potato chips can help reduce levels of LDL cholesterol.

In addition to their protein and healthy fat content, pecans offer a wide range of essential vitamins and minerals. They contain more than 19 vitamins and minerals, including vitamin A, vitamin E, folic acid, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, copper, various B vitamins, and zinc.

Furthermore, pecans are a notable source of calcium, magnesium, and potassium, which contribute to the lowering of blood pressure. Copper, another essential mineral present in pecans, plays a vital role in multiple aspects of human health, including nerve cell function, immune health, and the production of red blood cells.

Thiamine, also known as vitamin B1, is crucial in converting carbohydrates into energy to fuel the human body.

Many of the health benefits associated with pecans are attributed to their unsaturated fat and fiber content. Additionally, pecans are rich in polyphenols, which possess antioxidant properties.
Pecans: Nutritional powerhouse

Water-soluble vitamins

Vitamins are essential nutrients found in foods. There are thirteen vitamins in humans: four fat soluble (A, D, E, and K) and nine water soluble (vitamin B complex and vitamin C).

Solubility determines many characteristics of vitamins. It determines how they are absorbed into and transported around by the bloodstream, whether they can be stored in the body, and how easily they are lost from the body.

Water-soluble vitamins are those that are dissolved in water and readily absorbed into tissues for immediate use. Any excess is quickly passed in urine.

B vitamins are important to cell metabolism. Eight of the water-soluble vitamins are known as the vitamin B-complex group: thiamin (vitamin B1), riboflavin (vitamin B2), niacin (vitamin B3), vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), folate (folic acid), vitamin B12, biotin and pantothenic acid.

The B vitamins are widely distributed in foods, and their influence is felt in many parts of the body. They function as coenzymes that help the body obtain energy from food.

Several of the B vitamins—thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, and biotin—form part of the coenzymes that assist enzymes in the release of energy from carbohydrate, fat, and protein. Other B vitamins play other indispensable roles in metabolism.

Ascorbic Acid (vitamin C) too is water-soluble vitamin. It functions including immune system health, formation of collagen, promotes wound healing and healthy blood vessels, antioxidant, protects cholesterol, prevents scurvy.

B vitamins are primarily absorbed in foods such as pork, fish and liver. Healthy vitamin B sources include vegetables (pulses or beans), whole grains, rice, bananas, chili pepper, tempeh, brewer's yeast and molasses.

Citrus fruits, tomatoes and tomato juice, and potatoes are major contributors of vitamin C to the American diet. Other good food sources include red and green peppers, kiwifruit, broccoli, strawberries, Brussels sprouts, and cantaloupe.
Water-soluble vitamins

Vitamin C supplement benefits

Studies have shown that vitamin C may offer benefits against heart disease, cancer and cataracts.

Vitamin C is an essential component of the diet for humans, and adequate intake is important. Daily recommendations vary and it is recommended that the user stick to the supplier’s dosage. People who consumed the recommended amounts of daily fruits and vegetables need no supplementation, because they obtain their daily vitamin C requirements through their diet alone.

In epidemiological studies and is some large-scale interventional studies, vitamin C was consumed in combinations with other food sup0lpoments such as vitamins and antioxidants, and was partially obtained from foods.

High intake of a vitamin C supplement, above 500 milligrams per day, is not recommended. The body absorbs little vitamin C beyond the first 200 milligrams per serving or dose. However, the majority of smokers would benefit greatly from a high-quality natural vitamin C supplement because it repairs connective tissue and is also an excellent anti-stress nutrient as well as a powerful antioxidant.

The vitamin C content of food varies widely however, and plasma levels generally reflect the amount consumed, regardless of its origin.

Make sure the vitamin C supplement purchase contains bioflavonoids. In nature vitamin C always has bioflavonoids, sometimes referred to as vitamin P.
Vitamin C supplement benefits

Onion for your health

Onions are plants of the species Allium cepa, which originated in central Asia but had spread across the globe in hundreds of different varieties.

Syrup made with onion juice is good for cold and coughs. Holland gins, in which onions have been macerated, is a cure for gravel and dropsy.

It is herbaceous biennial plant of the lily family (Liliaceae). The onion often called ‘the king of vegetables’ because of is has characteristic pungent aroma and sharp taste; it is used as a seasoning in many food preparations, particularly meat curries, sausages, vegetable curries and salads.

Rich in vitamins A, B and C, it is a potent source of calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and iron. When raw, onion is a good digestive stimulant and liver tonic; when cooked, it can help relieve flatulence and chronic constipation.

A boiled onion skins can alleviate the unpleasant symptoms of diarrhea. Onions have anti-biotic, antiseptic, antimicrobial and carminative properties to help stay away from infections.
Onion for your health

What are the general roles of vitamins in human body?

Vitamins are essential to life. Nutritionally, they form a cohesive group of organic compounds that are required in the diet in small amounts for the maintenance of normal health and metabolic integrity.

Many vitamins are the precursors of coenzymes involved in energy metabolism and protein or nucleic acid synthesis.

Besides being cofactors for enzymes some vitamins such as fat soluble vitamins A and D have been shown to exhibit hormone-like functions.

Thus, vitamin A and its metabolites retinaldehyde and retinoic acids are involved in the growth, differentiation and maintenance of epithelial tissues as well as for reproduction.

Several vitamins are essential for normal immune functions: fat soluble vitamins A and E and water soluble vitamins B12 and C.

In general vitamins roles are as follows:
*Antioxidants
*Gene transcription elements
*H+/e- donors/acceptors
*Hormones
*Coenzymes
What are the general roles of vitamins in human body?

Guava rich vitamins for your health

Cultivated guava is Psidium guajava belonging to family Myrtaceae. Fresh guavas are rich in vitamins A, B and C. The fruit has its highest content on vitamin C when fully ripe.

Vitamin C of fresh fruits amounts to 100 to 260 mg per 100 g of pulp and this is not lost in preservation and is maintained in the preserved forms also. The quantity of vitamin C approximately four times higher that of oranges.

Because of its high vitamin C content it is also good for bleeding gums and joint pains. It also gives the skin a healthy glow. It increases the body’s resistance to disease.

White flesh guava is reported to b e a better spruce of vitamin C than the pink flesh guava and is also rich in phenolics and beta-carotene.

The bark is very high in vitamin C as well. 100 ml of the pure juice contain 70-170 mg vitamin C but is also rich in vitamin A.

Guava has an very high content on lutein and zeaxanthin as well as lycopene. This are carotenes especially beneficial for eye disease since they are regenerating the cells necessary to see. Guava has a higher concentration of the carotenoid lycopene than any other fruit and vegetable.
Guava rich vitamins for your health

Vitamin in general

Mention the word vitamin, and almost magical image comes to mind. Vitamins have been purported to do everything from boosting one’s energy level to increasing sexual prowess to curing disease.

In 1912, a Polish chemist named Casimir Funk, proposed that disease may be caused by a missing ingredient that should be in the diet. He suggested that this ingredient was responsible for giving life and contained nitrogen.

Although not all vitamins contain nitrogen, the word “vitamin” has survived since its naming by Funk who set in motion the idea that many disease may be cured by administering foods rich in certain vitamins.

Vitamins are essential dietary substance needed in small amounts to regulate chemical reactions in the body.

Vitamins needed to make enzymes and hormones – important substances of the body uses to make all the many chemical reaction for the body to live.

Vitamins are important for proper growth and maintenance of good health, but they appeared to posses no greater properties beyond their basic chemical function.

Vitamins do indeed participate in the chemical reactions that release energy from carbohydrates, and proteins, and fats, but contain no inherent energy themselves.

Vitamins are required for normal reproductive metabolism, but they are not aphrodisiac. And inclusion of vitamins in the diets will cure disease, but only the specify deficiency diseases that develop in their absence.

Vitamins are generally found throughout the food supply in developed countries and are consumed in adequate amounts, so despite popular believe belief, a vitamin supplement is usually not needed.

Vitamins are divided into two groups: fat soluble and water soluble.

Solubility confers on vitamins many of their characteristics,. It determines how they are absorbed and transported around by the bloodstream, whether they can be stores in the body, and how easily they are lost from the body.
Vitamin in general

Contribution of Fruits to Human Nutrition

Contribution of Fruits to Human Nutrition
Fruits are not only colorful and flavorful components of our diet, but they also serve as a source of energy, vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber.

The U.S department of Agriculture Dietary Guidelines encourage consumers to enjoy “five a day,” eat at least two servings of fruit and three servings of vegetables each day and to choose fresh, frozen, dried or canned forms of a variety of colors and kinds of fruits and vegetables.

In some countries, consumers are encouraged to eat up to 10 servings of fruits and vegetables per day.

ENERGY (Calories)

• Carbohydrates: banana, breadfruit, jackfruit, plantain, dates, prunes, raisin

• Proteins and amino acids: nuts, dried apricot, fig

• Fats: avocado, olive, nuts

VITAMINS
Fresh fruits and vegetables contribute about 91% of vitamin C, 48% of vitamin A, 27% of vitamin B6, 17% if thiamin and 15% of niacin to the U.S diet.

• Vitamin A: apricot, peach, cherry, orange, mango, papaya, persimmon, pineapple, cantaloupe, watermelon

• Vitamin C: strawberry, orange, grapefruit, kiwifruit, pineapple, banana apple, cantaloupe

• Niacin: peach, banana, orange, apricot

• Riboflavin: banana, [peach, orange, apple, avocado

• Thiamin: orange, banana, grapefruit, apple

MINERALS
Fresh fruits and vegetables contribute about 26% of the magnesium and 19% of the iron to the U.S diet
The following fruits are important contributors to the supply of indicated minerals in the U.S diet

• Potassium: banana, peach, orange, apple, dried fruits such as apricot and prune

• Phosphorus: banana, orange, peach, fig, raisin

• Calcium: tangerine, grapefruit, orange

• Iron: strawberry, banana, apple, orange

DIETARY FIBER

• All fruits and nits contribute to dietary fiber. Dietary fiber consists of cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin and pectic substances, which are derived primarily form fruit cell walls and skin.

• The dietary fiber content of fruits ranges form 0.5 to 1.5% (fresh weight)

• Dietary fiber plays an important role in relieving constipation by increasing water holding capacity of feces. Its consumption is also linked to decreased incidence of cardiovascular disease, diverticulosis, and colon cancer.

ANTIOXIDANTS
Fruits, nuts, and vegetables in the daily diet have been strongly associated with reduced risk for some forms of cancer, heart disease, stroke and other chronic disease. This is attributed, in part, to their content of antioxidant phytochemicals.

• Red, blue, and purple fruits (such as apple, blackberry, blueberry, blood orange, cranberry, grape, nectarine, peach, plum, prune, pomegranate, raspberry, and strawberry) are good sources of flavonoids and other phenolic compounds that are positively correlated with antioxidant capacity of the fruit.

• Orange-flesh fruits (such as apricot, cantaloupe, mango, nectarine, orange, papaya, peach, persimmon and pineapple) and some red flesh fruits (such as tomato, watermelon and pink grapefruit) are good sources of carotenoids. Availability of lycopene to human is increased during tomato processing.

Contribution of Fruits to Human Nutrition

Diet and Hypertension

Diet and Hypertension
There is a suggestion to recommend diets that consist of 30% fats, 20% - 25% protein and 45% - 50% carbohydrates. The fats should come from fish such as salmon, mackerel, Greenland halibut, cod and blue fish. This is o basically the so-called Mediterranean diet.

One study conducted in 1980s, investigating the rate of heart attacks over a ten year period for individual in European nations, revealed that the island of Crete reported no heart attacks as a cause of death, even though many of the residents had dangerously high cholesterol levels, a presumed risk factor for heart disease.

According to expert, the Mediterranean diet, rich in monounsaturated fat (olive oil) and antioxidants, has proved to be crucial in cardiovascular protection. This diet is low in saturated fats (such as dairy products and meats), high in fiber and antioxidants (vitamin C, beta carotene, and vitamin E) from fresh fruits and vegetables, and high in essential fatty acids, found in fish, flaxseed oil and other omega-3 oils.

Avocado and asparagus, commonly eaten in this diet, are rich in L-glutathione, an amino acid that can scavenge for harmful free radicals. An olive oil is the healthiest of oils as expert said. Also garlic and other members of the onion family (prominent in this diet) help because the significantly reduce blood pressure.
Diet and Hypertension

Diet with Cruciferous Vegetables

Diet with Cruciferous Vegetables
Eat cruciferous vegetables daily, or eat at least five servings per week. Cabbage, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, kale, collards, turnips and radishes are among the most common. It is best not to eat them raw, because in their raw form they contain high amounts of goitrogens, thyroid suppression agents that are removes during the cooking process. Since many people with cancer have slightly underactive thyroids, it’s a good idea to avoid goitrogens when possible.

In addition to having special anticancer compounds called indoles and isothiocynates, cruciferous vegetables are also high in vitamins A, C, and E; some contain anticancer minerals, and most are high in fiber. In experiments, indoles were added to the diets of mice before and during the administration of carcinogens; the indoles stopped the growth of tumors developing in the stomach and lungs. In some way not yet clear, indoles deactivate carcinogens or block them from damaging cells, acting at several different stages of carcinogens to stop both cancer promoters and initiators. It may be that indoles buttress the enzymes systems responsible for metabolizing carcinogens, and in all probability, they increase the antioxidant action of glutathione compounds. However this works, cruciferous vegetables have proved to be terrified anticancer nutrients.

Another component in broccoli, called sulforaphane, also appears to block tumor formation in animals and presumably in humans as well. Organically grown broccoli produces a much greater amount of sulforaphane than the commercially grown variety. Sulforaphane is a potent inducer of phase II cellular enzyme activity, which is known to deactivate cancer-causing agents though detoxification.

Broccoli sprouts, which taste something like alfalfa sprouts, contain up to one hundred times more sulforaphane than does broccoli itself. Broccoli sprouts are available in some supermarkets and health food stores or you can sprout your own. Sprouting seeds are very nutritious and cost effective and provide a relatively easy way to acquire many vitamins, minerals and important cancer inhibiting phytonutrients. Besides mung bean sprouts, found in many Asian dishes, and the recently popular broccoli sprouts, other seeds and legumes that sprouts well include red clover, buck wheat, chickpea, radish and sunflower.
Diet with Cruciferous Vegetables

Vitamin in Fresh Juices

Vitamin in Fresh Juices
If looking for vitamin potency, fresh juice can deliver. Just choose the vitamin wanted and drink the juices that contain them, It’s as simple as that.

Vitamin A (retinol) promotes normal growth and development, foster proper eyesight, maintains clear, healthy skin, and has been linked to cancer prevention. Fresh carrot or green juices contain an abundance of pro-vitamin A (beta carotene). Pro-vitamin A is easily converted to usable vitamin A in the liver. Unlike synthetic vitamin A, which is toxic in high doses, pro-vitamin A from food sources is safe even in large amounts.

Vitamin B complex is a group of vitamin that works together to help the body digest and use the energy in carbohydrates. B complex also promotes resistance to infection.

Components of B complex are: vitamin B-1 (thiamine), vitamin B-2 (riboflavin), vitamin B-3 (niacin), vitamin B-6 (pyridoxine), vitamin B-12 (cobalamin), biotin, choline, folic acid, inositol, and pantothenic acid. Whole grains are among the best natural sources of B complex. But fresh juices, especially green and sprout juices, and cirrus juice made with a high sped juicer contain significant amounts of B complex vitamins, as well.

Vitamin C is regarded popularity as a panacea, capable of curing colds, heart disease, cancer and other ailments. However, the clinical evidence that vitamin C does any of these things is inconclusive. What has been proves is that vitamin C is an antioxidant – a substance that protect important molecules and structures in the cells from being destroyed by oxygen. It helps protect the nerves, glands, joints, and connective tissue for oxidation, and also aids in the absorption of iron. All fresh fruit and vegetable are excellent sources of vitamins C.

Vitamin E is another important antioxidant. It helps to function and promotes the use of fatty acids. Because studies on animals show it to be true, scientists hypothesize that vitamin E may also protect fertility in woman and men. Fresh beet, celery, and green juices contain vitamin E, as do whole grains and nuts.
Vitamin in Fresh Juices

Vitamin A-rich diet may reduce stomach cancer risk

Vitamin A-rich diet may reduce stomach cancer risk
A diet rich in vitamin A (retinol) may cut the risk of stomach cancer by 44 per cent, suggests a prospective study from Sweden.

The study, which analyzed dietary data from over 36,000 women and 45,000 men, also reported that similar risk reductions are obtained from high dietary intake of both alpha- and beta-carotene.

High intakes of vitamin A, retinol, and provitamin A carotenoid may reduce the risk of gastric cancer. Stomach cancer is the fourth most frequent cancer in the world, according to the European School of Oncology, and there are 800,000 new cases every year. It is Japan's most common form of cancer.

Writing in the current issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the researchers report that, the relative risk of gastric cancer between people in the highest versus lowest intake groups of total vitamin A was reduced by 47 per cent.

The relative risks between people in the highest versus lowest intake groups of retinol, alpha-carotene and beta-carotene were reduced by 44, 50 and 45 per cent, respectively.

No significant gastric cancer risk reduction associations were found for beta-cryptoxanthin, lutein and zeaxanthin, or lycopene intake, said the researchers
Vitamin A-rich diet may reduce stomach cancer risk