Fitness School

Antioxidants are nature’s way to fight illness and disease, Many fruits and vegetables contain these compounds called ‘phytonutrients’, which have the beneficial effect of keeping us healthy by improving our immune system. Although only nine hundred if these phytonutrients have been discovered so far it is the scientist opinion that many more will be found and will change tomorrows health care needs,but medical researchers believe that they are only just beginning and this could be the future of preventative health care in the world. To date a large number of health giving benefits of these phytonutrients have been found,the anti-aging power of blueberries and the effect that cherries have on reducing joint pain, are just two of the benefits found so far.

Blueberries contain an array of antioxidants while having a lower natural sugar content than many other fruits you can care to mention. The easiest way to inject concentrated amounts of these fruits is by drinking juice every day,some of the many benefits have been improvements in the body’s capacity to heal itself and benefits to circulation. The antioxidants are also efficient at fighting disease and dealing with infection. Even the humble apple is not immune with properties to help ward of heart problems.

Now citrus fruits too are showing that they have a use with a number of beneficial phytochemicals contained in them. The particular combination of properties found in tart cherries offers an anti-inflammatory benefit, which is appreciated by those suffering from joint pain caused by arthritis, gout, fibromyalgia or over-exertion. The benefits of vitamins B, C, E and certain other minerals are well studied and widely known. Phytoalexins, also antioxidants like resveratrol, are found in mulberries, blackberries and blueberries have special properties which prevent infection and viruses.

These compounds can help or suppress harmful body aging processes that often end in heart attacks, stroke, faulty blood pressure, and Alzheimer’s disease. Tomatoes too are able to help in the prevention of conditions like heart disease and some cancers. There are a number of ways you can use tomatoes to gain the greatest antioxidant benefit from them and these include pureed, juice concentrate and sauce. In the heat of summer, a watermelon can be one of the most refreshing of fruits but it has also been found to have a range of the most important phytonutrients so far discovered. Now you know the benefits of these fruits to your health, there is no longer any reason not to use them more regularly.

As a prospective vegetarian, you probably question whether or not it really matters if you stop eating meat. A person in this situation may also be questioning if this dramatic change to their life will help the planet at all. Individually it probably won’t as it is only a small scale thing but if many people feel the same way, it does have an effect on the lives of many animals. To provide an example of this, you only have to look at how many people in America suffer with heart disease that eat meat regularly.

Circulatory, heart problems, high cholesterol and heart attacks are primarily caused by the regular consumption of dairy products, eggs and meat; a reduction in this consumption would lower these health problems. According to Earth Save, the average vegetarian has about a quarter of a chance of having a heart attack as the average person. For those who go one step further and become vegans the figure lowers even still to an amazing one in ten chance. A healthy heart is not the only ‘health benefit’ to becoming a vegetarian as there are other reasons too.

There is less likelihood of cancer owing to the reduced number of preservatives that will be in your diet compared to a person that regularly eats meat. Vegetarians will also benefit from knowing they will not be consuming many of the hormones cattle ingest as part of their feed; which can cause hormonal problems in people. It is also much easier to avoid the consumption of lactose which many people have intolerance to, causing digestive conditions. Ok so there are obvious health benefits to becoming a vegetarian but it will also mean that many animals will not be harmed either.

org, the average American consumes 2,714 land animals in their lifetime. Just in a couple of decades, many hundreds of animals would not need to loose their lives if you were to make this commitment. To help even further and stop the number of battery hens and dairy cows from having to suffer degrading conditions you could stop drinking milk and eating eggs. So the answer is yes, it does matter whether or not you become a vegetarian. An improvement in your overall health with less chance of cancer or a heart condition and the reduction of animal deaths provide a compelling argument.