Health Benefits of Pumpkin Seeds

Nuts and seeds make up part of a healthy and balanced diet. Pumpkin seeds, also called pepitas, boost your intake of several essential nutrients. While both raw and roasted pumpkin seeds offer health benefits, raw pumpkin seeds offer more nutritional value because some nutrients are destroyed during the roasting process. Adding a few tablespoons of pumpkin seeds into a salad or in a trail mix with nuts and dried fruits is a really easy way to incorporate these tasty seeds that are also really good for you into your diet.

Pumpkin seeds can be boiled, baked or eaten raw. They are low-calorie, high-nutritive snacks and can help improve various physical conditions including prostate and bladder problems, as well as depression.

Maintains prostate heath

Since ages, pumpkin seeds have been considered as an important natural food for men's health. Due to their high zinc content, which is important for prostate health (where it is found in the highest concentrations in the body), research suggests that both pumpkin seed oil and pumpkin seeds may be particularly beneficial in supporting prostate health as well as treating benign prostatic hyperplasia.

Depression Treatment

Depression can be caused by a chemical imbalance. A chemical that the body makes from tryptophan called 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) regulates behavior. It can have a positive effect on sleep, anxiety, mood, appetite and pain, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. For mild to moderate depression, 5-HTP can be an effective treatment.

Rich in B Vitamins

Pumpkin kernels are also excellent source of B-complex group of vitamins such as thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B6 and folate. B vitamins are really important for metabolising energy, and if you are a busy person with a lot of stress, you want to ensure you are getting enough vitamin B. Pumpkin healthy seeds are better than any vitamin pill!

For a good heart

A quarter cup of pumpkin seeds contains nearly half of the recommended daily amount of magnesium that is essential for your heart formation and maintanence. It helps control your blood pressure and prevent sudden cardiac arrest, heart attack, and stroke.

Improves immune system

A rich source of zinc, pumpkin seeds help to regulate the immune system and decrease the risk of viral infections like cold and flu, chronic fatigue, depression, among others.

Rich Iron Source

Iron is often associated with red meat, but pumpkin seeds are an awesome way for vegans to get iron. Just one serving (30 grams) of pumpkin seeds will provide 20-30% of the recommended daily allowance of iron. It is really important to get enough iron so that your body can make new red blood cells, and too little iron can lead to anaemia. So get munching on pumpkin seeds to increase the iron levels in your system.

Reduces risk of diabetes

According to research, pumpkin seeds may help in improving insulin regulation, thereby preventing diabetic complications by decreasing oxidative stress.

Regulate sleep

Having pumpkin seeds a few hours before bed, along with a small piece of fruit, is especially beneficial as it provides your body the tryptophan needed for your melatonin and serotonin production to help promote a restful night's sleep.

Health Benefits of Ginger Tea

Ginger is not often used by the majority of Americans, even though it commonly appears in the kitchens of countries across the globe. With so many healthy properties to it, it makes sense to start adding this to more of your dishes, or to start brewing a daily glass of ginger tea. It’s easy enough to make ginger tea, simply add boiling water to slices of ginger root.

Ginger tea can be made of by peeling off and cutting ginger roots in thin slices. Then add the ginger slices in boiled water and cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Strain the tea and enjoy it hot. You can add a little bit of lemon or honey just to enhance the taste of the tea.

Fights Cancer

There are particular cancers that ginger has been shown to help treat, including ovarian cancer. Research has proven that ginger can act to literally obliterate ovarian cancer cells. Even more promising is that the cells actually end up killing and attacking themselves. This is good news for those that already have cancer, and reason enough to start having more ginger show up in your diet if you’re currently cancer-free.

Reduces Migraine Pain

Ginger can be effective for stopping the onset of migraines. Take one-third of a teaspoon of fresh or powdered ginger at the first sign of a migraine. It may reduce your symptoms because ginger helps block prostaglandins, which are chemicals that cause inflammation in your blood vessels.

Reduces Motion Sickness

It helps to get an effective remedy from nausea associated with motion sickness. It also prevents vomiting during long distance trips. Due to ginger’s anti-emetic properties, it is advised to drink one cup of ginger tea before traveling. It prevents nausea effectively.

Helps with Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Those suffering from IBS will be happy to note that getting more ginger should spell relief from the symptoms of the condition. The interesting thing to note is that it doesn’t seem to matter how you get the ginger into your system, whether including more ginger root in your cooking, taking ginger supplements, or brewing ginger tea, they all seem to have a calming effect on the bowels and digestive system.

Protects Against Alzheimer’s Disease

If Alzheimer’s runs in your family, or you are just worried about coming down with the debilitating disease, you should think about incorporating more ginger into your diet and daily routine. Research has shown that ginger helps to slow down the loss of brain cells that typically is a precursor to Alzheimer’s. By protecting and preserving these cells you are prolonging the amount of good years you have being alert and coherent and aware of your surroundings.

Reduces Digestive Disorders

It accelerates digestion process by contributing to stomach acids release. This herb can be used to address indigestion & flatulence.

Fight Against Cold

Drinking a cup of ginger tea can be good for you especially when you are suffering from common respiratory problems like cough and runny nose. This will loosen your phlegm and clear the respiratory system. It helps in permanent sneezing and hay fever. Its spreads a warm feeling throughout the body and makes you really fresh.

Helps in Relieving Pain

It has its own anti-inflammatory properties. Ginger tea can reduce different types of pain like arthritic pain, joint pain, muscle pain etc. Drinking a cup of tea daily can assist prevention of joint and muscle pain but also help with fatigue relief. Drinking ginger tea has been used to relieve symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis and Raynaud's syndrome.

Reduces Stress Level

A cup of ginger tea can change your mood dramatically. It leaves the feeling of freshness and tranquility for a long time. Its taste dispels all your sorrows and negative thoughts during a bad day. Ginger brew is also a great remedy for stressful moments.

Improves Immune System

It strengthens immunity by the help of its anti-oxidant properties. Even one cup of tea a day helps reduce the potential risk of stroke, since ginger acts by breaking down fat deposits which block the arteries. Ginger also results in restoring cholesterol levels to normal and preventing cancer. It slows the growth of colorectal & ovarian cancer cells.

Olive Oil: What are the Health Benefits?

The health benefits of olive oil are extensive with new positive attributes discovered constantly. One prominent cardiologist recommends a minimum of two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil each day to enjoy the numerous ways olive oil can be beneficial to your health and well being.

Throughout the ages, olive oil has been widely used for medicinal as well as culinary purposes. It has been claimed to aid digestion, to obstruct ageing, to prevent liver disorders, to aid bone growth, to strengthen nails, to heal tissues, to lower blood pressure, to treat acne and also to soothe neonatal skin, to name but a few.

Cancer

The phytonutrient in olive oil, oleocanthal, mimics the result of ibuprofen in reducing inflammation, which could decrease the risk of breast cancer and its recurrence. Squalene and lignans are some of the other olive oil components being studied for their possible effects on cancer.

Heart Benefits

It appears like a simple change, but switching from saturated fats to monounsaturated fat to prepare your food can establish big benefits. Researchers have shown that the phytochemicals in olive oil can fight cholesterol and prevent heart disease. On this page you'll discover why "thinning" the blood with phytochemicals produces these health benefits.

They work to reduce pain

Olives have a compound called oleocanthal that has been proven to have strong anti-inflammatory properties, mimicking the action of ibuprofen. Olive oil naturally reduces the pain of chronic inflammatory diseases such as arthritis and can be put into a daily diet to aid in pain reduction.

Osteoporosis

A high consumption of olive oil seems to improve bone mineralization and calcification. It helps calcium absorption and so plays an important role in helping sufferers and in preventing the onset of Osteoporosis.

Inflammation

Inflammation is the immune system's first line of defense against injury and infection. It is a natural process that is designed to heal. But too much of the good thing can be painful and ultimately harmful to the body, even going as far as causing organ damage and diabetes. Fortunately, olive oil has a substance called oleocanthal that controls inflammation

Anti-aging supplement

Olive oil is high in antioxidants, including vitamin E. Antioxidants are nutritional powerhouses that protect against age-accelerating free radicals. Medical studies have indicated that diets don't have any vitamin E accelerate the breakdown of certain fatty acids, a process which invariably results in aging.

Oxidative Stress

Olive oil is rich in antioxidants, especially vitamin E, long considered to minimize cancer risk. Among plant oils, olive oil is the highest in monounsaturated fat, which doesn’t oxidize within the body, and it’s low in polyunsaturated fat, the type that does oxidize.

Cancer Benefits

There was previously a time when medical researchers linked various cancers towards the amount of fat in our diets. Now, many think that the type of fat is more important compared to amount. There is plenty of controversy and much research left to become done on the role olive oil may participate in the fight against cancer. But some people believe it can lower your risk of colon, prostate, and breast cancer, and on this page you'll discover why.

Diabetes

It has been demonstrated that a diet that is rich in olive oil, lower in saturated fats, moderately rich in carbohydrates and dietary fiber from fruit, vegetables, pulses and grains is easily the most effective approach for diabetics. It helps lower “bad” low-density lipoproteins while improving blood sugar control and enhances insulin sensitivity.