WALNUT – BRAIN THE gnarled folds of a walnut mimic the appearance of a
human brain - and provide a clue to the benefits.
Walnuts are the only nuts which contain significant
amounts of omega-3 fatty acids.
They may also help head off dementia. An American study
found that walnut
extract broke down the protein-based plaques associated
with Alzheimer’ disease.
Researchers at Tufts University in Boston found walnuts
reversed some signs of brain ageing in rats.
TOMATO – HEART A TOMATO is red and usually has four chambers, just
like our heart.
Tomatoes are also a great source of lycopene, a plant
chemical that reduces
the risk of heart disease and several cancers.
The Women’s Health Study — an American research
programme which tracks the
health of 40,000 women — found women with the highest
blood levels of
lycopene had 30 per cent less heart disease than women
who had very little lycopene.
Lab experiments have also shown that lycopene helps
counter the effect of
unhealthy LDL cholesterol.
One Canadian study, published in the journal
Experimental Biology and
>Medicine, said there was “convincing evidence’ that
lycopene prevented coronary heart diseas
GRAPES – LUNGS OUR lungs are made up of branches of ever-smaller
airways that finish up
with tiny bunches of tissue called alveoli.
These structures, which resemble bunches of grapes,
allow oxygen to pass
from the lungs to the blood stream
One reason that very premature babies struggle to survive is that these
alveoli do not begin to form until week 23 or 24 of pregnancy.
A diet high in fresh fruit, such as grapes, has been
shown to reduce the risk of lung cancer and emphysema.
Grape seeds also contain a chemical called
proanthocyanidin, which appears
to reduce the severity of asthma triggered by allergy.
BEANSPROUTS – SPERM The stir-fry favorite bears an uncanny resemblance to
the images we see of
‘swimming’ sperm trying to fertilize an egg. And
research from the US
suggests they could play an important part in boosting
male fertility.
A study at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio showed that to
make healthy sperm
in large quantities, the body needs a good supply of
vitamin C, a powerful
antioxidant that protects cells against damage by
harmful molecules called
free radicals.
Just half a cup of bean sprouts provides 16 per cent of
the recommended
daily allowance of vitamin C for a man.
It’s not just dad but baby too who could benefit.
Bean sprouts are packed with folate, a vitamin that
prevents neural tube defects, where the baby is born with a damaged brain or spine.
GINGER – STOMACHRoot ginger, commonly sold in supermarkets, often looks
just like the stomach.
So it’s interesting that one of its biggest benefits is aiding digestion.
The Chinese have been using it for over 2,000 years to calm the stomach and
cure nausea, while it is also a popular remedy for motion sickness.
But the benefits could go much further.
Tests on mice at the University of Minnesota found injecting the chemical
that gives ginger its flavor slowed down the growth rate of bowel tumours.
CHEESE – BONES A nice ‘holey’ cheese, like Emmenthal, is not just
good for your bones, it
even resembles their internal structure.
And like most cheeses, it is a rich source of calcium, a vital ingredient
for strong bones and reducing the risk of osteoporosis later in life.
Together with another mineral called phosphate, it provides the main
strength in bones but also helps to ‘power’ muscles.
Getting enough calcium in the diet during childhood is crucial for strong bones.
A study at Columbia University in New York showed teens
who increased calcium intake from 800mg a day to 1200mg – equal to an extra two slices of
cheddar - boosted their bone density by six per cent.
BROCCOLI – CANCER Close-up, the tiny green tips on a broccoli head look like
hundreds of cancer cells.
Now scientists know this disease-busting veg can play a
crucial role in preventing the disease.
Last year, a team of researchers at the US National Cancer
Institute found just a weekly serving of broccoli was enough to reduce the risk
of prostate cancer by 45 per cent.
In Britain , prostate cancer kills one man every hour.
BANANA (SMILE) – DEPRESSIONCheer yourself up and put a smile on your face by eating a banana.
The popular fruit contains a protein called tryptophan.
Once it has been digested, tryptophan then gets
converted in a chemical nurotransmitter called serotonin.
This is one of the most important mood-regulating
chemicals in the brain and most anti-depressant drugs work by adjusting levels
of serotonin production.
Higher levels are associated with better moods.
MUSHROOM – EAR Slice a mushroom in half and it resembles the shape of
the human ear.
And guess what? Adding it to your cooking could
actually improve your hearing.
That’s because mushrooms are one of the few foods in
our diet that contain vitamin D.
This particular vitamin is important for healthy bones, even the tiny ones
in the ear that transmit sound to the brain.
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