Red,Orange,Purpule,Green,yellow...Vibrant VIBGYOR vegetables.....! wow... Nature is just amazing..!

Hello friends....

Have you ever wondered why the vegetables we eat every day are of different colors’....?

Or have you ever given a thought as to what is the significance of of those vibrant colored vegetables for our health????

Or have you heard of phrase " eating a rainbow"..?
Fruits and vegetables are very important to our health because they are whole foods, created by nature, that are rich in a large amount of nutrients. The processed foods that we so commonly eat, can never compare to the health benefits provided by strawberries or broccoli, which have fiber, vitamins, and enzymes built right in.

Vegetables andfruits are of different colours because of different nutrients content in them...!
here are few examples of fruits and vegetables along with their nutritional values :-

According to the food pyramid potatoes are not counted as a vegetable, as they are consist mostly of starch and should be consumed sparingly.

Red and Pink Fruits and Vegetables

Contain nutrients such as lycopene, ellagic acid, Quercetin, and Hesperidin, to name a few. These nutrients reduce the risk of prostate cancer, lower blood pressure, reduce tumor growth and LDL cholesterol levels, scavenge harmful free-radicals, and support join tissue in arthritis cases.





Orange and Yellow fruits and vegetables
Contain beta-carotene, zeaxanthin, flavonoids, lycopene, potassium, and vitamin C. These nutrients reduce age-related macula degeneration and the risk of prostate cancer, lower LDL cholesterol and blood pressure, promote collagen formation and healthy joints, fight harmful free radicals, encourage alkaline balance, and work with magnesium and calcium to build healthy bones.



Green vegetables and Fruit
Green vegetables contain chlorophyll, fiber, lutein, zeaxanthin, calcium, folate, vitamin C, calcium, and Beta-carotene. The nutrients found in these vegetables reduce cancer risks, lower blood pressure and LDL cholesterol levels, normalize digestion time, support retinal health and vision, fight harmful free-radicals, and boost immune system activity.




Blue and purple fruits and vegetables
Contain nutrients which include lutein, zeaxanthin, resveratrol, vitamin C, fiber, flavonoids, ellagic acid, and quercetin. Similar to the previous nutrients, these nutrients support retinal health, lower LDL cholesterol, boost immune system activity, support healthy digestion, improve calcium and other mineral absorption, fight inflammation, reduce tumor growth, act as an anticarcinogens in the digestive tract, and limit the activity of cancer cells.




White fruits and vegetables
Contain nutrients such as beta-glucans, EGCG, SDG, and lignans that provide powerful immune boosting activity. These nutrients also activate natural killer B and T cells, reduce the risk of colon, breast, and prostate cancers, and balance hormone levels, reducing the risk of hormone-related cancers.






Here is a color chart of vegetables and fruits:) which is printable....!
                                       
                 Now friends enjoy eating lots and lots of fresh rainbow.
                                      Have a healthy and great day :)

Chocolates....! Dark chocolates.... milk chocolate...! white chocolate, coffee.. yummy.......!

Helloooooooo yaa .... how you doin....!

Just now our holiday sensons are over and we all had a chance to eat lots and lots of chocolates.... isnt it????
are you feeling guilty over eating loads of chocolates....? here is a good news for you.... Dont be guilty over indulging over sinfull chocolates once in a while.... because..

Here is some facts about chocolates, which is definitly a good news to many people that are out there reading my blog..! trust me friends i just go crazy for chocolate, especially dark chocolates...!

My husband worries for me because, where ever we go or even for that matter little amount of chocolates will be added on to our grocery list...!

This article is dedicated to my husband and all my friends who love chocolates.

Creation of chocolates dates back to ;2000 BC, Amazon: Cocoa, from which chocolate is created, is said to have originated in the Amazon at least 4,000 years ago.

Sixth Century AD: Chocolate, derived from the seed of the cocoa tree, was used by the Maya Culture, as early as the Sixth Century AD. Maya called the cocoa tree cacahuaquchtl… "tree," and the word chocolate comes from the Maya word xocoatl which means bitter water.

300 AD, Maya Culture: To the Mayas, cocoa pods symbolized life and fertility... nothing could be more important! Stones from their palaces and temples revealed many carved pictures of cocoa pods.

600 AD, Maya Culture: Moving from Central America to the northern portions of South America, the Mayan territory stretched from the Yucatán Peninsula to the Pacific Coast of Guatemala. In the Yucatán, the Mayas cultivated the earliest know cocoa plantations. The cocoa pod was often represented in religious rituals, and the texts their literature refer to cocoa as the god’s food...!

Here are few reasons why feel proud for being a chocolate lover...

* Holiday Chocs ‘Good for Heart’ ...!
New research shows you are giving your heart protection against attacks – just as long as you are not already overweight or diabetic.

Eating chocolate two or three times a week cut the risk of dying from heart disease nearly three fold in a group of heart attack survivors studied by Swedish scientists.


The researchers concluded eating chocolate led to lower blood pressure and reduced chance of dying of heart disease.
Of the 1,169 patients (aged 45 to 70) studied, those who ate chocolate two or more times a week cut their risk of dying from heart disease nearly threefold compared to those who didn’t eat chocolate at all, said the study’s lead author, Dr. Imre Janszky of Karolinska Institute.

Jansky’s study also suggested antioxidants in cacao cut the risk of death from heart disease in healthy older men and post-menopausal women.

* Caffeine – Sex Booster or Cause of Infertility?
Good and Bad News About Caffeine
Good: A new study shows caffeine gets females in the mood for sex. With a few provisos – if you’re a female rat who hasn’t previously experienced a caffeine “lift” - it had them coming back for more – sex that is not coffee.

Researcher Fay Guarraci, an assistant professor of psychology at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, is cautious about whether it would boost women’s sex lives in the same way.
“We gave only one dose of caffeine to animals who had never had caffeine before.
“Most of the time, women drink coffee on a daily basis or ingest caffeine in cola beverages,” she observes. “In humans, it might enhance the sexual experience only among people who are not habitual users.”

Bad: More than four cups of coffee a day increases infertility in women who are already subfertile, according to a new European study. For many women though, it probably won’t make any difference.


One study done in 2003 showed women who consumed less than 300 mg of caffeine a day (appx 2-3 cups of coffee) a day did not experience reduced fertility.
Yet another study of over 1000 women found the risk of not conceiving to go up with each additional cup of coffee, where even one cup reduced a woman’s ability to conceive.

The results are mixed for men as well. One study showed that sperm count, motility and abnormalities increased with the number of cups of coffee drank in a day – while another Brazilian study showed increased motility for mild to heavy coffee drinkers.

Good: Coffee drinkers had a significantly reduced risk of diabetes, Parkinson’s Disease, cirrhosis of the liver, and gallstones.

I love chocolate! so, Here is what I like to do:


Try to use the dark chocolate, it's better for you. It has a high source of antioxidants, which is good for many health issues. It lowers your risk for high blood pressure, cholesterol, cardio vascular disease, heart attacks, stroke, some cancers, arthritis, and many more.


Dark chocolate is the only form of chocolate that retains high levels of flavonoids, but most dark chocolate still contains sugars and fats, depleting the benefits. The absolute best form of dark chocolate with antioxidant benefits is in its purest form, completely unprocessed. Organic coco is the best.


Dark chocolate also has been shown to suppress the appetite; making it ideal for dieters trying to stave off the sugar cravings. I like to use Organic Coco. It is really good mixed in Yogurt. I like the Dannon low-fat vanilla yogurt. I buy the large container that way I can make smoothies and more with it.

So Friends indulge in chocolate and coffee (both contain rich amount of caffaine ) Responsibaly once in a  while, with out getting addicted to this Sensuous caffaine...! because all though Chocolate’s reputation as an aphrodisiac stems from its phenylethylamine content, which regulates the body’s release of endorphins. Endorphins are natural mood lifters and often have a calming effect when the body is stressed.


Chocolate also contains traces of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), a substance found in marijuana. THC reacts with cells in the brain to release dopamine, one of the neurotransmitters responsible for the release of endorphins. The “high” from marijuana is therefore replicated to a much lesser degree when eating chocolate.


Some nutritionists suggest chocolate cravings suggest a lack of magnesium.
In addition to its “feel good” qualities, chocolate contains large amounts of iron, a mineral that can be depleted during a woman’s menstruation cycle. The next time you’re craving chocolate, consider the reasons behind it, and look for a healthier alternative that will deliver the same results (and satisfy your food cravings).

If you just have to get that chocolate fix, try dark chocolate to reap its antioxidant benefits!