Sweet Potatoes For Healthy Aging

Sweet potatoes, with their rich orange color, are a wonderful source of fiber and vitamins.  Loaded with beta-carotene, which aids night vision, they are helpful as an anti-inflammatory food, and they seem to protect the immune system.

A Harvard University study shows that large amounts of beta-carotene may prevent some cancers, especially lung and breast cancer.

Grandma Nature

I associate sweet potatoes with Africa. When I attended a conference in Kenya in the 1990’s, one evening our hosts built a bonfire and threw sweet potatoes into the fire. While the potatoes cooked a local raconteur wove us into his storytelling with threads of tales from our various cultures. At the end of the evening we reveled in the savors of the sweet potatoes.

Bonnie Fatio

When shopping in the grocery store from September to January you will probably see round red items in the fruit department.  They look like miniature pumpkins except for the color.  The skin is very hard and should you not be familiar with them, they are pomegranates.

When cut in half, they offer a lovely surprise!  The fruit is brimming with many beautiful shiny little dark red seeds.  Do not throw these seeds away!  This is the fruit, and what a fruit it is for good health.  The pomegranate is the oldest cultivated fruit and was thought to have healing powers. Today these healing powers have been proven, through many studies, to be correct.

Pomegranates are so rich in antioxidants that they surmount red wine and green tea.  Known as having anti-inflammatory properties, they are one of the most valuable foods for preventing heart disease.

Studies have shown as well that pomegranate juice helps to prevent or contain cancer, especially prostate cancer, but could be beneficial for other types as well.  As if these attributes were not enough this amazing fruit is saturated with vitamins A, C and E as well as potassium, making it important in lowering blood pressure.

Apart from juice, the seeds can be put on a green salad, for example, to accompany a festive meal.  They may also be added to rice to give a zesty flavor.  Chefs are finding more and more ways to use the pomegranate in their cuisine.  Why don’t you try the pomegranate as well and reward your body?

Grandma Nature

Cranberries

When one sees this cute little fruit many happy times come to mind such as holidays with cranberry sauce to complement a delicious roast turkey.

Cranberries grow on vines in bogs in northern North America.  There are vast areas in which the cranberry bushes are covered in water when harvested.  What a sight to behold! – A beautiful red sea of small, round balls bobbing up and down.  The American Indians used them to prevent and to treat infections of the urinary tract and  today cranberries are known as a wonder solution for cystitis.  They also aid in improving various digestive problems.  Liver, kidney and blood conditions are also improved or healed with the utilization of the cranberry.  In addition it has anti-inflammatory properties.

Cranberry got it name from “craneberry” because its pink flower was thought to resemble the head and neck of a crane; hence craneberry.  The berries are first white, then pink and finally become a glorious red. They are of the same family as the blueberry.

In addition to cooked cranberries in jams and sauces, cranberry juice and dried cranberries are easily available today in supermarkets.  Dried, they can be added to cereals, eaten as a snack or sprinkled on top of a green salad to give a festive appearance.  In whatever form they are consumed, they will bring you health along with happiness!

Grandma Nature

As we enter into this glorious Spring season with trees and flowers blooming, we surely must also think of asparagus.  This versatile vegetable is at its peak in the springtime. When we see it in the open markets or food stores we think of Mother’s Day or May Day or other festive occasions during this time of year.

Asparagus is a member of the lily family.

It is another of Mother Nature’s gifts as it is very important to our health as we age.

• It is full of antioxidants and one of them, glutathione, is known to prevent cataracts.
• This same antioxidant is also a cancer-prevention food.
• A unique phytochemical in asparagus that produces an anti-inflammatory effect helps relieve arthritis and rheumatism.
• Vitamins A and C are found in asparagus as well.

Of course, asparagus can be found all year round in tins and in the frozen food compartment but there is nothing more delightful than choosing a bunch of asparagus in season. They are green, white and purple and are eaten simply with a mayonnaise or vinaigrette. Asparagus is even found in fancy pasta creations such as ravioli or tortellini. They can be boiled, steamed, microwaved or grilled.

Why not pick up a bunch now and prepare a favorite meal?  At the same time you will bring valuable nutrients to your body.

Grandma Nature