ROY-G-VIB – Nita Naturale

Bitter Melon health benefits

Nita — Tue, 10 May 2022 11:40:40 +0000

English Name: Bitter melon is also known as bitter gourd or balsam-pear

Latin Name: Momordica charantia

Description

Bitter melon belongs to the Cucurbitaceae family and grows in the tropical and subtropical regions. Fruits of this plant have a bitter taste, which may the reason the plant is named bitter melon. The plant is classified under climbers. This plant has branches with a green hairy or hairless stem. The bitter melon plant is an annual, but it can be perennial also. The leaves of this plant have an unpleasant smell during crushing. The bitter melon plant bears both male and female flowers. The fruits are an egg-shaped outer covering of the bitter melon having longitudinal ridges and warts. Unripe bitter melon fruits have whitish pulp with white seeds; with maturity, the pulp becomes yellowish color with radish seeds.

The native places of bitter melon are Australia and Africa. In America bitter melon plant is cultivated. [1]

History-story

The actual origin of bitter melon may be in China and India; however, there was no evidence. West African slaves might introduce bitter melon to America. The US National Herbarium mentioned that Bitter melon was first brought to Puerto Rico in 1885. In the latter half of the nineteenth century, Asian people, who resided in America initiated Bitter melon cultivation in the tropical region and southern part of the USA. [1]

Traditionally, bitter melon is used as a culinary vegetable in India and Bangladesh. Bitter melon takes its place in folk medicine due to its anti-diabetic effect. Folk medicine of many developing countries like Bangladesh, Brazil, Cuba, Colombia, Ghana, Haiti, Malaya, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, and Panama use bitter melon for treating different diseases like dysmenorrhea, emmenagogue, eczema, gout, galactagogue, jaundice, kidney stone, leucorrhea, leprosy, pneumonia, piles, psoriasis, rheumatism, and scabies.[2]

Main constituents

Bitter melon contains glycosides, alkaloids, saponins, triterpenes, steroids, proteins, and fixed oils. Other specific bioactive phytochemicals are Phenolic and Flavonoids Compounds. Bitter melon is also a rich source of several essential micro and macronutrients. Interesting facts are about bitter melon are:

It contains two times greater β-carotene than broccoli
It contains two times greater calcium content than spinach
It contains two times greater potassium content than bananas. [3]

Benefits backed with scientific evidence

Research evidence obtained from different sources showed the following health benefits of bitter melon:

Weight management

Animal study evidence indicated that bitter melon has an anti-obesity effect, as it prevents fat diet-induced fat mass accumulation and related weight gain in rats in the laboratory. Bitter melon may stimulate fatty acid oxidation, which influences fat burning in the body and leads to weight loss.

In addition, bitter melon also efficiently works in the liver, pancreas, and fat cells to control weight gain.

Bitter melon reduces fatty acid synthesis and decreases fat production in the liver.

Bitter melon activates both PPAR-α and PPAR-γ receptors present in the pancreas to reduce triglyceride levels and insulin sensitization.

In fat cells, bitter melon juice activates lipolysis and decreases visceral fat mass. A human study report also showed a significant reduction in waist circumference with supplementation of bitter melon.[2]

Diabetes management

Traditional folk medicine suggested bitter melon juice for controlling hyperglycemia (blood glucose level enhancement). Blood glucose level enhancement is the primary sign of diabetic patients. Bitter melon controls diabetes by regulating pancreas functioning. Animal study and laboratory test reports showed that bitter melon juice increases insulin secretion. It also helps in the steady production of insulin by protecting the pancreatic beta cells of Langerhans. Bitter melon also influences the functioning of PPAR-γ and reduces insulin sensitization.

The animal model test reported that Bitter melon juice could lower blood glucose levels within three weeks of treatment. The anti-diabetic effect of bitter melon is due to several other reasons like improvement of glucose tolerance, insulin sensitivity, and insulin signaling. These effects are achieved as bitter melon may have the following mechanism of action:

decreases glucose absorption in the gastrointestinal tract
the utilization of glucose in the tissues become enhances
increases metabolism of glucose
promotes insulin-like action
increase pancreatic beta cell functioning [2]

Two case studies conducted on diabetic patients showed a significant reduction in both fasting and postprandial glucose levels. It has been reported that bitter melon has a synergistic action with other hypoglycemic medications. [4,5]

Cholesterol level management

Bitter melon is effective to manage cholesterol levels in the blood. Increased cholesterol level due to overproduction is one of the primary causes of dyslipidemia. The other features of dyslipidemia are the excess production of lipoprotein and abnormal lipoprotein metabolism etc. All these factors also influence obesity. In diabetic patients, high cholesterol, triglycerides, and fatty acids are common problems. Animal study data showed that bitter melon fruit juice could lower hepatic production of cholesterol and triglycerides. Bitter melon effectively lowers LDL (bad cholesterol) levels and increases HDL (good cholesterol) levels in the body. [2]

Improves cardiovascular dysfunctions

Hypertension and other vascular dysfunctions are common metabolic disorders associated with obese and diabetic patients and cause heart diseases. An animal study reported that whole plant parts of bitter melon normalize blood pressure. Bitter melon controls hypertension by regulating the acetylcholine pathway and limiting the activities of angiotensin-converting enzymes. [2]

Hepatoprotective effect

The liver is a primary organ that participates in different metabolic functions and affects overall health. Bitter melon is a potent antioxidant and provides a hepatoprotective effect. Bitter melon prevents the accumulation of fats in the liver and also reduces fatty diet-induced steatosis in the liver. Thus bitter melon is effective to treat fatty liver.[2]

Antioxidant effect

Bitter melon has an excellent antioxidant property, as it prevents free radical synthesis, and lipid peroxidation and enhances chelating activity. Bitter melon leaves and fruit juice can act as a scavenger of free radicals. The anti-oxidant property of bitter melon is evaluated through animal study.[2]

Anticancer

The cytotoxic effect of bitter melon is effective against different types of cancer cells. A potent antioxidant effect also influences the anti-mutagenic effect that prevents unwanted cell growth. Research study findings support that supplementation of bitter melon prevents breast cancer. [6]

Anti-microbial effect

Bitter melon is effective to treat bacterial infections, which are specifically caused by E. coli, S. aureus, Salmonella, Staphylococcus, Streptobacillus, and Pseudomonas. An article published in PubMed mentioned that bitter melon has a broad-spectrum antibacterial effect.[6] The anthelmintic property of Bitter melon effectively treats malaria. The anti-viral effect of bitter melon seed extract inhibits HIV. [3]

Beauty enhancing effect

Bitter melon fruit juice with yogurt is a natural hair shine enhancer. The application of bitter melon juice on the scalp can solve dandruff problems, reduce grey hair growth, and decrease hair-splitting. It also improves skin complexion, removes acne, and provides flawless skin. [3]

Indications and use

The following are the most usual indications and uses of bitter melon:

Anti-diabetic
Anti-obesity
Anti-hypertensive
Treating dyslipidemia
Immunity booster
Anti-microbial effect
Cancer preventive action
Digestive disorders
Menstrual problems

How to use Bitter melon as healing and food at home

Regular consumption of fresh bitter melon juice has many health benefits, especially for diabetic patients by reducing blood glucose levels. In the market, bitter melon supplementation formulation is available. You can also easily extract the juice of the fruits at home for regular consumption. The recommended dose of fresh juice is 50-100 mL/day. [7]

Most of all may not prefer bitter melon juice incorporation into our daily diet chart due to its unpleasant bitter taste. Bitter melon can be used as a culinary vegetable also. Many tasty recipes can be prepared from bitter melon. One such recipe is as follows:

Recipe: Bitter Melon Smoothie

Ingredients

Chopped bitter melon – 100 gm (without seeds)
Orange – 2 (whole)
Water melon- 8 – 10 dice (medium sized)

Direction

In a blender, add chopped bitter melon and blend it. Then add orange and watermelon into the blender jar. Blend all the ingredients. No need to put extra water to prepare this tasty smoothie. [8]

References

http://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/34678
Md Ashraful Alam, Riaz Uddin, Nusrat Subhan, Md Mahbubur Rahman, Preeti Jain, Hasan Mahmud Reza. Beneficial Role of Bitter Melon Supplementation in Obesity and Related Complications in Metabolic Syndrome. Hindawi Publishing Corporation. Journal of Lipids. Volume 2015, Article ID 496169, 18 pages. http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/496169. Online available at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4306384/
Bina Rani, Dr Bhanwar Lal Jat , Manoj Pandey, Jayant Malhotra, Lalit mohan, Prem Singh Bugasara, Raaz K Maheshwari. Dietetic Corollary of Momordica Charantia for Vivaciousness and Sanguinity. International Journal of Pharmaceutical Research and Bio-Science. Online available at http://www.ijprbs.com/issuedocs/2014/4/IJPRBS%20602.pdf
Ahmad, M. R. Hassan, H. Halder, and K. S. Bennoor, “Effect of Momordica charantia (Karolla) extracts on fasting and postprandial serum glucose levels in NIDDM patients,” Bangladesh Medical Research Council Bulletin, vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 11–13, 1999.
Tongia, S. K. Tongia, and M. Dave, “Phytochemical determination and extraction of Momordica charantia fruit and its hypoglycemic potentiation of oral hypoglycemic drugs in diabetes mellitus (NIDDM),” Indian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology, vol. 48, no. 2, pp. 241–244, 2004.
Baby Joseph, D Jini. Antidiabetic effects of Momordica charantia(bitter melon) and its medicinal potency. Asian Pac J Trop Dis. 2013 Apr; 3(2): 93–102. doi: 1016/S2222-1808(13)60052-3. Online available at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4027280/
Tori Hudson. Bitter Melon: A review of its indications, efficacy and safety. Online available at http://cdn.naturaldispensary.com/downloads/A%20Research%20Review%20of%20Bitter%20Melon.pdf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Unq-X7kHr6k

Moringa against Obesity

Nita — Tue, 02 Nov 2021 11:09:26 +0000

Moringa, the dark green leafy plant is revered as the ‘Tree of life or a ‘Miracle Tree’ for its immense healing power and rich diet source. Let us see some remarkable benefits that moringa can render us:

Low glycemic index and does not spike blood glucose level, as it provides slow, steady digestion.
Low-calorie content in moringa is easy to burn and easy to reduce calorie intake without creating hunger.
A sufficient amount of vitamins and minerals help to proper digestion of foods and speed up metabolism.
Moringa does not block the appetite, but the rich source of fibers can help to reduce food cravings and reduce the likelihood of reaching for junk food. Fibers also help to maintain the proper functioning of the digestive system (1).

An abnormal increase in weight due to the accumulation of excess body fat causes a very negative effect on health. Medically, this condition is featured as obesity. A data published in World Health Organization in 2014 stated that about 13% of the world’s adult population (11% of men and 15% of women) were obese and 39% of adults aged 18 years and over (38% of men and 40% of women) were overweight. In developed countries, the leading cause of death is cardiovascular disease. Any heart disease and risk of stroke are higher in association with obesity.

The world is moving towards the right selection of natural anti-obesity substitutes that may be a great alternative strategy for developing cost-effective, potential, safe anti-obesity drugs.

Common Causes of Obesity

Obesity is estimated by the ratio of weight over height, the most commonly used anthropometric index being the body mass index (BMI) expressed in kilograms per meter square (2).

The imbalance between the energy content of food eaten and energy spent by the body leads to weight gain. Performing physical work is a fundamental principle of bodyweight reduction (3). Our ancestors performed a high level of physical activity. Therefore, the risk of energy imbalance was minimal for them. But sedentary lifestyle in the current era is a primary culprit for the imbalance of energy intake and release that leads to weight gain. (4)

How is moringa helpful for an obese individual?

Ayurveda, the traditional Indian medicinal system referred to Moringa as an anti-diabetic agent. The leaves of moringa oleifera (MO) are used as hypocholesterolemic and hypoglycemic agents (5).

The high nutritional value of Moringa is combating obesity due to its low-fat content (6).
Moringa leaves are a rich source of vitamin B, which helps in food digestion. Thus, ingested food items produce energy rather than storing them as fat (6).

In this regard, the following research statements also support that the moringa leaves can be beneficial in weight management:

Clinical Study Evidence

Sufficient clinical trials are yet to require conduction on moringa. However, the following are some human trials that support the anti-obesity benefits of moringa:

A study from 2012 titled “Efficacy and tolerability of a novel herbal formulation for weight management in obese subjects: a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled clinical study” provided the data of the weight loss effects of a compound called “LI85008F” (also called Adipromin) in 25 overweight people. The LI85008F compound is composed of Moringa oleifera, Murraya koenigi, and Curcuma longa (7), though this study did not signify the weight loss capacity of moringa alone.
An experience shared by a person on the website (8). Lose-Weight-With-Moringa, also claims that the participant was personally benefited from consuming moringa tea. He lost thirteen pounds after two months of using moringa tea in the morning without any additional measures (9).

Nutrients present in Moringa

Several studies have been conducted with the extract of Moringa oleifera in the laboratory those revealed that Moringa extract contains an abundance of phytochemicals, micro, and macronutrients:

high concentration of various antioxidants (ascorbic acid, flavonoids, phenolics, and carotenoids),
vitamins(A, B and C),
minerals (iron; calcium; phosphorus; copper),
protein and more importantly,
Essential amino acids like cysteine, methionine, tryptophan, lysine, isoleucine, leucine, and alanine.
Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) helps fuel the body by converting blood sugar into energy.
Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) requires a wide variety of cellular processes. Like the other B vitamins, vitamin B2 plays a key role in fats, ketone bodies, carbohydrates, and proteins metabolism.
Vitamin B7(Biotin) has vital metabolic functions. Biotin can help address high blood glucose levels in people with type-2 diabetes, and decreasing insulin resistance, and improve glucose tolerance. It plays a role in energy metabolism.
Isoleucine builds proteins and enzymes. It provides ingredients used to create other essential biochemical components in the body, some of which promote energy and stimulate the brain to maintain a state of alertness.
Leucine conjugation with isoleucine takes part in proteins and enzymes synthesis. It enhances the energy level in the body along with activating mental alertness.
Alanine supplies energy to the brain, muscle tissue, and spine. It strengthens immune functioning by producing antibodies. Alanine also helps in the healthy metabolism of sugars and organic acids in the body (10).

The presence of all these nutrients makes Moringa(specifically its leaves and pods) an almost ideal dietary supplement. Aida C. Mallillin, Trinidad P. Trinidad established that Moringa has a high content of dietary fibers, both insoluble (approximately 19.6g/ 100g) and soluble fibers (approximately 3.1g/ 100g). Fiber fills you up by providing bulk to your diet without adding extra calories. Thus, it acts as a natural appetite suppressant. Experts agree that fiber is a remarkable weight loss aid, as it can help you lose weight is not one, but six ways (11):

It makes you eat slower
Since it provides bulk in your intestines, fiber makes you feel “full,” so you’ll want to eat less.
It triggers the release of cholecystokinin hormone for suppressing the appetite naturally.
By helping your body transport fat and calories through your digestive system, fiber increases the number of calories you excrete in your feces. The fewer calories you let in, the fewer calories you put on your body as fat.
Soluble fiber coats your intestinal tract, reducing the amount of fat your body absorbs without the embarrassing side effects.
Soluble fiber slows down the release of glucose, so you feel hungry less often.

Three important essential amino acids – Phenylalanine, Tyrosine, and Tryptophan are abundantly present in moringa leaf (12). They act as appetite suppressants. Phenylalanine needs to form another amino acid called tyrosine, which your thyroid gland needs to produce the hormones that control metabolism. If you are deficient in phenylalanine, then you are most likely deficient in tyrosine, which means your metabolism—the rate that your body converts calories to energy—is not operating as it should, and unburned calories equal stored body fat.

Mark Mayell, the author of ‘Off the Shelf Natural Health’ mentioned that Tyrosine has a link in the production of certain neurotransmitters such as dopamine, noradrenaline, and adrenaline. He suspected that the production of neurotransmitters plays role in controlling appetite. Additionally, phenylalanine also triggers the release of cholecystokinin (CCK) that emphasizes the feeling of fullness. Thus, one stops eating. In Off the Shelf Natural Health, it has mentioned that tryptophan both directly and indirectly works to decrease appetite and helps to keep the body weight under control.

Directly: Increases serotonin levels. Serotonin helps the hypothalamus signal the sense of fullness, reducing your appetite.
Indirectly: Like phenylalanine, tryptophan signals the intestinal tract to release the hormone CCK into the bloodstream, giving you the sense of being full. Additionally, there is some evidence that CCK signals the pituitary to release a fat-burning hormone. (13)

Hunger suppression and increasing metabolism rate make moringa the most powerful slimming agent. Moringa is a stimulant, as it acts as an energy booster. Stimulants increase your energy and mental alertness, suppress your appetite and help your body burn fat by increasing your metabolism (13). Dr. Oz, the executive producer of Mehmet Oz, Amy Chiaro, Mindy Moore mentioned once on his popular afternoon talk show that Moringa is an energy blaster(14). The abundant source of vitamins, minerals, and other essential nutrients provides a perfectly balanced diet through triggering natural energy production without resulting in side effects like other slimming agents mostly do (15). Another significant impact of Moringa on diet is its property to boost energy without caffeine (4). It is wonderful that even if moringa is taken as a slimming agent, then also no one can feel down or lull, as it maintains energy level.

The fresh green color of Moringa has several benefits. The green color is due to the presence of chlorophyll. Therapeutic properties of chlorophyll can include the following (16):

Stimulating immune system
Benefit against sinusitis, fluid buildup, and skin rashes
Ability to help combat anemia
Eliminating molds in the body
Purifying the blood and the organism, cleaning it of toxins.
Ability to help prevent cancer and is being used in cancer therapy.
Cleaning the intestines
Ability to help to rejuvenate and energize the body
Detoxification of the liver
Ability to normalize blood pressure
Combating bad breath as well as body odor that occurs due to the magnesium salts.

Moringa can boost energy level

Stimulants like caffeine can cause glucose intolerance and increase blood glucose levels. Because Moringa is so nutrient-rich, it slows down the rate at which the body releases sugar into the bloodstream. This means that sugar levels are depleted and less sugar is turned into fat, while energy levels are boosted to burn existing fat. It’s a win-win situation! (17)

The Moringa is packed with nutrients. These vitamins, minerals, and enzymes keep your body balanced to trigger natural energy production. Athletes love Moringa for the boost in energy. On the other hand, Moringa also helps you relax and sleep well. (18)

References

Tricolor superfoods have cancer-preventive action

Nita — Fri, 13 Aug 2021 15:52:49 +0000

We all are well aware of the life-threatening effects of cancer. Health-conscious people often have the concept to use poly-pharmacy to prevent cancer. But NitaNaturale shares with you a new concept poly-farmacy, a new mantra to prevent cancer. Tricolor superfoods i.e. orange, mushroom and broccoli have multiple bioactive compounds that favorably manage your body system to protect you from cancerous growth. These three superfoods you can collect from any organic farm to keep your body fit to fight against cancer.

The American Institute for Cancer Research and World Cancer Research Fund promoted a plant-based diet. Different plant products can reduce cancer risk. This recommendation is based on the increasing trend of scientific research evidence, which reported fruits and vegetables have health protective effects. [1]The foundation of public health recommends the consumption of diets containing 5 to 10 servings of fruits and vegetables per day are helpful to reduce the rate of cancer prevalence. [2]

Medical advancements offer advanced cancer treatments. But still, conventional medical treatment may not be enough to cure certain types of cancers like lungs, pancreas, liver, bones, and in an advanced stage of breast and colon cancer. Moreover, these conventional therapies are expensive and have various side effects.

Employing food as medicines in combination with a healthy lifestyle and diet habits are newer approaches to prevent degenerative diseases like cancer.

Orange

Orange is a fibrous, juicy citrus fruit. But do you know this abundant souse of fiber can protect you from cancer? Pectin, a complex carbohydrate present in citrus fruits is the source of polysaccharide fiber. Pectin can disrupt intercellular communication that encourages metastasis and slow down the process.

Vitamin C and flavonoids combination in orange provide a great antioxidant property. The antioxidant activity of orange juice that is rich in flavonoids prevents oxidative stress in the human lung, diminishes the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), enhances mitochondrial functionality, and averts oxidative damage of DNA.

Orange juice has anti-inflammatory activity that counteracts cytokine generation and other inflammatory mediator releases. Therefore both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties present in orange juice provide desirable benefits against cancerous tumor growth. Not only orange, other citrus fruits like lemon, grapefruit are also good sources of these biochemical compositions. But I am suggesting orange juice as its amazing taste attracts the worldwide population and is even one of the most studied superfoods in terms of its health benefits.

Research scientists had reported that the antiproliferative effect of orange juice is effective against leukemia, breast cancer, and colon tumor. Orange juice can contrary the risk associated with oral and pancreatic cancer. A clinical trial result demonstrated the risk of cancer inversely proportionate with citrus fruit juice like orange juice. [1] An animal study result published in 2020 reported that Orange peel extract and its bioactive compound naringin could be used as an adjuvant therapy with doxorubicin, a chemotherapeutic medicine. The addition of this adjuvant therapy helps to reduce esophageal cancer tumor size and lower down the side effect burden of chemotherapy. [2] Shortly, we expect a clinical trial confirms the efficacy of this non-toxic herbal supplement as an adjuvant for patients undergoing doxorubicin chemotherapy.

Mushroom

Mushrooms have different varieties because of their different genera. Lingzhi or Reishi (Ganoderma), Maitake (Grifolafrondosa,) Lions mane (Hericium erinaceus), puffballs, (Calvatiautriformis), split-gill mushroom (Schizophyllumcommune), winter mushroom (Flammulinavelutipe), birch polypore (Piptoporusbetulinus), and almost all other verities of mushrooms have anticancer property. Anti-tumor, anti-metastasis, and immunomodulating benefits of mushrooms provide cancer-preventive benefits.

Mushrooms contain a variety of bioactive compounds such as different medicinal polysaccharides like ß-glucans, krestin, and polysaccharide peptide lentinan, etc. However, the composition of mushrooms varies from genus to genus. Multiple research studies have been performed to investigate the antitumoral and immunostimulating effects of mushroom containg polysaccharides.

Many clinical trials have been performed to check these substances in conjunction with chemotherapy. These trial results indicate relevant health benefits such as overall disease-free survival of colorectal cancer patients and in improving quality of life among lung cancer patients. In Japan and China, different medicinal mushrooms have been approved as adjuvant therapy with standard cancer treatments. The clinical history of patients has reported safe use as a single agent or in combination with chemotherapy. [3]

Mushrooms exert anticancer activity through apoptotic induction, preventing tumor cell proliferation, inhibiting angiogenesis and protein synthesis inside the tumors. Immunomodulatory benefits obtain from mushrooms modulate the immune functioning of our body to act favorably against cancer growth. In the laboratory, researchers found that mushrooms can significantly inhibit the growth of tumor mass. [4]

Medical industries still have a lack of chemotherapeutic treatments for some forms of cancer, like Hodgkin lymphoma, estrogen receptor-negative human breast cancer, acute lymphocytic leukemia, acute myeloid leukemia, mesothelioma, etc. Pharmaceutical companies are searching for new molecules to make up this gap. A plethora of valuable bioactive compounds present in mushrooms attract the pharmaceutical industry. This gives hope of discovery of new cancer treatment. [4]

Mushroom is easily available in the local market. You must include some mushroom preparations in your weekly cooking planner. It is an organic way to supply multiple anticancer bioactive compounds to prepare your body to fight against cancer.

Broccoli

Broccoli is an example of a cruciferous vegetable. Cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower) contain sulforophane, which has anti-cancer properties. But remember sulforophane originates in the seed and is not made in the plant. [5] We usually prefer to eat the flower part of the broccoli, which is only 30% of the whole broccoli. If you want to take more amount of sulforophane, then include broccoli sprouts in your diet. However, broccoli leaves and stalks have antioxidant properties. [6] Do not through broccoli leave and stalks during the preparation of broccoli. This suggestion not only saves your money but also safe your health by dispensing extra antioxidants.

Epidemiologic studies have found that intake of cruciferous vegetables could reduce cancer incidence. According to these study findings, cruciferous vegetable intake could limit cancer progression at the lung, stomach, colon, rectum, bladder, kidney, breast, and prostate. A prostate cancer screening trial found men who consumed more than 1 serving of broccoli per week had a 45% risk reduction of developing aggressive prostate cancer compared to men consuming less than 1 serving of broccoli per month. [7]

Tricolor Recipe of this month

Orange veggies stir fry

Step 1

Prepare sauce by blending orange juice (1/2 cup), grated orange zest (1 tablespoon), big garlic cloves (2 no.), minced ginger (1 teaspoon), rice vinegar (2 tablespoons), soy sauce (2 tablespoons), and a dash of honey. Then, put the blend in the pan and heat for 5 min. Turn off the flame and separate the sauce in a bowl and keep aside.

Step 2

Boil one cup of broccoli for 5 minutes. But it should not get too soft during boiling. Chop one cup of carrot, one cup of mushroom, and half a cup of onion. Take half a cup of fresh peas for this preparation. Then heat a pan. Add one tablespoonful of olive oil. Cook the onion in olive oil and then add all the vegetables into it. Stir fry the veggies for 3 minutes. Add few drops of sauce between each stir. After all the veggies are cooked properly, turn off the flame. Place Orange veggies stir-fry over hot rice. Now you can enjoy the meal.

References

Versatile ROY-G-VIB: the rainbow in your food platter

Nita — Mon, 28 Sep 2020 08:28:06 +0000

The most beautiful creation of nature is life and we all want to live a colorful life. ROY-G-VIB is the “color-coding” system of nature and has its significance in every aspect of our life. If you consider life is an art, then colorful fruits and vegetables can paint a beautiful picture of health. If you want to live a colorful life then you have to enjoy every color of ROY-G-VIB in your food platter. Eating a full spectrum of colors present in fruits and vegetables ensures our body gets all the essential nutrients that help us to live a longer and healthier life.

Phytonutrients present in fruits and vegetables exert different colors and every color has its health significance. [1] Along with these, Superfoods are a natural source of all the essential vitamins and minerals with an abundant source of fibers.

I suggest to keep yourself healthiest, you need to add five different vegetables and two verities of fruits every day. If you think that how it can be possible, then follow the recommended recipes which you can try in every meal/snack.

Click to watch the video

Significance of every shade of ROY-G-VIB in our health

Radiant Red Superfood

Carotenoid lycopene, ellagic acid, and anthocyanins are primarily responsible for the red coloration of tomatoes, cherries, apples, watermelon, strawberries, cranberries, raspberries and impart strong antioxidant property which can reduce cancer risk and prevent heart disease. [2,3,4]

Recipe ideas

Almost everyone loves the tangy taste of red sauce pasta. You can add a sufficient amount of fresh tomato puree in the recipe not only for giving a red and juicy texture to your pasta, but also to fulfill the red color natural pigment requirement to neutralize oxidative stress due to its great antioxidant property.
I know red sauce pasta is not a regular choice. If you are a fruit lover, then add strawberries, cranberries, or raspberries in your oatmeal to start a radiant day.
During the summer season, take a glass of watermelon juice in the afternoon not only to beat the heat but also to provide essential phytonutrients, vitamins, and minerals.
Apple pie is a good option to include these healthy fruits in your diet. However, I prefer to eat a raw apple every morning.

Tips

Instead of taking raw tomato, cooked tomato is a better option because experts suggested it helps to ease the absorption of lycopene.
Eat whole raspberries.
Large strawberries contain more amount of water content. Choose small sized strawberries to obtain more amount of phytonutrients. [5]

Bright Orange and Yellow Superfood

Beta cryptothanxin and beta carotene are orange and yellow pigments naturally present in carrots, yellow peppers, pumpkin, oranges, bananas, pineapple, mango, apricots, peaches, corn, and support essential cellular interactions and help in preventing cardiovascular diseases. Beta-carotene is a provitamin and converts to vitamin A after systemic absorption. Vitamin A is essential for hormonal balancing and eye health. A population-based study result reported that vitamin A in combination with vitamins C and E could help prevent the cardiac attack.[2,3,4]

I want to explain that it is not necessary every orange and yellow natural food staff does not contain the same composition. For example, oranges are not a good source of vitamin A, but a rich source of vitamin C due to its citrus composition. Whereas plenty of minerals like iron, potassium, and calcium as well as fiber are present in dry apricots.

Recipe ideas

Carrot has a natural sweet taste and many of us love to add this in our salad preparation. Those who do not prefer to eat a raw carrot, they can try roasted carrot or Glazed Carrots in their snack time. These are not only healthy but the taste of these recipes also satisfies your taste buds.
Banana loaded with potassium is one of the most healthy ready to eat the item, suitable to take any time.
Take orange juice in your breakfast to boost your immunity by loading vitamin C in your physiological system.
Add some dry apricots is your energy bar to make the preparation more nutrient-rich.
You can add mango and peach in your smoothie preparation to make the recipe more fruity.
I used to eat roasted corn during watching movies. You can also try this to pass your leisure moment in a healthy way.

Tips

Excessive vitamin A intake can give toxic effects. Therefore, avoid unnecessary vitamin A tablet intake. Carrot is a good natural source to fulfill the vitamin A requirement in normal health condition. [3]
Limited intake of mango is suggested due to its high fructose content.
Boil whole carrot to intact its phytonutrients. [6]

Fresh Green Superfood

A wide range of superfoods like kale, spinach, broccoli, peas, kiwi fruit, avocado is green in color. Chlorophyll is a green pigment and primarily present in all green fruits and vegetables along with other essential phytonutrients like isocyanate, indoles, sulforaphane, lutein, and zeaxanthin. They altogether protect against aging and associated diseases like cancer, eye disease, and chronic conditions like diabetes, heart problems, etc. Green fruits and vegetables are also good sources of folate, vitamin K which helps to maintain the fluidity and composition of blood. [2,3,4]

Recipe ideas

Peas pulao is a healthy and tasty main course dish and a smart way to intake green protein.
The avocado spread sandwich changes the regular taste and fulfills the requirements of many essential phytonutrients.
Health-conscious individuals can start their day by drinking green smoothies by adding kale, spinach, kiwi fruit in the drink.
Those who do not like broccoli, add it in pizza topping and enjoy green pizza.

Tips

Peas and avocado contain vegan-proteins, which are rich sources of the peptide. These food items can accomplish the requirement of animal protein for vegetarian individuals. Experts reported that vegetable-based meals can satisfy hunger, fulfill necessary energy requirements, and appetizing as a protein-rich animal-based meal. [5]
Add Kiwi fruit at last in the fruit salad recipe, otherwise secreted enzyme from this fruit make soft other added fruit items. [6]
Use lettuce leaf as a bread roll wrapper.

Vivid Violet, Indigo, and Blue

Anthocyanins are present in violet, indigo, and blue colored natural food items like blueberries, elderberries, eggplant, plums, figs, purple cabbage. These superfoods have an anti-aging property and delay the aging process and prevent cell damage due to their antioxidant property. Superfoods within this color spectrum prevent blood clotting and help maintain heart functioning. [2,3,4]

Recipe ideas

Add blueberries in your pancake batter or muffin mix to give a natural blue color to your recipe and enjoy the health benefits of Anthocyanins pigment and other phytonutrients present in it.
Add elderberry syrup in a regular milkshake to change the flavor and color of the recipe.
Adding purple cabbage leaves give a healthy touch to the salad recipe.
Handful plums, figs are a good option for elevenses (a snack around 11 am).
Backed eggplant or roasted eggplant recipes are tasty and healthy. Try once, I am sure you will repeat the recipe frequently.

Tips

In exposure to an alkaline solution, the color of Blueberries changed to green. To avoid this color change, reduce the baking powder amount in the pancake batter or muffin mix. Or use lemon juice or buttermilk to make the medium acidic.
Use sautéed purple cabbage leaves in your salad preparation to retain its nutrients intact.
Hot temperature makes blueberries perishable.
Raw plums are a rich source of vitamin C. [6]

Versatile White or Beige

The superfood with white is versatile, as all the color spectrum blended in it. White and brown colored superfood like leeks, cauliflower, parsnips, daikon radish, mushrooms contains anthoxanthins pigment. However, onion and garlic additionally contain allicin. Phytonutrients like flavonoids, quercetin, and kaempferol present in these Superfoods and have antioxidant properties. This helps to reduce the risk of arthritis and cardiovascular disease. Sulforaphane a phytonutrient present in cauliflower, cabbage, turnip acts against cancer, strengthens bones and maintains healthy blood vessels. [2,3,4]

Recipe ideas

The garlic mushroom recipe is an ideal white superfood recipe. You can also add mushrooms in soup preparation.
Stuffed roasted cauliflower is a delicious dish. You can try it as a vegan party food item.
Backed potato chips can be your family’s favorite past time snack item.
You can try radish carry if you do not want to add it in a salad.

Tips

Steam cauliflower instead of boiling them to intake its phytonutrients
Consume cooled boiled potato to obtain healthy resistant starch from it.
Separately store onions and potato to avoid fast spoilage.
Include raw garlic in your daily diet to get maximum antibacterial benefit from allicin. [6]

Scientific Evidence

Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism published a research paper addressed that the general population often ignore the recommended quantity of fruits and vegetable in their daily diet. This is a major cause of deficiency of many essential nutrients. To solve this issue, the rainbow of healthful food eating concept can be an effective strategy for assisting people in improving their diet. All age groups people can easily understand the importance of getting each color from fruits and vegetables associated with definite health benefits.

A three-year-long study conducted in 1,272 adults reported the colors of fruits and vegetables to reduce the risk of cardiometabolic diseases. Weight management and belly fat reduction is associated with the intake of red/purple fruits and vegetables; whereas lipid parameters can regularize by eating yellow, green, and white fruits and vegetables.
Research conducted in the Netherlands for more than ten years reported that a 25gm increase of apples and pears and other white fruits and vegetables can inverse 9% risk of the stroke incident.
The same research result also found that a 25gm increase of orange fruits and vegetables, especially carrots can significantly reduce coronary heart disease risk.

Food researchers have agreed that different colors of natural plant-based foods have health benefits in specific organ systems or our physiological functioning. Each color category of Superfoods has specific phytonutrient content that confers health benefit(s). [1]

Note: Blogs under NitaNaturale contain some medical terms and concepts, which you may not know in detail. For better understanding, readers can feel free to contact me by filling the consultation form under the contact section.

References