Eat This to Beat Disease – Mental Health

Can eating healthy brain food from plants grown in CEA improve mental health? “The part can never be well until the whole is well” – Plato In a new series we discuss healthy foods from the aspect of people who are already suffering from an illness. A diagnosis is likely a time in your life […]

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Purple sweet potato

By beotanics.com Due to their high levels of nutrients and minerals along with their resistant nature, sweet potatoes have become a crop of great importance globally. With 95% of sweet potato cultivation occurring in developing countries. It is evident from known research that this crop is considered to be a true ‘superfood’, and is often […]

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Why growing healthy food is good for farmers

We have become accustomed to seeing rows of lettuce neatly lined up when it comes to controlled environment agriculture. There is no doubt this gives farmers control in their production where they can calculate growth versus yield and ultimately known profit margins. Lettuce and leafy green production is also an easy way for new growers […]

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Why Eat This?

By Janet Colston In 2020 we spent a lot of time reflecting on functional foods from crops that we grow in controlled environments analyzing how they benefit human health.  In a new three part series we discuss why we should boost the immune system with functional foods to prevent disease and ask ‘Why Eat This?’.  […]

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Reasons to Love Wasabi Japonica

By Janet Colston Wasabi Japonica is not a name that trips off the tongue when you think of medicinal plants but this ancient Japanese herb is full of functional metabolites with a proven ability to heal disease. The Japanese have known for centuries that Wasabi bestows a remarkable array of medicinal properties with benefits to […]

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TUBERS – ‘The Good, The Bad & The Ugly’

By Janet Colston The potato was first domesticated in Peru and Bolivia between 8000 and 5000BC [1]. Andean farmers found they grew well in higher altitudes around the lakes of Titicaca where the ancestors of the Inca settled [2]. Rich in starch, potatoes contain higher vitamin C than oranges, more potassium than bananas, and more […]

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Have you had your BLT today? Part 3: Tomatoes

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 […]

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Have you had your BLT today? Part 2: Lettuce

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 […]

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Have you had your BLT today? Part 1: Bell Peppers

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 […]

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Ancient Medicinal Qualities of Raspberries and Blackberries

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 […]

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Ginger – a ubiquitous spice that suppresses many diseases

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 […]

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The Medical Qualities of Strawberries and Blueberries

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 […]

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Photo by Taylor Kiser on Unsplash

Better health found in the stem of crops like Tumeric

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 […]

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Functional Food Facts: Around the World in 30 Berries

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 […]

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