Foods for good sleep

Some foods help to calm your brain and thereby promote good sound sleep. These sleeper foods are rich in an amino acid known as tryptophan, which is used to make a chemical known as seratonin which slows down traffic of nerve impulses in brain.The following foods are proven to induce sleep.

1. Chamomile tea:It is mild sedative and calms and relaxes brain inducing sleep.

2. Bananas: Bananas balance melatonin and seratonin levels which induce sleep. Magnesium in Bananas help to relax muscles.

3. Cherries: Cherries contain melatonin, which promotes sleeps. Travelers often take melatonin pills to combat insomnia. Try Fresh cherries or cherry juice before going to bed.

4. Milk contains an amino acid named tryptophan. This is the same amino acid that is in Turkey which makes you drowsy after eating it during thanksgiving dinner. Tryptophan helps in sleep, so try a glass of milk before going to bed.

5. Walnuts: Just like milk and Turkey,walnuts also contain tryptophan that helps to make the hormones required to set the body's sleep clock.

6. Almonds/Almond milk: Almonds contains magnesium, which improves the quality of sleep.Scientific studies have proven that.

7. Jasmine rice: Jasmine rice is a low glycemic food,which means glucose in rice is released slowly into the blood in your body.People who eat jasmine rice take half the time to fall asleep than people who eat other types of rice.Have jasmine rice 4 hours before going to bed.

8.Sweet potatoes:Sleep promoting complex carbohydrates and muscle relaxing potassium present in sweet potatoes help you in the right direction of sleep.

7.Lettuce brew:Lettuce contains lactucarium which works on the brain similar to Opium. You can prepare  the lettuce brew by boiling 3-4 leaves on lettuce leaves in 1 cup of water for 15 minutes.Add sweetener and mint if you like.

8. Fish-Tuna/Salmon/Halibut: These fish contains B6 vitamin which is required to make sleep hormones seratonin and melatonin. Try baked fish with jasmine rice for dinner.

9. Passion fruit tea: Harman alkaloids are the substances found in passion fruit flowers that make the nervous system feel tired and induce sleep. Take one cup of passion fruit tea before going to bed.

10. Honey: Honey rises insulin levels slightly which in turn helps to allow tryptophan enter the brain easily.

Sources:

http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/family-nutrition/foods-sleep/foods-help-you-sleep

http://www.naturalnews.com/024436_foods_sleep_food.html

Diet for Iron: Foods high in Iron

Iron is a mineral that is essential for maintaining good health.Iron does many functions in the body with transport of oxygen being on the top of the list. The following are other functions of Iron in our body:

1. Integral part of many proteins and enzymes

2. Good cell growth and differentiation

3. Part of haemoglobin, the blood pigment which transport oxygen to different parts of the body

Deficient of iron in the body leads to poor oxygen circulation which results in weakness, fatigue, and reduced work performance. It also results in reduced immunity( ability to fight disease). Excess amount of iron is also bad for the body because it can cause toxicity and even death.For healthy individuals, the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for iron is listed in the following table.

Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for iron by age and sex.
Age/Group	Life Stage	Iron (mg/day)
Infants	0–6 months	0.27*
	7–12 months	11
Children	1–3 years	7
	4–8 years	10
Males	9–13 years	8
	14–18 years	11
	19–30 years	8
	31–50 years	8
	51–70 years	8
	>70 years	8
Females	9–13 years	8
	14–18 years	15
	19–30 years	18
	31–50 years	18
	51–70 years	8
	>70 years	8
Pregnant Women	14–18 years	27
	19–30 years	27
	31–50 years	27
Lactating Women	14–18 years	10
	19–30 years	9
	31–50 years	9

Table source:http://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/everyone/basics/vitamins/iron.html

Iron come two sources from our diet, heme and non heme. Heme comes from the blood in the red meats, poultry, fish and other animal foods. Non heme comes from plant sources such as spinach, beans and lentils.Studies have that heme iron is absorbed by the body better than non heme. Here is a list of foods that are rich in heme and non heme.

Heme iron foods:

Mollusks Clams/Mussels/Oysters)
100 g of mollusks have 28 mg of iron. Men need 28 gms of m0llusks and women need 64 gms of mollusks per day.

Liver(Chicken/Pork/Beef/Turkey/Lamb/Goat)

Mussels
Oysters
Chicken
Salmon/Tuna/Halibut
Ham
Veal

Non Heme Iron foods:

Breakfast cereal
Wheatgerm
Tofu
Cooked beans
Potato
Apricots
Nuts

Sources:

http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/iron/
http://www.webmd.com/diet/iron-rich-foods
http://www.healthaliciousness.com/articles/food-sources-of-iron.php

Good foods for organs

Broccoli
Broccoli increases the amount of glucosinlate in your body, which helps your liver's enzyme production.

Carrot
Antioxidants in carrots decrease the chance of macular degeneration, the leading cause of vision loss in older people.

Celery:
Celery is a great source of silicon, which gives bones their strength,

Clams:
Clams are high in  folic acid and zinc,which can have a significant effect on improving semen quality in men

Eggs:
Eggs are great for eyes.People who eat eggs every day lower their risk of developing cataracts.
Eggs promote healthy hair and nails.

Egg plant
Nasunin  found in the skin of egg plant  protect the lipids (fats) in brain cell membranes,there by protecting the brain from free radical damage.

Egg plant juice when given to animals, significant reduction in blood cholesterol was observed.So it is also a hear friendly food.

Garlic:

Garlic lowers cholesterol and blood pressure, so good for circulatory system.

Garlic helps in recovery of liver that is damaged due to alcohol consumption.

Ginger:

The ingredient  gingerol in ginger has anti nausea effects.

Grapefruit
Limonoids present in Grapefruit  have been shown to inhibit the development of cancer in lab animals and in human breast cells.

Green tea
Catechins present in green tea helps to regenerate the liver in case on injury

Lemons
Lemons can help flush toxins, lightening the load for the liver.

Onions
Raw onions stimulate the production of good cholesterol.
Quercetin in onions is anti cancer.
Onions reduce the resik of gastric ulcer.

Red wine
Antioxidants and polyphenols and resveratrol in wine give protection against destructive things in the blood, like LDL cholesterol, which can cause heart disease

Sweet Potato:
Beta carotene in sweet potato help to prevent the pancreas from cancer and aging.

Tomato:
Lycopene in tomatoes is really good for heart.Tomato when combined with olive oil or avocado improves the lycopene absorption by ten fold.

Walnut:
Walnut has very high content of omega-3 fatty acids, which help support brain function just like fish.

Low glycemic foods-why should we care?

Food with high glycemic index are bad for health.Foods with low glycemic index are good for you.A higher glycemic food increases the blood sugar levels very quickly and can cause diabetes and heart related diseases.

How to measure glycemic index of foods?

A value of 55 or less: Low glycemic

A value of 56-69: Medium glycemic( Try to avoid where possible)

A value of 70 and above: High glycemic( Dont buy when you go grocery shopping)

Here is a list of foods that have low glycemic index.

Breads( I am listing breads that have some taste to them)
1.Whole wheat bread:49
2.Rye bread:48
3. Multigrain bread:45

Grains;
Parboiled rice
Oats
Barley


Fruits:
All fruits are low/medium glycemic except water melon and dates.

Vegetables:
Sweet potatoes
Yams

Foods for Vitamin E:Wheat germ oil

Vitamin E is the collective name for a group of fat-soluble compounds with distinctive antioxidant activities.Vitamin E act as antioxidant by scavenging free radicals that are formed in the cells due to regular metabolic activity.Free radicals damage cells and might contribute to the development of cardiovascular disease and cancer. Vitamin E can prevent chronic diseases by scavenging free radicals.The recommended daily allowance for Vitamin E for people above 14 years is 15 mg per day.

There so many foods that contain Vitamin E. Nuts,seeds, oils are best sources of this vitamin.Here is a list of top 10 foods that have high content of Vitamin E.

Benefits of Vitamin E:
1.Protects your skin from UV radiation
2. Acts as antioxidant to remove free radicals
3.Allows easy cell to cell communication 
4.Protect cancer and  Alzheimer's  disease

Does cooking or storage effect vitamin E ?

Yes. Long term storage results in decrease in vitamin quantity.Wheat flour loses one third of vitamin E if stored more than a year.
Olive oil loses 20-30% of vitamin E if stored more than six months. 
Cooking olive oil at 340F will result in slow destruction of vitamin E. So no baking or frying with olive oil.

Wheat germ oil is good for skin

1. Wheat Germ Oil: Wheat germ oil is obtained from germ of wheat kernel. of One table spoon of wheat germ oil contains 20 mg of Vitamin E which is 130% of daily recommended value.In addition to vitamin E, Wheat germ oil is also rich in monounsaturated fatty acids which helps to reduce blood cholesterol levels.
How to Use Wheat Germ Oil?
Wheat germ oil can be applied to skin twice daily to treat dryness.Wheat germ oil can also be taken orally as supplement in capsule form.Some people use wheat germ oil as salad dressing and to drizzle on pasta. However this oil can not be heated , so it can not be used for cooking.





2.Sunflower seeds: A quarter cup(59 g) of sunflower seeds contain 61.5% of   recommended daily allowance.

Sunflower seeds can eaten raw, roasted at low heat or you can put them in muffins or bread.

3. Almonds: 

A quarter cup(59 g) of almonds contain 44% of  recommended daily allowance.

Almonds can be eaten raw,toasted or soaked.Try to avoid salted almonds.Ground almond can be added to milk or cakes.

How to prepare almond milk?

To prepare almond milk you need 1 cup (236 g) of raw almonds and two cups of water.This will make  milk that is roughly the consistency of 2% milk

Preparation:
1.Soak almonds in sufficient water overnight.They can be soaked up to 2 days to get creamier milk.
2. Drain the water after soaking and rinse the almonds.
2.Blend it in a blender by adding 2 cups of  water.Pulse for 1 minute and blend for 3 min.
3.Use cheesecloth or strainer to filter.
4.Add honey or other sweetener for additional taste
5. Almond milk can be stored in fridge for 2 days.


4. Spinach: 1 cup of spinach provides 24% of daily vitamin E requirement.The following recipe uses 1 cup of spinach.

Blueberry spinach smoothie:

Ingredients:
1 cup plain yogurt
1 ripe banana(Don,t use over ripe banana-It is high glycemic food)
1 cup fresh/frozen blue berries
1 cup spinach leaves
Honey to adjust sweetness
Milk to adjust consistency

Preparation: Put all ingredients in a blender and blend until it becomes smooth.Serve immediately.

Spinach smoothie gives you 24% of vitamin required per day

5.Swiss chard
6.Asparagus
7. Avocado
8.Peanuts

Sources:http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=nutrient&dbid=111