by Penny on September 9, 2009
Going bananas is usually a term used to describe people going off-track, isn’t it? Well maybe you wouldn’t mind so much that people saying that about you if you know the true benefits that a banana has on our health. And if we do go bananas, maybe we are the ones who will have the last laugh!
Bananas are known to give the body instant energy and is a good source of carbohydrates. Do you know other health benefits that you can get out of a banana? Here are a whole list of them and I’m sure many will raise their eyebrows in surprise if you didn’t already know these little facts about bananas.
Note that the content is not written by me. I received them in the form of a forwarded email from well-meaning friends. You may also have seen this before as I believe it has been widely circulated and shared amongst families and friends, but in case you have not or have deleted the email, just come to Cherish Wellness!
So let’s go bananas then, shall we?
The many health benefits of bananas
The fully ripe banana produces a substance called TNF which has the ability to combat abnormal cells.
As the banana ripens, it develops dark spots or patches on the skin. The more dark patches it has, the higher will be its’ immunity enhancement quality .
According to a Japanese scientific research, banana contains TNF which has anti-cancer properties. The degree of anti-cancer effect corresponds to the degree of ripeness of the fruit, ie the riper the banana, the better the anti-cancer quality.
In an animal experiment carried out by a professor in Tokyo U comparing the various health benefits of different fruits, using banana, grape, apple, water melon, pineapple, pear and persimmon, it was found that banana gave the best results. It increased the number of white blood cells, enhanced the immunity of the body and produced anti-cancer substance TNF .
The recommendation is to eat 1 to 2 bananas a day to increase your body immunity to diseases like cold, flu and others.
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by Marcus on September 9, 2009
YE Yang recently won the PGA golf championship and in the process demolished the invincibility of Tiger Woods as unbeatable when leading the final round. Not only that, Korean golfers are making their presence felt. If you don’t believe, the recent Canadian Women’s Open leaderboard says ‘South Korean unless otherwise stated’. That says a lot. Could it be because they eat so much KimChi?
Well, it may not make us great athletes but here are some of the plusses of eating kimchi.
Professor Miri Kim of Chungnam National University has found isocyanate and sulfide in Chinese cabbage and radish, which are what kimchi basically is. These bio-chemicals are effective in preventing cancer and detoxifying heavy metals in liver, kidney, and small intestine
Another thing also favors eating kimchi. According to Professor Kun Yung Park (Department of Food & Nutrition, Pusan National University), the vitamin A and C in the red hot pepper powder suppresses the growth of cancer cells.
The fermentation process produces lactobacilli, an organic acid which suppress harmful bacteria and stimulate beneficial bacteria, prevent constipation, clean intestines and prevent colon cancer.
There is much more. Garlic contains Allicin which helps reduce the chance of developing liver, stomach, and thyroid cancer and capsaicin in the pepper reduce the chance of lung cancer. In addition, the Indole-3-Carbinol contained in Chinese cabbage helps reduce the chance of developing stomach cancer.
Are you worried that the spiciness will cause gastritis? Well, there is no proof that this is so. On the other hand the garlic and pepper powder kills bacteria and that would include Helicobacter Pylori.
According to the researchers at Family Medicine Department of Seoul Asan Medical Center, eating kimchi lowers homocysteine in blood which helps in preventing cardiovascular disease, heart attacks and hardening of the arteries. Research also shows that kimchi remarkably decreased the cholesterol level, which helps in preventing the hardening of arteries.
Kimchi has been found to be abundant in anti-oxidation substances. What this means is that this slows down the aging of our skin. Isn’t this last part just good enough reason to consume more of that spicy stuff?
There is so much more goodness in kimchi. It prevents fatty liver, is alkaline which helps after eating meat and fatty food. That explains why we can eat and stuff a heavy meal and yet feel so good after!
Honestly, even without all the healthy benefits, kimchi taken chilled has always been my favorite.
by Penny on September 9, 2009
Do you agree with me that being happy in life should not just be a goal but a life journey in itself? Well I believe that. Of course all of us aim to be happy in life but as we work towards that goal, we should enjoy the journey towards it too. Thus I feel that happiness should be a journey and not just a destination.
I came across some tips on how to be happy. Some of these tips are supposedly backed by some studies. I will share the 8 happy life tips here in simplistic point form and provide you to the source so that you can read each of these points in detail. I won’t reproduce it here otherwise I will be stealing someone else’s hard work! 
8 ways to lead a happy lifestyle
1. Be optimistic about life
2. Follow your heart
3. Make enough money to meet your needs
My personal note on this is that your needs do not necessarily mean your basic food, shelter and clothing needs. It could be needs including having big luxurious homes, fancy sports cars, 5 vacations a year with the family, etc. After all, you can’t deny that money does matter in one part of the happiness equation if not all of it!
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by Sandie on September 8, 2009
A cup a day keeps the doctor at bay
I am a die hard where drinking tea is concerned. I used to drink “Loong Cheng” – a green tea, from morning to night. Friends tell me that they are unable to sleep if they consume green tea in the late afternoon or in the evening but I can go at it from morning to night. And the older ones tell me that their joints ache if they consume too much of green tea. I have yet to encounter any of these problems. However, I have switched to drinking Pu Erh after a visit to a tea house in Malacca. But I still do take an occasional cup of green tea and I like it best with roasted rice
Here is an excerpt of an email I received from a friend. They have made no mention of Pu Erh tea and I think this tea deserves some mention. This renowned tea is mainly from the Yunnan province of China and it improves with age. It is well known for its medicinal qualities. It is said to help lower blood cholesterol and increase metabolism. So weight watchers, here’s something for you!
1. Brain work, students
- Chrysanthemum Tea.
2. Exercise freaks, people who needs high energy level
- Wu Loong Tea.
3. If you are working in dirty and polluted places
- Green Tea.
4. For the lazy bones who just sits around, obese
- Green Tea and Flower Tea.
5. Smokers and Drinkers.
- Green Tea.
6. Meat lovers
- Wu Loong Tea.
7. Frequent as well as infrequent visitors to washroom
- Honey Tea
8. People with high cholesterol and high blood pressure.
- Wu Loong Tea, Green Tea.
9. Those who work with computers everyday.
— Any tea
by Penny on September 8, 2009
I love blogging. Anyone who’s visited all my other blogs would know that I’m pretty addicted to blogging. So when Cherish Wellness was set up and I was invited to be a part of it, I was more than thrilled to have yet another blog to contribute to.
Now at last I have a place to write about topics related to wellness. As a mother of a 2-year old toddler, healthy living has become a priority for me. It was a drastic change from the carefree days of a single woman who didn’t give too much thoughts on eating healthily. I won’t say I’m a health freak now, but I do put my son’s health and safety first above all.
Thus I find this blog to be a great resource for me. Not only can I share what I’ve learned on the vast topic of wellness, I will also learn from the other authors of this blog. Together, we also hope to have our readers share and contribute their thoughts and knowledge too.
So come back often as we share more posts on this blog, and see what you can take home with you, one wellness tip at a time.
