15 Health Benefits of Eating Apples

Source : besthealthmag.ca

Many of us forget that sometimes, the simplest answers are the best. Better health could be as easy as reaching for the fruit bowl for some apples next time you need a snack

What makes apples so great?

In 2004, USDA scientists investigated over 100 foods to measure their antioxidant concentration per serving size. Two apples’Red Delicious and Granny Smith’ranked 12th and 13th respectively. Antioxidants are disease-fighting compounds. Scientists believe these compounds help prevent and repair oxidation damage that happens during normal cell activity. Apples are also full of a fibre called pectin’a medium-sized apple contains about 4 grams of fibre. Pectin is classed as a soluble, fermentable and viscous fibre, a combination that gives it a huge list of health benefits.

1. Get whiter, healthier teeth

An apple won’t replace your toothbrush, but biting and chewing an apple stimulates the production of saliva in your mouth, reducing tooth decay by lowering the levels of bacteria.

2. Avoid Alzheimer’s

A new study performed on mice shows that drinking apple juice could keep Alzheimer’s away and fight the effects of aging on the brain. Mice in the study that were fed an apple-enhanced diet showed higher levels of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine and did better in maze tests than those on a regular diet.

3. Protect against Parkinson’s

Research has shown that people who eat fruits and other high-fibre foods gain a certain amount of protection against Parkinson’s, a disease characterized by a breakdown of the brain’s dopamine-producing nerve cells. Scientists have linked this to the free radical-fighting power of the antioxidants contained therein.

4. Curb all sorts of cancers

Scientists from the American Association for Cancer Research, among others, agree that the consumption of flavonol-rich apples could help reduce your risk of developing pancreatic cancer by up to 23 per cent. Researchers at Cornell University have identified several compounds’triterpenoids’in apple peel that have potent anti-growth activities against cancer cells in the liver, colon and breast. Their earlier research found that extracts from whole apples can reduce the number and size of mammary tumours in rats. Meanwhile, the National Cancer Institute in the U.S. has recommended a high fibre intake to reduce the risk of colorectal cancer.

5. Decrease your risk of diabetes

Women who eat at least one apple a day are 28 percent less likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those who don’t eat apples. Apples are loaded with soluble fibre, the key to blunting blood sugar swings.

6. Reduce cholesterol

The soluble fibre found in apples binds with fats in the intestine, which translates into lower cholesterol levels and a healthier you.

7. Get a healthier heart

An extensive body of research has linked high soluble fibre intake with a slower buildup of cholesterol-rich plaque in your arteries. The phenolic compound found in apple skins also prevents the cholesterol that gets into your system from solidifying on your artery walls. When plaque builds inside your arteries, it reduces blood flow to your heart, leading to coronary artery disease.

8. Prevent gallstones

Gallstones form when there’s too much cholesterol in your bile for it to remain as a liquid, so it solidifies. They are particularly prevalent in the obese. To prevent gallstones, doctors recommend a diet high in fibre to help you control your weight and cholesterol levels.

9. Beat diarrhea and constipation

Whether you can’t go to the bathroom or you just can’t stop, fibre found in apples can help. Fibre can either pull water out of your colon to keep things moving along when you’re backed up, or absorb excess water from your stool to slow your bowels down.

10. Neutralize irritable bowel syndrome

Irritable bowel syndrome is characterized by constipation, diarrhea, and abdominal pain and bloating. To control these symptoms doctors recommend staying away from dairy and fatty foods while including a high intake of fibre in your diet.

11. Avert hemorrhoids

Hemorrhoids are a swollen vein in the anal canal and while not life threatening, these veins can be very painful. They are caused by too much pressure in the pelvic and rectal areas. Part and parcel with controlling constipation, fibre can prevent you from straining too much when going to the bathroom and thereby help alleviate hemorrhoids.

12. Control your weight

Many health problems are associated with being overweight, among them heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and sleep apnea. To manage your weight and improve your overall health, doctors recommend a diet rich in fibre. Foods high in fibre will fill you up without costing you too many calories.

13. Detoxify your liver

We’re constantly consuming toxins, whether it is from drinks or food, and your liver is responsible for clearing these toxins out of your body. Many doctors are skeptical of fad detox diets, saying they have the potential to do more harm than good. Luckily, one of the best’and easiest’things you can eat to help detoxify your liver is fruits’like apples.

14. Boost your immune system

Red apples contain an antioxidant called quercetin. Recent studies have found that quercetin can help boost and fortify your immune system, especially when you’re stressed out.

15. Prevent cataracts

Though past studies have been divided on the issue, recent long-term studies suggest that people who have a diet rich in fruits that contain antioxidants’like apples’are 10 to 15 per cent less likely to develop cataracts.

Lemon Citrus Benefits to Health and Beauty

Source : www.carakhasiatmanfaat.com

Lemon is a fruit that is very common and easily found in the market. Most of us love to use lemon juice for a refreshing during hot weather during the day. Few people know this sour fruit that has a number of nutritional benefits, and can be used for many other purposes.

Lemon

Lemon tree originally known to have come from Asia, with the color of the fruit is usually greenish or yellow. Lemon juice is often used to make juice drinks , juice , lemonade or other drinks. Besides containing 6% citric acid that creates sour taste, this fruit also contains vitamin C, calcium, folic acid, vitamin B5, vitamin B3, vitamin B1 and B2, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, sugar, carbohydrates, fiber , fat and protein.

Citrus lemon contains citric acid, so the taste is very sour, but made it as juice will help us to establish a base in the body. It is widely used for cooking as well as a variety of other things. Here are 40 benefits of a complete lemon, for health, beauty, hair health, as well as for household use.

Benefits for Health

• Lemon contains rich source of vitamin C which is essential to make the body immune to the virus that causes coughs and colds. It also contains flavonoids, which are also useful to fight the virus and make the body stay fit. 
• Lemon helps creating alkali in the body, to restore the body's pH balance. 
• Drinking lemon juice with warm water in the morning will help bowel movement easily. It is one of the particular benefits of lemon juice. For those who have problems with bowel movements, it will be greatly helped by drinking this juice.
• Lemon juice can help to dissolve uric acid and other toxins as well as helping to dilute the bile, thereby helping to stimulate and detoxificate the liver.
• As traditional medicine, lemon is highly recognized to ease gastric problems and to maintain eyesight.
• Vitamin C found in lemon helps to neutralize free radicals, the main cause of premature aging and various diseases.
• Lemon has been found as the only one fruit in the world which contain anionic (negative ions), so it is very important for the body.
• Eye disorders have recovered after consuming lemon on a regular basis.
• Lemon has been found contains 22 anti-cancer compound including limonene to slow down the growth of cancer tumors, and flavonol glycosides which can halt cell division in cancer cells. 
• Lemon also help eliminating worms in the body.
• Lemon peel contains tengeretin that has been proven effectively help brain disorders such as Parkinson's disease. 
• Lemon also known for its antibacterial properties and can destroy the virus of malaria, cholera, diphtheria, typhoid and other bacteria.
• Vitamin C contained in the lemon helps strengthen the blood vessels. Lemon has been considered in the treatment of high blood pressure as well.
• Vitamin C in the lemon helps to treat scabies.
• British Navy equip its warships with lemons to make 1 ounce of lemon juice for every sailor on a daily basis.
• The citric acid in lemon helps to dissolve gallstones, kidney stones and calcium deposits.  

 Benefits for Beauty

• Mix 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of tomato juice and 2 tablespoons milk into a bowl and apply it on the face and body. This mixture is useful as natural bleach. 
• Lemon juice can help reducing wrinkles. To make the anti-wrinkle masks, use one tablespoon of honey, a few drops of lemon juice and almond oil, and mix these ingredients into a paste. Then use it on the face for 15-20 minutes before rinsing.
• Lemon also helps to relieve chapped lips. Mix a teaspoon of fresh cream, a teaspoon of lemon juice and a teaspoon of honey, stir into a paste. Use this on the lips by rubbing it for a week to see the results. 
• Lemon can be used to make our hands and skin looks young and beautiful. You need a lemon juice (fresh), a teaspoon of glycerin, and a cup of milk. Combine milk and lemon juice into a small bowl, add the glycerin and then mix it. Apply this mixture on the body and face, let it stand for 25-30 minutes and then rinse. The best time to use this mixture is before sleeping. For the best results, use it every night for a week. It will give great benefit in acne, scars and reduce dry skin and sun burn scars.
• If you have freckles, then the lemon will help to reduce it. For this purpose, prepare 1 egg and extract its albumine, 1 teaspoon lemon, soak some almonds overnight into the milk and then peel and puree in the morning. Take and mix all the ingredients. Apply this mixture on the face flatly and let it dry for 20 minutes. Then rinse your face with water. 
• Lemon can also help to whiten the teeth and to repel mouth odors. Take the lemon and cut it into two pieces, add some salt and baking soda and rub it on the teeth. It will make your teeth whiter and relieve you from the problem of bad breath.
• Stop hair loss using lemon. Take 3-4 tablespoons of coconut oil, and add the lemon juice of half portions. Apply this mixture on the hair for a week. Follow this recipe for 2-3 weeks to see results. 
• Do you know that lemon juice can be used to delay the graying of hair? Mix a few drops of lemon juice with amla juice and apply it on your hair every night before sleeping. Follow this way for a month continuously. This not only will stop graying hair but also stop hair loss. 
• Want to smooth facial skin ? lemon is a great material for the face. Take a ripe banana, a few drops of lemon juice (fresh). Mix these two ingredients into the bowl to make a paste. Apply this on your face and let it dry. Then wash with water to obtain the smooth skin.
• Use 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil and add the 1/4 or 1 teaspoon of lemon juice. Apply this mixture on all the dry areas of the body such as hands, elbows, heels and other body parts. Wait for 10-15 minutes and then wash with water.
• To get the beauty of dry skin, you can try this face pack. Prepare lemon juice, honey, and cauliflower (boiled). Take 3 teaspoons of lemon juice and 3 tablespoons of honey, put into a bowl and mix well. Now take 1/2 teaspoon of cabbage boiled and softened. Mix all the ingredients to make a paste and apply it on the face and neck. Let stand for 10 minutes and wash. 

Various usage for households

• Lemon Peels is great for cleaning the microwave oven. Sometimes an food explosion will makes a mess and the rest of the food will stick firmly to the inner surface of the oven. Use lemon peels to clean this up. Soak some peels in a bowl of water and put it into the oven. Turn on the microwave for 5/6 minutes at a high temperature. The boiling water will produce steam that fills the microwave. Condensed steam will help soften the leftover food stuck. Take out the bowl carefully and clean inside the microwave using a towel. 
• Sometimes we have our stove, cooking table and dining table have some remaining oil that is extremely difficult to remove. Do not fret, this problem can be overcome by using a lemon. Take a fruit and cut it into two parts. Sprinkle one part with salt and rub it on a greasy spot. Then continue rubbing them with a clean towel. 
• Cutting board is often overlooked though so many bacteria living on it. Use a gentle refreshing lemon to clean cutting board. Take a lemon, cut in half, rub it over the cutting board and rinse with water.