Tomato
The tomato (see pronunciation) is the edible, often red, fruit of the plant Solanum lycopersicum,[2] commonly known as a tomato plant. The plant belongs to the nightshade family, which is called Solanacea The species originated in Central and South America. The Nahuatl (Aztec language) word tomatl gave rise to the Spanish word "tomate", from which the English word tomato originates. Its use as a food originated in Mexico, and spread throughout the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas. Tomato is consumed in diverse ways, including raw, as an ingredient in many dishes, sauces, salads, and drinks. While tomatoes are botanically berry-type fruits, they are considered culinary vegetables, being ingredients of savory meals.[3] Numerous varieties of tomato are widely grown in temperate climates across the world, with greenhouses allowing its production throughout the year and in cooler areas. The plants typically grow to 1–3 meters (3–10 ft) in height and have a weak stem that often sprawls over the ground and vines over other plants. It is a perennial in its native habitat, and grown as an annual in temperate climates. An average common tomato weighs approximately 100 grams (4 oz). Botanically, a tomato is a fruit, a berry, consisting of the ovary, together with its seeds, of a flowering plant. However, the tomato has a much lower sugar content than other edible fruits, and is therefore not as sweet. Typically served as part of a salad or main course of a meal, rather than at dessert, it is, in the US, considered a "culinary vegetable". One exception is that tomatoes are treated as a fruit in home canning practices: they are acidic enough to process in a water bath rather than a pressure cooker as vegetables require. Tomatoes are not the only food source with this ambiguity: bell peppers, cucumbers, green beans, eggplants, avocados, and squashes of all kinds (such as zucchini and pumpkins) are all botanically fruits, yet cooked as vegetables.
...moreSoya Lecithin
What is Soy Lecithin? When seeking to answer the question, “What is soy lecithin?” our search immediately takes us to mid-19th century France. First isolated by French chemist Theodore Gobley in 1846, lecithin is a generic term to designate a variety of naturally occurring fatty compounds found in animal and plant tissues. Composed of choline, fatty acids, glycerol, glycolipids, phospholipids, phosphoric acid and triglycerides lecithin was originally isolated from egg yolk. Today, it is regularly extracted from cottonseed, marine sources, milk, rapeseed, soybeans, and sunflower. It is usually used as a liquid but also can be purchased as granules. By and large, the vast majority of lecithin use centers around its unique ability of being an excellent emulsifier. We all know that oil and water don’t mix, right? When the two are placed into a solution and shaken together, the oil droplets initially spread out and appear to evenly disperse. Once the shaking stops, the oil separates from the water again. This is why lecithin is so important. When lecithin enters the equation, oil is broken down in smaller particles in a process called emulsification making the oil droplets easier to clean or digest if eaten. This is one of the reasons why soy lecithin is used as an additive in processed foods, medicines and supplements; it helps give these products a smooth, uniform appearance. (2) Additionally, its ability to emulsify fats makes it an ideal ingredient for nonstick cooking sprays and soaps. Soy Lecithin Benefits? On the other side of the soy lecithin debate is an exceptionally large body of research that supports it use as a healing agent. Referred to as a fat that is “essential” to the cells in our bodies, lecithin is used both as a standalone medicine and also as a common additive in many medicines today. In spite of the side effects discussed above, lecithin has been used for years to treat a number of diseases including: (7) Alzheimer’s disease Anxiety Dementia Depression Eczema Gall bladder disorders Hypercholesterolemia (high cholesterol) Liver disorders Of these conditions, dietary soy lecithin supplementation is most strongly connected with decreasing hyperlipidemia and influencing lipid metabolism (8) A 2010 study published in the journal Cholesterol, for example, evaluated total cholesterol and LDL levels after soy lecithin administration in patients with diagnosed hypercholesterolemia levels. One 500 mg soy lecithin supplement was taken by 30 volunteers every day, and the results were quite astounding: (9) A reduction of 40.66% in total cholesterol after 1 month. A reduction of 42.00% in total cholesterol after 2 months. A reduction of 42.05% in LDL after 1 month. A reduction of 56.15% in LDL after 2 months. In addition to helping normalize cholesterol, soy lecithin supplementation has been shown to significantly increase immunity function; especially in diabetics. For example, Brazilian researchers discovered that daily supplementation with soy lecithin caused macrophage activity (white blood cells that engulf foreign debris) of diabetic rats to increase by 29%. Additionally, they discovered that lymphocyte (white blood cells that are fundamental to the immune system) numbers skyrocketed 92% in non-diabetic rats! (10) One of the many keys to soy lecithin’s health benefits is a compound known as phosphatidylserine; a common phospholipid that helps make up part of the cell membranes in plants and animals. Known to affect stress hormones adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and cortisol, phosphatidylserine derived from cow brains has been shown to dampen response to physical stress. Testing to see how phosphatidylserine derived from soy lecithin compared, German researchers evaluated the effects that soy lecithin phosphatidic acid and phosphatidylserine complex (PAS) supplementation has on ACTH, cortisol and a psychological evaluation known as the Spielberger State Anxiety Inventory stress subscale. Published in the Danish journal Stress, the trial compared 400 mg, 600 mg and 800 mg of PAS on groups of 20 people each. The researchers not only discovered that PAS has some pretty remarkable effects on the human psyche, they uncovered that it is dose-dependent. Meaning, they found a sweet spot with the 400 mg PAS because it is considerably more effective at blunting serum ACTH and cortisol levels than the larger doses. (11) Soy Lecithin Facts Oftentimes extracted from soybean oil, one cup of soy lecithin has the following nutritional content: (12) 1:8 omega-3 to omega-6 ratio. Vitamin E – 89% daily value Vitamin K – 501% Choline – 763 mg It’s highly unlikely that anyone would ever consume this amount, so we must take these nutrition facts with a grain of salt. Nonetheless, if you purchase the organic variety, soy lecithin is a solid source of choline, which has many health benefits. “One of the newest nutrients to be added to the list of human vitamins,” according to The George Mateljan Foundation, choline plays a key role in methylation. (13) Literally affecting every cell in the body, methylation is a vital process to maintain human life and involves the transfer of a methyl group (1 carbon and 3 hydrogen atoms) to amino acids, enzymes and DNA. Methylation is so crucial for our health that inadequate activity has been linked to: Abnormal Immune Function (14) Alzheimer’s disease (15) Autism (16) Cancer (17) Cardiovascular Disease (18) Chronic Fatigue (19) Chronic Inflammation (20) Dementia (21) Diabetes (22) Down’s Syndrome (23) Fertility & Miscarriages (24) Multiple Sclerosis (25) Neurotransmitter Imbalances (26) Pregnancy Problems (27) Psychiatric Disorders (28)
...morePomegranate
The pomegranate, botanical name Punica granatum, is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub or small tree in the family Lythraceae that grows between 5 and 8 m (16 and 26 ft) tall. The fruit is typically in season in the Northern Hemisphere from September to February,[2] and in the Southern Hemisphere from March to May. As intact arils or juice, pomegranates are used in baking, cooking, juice blends, meal garnishes, smoothies, and alcoholic beverages, such as cocktails and wine. The pomegranate originated in the region extending from modern-day Iran to northern India, and has been cultivated since ancient times throughout the Mediterranean region. It was introduced into Spanish America in the late 16th century and into California by Spanish settlers in 1769. Today, it is widely cultivated throughout the Middle East and Caucasus region, north and tropical Africa, the Indian subcontinent, Central Asia, the drier parts of southeast Asia, and parts of the Mediterranean Basin. It is also cultivated in parts of Arizona and California. In the 20th and 21st centuries, it became more common in the commercial markets of Europe and the Western Hemisphere.
...moreOnion
The onion (Allium cepa L., from Latin cepa "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable and is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. Its close relatives include the garlic, shallot, leek, chive and Chinese onion. This genus also contains several other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion (Allium fistulosum), the tree onion (A. ×proliferum), and the Canada onion (Allium canadense). The name "wild onion" is applied to a number of Allium species, but A. cepa is exclusively known from cultivation. Its ancestral wild original form is not known, although escapes from cultivation have become established in some regions.[4] The onion is most frequently a biennial or a perennial plant, but is usually treated as an annual and harvested in its first growing season. The onion plant has a fan of hollow, bluish-green leaves and its bulb at the base of the plant begins to swell when a certain day-length is reached. The bulbs are composed of shortened, compressed, underground stems surrounded by fleshy modified scale (leaves) that envelop a central bud at the tip of the stem. In the autumn (or in spring, in the case of overwintering onions), the foliage dies down and the outer layers of the bulb become dry and brittle. The crop is harvested and dried and the onions are ready for use or storage. The crop is prone to attack by a number of pests and diseases, particularly the onion fly, the onion eelworm, and various fungi cause rotting. Some varieties of A. cepa, such as shallots and potato onions, produce multiple bulbs. Onions are cultivated and used around the world. As a food item, they are usually served cooked, as a vegetable or part of a prepared savoury dish, but can also be eaten raw or used to make pickles or chutneys. They are pungent when chopped and contain certain chemical substances which irritate the eyes.
...moreLemon
The lemon, Citrus limon (L.) Osbeck, is a species of small evergreen tree in the flowering plant family Rutaceae, native to Asia. The origin of the lemon is unknown, though lemons are thought to have first grown in Assam (a region in northeast India), northern Burma or China.[2] A study of the genetic origin of the lemon reported it to be hybrid between bitter orange (sour orange) and citron.[3][4] Lemons entered Europe near southern Italy no later than the second century AD, during the time of Ancient Rome.[2] However, they were not widely cultivated. They were later introduced to Persia and then to Iraq and Egypt around 700 AD.[2] The lemon was first recorded in literature in a 10th-century Arabic treatise on farming, and was also used as an ornamental plant in early Islamic gardens.[2] It was distributed widely throughout the Arab world and the Mediterranean region between 1000 and 1150.[2] The first substantial cultivation of lemons in Europe began in Genoa in the middle of the 15th century. The lemon was later introduced to the Americas in 1493 when Christopher Columbus brought lemon seeds to Hispaniola on his voyages. Spanish conquest throughout the New World helped spread lemon seeds. It was mainly used as an ornamental plant and for medicine.[2] In the 19th century, lemons were increasingly planted in Florida and California.[2] In 1747, James Lind's experiments on seamen suffering from scurvy involved adding lemon juice to their diets, though vitamin C was not yet known.[2][5] The origin of the word "lemon" may be Middle Eastern.[2] The word draws from the Old French limon, then Italian limone, from the Arabic laym?n or l?m?n, and from the Persian l?m?n, a generic term for citrus fruit, which is a cognate of Sanskrit (nimb?, “lime”)
...moreGreen Lemon
The lemon is a small tree (Citrus limon) that is green even in the winter. It came from Asia, and is also the name of the tree's oval-shaped yellow fruit. The fruit is used for cooking and other things in the world – usually for its juice. People do not know for sure where lemons have come from. However, most people think that lemons first grew in India, northern Burma, and China.[1][2] The lemon is the common name for Citrus limon. A lemon is a yellow citrus fruit. It is related to the orange. Lemon juice is about 5% citric acid, and has a pH of 2 to 3. Lemon plants vary in size yet stay generally small. The tallest height they can get is about 6 meters tall If Limes are allowed to fully ripen on the tree, they actually turn from green to yellow. Because of this, some people believe (erroneously) that Limes are just unripe Lemons. Whereas, truth to tell, even the Lemons that we buy are unripe Lemons. Limes have more sugar and citric acid than do lemons. Limes and lemons are from the same citrus fruit family, rich in vitamin C but different in color. Limes are green and smaller, whereas lemons are yellow and big in size. Despite the difference in flavor, color and size; limes and lemons have the same nutritional benefits and are low in calories.
...moreagro product
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