National Eat Your Vegetables Day, 2020
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Tesleemah
National Eat Your Vegetables Day, 2020

Every June 17th has been set aside as National Eat your Vegetables day, so whether you are a lover of vegetables, a vegetarian or you don’t love vegetables at all this is for you to have fun with a couple of vegetables.
As side from today, it is very important to include vegetables in your meal. so why not change your mind from making your meal look boring and give it a pop of color. As they say, nature is beautiful so why not let the beauty of nature lead you to place of healthy diet. Often overlooked as simply a side to a meal, vegetables are food’s thankless heroes. They add an array of colors and textures to brighten any plate, elevating the most simple presentation.



Vegetables can be consumed in so many ways, they could either be eaten in their raw form, served as salads in form of side dishes or even consumed as soup. Whatever form your vegetable is consumed does not really matter. All that mater is that it is consumed.

Benefits of Eating  Colorful Vegetables

There are so many benefits attached to eating colorful vegetables aside from the beautiful presentation style it adds to your meal.

  • RED FRUITS AND VEGETABLES



Nutrition research shows that red and bright pink fruits and vegetables contain phytochemicals, such as lycopene and anthocyanins. Phytochemicals, substances found only in plants, help your body fight disease and promote good health. Examples of red vegetables includes Beets, Blood oranges, Cherries, Cranberries, Guava, Papaya, Pink grapefruit, Pink/Red grapefruit,Raspberries, Red apples, Red bell peppers, Red chili peppers, Red grapes, Red onions, Red pears, Red peppers, Strawberries, Tomatoes, and Watermelon.

BENEFITS OF EATING RED FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

  • Red color in most fruits and vegetables contain antioxidants that reduce the risk of developing atherosclerosis, hypertension and high cholesterol.
  • They  lower the risk of developing different types of cancer, including prostate cancer and protect against heart diseases and improve brain function.

  • GREEN FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

Green fruits and vegetables include spinach,broccoli,asparagus,peas,avocado,green apples,green grapes,limes.
BENEFITS OF EATING GREEN FRUITS AND VEGETABLES
  • Green vegetables and fruits are rich in fiber, folate, potassium and vitamins A, C, E and K. Some of the key phytonutrients in green produce are isothiocyanate, lutein, zeaxanthin, isoflavones and EGCG. 
  • They support arterial function and cell, lung and vision health.

  • WHITE FRUITS AND VEGETABLES



White fruits and vegetables includes Bananas, Brown pears, Cauliflower, Dates, Garlic, Ginger,Kohlrabi, Mushrooms, Onions, Parsnips, Potatoes, Shallots, Turnips, White Corn, White nectarines, and White peaches

BENEFITS OF EATING WHITE FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

  • White fruits and vegetables contain nutrients known to lower the level of bad cholesterol in your body as well as lower high blood pressure
  •  They also have a great immune boosting effect on your body.
  • Nutrients found in white fruits and vegetables minimize the risk of colon, prostate and breast cancer as well.

  • YELLOW AND ORANGE FRUITS AND VEGETABLES



Yellow and orange fruits and vegetables includes Apricots, Butternut squash, Cantaloupe, Cape Gooseberries, Carrots, Golden kiwifruit, Grapefruit, Lemon, Mangoes, Nectarines, Oranges, Papayas, Peaches, Pineapples, Pumpkin, Rutabagas, Sweet corn, Sweet potatoes, Tangerines, Yellow apples, Yellow beets, Yellow figs, Yellow pears, Yellow peppers



BENEFITS OF EATING YELLOW AND ORANGE FRUITS AND VEGETABLES
  • The vegetable is high in vitamins A, B6, and C, folate, magnesium, fiber, riboflavin, phosphorus, and potassium. That’s a serious nutritional power-packed veggie. 
  • Yellow squash is also rich in manganese. This mineral helps to boost bone strength and helps the body’s ability to process fats and carbohydrates.
Let the fresh fruits and vegetables be your guide, and make something that will keep for the whole week.They say that vegetable food is not sufficiently nutritious. But chemistry proves the contrary. So does physiology. So does experience.Remember, the largest and strongest animals in the world are those which eat no flesh-food of any kind – the elephant and the rhinoceros. Therefore, this should be a motivation to us all that we should not only eat vegetables today, but we should make it our lifestyle. Once again,Happy National Eat Vegetables Day to you all.



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Effects of taking Garlic as Foods or as Medicine
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Tesleemah

What is garlic?

Garlic is a herb otherwise known as Ajo, Ail, Allii Sativi Bulbus, Allium, Camphor of the Poor, Poor Man’s Treacle, Stinking Rose, Allium sativum, Lasun etc.

It has the generic name Garlic and brand name of Garlic oil commonly used as  food and flavouring agent.

When garlic is used as  food product, it is neutral i.e. it has neither health benefits nor side effects. However, when used as a medicinal product, it  may produce both desired and unwanted effects on the body of the user.

 

Amount of the  active ingredient in Garlic, Allicin vary widely in various garlic products sold as health supplements. Since the compound is unstable, one can reduce its amount in garlic product to lessen its odour.

Allicin
Allicin

In essence little to no Allicin makes an odourless garlic, the lesser the amount of Allicin in a product, the less effective such garlic product is.

 

Side effect of Garlic:

When using garlic as medicine, one needs to look out for side effects as discussed earlier on, before taking the medicine, make sure you aren’t allergic to it.

Ensure you consult a physician, pharmacist or other health provider around you if you:

  • Stomach ulcer
  • Digestive problem
  • Haemophilia

 

What to take note when using Garlic

You should watch out for the following if you decided to use garlic as medicine

1. Use of garlic as flavouring agent is seen not to pose any risk to pregnant women and hence considered safe for use during pregnancy.

On  the other hand, using it as medicine has not been confirmed to endanger the foetus according to research so to be on the safe side, Do not use garlic as medicine during pregnancy

 

2. Also birth control pills can be less effective when used with garlic, you can confirm the type of non-hormonal birth control you can use while taking garlic.

Birth conttol pills
Birth control pills

3. Since Garlic may flow into breast milk through nodes and may harm a baby, do not use without medical consultation if you are a nursing mother.

 

4. When taken in large doses, garlic may pose a risk to children. Hence, consult a medical personnel before giving a child any form of herbs or supplements.

 

5. Do not give any herbal/health supplement to a child without medical advice. Garlic taken by mouth in large doses may be harmful to children.

 

6. Don’t combine different forms of garlic such as cloves, tablets, oil etc at the same time without consent from a doctor. Using a different combination is an overdose which should be avoided.

 

7. The pill has a unique coating to safeguard your stomach, hence do not crush or chew. Swallow whole to avoid damaging the coat of a garlic pill

 

8. See a doctor if the reason you are using the product does not improve or get worst after a particular time of using a garlic product

 

9. Since Garlic affect blood-clotting and may trigger increase in bleeding.

Stay away from garlic at least 2 weeks if you need surgery, dental check-up or a medical attention that will require drawing blood.

 

10.keep in a room temperature free from heat, light and moisture as directed in the package

 

What  drugs will attack garlic?

Do not take garlic without medical consult  if you are on any of the following drugs:

  • Paracetamol
  • Tyrol
  • birth control pills
  • warfarin (Coumadin, Jantoven);
  • cyclosporine;
  • chlorzoxazone;
  • theophylline;
  • HIV or AIDS drugs–delavirdine, efavirenz, nevirapine, saquinavir;
  • Anti-coagulants drugs e.g. alteplase, ticlopidine, urokinase etc.

Paracetamol

Stay away from garlic except otherwise encouraged by your physician if you have to treat any of the following diseases or disorder

1. Infections such as HIV, Malaria etc.

2. Depression;

3. Allergic diseases e.g. Asthma

4. Cancer;

6. Erectile dysfunction;

7. Seizures

8. High blood pressure

Check BP with sphygmomanometer
Check BP with sphygmomanometer

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Updated:18th of February 2021

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