10 Health Benefits of Broccoli and a Bonus!

1. Helps prevent cancer. Broccoli is a source of powerful antioxidants and anticarcinogens sulphorophane, indole-3-carbinol and diindolylmethane ( DIM) that impede the growth of breast cervical and prostate cancer. 
 2. Curbs overeating. A cup of broccoli has as much protein as a cup of rice or corn but only half the calories. Plus broccoli is a great source of fiber. 
3. Boosts your immune function. A cup of broccoli has a powerful supply of beta-carotene, zinc and selenium which strengthen your ability to fight infections. 
4. Fights birth defects. A cup of broccoli provides 94mcg of folate, a B vitamin important for proper fetal development. 
5. Fights Diabetes. The high fiber, low sugar and low calories keep insulin function tuned up and support stable blood sugar levels. 
6. Fights Heart Disease. The carotenoid lutein, vitamin B-6 and folate in broccoli may reduce the risk of atherosclerosis, heart disease and stroke. 
7. Promotes strong and healthy bones. Broccoli provides calcium and vitamin K which promote bone health and reduce risk of osteoporosis. 
8. Regulates blood pressure. The potassium, magnesium and calcium work together to support blood pressure in the normal range. 
9. Reduces incidence and severity of colds. Vitamin C and Vitamin A, antioxidants and anti-infectives help support resistance to respiratory infections. 
10. Makes for healthy women and manly men. Broccoli provides diindolylmethane which supports healthy estrogen balance and reduces accumulation of harmful estrogens in women all the while supporting healthy testosterone levels in men. 

The bonus is broccoli is easy to prepare and delicious. Lightly steam broccoli spears and florets and then sauté in olive oil with and abundant number of garlic cloves for a delicious side dish or serve over pasta for a nutritious and low calorie vegetarian main course.
Broccoli Rabe a Mediterranean favorite confers the same benefits!

Via: 5 Health Benefits of Blueberries

Sugary beverages start to wreck your health in just two weeks.

Still drinking soft drinks or sugar sweetened beverages? It is time to stop. A new study shows us what just two weeks of drinking soda can do to your heart. And the subjects were young healthy people.

Sugary drinks have been linked to obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes. What is worse, the more soda (or sweet tea, or lattes) people drink the more likely these outcomes. The sugar industry and soft drink companies argue that association isn’t proof that one actually causes the other. But you have to agree that when population studies show a link again and again, and the mechanism of harm is plausible, it is silly to deny such strong evidence.

This is exactly how how we proved smoking cigarettes caused disease. But when it comes to discovering the effects on a habit on our health there’s nothing like controlled experiments. And the best evidence to prove cause and effect comes from double blind placebo controlled studies.

And when you’re studying heart disease, all the study has to do is look at changes in markers of heart disease risk, such as LDL cholesterol, apoB, triglycerides and uric acid in the blood.

A new study did just that. The study has been published online ahead of print in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The researchers recruited a group of 85 people aged 18-40, and divided them into 4 groups. For 2 weeks participants drank beverages sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) making up 0 percent, 10 percent, 17.5 percent or 25 percent of their daily caloric requirement. The participants were blinded to their drink content, and in order to do that the 0-percent drink for the control group was sweetened with aspartame.

Within 2 weeks, the people who were on the HFCS drinks had higher levels of LDL, triglycerides and uric acid, and the higher the HFCS they drank, the higher the level of heart risk factors.

Although the American Heart Association and the World Health Organization recommend that people limit added sugar to no more that 5 percent of daily calories, very few people do so, and levels of added sugar in the 10-20 percent are typical of the American diet. By this study’s assessment, the average American person’s sugar intake is certainly enough to increase cardiac risk.

Would replacing HFCS with regular sugar (sucrose) make a difference? Not likely. The fructose content in table sugar is 50 percent, compared to 55 percent in HFCS – just a slight difference – and since fructose is metabolized in our body in a way that promotes fat production, raises triglycerides and affects cholesterol levels, either one of these sweeteners would probably have the same negative effects; there's no reason to assume that sugar is any more safe than HFCS.