Pineapples: The Healing Fruit of the Tropics (includes a recipe for Pina-Banana Orange Smoothie)

Eating fresh pineapples can help your body repair itself and increase your sense of well-being. These tropical delights have many health benefits. Fresh pineapple is a natural anti-inflammatory with analgesic properties and abundant Vitamin C. Learn how to pick a fresh pineapple, prepare it and make a wonderful tropical fruit smoothie.
For a natural and tasty way to improve your health and boost your healing capacity, add fresh pineapple and pineapple juice to your diet. Pineapples are nutritionally packed members of the bromeliad family. This delightful tropical fruit is high in the enzyme bromelain and the antioxidant vitamin C, both of which plays a major role in the body's healing process.

Bromelain, a natural anti-inflammatory with analgesic properties, encourages healing, promotes well-being and has many other health benefits. Bromelain is very effective in treating bruises, sprains and strains by reducing swelling, tenderness and pain. This powerful anti-inflammatory and analgesic effect can also help relieve osteo- and rheumatoid arthritis symptoms and reduce postoperative swelling. Additionally, bromelain can relieve indigestion. The enzyme contained in fresh pineapple helps break down the amino acid bonds in proteins, which promotes good digestion.

Pineapples also provide an ample supply of vitamin C, a commonly known antioxidant that protects the body from free radical damage and boosts the immune system. Vitamin C helps build and repair bodily tissue and promotes wound healing. The body uses vitamin C to help metabolize fats and cholesterol, absorb iron, and synthesize amino acids and collagen. Collagen is one of the primary building blocks of skin, cartilage and bones. Vitamin C also decreases the severity of colds and infections.

Furthermore, due to its high vitamin C content, pineapples are good for your oral health as well. Recent studies have found that vitamin C can reduce your risk of gingivitis and periodontal disease. Besides increasing the ability of connective tissue to repair itself, vitamin C also increases the body's ability to fight invading bacteria and other toxins that contribute to gum disease. Periodontal disease, which destroys gum tissue and underlying jaw bones, has been linked to heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes.

So if you are searching for a natural way to enhance your body's healing mechanisms, promote overall good health and tantalize your taste buds, pineapples are the way to go. Choose the fresh fruit because it has the most healing properties. Unfortunately, most of the bromelain in canned pineapple is destroyed due to the heat used in the canning process.

When choosing a fresh pineapple, do not judge ripeness solely based upon color. There are several varieties on the market that range from green to golden yellow. The most important factor in determining ripeness is smell, let your nose help you decide. Ripe pineapples give off a sweet, fresh tropical smell. Avoid pineapples that give off an unpleasant odor or have any soft spots or areas of dark discoloration. Once home, let the pineapple sit on your counter at room temperature until ready to use. This will preserve its sweet and tangy flavor.

To prepare pineapple, you need to peel it, remove the eyes (the thorny protrusions within the puffy squares of the skin) and the fibrous center. One way to do this is to remove the top of the pineapple with a sharp knife. Then cut the pineapple lengthwise into 4 wedges (quarter it) and place each pineapple wedge horizontally on a cutting board. Carefully cut the fruit from the outer skin, and cut out the eyes and fibrous center core.

Another way is to cut off the top and bottom of the pineapple, place the pineapple vertically (upright) on a cutting board and carefully slice off the outer skin. With a sharp paring knife or the end if a vegetable peeler, remove the eyes. Don't cut too deep, just enough to lift out the section that contains the eye. Then, slice the pineapple crosswise and remove the fibrous core individually with a cookie cutter.

Once the fruit is prepared, it can be diced and eaten fresh, added to salads and entrees for an exotic flavor, or made into tasty tropical drinks and smoothies.

To get you started, try Monique N. Gilbert's delicious, nutritious, cholesterol-free smoothie recipe. It's high in bromelain, vitamin C, beta carotene, potassium, thiamin (vitamin B-1), riboflavin (vitamin B-2), iron, fiber, omega-3 fatty acids and soy isoflavones.

Pina-Banana Orange Smoothie

1 frozen banana
1 cup fresh pineapple
1/2 cup soymilk
1/3 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon canned pumpkin
1 tablespoon ground flax seeds
1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup (optional)

Place all of the above ingredients in a food processor or blender. Blend for 1-2 minutes, or until smooth and creamy.
Makes about 2-3/4 cups (2 servings)

Copyright © Monique N. Gilbert - All Rights Reserved
About the Author
Monique N. Gilbert, B.Sc. has received international recognition for helping people get healthy, manage stress, lose weight and keep it off. Through her coaching program and writings, Monique motivates and teaches how to improve your well-being, vitality and longevity with balanced nutrition, physical activity and healthy living. For more information, visit her website at http://www.MoniqueNGilbert.com/

A Review of Acne Diets

by Morgan Hamilton

To suffer from acne? This affliction can be a rather tumultuous one if you don't seek to proper treatment. The way we look, as we all know, has a huge effect on our confidence, or lack there of. So how does your complexion look? You are certainly not alone can happen to have acne, but it isn't the end of the world by any means either. It's time to stand up straight and tall, and take control of your life. With the numerous resources at our beck and call, there's absolutely no reason why we can't push to be acne free.

To suffer from acne? This affliction can be a rather tumultuous one if you don't seek to proper treatment. The way we look, as we all know, has a huge effect on our confidence, or lack there of. So how does your complexion look? You are certainly not alone can happen to have acne, but it isn't the end of the world by any means either. It's time to stand up straight and tall, and take control of your life. With the numerous resources at our beck and call, there's absolutely no reason why we can't push to be acne free. While proper skin care and reliable treatments are essential in eradicating blemishes, a great many individuals overlook the other things. It's not just about what's on an outside ladies and gentlemen. We have to consider what goes on inside us as well. What we're talking about here are acne diets. What are you eating?

You may not even be familiar with the subject of acne diets, it isn't talked about too much. This pertains to what you consume and how it affects your skin. I remember couple years ago sitting in the doctor's office in with my lovely wife is there because she was heading back pain. I had really chapped lips at the time and asked her if she had any Chapstick in her purse. This caught the doctor's attention when she looked at me and said, "You know, the condition of your lips actually relates to your diet." Huh? She told me that eating the right nutrients and drinking the right fluids on a regular basis would fully heal my left and and keep them from becoming chapped. This astounded me.

However, since then I have started to heat and more healthy they can guess what... I rarely have chapped lips anymore. It's bizarre how some things work. I guess those doctors to actually know what they're talking about. Anyhow, this premise also applies to our skin. Did you know that the food you eat excretes back through your pores? Sounds weird doesn't? Well, certain substances from the foods do actually make their way out of our pores. This gives whole new meaning to the phrase, you are what you eat. This is precisely why acne diets are so vitally important for some individuals. Foods high in fat and grease have been proven to cause blemishes. I'm talking about fast foods, specifically.

When it comes to acne diets, foods that are great for your skin include, fruits and vegetables, organic products, non-processed items, and of course water, drink lots of water. I highly recommend that you give acne diets a chance if blemishes are haunting you. You should definitely improve your complexion if you give it a fair shot. For more information on acne diets, jump on the Internet where there's more information than you can handle.

About the Author
Morgan Hamilton offers his findings and insights regarding acne. You can get interesting and informative information here at Acne Diets.

Swimming

Swimming is a good form of exercise. Because the density of the human body is approximately similar to that of water, the body is supported by the water and less stress is therefore placed on joints and bones. Therefore, swimming is frequently used as an exercise in rehabilitation after injuries or for the disabled.

Swimming is primarily an aerobic exercise due to the relatively long exercise time, requiring a constant oxygen supply to the muscles, except for short sprints where the muscles work anaerobically. As with most aerobic exercise it is believed to reduce the harmful effects of stress. While aerobic exercises usually burn fat and help with losing weight, this effect is limited in swimming, even though being in cold water burns more food energy to maintain body temperature.

The reason that swimming does not significantly reduce weight is still poorly understood, but seems to be related to the better heat conduction of water. A number of reasons are suspected.

- Water cools the body much faster than air and most researchers believe that subsequently the body aims to maintain a layer of fat under the skin for insulation.
- It is believed that appetite decreases as the body temperature increases, as for example during exercise. However, during swimming the body is cooled down almost instantly as the surrounding water is usually cooler than the body temperature, and some researchers believe that this may actually increase the appetite. This assumption is not yet proven by research.
- Fast swimming requires a high level of effort, meaning glycogen rather than fat is burned. Prolonged exercise at lower intensity is better for fat-burning.
- Some researchers also believe that the metabolism of the body increases at higher body temperature, burning more food energy. Again, during swimming the body is cooled down by the surrounding water, reducing the metabolism, and subsequently the amount of food energy burnt. This assumption is also not yet proven by research.
- There is also a theory that people with a genetically higher body fat content tend to be more successful as swimmers since the increased buoyancy of the fat aids in floatation or the rounder shapes offer less resistance to the water.

Swimming exercises almost all muscles in the body. Usually, the arms and upper body are exercised more than the legs. In competitive swimming, excessive leg muscles can be seen as a disadvantage as they consume more oxygen, which would be needed for the muscles in the arms, although this depends on the swimming style. While breaststroke generates significant movement with the legs, front crawl propels the body mainly with the arms.

Sometimes the swimming consists of swimming laps using a conventional stroke, such as the front crawl; other forms can include different forms of exercise performed in the water, such as water aerobics.

Swimming may be good for asthma sufferers.

Swimming uses all three energy systems, which are the creatine phosphate system, anaerobic glycolysis (also known as Lactic acid system), and the aerobic system.

Calcium: the Miracle Mineral

by Charlene J. Nuble

We’ve heard it not only once or twice or even thrice but a lot of times. If you want healthy bones and teeth then pack up on the Calcium intake. While it is true that calcium is absolutely necessary to the health and strength of bones and teeth, this essential mineral also serves several other important purposes in the body. Yet, many people still routinely fail to consume enough calcium in their daily diets.

We’ve heard it not only once or twice or even thrice but a lot of times. If you want healthy bones and teeth then pack up on the Calcium intake. While it is true that calcium is absolutely necessary to the health and strength of bones and teeth, this essential mineral also serves several other important purposes in the body. Yet, many people still routinely fail to consume enough calcium in their daily diets. In addition to the benefits to teeth and bones, calcium plays a role in blood clotting, muscle functions, and the cell membranes maintenance. It is also important to the prevention of debilitating bone diseases, such as osteoporosis. Despite the known importance of consuming adequate amounts of calcium daily, some research have found that as much as 75% of Americans do not have a sufficient daily intake of calcium. Comprising most of these numbers are those who are following strict vegetarian diets. Fortunately, there are several varieties of calcium supplements available on the market. Adults need between 1000 mgs and 1300 mgs of calcium per day and should not exceed beyond 2500 mgs as overdose in daily calcium intake can cause other health problems. Your health care professional can help you to choose the amount that you need daily as preexisting conditions, such as bone loss or damage due to previous deficiencies, can make a difference in how much you should be taking daily. The most common calcium supplements include calcium citrate, calcium carbonate, oyster shell or bone meal based calcium supplements, coral calcium, and calcium gluconate and calcium lactate based supplements.

In choosing your supplement, you should be aware of how to read the label to ensure that you are getting the amount of calcium that you think you are. Elemental calcium is the term used for the calcium that your body will be able to absorb. Some supplements have this and other types of calcium, but it is only the elemental calcium that can count towards your daily intake. Calcium is absorbed best in acidic circumstances, which is why many supplements are recommended for use after meals, when the stomach acids are at higher levels.

Current research has found that calcium citrate is the most efficient of the supplements because it can be absorbed easily by the system. However, although it is absorbed easier and can be taken at any time of day, whether or not there is food in the stomach, this type of calcium supplement often contains less of the elemental calcium, and thus more pills daily will be needed. On the other hand, calcium carbonate is the most common over the counter calcium supplement. It has a special instruction though and that is it should be taken only after meals when there is increased stomach acid production. These, however, should be watched for sodium content. Calcium is needed by our system to enable us to live healthy and normal lives. Insufficient daily supply of this mineral in our body can lead to numerous health problems causing not only a lot of damage in the pockets but also an abnormal lifestyle. To avoid these complications and inconveniencePsychology Articles, it is therefore essential to intake the right amount of calcium needed daily by our body. A little research and consultation with a nutritional specialist can help you to plan your daily diet so as to be able to obtain the healthy amount of daily calcium.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Charlene J. Nuble 2005. For up to date links and information about Vitamins, please go to: http://vitamins.besthealthlink.net/ or for updated links and information on all health related topics, go to: http://www.besthealthlink.net/

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>> Calorie and calcium content of selected food <<

Food	Calories	Calcium (mg)
125g can sardines in tomato sauce	221	575
300ml skimmed milk	99	360
300ml semi-skimmed milk	138	360
150g pot low-fat natural yoghurt	84	285
150g pot low-fat fruit yoghurt	126	225
25g chunk reduced-fat Cheddar cheese	65	210
200g can baked beans	168	106
60g peeled prawns	64	90
100g cooked spring greens	20	75
1 orange	59	75
100g reduced-fat cottage cheese	78	73
2 slices white bread	156	72
1tbsp sesame seeds	60	67
2 slices wholemeal bread	155	39
90g cooked broccoli	22	36
50g bag unsalted peanuts	282	30
3 dried apricots	38	18