Health and Vitality Naturals

Tomatoes are a known food source for humans, containing a variety of secondary metabolites including phenolic compounds, phytoalexins, protease inhibitors, and glycoalkaloids. These metabolites protect against adverse effects of hosts of predators including fungi, bacteria, viruses, and insects. Glycoalkaloids in tomatoes are reported to be involved in host-plant resistance, on the one hand, and to have a variety of pharmacological and nutritional properties in animals and humans. One most commonly and widely documented tomato nutrient ingredient belonging to the carotenoids is lycopene, known to have antioxidant properties.The less talked about tomato nutrient ingredient of remarkable health benefits belonging to the glycoalkaloids is tomatine. Brief characteristics features and health benefits of the two nutrient ingredients are presented below. Health Benefits and Main Features of  Lycopene & Tomatine in Green and Ripe Tomatoes Nutrient Lycopene Tomatine Green T...

Your kitchen may be the starting point. Certain raw foods have been found to contain substances that suppress the function of the thyroid gland by interfering with the uptake of iodine, an essential nutrient in growth, cognitive function, and hormonal balance. A lack of functional iodine is known to result in cognitive deficiencies (e.g., Cretinism). The decrease in iodine uptake causes the thyroid gland to enlarge, forming a goiter. Foods that have been identified as goitrogenic include spinach, cassava, sweet potatoes , peanuts, soybeans, strawberries,, peaches, pears, and vegetables in the Brassica genus, which include broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, canola, cauliflower, mustard greens, radishes, and rapeseed. Goiter has also been attributed to the consumption of large quantities of uncooked kale or cabbage. High temperatures ( i.e. , cooking) inactivate the goitrogenic substances, collectively termed glucosinolates.  Some of these foods require more attention than others...

With current advances in nutritional science, humans are increasingly getting enlightened as to what makes optimum nutrition for optimum health. However, with widespread proliferation of nutrition and health information from various health information centres and media platforms, the challenge is getting appropriate information optimum nutrition for optimum health. The most accessible from mandated food and health related institutions within individual countries, in the form of food/nutrition guides, food plates of food pyramids.. The reality on the ground however is that not many people actually follow the  food guides/pyramids due to various reasons, including: availability of the recommended food, affordability, personal food choices, inclination to traditional foods, etc. Further more, there is no guaranty that by following the food guides, one is assured of optimum nutrients intake as some nutrition and health experts are of the view that estimate conversions of nutrient conte...

The current post builds on the previous most recent post on this blog, entitled, “ Getting your advice on nutrition for optimum health from your doctor’s emergence rooms is not a good idea”. It all boils down to optimum health from optimum nutrients intake. It also expands the conversation on views presented in one other post on this site entitled, “ Nutrition and Health: Dissecting The Complexity - I s nutrition science up to the task? ” Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) developed jointly by Canadian and American scientists, are new nutrient values which represent a significant departure from the former Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) for the United States and Recommended Nutrient Intakes (RNIs) for Canada, National Academies Press (US) , (2003) . In the past, RDAs and RNIs were the primary values available to U.S. and Canadian health professionals for planning and assessing diets of individuals and groups. The new DRIs represent a more complete set of values. They were deve...