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We all know smoking is injurious to health. Do you know what is in cigarette? Smoking makes you more likely to get cataracts, optic nerve damage, and macular degeneration. If you’ve tried to quit smoking before and started smoking again, keep trying and you will be successful at end.
Image courtesy: http://researchdryeyes.com
Protecting your eyes starts with the food on your plate. Nutrients such as omega-3 fatty acids, lutein, zinc, and vitamins C and E might help ward off age-related vision problems such as macular degeneration and cataracts, studies show. Regularly eating these foods can help lead to good eye health. Green, leafy vegetables such as spinach, kale, and collards, Eggs, nuts, beans, and other non-meat protein sources, Oranges and other citrus fruits or juices. Diabetes can harm the eyes. Eating a well-balanced diet also helps you maintain a healthy weight, which makes you less likely to get obesity-related diseases such as type 2 diabetes.
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Coconut water obtained from Cocos nucifera (botanical name) or coconut palm is actually the juice present inside the interior cavity or endosperm of young, tender coconut. Its water is one of the nature’s most refreshing drinks, consumed worldwide for its nutritious and health benefiting properties. Coconuts may be classified as a nut, seed and a fruit. In India coconut trees are called “Kalpavriksha of earth” ( means the tree that gives life with all its benefits).
The water is present inside a tender, green coconut. Inside, it’s clear liquid is somewhat sweet, and sterile and composed of unique chemicals such as sugars, vitamins, minerals, electrolytes, enzymes, amino acids, cytokine, and phyto-hormones. Depending on the size and cultivar type each coconut may contain upto 1000 ml of water. Tender coconut (5-7 months age) will have good amount of water whereas the ripened ones that we use for cooking will have less water and more endosperm. Coconut palm flourishes well under the costal tropical environments. A coconut tree may yield several hundreds of tender nuts each season. Different varieties of coconut palms are present throughout the world. Coconut trees flourishes well in coastal regions and in tropical conditions. The taste of coconut water depends on the climate too.
Health benefits of coconut water
Coconut water is a very refreshing drink to beat tropical summer thirst. It is packed with simple sugars, electrolytes, and minerals to replenish dehydration conditions inside the human body.
Research studies suggest that cytokinins (e.g., kinetin and trans-zeatin) in coconut water found to have significant anti-ageing, anti-carcinogenic, and anti-thrombotic (anti-clot formation) effects.
Coconut water is good source of balanced water for those patients who suffer from severe dehydration due to various reasons. It replaces the fluid loss from the gastrointestinal tract and to reduce the need for hospitalization. The osmolarity of tender coconut water is slightly greater than that of WHO recommended ORS (Oral Rehydration Therapy) solution. Presence of other biological constituents like amino acids, enzymes, minerals, and fatty acids may account for this higher osmolarity. Its water is rich in sugars and amino acids. This well-balanced fluid composition, along with much-needed calories, would be an ideal drink instead of any other kind of soft drink beverages available in the markets to correct dehydration conditions.
Coconut water is composed of many naturally occurring bioactive enzymes such as acid phosphatase, catalase, dehydrogenase, diastase, peroxidase, RNA-polymerases etc. In effect, these enzymes help in the digestion and metabolism. Despite being very light in consistency, its water proportionately has better composition of minerals like calcium, iron, manganese, magnesium, and zinc than some of the fruit juices like oranges. Its liquid is also a very good source of B-complex vitamins such as riboflavin, niacin, thiamin, pyridoxine, and folates. These vitamins are essential in the sense that the human body requires them from external sources to replenish.
Coconut water carries a very good amount of electrolyte potassium. 100 ml of water has 250 mg of potassium and 105 mg of sodium. Together, these electrolytes help replenish electrolyte deficiency in the body due to any kind of water loss (diarrhea, vomiting or dehydration). Fresh coconut water has a small amount of vitamin-C (Ascorbic acid); It provides about 2.4 mg or 4% of RDA. Vitamin C is a water-soluble ant-oxidant.
Coconut water and cholesterol:
It’s a low-fat health drink. Deemed a healthy alternative to sugar- and kilojoule-packed soft drinks and juices, pure coconut water is a natural beverage with no artificial additives or sweeteners. It’s cholesterol free, 99 per cent fat free, low in carbohydrates and naturally occurring sugars and has less than 100 kilojoules per 100ml (most flavored varieties use 100 per cent fruit extracts).
A study published in Fall 2006 in the “Journal of Medicinal Food” indicates that coconut water lowers total cholesterol and “bad” LDL cholesterol, while raising “good” HDL cholesterol.
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Also known as betel nut – the chewing of betel nut quids dates to antiquity. In the 1st century AD, Sanskrit medical writings claimed that betel nut possessed 13 qualities found in the region of heaven. It is pungent, bitter, spicy, sweet, salty, and astringent. It was said to expel wind, kill worms, remove phlegm, subdue bad odors, beautify the mouth, induce purification, and kindle passion. Because of its CNS stimulating effects, betel nut is used in a manner similar to the western use of tobacco or caffeine. Arecoline is responsible for some of the effects of betel quid chewing, such as alertness, increased stamina, a sense of well-being, euphoria, and salivation. Chewing the nut stimulates the flow of saliva to aid digestion. Betel nut also has been used to stimulate the appetite.
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Phoenix dactylifera, commonly known as Dates have been a staple food of the Middle East and the Indus Valley for thousands of years. They are believed to have originated around Iraq, and have been cultivated since ancient times from Mesopotamia to prehistoric Egypt, possibly as early as 4000 BCE. Dates provide a wide range of essential nutrients, and are a very good source of dietary potassium. The sugar content of ripe dates is about 80%; the remainder consists of protein, fiber, and trace elements including boron, cobalt, copper, fluorine, magnesium,manganese, selenium, and zinc.
References & Image: Wikepedia & Dave’s garden
Elaeis guineensis (and its South American relative, Elaeis oliefera) are known commonly as Oil Palms and are among the most economically important of all the world’s palms. The African Oil palm is the primary source of palm oil throughout the world, and it is harvested from both the fruit and the seeds. Technically palm oil is obtained from the fruit of these palms while palm kernel oil, the far more important economic product, is obtained from the seed of these palms.
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Though not currently known for its edible fruits, the Saw Palmetto Palm (Serenoa repens) was historically a source of food for native Indians in Florida (where it is a native species). Today it is much better known as the source of a prostate medication found in the fruit that helps shrink overgrown prostates.
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Another tropical palm sometimes grown for its edible and quite tasty fruit is the Snake Palm (Salacca zalacca). This is an intensely spiny palm and sadly not terribly ornamental, so few grow this as a garden palm but it is somewhat economically important in some Asian countries as a food item. It is called the Snake Palm due to the fruit’s snake-like scaly skin.
Image credit: Dev’s garden
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