Bell pepper, Leafy greens and TOMATO By Janet Colston These are the most common salad items added to our weekly shopping basket and they supplement our food plates adding nutrients to our diets. We want to delve deeper into their additional phytonutrients and this week it’s the ubiquitous Tomato. Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) Is it a fruit or a vegetable? This is a question that often comes up when people discuss tomatoes. The answer is it’s both; the botanical definition of a fruit is a ripened flower ovary that contains seeds whereas vegetables are roots, leaves, or other secondary parts and…
Author: Janet Colston
By Janet Colston, PhD Bell pepper, Leafy greens and Tomato These are the most common salad items added to our weekly shopping basket and they supplement our food plates adding nutrients to our diets. We want to delve deeper into their additional phytonutrients, this week we discuss healthy leafy greens. Leafy Greens Traditionally we think about leafy greens being the lettuce common in our supermarkets, but there is a very wide range of leafy greens, all vying for unique taste, crunch and flavour. Microgreens are all the rage but what exactly are they? Generally they are the young seedlings of…
By Janet Colston, PhD Bell pepper, Leafy greens & Tomato These are the most common salad items added to our weekly shopping basket and they supplement our food plates adding nutrients to our diets. We want to delve deeper into their additional phytonutrients over the next three weeks starting with Bell Peppers. Bell Peppers (Capsicum annum) Bell Peppers belong to the nightshade family (Solanaceae) and although technically a fruit they are considered vegetables as they are more likely to be added to savoury dishes. The capsicum family includes both sweet peppers and chilli peppers that are rated for heat and…
By Janet Colston, PhD Raspberries and blackberries are among the fastest growing fruit categories in the U.S. in the last 5 years according to analysts at RaboResearch Food & Agribusiness [1]. These are a great choice for people who want a different texture from strawberries or blueberries but still want to eat berries high in phytonutrients. While raspberry production in the U.S. is predominantly located in California, the south-eastern states of Georgia, North Carolina in addition to Texas and Ohio have superb blackberry growing climates. Raspberries (Rubus idaeus L.) The first known recording of raspberries dates back to 100 BC when…
By Janet Colston Emerging from the Coronavirus lock down can create fear for even the healthy, in particular with regard to the ability to fight off COVID-19. This has incentivized many to improve their personal health and wellbeing to build resilience for the future. Remember!The CDC recommends the following measures in regard to COVID-19.How to protect yourself • What to do if you are sickDisclaimer: We are not doctors and do not prescribe this blog as a medicinal alternative to bona fide medical advice should you contract seasonal flu or Coronavirus. Ginger: Zingiber officinale is a popular root and spice used in cookery…
By Janet Colston Coronavirus is the first global pandemic of most of our lives and so far the virus has predominantly affected the elderly and those with decreased immunity to disease. As we start to come out of lock down there is more fear for healthy individuals, in particular with regard to the ability to fight off COVID-19, should we or our loved ones contract it. Many people are now turning to increased personal health and well-being to build resilience for the future. Remember!The CDC recommends the following measures in regard to COVID-19.How to protect yourself • What to do…
By Janet Colston We all currently find ourselves dealing with Coronavirus, the first global pandemic of most of our lives and ever changing uncertainty around the economy and our individual futures. Each country has issued their own response to the outbreak. While many individuals are thinking about their own health and wondering what they can do to be as healthy as possible. Disclaimer: We are not doctors and do not prescribe this blog as a medicinal alternative to bona fide medical advice. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally. TURMERIC – Native to Asia, Curcuma…
By Janet Colston, PhD The Medical Qualities of Berries We all currently find ourselves dealing with Coronavirus, the first global pandemic of most of our lives and ever changing uncertainty around the economy and our individual futures. Each country has issued their own response to the outbreak. While many individuals are thinking about their own health and wondering what they can do to be as healthy as possible. Remember! The CDC recommends the following measures in regard to COVID-19. How to protect yourself • What to do if you are sick Disclaimer: We are not doctors and do not…
By Janet Colston, PhD The internet is full of misinformation, like boiled garlic will “cure” the novel coronavirus. THIS IS DEFINITELY FALSE. Uncertainty creates fear. And in this uncertain time fear will lead to grasping onto a hope that anything will help and that there may be a magic cure out there. It’s important to note that we all are experiencing fear and anxiety during this uncertain time. We all (at times) feel helpless against things, especially new and invisible things like the new disease COVID-19. So first, lets focus on what we do know: The CDC recommends the following…