Friday, April 24, 2015
1 Amazing Okra Health Benefits – What Okra Offers To You
By Alex Jordon
Posted Thursday, April 23, 2015 at 01:24pm EDT
Keywords: food and nutrition, okra benefits, okra for health, okra nutrients
Okra is a nutritional powerhouse that may provide a variety of health benefits and decreases the risk of several medical problems.
It’s low in calories and contains a number of vitamins and minerals. Okra seeds and pulp are high in the antioxidants catechin, epicatechin, procyanidin B1 and B2, quercetin and rutin that can fight the damage caused to cells by stress and other environmental factors. The young leaves of the plant have a wide range of medicinal values and have been used historically to treat many diseases.
Here are some prominent vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients found in okra that deserve some spotlight. Each figure is based on 1 cup (100g) of okra.
- Fiber – 2.5 grams. 10% of RDA (recommended daily value)
- Vitamin C – 16.3 milligrams. 27% RDA.
- Folate – 46 micrograms. 11% RDA.
- Vitamin A – 283 international units. 6% RDA.
- Vitamin K – 40 micrograms. 50% RDA. The vitamin K found in okra is known as vitamin K1, one of two beneficial forms. The other beneficial form is K2; K3 is synthetic and should be avoided.
- Niacin (Vitamin B3) – 0.9 mg. 4% RDA.
- Thiamin (Vitamin B1) – 0.1 mg. 9% RDA.
- Vitamin B6 – 0.2 mg. 9% RDA.
- Magnesium – 36 mg. 9% RDA.
- Manganese – 0.3 mg. 15% RDA.
- Beta carotene – 225 mcg.
- Lutein, Zeaxanthin – 516 mcg.
Okra Health Benefits:
1- An excellent promoter of a healthy pregnancy
Okra is rich in folate, which is considered as an important natural compound for the pregnant women to help grow and maintain new cells. And okra is rich in vitamin C, which is also essential for fetal development.
2- Helps prevent diabetes
The natural fiber is okra works effectively for the patient with high blood sugar, it normalizes and slows down sugar absorption to help to control diabetes.
3- Helps with kidney disease
A study found that regular consumption of okra can help prevent kidney disease. It has been proven that those who ate okra daily can reduce the medical signs of kidney damage.
4- Helps prevent asthma
A study has found that vitamin C in okra may help with respiratory issues like asthma, the study concluded that regular intake of okra may reduce wheezing symptoms in childhood, especially among already susceptible individuals.
5- Promotes glowing skin
Vitamin C is a crucial compound for healthy skin. It helps keep skin looking young and vibrant and rejuvenate damaged skin. When use it for this effect, it’s simple enough. Boil a handful of okra until soft, cooling off and mash it, then apply it to your face. After five minutes, you can feel your face smooth and rejuvenated.
6- Promotes digestion and weight loss
Okra contains plenty of fiber, take fiber rich foods regularly help to promote a healthy digestion. And okra is a good low-calorie, fat-free addition to any diet, especially weight loss diets. It has been proven that okra provides comparatively lower calories than standard calorie diet.
Okra is also great for:
- Protecting against free radical damage
- Promoting eye health
- Boosting mood
- Constipation
- Promoting colon health and preventing colon cancer
Read more posts by author Alex Jordon.
The ideal water is alkaline because it is rich in magnesium and bicarbonate.
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Leaky gut syndrome, Candida, and autoimmune disease
Monday, April 20, 2015 by: Michael Edwards
Tags: leaky gut, candida, autoimmune disease
(NaturalNews) Candida is not inherently bad, but when left unchecked, when it takes over the gut and is allowed to flourish, it will damage the intestinal wall. Then Candida, along with other microbes, will migrate outside of the intestinal tract and into the body, flourishing everywhere, fed by all the sugars and damaged cells that are also entering the bloodstream. The immune system will react to the Candida (and gluten, with those two similar proteins) as it should, fighting invading pathogens that do not belong in the blood.
Large molecules that weren't able to permeate the gut before, like bacteria, undigested proteins, undigested sugars, can now leak out of the gut. These antigens leak into the bloodstream and are labeled by the immune system as alien. Antibodies are made for these antigens, and when later exposures occur, the immune system mounts an inflammatory response, which targets tissues and organs.
Leaky gut and Autoimmune Diseases
Leaky gut has been found in association with asthma, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, irritable bowel (inflammatory bowel disease, or IBD, which includes Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis), lupus, hypothyroidism, kidney disease, multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, eczema, depression, chronic fatigue syndrome, heart failure, and celiac disease.
An autoimmune disease is defined as an irregular response of the body's immune system against substances and tissues normally present in the body (like when the immune system appears to be attacking the body, be it a specific part like an organ, or an entire system like the lymphatic system, or the whole body).
Leaky Gut and the Immune System
The body's immune system doesn't just attack the body like many conventional health practitioners believe. If the body is filled with all kinds of gut microbes and other harmful antigens that belong in the gut (and Candida is typically the most abundant of all of them in these cases), as well as sugars that feed these microbes, and proteins that are considered foreign due to the fact that they are undigested, then the body will appear to be attacking itself when it is attaching these foreign invaders. When infectious or toxic particles penetrate intestinal walls, they trigger a cascade of events that can culminate in any number of ailments.
Candida, and other micro-organisms we consider "bad" are pathogens, or infectious agents, that cause disease or illness to the host. Flora that benefits us can become pathogenic when the gut is unbalanced. These infectious bacteria or fungi live off sugars we feed them and the decomposition of our cells. The easier it is for these symbiotic microorganisms to become pathogenic, the more they reproduce out of control and feed off of your body.
A leaky gut allows for infection to set in anywhere in the body that is most susceptible to infection. This is the most common reason why old injuries often flare up. Infection sets in wherever there is food to eat. Scar tissue and other damaged tissue provide food for opportunistic infectious microbes like Candida and many other parasites. An organ that is toxic has irritated, damaged, decaying cells within it that provide food for these microbes. The more damaged the body, the more easily infection can take root inside the body. That is, after all, their job. What gets leaked, where what gets leaked, and where in the body infection is most susceptible all play a role in defining the symptoms that define autoimmune diseases.
Healing a Leaky Gut
The process of healing the gut can be sped up by (but not replaced by) supplementation that kills Candida and other parasites and by probiotics that are strong enough to penetrate stomach acid in order to benefit the gut. The beneficial bacteria in most probiotics and fermented foods are not strong enough to survive stomach acid.
Most ailments from autoimmune disease are lessened or eliminated very quickly when Candida is brought under control and the gut begins to heal. But, it can take many months for the gut lining to fully heal, and Candida spores can lie dormant in places that antimicrobial compounds and our immune system cannot get to. For this reason, it's imperative to follow a strict diet and follow any sweets, even a homemade healthy fruit smoothie, with a salad or supplements for gut health.
Conclusion
If you are suffering from an autoimmune disease, any chronic disease, frequent infections, or a weak immune system, chances are you are suffering from a leaky gut whether you experience digestive disturbances or not. So focus on the gut. Since 80% of the immune system is in the gut, this alone makes gut health a priority. Once the gut is healed, the rest of the body can heal as well. Check out Kill Candida and Balance the Gut Quickly. Check out this article on hypothyroidism and see the first source below for more on autoimmune diseases.
Sources:
Nutritional Medicine - A Textbook by Alan R. Gaby, M.D.
About the author:
Michael Edwards is the founder, owner, editor-in-chief, and janitor for Organic Lifestyle Magazine and Green Lifestyle Market. At age 17, Michael weighed more than 360 pounds. He suffered from ADHD, allergies, frequent bouts of illness, and chronic, debilitating insomnia.
Conventional medicine wasn't working. While he restored his health through alternative medicine he studied natural health and became immersed in it.
7 Reasons To Wash The Hair With Apple Cider Vinegar
By Borislav Draganov / 13/01/2015
The health benefits that natural unfiltered apple cider vinegar brings are known for centuries. This vinegar is especially helpful as a treatment for improvement of hair quality, its shine and against hair loss.
Regular hair washing with apple cider vinegar removes all the chemicals that build up in the hair because of the various hair products we use on a daily basis and at the same time the vinegar restores the natural pH balance in the hair and helps it growth and improves the health of the scalp.
Furthermore, apple cider vinegar also improves the blood flow in the small blood vessels located under the skin on the head and at the same time it eliminates the bacteria that cause infections on the scalp and hair resulting in dandruff. ACV is also good to get rid of acid reflux.
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