The Benefits of Antioxidants

Antioxidants play a crucial role in protecting and repairing the damage caused by high levels of free radicals in our body. Every day we are exposed to pollution of smoke, chemical, synthetic ,materials and pesticides that increases the level of free radicals in our body. High levels of free radicals contributes to heart disease, cancer, athritis , cataract and loads of other illnesses. Apart from this antioxidant is also a powerful anti aging agent that helps the body to be healthier and younger.

Therefore it is important to take steps for us to reduce the level of free radical in our body such as :

1. Stop smoking
2. Take more fruits and vegetables in our diet
3. Cut down on fast food, junk food and processed food
4. Take more vitamins and food supplements
   
5. Check the status of our health by going for medical check ups

Below is a list of sources of antioxidants we should include in our diet

• Allium sulphur compounds - leeks, onions and garlic.
• Anthocyanins - eggplant, grapes and berries.
• Beta-carotene - pumpkin, mangoes, apricots, carrots, spinach and parsley.
• Catechins - tea.
• Copper - seafood, lean meat, milk and nuts.
• Cryptoxanthins - red capsicum, pumpkin and mangoes.
• Flavonoids - tea, green tea, citrus fruits, onion and apples.
• Indoles - cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower.
• Isoflavonoids - soybeans, tofu, lentils, peas and milk.
• Lignans - sesame seeds, bran, whole grains and vegetables.
• Lutein - leafy greens like spinach, and corn.
• Lycopene - tomatoes, pink grapefruit and watermelon.
• Manganese - seafood, lean meat, milk and nuts.
• Polyphenols - thyme and oregano.
• Selenium - seafood, offal, lean meat and whole grains.
• Vitamin C - oranges, blackcurrants, kiwi fruit, mangoes, broccoli, spinach, capsicum and strawberries.
• Vitamin E - vegetable oils (such as wheatgerm oil), avocados, nuts, seeds and whole grains.
• Zinc - seafood, lean meat, milk and nuts.
• Zoochemicals - red meat, offal and fish. Also derived from the plants animals eat.

So get healthy by eating more fruits and veggies that are loaded with antioxidants. Try drinking green tea which is high in antioxidant or be adventurous by trying out exotic combinations of fruit and vegetable juice.

Until then stay healthy, look great, feel happy . Have a nice day

Juicing up

Everyone knows that fruits and vegetables are loaded with lots of vitamins, minerals, antioxidents

and phytonutrients that's great for your health. Why not try to make your own mixture of juice. Below

is a list of benefits mixing up different fruits and veggies. It's not that hard to make. Just pop up a

few slices of fruits and veggies in a blender of juice extractor add some water and you're ready to

go. Check it out.

Carrots + Cucumber + Celery

=Good for detoxification & Improves immunity system

Apples + Cucumber + Celery

= Anti cancer, reduces cholesterol level and relieves stomach aches & headaches

Tomato + Carrot + Apple

= Improves skin condition & eliminates bad breath

Bittergourd + Apple + Milk

= Eliminates bad breath & reduce heatiness in the body

Orange + Ginger + Cucumber

= Repairs and moisturizes the texture of the skin

Pineapple + apple + watermelon

= Cleans kidney and bladder

Apple + Cucumber + Kiwi

= Improves skin condition

Pears + Banana

= Controls blood sugar levels

Carrots +Apple + Pear + Mango

= Eliminates heatiness & reduces blood pressure

Honeydew melon + Grapes + Watermelon + Milk

= Improves the immunity system

These are only a handful of the benefits of juicing up but truly there are lots more. It's real easy to

make, so go ahead try juicing up to boost your health and immunity system, add some yogurt or

milk if you wish. Juice up your way to health, look great feel happy.

Inner beauty

They say that beauty starts from within. That it's not merely skin deep, that it includes your inner beauty aswell. But what is inner beauty?

Personally I see inner beauty as characteristics in a person that makes him/her attractive. Characteristics such as kindness, compassion, integrity, honesty, tolerance, understanding,dedication, charm, hard working.

Unlike outer beauty which fades with time, inner beauty just grows richer with proper cultivation. It is something that grows more beautiful if we learn to cultivate and instil in our life good and honourable values in all aspects of our life. This includes our dealing with other people, animals, plants and other creations aswell as how we deal with our own day to day problems.

For example, in dealing with little children and the handicap we need to exercise more patience , understanding and tolerance to their shortcomings. In all our dealings with anyone or anything we should always be respectful of them and treat them nicely. The way we want to be treated ourselves. Treating anyone badly would only make things worse. It not only creates a very bad image of ourself but also minimize our chances of bonding with that person.

Unlike outer beauty which can be created by using make up or cosmetics, working out , undergoing plastic surgery etc. Inner beauty just needs us to instil honourable values in our life. It doesn't require us to spend any money but rather patience and dedication to ensure that it is not superficial but life long values that we hold dearly in our life.

So till next time. Create inner beauty that last a life time as compared with outer beauty that fades with time.

Pay attention to your health

My hamster died today. Her name was Kiki. Although she probably never meant much to anyone. Still she was the world to her newborn litter of 7. As shortly after this all of them died except for two who still survived drinking formulated milk from a syringe. Her death came as a surprise to all of us because out of all the hamsters we had. She was the most agressive and active of all.

This just goes to prove the point on how fragile life is and how most of us take things for granted. I suppose just giving birth to a litter of 7 and breastfeeding them was robbing her of the nutrients her little body needed. It's a painful lesson to me, to remind that I should not take things for granted. Perhaps If I had paid more attention I would have noticed that she was sick earlier.

In the same manner, our body is something that most of us take for granted . We feed it with all kinds of junk day in and day out or deprive it from enough sleep or rest it needs. When somethings goes wrong, we suddenly realise that we should have taken better care of it. How all this while, we have taken our health for granted.

Just imagine how it would be if we suddenly loss our sight, hearing or ability to walk. Life would surely be difficult and lonely. Perhaps, only then would we appreciate all the things that God has given us for free and take better care of ourselves.

It's about time we pay more attention to ourselves and thank God for all the priceless things he has given us for free. As life is fragile, who knows what's in store for us tomorrow.

So till next time. Take better care of yourself. Strive to look great, feel happy. You've only one life. Live it.

The importance of Eating & Drinking Right.

I've often come across this phrase' Garbage in Garbage Out' which in computer lingo means if you put in data which is of no use (like garbage) then that's what you will end up with. Our body reacts in the same way similarly. Meaning, that if we continue to feed ourselves with things that are useless (junk food drugs , alcohol, etc) and detrimental to our body then that's what we'll end up with.

Most of us know about the science of eating right, i.e about food pyramid, diets, etc but how many of us actually implement these information into their lives. Having the information on what's good for you and what works is not enough if you don't actually take the action to make our lives better.

The first step is usually the hardest, but as time passes you'll discover that it's not as difficult as you imagine it you would be. Having the urge to grab that burger or pizza thatyou usually have daily instead of a lean wholesome tuna sandwich or a healthy salad is hard but just imagine all the damage you would be doing if you continue to pig out all the time. You would be saving yourself from obesity, heart problems, cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure in the future.

This would mean you end up up being healthier, save on medical expenses you might have to incur if you are sick (an outcome from your unhealthy eating habits). You would also benefit from a better self image of yourself. After all eating healthy helps to lose weight, look fitter and feel happier.

However just as important is what you drink as well. The best would be plain water and fresh fruit juices. Our body need plenty of it to keep the body functioning right and flush out the toxins in the body. Avoid soda that are loaded with sugar and alcoholic drinks which are bad for your health.

Adopt a responsible approach to eating and drinking as it affects the quality of your life. The way you eat and drink today will tell the kind of life you lead in the future. Do you want to live a healthy life being healthy, fit , look great and feel happy or do you to end up overweight, sick and burdened with escalating medical bills with a poor self image.

It's your choice really, take the first step to improve your life, you only have one.