7 Foods for Healthier Skin

By Mattie Kemmel

As beauty products get more high-tech, the top complexion cures still come from the most natural quarters: the aisles of your super­market. “Increasingly, studies are finding links between certain nutrients and wrinkle reduction, radiance, and acne prevention,” says David Bank, MD, a dermatologist in Mount Kisco, New York. Here are 10 cream-of-the-crop ways to nourish your skin from the inside and out.

Get Glowing with Chocolate 
Cocoa hydrates your skin, making it firmer and more supple, Dr. Bank says. “And dark chocolate contains high levels of flavonols, a potent type of antioxidant,” adds Nicholas Perricone, MD, a dermatologist in New York City. For maximum flavonol content, eat chocolate that’s at least 70 percent cacao. A couple of squares a day should be enough to improve luminosity. “When applied topically, the caffeine in chocolate may temporarily reduce skin puffiness,” says Jessica Wu, MD, a dermatologist in Los Angeles and the author of Feed Your Face.

Protect with Pomegranates 
They’re packed with polyphenol antioxidants, Dr. Perricone says. Polyphenols fight free radicals and regulate skin’s blood flow, giving it rosiness. One pomegranate or a few glasses of juice daily should do the trick. When applied to skin, the fruits’ antioxidants help smooth lines and moisturize,

Soften Skin with Walnuts 
“Walnuts contain omega-3 essential fatty acids, which can improve skin’s elasticity,” Dr. Bank says. The nuts are also loaded with copper, a mineral that boosts collagen production. Snack on a handful of walnuts each day to improve your complexion’s texture, and slough tough calluses.

Fight Crow’s-Feet with Peppers 
“Women who eat green and yellow vegetables regularly tend to have fewer wrinkles, especially around the eyes,” Dr. Wu says. Also, studies found that carotenoids — the antioxidants in yellow and orange veggies — can decrease skin’s sensitivity to the sun, Dr. Bank says. Aim for about two cups of peppers daily.

Brighten Up with Sunflower Seeds 
Loaded with vitamin E, sunflower seeds keep your skin supple by protecting its top layers from the sun. Eat a handful daily. A high essential-fatty-acid content makes sunflower seed oil a treat for parched body parts, such as lips and heels, when topically applied. 

Zap Zits with Kidney Beans 
They’re high in zinc, and studies indicate a correlation between blemishes and low zinc levels, Dr. Wu explains. “That may be because of zinc’s healing properties.” Have a four-ounce serving of kidney beans to help you stay in the clear. In addition, studies show topical zinc to be as effective against acne as antibiotics are. Body lotions with zinc.

Look Younger with Oatmeal 
Steel-cut oatmeal is less processed than other varieties, so it retains more vitamins. “Plus, it takes longer to break down in your body, which helps keep your blood sugar stable,” Dr. Wu says. “This is important because studies found that spiked blood sugar elevates your body’s level of androgens, hormones that can contribute to wrinkles.” Oats are also exceptionally skin healing.

 

 

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7 Skinny Foods You Should Add to Your Diet

By Lisa Montgomery 

According to a 2008 article in The Sun newspaper, eating diet foods can actually lead to weight gain. This is because many diet foods are likely to contain no fiber, which is essential to keeping you full. Low-fat foods are often full of sugar to make up for the loss of taste that occurs when you remove fats. Instead of choosing diet foods that contain no nutrients and offer few benefits, stick to a more natural, basic diet that takes advantage of natural “skinny foods.”

Hummus and Veggies 
The Middle Eastern chickpea spread is an easy, protein-rich snack that fights hunger and balances blood sugar levels — and a little goes a long way. Baked pita chips aren’t the worst thing you can eat, but substituting some veggies can make a bigger impact than you think. “Hummus boosts energy because it contains iron, and red bell pepper slices are high in vitamin C, which helps to utilize and absorb the iron from the hummus,” says holistic nutritionist Peggy Kotsopoulos, author of Must Have Been Something I Ate. Follow her easy recipe for plain hummus by throwing 1 can of chickpeas in a blender with a dash of ground cumin, sea salt, extra virgin olive oil, and splash of lemon juice. Keep a few batches in the freezer so all you have to do is thaw. 

Salsa 
When not paired with greasy fried tortilla chips and margaritas, salsa is surprisingly low in calories. Kotsopoulos suggests buying yours from the refrigerated section of the grocery store where it’s the freshest. Make an easy low-cal substitute for nacho layer dip by putting hummus on the bottom of a dish, layering with salsa, and then topping with olives or lettuce. Instead of chips, try Mary’s Gone Crackers, which are made of brown rice, flax, and sesame seeds 

Raw Almonds and Almond Butter 
While peanut butter is packed with protein, almonds are better quality nuts that are rich in vitamin E, an antioxidant that counteracts free-radical damage. Not only are almonds good for your hair and skin, they’re also rich in magnesium and vitamin B2, which help calm nerves and combat stress. “When you’re stressed out, cortisol is released in the body and causes weight gain. The B2 vitamin in almonds helps with that while boosting your energy levels,” says Kotsopoulos. 

Chia Seeds 
Rich in omega-3 fatty acids, calcium, and iron, chia seeds are great for weight loss because they act like a sponge, absorbing sugar and stabilizing blood sugar levels, says Kotsopoulos. Because of their high fiber content, the tiny seeds can hold up to twenty times their weight in water, so when they’re mixed with liquid they plump up and absorb excess moisture. Add them to your oatmeal or put them in a bowl with unsweetened chocolate almond milk-they will absorb the liquid and gelatinize, similar to the consistency of a rice pudding. 

Quinoa 
This gluten-free grain can be made in bulk and keeps in the fridge for up to five days. Eat it plain or with just about anything — veggies, a midday salad. Or for breakfast, try Kotsopoulos’s favorite meal: A bowl of quinoa with shredded coconut or almond flakes, banana, and cinnamon plus a little vanilla. “Buy the plain kind, just like you would rice,” she advises. “Only eating a bowl of white rice is like eating a bowl of sugar, because that’s what it turns into.” Quinoa is a complete protein source because it has amino acids, as well as stress-busting B vitamins. 

Sprouted Grain Bread 
Both Kotsopoulos and Frankel keep this in their kitchens at home. Kotsopoulos uses it for sandwiches with apple or almond butter, while Frankel prefers hummus or soy cheese on hers. “When the grains are sprouted, the nutrient profile increases, which makes your body assimilate the nutrients better,” Kotsopoulos says. Look for it in the freezer section at your grocery store. 

Greek Yogurt 
A top belly-flattening favorite, yogurt is stacked with probiotics, bacteria that may help reduce the amount of fat your body absorbs. Pick a Greek yogurt over the regular kind, says Kara Lydon, a registered dietitian at Chobani. Greek nonfat or low-fat versions contain only half as much sodium as regular yogurt — and no artificial sweeteners or preservatives. 

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Fall Fruits and Veggies with Hidden Healing Powers

By Tina Winston

Fall is a time to embrace roasted root vegetables, hearty salads, and warm, fruit-laden desserts that incorporate the nutritious bounty of the season. These eight late-harvest foods will inspire you to create comforting autumn fare.

Figs

A culinary delicacy of biblical proportions, figs have been revered by ancient civilizations for centuries. These sweet, delicate produce specialties are one of the best fruit sources of polyphenols, antioxidants that may help prevent LDL, or “bad cholesterol,” from clogging up arteries. For a classic Mediterranean breakfast, top a bowl of tangy plain nonfat Greek yogurt with sliced fresh figs. Or, use dried figs to add natural sweetness to homemade protein bars — the perfect treat for fall hikes.

Brussels Sprouts

Currently trending in culinary circles, this cruciferous vegetable is now being highlighted on top chefsʼ seasonal menus across the country. Although tiny, these little cabbages are chock-full of potent compounds called glucosinolates. Your body converts glucosinolates into isothiocyanates, cancer-fighting superstars that may prevent DNA damage on the cellular level. Here’s an easy recipe to try: Thinly slice Brussels sprouts into a slaw, and sauté with olive oil, garlic, and balsamic vinegar. Go from side dish to entrée by combining the sautéed sprouts with cooked quinoa and dried cranberries.

Onions

Often underappreciated for its nutritional benefits, the everyday onion is actually surprisingly rich in bioactive compounds. Bulbs are at their peak ripeness when harvested in the fall, a time when their signature flavonoid, quercetin, is most abundant. Studies suggest that quercetin, a potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compound, may have immune-boosting properties. Eating onions raw in salads and sandwiches may offer a special health advantage — animal studies indicate that raw onion improves blood flow by inhibiting clot formation.

Beets

A true “Paleo food,” beets can be traced back to prehistoric times and have been used medicinally for generations. The root gets its rich crimson coloring from betalains, pigments with powerful antioxidant and cancer-fighting activity. Beets have heart health benefits, too. A trial published in the journal Hypertension found that drinking an 8-ounce glass of beet juice led to a decrease in blood pressure over 24 hours. Blend a beet into your fruit smoothie (raw or cooked — your choice!), or roast a few bunches and add them to salads and sandwiches all week long.

Butternut Squash

One of the most common winter squashes, butternut is a deliciously sweet, nutty veggie that has come to embody the fall harvest season. The vibrant orange flesh delivers a superior dose of the antioxidant beta-carotene along with its sister compounds, alpha-carotene and lutein. These carotenoids promote sharp vision and glowing, youthful skin. Add butternut squash puree to mac and cheese for a blast of nutrient-rich produce.

Pear

Although it often plays second fiddle to the season’s much beloved apple, the pear is a true nutritional heavyweight. One pear provides 5 grams of appetite-squashing fiber (more than an apple!), and the skin is teeming with vital disease-fighting phytonutrients. Red-skinned pears have the added bonus of providing anthocyanins, the same memory-boosting compounds found in berries. Use pears to add sweetness to savory sides like stuffing, roasted vegetables, and green salads. Or, grab one as a snack to enjoy the pure flavor of a juicy, ripe pear all on its own.

Mustard Greens

If you already love spinach and kale, it’s time to introduce your kitchen to this under-the-radar leafy green. Like Brussels sprouts, mustard greens belong to the cancer-fighting cruciferous family. And the peppery leaves are rich in sulforaphane, an antioxidant enzyme booster that enhances the effects of vitamins C, E, and A, which may in turn help protect your skin from aging and environmental damage. Sauté mustard greens with sesame oil, garlic, salt and pepper and top with toasted sliced almonds for a flavorful dinner side. Or, add the chopped greens to pasta dishes to transform an everyday entrée into an age-defying meal!

Pumpkin

Native Americans first shared the nourishing properties of pumpkin, a staple of the autumn table, with our Pilgrim ancestors hundreds of years ago. From its vitamin-packed flesh to its magnesium-rich seeds, this earthy vegetable is truly a “whole food.” Pumpkin also contains a unique medicinal component called cucurmosin, a compound that is currently being studied for its ability to inhibit tumor growth. To get your fill of this seasonal favorite, enjoy roasted pumpkin seeds as an energy-boosting midday snack, and add a scoop of canned (or fresh) pumpkin puree to your morning oatmeal or a container of nonfat vanilla yogurt.

 

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Seven Amazing Medicinal Properties of the Banana Plant

By Sayer Ji from Wake Up World

There is much more than meets the eye with the banana. A household favorite, a lost-leader at the grocery store, a metaphor for psychiatric problems, a mainstay of comic slap stick, the banana has woven itself deeply into human affairs, on both gut and mental levels. And this relationship is at least 10,000 years old, as far as conscious human cultivation of the species goes.

But, many do not realize that the banana is more than just an exceptionally starch-rich fruit, but has a complex biochemistry, with pharmacologically active properties. Bananas actually contain the catecholamines dopamine[i] and norepinephrine,the very same adrenal hormones released in the human body when it undergoes the typical “fight-or-flight” response. It is believed that the banana plant uses the biosynthetic pathway for catecholamines when under the stress of attack to fight off infectious pathogens such as in crown rot disease. Some varieties excrete a form of serotonin in their sap,  and there is even mention in the biomedical literature of the discovery of the NSAID drug naproxen (trade name Aleve) within the banana cultivar Musa acuminate. Sound crazy? Well, that’s to be expected from a fruit we commonly associate with a state of unbridled madness.

But the banana has a secret second life. It has been observed slyly practicing medicine without a license, and indeed, seems readily equipped with the following nutritional “super powers”….

1. Green Banana Is Anti-Diarrhea

Before a banana is ripened, while it is in its green state, it contains starches which are resistant to digestion, but have been studied in combination with pectin to significantly reduce intestinal permeability and fluid loss in those suffering with bouts of diarrhea.  Even when used without pectin, green banana has been found to hasten recovery of acute and prolonged childhood diarrhea when managed at home in rural Bangladesh.

2. Banana Is Anti-Ulcer Activity

Banana powder has been studied to prevent ulcer formation induced by a variety of drugs, including aspirin, indomethacin, phenylbutazone, prednisolone, cysteamine, and histamine. Researchers have found that banana powder treatment not only strengthens mucosal resistance against ulcerogens but also promotes healing by inducing cellular proliferation. One of the anti-ulcer compounds identified within unripe banana is the flavonoid known as leucocyanidin, and which is particularly effective against aspirin-induced erosion.

3. Banana Peel Suppresses Prostate Gland Growth

Banana peel has been found to suppress testosterone-induced prostate gland enlargement.

4. Banana Stem Extract suppresses Oxalate Kidney Stones

A water extract of banana stem extract has been found to suppress the formation of oxalate-associated kidney stones in the animal model, leading researchers to conclude that it “may be a useful agent in the treatment of patients with hyperoxaluric urolithiasis.”

5. Banana Consumption Protects the Skin Against UV-Light Damage

UV-B light induced skin damage may be prevented or reduced through the consumption of bananas, with a protective effect against loss of skin elasticity.

6. Banana Has Anti-Diabetic Properties  

Banana flower extract has been studied in a type 1 diabetic model, and has been found to have both antioxidant and blood sugar lowering effects. Banana root extracts have been discovered to contain blood sugar lowering properties comparable in efficacy to the drug glibenclamide (trade name Glyburide).Also, unripe banana contain starches resistant to hydrolysis and therefore beneficial to diabetics.

7. Banana Contains a Variety of Anti-Infective Compounds

Banana contains compounds with demonstrable anti-MRSA activity,  anti-HIV replicative activity, and following metabolic transformation by fungi, anti-leishmanicidal activity. The leaves of the plant are used in many centers in India during the care of patients with toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) and other extensive blistering disorders which can result in deadly sepsis in the absence of treatment.

 

 

 

About the Author: Sayer Ji is the founder and director of GreenMedInfo.com and co-author of the book The Cancer Killers: The Cause Is The Cure with New York Times best-seller Dr. Ben Lerner and Dr. Charles Majors. His writings and research have been published in the Wellbeing Journal, the Journal of Gluten Sensitivity, and have been featured on Mercola.com, NaturalNews.com, Reuters.com, GaryNull.com, and Care2.com. Check out his newest project: Dr. Gourmet.

6 Healthier Alternatives to Potato Chips

These veggie-filled recipes are loaded with nutrients and are baked instead of fried.

Coconut Chips

Ingredients
1 coconut
Coarse salt

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Test each of the three eyes at the stem end of the coconut to see which is the softest. Then use an ice pick (or a screwdriver) and a hammer to pierce two of the eyes. Strain water through a fine sieve into a bowl; reserve for another use or discard.
Place coconut on a rimmed baking sheet; bake for 30 minutes, or until coconut shell begins to crack. Set aside until cool enough to handle.
Wrap coconut in a clean kitchen towel; holding coconut with one hand, hit it with a hammer in the same place several times to crack the outer shell and split the coconut into several large pieces.
Separate coconut flesh from shell, and use a vegetable peeler to remove the dark outer skin, if desired. Rinse and dry coconut. Using a mandoline or a vegetable peeler, remove strips from edges.
Divide coconut strips between 2 rimmed baking sheets in a single layer; season with salt. Bake until toasted, about 10 minutes.

Apple Peel Twigs

Ingredients
12 organic apples
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar

Directions
Combine cinnamon and sugar then peel apples. Toss peels from apples with cinnamon sugar; sprinkling peels with a few drops of water will help the mixture stick. Spread in a single layer on 2 parchment-lined baking sheets, and bake in a preheated 250-degree oven until peels are curled and crisp, about 2.5 hours, rotating halfway through. Let cool before serving.

Baked Plantain Chips

Ingredients
2 pounds plantains or green bananas, scored, peeled, and thinly sliced on the diagonal
1/4 cup vegetable oil
Coarse salt and ground pepper

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Divide plantains between two rimmed baking sheets. Toss with oil, then arrange in a single layer on sheets. Season with salt and pepper. Bake until golden and crisp, 30 to 35 minutes, rotating sheets and flipping plantains halfway through. Drain plantains on paper towels.

Carrot and Parsnip Fries

Ingredients
5 medium carrots
3 medium parsnips
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 teaspoon red-pepper flakes

Directions 
Preheat oven to 400 degrees with rack in center of the oven.
Peel carrots and parsnips and halve crosswise. Slice lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick planks. Slice lengthwise again to make 1/4-inch-thick fries.
Place on a rimmed baking sheet and toss with oil, salt, and red-pepper flakes. Spread into a single layer and roast, turning veggies once, until crisp and golden brown in places, about 20 minutes.

Beet Chips

Ingredients
2 medium beets
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Peel beets and slice 1/16 inch thick with a mandoline. In a large bowl, toss beets with extra-virgin olive oil.
On two rimmed baking sheets (or use one sheet and bake in two batches), arrange beets in a single layer. Stack another rimmed baking sheet on top of each. Bake until edges of beets begin to dry out, about 20 minutes. Uncover and rotate sheets. Bake 10 to 20 minutes, removing chips as they become lightened in color. Transfer to a wire rack; chips will crisp up as they cool.

Kale Chips

Ingredients
2 large bunches of kale, rinsed well, dried, and torn into 1- to 2-inch pieces
2 to 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons coarse salt

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place kale pieces in a single even layer on baking sheets; drizzle with olive oil and season with salt.
Transfer to oven and bake until crisp, 10 to 12 minutes. Serve.

 

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