Top 12 fruits and vegetables which are available in winter

Top 12 fruits and vegetables which are available in winter

Eating seasonal fruits and vegetables is good for health. Let us see the list of fruits and vegetables available during winter that could help you to maintain good health all through the season. The main intention of this article is to inspire more and more people to eat seasonal fruits and vegetables.


Modern food processing methods and open market in the world has made variety of hybrid fruits and vegetables which are available all the year round. But, if you follow the nature’s rule and look into traditional way of producing organic fruits and vegetables, you will find that they have been seasonal. Expert’s opinion that if you follow the traditional way and eat seasonal organic fruits and vegetables, it is better.

Have a quick look at top 12 winter fruits and vegetables available in India.

1) Oranges 

Oranges are the best source of vitamin C and it helps your body fight against germs and gives minerals, potassium, fiber and folate. And it is low in calories.

2) Carrots

style="display:inline-block;width:728px;height:90px" > data-ad-client="ca-pub-4974762365275543" > data-ad-slot="6956003916">  This vitamin rich vegetable has the highest amount of carotene when compared to other fruits and vegetables. In addition it is an excellent source for vitamin B, C, D, E and K. You can eat them raw or cook them as you wish.

3) Turnips

This is a root vegetable in size of an apple. It has a sweet taste and starchy texture and contains minerals, fiber, vitamins, folates and this is the time for turnips come in the market during winter.

4) Apples

All of us know that having “An apple a day keeps the doctor away”. Well, you can have this fruit at affordable price during winter and opt it as your snack and enjoy the benefits.

5) Spinach

Spinach leaves is one of the healthiest vegetables in the world. It contains carotenoids and flavonoids which are antioxidants along with lots of vitamins and minerals. It is rich in vitamins like A, C and K and contains omega-3 fatty acids. If you want to get the complete nutrition, avoid boiling or cooking it too much.

6) Mustard Leaves

This is a winter crop which is highly nutritious. Several vital antioxidants, carotenes, minerals and vitamins are there in its fresh green leaves. Include the goodness of this food (mustard) in your diet this winter and get the benefits



7) Peas

peas are a very good source of vitamin K, dietary fiber, manganese,  vitamin B1, vitamin C, copper,  phosphorus and folate. They are also a good source of vitamin B2, niacin, vitamin B6, molybdenum, zinc, protein, magnesium, potassium, iron and choline. It has all necessary minerals along with folic acid and ascorbic acid. It is not just eaten after being cooked with other veggies, but you can have it raw in salads and add it to soups. It provides you with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits.

8) Radishes

this available in abundance during winter season. They are sweet or pungent in taste and provide you with potassium, lots of roughage, folic acid and ascorbic acid. You can either cook it in your way or even eat raw.

9) Fenugreek Leaves

In India fenugreek leaves are known as ‘Methi’ which is fully loaded with vitamins and minerals along with lots of phytonutrients and fiber. It helps in lowering blood sugar and cholesterol level along with many more and overall health benefits.

10) Beets

Beets can be available throughout the year, but they are the best ones during winter. It contains compound that help prevent heart and liver diseases and it also helps enhance the blood flow to brain. In winter season the body metabolism is low and so it is recommended to take fresh fruits and vegetables that are low in calories and have dense nutrients. Also, experts say that eating fresh seasonal fruits and vegetables is healthier because the nutrient contents always vary when grown in off-season.

11) Grapes

Grapes are known as ‘The Queen of Fruits. It contains powerful antioxidants known as polyphenols, which may slow or prevent many types of cancer disease, including esophageal, mouth, lung, endometrial, pharynx, prostate, pancreatic and colon.  Grapes contain immunity-boosting vitamin C, simple sugars that provide instant energy and antioxidants that are anti-inflammatory. Just wow!.

12) Bananas

Bananas are extremely healthy and tasty. They contain several essential nutrients, and have benefits for digestion; weight loss and bananas may support heart health. Bananas are among the easily available and most popular fruits in winter season. Bananas contain a fair amount of fiber, as well as several antioxidants. These antioxidants have been linked to many health benefits, such as a reduce risk of heart disease and degenerative diseases. So eating banana is healthier for you.

                                               

Source: http://www.indiaparenting.com/health/325_5439/top-10-fruits-and-vegetables-of-winter-in-india.html

Importance of trees and its Value

Importance of trees and its Value

Since the early stage, trees are playing very vital role in our daily life; trees have furnished us with two of life's necessity, oxygen and food. As we developed, they provided additional necessities such as shelter, tools and medicine. Today, their value continues to gradual increase and more benefits of trees are being discovered as their role expands to fulfill the needs adopted by our modern lifestyles.

Social and Community Value

Now a day’s Trees are an important part of every community. Our streets, playgrounds, parks and backyards are lined with beautiful trees that create a peaceful, aesthetic environment. Trees increase our quality of life by bringing natural elements and wildlife habitats into urban style. We all gather under the cool shade they provide during outdoor activities with family and friends. Many neighborhoods are also having the home of very old trees that serve as historic landmarks and a great source of town pride.

Using trees in cities to deflect the sunlight decreases the heat island effect caused by pavement and commercial constructions.

Ecological and Environmental Value

Trees contribute to their environment by giving oxygen, improving air quality, conserving water, preserving soil, climate amelioration, and supporting wildlife. During the process of photosynthesis, trees take in carbon dioxide (CO₂) and produce the oxygen (O₂) we breathe. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, "One acre of green forest absorbs 6 tons of carbon dioxide and puts out 4 tons of oxygen. This is enough to meet the annual needs of 18 people." Trees, turf and shrubs also filter the air by removing dust particles and absorbing other pollutants like carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide. After trees caught unhealthy particles, rain washes them to the ground.

Trees control climate by decreasing the effects of the sun, rain and wind. Leaves absorb and filter the sun's radiation, keeping things cool in summer. Trees also preserve heat by providing a screen from wind. In addition to minimize wind speed and direction, they shield us from the downfall of rain, hail and sleet. Trees also lower the air temperature and reduce the intensity of the greenhouse effect by maintaining low levels of carbon dioxide.

Both above and below ground, trees are very essential to the eco-systems in which they inhabit. Far reaching roots hold soil tight and in place and fight with soil erosion. Trees absorb and store rainwater which reduce runoff and sediment deposit after storms. This helps the underground water supply recharge, prevents the flooding and transport of chemicals into streams. Fallen leaves make excellent compost that enriches soil fertility.

Many animals are depending on trees, including koalas, giraffes and elephants eat leaves for nourishment. Flowers are eaten by deer’s, and nectar is a favorite of birds, bats and many insects. Animals also eat much of the same fruit that we enjoy this process helps disperse seeds over great distances. Of course, hundreds of living creatures call trees their home. Leaf-covered branches keep many animals, such as squirrels and birds out of the reach of predators.

Personal and Spiritual Value

The main reason everyone like trees is because they are both beautiful and majestic. No two are same. Different species display a seemingly endless variety of shapes, textures, forms and vibrant colors. Even individual trees vary their beautiful appearance throughout the year as the seasons change. The long lifespan, strength and regal stature of trees give them a memorial quality. Most of us react to the presence of trees with a relaxed, pleasant, comfortable feeling. In fact, we plant trees as living memorials of life-changing events.

Trees help to record the history of your family as they grow and develop alongside with you and your kids. We often make an emotional bond with trees we plant or become personally attached to the ones that we see every day. These strong connections are evidenced by the hundreds of groups and organizations across the country that go to great lengths to protect and save particularly large or historic trees from the dangers of globalization. How many of your childhood memories include with the trees in your garden or old neighborhood? The sentimental value of a special tree is simply immeasurable.

Practical value and Commercial Value

Trees have supported and sustained life throughout our existence. They have a wide variety of practical and commercial uses. Wood was the very first fuel, and is still used for cooking and heating by about half of the world's population. Trees provide timber for building construction, tools, sporting equipment, furniture manufacture and thousands of household items. Paper is made of Wood pulp.

We are all aware of fruits like apples, oranges, bananas and the countless other fruits and nuts provided by trees. But did you know the bark of some trees can be made into cork and is a source of chemicals and medicines? Quinine and aspirin are both made from bark extracts. The inner bark of some trees contains latex, the main ingredient of rubber. How many more uses can you name?

Source: http://www.savatree.com/whytrees.html

Why is organic food good for your health?

Why is organic food good for your health?

Do you want to stay away from foods contains with pesticides? Here is the more information that why organic food is good for your health.

Most of the fruits and vegetables are loaded with essential nutrients and vitamins that are good for your mind and body. However, commercial demands and competition in the market often make farmers use chemical fertilizers and pesticides in order to increase their production. According to nutritionist, ‘Now a day’s growth hormones are injected in fruits, vegetables, poultry, pulses, and meat to make them larger and plumper quickly. Everyone consuming these products thereby eating these chemicals too. Researchers has documented and proven that these hormones and chemicals are what are causing the obesity sizes in people today. The chemicals and the preservatives are the cause of psychological disorders, mood swings, depression, irritability and hyper activity that have now become a common phenomenon. Problems in conceiving, Infertility in men, early puberty among children at very young age (eight) is another problem by product of consuming such foods.’

It’s very difficult, it’s the to stand up and fight against such unhealthy ways adopted by farmers. But, that doesn’t mean we have to continue eating those foods packed with pesticides. Organic farming is taking the country by strong storm and more and more people are choosing to eat organic foods. Let’s know more about the process of organic farming and why it is healthier than conventional food.

 How organic farming done?

Very simply, organic farming is done without using chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Instead of using harmful chemicals alternative farming practices like use of green, crop rotation, and animal manure, organic seeds etc. are employed.

Why organic food is healthier than normally conventional produced food?

According to nutritionist ‘An organic diet is not just about nutrition, it is the Art of Eating – it reflects your attitude towards life and to the world, because good food sustains good life bad food kills. For healthy growth, we need pure and healthy food. Organic food is safe, more nutritious, eco friendly, protects against deadly diseases like cancer and maintains peace of mind. A fresh & pure diet fosters purity of mind, body and soul. It leads to spirituality be it the Bible, Quaran or the Bhagvad Gita, the first advice is ‘to keep the body in good health is our duty, for otherwise we shall not be able to cut the lamp of wisdom and keep our mind strong and clear’.

Organic food is better for nutrition. ‘Organic food really has more nutrients, minerals and vitamins, including vitamin C, magnesium and iron and phosphorous than conventional produced food. All This is because in organic farming, great emphasis is on nourishing the soil which in turn gives healthy crops. Healthy plants give produce that is packed full of all the vitamins and minerals which give flavor and goodness to our food. The time allowed for the crops to grow by not using harmful chemical fertilizers is the final key elements making it possible for organic crops to have much higher nutrition levels.

Ø  DON’T JUST  EAT TO SURVIVE , BUT EAT FOR PLEASURE

Source:

http://www.thehealthsite.com/fitness/health-benefits-of-organic-food-sa214/?gclid=CjwKEAjwy8bABRD5osXMovTHpmQSJACfZY0F6iO6DEwTgxkkaTNJUmoRviUEjBSJmDyKnYDyMKDlhBoC3Unw_wcB