VeggieSpotlight
Avocados, also known as Alligator Pears because of their pear-like shape and green skin, are fruits that are grown on an evergreen tree from the Lauraceae family. According to the California Avocado Society, avocados originated in the state of Puebla, Mexico as early as 7000 B.C., with natives collecting avocado fruit and carrying it into their caves. Despite lacking sweetness, avocados are a fruit and technically a type of berry. However, the creamy texture of an avocado makes adding one to ice cream and dessert drinks a delicious treat! Your body also needs healthy fats each day and avocados are chock-full of them! Here are some facts about avocados and how they can benefit your diet and overall health:
• Avocados are a good source of mono- unsaturated fatty acids and are rich in various nutrients, vitamins and minerals. • Many of the nutrients packed in avoca- dos are great for maintaining healthy skin and hair. The nutrients help to nourish dry and damaged hair as well as skin that is dry, chapped or damaged. • An average avocado (100g) contains around 160 calories. Although avoca- dos are calorie-dense because of their fat content, these healthy fats (as men- tioned previously) are beneficial to your body.
• There are over 500 varieties of avocados grown throughout the world, but the California Hass Avocado is the most popular. • Avocados are mood boosters! Because of the folic acid density in avocados, they can help counter the effects of the compound homocys- teine, which depletes production of dopamine and serotonin. • A single California avocado tree can produce up to 500 avocados (or 200 pounds of fruit) a year, according to the CaliforniaAvocado Commission. An av- erage avocado tree typically produces 6o pounds of fruit from 150 avocados.
Nutrition The Power of Green Tea
How to Prepare
min C, which is also an antioxidant to strengthen the immune system. Tannins keeps caffeine release gradual, so the caffeine in green tea has a prolonged invigorating ef- fect.Teanin, an amino acid found in green tea, soothes your system and the B-complex vitamins detoxify your body while boosting mental capacity, metabolism, and the ner- vous system. Green tea is also used for weight loss and weight management since it lowers blood sugar and choles- terol and burns fat. Studies have demonstrated that it also prevents colds and flu, cavities, skin con- ditions, and arthritis. Health pro- fessionals advise people to drink green tea daily, swapping it for...
One o f t he o l des t and mos t popular drinks in the world, green tea, fights free radicals in the body to ward off numerous diseases. Made from the leaves of a tea plant from China, green tea is touted as everything from a metabolism booster to an aging antidote. Antioxidants in green tea, including catechin, repels the free radicals to protect against cancer, stroke, high blood pressure, stomach acid, and muscle damage. A green tea ingre- dient, flavonoids, are said to pre- vent heart disease and absorb vita-
1. To prepare green tea, boil water and let it stand, reducing the temperature to make the most of the catechins. 2. Pour the water over the tea leaves and wait for 2 to 3 minutes. 3. After steeping for 2 minutes, the tannin makes green tea more soothing. 4. Finish by adding lemon, becauseVitamin C enhances the absorption of the cate- chins and increases the density of poly- phenols. Avoid milk or cream, which will make it harder to absorb them.
Continue ‘Green Tea’ to pg. 4
2 |
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker