Phytochemicals are powerful antioxidant and anti-cancer compounds. Examples of phytochemicals found in broccoli and cauliflower are phenolic acids, carotenoids, sulphoraphane and glucosinolates, such as glucobrassicin and glucoraphanin. Your...
Antioxidants protect your body from free radical damage due to smoking, pollution, sun exposure, toxins and as a by-product of normal metabolism. An article published in January 2005 in "The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition" states that...
Found in many plants, antioxidants will help your body fight diseases. As such, you may want to include a substantial amount in your diet so your body can adequately defend itself against illnesses. Polyphenols are widely available in plants and...
Acacia honey is a variety of honey produced by bees that comes from the nectar gathered from the flowers of the acacia plant. Manufacturers often add acacia honey to sports drinks to give these beverages a flowery taste. Acacia honey has a milder...
People who don't like regular whole-wheat bread now have another option: white whole-wheat bread. This bread is made with white wheat flour rather than red wheat flour, resulting in a difference in taste but not in nutritional value. Using white...
Smoked peanuts are delicious and nutritious. Peanuts are rich in proteins, dietary fiber, folate, niacin and vitamin E. Peanuts are also sodium-free and rich in phenolic acid, resveratrol and phytosterols. You can roast, boil or smoke whole...
More than 50 varieties of grapes are grown throughout the world. American and European, or red and green, grapes are the most common and are a low-calorie food that offer many healthy benefits.
Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) is a effective herbal remedy for herpes. The herpes virus belongs to a large family that includes chicken pox, shingles and keratitis as well as oral and genital herpes. All herpes infections display painful...
Anxiety is a broad diagnostic term that covers many diagnoses in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM-IV-TR. According to the DSM, at the heart of any anxiety disorder lays irrational fear. The manual describes anxiety...
You've seen the lists, but you may not know how a food becomes a super food. Super foods are foods that contain a significant amount of nutrients that protect your body from disease. Polyphenols are a class of substances found in plant foods that...
Polyphenols are one of the major classes of anitoxidants that positively contribute to health. For example, they may play a role in the prevention of Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, neurodegenerative disorders and some forms of cancer....
Polyphenols comprise a large group of plant-based substances classified as antioxidants. Substances with this classification help protect your body from molecules called free radicals, which can damage your cells and play a role in the development...
Unlike simple sugars, complex carbohydrates, also known as complex sugars, require more work to metabolize. Simple sugars quickly absorb into the bloodstream providing a quick rush of energy, according to Kids Health. Complex carbohydrates,...
White and green teas may help people retain a more youthful appearance by promoting collagen and elastin health. Research on these benefits was somewhat new as of 2010, so no one has definitively found just how much tea a person needs to drink to...
Polyphenols are a large class of chemical compounds synthesized by fruits, vegetables, teas, cocoa and other plants that possess certain health benefits. Polyphenols have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-carcinogenic and other biological...
Cholesterol is a steroid that travels through your blood and protects your cell membranes. Good cholesterol, or HDL, carries excess cholesterol out of your blood and into your liver so it can be eliminated. Bad cholesterol, or LDL, can accumulate...
Arthritis is characterized by chronic inflammation. Foods that act as anti-inflammatory agents may alleviate some of the pain of arthritis. Herbs, specifically, offer many health benefits and healing properties. The volatile oils of herbs such as...
Grave's disease is a debilitating condition where your thyroid gland (located in your neck) starts producing large amounts of thyroxine (a chemical in your body responsible for regulating your metabolic rate). According to the Mayo Clinic, this...
Polyphenols are secondary metabolites that act as micronutrients and antioxidants. They appear in plants and derivatives, usually in the form of flavonoids, such as favan-3-ols, anthocyanins, flavonols, flavanones and isoflavones. Considered...
If you're a food aficionado, you've likely used fresh herbs for the appealing aroma they produce during cooking and the gourmet edge they give your dishes. In addition to bringing your cooking to a new level, many culinary herbs such as basil...
Roasted coffee contains three essential groups of acids: aliphatic acid, chlorogenic acid and phenolic and alicyclic acids. Coffee also contains the inorganic acid, phosphoric acid. The specific types and concentrations of these various acids vary...
The debate about organic foods --- whether they have more nutritional benefits than conventional foods --- has been going on for years. Since the early part of the 20th century, when Sir Albert Howard went to India to begin the work which was to...
Rooibos tea, also known as African Red tea, is made from the fermented needle-shaped leaves of the rooibos shrub, according to the article, "Medicinal Crops of Africa," cited on the Purdue University website. Practicers of traditional African...
Cold sores are painful, itchy sores caused by one of two types of the herpes simplex virus, usually type one. In the June 9, 2008 issue of the "Archives of Internal Medicine," dermatologist Christina Cernik, M.D. explains that cold sores usually...
Black cherries are actually included in the rose family of plants. When it comes to benefits, black cherries have many of the same benefits found in other cherry varieties including red cherries and Bing cherries. Black cherries offer a number of...
Honey has a solid reputation as a health food. It's all natural, produced by honey bees from the nectar they collect from a wide variety of flowers. The bees produce the honey so they can store it in the hive and use it for food during the winter...
The flu starts with a cold or a runny nose, but other symptoms follow quickly, including fever, achiness, cough, headache, chills, congestion and weakness. The flu starts with a virus, so it doesn't respond to antibiotics. Elderberry, the fruit of...
When it comes to choosing an oil for cooking or consuming, olive oil is by far the superior, healthy choice. Because olive oil is a monounsaturated oil, one of its main benefits is the reduction of LDL, or low-density lipoprotein. LDL is...
This may come as no surprise to many of you, but drinking red wine is probably one of the best therapies you can medicate yourself with to boost your antioxidant levels. Boasting a generous amount of a substance called phenolic acid, red wine has...
