Folate, B-12 Essential For Brain Health. . . .

This article was syndicated from: Laurel on Health Food

Folate, B-12 Essential for Brain Health

Barbara L. Minton from Natural News reviewed some recent studies that prove folate and vitamin B-12 are essential for brain health and cognitive function. Researchers are finding that deficiencies in folate and B-12 are causing Alzheimer’s disease, cognitive decline, and strokes. Here are some of the key findings mentioned in the article:

• - A January 2008 study in Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids found that low blood folate and high homocysteine (a toxic amino acid) levels are related to poor brain function. The study concluded that folic acid increases the level of essential fatty acids DHA and EPA in your blood, contributing to healthy brain function.
• - A November 2007 study in Stroke found that low blood levels of B-12 and folate increase your risk of cerebral ischemia (stroke caused by “inadequate supply of blood and oxygen to the brain as a result of blockage of an artery”).
• - A June 2007 study in the Journal of American College of Nutrition concluded that low levels of folate and high levels of homocysteine are common in elderly post-stroke patients.

Some of the best natural food sources of folate and B-12 are:

• - Folate: leafy green vegetables, fruit juice, beans, bran, barley, beef, brewer’s yeast, brown rice, cheese, dates, lamb, chicken, salmon, tuna, pork, liver, wheat germ, whole grains, and whole wheat.
• - Vitamin B-12: animal products (try snapper, venison, shrimp, scallops, salmon, and beef).
  Note: Natural News says that “individuals over the age of 50 should obtain their B-12 from supplements because of the increased likelihood of food-bound B-12 malabsorption.”

If you have some spare time, watch this fascinating video, “Jill Bolte Taylor: My stroke of insight,” on TED.

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Video summary from TED.com:

“Neuroanatomist Jill Bolte Taylor had an opportunity few brain scientists would wish for: One morning, she realized she was having a massive stroke. As it happened — as she felt her brain functions slip away one by one, speech, movement, understanding — she studied and remembered every moment. This is a powerful story about how our brains define us and connect us to the world and to one another.”

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Originally Syndicated via RSS from Laurel on Health Food

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Disordered Eating: The “New” Epidemic. . . .

Several years ago I was on a media tour in New York, visiting various women’s magazine editors in an attempt to get them to think about publishing different kinds of stories on eating and weight loss and weight loss programs….. . . . . . . . . .

Originally Syndicated via RSS from A Weight Lifted

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Stan Sesser Eating A Bhut Jolokia Pepper. . . .

I laughed until I cried at this video of Wall Street Journal reporter Stan Sesser trying a Bhut Jolokia pepper for the first time.

At first he’s very calm and is talking about the sweetness and flavor of the pepper.

And then … “it’s like a ball of flame is wrapping itself around my tongue.”

It’s fantastic!

>>>>

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Originally Syndicated via RSS from Eat This!

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Where To Buy Naga Jolokia Peppers Or Seeds. . . .

So perhaps you’re like me and you want to try Naga Jolokia peppers (also known as Bhut Jolokia), the pepper currently ranked as the hottest chili pepper in the world by the Guinness Book of World Records.

While it’s extremely difficult to find fresh Naga Jolokia peppers in the U.S. and they are very perishable, you can order dried Naga Jolokia online or order seeds and grow your own.

The Chili Pepper Institute at New Mexico State University sells Bhut Jolokia seeds to the public.

There’s also a company in the UK called The Chili Seed Company that ships worldwide and sells a variety of seeds and hot sauces. They even sell Bhut Jolokia Chocolates.

I checked eBay and found a few people selling Naga Jolokia seeds and plants.

There are also several hot sauces on the market made from Naga Jolokia with names like Hell’s Inferno and Lethal Ingestion.

Consume at your own risk!

Related Content
Naga Jolokia or Bhut Jolokia Peppers
Dorset Naga Pepper
Scoville Heat Units - Chili Pepper Rating Scale

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Originally Syndicated via RSS from Eat This!

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Dorset Naga Pepper. . . .

The Dorset Naga pepper is a cultivar grown in Dorset, England that is believed to be related to the Naga Jolokia pepper. Some claim it is even hotter than the Naga Jolokia or Bhut Jolokia, which holds the current Guinness Book of World records title of hottest pepper in the world.

It’s difficult to determine which one is hotter because the results of testing on the Scoville scale depend on different things such as the soil the peppers were grown in and the testing method used. The Dorset Naga has scored in a range between 900,000 and 1,600,000 HU.

The people responsible for brining this new cultivar to the world are Michael and Joy Michaud, owners of Peppers by Post, a mail order pepper company based in West Dorset. They developed it over several years using a selection process from varying seeds of the Naga Morich, a Bangladeshi pepper that is popular in Britain among the Bangladeshi population.

The Dorset Naga is a small, red, wedge-shaped pepper much like the Naga Jolokia or Bhut Jolokia pepper. These peppers all look very similar to Habanero chilis except that they have wrinkled skin while Habaneros are smooth-skinned.

Since I’m one of those foolish chili pepper lovers who feels the irrational need to prove how much heat I can handle, I’m going to have to try both the Dorset Naga and the Naga Jolokia sometime. I’m sure I will regret it. Then again, life is too short and too full of interesting chili peppers for regrets.

Related Content
Naga Jolokia or Bhut Jolokia Peppers
Scoville Heat Units - Chili Pepper Rating Scale

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Originally Syndicated via RSS from Eat This!

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Hot Peppers Bring The Heat. . . .

This article was syndicated from: Laurel on Health Food

Hot Peppers Bring The Heat

Mark’s Daily Apple wrote a great piece about the amazing nutrition of hot peppers. Here are some of the benefits they listed:

• - Hot peppers are low in calories but high in vitamin C. They also contain carotenoids, lutein, lycopene, and zeaxanthin.
• - Capsaicin (the compound that makes peppers hot) is anti-inflammatory and helps relieve headache and arthritis pain.
• - Areas of the world with high consumption of foods containing capsaicin (such as South America) have fewer cases of intestinal, stomach, and colon cancers.
• - A 2006 Cancer Research study found that capsaicin causes “cell death” of human prostate cancer cells and may inhibit prostate cancer cells to grow and multiply.

• When you go looking for peppers, you will find that they come in many different shades including green, yellow, red, orange, and purple. WHFoods.org says that each color variety has its own health benefits. Yellow peppers have the most lutein and zeaxanthin carotenoids. Red peppers have the most lycopene and astaxanthin carotenoids. Orange peppers have the most alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, and gamma-carotene. Purple peppers have the most anthocyanin flavonoids. If you want some visual help, check out this Peppers Guide.

• It’s also important to note that while most peppers contain capsaicin, bell peppers do not have it. I love hot peppers but I find it hard to add them to my diet on a regular basis. The article on Mark’s Daily Apple recommended adding them to salads, egg dishes, salsa, stir fry, or chili. In addition, I found the following food healthy easy healthy recipes that could be worth a try. Enjoy!

Chili Chili Bang Bang Poblano Salsa by ChefMD®

Jalapeno Chicken from Bon Appétit

Roasted Corn with Parmesan and Cayenne by Tyler Florence

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Originally Syndicated via RSS from Laurel on Health Food

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Scoville Heat Units - Chili Pepper Rating Scale. . . .

All chili peppers are rated on something called the Scoville scale, a rating system for the hotness of peppers.

The number of Scoville heat units (SHU) a pepper has depends on the amount of capsaicin it contains.

American chemist Wilbur Scoville created this method for testing chili peppers, originally called The Scoville Organoleptic Test, in 1912.

Red bell pepper ranks the lowest on the Scoville scale, coming in at 0 HU. The next lowest are pimentos and pepperoncini, which rank between 100 and 500 HU.

Most cayenne pepper ranks between 30,000 and 50,000 HU but it can also be purchased at 90,000 HU and higher.

The Tabasco chili, used to make Tabasco sauce, also ranks between 30,000 and 50,000 HU.

Habanero chilis range between 100,000 and 300,000 HU.

The Naga Jolokia or Bhut Joloki, an Indian chili pepper which is ranked by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s hottest chili pepper, comes in at over 1,000,000 HU.

Think you could handle that kind of heat? One bite of a Naga Jolokia can cause burning and pain in the mouth for up to 30 minutes.

But what’s a little pain in exchange for the thrill of saying you’ve tasted the hottest pepper in the world?

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Originally Syndicated via RSS from Eat This!

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How To Freeze Blueberries. . . .

Freezing blueberries is a great way to always have fresh blueberries on hand. I use frozen blueberries most often in smoothies and fruit sorbets.

First wash them well and pat them dry. Discard any bad ones.

Place blueberries on a cookie sheet with a lip in a single layer and freeze for 24 hours. The reason for this is so they won’t freeze together in a giant blueberry clump.

After about 24 hours, move them to plastic freezer bags or an airtight container and keep frozen until ready for use.

Related Content
How to Freeze Strawberries
How to Freeze Bananas

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