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Sour, tangy, sweet and juicy – these are all of the flavors incorporated in one of the favorite citrus fruits of all time: grapefruit. This fruit, which always reminds me of a tropical island,  is used in grapefruit diets and is recommended by dieticians because of the numerous health benefits that it provides.

Grapefruit is rich in vitamin C, dietary fibers, vitamin A, folate, potassium and vitamin B5. Being an excellent source of vitamin C, you can easily reduce on the Ascorbic Acid pills that you are popping on a daily basis by including citrus-y fruits like these as part of your daily eating habit.

Due to its rich fiber content, grapefruit is known to reduce the risks of heart disease, stroke and cancer. It also helps with arthritis, asthma and is a good anti-inflammatory agent.  If only people will learn to incorporate grapefruit and other nutritious, healthy foods in their diet, ours will certainly be a healthier place to live in. 

Tagged with: florida grapefruit • grapefruit diet • grapefruit health benefits • pink grapefruit • red grapefruit

Mother Nature must have known that people like color, so she made the most nutritious foods the most colorful. Fruits and vegetables that have the brightest, the darkest, and the most vivid colors hold the most vitamins, minerals, and nutrients.

If you want to assure yourself that you are taking in enough of what you need, use the color wheel to judge your diet.

Green -Wheat grass, barley grass, oat grass, kale, spinach, cabbage, alfalfa sprouts, mustard greens, and collard greens are all examples of green vegetables that contain Chlorophyll, Fiber, Lutein, Zeaxanthin, Calcium, Foliate, Vitamin C, Calcium, and Beta-Carotene.

Red –fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes, berries, peppers, and radishes, are full of nutrients such as Lycopene, Ellagic Acid, Quercetin, and Hesperidin.

Orange and yellow- fruits and vegetables such as oranges, peaches, apricots, carrots, yams, squash, and papayas, provide you with Beta-Carotene, Zeaxanthin, Flavonoids, Lycopene, Potassium, and Vitamin C.

Blue and purple- fruits and vegetables such as blueberries, pomegranates, grapes, elderberries, eggplant, and prunes contain nutrients, which include Lutein, Zeaxanthin, Resveratrol, Vitamin C, Fiber, Flavonoids, Ellagic Acid, and Quercetin.

Tagged with: fruits • nutrition • vegetables

Triglycerides are the chemical name by which most fats in food are known. They are also found in blood plasma after the body converts the foods we eat, such as carbohydrates. The body doesn’t use all of calories that we ingest, and stores them for later use, releasing triglycerides as we need them.

If there are too many unused triglycerides present in plasma, this is called Hypertriglyceridemia. Research has linked this disorder to Coronary Artery Disease, and Diabetes Mellitus.

Your physician can find out if your triglycerides levels are too high, with the same tests used to determine your cholesterol levels. The guidelines set by the national cholesterol education program are listed below: These are based on plasma triglyceride levels, taken after fasting overnight.

Normal Less than 150 mg/dL

Borderline-high 150 to 199 mg/dL

High 200 to 499 mg/dL

Very high 500 mg/dL or higher

If your levels are too high, you can reduce them by making simple changes in your lifestyle and eating habits. Which are relatively similar to reducing cholesterol.

Tagged with: Cholesteral • Triglycerides

Having problems with your knees can be frustrating especially if you need to get up now and then.  Luckily, there is Drive Medical’s E-Z Assist Pole to assist you when you have to stand up or get out of your bed. 

It is impractical to bear the pain of standing up or getting when there are home medical equipment like this pole to make things easier for the weary knees.  It has a hand grip which you can hold on to for that much-needed support.  It can also be secured from ceiling to to your floor so there is no need to fear of slip-ups even if you are alone. 

This is good not only for those whose knees have been weakened by age or injury but also for women who have just given birth.  Most women who have just given birth have stitches in the perinatal area and having this pole around can provide them comfort when getting up.

AT 300 lbs, the pole is easy to ship and the manufacturers provide a limited lifetime warranty for the product.  Why take the risk of falling down, or bear the pain of stretching out when you can have the pole installed in your room?

Tagged with: Drive Medical • E-Z Assist Pole • Home Medical Equipment • standing support • weak knees

The grapefruit diet that came out of the ‘80s is getting some new research. And some say that adding grapefruit as part of a healthy, balanced diet can help you to lose weight.

The grapefruit diet calls for only 800 calories a day. The daily eating plan includes eating lots of so called ‘fat-burning’ grapefruit to give metabolism a boost. As well, as much black coffee as you want, some boiled eggs for protein and an occasional piece of dry toast.

Researchers are saying now that the grapefruit diet may have compounds unique to the grapefruit that slow down insulin production, which helps in reducing weight.

However experts are also saying that the grapefruit diet needs more research before it is recomended. It seems that so far the diet is still considered a fad, and it is unlikely that the grapefruit diet has any extraordinary powers for losing weight when there are no other diet or lifestyle changes.

Experts are saying that participants probably lost weight because they were included in a study and were paying more attention to calories and exercise.

The grapefruit diet is not only extremely low in calories but seems to be very boring which would make it hard to stick to. As well if the grapefruit diet does affect insulin levels, there could be severe consequences for those with blood sugar problems.

It seems the secret is No Food. As always check with your doctor first before trying any diet.

Tagged with: fruit diet • grapefruit diet • insulin and weight loss • low calorie diet