Why Cabbage is Good For Weight Loss

By Peter Halpin  |   Submitted On September 21, 2008

Research has shown that cabbage is a great weight loss food. Apart from the fact that it's a green leafy vegetable, a cup of cabbage contains only fifteen calories. Leafy greens are one of the best kind of whole foods you can eat.

But that's not all, because cabbage also contains:

Lactic acid which can assist in disinfecting your colon.

Vitamin C which many believe helps your cells to burn fat.

Vitamin A for good eye health.

Phytonutrients which help protect you from free radicals that can damage your cells walls and are named suspects for causing cancer.

Vitamin E, which helps your skin glow and stay healthy. This anti-oxidant, when mixed with honey and dabbed on the face, can even keep wrinkles ot a minimum. It only takes 30ml cabbage juice left on those wrinkles for 20 minutes, morning and evening.

If you like red cabbage you get something extra. It contains an antioxidant called anthocyanin, which is the ingredient behind the red colour. Anthocyanin helps protect your brain cells and many scientists believe it could be an important ally against Alzheimer's disease. According to a Japanese study undertaken in February 2008, anthocyanins also show great promise as "fat fighters". The reason for this, is that the antioxidants in red cabbage could also help with metabolic syndrome which can cause obesity, hypertension and insulin problems.

The fastest way to enjoy the benefits of cabbage is by drinking 25-50ml of fresh, raw cabbage juice each day. It's also a well known aid for peptic ulcers. Four glasses a day will accelerate the healing process and relieve the pain. It does wonders for your insides. The best cabbage for this purpose is called the Coallis Lombarda. The reason it is so good, is because it contains high doses of Vitamin U. This powerful vitamin is one of nature's strongest weapons against gastric and intestinal disorders. In a report from Stanford Medical School, 62 out of 65 cases that were treated for gastric ulcer, were cured after just three weeks.

Trouble is, it's hard to find this cabbage. But don't let this deter you; ordinary cabbage contains loads of good stuff and is almost as good. One could almost say "a cabbage juice a day keeps the doctor away."

For information about the health benefits of cabbage and cabbage soup for weight loss, visit http://losefatloseweight.com

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Benefits of Swiss Chard - A Natural Fat Burning Food

By Steve O'Connor  

Discover the incredible weight loss benefits of swiss chard, how to best prepare it and how much you should eat to get maximum benefit from swiss chard - one of nature's amazing fat burning foods.

The veggie known as swiss chard resembles beets or spinach in taste. Along with kale, collard and mustard greens, it is a leafy green vegetable that is commonly referred to simply as "greens". You can purchase it throughout the year, but its peak harvest time starts in June and ends in August.

This leafy green veggie has a wide, crunchy stalk colored white, red or yellow. The leaves are a dark green color, very wide, and are spread out in the shape of a fan. You can eat the stalk as well as the leafy parts.

Fat Burning Benefits of Swiss Chard

It contains anthocyans and fiber that give special protection against cancer of the digestive tract, especially cancer of the colon. There is recent scientific evidence suggesting that Swiss chard may protect the kidneys of diabetic patients, because the serum urea and creatinine levels are reduced.

It is also very high in the following substances: Vitamin A, C, E and K, dietary fiber, magnesium, manganese, iron and potassium.

This vegetable additionally contains reliable amounts of Vitamins B-1, B-2 and B-6, plus folic acid, biotin, niacin, Pantothenic acid, copper, calcium, zinc, phosphorus, and copper, as well as protein.

The vitamin K content helps to keep your bones healthy.

Beta carotene is a cancer-fighting nutrient that is also an antioxidant. Beta carotene belongs to the carotenoid family, and might be able to protect the body against skin cancer and various other kinds of cancer.

Vitamin A is helpful in the reduction of negative effects cigarette smoke has on the body, plus it helps to guard the body against emphysema.

Magnesium is helpful in regulating the body's nerve and muscle tone by regulating the effect of calcium on the body.

Vitamin C helps fight inflammation as an antioxidant that dissolves in water. It provides the energy needed to raise the metabolism of your body in order to burn off excess fat. Swiss chard contains Vitamin C, which is helpful in the prevention of free radical damage to cells, plus it provides additional protection against cancer of the colon. Vitamin C is also very helpful in maintaining a healthy immune system, fending off colds and helping to cure infections.

It also contains potassium, which is helpful in lowering blood levels, as well as cholesterol levels.

The iron content of the vegetable is helpful in producing the body's energy and also manufactures hemoglobin, a protein that transports oxygen everywhere in the body.

This vegetable contains manganese, a trace mineral that is helpful in producing energy that comes from proteins and carbohydrates, as well as synthesizing fatty acids. In addition, manganese protects the body against free radical damage that occurs when energy is produced.

Proper Way to Prepare Swiss Chard

Look for fresh Swiss chard in your supermarket's fresh produce section; this section is one of the store's refrigerated areas. Find the most vibrant green leafy produce, without yellowed or discolored leaves. Be certain that you pick out crisp stalks and crispy leaves that do not contain any visible spots.

You can refrigerate unwashed Swiss chard leaves in a plastic bag for a few days. Blanched Swiss chard leaves may be frozen for future meals. Before cooking the Swiss chard, rinse it off very carefully in order to remove all of the dirt and sand. Immerse the leaves and stalks in a container filled with cold water, swoosh them around, then finish cleaning by rinsing them in cold, running water. Trim off the bottom ends of the vegetable. If the fibers are too plentiful, you can peel them off in the same manner that you peel off excess fibers from celery stalks.

Do not cook this vegetable in an aluminum pot, because the aluminum will, cause your Swiss chard to lose its green color. It is better to quick boil your Swiss chard, as opposed to steaming it, since the quick boil method frees the oxalic acids found in the leaves, and helps it to not taste quite as bitter.

Substitute Swiss chard in lieu of spinach when you cook a vegetarian lasagna. Substitute it for cabbage when preparing stuffed veggie dishes. You can use the leaves as a sandwich wrap, stuffing them with your favorite tuna fish, chicken or turkey fillings. You can also add cooked this vegetable to a penne pasta dish, with the addition of extra virgin olive oil, fresh lemon juice and chopped garlic cloves. Try adding some steamed Swiss chard to a frittata or an omelet.

The Amount to Eat

The recommended portion size of Swiss chard is the equivalent of one cup.

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Seafood: A Smart Choice to Live Healthy   

by Mohit Jaiswal

Eating good and healthy food is important because only eating food is not enough it should be healthy also. Healthy food gives all nutrients in good amount. Through healthy food we get various essential minerals such as protein, carbohydrates, vitamins etc. These minerals are helpful for the development of body and mind. A healthy food not only provides essential nutrients to the body but also manages the body-weight, cholesterol level etc.

Here are some of the tips for healthy food-

1. We should have low-fat, low-sugar snacks whether we are at home, at work, or on the go. Healthy snacks may help to tackle hunger and stop overeating.

2. We should eat a mixture of colourful vegetables each day. We should choose dark leafy greens such as spinach, mustard greens and many more.

3. We should eat fresh fruits and use fats and oil sparingly.

4. Meat and chicken are very good source of vitamins and proteins, so they should be present in our diet.

Seafood is also a healthy food item that one should consider in their balanced diet. With the changing time seafood is even recommended by many government bodies, in order to remain fit and healthy. So it's time for seafood lovers that they can even involve these food stuffs in their regular diet, if they want to remain healthy and fit.

Since seafood covers a lot of varieties like aquatic plants and animals, that are quite beneficial for humans. Seafood has so many advantages because it is full of minerals, salt iodine, vitamins etc. In some cases even doctors recommend their patients to eat seafood because of its vitamins, proteins, and minerals which are essential for proper functioning of brain, nerves, eyes and heart.

Salt present in seafood can be very effective in stabilising the irregular heartbeats and opposes the misconception that it causes high blood pressure. Sometimes doctors suggest sea salt bath therapy. It is an effective treatment which helps in the rejuvenation of the cells. It also provides a healthy exchange of minerals and toxins between the water and the blood. Seafood contains minerals like calcium, phosphorus, iron etc. which are helpful in growth of brain and body. So, seafood is so essential and beneficial for humans.

Seafood contains a fatty acid named omega-3 which is very helpful in processing of food for energy. They are important for the proper functioning of the brain, eyes and nerves and it also reduces the risk of coronary heart disease. The benefits of seafood are what that make seafood quite beneficial and is even accepted by the whole world.

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