HEALING POWER OF CELERY

I bought a green smoothie some months back which had celery as one of its ingredients. While placing my order, I was a bit skeptical about how a celery smoothie would taste, but my oh my did I enjoy it. Now, I am busy making celery smoothies and even cooking celery soup. I know I tend to go overboard with new discoveries. Well, all of this made me wonder what my body was benefiting from my new found love. After all, it is a vegetable, so it should have loads of nutritional and health benefits right?

Celery is a popular Mediterranean herb recognized for its strong aromatic flavor that it adds to variety of cuisines. Research shows that celery is a low calorie herbal plant. Its leaves carry 16 calories per 100g weight and contain lots of non-soluble fiber (roughage) which when combined with other weight loss regimens may help reduce body weight, and blood cholesterol levels.

Celery leaves has high content of vitamin A, whilst the stems are an excellent source of vitamins B1, B2, B6 and C with rich supplies of potassium, folate, calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, sodium and plenty essential amino acids. While many foods lose nutrients during cooking, research shows that most of the nutrients in celery hold up well during cooking.

Some studies believe that celery seeds can help lower blood pressure. It contains active phthalides, which relax the muscles of the arteries that regulate blood pressure so the vessels dilate. Phthalides also reduce stress hormones, which can cause blood vessels to constrict.

Celery contains a flavanoid called luteolin which researchers believe may possess anti-cancer properties. Celery is also believed to help cure indigestion.

Celery juice is said to act as a perfect post-workout tonic as it replaces lost electrolytes and rehydrates the body with its rich minerals.

Celery promotes healthy and normal kidney function by aiding elimination of toxins from the body. While eliminating toxins, it also prevents formation of kidney stones.

Good thing about this plant is that it can be eating raw, included in salads, cooked, and of course my favourite you can make a smoothie with it or juice it. How much more convenient can adding this plant to your diet be?

NUTRITIONAL/HEALTH BENEFITS OF PLANTAINS

P lantains are widely eaten in West Africa. Plantains are similar to bananas but larger in size. While bananas are termed fruits, plantains are vegetables. Bananas are mostly eating raw, while plantains are usually cooked before consumption. Plantains can be eaten unripe, ripen or over-ripe. When unripe, plantains are usually green in colour, when ripen, they turn yellow. In Nigeria, for example, unripe plantains are usually used to cook plantain porridge, ripe plantains are mostly fried and used as a supplement to main dishes like rice and beans. Over-ripe plantains are used to make snacks like plantain fritters.

NUTRITIONAL BENEFITS OF ZOBO/SORREL DRINK

z obo/sorrel was a must have during family gatherings. As children, we loved drinking it, not only because of how nice it tasted, but also because it coloured our lips and tongues red. Zobo (Nigerian) or Sorrel (Jamaican) is a red coloured drink made from a flower called Hibiscus sabdariffa. The sorrel plant contains a wide range of vitamins and minerals including vitamin C, calcium, niacin, riboflavin and a group of compounds called flavonoids. Flavanoids not only gives the sorrel plant its deep red colour, but, are also rich in antioxidants which rids the body of toxins. The sorrel plant also contains nutraceleuticals, which are said to be helpful to the health. Nutraceleuticals can help prevent and treat several diseases including diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and cancer.

HEALTH BENEFITS OF LIME AND HONEY

L ime and Honey are two must haves in my house. I use honey as a substitute for white sugar. I remember a friend of mine visited me once and she wanted to drink garri (drinking garri is local to Nigerians, i.e. eating dried cassava with cold water as opposed to hot water), she was astonished when I told her to use honey to sweeten her garri. I'm not a tea person, but my parents are, and a cup of tea for them is not complete without limes.

Fabila's Fitness Club

Search This Blog