PowerFoods
Zucchini Love
Quinoa a Powerfood for You
Cabbage – the Big Powerfood
Eat Cabbage for Beautiful Glowing Skin and Hair
by Diana Herrington
If you want beautiful glowing skin, and an immune system powerful enough to fight off just about anything, don’t forget this highly nutritious but common vegetable.
Cabbage is powerful. Ancient healers thought it contained moon power because it grew in the moonlight. Modern nutritional science understands its power comes from its high sulfur and vitamin C content. Either way – it’s worth adding to your weekly diet.
Cabbage Benefits:
- Ideal for weight loss because it is very low in calories and fat.
- One of the least expensive vegetables per pound for nutritional content
- High in sulfur – the beautifying mineral. (see below).
- For women cabbage is a great source of iron and calcium.
- Cabbage has 6-8 times the vitamin C content of an orange.
- The Romans used cabbage to reduce hangovers from heavy drinking.
- Sinigrin, just one of the glucosinolates in cabbage, has well-known cancer preventative properties
- Cure for headaches: used externally as a compress and internally as raw cabbage juice.
Sulfur is called “Natures Beauty Mineral”
Just sitting in sulfur hot springs for a short time can create a noticeable improvement in ones’ complexion. It helps dry up oily and acne skin since it has a drying affect. Internally sulfur is essential for keratin, a protein substance necessary for healthy hair, nails and skin. It also aids the body in resisting bacteria, assisting the immune system, and cleansing the blood.
Cabbages can also be BIG. See this picture of a prize winning cabbage over 125 pounds with leaves over 5 feet. Big Cabbage
“My mother was a great cabbage fan; she loved her coleslaw the best. She made great cabbage rolls from a recipe her best friend Mary who was Ukrainian gave her. In honour of Mom I am posting this information about this powerfood cabbage. Soon I will be posting my healthier version of coleslaw. ”
Cabbage belongs to a class of vegetables called Brassica which includes broccoli, kale, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts. They are also known as cruciferous vegetables because their flowers are cross-shaped.
Types of cabbage:
Bok Choy: A Chinese cabbage with dark green leaves and white stems. Has the highest beta carotene and vitamin A content. (see right)
Green Cabbage: the most common variety; is pale green in colour tightly compacted leaves. Top picture is typical green cabbage.
Red Cabbage: this dark purple red cabbage is similar in taste to the green cabbage but with coarser leaves. Red cabbage has almost 3,000 times more anthocyanins (an antioxidant) as green cabbage
Savoy Cabbage: is green-yellow in colour, with crinkled leaves and is less compact than the green cabbage.(see left)
Cato the Elder, a famous Roman senator and author, praised this vegetable for its medicinal properties, declaring that “It is the cabbage that surpasses all other vegetables.”
Check out this Great Recipe - Cabbage Walnut Salad
Please share your original cabbage recipe below.
Simple Garlic Zucchini
This is a very simple recipe and yummy if you like garlic. The first time I saw it being prepared was by my friend David on Yaku Yama mountain in the 70′s in my hippy days. I watched with amazement while he added clove after clove of garlic; I am sure he put in more then I have listed below! In those days the idea was to eat lots of garlic for all of it’s health benefits.
Ingredients:
2 large zucchinis
10 cloves of garlic*
Almond oil
Sea salt
Directions:
- Grate 2 large zucchinis.
- Chop 10 cloves of garlic*.
- Sauté zucchini and garlic in almond oil till soft for 5 minutes.
- Add salt to taste.
- Serve
*You may add less garlic or none at all if you prefer or more if you dare. 
Raspberries: Summer Powerfood
Sweet juicy red raspberries are so good!
Did You Know?
- Raspberries are a member of the rose family.
- They are not just red: there are also black, purple and gold raspberries.
- The average raspberry has 100 to 120 seeds.
- Unripe raspberries do not ripen after they are picked!
Good news is that raspberries are one of the Powerfoods! Read the rest of this entry »
Pumpkin Seeds are Alkalizing
Pumpkin seeds are so good that I add them to many of my meals. The bonus nutrient value is that they are the only seed that is alkaline forming.
Did You Know?
- Pumpkin seeds were discovered by archaeologists in caves in Mexico that date back to 7,000 B.C.
- The nutrition in pumpkin seeds improves with age; they are among the few foods that increase in nutritive value as they decompose. According to tests made at the Massachusetts Experimental Station, squash and pumpkin Seeds stored for more than five months show a marked increase in protein content.
- Pumpkin seeds come from pumpkins.
10 Benefits of Pumpkin Seeds:
- Have lots of minerals including phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, zinc, iron and copper.
- Are a good source of protein and vitamin K.
- Contain phytosterols, compounds that that have been shown to reduce levels of LDL cholesterol.
- Contain L-tryptophan, which helps with good sleep and lowering depression.
- As they are high in zinc, they are a natural protector against osteoporosis. Low intake of zinc is linked to higher rates of osteoporosis.
- Are a good source vitamin E; contain about 35.10 mg of tocopherol-γ per 100 g.
- The most alkaline forming seed.
- Are also excellent source of Vitamin B group ( thiamin, riboflavin,niacin, pantothenic acid, vitamin B-6 (pyridoxine) and folates).
- Are high in calories, about 559 calories per 100 g.
- Contain good quality protein. 100 g seeds provide 30 g
Health Benefits:
- Pumpkin seeds are an excellent source of tryptophan which is converted in to serotonin and niacin. Serotonin is a very helpful in helping us to have a good night’s sleep.
- According to studies, pumpkin seeds prevent calcium oxalate kidney stone formation.
- Pumpkin seeds reduce inflammation for arthritis without the side effects of anti-inflammatory drugs.
- Used in many cultures as a natural treatment for tapeworms and other parasites.
- Good for Prostate Health! The oil in them alleviates difficult urination that happens with an enlarged prostate.
- Pumpkins and their seeds were an important Native American Indian food used for their dietary and medicinal properties.
- They are high in zinc; in a study of almost 400 men (age from 45-92) published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition they found a correlation between low dietary intake of zinc, low blood levels of the trace mineral and osteoporosis at the hip and spine.
Copyright ©Diana Herrington You are welcome to share this article with anyone who you think may benefit from this information as long as you give credit to Real Food for Life by including the link to the home page www.RealFoodforLife.com or the direct link to this post.
A Revolutionary Simple Approach To Healthy Eating
