This one is for my blog friend Henry, who is also into healthy living posted a comment in my last post ‘What Are The Four Types of Fat in Your Diet?’ asking “…Is the fat contained in that fruit good for you?

“Oooh…, I love avocados for its awesome creamy texture and taste in this enzymatically-alive-alkalinizing fruit, but only recently can I afford to eat them as often as I want to because the price has dropped… think I started including avocado in my diet a couple of years back.

Before that, I frequently hear people saying we should avoid eating avocados because of the fat and cholesterol issues and so, I didn’t give much thought about it then.
Anyway at that time, we could get avocados occasionally and they were very, very expensive. For the price of one, we could order two plates of chicken rice over here!

Later, I learnt that in actual fact avocado is a healthy alternative to saturated fats in the diet. It was just a misunderstand about their high fat content and after all, like all fruits it doesn’t contain any cholesterol too.
The fat content in an avocado is actually the ‘good’ fat or known as monounsaturated fat and according to research it helps in lowering blood cholesterol levels.

Avocado is popular with vegetarians because it is rich in protein providing the essential amino-acids. It is fiber-rich and found to contain fatty acids like Omega 3 and 6, packed with nutrients like vitamins, minerals and some trace elements.

So how do Avocados benefit you:

1. If you are recuperating from an illness, eat an avocado daily to regain your strength.

2. Avocado helps in healing from digestive and circulatory problems.

3. Helps in healing of skin disorder due to the rich antioxidants.

4. Aids the brain to make dopamine due to the rich source of Vitamin B6.

5. Make a paste out of avocado and apply it to rashes and rough skin.

6. Rub gently with the flesh of an avocado over sunburnt skin to soothe the affected areas.

7. Avocado spread has fewer calories when compared to butter, margarine or mayonnaise.

Did You Know: You need about 6 medium avocados to get the daily recommended 3mg of copper.

So, it would be great to consider adding avocado to your healthy eating plan too!

Diet Info Care’s Tip: Do place a banana or apple with the avocado in a paper bag to speed up the ripening process.

One of my fave vegetables - the Bitter Gourd. It is well-known in Asian countries that the juice of bitter gourd is a traditional remedy for controlling diabetes and lowering blood pressure. It is best to use the smaller variety which is much more bitter, and to increase its potency, the leaf tips and seeds are sometimes added in.

For their health benefits, bitter gourd is rich in Vitamins A and C and is an excellent source of carotenoids such as lutene and beta-carotene. This bitter cucumber as is sometimes called, contains Vitamin E that’s supposed to help keep you look young. Vitamin K, the fat-soluble phylloquinone assists in blood calcium regulation and clotting. Besides that, this nutrient also plays an important role in bone health.

In many Asian countries, bitter foods are believed to contain the disease-fighting phytochemicals, have anti-bacterial and cleansing properties of which may be beneficial to health as believed. It is also considered a “cooling” food. Therefore, we would add ginger and meat to balance the cooling effects in our dishes.

There are many ways to cook bitter gourd but the most popular method is to boil the gourd in soup with lots of meat bones. The minerals potassium from gourd and calcium from the bones would leach out into the soup and therefore this makes the soup nutritious and easy absorption.

Diet Info Care’s Tip: To reduce the bitterness, soak in saltwater before cooking.

Tired? Sleepy? Non-stop yawning? Bloated? Sluggish? Constipated?

Well, once again its the time of the year to go for a free of toxic weekend lifestyle, which means going for plenty of fresh natural raw foods and drinking plenty of fluids, cutting out all those junk foods,sugar, caffeine, canned foods and processed foods! Oh dear, do I hear the “oh oh’s” and “argh argh’s” but there’s also the guilty conscious lingering somewhere in the back of your mind… ?

If you are done with all those merry making, this weekend would be a good time to do the simplest body detox, nothing too drastic. It is better than not doing at all, right? I don’t think it would make much difference missing all those toxic foods just for 48 hours.

So, we’ll start the weekend taking it real easy.
On Saturday and Sunday morning, drink about 400ml of filtered tepid water upon waking up. It would be ideal if you could squeeze some lemon juice in the water to your acceptable taste, no sugar added. Fluids help to eliminate the toxins that have been accumulated over the holidays and at the same time this will give your digestive tract and organs a well -needed rest.
You could start doing some light exercises after that like stretching, breathing, any of yourfavourites as long as they are not strenuous. After 45 minutes or so, munch on your favourite fruit like apples, pears, bananas, etc

For lunch, prepare a salad of your favourite fresh raw vegetables and sprinkle some chopped up nuts and olive oil.

At the same time, some fluids or if you prefer your favourite herbal teas like rooibos, crysanthemum, mint, green tea, etc would be great, and they do not contain caffeine.

Fresh and natural whole foods contain the important different nutrients, fiber and enzymes. They are known to nourish the body cells and at the same fight free radicals. If your budget permits get all your stuff organic.

In the later part of the day, you should include juicing of fresh fruits and vegetables like apple, cabbage, carrot, cranberry, celery, pineapple and spinach for effective cleansing process.
Take 30 minutes and go for a walk in the open for some fresh air as this would help to clear the ‘cobwebs’ on your mind.

For dinner, you could make some vegetable broth, munch some more fresh fruits and drink more fluids of filtered tepid water or herbal tea.

Lastly, before you end the day with a shower, do some skin brushing as it removes old skin cells, stimulates the lymph system and draws out toxins through the skin. Skin brushing is also a gentle way of detoxing and a dry skin brush made of soft vegetable bristles is highly recommended.

By Monday morning, you will be able to feel much better, feeling more healthy and have higher energy levels. Your body will thank you for your efforts to change to a healthy way of life.
Now, it is not that hard is it?

There are many ways to detox the body. I always believe it’s up to individuals to customize what suits their lifestyle and preference because no one is the same.
Remember, we are not on prescription but if you do have any health concerns, it is better to consult your physician first!

Why whole grain is preferred in your diet?
Whole grain is an important source for natural fibre, minerals, vitamins, phyto-oestrogens, antioxidants and other components and is also low in saturated fatty acids. The highest concentration of nutrients is located in the germ and bran layer though they are not distributed uniformly.

The three components that make a kernel are:
=>> Bran: rich in B vitamins, phytonutrients (flavonoids, indoles), fibre, minerals; small amount of protein
=>> Endosperm: predominantly carbohydrate, also proteins, small amounts of B vitamins
=>> Germ: rich in minerals like iron and zinc, B vitamins, phytonutrients and vitamin E

So what is natural fibre that we see in some of the products’ labellings?
Natural fibre means the edible parts of a plant that can not be digested or absorbed in the small intestine. It is normally found in whole grain products like bran and oat bran cereals, whole and mixed grain breads or wholegrain breakfast cereals.

Natural fibre is divided into two classes known as soluble and insoluble fibre:
=>>Soluble fibre supposed to slow digestion and absorption of carbohydrates and therefore help people with diabetes and high blood cholesterol levels improve thus control their blood glucose and blood lipid levels. Whole grain products provide 20-50 % of their fibre in the soluble (or viscous) form.
Soluble fibre is found in oats, barley, rye, fruits, vegetables and pulses.
=>>Insoluble fibre found in whole grain cereals and wholemeal bread which is important for bowel function and regularity.

And so please note that products with labels like multi grain, cracked wheat, seven grain, stone-ground, 100 percent wheat, enriched flour and processed cornmeal are not considered whole grain food.

Refined grains means they have gone through the process of being milled to remove the bran and germ. This is done to give the grains a finer texture and prolong shelf life of the products. The disadvantage is the natural fiber, iron, and many B vitamins have been removed, examples like white flour, white bread, white rice and cornmeal.

Most refined grain products have to be added back with B vitamins (thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, folic acid) and iron after processing which is known as ‘enriched’, but fiber is left out and this makes carbohydrates turn into glucose very fast and enter the blood stream which is why diabetics have to be watchful with their diet. If the fiber is intact, it would regulate the blood sugar as carbohydrates are not absorbed quickly.
Also, you won’t feel hungry quickly and this is ideal for maintaining a healthy weight.

It is advisable to check the ingredient list on refined grain products to make sure that the word ‘enriched’ is included next to the grain name. Note that there are some food products being made from mixtures of whole grains and refined grains too.

It is also noted that whole-grain cereals have three to seven times more fiber to a serving than refined cereals. Do keep in mind to include whole grain products in your diet because of the whole package of nutrients contained from the whole grain kernel!

An inspirational video that achieving a healthy lifestyle begets healthy weight.

I always look forward to Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar when Muslims all over the world observe one month of fasting. For me, it is time to get my yearly fill of fresh dates or date palm, a sweet high carbohydrate fruit harvested from date palm trees. There are so many varieties of dates lately in the market that I have been spoilt for choice.

Besides, fresh dates are so much lower in calories than dried dates. All dates are high in iron and potassium and contain a modest amount of folate and a small amount of vitamin A, and the B vitamins, not forgetting they are loaded with both soluble and insoluble fiber. So this makes dates beneficial for anemia, constipation and fatigue.

Because dates are high in carbohydrates, they are considered a powerful house of energy for dates contain those naturally occurring sugars like fructose, sucrose and glucose, which makes this fruit an ideal choice for an energy-boosting snack but for those who are watching their weight, eating them in moderate amounts should be alright.

My top favorite is the Medjool dates from Morocco known for its softness with a thick, meaty flesh, and a firm texture. The color is dark brown, nearly black, and becomes tender-skinned, meaty and delicious.

The other one is Deglet Nur from Algeria which is a bit semi-dry and has a firm texture with delicate flavor but I noticed have different colors like light red or amber_ish?

Ramadan month is ending soon, so until then, I’ll be counting the days…..

Natural food is basically the food that can be found in nature and consumed in its original form without baking it. For centuries people have known that these foods are beneficial for a healthy living. The scientific reason for this however is not known to many. Furthermore, with the spoilt food habits of children nowadays who prefer to consume junk food than natural foods, it is essential that this reason is known to them but then education is not enough. From my observation, parents should lead the correct example at home.

Unnatural foods that are consumed by us produce toxins in the body that leads to various diseases. However, these toxins can further be destroyed by an increased consumption of natural foods thereby eradicating and making an individual free from almost or at least minimize all diseases that he would suffer from. Some of the doctors even claim that the natural foods even have the power for the growth of new hair and teeth in people in their old age. Not forgetting that medical bills can wipe out all your savings overnight!

Additionally, the cooling effect and their nutrients of the natural and juicy fruits such as watermelon, orange and many others that are found in summers are known to all of us. Similarly, there are other seasonal fruits and vegetables that provide high nutritional value.

People these days worry more about satisfying their taste buds rather than the nutritional requirements of their body. Most of us eat vegetables and fruits that have been peeled and in the process we also peel off the fiber, minerals and vitamins that are contained in them. Several naturopaths are of the opinion that natural products are present in their holistic form and thereby the effect that it has is also holistic, which is destroyed when the food is cooked.

Natural foods in some cases can also harm your body. That is to say, consuming a natural food, as it exists without cooking is good for health, but washing them before consuming it is also necessary. This is because, there are various pesticides and chemical fertilizers that might have got stuck to them at the time of farming which when consumed can cause many sickness.

Finally, natural food should be consumed no doubt, but a few precautions should also be kept in mind. After all, your body is your temple. Love your body and it will give you longevity.