Tag Archives: vitamin C

18 Nov

Health Benefits Of Pumpkin Juice: Pumpkins Aren’t Just Good for Halloween

When I think of pumpkins, Halloween is the first thing that pops into my mind. But you might be surprised to learn that pumpkins are good for more than just carving and putting on your porch to scare trick-or-treaters. The health benefits of pumpkin juice have been demonstrated time and time again, yet this valuable health resource often flies under the radar of even the most devoted health aficionados.

Pumpkins

Pumpkins are a rich source of several important vitamins

Beta-carotene

Pumpkins are a rich source of several important vitamins. Beta-carotene is the orange pigment responsible for giving pumpkins their distinctive color (it also provides color for other healthy vegetables, like carrots). When you consume beta-carotene, the body converts some of it to vitamin A. Vitamin A is important to maintaining the health of many bodily functions, especially vision. Thus, it may be possible to help some vision problems through drinking pumpkin juice. The health benefits of pumpkin juice don’t stop there, however, as vitamin A is also an important component of healthy skin. Many high-end dermatology products rely primarily on the influence of vitamin A derivatives to reduce acne, but drinking pumpkin juice may allow you to achieve the same result for much less money!

Vitamin C and vitamin E

Pumpkin juice also contains high amounts of vitamin C and vitamin E. Vitamin C is involved in a multitude of functions in the human body, and is essential for maintaining a healthy immune system. It’s also a valuable antioxidant, and thus it helps to slow the natural aging process of the body. Vitamin E is an antioxidant as well, and the combined effect of both through drinking pumpkin juice has the potential to make you feel years younger.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D is also found at high levels in pumpkin juice. Vitamin D is essential for healthy bone development, hormone development, and nervous system functioning. Vitamin D deficiencies have been associated with a number of negative health outcomes, including increased mortality, cancer rates, and growth deformities. Drinking pumpkin juice is a healthy way to obtain the recommended daily amount of vitamin D.

Health benefits of pumpkin juice

People have been drinking pumpkin juice for many years, and out of the practice have come a number of medicinal uses of pumpkin juice. For example, The health benefits of pumpkin juice are believed to include maintaining a healthy cholesterol level. The mechanism behind this link could involve one of the several vitamins that are packed into a glass of pumpkin juice. There are indications, for example, that Vitamin C may have a cholesterol-reducing effect. Antioxidants have also been demonstrated to help keep cholesterol levels within a healthy range, and pumpkin juice has a high antioxidant index.

The health benefits of pumpkin juice also involve its digestive-stimulating capabilities. Pumpkin juice can serve as a digestive system regulator, and can be used in instances of constipation or indigestion. Its laxative properties are very mild, however, so drinking pumpkin juice in general won’t cause an over-active bowel. Pumpkin juice can also soothe the stomach, and is a recommended treatment for ulcers.

There are many who advocate pumpkin juice as a cure for insomnia. Pumpkin juice is high in magnesium, a mineral that can play an important role in our ability to sleep. One of the many suggested functions for magnesium is its soothing action on the nervous system. There is an indication that some people who suffer from insomnia do so because they are experiencing magnesium deficiency. If only they knew to drink pumpkin juice! Often, pumpkin juice mixed with a small amount of honey is drank before lying down as a sleep aid.

Pumpkin Seeds

Some believe that pumpkin seeds offer the greatest of the health benefits of pumpkin juice. The seeds are thought to have an overall cleansing effect on the body. Nutrients in the seeds may help rid the body of impurities by stimulating the activity of the kidneys. For this reason, many people who make fresh pumpkin juice will be sure to include ground up seeds in their concoction.

Pumpkin juice is loaded with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants–all of which combine to maintain healthy functioning of the body. While many of us search for foods that will provide us with one vitamin or another, it may be that the one-shot solution to our health needs is sitting right in front of us. So next time you think of a pumpkin, think about putting it in your juicer, not carving it!

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20 Dec

Apple Nutrition Facts – Why an Apple a Day Keeps the Doctor Away

Apple Nutrition Facts

What everyone knows about apples is that they are a sweet fruit that will keep you regular and has great tasting juice. True, it’s all those things, but it has a lot more nutrition than most of us know.

Apples have bee known to help asthmatics get less attacks, and when they do happen, they are less severe. Apples are known to stimulate appetite in people who don’t often feel hungry. They are the chief ingredient in apple cider vinegar, a home remedy that is a great help for respiratory illness, general energy and mild stomach conditions.

They have also been known to reduce the incidence of strokes because they prevent thickening of the artery walls. They help with type 2 diabetes. They contain flavanoids which inhibit cancerous cells and they are known to reduce the severity of prostrate cancer.

A large glass of freshly squeezed apple juice a day will help you to reduce the effects of cholesterol. In short, they are packed with different nutrients and each nutrient in an apple is beneficial to your body (here you can find a complete list of apple juice health benefits as well as their explanations).

Apple Nutrition Facts

The main nutrients that you will find in an apple are numerous; look at the list below to see just how much you would be doing for your health if you consumed apples regularly. This is based on a regular sized apple that’s ripe and fresh and still has the skin on.

Apple Nutrition Facts

Betaine 0,1 mg
Calcium 6 mg
Calories 52 Calories
Carbohydrate 13,8 g
Carotene-ß 27 mcg
Choline 3,4 mg
Dietary Fiber 2,4 g
Fluoride 3,3 mcg
Folate 3 mcg
Iron 0,1 mg
Lutein-zeaxanthin 29 mcg
Magnesium 5 mg
Niacine 0,1 mg
Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) 5900 µ mol TE
Pantothenic Acid 0,1 mg
Phosphorus 11 mg
Phytonutrients 67 mcg
Potassium 107 mg
Protein 0,3 g
Pyridoxine Vit. B6 0,041 mg
Selenium 1 mcg
Sugar 10,4 g
Total Fat 0,2 g
Vitamin A 54 IU
Vitamin C 4,6 mg
Vitamin E 0,2 mg
Vitamin K 2,2 mcg
Water 85,6 g

If you want to get the full benefits of an apple, don’t peel away the skin as it contains many of the nutrients listed here; more than half of the vitamin C that you will be getting, for instance, sits just below the skin.

You’ll notice that there are some elements that are common in almost everything that we eat that are not present in apples: they don’t have any kind of fat, they don’t contain sodium and they don’t have cholesterol either.

They are also one of the richest sources of plant based anti-oxidants. In fact, they are not far from the avocado, another wonder fruit that people had for a long time ignored because it was believed to contain unhealthy fats.

If you check the list, you’ll see that when it comes to fibre, it says plenty. That’s why people who eat apples regularly will move bowels regularly too. The fibre provides the traction that’s needed to push stool out of the colon. If you are constipated, a raw apple is one of the easiest and best ways to help you get bowel movements.

You might be wondering which of all these nutrients is most beneficial to the body. There are 4 of them:

Carbohydrates are vital for proper body function, and especially plant based carbs. They are fuel for the body and because they come in the form of a fruit, you can be sure that you are not consuming carbs as you would otherwise consume with other foods.

Calcium is the stuff from which bones are formed, and it’s also an important component in maintaining proper cell turgidity. If your cells have a calcium imbalance, you will suffer dehydration – calcium makes the cells turgid enough so that the cell membranes maintain just enough water.

Iron is vital as well, because it is one of the main components of blood and it is necessary for blood circulation. If you have too little iron, you will be anaemic.

Potassium is also vital for healthy cells, and healthy cells mean a healthy body.

It’s easy to give your body all these things simply by making sure that every day, you eat an apple. You can make apple fruit juice a part of your morning regimen, and then carry an apple with you as you leave the house to munch on later. In fact, it’s somehow the only fruit that you can eat in public without people raising an eyebrow :).

18 Dec

The Health Benefits of Apple Juice

Red apples

It’s hard to find a fruit in nature that’s healthier than the apple. In fact, even when you take it in the form of apple juice, there are lots of health benefits you get whether you are a child or an adult. The apple is used for alcoholic products too, and the best thing about it is that having all those health benefits, its one of the cheapest fruits that you can find.

Apple Juice and Your Health

Apple juice contains lots of different nutrients that are necessary in the body for optimum health. Almost all types of apples contain vitamin C which helps your body fight disease. One of the diseases that apples will help you fight, although rare today, is scurvy. Although there is still no solid scientific evidence, vitamin C has also been said to help fight off colds.

Health Benefits Of Apple Juice

Apple juice also contains antioxidants which are the body’s armor against disease, both for prevention and cure. When you are under a rigorous exercise regimen, apple juice will help you boost energy levels as well as help muscles which might tear due to strain. Exercising also forces the body to produce oxidants, as much as 10 times more than when your body is at rest. These lead to more fatigue than usual and a glass of apple juice will help you to clear these out of your system. Antioxidants have also been shown to fight off certain kinds of cancers and if consumed in moderation. It’s a great weight loss booster as well and helps to reduce cholesterol.

Apple Juice for Alzheimer’s

A study in 2009 showed that drinking apple juice regularly as one grew older helps to delay the onset of dementia, a condition which eventually leads to Alzheimer’s disease. In the same study, mice that were fed regularly with apple juice showed improved brain function and they were better able to cope with orientation, one of the most debilitating conditions that comes along with Alzheimer’s. It also showed that apple juice slowed ageing of the brain and ultimately, the brain remains in good function for a longer time (for more foods that can slow down the aging process you can visit anti aging nutrition).

Apples for apple juice

Other Nutrients in Apple Juice and Their Benefits

Apples are one of the greatest sources of fiber. In fact, most sources of fiber are not sweet, but with apples, you get to enjoy the fruit as well as help your digestion.

Apple juice is also rich in iron, but you shouldn’t take too much of it as the antioxidants in it will bind the iron and it wont be absorbed into your blood stream. This of course will lead to iron deficiencies and eventually diseases like anemia.

The juice is also an antioxidant, and people who smoke or suffer breathing problems should take it to help detoxify and therefore clean the lungs for easier breathing.

Although apple juice contains a lot of the nutrients that are needed for daily function, it has no calories that can make you gain weight, even when you add artificial sweeteners to it.

The benefits go on and on. Apple juice is excellent for people suffering from anemia, stomach disorders, rheumatism, arteriosclerosis, diabetes, and obesity. It also helps prevent liver and kidney disease, formation of uric acid and chronic colitis. It will detoxify even heavy metals like radionuclide from the body.

It also helps fight off dysentery, respiratory diseases and laryngitis. It has calcium which helps strengthen bones especially in pregnant women and children.

Benefits of cloudy apples juice

Cloudy Apple Juice

This is actually the healthiest form of apple juice. When you buy apple juice from the store, it’s usually clear and this is because of the continuous filtration that has been done to it. Filtration removes 2 major ingredients: pectin and starch. It will also remove some of the natural fibre and vitamin C. These are some of the most beneficial elements in apple juice, so a store bought apple juice will not give you full health value.

In the US, unfiltered apple juice comes in the form of apple cider and can be bought in stores. You should be aware though, that in the UK, apple cider is actually an alcoholic drink made of apple juice and alcohol.

Side Effects of Apple Juice

The FDA, after testing apples and apple juice, says that there are few if any side effects. The only times you may have problems is if you take too much of it at once or if you go on an apple juice diet for detox without consuming anything else. All ingredients in apples and apple juice have a high level of tolerance before they actually show up in the blood to cause any negative side effects.

Of course, they can confidently tell you that “an apple a day keeps the doctor away!”