Tag Archives: zinc

Avocados – No longer a Forbidden Fruit

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The well known characteristics of fruit, which is light, low-calorie, and fat free, does not apply to the avocado. An avocado contains a lot of calories -360 or more. And it is also one of the few fruits with a measurable fat content, about 30 gr. each. That’s almost half the daily recommended amount for an adult.

If you have doubts about the fact that a food that contains so much fat could be good for you, ask a dietitian. He will tell you that adding some avocado to your diet, could actually improve your health.

Avocados have high folate and potassium content. They are also rich in fiber and monounsaturated fat, both are important for people who are concerned about diabetes and heart health.

A favorite part of a Diabetes Diet
People with diabetes have always been told to eat more carbohydrates and cut back on fat. In general that’s good advice, but it hasn’t to be the best advice for everyone.

Doctors have discovered that when some people with diabetes eat a lot of carbohydrates, they tend to develop high levels of triglycerides, a type of blood fat that may contribute to heart disease. However, when people replace some of those carbohydrates with fat that’s found in avocados, the dangerous fats in the bloodstream tend to decline.

The monounsaturated fat in avocados are called oleic acid. They have found that this type of monounsaturated fat control fat levels in the body and help control diabetes.

Scientists in Mexico put 16 women with diabetes on a relatively high fat diet, with about 40% of calories coming from fat. Most of the fat coming from avocados. The result was a 20% drop in triglycerides. Women on a higher carbohydrate plan, by contrast, had only a 7% drop in triglycerides. Someone on a 2000-calorie-a-day diet might be advised to eat 33 gr of monounsaturated fat. You can get about 20 gr. from just one avocado.

Lowering High Cholesterol
Apart from people with diabetes, people with high cholesterol levels can also benefit from
the oleic acid in avocados.

In Mexico, where guacamole is considered almost a food group, researchers compared the effects of two low-fat diets. The diets were the same, except that one included avocados.
While both lowered levels of dangerous low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, the aocado diet raised levels healthy high-density lipoprotein, (HDL)cholesterol, while slightly lowering triglycerides.

Avocados also help in another way to lower bad cholesterol. They contain large amounts of fiber, Fiber adds bulk to the stool, causing it with the cholesterol it contains, to be excreted from the body quicker. One avocado contains more fiber than a bran muffin-10 gr or 40% of the Daily Value for fiber.

Support the Heart
Avocados are also a rich source of potassium. Half an avocado provides 548 mgr of potassium. 16% of the DV for this mineral. That’s more than you’d get from a medium banana or a cup of orange juice. Studies prove that people with a potassium rich diet, like avocados, have a significantly lower risk of high blood pressure and related diseases like heart attack and stroke.

In addition, some research has shown that oleic acid can reduce markers of inflammation in your body. Inflammation plays an important role in the development of artery-clogging atherosclerosis.

Rich in Folate
Another benefit from avocado is that it’s rich in folate, a B vitamin that helps prevent the threatening birth defects of the brain & spine. Many women don’t get enough folate in their diets, but avocados can go a long way towards fixing that problem. One avocado contains 114 micro grams of folate, which is 28% of the recommended Daily Value, or nearly 20% of the 600 micro grams that pregnant women need daily.

Minerals for your Bones
Avocado can help you to keep your bones healthy. A cup of mashed avocado contains 120 mgr of phosphorus, which is 12% of the DV. This mineral is a major component for your bones and teeth, and having plenty of phosphorus on hand also helps your body produce energy from the foods you eat.

Zinc for Good Nutrition
You’ll also find 1.47 mgr of zinc swimming in the green depth in a cup of mashed avocado.
That’s just under 10% of the DV. Zinc conducts countless activities in your body.
The mineral helps keep your immune system working properly, for example, and plays a role in wound healing.

Zinc also aids in your senses of smell and taste, which are necessary to be able to enjoy the food you eat.

Shopping for Avocados
If you live in the US, get your avocados from Florida. They provide all the nutrients without all the fat. They have about 2//3 of the calories and half the fat of Hass avocados. The best time to buy avocados is between November and March.
They may have one-third the fat of those picked in September or October.

Warning for Drug Users
People who are taking warfarin should take care when eating avocados. Researchers in Israel found that eating between one half and one avocado could make the drug work less efficient. While the effects didn’t last long,- when people stopped eating avocados,the drug started working better again – this could be dangerous for some people. So, if you’re taking warfarin,check with your doctor before adding avocados to your meals.

Help them ripen
Like bananas, avocados ripen better off the tree, so they are picked and sold unripe.
Once you get them home, leave them on the counter for several days until the fruit is
slightly soft. Or if you’re in a hurry toeat them, place them in apaper bag with an apple
or banana to soften. Never place hard avocados in the refrigerator, then they will ripen
too slowly.

How to Speed Up Wound Healing

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Everyone during his or her lifetime gets cuts and scrapes along the way.
Americans are getting more than 12 million cuts and other wounds every year,
according to doctor’s estimation.

The skin is usually able to heal itself by showing signs of quick regeneration.
But you have to eat the right foods for healing to occur.
Nutrients like Vitamin C, protein and zinc are the building blocks for new skin.
If you don’t get enough of them in your diet, it takes longer for wounds to heal.

Protein
Protein is essential for healing cuts and wounds, but it isn’t always available
where you need it most. Only about 10% of the body’s protein is found in the
skin, and the rest is used elsewhere in the body.
Protein is used for energy before it goes to healing.
The need for protein can double,when your body goes into healing mode.
For example, when you get 50 grams of protein per day, you have to increase
this to 100 gram per day, when you have burned yourself.

The amount of protein you need depends mainly on the severity of the wound.
If you are recovering from massive burns, for example, you may need to increase
your protein intake by stirring non-fat dry-milk into milk, cereal, soups, and
graves, having desserts made with eggs, such as pudding or gustard, and adding
shredded cheese to vegetable dishes.

Meats are one of the best sources of protein. A 3-ounce serving of flank steak
for example, has 23 grams of protein, which is about 46% of the Daily Value.
If you are not a meat eater, you can also get protein from fish, beans, nuts,
and grains. Tofu is also an impressive source of protein. A 4-ounce serving
has more than 9 grams, which is about the same you get from 11/4 ounces of
ground beef.

Vitamin C
Orange juice is a favorite home remedy against colds, because the vitamin C
it contains helps to strengthen your immune system. Vitamin C helps for wounds
as well. If you’re not getting enough vitamin C in your diet, you are more
susceptible to infections.

Also, vitamin C is essential for strengthening collagen, the tissue that helps
to hold skin cells together.
When there is not enough vitamin C in your diet, collagen gets weaker and
it takes longer for wounds to heal. Tissue integrity, the actual strength of the skin,
relies on vitamin C.

Whether you have a cut, a burn, or any other kind of wound, it’s a good idea
to get at least 500 milligrams of vitamin C per day. Or about 8 times the recommended
Daily value of 60 milligrams.
In fact, you can take even more than that – up to 1000 milligrams a day.
This is especially true for older people and smokers, because these people often
don’t have enough vitamin C

Strawberries, broccoli, cantaloupe, tomatoes, bell peppers and potatoes.
For example, a half-cup serving of red bell peppers has 95 milligrams of vitamin C,
or 158% of the Daily Value, while an orange has nearly 70 milligrams, or 116%
of the Daily Value. For a superb vitamin C kick, grab a guava. One guava
contains 165 milligrams of vitamin C, or 275% of the Daily Value.

Honey
If you saw a jar of honey in a doctor’s black bag, you’d just assume that he packed
in the dark. But as it turns out, doctors have been using honey for centuries.
“Up until World War II, honey was used commonly to treat skin wounds”, says
Dr. Molan. With the introduction of antibiotics in the 1940’s, honey was taken
out of doctor’s bags and returned to the kitchen. But today, doctors are trying to
bring it back into circulation as a medicine. “We’re finding that doctors are starting
to use honey where modern medicine have been tried – and have failed – to cure
sskin wounds.” according to Dr. Molan.

Honey contains three ingredients that make it ideal for treating wounds.
Because it’s high in sugar, it absorbs much of the moisture inside wounds, making
it hard for bacteria to survive, Dr. Molan explains. In addition, many honey varieties
contain large amounts of hydrogen peroxide, the same medicine you can use at home
to disinfect cuts and scrapes. Finally, some honeys contain propolis, a compound in
nectar that can kill bacteria.

Zinc
Many people don’t get enough zinc,a mineral that helps grow tissues and repair
themselves. In fact, slow wound healing is often s sign that you’re not getting enough
of this important mineral.
The Daily Value for zinc is 15 milligrams. This doesn’t sound a lot, but getting
enough zinc can be tricky, since only 20% of the zinc in foods is absorbed during
digestion. However, eating zinc-rich foods along with protein from animal foods
will help the absorption of zinc.

An excellent source of zinc are oysters, with 1/2 cup providing 8 milligram, or 54%
of the DV. Wheat germ is also good, with 1 2/3 tablespoon containing about
2 milligram, or 13% of the DV.

Water keeps your skin hydrated, which is important while helping to heal burns.
Drink eight 8-ounce glasses per day.

Focus on omega-3 fatty acids.Fat helps your body tto build new cells, and they
become part of every cell membrane. Choose oily fish, walnuts and flaxseed.

Get a full range of vitamins and minerals. If your diet is not always up to par
(and nobody is perfect), consider taking a multivitamin, preferably one from USANA,
as an insurance policy against a shortfall of essential vitamins and minerals,
Dr.Gottschlich suggests.These include B vitamins, which help your body use
energy from carbohydrates to rebuild tissue; vitamin K, which helps blood clot;
and vitamin A, which help collagen from supportive nets and skin cells reproduce.