Going veggie shrinks the brain

I found this article and I thought it was interesting.

SCIENTISTS have discovered that going veggie could be bad for your brain - with those on a meat-free diet six times more likely to suffer brain shrinkage.

Vegans and vegetarians — such as Heather Mills — are the most likely to be deficient because the best sources of the vitamin are meat, particularly liver, milk and fish.

Vitamin B12 deficiency can also cause anaemia and inflammation of the nervous system.

Yeast extracts are one of the few vegetarian foods which provide good levels of the vitamin.

The link was discovered by Oxford University scientists who used memory tests, physical checks and brain scans to examine 107 people between the ages of 61 and 87.

When the volunteers were retested five years later the medics found those with the lowest levels of vitamin B12 were also the most likely to have brain shrinkage. It confirms earlier research showing a link between brain atrophy and low levels of B12

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"the gold of the Incas"

Quinoa salad with cucumber, tomatoes, orange pepper, olive oil and cayenne pepper.

Wholegrains are high in energy-boosting B vitamins and manganese, as well as magnesium, which plays a critical role in muscle contractions and energy metabolism.

Quinoa (pronounced keenwa) is a South American grain that is becoming more widely available and contains all the essential amino acids. It is therefore a complete protein but is more easier to digest than meat protein and has far lower fat content than most meat.

I usually have it as a salad or as a breakfast porridge. They're absolutely wonderful.

For more info about quinoa

salad power

Seared ahi tuna salad with rasberry balsamic dressing

I usually make salad two to three times a week. Salad fuels and help boost my runs. It's packed with vitamins and minerals that my body needs.

This is one of my favourite salad. It's made with lollo rosso, beetroot, tomatoes, yellow peppers and seared tuna. Organic fresh ingredients are the key here. Make sure the vegetables are fresh and pesticide-free.

Organic Food: A Healhty Alternative

VideoJug: Organic Food: A Healhty Alternative

go organic!

I found this article online and I thought it was interesting.

Organic foods are the best. I have been fortunate that there's Whole Foods Market not too far where I lived. It can be expensive but it's worth every penny. If you can grow your own, it's much better. Eating organic is good for you and it's good for the environment.

12 Foods You Should Always Buy Organic

The Environmental Working Group (www.ewg.org) is a nonprofit organization that advocates in Washington D.C., for policies that protect global and individual health. Among the many valuable services they provide is a Shoppers' Guide to Pesticides in Produce. It is based on the results of nearly 43,000 pesticide tests performed on produce and collected by federal agencies between 2000 and 2004. Nearly all of the data used took into account how people typically wash and prepare produce - for example, apples were washed and bananas peeled before testing.

Of the 43 different fruit and vegetable categories tested, these had the highest pesticide load, making them the most important to buy organic versions - or to grow organically yourself:

• Peaches
• Apples
• Sweet bell peppers
• Celery
• Nectarines
• Strawberries
• Cherries
• Lettuce
• Grapes (imported)
• Pears
• Spinach
• Potatoes

Why should you care about pesticides? The EWG points out that there is a growing consensus in the scientific community that small doses of pesticides and other chemicals can have adverse effects on health, especially during vulnerable periods such as fetal development and childhood.

A few other notes from the EWG: Nectarines had the highest percentage of samples that tested positive for pesticides (97.3 percent) followed by peaches (96.6 percent) and apples (93.6 percent). Peaches had the highest likelihood for multiple pesticides on a single sample: 86.6 percent had two or more pesticide residues.

Also keep in mind that maintaining your family's health is not the only reason to choose organic food. Pesticide and herbicide use contaminates groundwater, ruins soil structures and promotes erosion, and may be a contributor to "colony collapse disorder," the sudden and mysterious die-off of pollinating honeybees that threatens the American food supply. Buying or growing organic food is good for the health of the planet.

Learn more about the list of twelve foods that you don't have to buy organic.

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I love spaghetti

I am a runner and carbs are my friend. When I make pasta, I use whole wheat pasta with soy crumbles and homemade tomato sauce. It's simple and it's delicious!

fried rice with shrimp

Fried rice is originated in China as a way to use up leftover cooked rice. The versatility of this dish welcomes a variety of vegetables, while other seafood or meats can be substituted for the shrimp.

I use fresh cooked long grain brown rice. Make sure you let it cool first. In Asia, they eat this dish in the morning with bulad (dried salty fish) with a nice cup of coffee.