Nutrition antioxidants are naturally occurring substances found in most plants and have the potential to help combat heart diseases and fight cancer. Phytonutrients found in fruits and vegetables work together with other nutrients to protect your health. More than 900 different phytonutrients have been found in plant foods already and these protective plant compounds are an emerging area of health and nutrition, with new research reported almost daily.

Recent studies have indicated the phytonutrients found in fruit provide a whole host of natural health benefits: the anti-aging power of blueberries, the joint pain relieving properties of cherries and a whole host of powerful nutritient antioxidants in pomegranates. Unrecognized for many years, the properties contained in the blueberry are only just now being appreciated with many antioxidant compounds contained in a fruit with very low sugar content.

Juice provides many benefits that will help improve the immune system and blood circulation. They can also strengthen the body’s ability to fight disease and infection due to its powerful antioxidants and healthy nutrients.

The old saying about an apple-a-day couldn’t be truer with evidence that they can help prevent the chance of heart conditions occurring. Citrus fruits can be helpful because of the antioxidants they contain.

Tart cherries for instance have a number of antioxidants which work together to help people who have arthritis, gout and fibromyalgia. This extends to the vitamins B, C and E plus other minerals which have antioxidant properties that are already widely known and used.

Another antioxidant is resveratrol has many infection and viral prevention properties and is found in the likes of blackberries, mulberries but more highly in blueberries. These phytonutrients seem to benefit the elderly with many properties that help reduce conditions found in aging like Alzheimer’s, heart disease, blood pressure and stoke.

The benefit of tomatoes has been in the news recently with the hopes that it contains anti-cancer properties as well as those that can help prevent heart disease. The best way to concentrate these properties has been found when we use tomato sauce, puree and juice.

Watermelons, recognized as a refreshing summer fruit also contain some of the most powerful phytonutrients yet found. With all the natural goodness fruit contains and now the health benefits as well, isn’t it time for you to start having more fruit in your diet.

To get more info on healthy living go to Blood Pressure and High Cholesterol as well as Physical Fitness Activity

We love to hate our sugar.  We want to say goodbye to refined sugar but we are unable.  The sheer magnitude of giving up sugar, entirely, overwhelms us and rightfully so.

Most of us are educated on the many reasons why refined sugar is playing an important part in our health problems.  While many of us are horrified or dismayed at having an alcoholic family member,  it seems we will allow our children and ourselves to become habitually addicted to candy, gum, pop, ice cream, pie, cake, jam and a host of other sugar laden foods.

As refined sugar is permeated throughout almost everything we eat it is very difficult for us to give it up entirely without becoming an outcast to our friends, family and social life.  There are many choices we make in any given day and we can make the choice to try and cut down our sugar consumption.

Refined sugar is not all bad, if you need it for industrial purposes.  According to an article titled “Sugar Cane: Past and Present” written by Peter Sharpe, it is stated “Today, sugar cane has many industrial uses and is one of the most widely used and cheapest domestic products (Jenkins 1966).  Molasses is a by-product of the manufacturing of cane sugar.  The uses of molasses are many.  Starting around 1850 it was often used as a fertilizer for cane soils, however, this use is negligible today.  Its use as a stock feed can be dated back to at least 1911 in Germany.  Molasses, along with cane juice and other by-products can be fermented to produce an alcoholic distillate, otherwise known as rum.  Ethyl alcohol is another alcohol produced from molasses, which in itself has many uses.  The main uses are in:

• vinegar;
• cosmetics;
• pharmaceuticals;
• cleaning preparations;
• solvents and coatings;

One of the future uses of ethanol which is currently being studied is as a gasoline extender.  Still other products produced from molasses are butanol (a solvent), lactic acid (a solvent), citric acid (mostly for foods and beverages), glycerol, yeast and many others (Paturau 1982).  Another useful by-product of sugar production is bagasse, the fibrous residue left after the juices are extracted from the cane. It is the main source of fuel in sugar factories. It can also be used in making paper, cardboard, fiber board, and wall board (Purseglove 1979).  It is quite possible that further uses of sugar cane will be developed in the future, but even now it can be seen that sugar cane is a very important and useful plant crop worldwide.”

Let’s leave the refined sugar uses to the industrial world as much as possible.  Try reducing it from your diet, and your children’s diet, as much as possible.  Refined sugar is not really needed by our body and, in fact, will borrow vital nutrients from your healthy cells to metabolize it within your body.  Nutrients such as calcium, sodium, potassium and magnesium are stolen from various parts of your body to make use of this invader..

When you avoid eating refined sugar you can expect more vibrant health together with a much longer life with greater freedom from some of the acute and chronic diseases that have become rampant in our society.

What are you waiting for?  Forget about cutting sugar out entirely, simply try cutting back and wherever possible choose unrefined raw sugar such as evaporated cane juice or unrefined raw brown sugar (not the familiar “brown sugar” found in grocery stores that is simply sugar coated with molasses) eaten in small amounts.  Although honey is a refined sugar it is also a satisfying sweetener that offers some nutritional benefits.

Behind the scenes of your body is a remarkable mechanism for vibrant health that is ready to serve you with the best possible health for many, many years – if you give it the proper care and nutrition that it needs.  Start really living – without sugar.