Healthy and Yet Dangerous Food

I am not a health fanatic but I do try to eat healthy. The above food are things that we are drilled that they are good for us but wait till you see what they will do to you.

1) Celery Celery is a vegetable that we all love to eat it raw or cooked. Many of us usually have left over food which we eat the next day. Here is the problem...reheating celery will cause it to release a harmful nitrites which is poisonous to our body.

2) Virgin Olive Oil You may heat you frying pan with this and frying eggs, steak, bacon etc. However do you know that when the oil is heated to a point where smokes arise, that is when it becomes carcinogenic.

3) Hard-boiled Eggs These are cooked egg and therefore should be eaten if possible they day it is made. Many of us love Stewed Pork and Hardboiled egg and the eggs are reheated again and again. This is a no no because reheated eggs are toxic!

4) Mushrooms Fried it with oyster sauce of simply stir-fried and it is yummy. Well like the above, reheating these are also poisonous. If you have left overs, eat it cold.

5) Tomatoes We all love a tomato and they are not poisonous. However if you pluck it from your garden, make sure to do not eat the leaf and the stalk. It contains a toxic called tomatine.

6) Kidney Beans Some buy and some make it themselves. Well here is the bad news - It contain a poison named Phytohaemagglutin. Kidney beans need to be boil properly so suggestion is you buy the canned ones and don't take it lightly.

7) Rhubarb - Vegetable Fortunately this is not common in Singapore. The part that can be eaten in the stem and the part that kill is the leave. The leave looks like yam leaf .

8) Wild Almond Not common in Singapore. Anyway we travel a lot and please remember that wild almond contain cyanide when eaten in large quantity.

9) Cherry Well it is cherry season now. Plenty of them are sold everywhere BUT remember do not bite the pit/ seed. Don't break it because it contain hydrogen-cyanide which kills.

10) Green Potatoes No easily found here in Singapore. Like I said we travel a lot so be careful. It is not your mashed potatoes or your green French fries, it kills. These green potatoes contain a toxin named solanine and it will cause vomiting. I may also cause cardiac arrest if taken in large quantities.

11) Apple An apple a day keeps the doctor away. This healthy fruit also has it poison. It is in the apple seeds. The small seed contain a small amount of amygdalin when combined with our stomach enzyme will produce hydrogen cyanide. It takes 100-200mg of this to kill an adult with minutes. Be wary.

There are many more but I hope this will served as a reminder. All these food look harmless but they are not if eaten carelessly. Wishing all those reading this have a healthy life.

Sweet Potatoes…

Sweet potatoes is definitely not a rich man’s food. It is consider desserts and there are many yummy desserts make of this. Many find it too sweet and it fills up your hunger very fast so for those wanting to slim effectively try this tuber. 

There are yellow sweet potatoes and purple sweet potatoes which are both fantastic. In Singapore we can find those from Vietnam and Indonesia, the more expensive ones from Japan. Initially I do not really enjoy this tuber. I supposed it is acquired and I prefer yam to sweet potatoes.

One day I instinctively bought sweet potatoes and throw it into a toaster. The sweet aroma filled my nostril and the yellow meat was so inviting, I started to consume it. At the same time I was suffering from this nagging pain on my knees and knee joints from over exercises and age of course. I never expected anything from this tuber except its fiber but over night, the pain on my knees are gone. Viola! So it is good for attacking inflammatory as well.

I have been sharing some of these vegetables and fruits and what they did to me, not from internet but by experiencing it myself. I am not a nutrient expert nor a food critics but I like to share the goodness from my own eating. So try this tuber if you have not started loving it. It is something that even Diabetic can eat and recommended by Doctors. (Trust Diabetics know that although fruits are good and healthy but there is sugar in some fruits that they must avoid but not this super sweet tuber.)

There are many ways to eat it. The most straight forward way is

1) To steam it or 
 2) You skin it and cut it into small pieces and boil it with coconut milk (you need not add sugar) 
3) Mashed it and roll it over grind coconut bits. 
4) Mashed it and bake a pie with it. 
5) Mashed and roll it into bit size balls and deep-fry but since we are looking at healthy eating, I am not for this although it is yummy. 
6) If you are camping, or doing a BBQ, you can wrapped them in aluminum foils and throw them into the fire and let it cook. This tuber does not need fussy cooking and is easy and handy to eat. Just unwrapped the foil and peel off the skin. 

It is ignorant just eating a sweet potato as a sweet potato and not knowing the goodness it brings. So here is to list some…. (quotes from the experts)

1) Carotenoids: plant compounds that squelch cell damage caused by everyday living
2) Vitamin E: an antioxidant that may protect against heart disease. 
3) Potassium: a mineral necessary for muscle contraction, nerve transmission, bone health, water balance, and normal blood pressure. (It got more than bananas, believe it or not.)
4) Copper: it assists in the production of collagen, which is responsible for keeping muscles healthy and skin taut. 
5) Quercetin: research shows this potent phyto nutrient may help you breathe easier by warding off allergies, hay fever, and asthma.
6) High fiber content – well it definitely has more than any other types of potatoes 
7) Vitamin B6 – which is crucial to  keep our blood vessels/ arteries from hardening 
8) Super rich in Vitamin A, an antioxidant which keeps away many types of Cancers. It keeps skin healthy and it is nutrients to the Eyes (this is important because it helps vision loss as well as protect muscle degeneration). 
9) It contains Manganese which helps to balance blood sugar 
10) It also contain Vitamin C and Vitamin E. We know that these two are also powerful antioxidants which helps to prevent diseases and aging. 

So much for Sweet Potatoes…wonderful tuber…staple food to some…good for Diabetic…and powerful antioxidant…keeping us healthy and long life. 

Start eating…
 

Cherry..the fruit

It is the season again and I saw Cherries in the supermarkets. I love this fruit because of its sweet sour taste and it is great for binging. The fruits are bite size so it is so easy to finish a box of it without even knowing it has gone down the stomach.

I started to look at the things I eat after I went through the recent surgery. I am not paranoid but find it very interesting to note the facts about what I put into my mouth. There are things which I love to eat and they are rubbish. Of course I acknowledge that at times I need to have rubbish to make my Mind happy, not that my Body needs it.

So now I went searching what cherries will do for me and found interesting facts.

…Quote

Cherries are one of the very low calorie fruits; however, are rich source of nutrients, vitamins, and minerals. Both sweet as well as tart cherries are packed with numerous health benefiting compounds that are essential for wellness.

Cherries are pigment rich fruits. These pigments, in fact, are polyphenolic flavonoid compounds known as anthocyanin glycosides. Anthocyanins are red, purple or blue pigments found in many fruits and vegetables, especially concentrated in their skin, known to have powerful anti-oxidant properties.

Scientific studies have shown that anthocyanins in the cherries are found to act like anti-inflammatory agents by blocking the actions of cyclooxygenase-1, and 2 enzymes. Thus, consumption of cherries has potential health effects against chronic painful episodes such as gout arthritis, painful muscle condition and sports injuries.

Research studies also suggest that anti-oxidant compounds in tart cherries help the human body to fight against cancers, aging and neurological diseases, and pre-diabetes condition.

Cherry fruits are very rich in stable anti-oxidant melatonin. Melatonin can cross the blood-brain barrier easily and produces soothing effects on the brain neurons, calming down nervous system irritability, which helps relieve neurosis, insomnia and headache conditions.

Further, they are also mild source of zinc, moderate sources of iron, potassium, and manganese and good source of copper. Potassium is a heart-healthy mineral; an important component of cell and body fluids that regulate heart rate and blood pressure.

The fruits, especially tart cherries are exceptionally rich in health promoting flavonoid poly phenolic anti-oxidants such as lutein, zea-xanthin and beta carotene. These compounds act as protective scavengers against harmful free radicals and reactive
oxygen species (ROS) that play a role in aging, cancers
                    and various disease processes.

Anti-inflammatory property of cherries has been found effective in reducing heart-disease risk factors by scavenging action against free radicals.


Acerola or West Indian cherry has exceptionally very high levels of vitamin-C (1677.6 mg per 100 g or 2796 % of RDA) and vitamin-A (767 IU per 100 g).


That is why doctors advise to eat fruits with different skin colors. Many of us like to eat only fruit and peeled off the skin but the best nutrients are in the skins.

Exotic Fruit....Red Bayberry (Myrica rubra)

This time around I was fruits shopping at the wholesale market and chance upon this wonderful berry. I have been eating this fruit in the dried form and we called it Yang Mei (扬梅） but the name Red Bayberry is not known to me. The sour sweet taste of the dried version is appetizing and thirst quenching.

I have not seen this fruit in its fresh form in any of the supermarkets I went to. This is probably because of its cost and seasonal. The size of the fruit is round and size of a 20 cents coin. It is red to maroon/ purple color and the texture is knotty with a small seed in the center.

Red Bayberry is a native of Asia and you can find them growing in China, Japan, Taiwan, Korea etc. It was recorded that this berry has been around for more than 2000 years. The tree itself is used in garden horticulture landscaping so it goes to show that this is a beautiful tree. 

Red Bayberry medicinal properties...

Quote...is unusually rich in oligomeric proanthocyanidins (OPCs), the most powerful class of free-radical-scavenging antioxidants. OPCs are believed to support every metabolic system in the body by protecting it against internal and environmental stresses.

Twenty times more powerful than Vitamin C and 50 times more potent than Vitamin E, OPCs are said to defend against cardiovascular diseases, degenerative diseases, and premature aging.

OPCs have also been shown to boost the immune system, lower blood pressure and help lower LDL cholesterol levels. OPCs also increase the strength and elasticity of blood vessels while slowing down the collapse of collagen, keeping skin firm, and inhibit the growth of cancer cells (3)....

Due to my persisting cough which my doctor told me that medicine is just to numb the throat so it is better to let it cough and clear the lungs. Too much coughing started me looking for fruits that will nourish my internal organs which we Chinese believes play an important part in balancing our energy.

Enjoy reading and if you are able to buy this fruit in its fresh form, I am sure you will enjoy it. One more thing, I soak these berries in salt solution to clear insects that may be hidden in the knotty texture and the fruits are even more yummy!!!