Autumn, Harvest, Healthy Lifestyle

Autumn is here in the Northern Hemisphere, the countryside has dressed in shiny, vibrant colour and the trees are proudly holding their ripe, yellow, red fruits. It is time for harvesting, removing fruits, vegetables from their growing places and moving them to another location for consumption or storage. So this time of the year the nature appetisingly offers its wealthy plate of fresh fruits and vegetables. You can collect fruits and veggies from the nearest organic farm and consume them without cooking.  Raw food, consist of enzymes, phytonutrients are enzymes, so the digestion of raw foods are easier then cooked foods. Raw food has high efficiency, the energy from food goes to every cells because does not contain any toxins. They reinforce immune system. Balances the sugar level, control weight.  Raw foods make the pH of the blood higher, slightly alkaline, helping to prevent disease.  Raw foods also enhance oxygenation. They have anti- ageing effect. They improve mental health. This diet may include a selection of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, eggs, fish, meat and dairy products. Do not forget that organic farmers use animal manure as the major source of fertilizer for their food crops.  Animal manure is the biggest reservoir of nasty bacteria, so use a water –and- vinegar solution to wash fresh veggies and fruits. If the days are getting colder you want to consume warm, cooked food. Using these fresh ingredients you can make wide variety of soups and roasted fruits and veggies. Keep this in your mind; your daily diet should consist of minimum 75% of raw fruit and vegetables.

The autumn scenery invites you for walk or cycling. Walking is the best form of physical exercise for all age groups. Being in nature and breathing fresh air helps maintain an emotional well- being. It also gives an opportunity to meet other people. The main benefit of doing outdoor activities, even for a short period of time is being able to absorb the sunlight, which generates vitamin D.  Vitamin D is necessary for brain, bones, muscle and cognitive functions.

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Delicious Walnut Health Benefits: Advantages for Brain, Heart, Fertility

By Jobee Knight 

Walnuts are perhaps the most famous tree nut of all and have been named the "Healthiest of all Nuts". They are rich in plant-based fats and are a good source of the B-vitamins and many minerals. Even though walnuts are one of the easiest foods to eat, they are also a powerful weapon against chronic diseases. Walnuts can be eaten by the handful as a snack, or in salads, soups, vegetable dishes, baked goods or smoothies.

Due to their uniquely high amounts of healthy fats and potent plant chemicals, recent studies are publishing evidence that walnuts can reduce brain stress, lower cholesterol, increase fertility in men, reduce inflammation, lower the risk of diabetes, strengthen the immune system, and help with insomnia because of the natural melatonin they contain.

Supporting the claim that walnuts are the healthiest nut is a recent study from the journal "Food and Function". The researchers evaluated nine types of raw and roasted nuts and they found walnuts to contain the highest levels and quality of antioxidants. An "antioxidant" is a substance in food or vitamins that neutralizes the harmful effects of oxygen in the body. These "oxidative" effects contribute to aging and disease.

English walnuts offer powerful benefits to brain health. A study called "Role of Walnuts in Maintaining Brain Health with Age" was published in the Journal of Nutrition. The researchers wrote that walnuts not only reduce the inflammatory load on brain cells, but they also improve communication and connection between the brain cells themselves - helping to maintain good brain health with increasing age.

For a healthy heart and long life, walnuts have been shown to decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease and also extend life spans in general. Walnuts contain the amino acid l-arginine, which offers protective benefits for the heart. A quarter cup of walnuts contains about 1,130 milligrams of l-arginine. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reviewed 13 heart studies and found that the people eating walnuts benefited from a significant decrease in overall cholesterol and had major benefits in the quantity of antioxidants available to them.

Walnuts have been proven to improve fertility and reproductive health. The medical journal "Biology of Reproduction" conducted a study of 117 healthy men and found that eating around a half-cup of walnuts each day produced an increase in healthy fats in the bloodstream and greatly improved the health and vitality of sperm.

Walnuts can be a good sleep inducing food. Russel Reiter, Ph.D., a professor of cellular biology at the University of Texas says, "Relatively few foods have been examined for their melatonin content. Our studies demonstrate that walnuts contain melatonin, that it is absorbed when it is eaten, and that it improves our ability to resist oxidative stress caused by toxic molecules."

Eating walnuts regularly can be a delicious and simple way to prevent disease and take advantage of their many health benefits.

Jobee Knight is President of Nutrition Breakthroughs. She has written nutrition articles and provided effective natural remedies since 2001. These remedies include the natural sleep aids and joint and pain relief products made by Nutrition Breakthroughs

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Jobee_Knight/90117

http://ezinearticles.com/?Delicious-Walnut-Health-Benefits:-Advantages-for-Brain,-Heart,-Fertility&id=9252148 

Perfect Winter Comfort Food That Warms Your Body and Soul

By Susanne Myers 

When the temperatures keep dropping outside, it's time for some winter comfort foods to warm you up. There's just something about a big cup of homemade soup or stew to warm your body and soul when it is cold and dreary outside. What is it about these winter comfort foods that instantly make us feel better?

Most comfort foods and especially those we enjoy in the winter have a fair share of carbohydrates in them. Think about Mac & Cheese for example which is a popular comfort food year around. It has plenty of starchy pasta in it. Quite a few other foods like lasagne or a big pile of spaghetti have plenty of pasta as well. Other winter comfort foods include rice (think chicken and rice soup) or potatoes (think beef stew or potato soup).

In addition to the carbs in the winter comfort food itself, we often serve it with some sort of bread. If you are making a pot of soup or stew you usually have a batch of biscuits, a cornbread or a loaf of homemade bread ready to serve along side it. This warm bread is a big part of what makes these dishes comfort foods and also adds some more carbs to the dish.

These carbohydrates can cause the human body to release a hormone called serotonin which is know to make you feel happy (along with preventing depression).

Stews and particularly soups have more liquid than other foods. In the winter time with the heat running everywhere you go, it is pretty easy to get dehydrated. Dehydration can cause headaches and I don't know about you, but I tend to get pretty grumpy when my head hurts. Getting that extra liquid from soups may be just enough to prevent this from happening. Not getting enough liquids also tends to make you feel tired and sluggish. Of course you should also attempt to drink some extra water to make sure your body has all the liquid it needs to function properly. But that can be easier said than done. While I'm find drinking cold water when it's warm outside, I just have a hard time getting it down in the cold winter months. In addition to eating plenty of soup, try drinking some warm herbal teas to get in your required eight to ten eight ounce glasses of water.

Last but not least, these winter foods make us more comfortable simply because they are hot. Eating soups and stews warms us up from the inside which is just what the doctor ordered after spending some time in the cold elements outside. Soups and stews are comforting to eat and will quickly bring your core body temperature back up. As an added bonus, you get to warm your cold hands on the bowl. Now that's what I call comfort.

And now I would like to share the recipe for my favourite comfort food with you. It's chicken and dumplings. It takes a little time to make, but is worth every minute of it. Give it a try and see if you don't fall in love with this dish as well.

Susanne Myers - The Hillbilly Housewife

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Susanne_Myers/6466

http://ezinearticles.com/?Perfect-Winter-Comfort-Food-That-Warms-Your-Body-and-Soul&id=3556365 

Make Cooking Easy and Fun   

by Forest Academy

Many consumers wonder if they can eat healthy and enjoy food. They only need to know the right cooking tips before learning recipes. The mistake a lot of new home-chefs make is they focus on recipes and not the tips. The professional chef has the tips which is why they can make their own recipes. This is true for the newcomer to the kitchen too. Little tricks for poultry, pasta, soup, seafood, salads and more are extremely simple to learn, understand, and apply on a regular basis. The problem with many cookbooks these days is they don't explain the tips. A person may follow a recipe to the best of their ability only to discover the food did not come out as expected.

€People can easily prepare food that they and others will enjoy.€ says David Ewen, author of books on cooking and nutrition. Often people try to learn to cook and miss out on the essential foundations that make cooking easy and results in dishes that everyone enjoys. It is not difficult. What is difficult is learning new recipes while missing out on the foundations of cooking as it applies to meat, poultry, pasta, soup, seafood, salads, and grains. People don't learn the basics of cooking tools, marinating, seasoning, brining, and all the other basic tricks that are standard.
A restaurant offers delicious food because of the foundational cooking methods necessary to make an exquisite dish. A chef at a restaurant doesn't need to be the only one who has command of the cooking foundations needed to make their customers happy. They know that dill goes with seafood and rosemary goes with poultry. A chef also knows what other seasonings properly complement dill and rosemary when they are used. They also know how much to use and why.

€No one needs to be alone when trying to cook a good dish.€ Says David Ewen. So many kitchens seem to be owned by a lack of confidence and experience in cooking. That does not have to be. Simple guides and foundational tips is all that people need to be successful. http://www.amazon.com/Easy-Cooking-Lesson-You/dp/1453727973

The year can start with healthy eating by knowing what to do with breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. All four meal times are considered with a variety of food groups. A choice of poultry, fish, stews, and more sound like a good idea if one knows how to prepare a dish from delicious simple recipe. That is the key and understanding why people miss keeping their commitment to healthier eating in the New Year. They need to discover the simple cooking methods for healthier food choices that take no time to prepare. http://www.amazon.com/Delicious-Success-Your-Health-David/dp/1461084342

http://goarticles.com/article/Make-Cooking-Easy-and-Fun/10012973/