Okay, I love my garden, but I HATE slugs. Last night I went out to pluck them off the strawberry patch, feeling quite satisfied with myself. Then this morning I go out to check on my almost perfectly ripe strawberry and it's GONE. Not just partially-eaten: missing and without evidence of robbery. So I decided if I couldn't eat my own strawberries (this wasn't the first instance of being losing a strawberry to the slugs), neither could they. I pulled all the strawberries out and into the compost. Now there will be corn growing there.
I felt sad, angry and victimized. I had tried everything to keep the slugs away. It wasn't fair.
But then as I checked on the rasberry bush, what did I find but the first three ripe rasberries of the year! I knew then that God really does love me.
Along with that newsflash, here's some exciting nutrition news about fruits and veggies containing a compound called carotenoids. You might be familiar with beta-carotene. That is one of a handful of carotenoids. Others are called alpha-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin, lycopene, lutein, and zeaxanthin. And yes, all those names will be on the test.
You might have heard that foods like carrots, mangos and sweet potatoes are high in carotenoids, because carotene gives these plants their orange color. But please know that ALL fruit and vegetables are rich in different kinds of carotenoids (like lycopene) that don't produce any distinguishable colors. Spices are also loaded with them.
A new study (The Journal of Nutrition, May 2009) found that men consuming foods high in carotenoids - in other words, fruits and vegetables - were significantly less likely to develop metabolic syndrome (a combination of diabetes, high blood pressure, abdominal or "visceral" fat, and high blood lipids like cholesterol). Men who consumed the most carotenoids in their diet had 50% less likelihood of having metabolic syndrome. Since metabolic syndrome shaves off decades of life, not to mention causing dependence upon dialysis, this is great news.
So how do we fight diabetes, high blood pressure and overall premature death and suffering? I know it's cliche, but the answer is still more fruits and veggies. And don't forget that seasonal, locally-grown and organic produce contain LOADS more carotenoids than their imported, commercially-grown counterparts. So if you want to live long and stay healthy, spend the extra time and money on your produce (and dump the supplements).
In fact, I'm loving the carotenoids in the organic - and yes, store-bought - strawberries I'm savoring right now.
I felt sad, angry and victimized. I had tried everything to keep the slugs away. It wasn't fair.
But then as I checked on the rasberry bush, what did I find but the first three ripe rasberries of the year! I knew then that God really does love me.
Along with that newsflash, here's some exciting nutrition news about fruits and veggies containing a compound called carotenoids. You might be familiar with beta-carotene. That is one of a handful of carotenoids. Others are called alpha-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin, lycopene, lutein, and zeaxanthin. And yes, all those names will be on the test.
You might have heard that foods like carrots, mangos and sweet potatoes are high in carotenoids, because carotene gives these plants their orange color. But please know that ALL fruit and vegetables are rich in different kinds of carotenoids (like lycopene) that don't produce any distinguishable colors. Spices are also loaded with them.
A new study (The Journal of Nutrition, May 2009) found that men consuming foods high in carotenoids - in other words, fruits and vegetables - were significantly less likely to develop metabolic syndrome (a combination of diabetes, high blood pressure, abdominal or "visceral" fat, and high blood lipids like cholesterol). Men who consumed the most carotenoids in their diet had 50% less likelihood of having metabolic syndrome. Since metabolic syndrome shaves off decades of life, not to mention causing dependence upon dialysis, this is great news.
So how do we fight diabetes, high blood pressure and overall premature death and suffering? I know it's cliche, but the answer is still more fruits and veggies. And don't forget that seasonal, locally-grown and organic produce contain LOADS more carotenoids than their imported, commercially-grown counterparts. So if you want to live long and stay healthy, spend the extra time and money on your produce (and dump the supplements).
In fact, I'm loving the carotenoids in the organic - and yes, store-bought - strawberries I'm savoring right now.