Skin of Fruits and Vegetables: Why You Should Not Peel

It is time to drop your peeler and consider first if you should use them on the skin of fruits and vegetables on your table. A lot of these foods are better eaten with their peels on. Throwing away the skin of these foods is tantamount to throwing and wasting the nutrients needed by your body. Of course there are fruits and vegetables whose skin should be taken off. Majority though has nutrients but people are not used to eating them with the skin still on.

The color of your fruits and vegetables are usually on their skins; the pigments are actually the healthful parts. Phytochemicals are basically concentrated in these parts. So, why should you remove the skin of fruits and vegetables if they are edible? I will help you discover these foods but let me start with the skins or peels that you are likely to eat with no hesitation.

Apples  

Half of the dietary fiber in apple is found in its skin. The exterior peels that you throw are about two to six times more nutritious; these have more insoluble fiber than the flesh that you retain. The skin also contains flavonoids that are helpful in regulating your blood pressure. This is all attributable to the inhibited ACE enzyme. Apple contains Vitamins A, C and potassium; removing the skin is taking off one-third of the total of these nutrients.  Vitamin K helps you prevent blood clots and the amount of this vitamin in the peel of apple is four times more than there is in the flesh.

Skin of fruits also contains a lot of anti-oxidants and apple’s skin has three exceptional – the quercetin, triterpenoids and ursolic acid. Quercetin aids in breathing, protects the lungs and the brain. Triterpenoids inhibit the growth of some kinds of cancer cells. The ursolic acid aids in growth of muscle.

Grapes

Grapes are the greatest source of resveratrol that is mostly concentrated on the skin. This phytochemical is a hundred times more in the skin than in the pulp. This grape nutrient has been found to inhibit growth of cancer cells and aids in prevention of heart problem and Alzheimer’s disease. The seed of grapes that we also discard contains Vitamin E and linoleic essential fatty acid. This means that we should not only eat the skin of grapes but ingest the seeds as well.  Thus refrain from picking the seedless grapes; instead go for those with seeds.

Cucumber 

The dark green peel of cucumber is the storage of antioxidants, potassium and insoluble fiber. This cucumber part also holds huge amount of this food’s vitamin K content. If you want smooth hair and sturdy nails, don’t peel the cucumber. That green part has the mineral silica for beautiful hair and nails.

Zucchini 

Zucchini flesh is 95% water. The nutrients are in the skin; these are vitamins C and K, potassium and fiber. Other nutrients in the skin are lutein, zeaxanthin and beta carotene.

Potatoes

Potato and its cousin, sweet potato, have tons of fiber in their skins. Other nutrients in the skin that you throw are the minerals potassium, copper, calcium, magnesium and iron. For the vitamins, the skin has vitamins B6, C and K. Ditching the skin of these root crops is wasting 90% of the iron content. It is also a waste of half of the fiber. For the sweet potato, the skin contains vitamin A and beta-carotene.

Carrot

Carrots are good for the eyes and most of the nutrients are in the skin. The biggest amount of the phytonutrients is just under the skin and this is the reason why you should not remove this. Also in carrots are beta carotene and fiber.

Eggplant 

The flesh of this vegetable has no color and the fact that the color is in the skin means that the nutrients are there. The purple skin has the nasunin antioxidant. This is a flavonoid that is said to be a “radical scavenger”. This means that this is cancer cell killer. Nasunin also has anti-aging properties.

Had you been peeling the skin of fruits and vegetables? It is time to change that habit and begin keeping the peeler out of these foods’ skin. By keeping the skin, you are not only preventing nutrient deficiency but you are saving money from the purchase of food supplements that otherwise are better gotten from the peels that you put in the trash bin.

Gallbladder Surgery – Basic Information

The gallbladder is a pear-shaped small organ behind the liver. It functions to secrete bile that aids in the digestion of fats. It may not be a very important body part but it has a role in making our life easier. It helps alleviate the liver from the difficult task of having storage for bile.

There are two types of gallbladder diseases. One is cholecystitis which is an inflammation of the gallbladder. The other is cholelithiasis which is presence of gallstones in the gallbladder.  Pain in the upper right side of the abdomen is one of the usual symptoms of gallbladder diseases. In severe conditions, this body organ had to be removed through surgery.

Gallbladder surgery is known as cholecystectomy; this procedure involves the removal of the gallbladder. There are two known types of gallbladder surgery. These are open and laparoscopic cholecystectomy. The open surgery is more invasive wherein a 7 to 9 inch incision is made to remove the gallbladder. In the more modern laparoscopic procedure, four tiny holes or incisions are made for its removal.  Hospital confinement is shorter with the laparoscopic procedure and it also has a faster healing period.

After surgery, you should be more watchful of your diet – less fats and more amount of dietary fiber. This is also a time for you to minimize or do away with fast foods and red (pork and beef) meats. Freshwater fish and chicken breast along with vegetables and fruits are best for someone who had lost his or her gallbladder.

Types of Breast Cancer

Breast cancer has different types, which when detected early can be treated efficiently. Never be afraid when you feel a lump in your breast. Go to the doctor and have the lump assessed and diagnosed. This is a life-saving action.

The different kinds of breast cancer are :

Invasive breast cancer - These are lumps that develop in the breast tissue.

Inflammatory breast cancer - This is a rare form of breast cancer where the blood vessels in the skin of the breast are affected. The breast becomes red and inflamed.

Paget's disease of the nipple - This is a rare form of breast cancer that affects the nipple and the areola or the area surrounding the nipple.

Ductal carcinoma in situ - This is non-invasive cancer that is confined in the ducts of the breast.

Lobular carcinoma in situ - This is non-invasive cancer that is confined in the lobules of the breast.

Locally advanced breast cancer - Invasive breast cancer that has spread to areas near the breast such as chest, neck and armpit.

This pink ribbon is a symbol for breast cancer.

What Is Early Breast Cancer?

Cancer is the term given to diseases caused by the uncontrollable growth of cells in the body. These over-grown cells spread into the tissues of the body.

Cells do grow in the body but they had to be controllable otherwise, spreading into the body's tissues result to what is called invasive cancer. We call the site where cancer grows as primary cancer. There are times when these cancer cells break away and go to our bloodstream (lymphatic system) and therefore may affect other parts of the body. When the original cancer grows on other parts of the body, this is called metastasis which is also called secondary or advanced cancer.

Early breast cancer is cancer that is contained in the breast which may or may not have spread to the lymph nodes in the armpit. When the cancer invades the lymph nodes, cancer of the breast can progress into higher stage.

It is not known what causes breast cancer but researches disclosed possible risks to this disease. One of these is the fact that you are a woman (although breast cancer also affects men). Getting older and having a strong family history of breast cancer are other risk factors. One other factor is inheriting faulty gene (called gene mutation).

Early detection of breast cancer is life-saving. Self-breast examination is a very great and inexpensive way to detect presence of lumps in the breast. Regular mammograms for women aged 40 years old is recommended; for ladies 35 - 40 years old, breast ultra-sound may suffice. But when there is suspicion of breast tumor, the doctor may recommend mammogram.

Ladies should develop the habit of breast self-examination. This is what helped me. Had I not detected it early, my Stage 2A cancer could have advanced. Of course, after feeling the lump, go to your doctor and have it examined.

Health Is Wealth - Be Fit And Healthy

"Health is wealth" is an old adage. But this statement can be conceived in two perspectives.

       1. The doctors, hospitals, drug manufacturers and health providers

        2. The patients

For the doctors and all those involved in the practice of medical profession, ill health means money to them. When you get sick, you go to the doctor. Medicines are prescribed. In worse case, you are confined in the hospital. The doctors, hospital owners, drug companies siphon your money and they get richer at your expense.

For the patient, being healthy is being free from illness. Thus, his funds and money are saved and used for other basic expenses. This can be savings that can be used for future investments.

Have you ever been seriously sick? Without a health card, you surely drained your wallet!!! This could be the reason why health cards are becoming more popular.

The best thing to do for all of us is to avoid incidences of sickness. Try to be  fit and healthy. This is easy if you have dedication and self control - watch your diet, exercise, keep your weight at normal level and adopt a healthy lifestyle. Could you do this? Well, this is your big CHALLENGE!