Basil smells and tastes sweet, and it’s also highly nutritious. For example, 1/4 cup of chopped basil gives you 31% of your daily vitamin K needs – so it’s a great addition if you’re lacking in that vitamin.
Many of us remember (or still watch!) the old Popeye cartoons where the title character would instantly gain much greater physical strength by eating a can of spinach. But did you know that it could also build the strength of the macular pigment, a shield against vision loss?
Most people know that fruits and vegetables are essential staples of a healthy diet, and consuming plenty of them have been found to cut the risk of various cancers. However, most of those studies have focused on how fruit and vegetable consumption benefit the health of adults, but we know that a healthy start in life can protect people from diseases later on.
While some areas, such as New York City, are working to make sure that individuals have the full picture of what they’re putting in their mouths (by placing salt warning icons next to food menu items), efforts are being made on a national level to actually lower sodium content in food.
Chain restaurants in New York City which fail to put symbols on their menus beside dishes containing excessive amounts of salt can be fined $200, and those that repeatedly fail to comply with the mandate could lose their permits.
Source: The New York Times
Over the next 2 years, you’re going to notice big changes in the nutrition labels that grace food packaging. One of the biggest changes – and perhaps the most important – will be the addition of added sugar.
A new study published in Molecular Biology and Evolution suggests that consuming a long-term vegetarian diet may alter human DNA and make people more susceptible to some cancers and heart disease.
For decades parents have been told to delay feeding their children certain foods they could be allergic to, including peanuts, eggs, wheat, and milk. But recent studies suggest exposing at-risk children to potential allergens as infants might actually prevent them from developing an allergy.
Source: Genetic Literacy Project
Although it may sound like a bad infomercial, a study financed by the National Institutes of Health has shown that cutting added sugar in children’s diets can improve their overall health incredibly quickly.
Clinical psychologist Julie Rucklidge explores how important nutrition is for mental health in an important TedX talk. She says ‘nutrition matters,’ and that poor nutrition is a ‘significant and modifiable risk factor for the development of mental illness.’
