Sweet Potatoes

Stressed? Eat sweet potatoes! Sweet potatoes have proven themselves to be great stress reducers. With their sweetness and high concentration of carbohydrates, sweet potatoes satisfy common stress-related cravings for sugar. They are also high in fiber, which means you'll feel satisfied longer. What is your "go-to" food to relieve stress?

Papaya

 

Papaya tree bears many spherical or pear-shaped fruits that can have about 6-20 inches in length and 4-12 inches in diameter. The average-sized papaya weighs about a pound. The fruit is said to ripen when it feels soft to thumb pressure, and its skin has attained an amber to orange hue.

Inside, the fruit features numerous black seeds, encased in a mucin coat, in the hollow central cavity. The flesh is orange in color with either yellow or pink hues, soft in consistency and has a deliciously sweet, musky taste with rich flavor.

Babaco fruit is closely related to papaya, has similar appearance and flavor as papaya.

Papaya fruit health benefits

• The papaya fruit is very low in calories (just 39 calories/100 g) and contains no cholesterol; however, is a rich source of phyto-nutrients, minerals, and vitamins.
• Papayas contain soft, easily digestible flesh with a good amount of soluble dietary fiber that helps to have normal bowel movements; thereby reducing constipation.
• Fresh, ripe fruit is one of the fruits with the highest vitamin-C content (provides 61.8 mg or about 103% of DRI, more than that of in oranges, or lemons). Research studies have shown that vitamin C has many important functions like free radicals scavenging, immune booster, and anti-inflammatory actions.
• It is also an excellent source of Vitamin-A (provides 1094 IU/100 g) and flavonoids like �-carotene, lutein, zea-xanthin and cryptoxanthin. Vitamin A is required for maintaining healthy mucus membranes and skin and is essential for visual sight. These compounds are known to have antioxidant properties; help act as protective scavengers against oxygen-derived free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS) that play a role in aging and various disease processes. Consumption of natural fruits rich in carotenes has known to protect the body from lung and oral cavity cancers.
• Papaya fruit is also rich in many essential B-complex vitamins such as Folic acid, pyridoxine (vitamin B-6), riboflavin, and thiamin (vitamin B-1). These vitamins are essential in the sense that body requires them from external sources to replenish and play a vital role in metabolism.
• Fresh papaya also contains a good amount of potassium (257 mg per 100 g) and calcium. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids and helps controlling heart rate and blood pressure countering effects of sodium.
• Papaya seeds have been the proven natural remedy for many ailments in the traditional medicines. The seeds are found application as anti-inflammatory, anti-parasitic, and analgesic, and used to treat stomachache and ringworm infections.

Selection and storage

Papaya is usually harvested when it shows signs of maturity; evident as skin slightly turning to yellow. Organic papayas generally left to ripen on the tree; however, care should be taken since over-ripen fruits actually fall off themselves and spoiled.

In the store, papayas come in various sizes and maturity; therefore, select the one based on the serving size and timing. Choose the one with intact skin without any bruises or cuts. Unripe fruits can be kept at room temperature for few days but ripen ones should be stored in the refrigerator. Bring back the fruit to normal temperature when it is to be eaten to get their natural taste and flavor.

Unripe green papaya is cooked as a vegetable in many Asian and Pacific regions. However, the fruit should not be eaten raw as it contains toxic alkaloids in its milky latex.

Preparation and serving method

Wash papaya fruit thoroughly in cold running water to remove dust and any pesticide residues. Skin is bitter in taste and inedible. Remove skin with "peeling knife," cut the fruit longitudinally into two equal halves. Gently remove seeds and thin slimy layer loosely adhering to the flesh. Cut the fruit longitudinally like melon or cut into small cubes.

Here are some serving tips

• Ripe papaya fruit is usually eaten raw with a twist of lemondrops.
• Fresh papaya cubes are a great addition to fruit salads.
• Papaya juice with ice cubes is a popular drink.
• Its cubes are used in ice creams, shakes, sorbets, salsa, etc.
• Ripe fruit also goes well with chicken and seafood savory dishes.
• Unripe green papaya can be used as a vegetable, either cooked, usually in stews, stir-fry, curries, and soups.

Safety profile

Papayas contain white milk like latex substance, which can cause irritation to skin and provoke allergic reaction in some sensitized persons.

Ripe papaya fruit can be safely used by pregnant women. Unripe, green papaya should be avoided in them since it contains a lot of papain, a proteolytic enzyme that used commercially to tenderize meat. In addition, nripe-papaya fruit, seeds, latex, and leaves also contain carpaine, an alkaloid which could be dangerous when eaten in high doses. Unripe papaya, however, used safely as a cooked vegetable.(Medical disclaimer).

http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/papaya-fruit.html

Cherry

Eating cherries may help you sleep better, lose weight and help prevent some diseases.

Sweet or sour, cherries are bursting with nutrition. Find out how these petite stone fruits can help improve your health, from a better night’s rest to a trimmer tummy to managing gout.
Get a better night’s sleep.
Tart cherries are one of nature’s few sources of melatonin, a hormone that lowers body temperature, making us sleepy. When study volunteers drank an ounce of tart cherry juice concentrate in the morning and again at night, they slept more soundly. Even better: sipping the tart concentrate may provide an alternative to a melatonin supplement. “The melatonin in tart cherry juice is very well absorbed and is utilized by the body to provide an effect that could rival melatonin supplements,” says study author Glyn Howatson, Ph.D.

Balance your blood pressure.Sweet cherries are loaded with potassium, a natural blood-pressure reducer. Potassium balances fluids in our bodies, essentially offsetting the blood-pressure-raising effects of sodium. So it’s no wonder studies have found that people who eat more potassium-rich foods, like sweet cherries, tend to have less hypertension. One cup of these ruby gems packs roughly the same amount of potassium as a small banana and also boasts some quercetin, an antioxidant that may help keep blood vessels relaxed and supple.

Ease muscle soreness.Tart cherry juice may quell post-workout pain, says a 2010 Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition study. Runners who downed 24 ounces of tart cherry juice daily (about 480 calories) for seven days before a long-distance race, and again on race day, reported fewer aches afterward than runners who drank a placebo. Researchers believe that tart cherries’ antioxidants protect against attacks by exercise-induced free radicals, which can lead to painful inflammation.

Whittle your waistline.When scientists at the University of Michigan Health System put rats on a high-fat diet supplemented with either a tart-cherry powder (equal to 1% of the weight of their total diet) or the same number of calories from carbohydrate, those that got the cherry powder gained less weight and body fat. Why? The anthocyanins in tart cherries activate a molecule that helps rev up fat burning and decrease fat storage
Get a grip on gout.This form of arthritis is caused by too much uric acid in the blood, which causes swelling, inflammation and tenderness. A growing body of research reveals that cherries—both sweet and tart—can help. In a USDA study, eating about 2 cups fresh sweet Bing cherries daily lowered uric acid levels by 15% and also reduced C-reactive protein, a marker of inflammation. Another study showed that drinking 8 ounces of tart cherry juice a day reduces uric acid

http://www.eatingwell.com/nutrition_health/nutrition_news_information/cherry_nutrition_benefits

Diabetes Diagnosed

How is diabetes diagnosed?

There are several ways to diagnose diabetes. Each way usually needs to be repeated on a second day to diagnose diabetes. Testing should be carried out in a health care setting (such as your doctor’s office or a lab). If your doctor determines that your blood glucose level is very high, or if you have classic symptoms of high blood glucose in addition to one positive test, your doctor may not require a second test to diagnose diabetes.
A1C. The A1C test measures your average blood glucose for the past 2 to 3 months. The advantages of being diagnosed this way are that you don’t have to fast or drink anything.

• Diabetes is diagnosed at:
  A1C ≥ 6.5%

Fasting Plasma Glucose (FPG). This test is usually done first thing in the morning, before breakfast and checks your fasting blood glucose levels. Fasting means after not having anything to eat or drink (except water) for at least 8 hours before the test.

• Diabetes is diagnosed at:
  Fasting blood glucose ≥ 126 mg/dl

Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (also called the OGTT). The OGTT is a two-hour test that checks your blood glucose levels before and 2 hours after you drink a special sweet drink. It tells the doctor how your body processes glucose.

• Diabetes is diagnosed at:
  2-h blood glucose ≥ 200 mg/dl

Random (also called Casual) Plasma Glucose Test. This test is a blood check at any time of the day when you have severe diabetes symptoms.

• Diabetes is diagnosed at:
  Blood glucose ≥ 200 mg/dl

What is prediabetes?

Prediabetes is a condition when you have blood glucose is higher than normal but not high enough to be diabetes. This condition puts you at risk for developing type 2 diabetes.

• Results indicating prediabetes are:
  An A1C of 5.7% – 6.4%
  Fasting blood glucose of 100 – 125 mg/dl
  2-h blood glucose of 140 mg/dl – 199 mg/dl

http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3812696368981778379#editor/target=post;postID=6864543475828839605

Diabetes Symptoms

Type 1 Diabetes

• Frequent urination
• Unusual thirst
• Extreme hunger
• Unusual weight loss
• Extreme fatigue and Irritability

Type 2 Diabetes

• Any of the type 1 symptoms
• Frequent infections
• Blurred vision
• Cuts/bruises that are slow to heal
• Tingling/numbness in the hands/feet
• Recurring skin, gum, or bladder infections

If you have one or more of these diabetes symptoms, see your doctor right away.

No Symptoms? You May Still Have Diabetes

Often people with type 2 diabetes have no symptoms. That is why it is important to take our Online Diabetes Risk Test to find out if you are at risk for type 2 diabetes.
Also, women with gestational diabetes often have no symptoms which is why it's important for at-risk women to be tested at the proper time during pregnancy.
Risk factors for gestational diabetes include:

• Being overweight prior to pregnancy
• Having had gestational diabetes in a prior pregnancy
• Having a family history of diabetes

Learn more about gestational diabetes.

http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/symptoms/

Healthy Hints for the Days

Grapeseed Oil comes from the seeds of the grapes used in producing wine. It contains no cholesterol, is high in unsaturated fat, and is an excellent source of vitamin E! Its light, clean flavor and high smoke point make it exceptionally versatile for any and all types of cooking.

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Watermelon