Dragon Fruit – The Fierce Free Radical Fighter and Metabolic Bargain Food

Dragon fruit is the fruit of a Cactus that is grown in in Southeast Asia, Mexico, Central and South America, and Israel. It is also known as the Pitaya or Pitahaya, Dragon Pearl Fruit, Fire Dragon Fruit, Green Dragon, Dragon Fruit and Strawberry Pear.  It is packed with vitamins, minerals and even the healthy omega acids, which makes this food a metabolic bargain with a high payoff of nutrition for your body.

The best place to find Dragon Fruit is in Asian and Far Eastern markets although some high-end supermarkets are starting to offer it. 

One of the Prettiest Superfruits

Dragon Fruit is large, round and rose hip shaped with pink, greensand yellow tendrils on its side.  The interior flesh is studded with hundreds of tiny seeds that make it look like a polka-dot fruit.  Most weigh in between three and four pounds.

This fruit is available in three colors. Two varieties have pink skin but one with white and the other with red skin. The third type is yellow with white flesh. The type most commonly found in Canadian markets usually has pink skin.

Dragon Fruit

Dragon fruit also has a lovely fresh taste. It is sweet and crunchy with taste that is like a cross between a pear and a kiwi.  The ripe fruit should have a bit of give when you press it with your finger, but not be too mushy.

A Nutritional Powerhouse

Dragon fruit is packed with nutrition. One fruit is only 60 calories with 8 percent of the calories coming from protein. It contains Vitamin C and is a vegan source of many minerals including phosphorus, calcium, iron and antioxidants.  The pretty fruit is also an excellent source of fibre, which is helpful for the digestive tract.

As the fruit has a texture similar to watermelon, it is an excellent source of water.  It is a superb diet food as it contains 15 grams of protein and 1 gram of fat. This makes it a sustainable choice for people following low calorie diets. It also has traces of Vitamin A, Vitamin B1, Riboflavin and Niacin.  It is also one of the few fruits that is high in polyunsaturated Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids.

This fruit is also super high in cancer, anti-inflammatory and disease fighting properties called phytoalbumins. These agents help your body excrete heavy metal toxins. Furthermore it is a highly alkaline fruit, which makes it a very suitable choice for most people adhering to the Healthy and Active Diet program.

The Health Benefits of Dragon Fruit

Aside from being a known weight loss aid because it is low in calories and high in fibre and protein, this exotic fruit can also help lower blood sugar, manage cholesterol and control your blood pressure. Special nutritional constituents in the seeds help improve the way you metabolize carbohydrates.  The flesh of the fruit itself is very easy to digest because it is a simple carbohydrate. It is an ideal food for individuals in convalescence to eat.

How to Eat Dragon Fruit

Wash the Dragon Fruit and then cut it in half. You should be able to slide a spoon or knife around the edge of the flesh and simply unearth it from the shell.  The fruit can then be easily sliced into cubes.  The white flesh of the Dragon Fruit is quite attractive cut up in cubes because it almost looks like dice.  The red variety is very exotic looking and looks almost like a raspberry crossed with a watermelon.

For more information about the Healthy & Active Program please visit our website at www.healthy-active.com. You may also call us in Toronto at (41) 440-2217 and ask for Adrienne Wright Bulow or Dr. Michael Rahman or email us at adrienne@healthy-active.com.

Giving Up Alcohol While on A Happy & Healthy Diet Program

For some people, a more challenging aspect of embarking on the Happy & Healthy program is the most difficult aspect. That is because so much of our North American, and indeed, European culture is based on the habit of “having a drink” to reward ourselves for a hard day’s work. Drinking alcohol is also used to loosen us up before we socialize or as a way of losing our inhibitions a little bit to get us in the mood to be more romantic.

Detox Is an Opportunity to Deal With Issues

If you are a steady drinker you could possibly experience a bit of the stress and anxiety that you may not of otherwise felt as long as you were self-medicating that state with a bit of alcohol. Detox and lifestyle changes often provoke us to look at the deeper issues that may have been triggering us to indulge in bad habits or daily routines that may not be so healthy for us.

If old traumas are weighing heavily on your mind and causing you to feel like you are vulnerable or in psychological pain then it might be time to seek out a support or fellowship group or see a professional who can counsel you through this.  Some people experience many different emotions when changing their lifestyle because they were numb to them before.  It may take some time for you to adjust to a more sober life because for some people it can mean facing their demons head on.

Counselling and getting involved in support groups can be an important part of your recovery from living an unhappy and healthy lifestyles, just simply because talking about your need to do something that is self-destructive in a safe group can assist with encouraging a comprehensive flow of healing energy through many levels of your life.  You will be freeing yourself from an oppressive factor that affects your health and relationships and also save a great deal of money that could be put towards healing modalities, rather than harming your health further.

Meditation and Exercise Can Help

Many people going through dietary changes feel a bit depressed and that is because their routines are very much disrupted by some of the sacrifices that need to be made in order to regain your health.  Alcohol is right up there, with sugar and cigarettes, when it comes to being difficult substances to quit.  That is because these substances serve to raise your endorphin levels (chemicals that make you feel good) in your brain.

Two of the surest ways to raise those endorphin levels without resorting to having a drink are meditation and alcohol as both activities have been shown to raise endorphins in the brain naturally.  Both exercise and meditation can also help you tap into your inner reserve of serenity so that you feel okay with the world and yourself on every level.

For more information about how the personal consumption of alcohol is impacted by the Healthy & Active Program please visit our website at www.healthy-active.com. You may also call us in Toronto at (41) 440-2217 and ask for Adrienne Wright Bulow or Dr. Micheal Rahman or email us at adrienne@healthy-active.com.

Foods With Good Fats That Nourish Skin and Hair

If you want to have beautiful glowing skin and fast-growing, thick lustrous locks then be sure to make these particular foods part of your diet.

1. Salmon

Salmon nourishes the skin and the hair because it contains Omega-3 fatty acids. It is rich in one particular Omega-3 fatty acid known as DHA that is found mostly in fish and seaweed.

DHA is well known for its anti-inflammatory properties and ability to thin the blood. This in turn aids circulation, which in turn, helps speed up the body’s ability to not only bring nutrients to the surface of the scalp and skin so that they can be nourished but also its ability to clarify the system of toxins.

The fact that salmon is also an anti-inflammatory also discourages your skin from breaking out and your hair follicles from becoming vulnerable to the kinds of immune responses that can cause hair thinning and hair loss.

Wild salmon contains the highest amounts of DHA. It is quite easy to incorporate salmon in your diet by eating tinned fish, fresh salmon that is grilled or baked or by eating it raw rolled in sushi or as sashimi.  Sushi is especially recommended as the seaweed wraps also have high quantities of DHA acids.

2.  Sardines

Like salmon, sardines contain a remarkably high amount of Omega-3 fatty acids and especially DHA acids that can help give your skin elasticity and a soft glow.

Sardines are especially nourishing because they contain a lot of calcium and phosphorous rich bones.  Calcium and phosphorous improve the tensile strength of the hair strand, which means that if you pull the hair it does not break.  These two minerals also skin tissue connectivity making it less likely to wrinkle. 

Pile sardines on whole grain toast to maximize their nutrient potential as the B vitamins in whole grain bread are synergistic with oils in the sardines.

3.   Snapper

Snapper is a tropical fish that is natural source of selenium.  Selenium is the mineral that can helps the skin repair itself sunburn and skin breakouts and that also can help give it a youthful glow. Snapper is also very high in the DHA that keeps skin and hair youthful looking.

The ideal skin and hair enhancing meal would be red snapper, drizzled with olive oil and then baked with almonds sprinkled on top. The almonds provide extra calcium and the olive oil enhances the Omega-3 content of the meal.

4.   Olives and Olive Oil

Olives (and by extension olive oils) are another excellent source of omega-3 acids and oleic acid.  Oleic acid is a good fatty acid that is naturally clarifying and that helps keep your skin smooth and blemish free.

Olives can also be easily added to bread recipes, salads or just eaten raw.

They contain vitamins E and K. Although small black olives contain vitamins A, E, calcium, iron, and copper, they are quite high in sodium. Look for olives with lower sodium that are preserved in vinegar or extra virgin olive oil.

6.  Avocadoes

Avocados contain many B vitamins, vitamins, C, E, and K, magnesium, copper, manganese, and potassium. In fact, avocados contain more potassium than a banana. The synergistic action of these vitamins can help prevent hair loss and improve because they improve circulation.

Avocadoes contain soluble fat can also help your body absorb vitamins more efficiently. The antioxidants in avocadoes help repair damaged cells and prevent further damage to stressed-out skin and hair.

Avocadoes can be eaten raw, added to salads and blended in smoothies. You can also make a skin-and hair-enhancing guacamole from olive oil, garlic, onions, tomatoes and avocado.  The garlic and onions are anti-inflammatorily and contain the skin healing mineral selenium. The tomatoes contain lycopene, which is a powerful antioxidant for the skin and the scalp.

7.  Sunflower Seeds

Sunflower Seeds lower seeds are good for hair because they are high in protein, biotin, potassium, calcium, zinc, iron, magnesium and vitamin E. They also supply and abundance of omega-6 fatty acids. Biotin, in particular, plays a role in improving the tensile strength of the hair. They pack a powerhouse of nutrition and are fat-free.

Sunflower seeds can be eaten raw as a snack, sprinkled on salads or mixed into bread or cookie dough.

The good fats in these foods help clean your arteries, increase circulation and assist with cell regeneration so that your skin always appears to be glowing with health and your hair strands always have tensile strength and shine.

For more information about the Healthy & Active Program please visit our website at www.healthy-active.com. You may also call us in Toronto at (41)440-2217 and ask for Adrienne Wright Bulow or Dr. Micheal Rahman or email us at adrienne@healthy-active.com.