HealthAssist Blog

Bananas are unique fruit with unique properties. It is fantastic fruit with sweet taste that most people enjoy. Bananas perfectly satisfy hunger and supply an organism with energy and useful nutrients. It has a rare combination of energy value, tissue-building elements, vitamins and minerals, fiber and other essential nutrients. Also bananas have very convenient natural packing. It is compact, healthy, easy to carry, and easy to use.

The health benefits of bananas are being investigated worldwide. And here is the list of these benefits. But first, some interesting facts about bananas:

• Banana fruit is botanically defined as a berry, and the plant it grows on is a herb.
• They are the only fruit that actually develop better color, texture, aroma, and sweetness when ripened after harvest. It’s the tiny seeds within the fruit that release a ripening hormone, a mixture of ethylene gas and carbon dioxide.
• Bananas are the most potassium-rich food that is available worldwide and year-round.
• Bananas make baby boys! Recently researchers confirmed the old wives’ tale that eating bananas is associated with having a boy.

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If you actually want to say "goodbye" to your belly, you should take a lesson from the French.

Despite a diet stuffed with cream, butter, cheese and meat, just 11 percent of French adults are obese[3], compared with America’s 33 percent[2]. The French live longer too, and have lower death rates from coronary heart disease. They don’t diet and they don’t spend hours panting round the gym.

Here are several solutions for the notorious “French paradox” - the riddle of how a nation of alcohol-quaffing, croissant-munching gourmands stays healthy and slim, while a disproportionate number of health-obsessed Americans are obese and at cardiovascular risk.

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The days of thinking about fats just as calories are over!

Initially, trans fats were thought to be a healthy alternative to animal fats because they’re unsaturated and come primarily from plant oils. However, in 1990 scientists made a startling discovery: Trans fats appeared to both increase LDL (bad) cholesterol and decrease HDL (good) cholesterol. More studies over the years confirmed this. At the present time, we do know that trans fats have a very deleterious effect on heart and metabolism in general. However, this is still far not all negative consequences.

Hydrogenation process

Trans fats are made by a chemical process called partial hydrogenation. In the hydrogenation process, vegetable oil is reacted under pressure with hydrogen gas at 250 - 400 F for several hours in the presence of a catalyst such as nickel or platinum. Hydrogenated oils are “molecularly changed” oils. Full hydrogenation results in saturated fats only, but partial hydrogenation will lead to the formation of trans fats.

The purpose of hydrogenation is to solidify an oil so that it can be made to resemble real foods such as butter.

Foods that are likely to have trans fats

• Stick margarines and shortenings
• Packaged foods
• Bakery products (crackers, cookies, cakes)
• Frozen foods (frozen pies, pot pies, waffles, pizzas)
• Potato chips, corn chips, popcorn
• Fried fast foods (fried chicken, fried fish, French fries, doughnuts)
• Hamburgers, cheeseburgers
• Desserts

Why Trans Fats are put in so many foods?

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To Drink Or Not To Drink? Is it really necessary to give up coffee while pregnant?

Coffee is one of the most studied products in the world. Caffeine’s effect on pregnancy has been extensively researched. However, the results of research are controversial. It is supposed, that coffee can contribute to miscarriage, low birth weight, premature birth and stillbirth.

The question of coffee drinking safety during pregnancy causes many disagreements. Doctors are split on what this means for pregnant women, with some advising avoiding caffeine altogether and others saying caffeine-containing beverages are still safe in moderation.

And though a lot is not clear in the question of coffee safety, it is authentically known, that:

• Caffeine readily crosses the placental barrier.
• Clearance of caffeine is slower in pregnant vs non pregnant women.
• The fetus has low levels of enzymes which break down caffeine, so fetal metabolism of caffeine is delayed.

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"The bonds of wedlock are so heavy that it takes two to carry them - sometimes three"
Alexandre Dumas

Most people list being faithful as one of the top essentials in a successful relationship. But the fact is, people cheat. It is estimated that about 44-76% of men and 21-50% of women are cheating their “significant other”.

Probably everyone knows that cheating is wrong. Anytime someone has an affair there’s a danger that it will ruine their marriage or relationship. Even long and happy marriage or relationship. But this doesn’t stop the majority of people.

So why people do this? Why people are willing to conduct themselves in the ways that could be very damaging to them and to their partners?

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Do you like coffee? I do, it’s taste and aroma make my mornings so much better!

However, coffee is not usually considered as a healthy food. It has a long history of being blamed for many ills. But some recent research indicates that coffee may not be so bad after all. So which is it - good or bad for your health?

I decided to do my own little research and noted 10 benefits and 11 potential health risks of coffee drinking. Here is what I have found:

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Few people drink soda because they believe it’s a healthy drink. We drink it because it is very tasty, convenient and inexpensive.

Statistics shows that Americans drink more soda pop than ever before. These popular beverages account for more than 25% of all drinks consumed in the United States. More than 15 billion gallons were sold in 2000. That works out to at least one 12-ounce can per day for every man, woman and child. Fifty-six percent of 8-year-olds down soft drinks daily, and a third of teenage boys drink at least three cans of soda pop per day.

Besides that, the number of Americans who consume products that contain sugar-free sweeteners grew from 70 million in 1987 to 160 million in 2000. At the same time, the incidence of obesity in the United States has doubled from 15 percent to 30 percent across all age groups, ethnic groups, and social strata. And the number of overweight Americans has increased from about 30 percent to over 65 percent of the population.

And though soda is rather addictive treat and for many of us it would be hard to give up soda habit once and for all, at least we should try to place it to the category of things we enjoy on occasion.

As for me, the following information will surely keep me away from opening the can:

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