12 most contaminated fruits and vegetables

American Environmental Working Group (EWG) listed fruits and vegetables that have the most pesticide residues:

1. Apple
2. Celery
3. Cherry tomatoes
4. Cucumbers
5. Grapes
6. Hot peppers
7. Imported nectarines
8. Peaches
9. Potatoes
10. Spinach
11. Strawberries
12. Sweet bell peppers

In addition, summer squash and leafy greens, specifically kale and collards, were usually contaminated with pesticides exceptionally toxic to the nervous system.

On the other hand, there are fruits and vegetables with the least contamination. These include:

1. Asparagus
2. Avocados
3. Cabbage
4. Cabtaloupe
5. Sweet corn
6. Eggplant
7. Grapefruit
8. Kiwi
9. Mangos
10. Mushrooms
11. Onions
12. Papayas
13. Pineapples
14. Frozen sweet peas
15. Sweet potatoes

And so you can lower the pesticide intake by avoiding the 12 most contaminated fruits and vegetables and choosing the least contaminated produce.

Although many fruits and vegetables have pesticide residues, the health benefits of a diet rich in fruits and vegetables outweigh the risks of pesticide exposure. Eating conventionally-grown produce is far better than not eating fruits and vegetables at all.

Obesity in early 20s curbs chances of reaching middle age

According to a research study published in BMJ Open (an online, open access journal dedicated to publishing medical research) in April, young men who are obese in their early 20s are significantly more likely to develop serious ill health by the time they reach middle age, or not even make it that far.

The study tracked the health condition of 6,500 Danish men for 33 years.It was found that almost half of those classified as obese at the age of 22 were later diagnosed with diabetes, high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, blood clots in the legs or lungs, or had died before reaching the age of 55.

These obese young people were eight times as likely to get diabetes as their normal weight peers and four times as likely to get a potentially fatal blood clot (venous thromboembolism). They were also more than twice as likely to develop high blood pressure, had had a heart attack, or to have died by the age of 55.

In all, every unit increase in BMI corresponded to an increased heart attack rate of 5%, high blood pressure and blood clot rates of 10% and an increased diabetes rate of 20%. Obese young men were three times as likely to get any of these serious conditions as their normal weight peers by middle age, conferring an absolute risk of almost 50% compared with only 20% among their normal weight peers.

Iron - Essential to our life

Haemoglobin is a metalloprotein in the red blood cells and makes the red blood cells "red". Haemoglobin contains iron. Its function is to transport oxygen from lung to tissues in our body.Anaemia is the condition which we have low haemoglobin.

Without healthy red blood cells, our body cannot get enough oxygen and we become fatigued,
 
As iron is an essential component to make haemoglobin, we have to ensure we can take up enough iron from our diet.

There are two types of iron in food: haem iron which is mainly found in meat (e.g., beef, mutton) and non-haem iron which is found in plants (e.g., leafy green vegetables, grains, bean and nuts). The haem iron can be absorbed more easily by the body than non-haem iron. And so for vegetarian, selection of iron-rich plants is especially important.

Vitamin C enhances iron absorption (for example, an orange contains 50 mg vitamin C which enhances iron absorption by 2 to 3 times).

 

On the other hand, caffeine interferes with the body’s absorption of iron.

 

The following shows the iron content (in mg) based on 100 grams of cooked food:

Haem Iron

• Beef (2.8)
• Mutton (2.7)
• Pork (1.3)
• Dried shrimp (11.0)
• Oyster (10.2)
• Clam (14.4)
• Pork liver (17.0)

Non-haem Iron

• Black bean (7.2)
• Red bean (3.1)
• Sesame (10.4)
• Soybean stick (16.5)
• Agaric (46.0)
• Whole-wheat cereals (12.0)
• Cornflakes (6.7)
• Instant oatmeal (3.8)

However, even we have taken up enough iron, we might still suffer from haemolysis. In this case, the life of red blood cells would be shorter than the normal 120 days. When the bone marrow fails to produce enough red blood cells in time, it can lead to haemolytic anemia. This is due to "G6PD deficiency" in our body.

Our body produces G6PD which is an enzyme that promotes glucose oxidation process. During the process, a by-product NADPH produced. This is an antioxidant which helps cell membrane of red blood cells being stable. If our body cannot produce enough G6PD due to heredity, the amount of NADPH reduces. And the red blood cells are easy to be oxidized and haemolysis occurs.

H5N1, H7N7 and Swine flu fighter - Echinacea

Influenza virus (IV) infections are a major threat to our health worldwide. Currently, anti-viral therapy includes vaccines and a few anti-viral drugs.

However vaccines are not always available in time, as demonstrated by the emergence of the new H1N1-type pandemic strain of swine origin in 2009 and the acquisition of resistance to neuraminidase inhibitors such as Tamiflu^® is a potential problem.

Numerous studies have shown that a herb called Echinacea can enhance our immune system. It can fight against multiple influenza viruses including H5N1 and swine flu, inhibit herpes simplex virus and upper respiratory tract infection. In addition, it can inhibit the growth of tumor cells and so can be used for cancer patients. And it is anti-inflammatory with anti-anxiety effect.

According to a study published in the Virology Journal (Volume 6), the exact of Echinacea, used at the recommended dose for oral consumption, has potent anti-viral activity against all the IV strains tested, including H3N2, H1N1, H5N1 and H7N7.

Concentrations ranging from 1.6 mg/ml, the recommended dose for oral consumption, to as little as 1.6 μg/ml of the extract (a 1:1000 dilution), could inactivate more than 99% of virus infectivity. The treated virus gave rise to markedly reduced yields of virus in cell culture. In addition, the lack of emergence of resistant viruses during sequential passage is a significant advantage over Tamiflu^®, which under similar culture conditions readily allowed resistant virus strains to develop. The extract inhibited the receptor binding activity of the virus, suggesting that the extract interferes with the viral entry into cells.