Artichokes or globe artichokes are round green vegetables that have fleshy leaves arranged like the petals of a flower. It is a vegetable plant.
Artichoke leaf extract is a herbal supplement and complementary medicine that is thought to lower cholesterol, reduce stomach problems, and increase bile production.
Artichokes are low in fat, high in fiber, and loaded with vitamins and minerals like vitamin C, vitamin K, folate, phosphorus, and magnesium. They are also one of the richest sources of antioxidants.

Artichoke Benefits:
1. They’re full of nutrients.
Artichokes are chock-full of important nutrients, like vitamin C, vitamin A, and iron, “as well as potassium and antioxidants.

2, They contain a ton of protein.
In addition to its wide nutrition profile,”artichokes offer more protein than many other vegetables at 3.5 grams per serving.

3. They’re high in fiber.
Artichokes are a great source of fibre, which can help keep your digestive system healthy by promoting friendly gut bacteria, reducing your risk of certain bowel cancers, and alleviating constipation and diarrhoea.

4. They may boost your immune system.
Orange juice isn’t the only thing that’ll help keep you from contracting your co-worker’s cold. In fact, the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry ranked artichokes high up on the list of immune-boosting, antioxidant-rich foods.

5. May help lower blood pressure.
Artichoke extract may help lower blood pressure in people with already elevated levels.

6. May improve heart health
Artichoke leaf extract may protect your liver from damage and promote the growth of new tissue. It also increases the production of bile, which helps remove harmful toxins from your liver.

7. May help lower blood sugar
Artichokes and artichoke leaf extract may help lower blood sugar levels.Some evidence suggests that artichokes and artichoke leaf extract may lower blood sugar levels.

8. Aa an antioxidant
Artichokes contain the highest levels of antioxidants of any vegetable (polyphenols, flavonoids, anthocyanins among others) and are loaded with an army of beneficial nutrients that can protect the body from cancer.

HOW IT IS TAKEN
Artichoke can be taken in its natural form as vegetable or as a supplement.

Artichokes are an extremely nutritious, low-carb food that may provide numerous health benefits.
Regular consumption of artichoke extract may aid cholesterol levels, blood pressure, liver health, IBS, indigestion, and blood sugar levels.
Take Artichoke today and stay healthy!

Written by Sarah Amah

What is green tea?

Green tea is made from unoxidized leaves and is one of the least processed types of tea. For this reason, it contains the most antioxidants and beneficial Polyphenols.

Why do you need green tea?
-Green tea in traditional Chinese and Indian medicine is used to control bleeding and heal wounds.

-Green tea is also used traditionally to aid digestion and regulate body temperature.

-Green tea human studies have shown that drinking green tea helps to prevent the overall risk of cancer.

-The catechins in green tea plays a role in increasing energy metabolism, thereby aiding weight loss.

-Green tea has anti-inflammatory properties. A review of human clinical studies that green tea and its major component, epigallocatechin-3-gallate(EGCG), have demonstrable anti-inflammatory effects.

-Green tea reduces risk of cardiovascular health, research has shown that green tea consumption is associated with reduced mortality due to cardiovascular health.

-Green tea lowers bad cholesterol levels. Studies has shown that consuming green tea, either as beverage or capsule was linked to significant reductions in total low-density lipoprotein cholesterol.

-Green tea can enhance a person’s working memory and other cognitive functions.

-Green tea helps to prevent dental cavities, stress and chronic fatigue.

-Green tea treat skin conditions and improves arthritis by reducing inflammation.

Conclusively, Green tea has one of the highest concentrations of antioxidants of any tea. It is naturally low in calories and contains less caffeine than black tea.

Green tea is a must have for everyone and can be consumed as tea or in its capsule form making it even easier to maintain a healthier life.

 

Written by: Immaculate Amalu

Lycopene is a bright-red carotenoid hydrocarbon found in tomatoes and other red fruits and vegetables such as watermelon, red carrots etc.
Lycopene is a powerful antioxidant with many health benefits, including sun protection, improve heart health, and lower the risk of certain type of cancer.

Lycopene can be found in supplement and also in Lycopene-rich foods like tomatoes and other red or pink fruits.

Strong Antioxidant Properties

Lycopene is an antioxidant in the carotenoid family. Antioxidants protect your body from damage caused by compounds known as free radicals.

When free radical levels outnumber antioxidant levels, they can create oxidative stress in your body. This stress is linked to certain chronic diseases, such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease and Alzheimer’s.

Research shows that lycopene’s antioxidant properties can help keep free radical levels in balance, protecting your body against some of these conditions.

May Promote Heart Health

Lycopene may also help lower your risk of developing or prematurely dying from heart disease.

That’s in part because it may reduce heart disease risk factors. More specifically, it may reduce free-radical damage, total and “bad” LDL cholesterol levels and increase “good” HDL cholesterol.

High blood levels of lycopene may also add years to the lives of people with metabolic syndrome — a combination of health conditions that can lead to heart disease.

Over a 10-year period, researchers noted that individuals with metabolic disease who had the highest blood lycopene levels had up to a 39% lower risk of dying prematurely.

In another 10-year study, diets rich in this nutrient were linked to a 17–26% lower risk of heart disease. A recent review further associates high blood levels of lycopene with a 31% lower risk of stroke.

Lycopene’s protective effects appear particularly beneficial to those with low blood antioxidant levels or high levels of oxidative stress. This includes older adults and people who smoke or have diabetes or heart disease.

May Protect Against Sunburn

Lycopene also appears to offer some protection against the damaging effects of the sun.

In one small 12-week study, participants were exposed to UV rays before and after consuming either 16 mg of lycopene from tomato paste or a placebo. Participants in the tomato paste group had less severe skin reactions to the UV exposure.

In another 12-week study, daily intake of 8–16 mg of lycopene, either from food or supplements, helped reduce the intensity of skin redness following exposure to UV rays by 40–50%.

In this study, supplements providing a mix of lycopene and other carotenoids were more effective against UV damage than those providing lycopene alone.

That said, lycopene’s protection against UV damage is limited and not considered a good replacement for using sunscreen.

Other Potential Benefits

Lycopene may also offer a range of other health benefits — the best-researched ones include:

• May help your eyesight: Lycopene may prevent or delay the formation of cataracts and reduce your risk of macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in older adults.
• May reduce pain: Lycopene may help reduce neuropathic pain, a type of pain caused by nerve and tissue damage.
• May protect your brain: Lycopene’s antioxidant properties may help prevent seizures and memory loss experienced in age-related diseases, such as Alzheimer’s.
• May contribute to stronger bones: Lycopene’s antioxidant action may slow down the death of bone cells, reinforce bone architecture and help keep bones healthy and strong.

HOW IT IS TAKEN
Lycopene is primarily available in capsule and soft-gel form daily with meals. Fruits that are rich in Lycopene are:
1. Tomatoes

2. Watermelon

3. Pink grapefruit

4. Pink guava

5. Papaya (pawpaw)

6. Red carrots.

 

Written by: Sarah Amah & Omojo Emeje

Reference: Healthline

 

Pineapple Fruit

Pineapple is a biennial plant, meaning it bears fruit about every two years. Smaller fruits or berries fuse into one large pine cone-shaped fruit with the stem at its core. The skin or rind is rough, thick, waxy and yellow-orange with maybe a hint of red. The colour of its succulent, fibrous flesh ranges from white to yellow.

What are the Uses of Pineapple?

How is pineapple used? It is juiced, sliced, dehydrated/ dried, pickled and canned for commercial use. It’s also an ingredient in lots of food items, including wine, preserves, jams, candy, yogurt, cakes, pastries and pizza. The nutrients make it a beneficial food for those concerned with health and healthy eating. Supplements may be listed as pineapple powder, pineapple juice powder, pineapple powder fruit extract, organic pineapple powder, pineapple protein powder and pineapple enzyme powder, but they’re mostly the same. Organic pineapple powder is non-GMO and free of additives, preservatives, artificial colors, flavors and fillers. Pineapple enzyme/ protein powder can be solely bromelain.

What are the Nutrients in Pineapple Powder?

The pineapple fruit and stem are loaded with nutrients that are transported to supplements. The production process is designed to preserve them. Pineapple powder or pineapple extract powder is abundant in dietary fibre, vitamins B1, B6 and C, minerals manganese, potassium, magnesium, iron and calcium, antioxidant phytonutrients like beta carotene and beneficial enzymes including bromelain. There are some vitamin A, B2, B5 and B9 or folate (x). It is also low in calories and have zero fat.

Bromelain

What is bromelain? The aforementioned beneficial enzymes are collectively called bromelain. They’re proteolytic and found mainly in the pineapple stem. Proteolytic means they can break long polypeptide chains of amino acids/ proteins into shorter chains called peptides. As mentioned, bromelain could be isolated and sold as a separate extract. Research though limited, suggests that many of the potential health benefits in pineapple are due to these enzymes. By the way, you may be familiar with bromelain as a meat tenderizer.

What are the Health Benefits of Pineapple Powder?

What is pineapple powder good for? The pineapple fruit has been used in traditional medicine to trigger menstruation, induce early labor and to rid the body of worms and parasites. Considering the potential benefits of the powder extract today, research suggest that the nutrients and enzymes may treat, prevent or promote a number of conditions, including:

• Digestion
• Inflammatory issues
• Diuretic effects
• Immunity
• Heart health
• Cancer
• Macular degeneration
• Healthy skin
• Muscle mass and function
• Fertility

No medical evidence supports pineapple powder or any pineapple powder extract’s ability to treat or cure diseases. Always consult your healthcare provider for diagnoses, accurate medical information and permission before taking any supplements.

Digestion

We’ve learned that bromelain enzymes break down long chain protein molecules into smaller chains. Studies show that this makes digestion and absorption easier, and speeds up metabolism. It may also decrease gut inflammation, which could benefit individuals who suffer from ailments such as Crohn’s disease, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and inhibit harmful effects of bacteria like E. coli.

Anti-inflammatory Agent

Several studies on the consumption of pineapple juice reveal the possibility of additional anti-inflammatory effects. So, pineapple juice powder may also reduce inflammation and pain due to trauma, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis and surgery.

Diuretic Effects

Like the pineapple itself, pineapple powder or pineapple powder fruit extract may eliminate toxins from our body via urine. This could help individuals with kidney, bladder and prostate issues. The dietary fibre may promote regular bowel movements.

Immunity

Pineapple powder may help our immune system function better, according to research observations, because of its cartload of antioxidants vitamin C, beta carotene and the bromelain enzymes. We know that vitamin C and the flavonoid protect our cells from free radical damage and build or stimulate our immunity. Bromelain also seems able to quicken recovery from sinus infections and pulmonary issues such as asthma and bronchitis.

Heart Health

Though more research is needed on human subjects for a decisive conclusion, studies suggest that the bromelain in pineapple juice (and pineapple juice powder) may lower blood pressure levels and act as a natural blood thinner, preventing blood clots. This has the potential to benefit patients with cardiovascular diseases. The high potassium may also help because of possible hypertension-reducing qualities.

Cancer

A handful of research studies show bromelain to be an excellent fighter against a number of cancers, including gastrointestinal, colon, ovarian and skin. The antioxidant beta-carotene seems to help in this arena as well.

Macular Degeneration

Research results imply that the vitamin C in pineapple, pineapple juice, and therefore pineapple powder, may decrease the risk of cataracts by increasing the vitamin C in the fluid in our eyes. Also, our bodies use beta carotene to help make vitamin A, which is necessary for good vision.

Healthy Skin

How does pineapple powder extract increase skin health? Remember pineapple contains a rich supply of antioxidants beta carotene and vitamin C. Both show ability to help wounds heal (by inducing collagen production), prevent skin damage from the sun’s ultraviolet rays and other environmental pollutants, and to help maintain the skin’s overall appearance. They also slow wrinkles and other signs of aging.

Muscle Mass and Function

The bromelain proteases may help increase muscle mass. Smaller chains of amino acids get into the bloodstream and reach the muscles faster. This helps athletes like body builders recover quicker from strenuous workouts. It may also help them build muscle mass. In addition, the amount of potassium in pineapple protein powder is enough to affect muscle function by helping the body maintain fluid balance. This is necessary for muscle contraction.

Fertility

Studies suggest that B-vitamins, vitamin C and potassium may stimulate reproductive hormones in both women and men.

 

Written by: Omojo Emeje

A Carrot Legend

During World War II, the British publicized that consuming large quantities of carrots gave them clear night vision, so they were able to shoot down German aircrafts. The fable was concocted to hide the fact that it was really the use of radar that gave them success. Today we can “weaponise” carrots in the form of carrot powder for our good health and we don’t have to lie about it.

What is Carrot Powder?

Carrot powder is manufactured from grinding dried or dehydrated carrots. The technique ensures the preservation of the vital nutrients found in the root vegetable, while making it into a more readily available supplement for individuals such as athletes and those who want to boost their nutrition or diet. Organic carrot powder/ carrot juice powder is free of GMOs, preservatives, artificial colours, flavours, fillers, sweeteners, and other additives. The color of the powder depends on the variety of carrot used.

Where did it originate? Who developed it first? We would have to travel 5,000 plus years back to Afghanistan, the native land of the carrot. Early Afghans had a choice of wild varieties and cultivated them mostly for their seeds and flavour.

What are the Nutrients in Carrot Powder?

The antioxidant phytocompound beta carotene comes to mind when we think about the nutrients in carrot powder. But like carrots, it contains other great stuff. So, what other nutrients does the supplement contain? Carrot root powder is also loaded with other antioxidant flavonoids or carotenoids such as lutein and lycopene and phenolic acids, vitamins A, C and K, minerals potassium, calcium and iron, and dietary fiber. It also contains some B-vitamins, vitamin E, and minerals magnesium and phosphorus.

What are the Benefits of Carrot Powder?

What is carrot powder used for? Researchers suggest that the nutrients in carrot powder/ carrot root powder/ carrot juice powder may provide us with a number of important health benefits. The carotenoids, phenolic acids and vitamin C for instance, have vital antioxidant properties which prevent free radical cell damage, inflammation, and microbial infections. Other benefits from the flavonoids and the other nutrients include promoting good eye health, supporting heart and cardiovascular function, maintaining appropriate blood glucose levels, preventing cancer, and promoting skin health and overall wellness. Always consult your healthcare provider for diagnoses, accurate medical information and permission before taking any supplements. There’s no medical evidence to support the powder curing, treating or preventing disease.

Antioxidant Properties/ Immune Support

Several studies imply that vitamin C, carotenoids such as beta carotene and lutein, and phenolic acids such as the hydroxycinnamic acids, which are abundant in the powder or carrot juice powder, may support our immune system in three crucial ways:

1. Battling free radicals from damaging our immune cells by decreasing their ability to create oxidative stress. Damaged cells often lead to chronic diseases and abnormal growths such as cancer. Research suggest that the antioxidant compounds may be effective in lowering those risks by gobbling up the free radicals before they can do any harm.

2. Preventing inflammation. Evidence has established that carrots, and by proxy carrot powder, contain high concentrations of the anti-inflammatory phenolic compounds. These compounds may have the ability to treat issues such as inflammatory bowel disorders (IBD), asthma and rheumatism.

3. Strengthening the immune system to help fight off infections from viruses, bacteria and other microbes. A strong immune system also enhances our overall health and well-being.

Good Vision

How does carrot root powder promote good eye health? Beta carotene (which is converted into vitamin A) along with lutein and zeaxanthin, are crucial for eyesight. Studies show that they are especially important in preventing or reducing issues such as macular degeneration, glaucoma, cataracts and night blindness. These conditions become more prevalent as one ages. For instance, the macular or retina, which is at the center of our eyes, need healthy concentrations of both lutein and zeaxanthin to stimulate or enhance healthy vision. These compounds tend to decrease as we get older.

The antioxidant vitamin C is another vital compound for healthy vision. Studies show that it has the potential to protect our eyes from free radical damage as it does for the other cells in our bodies.

Heart and Cardiovascular Function

Studies indicate that the risk of heart and cardiovascular disease such as atherosclerosis and stroke may be lowered by phytochemical flavonoids, vitamins, minerals and fiber. How do these bioactive compounds improve heart and cardio function?

As we have seen, carrot root powder has these compounds, especially the flavonoids and vitamin C, in high enough quantities that their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties can benefit our heart and circulatory system. Studies also show that flavonoids and dietary fibre may help lower the bad LDL cholesterol in our bloodstream. Additionally, the mineral potassium may support healthy blood pressure levels.

Help with Diabetes

How can carrot powder help people with diabetes? Scientists determine that the dietary fiber in the powder may lower blood glucose levels, which diabetics must keep under control. The fiber also increases satiety because it is slow to digest. This prevents diabetics from gaining weight, a situation that can also cause adverse effects.

Skin Health

According to research, beta carotene, lutein and lycopene, which are found in carrot juice powder, may help to promote healthy glowing skin and skin color. These carotenoids are also crucial in wound healing. They help the skin heal faster, while staving off infections and inflammation. As a matter of fact, the early Afghans realised that the nutrients in carrots had the  potential to heal their cuts and infections. Carotenoids may also have the potential to reduce wrinkles, age spots and other signs of aging.

 

Written by: Omojo Emeje

Papain is a proteolytic enzyme extracted from the raw fruit of the papaya plant. Proteolytic enzymes help break proteins down into smaller protein fragments called peptides and amino acids. This is why papain is a popular ingredient in meat tenderizer.

You can get papain from eating raw papaya. Papain is also available in topical, chewable, and capsule forms. You can purchase papain-only supplements or supplements that pair papain with other enzymes, such as bromelain.

Papain is a popular folk remedy to reduce pain, inflammation, and swelling. It has also been used to improve digestion and to treat infections, diarrhea, and allergies. It’s also being studied for potential use in cancer and other diseases.

1. It may help ease sore throat

 

Written by: Omojo Emeje

What is Selenium ?

Selenium is a trace mineral in form of selenoproteins in the body that is essential to human health and carries out various functions in normal health and metabolism. In particular, glutathione peroxidase, a selenoprotein performs antioxidant activities that protects against reactive oxygen and nitrogen species. Furthermore, Iodothyronine deiodinases that converts inactive thyroxine to active thyroid hormone, triiodothyronine, are selenium-dependent.

WHY DO YOU NEED SELENIUM?
Selenium plays an important role in the immune system functioning , this antioxidant helps lower oxidative stress in your body, which reduces inflammation and enhances immunity. In addition, selenium supplements or selenium derived from food may help strengthen immune system in people with influenza, tuberculosis, hepatitis C and HIV thereby decreasing disease progression in the body.

Selenium is used for selenium deficiency, a disease that causes underactive thyroid (autoimmune thyroiditis) and high blood pressure during pregnancy. It is also used for diseases of the heart and blood vessels including stroke, abnormal cholesterol levels as well as many other conditions.
The mineral selenium is essential for healthy thyroid functions, among other things. Your thyroid regulates your weight by regulating your metabolism, so an active thyroid increases metabolism leading to weight loss. Studies also suggest that taking a selenium rich food may help prevent mental decline and improve memory loss in people with Alzheimer’s disease.

HOW CAN YOU GET ENOUGH SELENIUM FOR YOUR BODY?

Selenium can be taken as a supplement, as there are many selenium supplements used to increase its level in the body. Selenium can be gotten from foods such as pork, turkey, chicken, fish, shellfish and eggs. All these foods has high selenium in it.

Conclusively, selenium is important for making body processes work correctly from immunity to metabolism and to increased actions of antioxidants in the body.

Now you know why you need selenium! Shop now for yours!! http://backup.troopharm.com/product/nature-s-field-selenium-200mg/

 

Written by: Immaculate Amalu