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Health Benefits of Sweet Potatoes

Health Benefits of Sweet Potatoes for Human Body

By Yanti

Health Benefits of Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) is derived from vegetable families Convolvulaceae and the genus Ipomoea. Sweet potatoes are often eaten is part of the tuberous roots with relatively large size, and mealy with a sweet taste.

In addition for consumption sweet potatoes vegetable can also be beneficial to human health due to a variety of nutrients in sweet potatoes thus providing health benefits of sweet potatoes if these healthy foods regularly consumed.

There are many species of sweet potato over 1000 pcs consisting of a variety of different colors like yellow, red, purple, orange, brown, beige. Sweet potatoes have a smooth meat well with different colors too like yellow, red, pink, purple, orange, and white. Sweet potato has flesh-colored pink, red, and orange is sweeter than the flesh white and pale yellow. The coloring of sweet potatoes such red, and orange color is due to the high content of beta carotene inside this food.

Sweet potatoes grow well in a warm place; have enough sunlight to 24 C temperature and rainfall as well. Sweet potatoes will have bulbs after planting about 2 to 9 months. Vegetable and sweet potato is sensitive to standing water, because it can lead to impaired growth and lead to rot on the tubers of sweet potato.

Sweet potatoes are consumed by many people in many countries around the world and are also used as food for pets, and now China is the largest producer of sweet potatoes that supply be approximately 80% of the world’s sweet potato, followed by the State of Uganda, Nigeria, Indonesia, Tanzania, Vietnam, India, and Japan.

Sweet Potatoes Nutrition

There are various different types of nutrients found in sweet potatoes, among others, are

Carbohydrates, Starch, Sugar, Dietary fiber, Fat, Protein, Vitamin A, Beta-carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin, Thiamine, Riboflavin, Niacin, Pantothenic acid, Foliate, Vitamin B6, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Sodium, and Zinc.

Health Benefits of Sweet Potatoes

With a wide range of nutrients found in sweet potatoes then there are many health benefits of sweet potatoes for the human body, among others, are as follows.

• The content of vitamin A, beta carotene and carotenoids in your body is beneficial to improve eye health, and immune for several diseases because it can be beneficial as an antioxidant for the body to minimize diseases such as cancer and premature aging.

• Carotenoids within the sweet potatoes provide benefits also to stabilize blood sugar grades and bring down insulin resistance, helping the cells become more antiphonal to insulin.

• The content of vitamin B6 in sweet potatoes has health benefits of sweet potatoes that are useful to cut down chemical homocysteine in the body associated with degenerative diseases, including for preventing heart disease.

• The content of vitamin C in sweet potatoes as a beneficial antioxidant and beneficial for the body to enhance immune to various types of diseases like flue, colds, cancer, etc. Vitamin C has an important role too in the formation of teeth, bones, and blood cell formation. This vitamin also aids speed up wound healing, collagen production which helps maintain the elasticity of youthful skin, and cope with stress.

• The content of vitamin D in the sweet potatoes beneficial for the immune system, mood, has a crucial role in body energy, help build bone, heart, skin, nerves, teeth, help the thyroid gland, and helps your overall health.

• The content of iron in sweet potato is useful for providing adequate energy, the production of red and white blood cells, the immune system, the level of resistance to stress, and protein metabolism.

• The content of magnesium to give health benefits of sweet potatoes as a compound of anti-stress and relaxation, and also beneficial for healthy arteries of the heart, blood, nerve function, bone, and muscle.

• The content of potassium provide health benefits of sweet potatoes as one of the authoritative electrolyte that helps regularize heartbeat and nerve signs. While the content of potassium important role to control and protect the kidneys, reduce swelling, and muscle contraction

• The fiber content in sweet potato with other minerals such as magnesium provide sweet potato  health benefit which helps digestion process work better, while the starch is the health benefits of sweet potatoes which gives soothing effect to the intestines and stomach.

There are many health benefits of sweet potatoes for the body as above, but not all types of sweet potatoes provides health care for the body, as there are types of sweet potatoes that contain toxins that can not be consumed, and therefore if you want to eat sweet potatoes, try to buy at the grocery outlet, supermarket, or other official place that sell products for human needs.

Lacinato Kale

Benefits Lacinato Kale for Body Health

By Yanti

Lacinato Kale

Lacinato kale is one of the popular types of kale from Tuscany. Lacinato kale vegetable has a lot of people used to be consumed as a vegetable either raw or steamed or sauteed and mixed with other foods such as mixed salads, pasta, soup, pizza, and some even consume Lacinato kale in other forms such as kale juice, and smoothie kale.

Lacinato kale has many different nicknames that Dinosaur kale, Italian kale, cavolo nero, Tuscan black palm, back flat cabbage, black kale, palm tree kale, Tuscan cabbage, and Tuscan kale. Lacinato kale can grow up to 2 m with a leaf width of about 2 to 4 Inc, and Lacinato kale leaves usually harvested from the bottom of the stem. Lacinato kale leaves dark green with embossed and smooth texture and taste slightly sweet and bitter.

Lacinato kale nutrition
There are a wide range of nutrients in kale Lacinato that provide health benefits to the human body if eat regularly, and the nutrients contained in Lacinato kale are among other Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, polyunsaturated fats, monounsaturated fats, sodium, Potassium, Carbohydrates, Dietary fiber, sugar, protein, calcium, iron, and manganese.

Health benefits of Lacinato kale
In addition to be used as a culinary, Lacinato kale is also useful to improve the health of the human body because of the many different nutrients in Lacinato kale, and some health benefits of kale  as below:

• The fiber contained in Lacinato kale beneficial for lowering cholesterol in the body.
• The content of flavonoids, carotenoids, and lutein in kale as a source of natural antioxidant that is useful to protect the body from various diseases such as atherosclerosis, cataracts, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
• The content of vitamin K and omega-3 compounds in kale is estimated to give benefits for the body if consumed regularly as anti-inflammatory which minimizes the body exposed to chronic inflammation and other diseases associated.
• Lacinato kale are also believed to have benefits for detoxification process because of the research results show that isothiocyanates from glucosinolate Lacinato kale provides benefits to set up a detox at the genetic level and is believed to prevent the body is exposed to various cancers such as ovarian cancer, prostate, bladder, and other types of cancer.

In order to get the most nutrients in kale Lacinato not wasted in consuming it is suggested that Lacinato kale processed correctly and one good way is to cultivate Lacinato kale steam in less than 5 minute, or take a fresh kale leaves Lacinato, but make sure the kale leaves have been washed clean and not contaminated with insecticide.

Lemongrass Herb

Lemongrass Herb Nutrition and Benefits for Human Life

By Yanti

Lemongrass Herb

Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citrates) is an aromatic herbal that comes from the family Poaceae and the genus specie. Lemongrass herb comes from southern India. Lemongrass has a distinctive aroma and in several countries in Asia such as Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Camboja, Japan, and India  have been used lemongrass especially  roots and stems as a flavoring herb dish.

Lemongrass herb is light green herbs, and lemon grass-like shape with a height of grass to 3 m and a width of about 1 m, lemongrass herbs can thrive in a tropical climate with high rainfall levels in the sandy soil. And now commercially cultivated lemongrass and India lemongrass is a widely used type of role in perfume industry.

Lemongrass is also called by different names such as Gavati Chaha in Marathi language, Chukku Kaapi in Kerala. Lemongrass herb also called Cochin Grass or Malabar Grass is East Indian Lemon Grass (Cymbopogon flexuosus) that is often used for cooking and medicines that come from Burma, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, India, and Thailand. While this type of West-Indian lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus) is also called serai or sere in Indonesia and Malaysia and is often used for cooking.

Lemongrass Nutrition

Contained in the herb lemongrass variety of nutrients that provide benefits for the body health, and lemongrass nutrition include Carbohydrates, Protein, Vitamins A, Vitamin B complex, Vitamin C, Sodium, Potassium, Calcium, Copper, Iron, Magnesium, Manganese, Selenium, and Zinc.

Lemongrass Benefits

With a distinctive aroma and contains a wide range of nutrients found in lemongrass in addition be used to add flavor in cooking or drinks, the lemongrass is also used as herbal medicines for treating various diseases and increase human body health,  and here are some lemongrass benefits in human life.

• Lemonal or citral is the main compound in the herb which is citral compounds have anti fingal and anti microbial that benefits to treat various infections that occur in the intestine, stomach, bladder, or small sores on the body. whereas aldehyde compound is a compound that gives a distinctive odor in lemongrass herb

• The content of vitamin A, vitamin C and other compounds in lemongrass herb useful as an antioxidant compound that helps the body to ward off free radicals and enhance immune from several diseases such as cancer and fever.

• The content of minerals such as potassium in lemongrass provides benefits to help control blood pressure and pulse heart, while manganese is useful as a co agent in antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase.

• The content of folic acid are abundant in leaves and stems of lemongrass gives an important role in the process of cell part and DNA synthesis, as well as helping to prevent neural tube blemishes in babies.

• Lemongrass herb is also useful analgesic to help relieve pain in muscles, joints, headaches, and toothaches

• Lemongrass herb is also beneficial to help reduce fever, food poisoning, and eliminate odors.

• The content of essential oils in lemongrass is used widely in industry for the cosmetic manufacture of perfumes and soap.  Lemongrass oil is useful also to reduce acne, as a refresher as well as provide a warming effect, relieve spasms, and relaxes the muscles when rubbed on the body surface

• Lemongrass mixed with tea drinks provide benefits to overcome indigestion, colds, stomach pain, diarrhea, intestinal cramps, as well as cope with menstrual pain and nausea in women.

• Lemongrass herb is also beneficial to help reduce the gas from the intestines and prevent further gas formation.

• Lemongrass herb is as well useful for detoxification of the body as lemongrass able to increase the number and frequency of urination to help cleanse and nourish the digestive organs, kidneys, pancreas, and liver, because the toxins and uric acid in the body come out with urine.

Shallot Vegetable

Health Benefits of Shallot Vegetable for Body Health

By Yanti

Shallot Vegetable

Shallot (Allium cepa var. Aggregatum) is a vegetable of the family alliaceae and genus allium. Shallot name comes from Ashkelon is an ancient Philistine city. And shallot vegetable has many different names such as gandana or kanda or pyaaz (India), Chinna vengayam or sambar vengayam (Tamil), chyapi (Nepal), bramgbang (java), hom (Thai),  bawang merah kecil  or small red onions (Malay) , and katem kror hom (or Khmer or Cambodian).

Shallot is a perennial vegetable that takes around 100 days to be ready to be harvested, and Shallot vegetable is thought to originate from the Southeast Asia  or Central Asia and now it is cultivated as a commercial crop in many countries around the world.

Shallot vegetable is a vegetable which bulbs shallot grown in soil with the amount of about 1 to 5 pieces of each vegetable shallots, while the leaves are green shallot grown on the surface of the soil that could grow to 50 cm, either bulbs shallot or shallot leaves can be used to needs as a spice in cooking a variety of food that has a spicy flavor but lighter than the garlic so that if taken not to leave sharp odor of garlic consumption.

Shallot Nutrition Facts

Contained in the shallot different vegetable that provide health benefits to the human body, nutrition and shallots are, among others Carbohydrates, Protein, Vitamins A, B complex, C, Sodium, Potassium, Calcium, Copper, Iron, Magnesium, Manganese, Phosphorus, Selenium , and Zinc.

Health Benefits of Shallot Vegetable

In addition to be consumed as a cooking spice mixed with a variety of different types of foods such as salad, pickle, stir for vegetables, chili, fish, meat, soup, and so forth. Shallots also used as medicine for human health due to nutritional variation inherent in the shallot, and below are a number of health benefits of shallots for human body as follows.

•Shallot or red onions contain high amounts of flavonoids that are useful as a source of antioxidants to improve the health of the body such as inhibiting the production of cholesterol, lower blood pressure, reduce coronary artery disease, peripheral vascular disease, anti-bacterial, anti fungal, and antivirus.

• The content of the Phyto-chemical alliums compounds and allyl disulfide in shallot vegetable has character as anti-diabetic, anti-mutagenic and thus minimize the disease diabetes and cancer

• The content of vitamin A in vegetable shallots useful as an antioxidant that helps maintain healthy eyes, and helps the body to no lung disease and cancers of the oral cavity.

• Shallot vegetables are also beneficial for treating various other diseases like fever in children, flatulence in children, cough, headache, smooth large bowel, asthma, hair loss, irregular menstruation, hemorrhoids, and cure stomach worms.

Although onion brings many benefits to our health but especially raw shallot vegetable especially  at the end of the root when cut or slice to be utilized as a spice or consumed, raw shallot vegetable can cause eye irritation, irritation of mucous membranes and skin, this is because presence of allyl sulfide gas is released and when mixed with sulfuric acid the surface becomes wet. And to solve this problem then you should soak the shallot root vegetable for a few minutes in water before sliced or cut.

Thyme Herb

Thyme Herb Nutrition Benefits

By Yanti

Thyme Herb

Thyme is an herb of the family limiaceae and genus thymus. Thyme herb from the Mediterranean area and southern Europe and is among the popular crop of culinary herbs as well as widely used as a medicine since ancient time.

Thyme is a green shrub with square-shaped stems and thin wood, and can grow around 15 to 30 cm. Thyme herb has aromatic leaves with slightly curved. Thyme herbs usually bloom in summer with white or lilac, small, thin and a lot of fragrant.

Thyme leaves are used in the form of dried and fresh, and both can be purchased at herbal stores. Fresh thyme leaves contain more nutrients than dried thyme leaves, and if kept in the fridge it can last up to 1 week, while the dried herb thyme leaves if kept in place of glass sealed and saved in a dry, dark, and cold can last up to 6 months.

Thyme herb nutrition

Thyme contained within a wide range of different nutrients include carbohydrates, protein, dietary fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin B complexs, Vitamin C, Sodium, Potassium, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Manganese, Zinc, Phyto-nutrients, Carotene.

Thyme herb benefits

Benefits in general, thyme herb widely used for cooking as a base for a variety of foods in many countries around the world such as in Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, Jordan, Libya, Israel, Armenia, France, Italy, India, Persia, Assyria, portugus, Spain, Greece, and so on.

Parts of flower buds and leaves of thyme are used to add flavor to various foods such as soups, meats, herb butter, salad, fish, tomatoes, cheese, eggs, pastas, stuffings, kreang, and so forth.

The content of vitamin A in the herb thyme is useful for maintaining eye health, and mucus membran, and skin. Eat of natural foods that is rich in flavonoids such as beta carotene and vitamin A as in thyme herb, useful to help protect against lung disease and cancers of the oral cavity.

The content of vitamin C in thyme herb is a source of natural antioxidants to body to win the free radicals that can increase the body’s immune petrified of various diseases.

Mineral content in leaves of thyme provide a wide range of health benefits for the body such as potassium useful for controlling blood pressure and heart rate, iron plays an important role in the formation of red blood cells, and Mangan useful as a co-factor for the antioxidant, superoxide dismutase.

Thyme oil is derived from the herb thyme containing thymol high, thymol is an essential oils that are important and scientifically useful as an anti-oxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, antiseptic that can be used for mouthwash, and treat cold sores in the mouth and throat infections and toothache. Thymol is used as a natural and alcohol free to clean hands.

Thyme herb since ancient time is known as herbs to treat a variety of different diseases such as asthma, headaches, gout, tonsillitis, cough, strong, anti-septic. While in ancient Egypt thyme herb used as an ointment to be one ingredient in the embalming process. And many of the nobility in the middle Ages remove bay by using herbal bouquet of thyme.