YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT

Dear One,

If you are reading me for the first time, welcome to my blog, and thank you for stopping by. If you have been here before, thank you for visiting again.

The following foods are good for you, and they actually look like the organ they are good for ! Another logic for “you are what you eat”.

So for example, if you eat carrots, you will have good eyes …

CARROTS EYES

Slice a carrot and it looks just like an eye, right down to the pattern of the iris. It is a clear clue to the importance this everyday vegetable has for vision. Carrots get their orange colour from a phytochemical called betacarotene, which reduces the risk of developing cataracts. Betacarotene also protects against macular degeneration, an age-related sight problem that affects one in four over-65s.

WALNUT BRAIN

The gnarled folds of a walnut mimic the appearance of a human brain – and provide a clue to the benefits. Walnuts are the only nuts which contain significant amounts of omega-3 fatty acids. They may also help head off dementia and Alzheimers disease.

TOMATO HEART 

A tomato is red and usually has four chambers, just like our heart. Tomatoes are a great source of lycopene, a phytochemical that reduces the risk of heart disease and several cancers. It also helps counter the effect of unhealthy LDL cholesterol.

GRAPES LUNGS

Our lungs are made up of branches of ever-smaller airways that finish up with tiny bunches of tissue called alveoli. These structures, which resemble bunches of grapes, allow oxygen to pass from the lungs to the blood stream. A diet high in fresh fruit, such as grapes, has been shown to reduce the risk of lung cancer and emphysema. Grape seeds also contain a chemical called proanthocyanidin, which appears to reduce the severity of asthma triggered by allergy.

GINGER STOMACH

Root ginger often looks just like the stomach. And interestingly, one of its biggest benefits is aiding digestion. The Chinese have been using it for over 2,000 years to calm the stomach and cure nausea, while it is also a popular remedy for motion sickness. But the benefits could go much further. Tests on mice have shown that ginger slow down the growth rate of bowel tumours.

BANANA (SMILE) DEPRESSION

Cheer yourself up and put a smile on your face by eating a banana. The popular fruit contains a protein called tryptophan. Once it has been digested, tryptophan then gets converted in a chemical neurotransmitter called serotonin. This is one of the most important mood-regulating chemicals in the brain and most anti-depressant drugs work by adjusting levels of serotonin production. Higher levels are associated with better moods.

MUSHROOM EAR

Slice a mushroom in half and it resembles the shape of the human ear. And guess what? Adding it to your diet could actually improve your hearing. Thats because mushrooms are one of the few foods in our diet that contain vitamin D. This particular vitamin is important for healthy bones, even the tiny ones in the ear that transmit sound to the brain.

BROCCOLI CANCER

Close-up, the tiny green tips on a broccoli head look like hundreds of cancer cells. Now scientists know this disease-busting vegetable can play a crucial role in preventing the disease. A team of researchers at the US National Cancer Institute found just a weekly serving of broccoli was enough to reduce the risk of prostate cancer by 45 per cent.

Stay Healthy and Happy