Amazing Carrots
Carrots are a rich source of beta carotene, a powerful anti-cancer, artery-protecting, immune-boosting and infection fighting antioxidant. Research has shown that a single carrot a day slashed stroke rates in women by 68 percent! No drug can get close to that. Even beta carotene supplements had no benefit at all, according to the 2007 study. If you are or were a smoker, the beta carotene in one medium carrot cuts your lung cancer risk in half. It has also been shown that high doses of beta carotene as found in carrots, substantially reduces odds of degenerative eye disease (cataracts and macular degeneration). The high soluble fibre in carrots also balances blood cholesterol and promotes regularity. The body absorbs beta carotene from carrots easier when they are cooked.
Flax Seeds Lower Bad Cholesterol
A new study from Iowa State's Nutrition and Wellness Research Centre study found that men who consumed at least 150 milligrams of flaxseed lignans per day decreased cholesterol by just under 10 percent over the three months that they were given the flaxseed. In another significant study conducted, women who added as little as 50 grams of ground flaxseed to their daily diets for four weeks were shown to have lowered LDL (bad) cholesterol levels by 18%, without touching the HDL (good) cholesterol levels. Gene Bruno, Dean of Academics at Huntington College of Health Sciences, wrote in his 2008 article that flaxseed research has also shown major serum lipid level reduction by about 8% - an effect traditionally achieved through the consumption of fish oils.
