Health Benefits of Horseradish 

Lentil should occupy a great part in a healthy diet

Lentils, Lens Culinaris, belong to the Family of Fabaceae. It is an edible legume. The types of lentils are the followings;  brown, black, red and green. Using these cooked lentils we prepare different dishes due to their different tastes and consistencies. Example the cooked brown lentils are suitable for soups, the red lentils are used for puree and the greens and blacks are tasty in salad.

Lentils contain high level of proteins, so eating lentils you can replace meat in meals. They are also a very good source of dietary fibres. Lentils are excellent source of foliate, thiamine, vitamin B1, B6, pantothenic acid and minerals; potassium, manganese, iron, copper, phosphorous, zinc, molybdenum and selenium.

Consumption of plant foods like lentils can reduce low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and decrease the risk of obesity, diabetes and heart disease. The selenium in lentils prevents inflammation and reduces tumour growth rate. The calcium, potassium and magnesium can help to decrease the blood pressure.

According to the facts above lentils should occupy a great part of your  healthy diet.

Red lentil soup

Red lentil	Cup
Chopped red pepper	1
Chopped onions	3
Chopped tomatoes	2
Water	600ml
Salt	1 tsp
Turmeric	1tsp
Greek yogurt	2 tbsp

Cook the 1-7 ingredients for 10-15 minutes. Add the Greek yogurt before serving. 

Brown or White Sugar??

Simple diagram about the process of making sugar crystals:

In the process of making sugar you can see the difference between brown and white sugar. The white sugar goes through more refining processes. Both contain molasses but the brown sugar contains more. The colour of brown sugar looks more like molasses syrup. The raw and brown sugars contain very, very small amount of minerals; calcium, potassium, iron and magnesium comparing to the white refined sugar which contains non of these.

Keep the following in your mind:

Sugar is a sweet tasting energy dense carbohydrate.  Simple sugars are contain small molecules; glucose, fructose and galactose, linked together forming a chain. The sugar, which is used by food manufacturers are sucrose (fructose and glucose linked together) or high fructose content corn syrup.  The sugar is not just a source of excess of calories it is a poison.

Fructose does not play an essential role in human metabolism.  Fructose is converted to energy but the process produces very reactive oxygen radicals reacting in our body causing ageing. The fructose is not regulated by the insulin, which spurs the production of leptin. Leptin is a hormone, which lets the body to know when it is full. Fructose does not affect leptin production.

(You do not feel full, so you will eat more, resulting in overeating.)  Foods high in fat and sugar are “hyperpalatable foods “ increase the dopamine level as much as addictive drugs.

Our body does not require any added sugar the complex form of carbohydrates in starchy foods supply all the glucose our metabolisms need.