Benefits of Kale

Kale’s health benefits are primarily linked to the high concentration and excellent source of antioxidant vitamins A, C, and K — and sulphur-containing phytonutrients.

Carotenoids and flavonoids are the specific types of antioxidants associated with many of the anti-cancer health benefits. Kale is also rich in the eye-health promoting lutein and zeaxanthin compounds.

Beyond antioxidants, the fiber content of cruciferous kale binds bile acids and helps lower blood cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of heart disease, especially when kale is cooked instead of raw.

1. Kale is low in calorie, high in fiber and has zero fat.  One cup of kale contains 36 calories, 5 grams of fiber, and 15% of the daily requirement of calcium and vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), 40% of magnesium, 180% of vitamin A, 200% of vitamin C, and 1,020% of vitamin K. It is also a good source of minerals copper, potassium, iron, manganese, and phosphorus.

2. Kale is high in iron. Per calorie, kale has more iron than beef. Iron is essential for good health, such as the formation of hemoglobin and enzymes, transporting oxygen to various parts of the body, cell growth, proper liver function and more.

3. Kale is high in Vitamin K. Eating a diet high in Vitamin K can help protect against various cancers. It is also necessary for a wide variety of bodily functions including normal bone health and the prevention of blood clotting. Also increased levels of vitamin K can help people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.

4. Kale is filled with powerful antioxidants. Antioxidants, such as carotenoids and flavonoids help protect against various cancers.

5. Kale is a great anti-inflammatory food. One cup of kale is filled with 10% of the RDA of omega-3 fatty acids, which help, fight against arthritis, asthma and autoimmune disorders.

6. Kale is great for cardiovascular support. Eating more kale can help lower cholesterol levels.

7. Kale is high in Vitamin A.Vitamin A is great for your vision, your skin as well as helping to prevent lung and oral cavity cancers.

8. Kale is high in Vitamin C. This is very helpful for your immune system, your metabolism and your hydration.

9. Kale is high in calcium. Per calorie, kale has more calcium than milk, which aids in preventing bone loss, preventing osteoporosis and maintaining a healthy metabolism. Vitamin C is also helpful to maintain cartilage and joint flexibility

10. Kale is a great detox food. Kale is filled with fiber and sulfur, both great for detoxifying your body and keeping your liver healthy.

 

 

Sources

http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-4408/Top-10-Health-Benefits-of-Eating-Kale.html

http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/the-truth-about-kale

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=38

Daedalus and Icarus

The original Latin translation of the story written by Ovid about a boy names Icarus who flew too close to the sun.

Daedalus in the meantime, hating Crete and his long exile
and having been touched by the love of his birthplace,
had been closed in by the sea. He says, “Although Minos obstructs
the land and waves, the sky at least lies open; we will fly that way.
Minos may possess everything, but he does not possess the air.”
He spoke and sends down his mind into unknown arts
and changes his nature. For he puts feathers in a row
beginning with the littlest, and followed the long by the shorter,
so that you may think that it has grown on an incline; in this way sometimes
a countryman’s pipe gradually builds up with reeds of different lengths.
Then he binds the middle feathers with thread and the lower feathers with wax
and then bends what he has created as
to mimic that of a true bird. Together with his father, the boy Icarus
was standing unaware he was facing danger,
now with a beaming face kept on capturing the feathers
which the moving air has moved, with his thumb now kept softening the yellow wax
and with his play he kept interrupting the marvelous work of his father.
After the finishing touch had been placed
on the work, the craftsman balanced his body
in twin wings and suspended his body in the open air;
“I warn you to travel
in the middle course, Icarus, if too low
the waves may weigh down your wings, if you fly too high the fires will scorch
your wings. Stay between both. I order you not to look at Boötes,
or Helice, or the drawn sword of Orion.
Seize the road with me as your leader!”
He hands over at the same time the rules of flying and fits the unknown wings on his shoulders.
Between the work and warnings the old cheeks grew wet,
and his fatherly hands trembled; He gave kisses to his son
not to be repeated, and having lifted himself up on his wings
he flies before and he fears for his comrade. Just as a bird
who has led forth a tender offspring from a high nest into the air,
and encourages [him] to follow and instructs [him] in the destructive arts
and he moves himself and looks back at the wings of his son.
Someone while catching fish with a trembling rod
either a shepherd leaning on his staff or a plowman on a plow
saw these and was stunned, and they who were able to snatch the sky,
he believed were gods. And now Juno’s Samos was on the left
side (for Delos and Paros had been left behind)
and on the right was Lebynthos and Kalymnos rich in honey,
when the boy began to rejoice in his bold flight
and deserted his leader, and attracted by a desire for the sky
he took his path higher. The vicinity of the sun
softens the fragrant wax, the chains of the feathers;
the waxes had melted: he shakes his bare arms
and lacking oarage he takes up no air,
and his face shouting his father’s name
is swept up in the blue sea, which takes its name from him.
But the unlucky father, no longer a father, said “Icarus!”
“Icarus!” “where are you? In what region shall I seek you?”
“Icarus!” he kept saying: he caught sight of feathers in the waves
and cursed his own arts and buried the body in a tomb,
and the land is called Icaria the name of the one buried there.

Prisoner’s dilemma – Game Theory

The prisoner’s dilemma is a canonical example of a game analyzed in game theory that shows why two individuals might not cooperate, even if it appears that it is in their best interests to do so.

It goes as follows:

“Two members of a criminal gang are arrested and imprisoned. Each prisoner is in solitary confinement with no means of speaking to or exchanging messages with the other. The police admit they don’t have enough evidence to convict the pair on the principal charge.

The police tell prisoner 1 & 2 they each have four possible outcomes:

– If he remains silent & his partner betrays, he will be locked up for 3 years.
– If he betrays his partner & his partner is silent, he will walk away free.
– If both betray each other they will get 2 years.
– If both remain silent, both walk away free.”

Because betrayal always rewards more than cooperation, all purely rational self-interested prisoners would end up betraying the other, and so the only possible outcome for two purely rational prisoners is for them both to betray each other. The interesting part of this result is that pursuing individual reward logically leads the prisoners to both betray, but they would get a better reward if they both cooperated.

Sources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prisoner’s_dilemma

Benefits of Lemon & Lemon Juice

Lemons are alkalizing for the body. Lemons are acidic to begin with but they are alkaline-forming on body fluids helping to restore balance to the body’s pH.

Lemons are rich in vitamin C and flavonoids that work against infections like the flu and colds.

Your liver loves lemons: “The lemon is a wonderful stimulant to the liver and is a dissolvent of uric acid and other poisons, liquefies the bile,” says Jethro Kloss in his book Back to Eden. Fresh lemon juice added to a large glass of water in the morning is a great liver detoxifier.

Cleans your bowels: Lemons increase peristalsis in the bowels, helping to create a bowel movement thus eliminating waste and helping with regularity. Add the juice of one lemon to warm water and drink first thing in the morning.

Scurvy is treated by giving one to two ounces of lemon juice diluted with water every two to four hours. In 1747, a naval surgeon named James Lind cured scurvy with fresh lemons. To this day, the British Navy requires ships to carry enough lemons so that every sailor could have one ounce of juice a day. In the past, lemons were replaced with limes; this is where the English got their nickname “limeys.” Watch this video: “Scurvy Pirates and the Lemon of Love”

The citric acid in lemon juice helps to dissolve gallstones, calcium deposits, and kidney stones.

Acts as a gentle, natural diuretic Lemon juice helps flush out unwanted materials because lemons increase the rate of urination in the body. Toxins are, therefore, released at a faster rate which helps keep your urinary tract healthy

Vitamin C in lemons helps to neutralize free radicals linked to aging and most types of disease.

The lemon peel contains the potent phytonutrient tangeretin, which has been proven to be effective for brain disorders like Parkinson’s disease.

In India, Ayurveda medicine values the lemon as a fruit and for its properties. It is sour, warm, promoter of gastric fire, light, good for vision, pungent and astringent.

It destroys intestinal worms.

When there is insufficient oxygen and difficulty in breathing (such as when mountain climbing) lemons are very helpful. The first man to reach the top of Mt. Everest, Edmund Hillary, said that his success on Mt. Everest was greatly due to lemons.

Lemons have powerful antibacterial properties; experiments have found the juice of lemons destroy the bacteria of malaria, cholera, diphtheria, typhoid and other deadly diseases.

Blood vessels are strengthened by the vitamin P (bioflavinoids) in lemon thus prevents internal hemorrhage. Also, making it useful in treating high blood pressure.

The symptoms of eye disorders, including diabetic retinopathy have been shown in research to improve due to the rutin, found in lemons.

Lemons contain 22 anti-cancer compounds, including naturally occurring limonene; oil which slows or halts the growth of cancer tumors in animals and flavonol glycosides which stop cell division in cancer cells.

According to The Reams Biological Ionization Theory (RBTI), the lemon is the ONLY food in the world that is anionic (an ion with a negative charge). All other foods are cationic (the ion has a positive charge.) This makes it extremely useful to health as it is the interaction between anions and cations that ultimately provides all cell energy.

Enhances the mood.

Yep, that’s right. Drinking this juice enhances the mood.

 

 

Sources

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/10-benefits-of-a-properly-alkalized-body.html

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/16-health-benefits-of-lemons.html#ixzz2J7sU8OGq

http://www.hoax-slayer.com/lemon-cancer-cells.shtml

The Eagle and the Arrow

 

AN EAGLE sat on a lofty rock, watching the movements of a Hare
whom he sought to make his prey. An archer, who saw the Eagle
from a place of concealment, took an accurate aim and wounded him
mortally. The Eagle gave one look at the arrow that had entered
his heart and saw in that single glance that its feathers had
been furnished by himself. “It is a double grief to me,” he
exclaimed, “that I should perish by an arrow feathered from my
own wings.” – Aesops Fables

 

 

Benefits of Beetroot

Beetroot is great for boosting stamina and making muscles work harder.

It contains potassium, magnesium and iron as well as vitamins A, B6 and C, and folic acid. Beets also contain carbohydrates, protein, powerful antioxidants and soluble fibre.

Three baby beetroot equal one of your recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables a day.

Research has shown that beetroot can help reduce blood pressure as well as its associated risks such as heart attacks and strokes. This is because the high content of nitrates in beetroot produce a gas called nitric oxide in the blood which widens blood vessels and lowers blood pressure. A daily dose of 250ml of beetroot juice or 1 to 2 cooked beetroot (approx. 100g) can help dramatically reduce blood pressure and its associated risks.

Beetroot contains the mineral silica. This helps the body to utilise calcium, which is important for musculo-skeletal health and reducing the risk of osteoporosis.

Beetroot contains soluble fibre, which has also been shown to have cholesterol lowering capabilities. It also contains carotenoidsand flavonoids, which help prevent LDL or ‘bad’ cholesterol from being oxidised and deposited in the arteries.

Beetroot is virtually fat free and low in calories. Although it has a ‘medium’ GI (Glycaemic Index) of 64, It has an extremely low GL (Glycaemic Load) of 2.9 which means it’s converted into sugars very slowly and therefore helps to keep blood sugar levels stable.

Beetroot’s iron content means it’s good for those with anaemia and fatigue.

A recent study by Wake Forest University in North Carolina, USA has shown that the high content of nitrates in beetroot may also help fight the progression of dementia, as nitric oxide in the blood (produced by the nitrates in beetroot) also helps increase blood flow to the brain. Beetroot’s folic acid may also play a part as studies suggest it can help protect against Alzheimer’s and dementia

References

http://www.qmul.ac.uk/media/news/items/smd/31048.html

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20951824

http://www.medicine.ox.ac.uk/bandolier/booth/hliving/Cholfibe.html

http://www.bounty.com/pregnancy/2-weeks-pregnant/folic-acid-factfile?page=2