APRICOTS

Apricots:
Apricots are small, golden orange fruits, with velvety skin and flesh: not too juicy but definitely smooth and sweet. Their flavor is almost musky, with a faint tartness that is more pronounced when the fruit is dried. Some people think of the flavor as being somewhere between a peach and a plum, fruits to which they're closely related.
History:
Apricots are originally from China but arrived in Europe via Armenia, which is why the scientific name is Prunus armenaica. The apricot tree came to Virginia in 1720 but its appearance in the Spanish missions of California around 1792 marked the fruit's real arrival. The climate there is perfectly suited to apricot culture, and apricots in the United States are grown primarily in the sunny orchards of California.
Apricots are enjoyed as a fresh fruit but also dried, cooked into pastry, and eaten as jam. The fruits are also distilled into brandy and liqueur. Essential oil from the pits is sold commercially as bitter almond oil. Turkey, Italy, Russia, Spain, Greece, U.S.A. and France are the leading producers of apricots.

Health Benefits of Apricots:
These berries are high in fiber healthy, rich in beta carotene, as well as a number of nutrients for health.
Apricots are rich in vitamin A, which is a powerful antioxidant, prevents free radical damage in tissues and cells. Especially in the eyes and vision are very useful, such as free radicals can act in Qatar and macular degeneration and destruction of blood flow leading to the eye. "It is obvious that fruits rich in vitamin A, carrots are a better appearance.

The high fiber damask is very helpful for digestion, constipation, diverticulosis, and also the prevention of stomach cancer.
Although most fruits, apricots, part of the fruit such as apricots, benefits, and how much, if not more, than some of its biggest "cousins" are.
In addition to fresh apricots, you can buy in jars or cans, as well as pickles and jams, and dried. It is also sold alcohol.
Not as juicy as other fruits, are excellent, if sliced ​​and served with a salad, cereal, oatmeal, pancakes, etc., will add flavor to food without the "wet".
Dried apricots are healthy and in other areas, where fresh vegetables are not likely to help. The amount of the increase in calcium, iron and phosphorus in the scores, but also calories.
Apricots, fresh and canned food, especially in a dry, antioxidants that help prevent heart disease.
The stone contains a walnut, apricot, rich in protein and fat than others. It has a high content of reports laetrile (vitamin B17) to be very effective in preventing cancer. Laetrile cancer treatment uses high doses of vitamin B17 to reduce tumors.
Break the rocks, like little seeds, remove seeds and grinding. In salads, or mix with honey to easily integrate the system.
You can also break all the rocks and steep in boiling water, infused with a little "juice" of fruits or other lemon in honey to sweeten, if necessary.
However, the kernel is often used as a potentially toxic if misused. You can produce hydrogen cyanide (HCN), for use in a piece of clothing is sometimes good enough. Or you can toast the seeds before using. Roast destroy harmful cyanide.
These cores were used to extract the oil, like almond oil to relieve muscular tension using a sedative antispasmodic. Helps heal wounds and expel worms and is a tonic for good health in general. Apricot oil is in the process and treated to eliminate any toxicity FFPA, ie free of hydrogen cyanide
This was the kernel, oil, flowers, leaves and fruits of apricots used since antiquity for medicinal purposes.
The seeds have a flavor a bit, "as apricot kernel, and are in fact related. They are often used in conjunction with almonds and candied fruit. A common mistake is the style of the button "Amaretti Sarronno" made with almonds, which is actually made from apricot seeds.

Anemia:
A high iron content of apricots is good in the fight against anemia and contains small amounts of copper, helps the body absorb iron.
Prolonged consumption of large quantities of apricot was known for the production of hemoglobin, which makes it very useful to increase after the period, particularly in women with heavy flow.

Constipation:
Apricots contain pectin and cellulose, which acts as a mild laxative and helps in the treatment of constipation. Cellulose is an insoluble fiber which, in the chair, and pectin helps keep water, mud and soft.

Digestion:
They eat apricots, before a meal stimulates digestion, because the alkaline to neutralize acids.

Fever:
Apricots can help fever. Preparation of a liquid or dilute with a little honey "apricot and water. This relieves thirst, fever, quiet and clean the system and the addition of vitamins and minerals.

Skin:
This time, with the leaves of apricot. Pass through a food processor or blender to get the juice, the juice is the burning of calm and tranquility, or itching caused by sunburn, eczema and scabies.
The flesh of the apricot is good for clearing acne skin problems and others, thanks to its high vitamin content. Apricot scrub, often contain.
The content of the apricot is rich in minerals which makes them useful for anemia, blood poisoning, asthma, bronchitis and tuberculosis.
You can also contribute to the risk of cancer of the larynx, pharynx, esophagus and lungs.
Apricot helps destroy and expel worms, and it helps dissolve and remove gallstones.

The nutritional value of apricots are as follows:
Vitamins A, B, C, thiamine, calcium, carbohydrates, protein and phosphorus.
100 g apricots are about 50 calories.
Dried apricots have a value much greater than the cost of food because the nutrients are concentrated. Only 5 kg of fresh apricots 1 kg dry. The high concentration of nutrients, beyond the fact that the number of calories can be increased. Dried apricots, with 12 iron, fiber-7, and five times more vitamin A multiplication
I firmly believe in progress for the "pharmacy of natural" foods, especially fruits and apricot is one of my favorites. Droughts and charges may be added to food during cooking, add a delicious flavor and the nutrients wonderful. They are widely used in the kitchen, Turkey and Morocco, in specific uses.

It is claimed that vitamin B17 helps in the prevention of cancer. Apricot seed has the highest percentage of B17 in any fruits and consuming this seed will help prevent cancer.
Vitamin B17, and hence apricot seed, also helps to lower high blood pressure
Helps to reduce pain associated with arthritis.
Help to maintain the general health and well-being. Hence, it will strengthen the ability to resist infections like colds and flu.

Protect Your Eyesight:
Your mother may have told you carrots would keep your eyes bright as a child, but as an adult, it looks like fruit is even more important for keeping your sight. Data reported in a study published in the Archives of Opthamology indicates that eating 3 or more servings of fruit per day may lower your risk of age-related macular degeneration (ARMD), the primary cause of vision loss in older adults, by 36%, compared to persons who consume less than 1.5 servings of fruit daily.
In this study, which involved over 100,000 women and men, researchers evaluated the effect of study participants' consumption of fruits; vegetables; the antioxidant vitamins A, C, and E; and carotenoids on the development of early ARMD or neovascular ARMD, a more severe form of the illness associated with vision loss. Food intake information was collected periodically for up to 18 years for women and 12 years for men.
While, surprisingly, intakes of vegetables, antioxidant vitamins and carotenoids were not strongly related to incidence of either form of ARMD, fruit intake was definitely protective against the severe form of this vision-destroying disease.
Three servings of fruit may sound like a lot to eat each day, but by simply tossing a banana into your morning smoothie or slicing it over your cereal, topping off a cup of yogurt or green salad with a half cup of berries, and snacking on an apricot, you've reached this goal.

CAULIFLOWER

Cauliflower:
All cruciferous vegetables provide integrated nourishment across a wide variety of nutritional categories and provide broad support across a wide variety of body systems as well. For more on cruciferous vegetables see:
Eating Healthy with Cruciferous Vegetables
Feeling Great with Cruciferous Vegetables
Cauliflower, a cruciferous vegetable, is in the same plant family as broccoli, kale, cabbage and collards. It has a compact head (called a "curd"), with an average size of six inches in diameter, composed of undeveloped flower buds. The flowers are attached to a central stalk. When broken apart into separate buds, cauliflower looks like a little tree, something that many kids are fascinated by.
Surrounding the curd are ribbed, coarse green leaves that protect it from sunlight, impeding the development of chlorophyll. While this process contributes to the white coloring of most of the varieties, cauliflower can also be found in light green and purple colors. Between these leaves and the florets are smaller, tender leaves that are edible.
Raw cauliflower is firm yet a bit spongy in texture. It has a slightly sulfurous and faintly bitter flavor.
The milk, sweet, almost nutty flavor of cauliflower is at its best from December through March when it is in season and most plentiful in your local markets.
History:
Cauliflower traces its ancestry to the wild cabbage, a plant thought to have originated in ancient Asia Minor, which resembled kale or collards more than the vegetable that we now know it to be.
The cauliflower went through many transformations and reappeared in the Mediterranean region, where it has been an important vegetable in Turkey and Italy since at least 600 B.C.
It gained popularity in France in the mid-16th century and was subsequently cultivated in Northern Europe and the British Isles. The United States, France, Italy, India, and China are countries that produce significant amounts of cauliflower.

Nutritional Profile:
Cauliflower is an excellent source of vitamin C, vitamin K, and folate. It is a very good source of vitamin B5, potassium, dietary fiber, manganese, and molybdenum. Additionally, it is a good source of protein, phosphorus, magnesium, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin B3, and iron.

Health Benefits:
While cauliflower is not a well-studied cruciferous vegetable from a health standpoint, you will find several dozen studies linking cauliflower-containing diets to cancer prevention, particularly with respect to the following types of cancer: bladder cancer, breast cancer, colon cancer, prostate cancer, and ovarian cancer. This connection between cauliflower and cancer prevention should not be surprising, since cauliflower provides special nutrient support for three body systems that are closely connected with cancer development as well as cancer prevention. These three systems are (1) the body's detox system, (2) its antioxidant system, and (3) its inflammatory/anti-inflammatory system. Chronic imbalances in any of these three systems can increase risk of cancer, and when imbalances in all three systems occur simultaneously, the risk of cancer increases significantly.

Detox Support Provided by Cauliflower:
The detox support provided by cauliflower includes antioxidant nutrients to boost Phase 1 detoxification activities and sulfur-containing nutrients to boost Phase 2 activities. Cauliflower also contains phytonutrients called glucosinolates that can help activate detoxification enzymes and regulate their activity. Three glucosinolates that have been clearly identified in cauliflower are glucobrassicin, glucoraphanin, and gluconasturtiian. While the glucosinolate content of cauliflower is definitely significant from a health standpoint, cauliflower contains about one-fourth as much total glucosinolates as Brussels sprouts, about one-half as much as Savoy cabbage, about 60% as much as broccoli, and about 70% as much as kale.
If we fail to give our body's detox system adequate nutritional support, yet continue to expose ourselves to unwanted toxins through our lifestyle and our dietary choices, we can place our bodies at increased risk of toxin-related damage that can eventually increase our cells' risk of becoming cancerous. That's one of the reasons it's so important to bring cauliflower and other cruciferous vegetables into our diet on a regular basis.

Cauliflower's Antioxidant Benefits:
As an excellent source of vitamin C, and a very good source of manganese, cauliflower provides us with two core conventional antioxidants. But its antioxidant support extends far beyond the conventional nutrients into the realm of phytonutrients. Beta-carotene, beta-cryptoxanthin, caffeic acid, cinnamic acid, ferulic acid, quercetin, rutin, and kaempferol are among cauliflower's key antioxidant phytonutrients. This broad spectrum antioxidant support helps lower the risk of oxidative stress in our cells. Chronic oxidative stress—meaning chronic presence over overly reactive oxygen-containing molecules and cumulative damage to our cells by these molecules—is a risk factor for development of most cancer types. By providing us with such a great array of antioxidant nutrients, cauliflower helps lower our cancer risk by helping us avoid chronic and unwanted oxidative stress.

Cauliflower's Anti-inflammatory Benefits:
As an excellent source of vitamin K, cauliflower provides us with one of the hallmark anti-inflammatory nutrients. Vitamin K acts as a direct regulator of our inflammatory response. In addition, one of the glucosinolates found in cauliflower—glucobrassicin—can be readily converted into an isothiocyanate molecule called ITC, or indole-3-carbinol. I3C is an anti-inflammatory compound that can actually operate at the genetic level, and by doing so, prevent the initiation of inflammatory responses at a very early stage.
Like chronic oxidative stress and chronic weakened detox ability, chronic unwanted inflammation can significantly increase our risk of cancers and other chronic diseases (especially cardiovascular diseases).

Cauliflower and Cardiovascular Support:
Scientists have not always viewed cardiovascular problems as having a central inflammatory component, but the role of unwanted inflammation in creating problems for our blood vessels and circulation has become increasingly fundamental to an understanding of cardiovascular diseases. The anti-inflammatory support provided by cauliflower (including its vitamin K and omega-3 content) makes it a food also capable of providing cardiovascular benefits. Of particular interest is its glucoraphanin content. Glucoraphanin is a glucosinolate that can be converted into the isothiocyanate (ITC) sulforaphane. Not only does sulforaphane trigger anti-inflammatory activity in our cardiovascular system—it may also be able to help prevent and even possibly help reverse blood vessel damage.

Cauliflower and Digestive Support:
The fiber content of cauliflower—nearly 12 grams in every 100 calories—makes this cruciferous vegetable a great choice for digestive system support. You're going to get nearly half of the fiber Daily Value from 200 calories' worth of cauliflower. Yet the fiber content of cauliflower is only one of its digestive support mechanisms. Researchers have determined that the sulforaphane made from a glucosinolate in cauliflower (glucoraphanin) can help protect the lining of your stomach. Sulforaphane provides you with this health benefit by preventing bacterial overgrowth of Helicobacter pylori in your stomach or too much clinging by this bacterium to your stomach wall.

Other Health Benefits from Cauliflower:
The anti-inflammatory nature of glucosinolates/isothiocyanates and other nutrients found in cauliflower has been the basis for new research on inflammation-related health problems and the potential role of cauliflower in their prevention. While current studies are examining the benefits of cruciferous vegetables as a group rather than cauliflower in particular, promising research is underway that should shed light on the potential benefits of cauliflower in relationship to our risk of the following inflammation-related health problems: Crohn's disease, inflammatory bowel disease, insulin resistance, irritable bowel syndrome, metabolic syndrome, obesity, rheumatoid arthritis, type 2 diabetes, and ulcerative colitis.