Pumpkin is a Super food

Cucurbita pepo, the pumpkin, is a cultivar of a squash plant.

Pumpkin is one of the most nutritious fruits loaded with antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. Pumpkin is a super food, which contains high level of potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium, vitamin A, C and B6. Its low calorie content helps in weigh control, preventing   obesity and diabetes 2.  Its beta-carotene substance, an antioxidant, provides fight against certain types of cancer, prevents heart disease and asthma. Fibre, potassium and vitamin C content in pumpkin support healthy heart and help in lowering blood pressure.

Pumpkin is gluten free fruit. You can use pumpkin and pumpkin seeds in wide range of dishes: soups, salads, bread and desserts. When you prepare your food do not use extra sugar, the pumpkin is sweet enough.

Delicious and quick autumn dish, does not require cooking experience:

Roasted pumpkin, apple, carrot, red onion and parsnip.

Health Benefits of Cardamom

One of my friends has driven my attention to cardamom seed; he is using it to releasing reflux. These seed-pods are being in use as a spice in both food and drink as well as in medicine.

Both Elettaria and Amomum cardamom types feature three-sided fruits (pods) with a thin, papery outer cover. Elettaria pods are small and light green, while Amomum pods are larger and dark brown, Cardamom is a herbaceous, perennial plant in the ginger family.

The most common way to use cardamom is in cooking or baking. It’s very multipurpose and often added to Indian curries, stews and goulash as well as gingerbread cookies, bread, flat bread, pancake and other baked goods.

These seeds have wide range of nutritional values; they provide proteins, good dietary fats and fibres. This seeds contain essential vitamins; vitamin C, vitamin B6, riboflavin, thiamine and niacin. They hold important minerals as well like; potassium, calcium, iron, manganese, phosphorous, magnesium, sodium and zinc.

Cardamom is an ancient remedy for treating bad breath and improving oral health.  Antioxidants in cardamom helps to fight cancer cells to attack tumours, and they also help to lower blood pressure. Antioxidants, found in abundance in cardamom also have anti-inflammatory effects. Cardamom has been used for thousands of years to help with digestion. It is mixed with other spices to relieve nausea and vomiting. Its great ability is to help ulcers.

Drinking Water

Each day you must consume a certain amount of water to survive. This varies with age, gender, and where someone lives. An adult male needs about 3 litres per day while an adult female needs about 2.2 litres per day approximately. Some of this water is obtained in food.

This threshold of drinking water enables to balance water losses and keep one’s body properly hydrated. Water is a major constituent of our bodies and vital organs. It provides five vital functions in our body:

• Water distributes essential nutrients; minerals, vitamins and glucose to the cells.

·      Water is significant in chemical and metabolic reactions.

• Regulates body temperature

Water has a large heat capacity, which helps to limit changes in body temperature in a warm or a cold environment.

·      Water removes waist products, toxins from the cells to urine and faeces.

·      Water acts as lubricant and shock absorber in the body.

Water is at the centre of your life. This is why nobody can live more than 3 to 5 days without any water intake.

About 63% of the human body is water. (The amount depends on the age of the person.)

When you're low on waters, your brain generates the body's thirst mechanism that makes you thirsty. In this case you should listen to this message and get yourself a drink of water, juice, milk, coffee but alcohol. The brain communicates with the kidney and tells it how much water to excrete as urine or hold onto as reserve. Your kidneys do essential and important job of purification eliminating toxins as long as your water intake is adequate.

Muscle cells need adequate water, if they don’t maintain their balance of fluids and electrolytes weaken, which can result in muscle fatigue. So drinking enough fluids is important when exercising to replace water lost by sweating.

Your skin contains plenty of water and it functions as a barrier to prevent excess fluid loss. So if you drink sufficient amount of water your skin will look healthy.

Water substituting higher calorie beverages can help control calorie intake. Foods with high water content:  fruits, vegetables, broth-based soups, oatmeal and legumes require more chewing, and they are absorbed more slowly by the body, which helps you feel full.

You need to drink 8 glasses of water/ day however, if you drink extreme amount  of water in a  short period of time it can cause low level of sodium in your blood. This condition is called hyponatremia,  water-intoxication.

Water is essential for life. It is also very important in food preparation and cooking, sanitation and hygiene, and a wide range of other uses. The drinking water supply has a primary objective of protecting human health, including ensuring access to adequate quantities and qualities. 17% of the world's population uses water from the unprotected sources, 32% from some form of protected sources and 51% from some sort of centralised system.

Generally, soft water is more desirable. Soft water is hard water that has had its minerals removed through the process of ionisation So many people feel it essential to invest in a water softener. Hard water contains high concentration of calcium and magnesium ions and other dissolved ions like aluminium, strontium, iron, zinc and magnesium. Some studies have shown a correlation between hard water and lower cardiovascular disease mortality. Calcium and magnesium are essential for a healthy body. In additional hard water contains less sodium.

Keep drinking water.