The Health Benefits of The Antioxidant Rich Goji Berries
What are goji berries? Goji berries are small berries that are mostly grown in China, the Himalayans, Mongolia, and Central America. Goji bushes tend to grow best in a sub-tropical climate in order to survive and thrive. It has been said that there are over 85 varieties of goji berries being grown in the world. How could you be bored with that?
Some of the health benefits of goji berries are that they promote longevity, help with eye sight, boost your immune system, high in antioxidants, improve fertility, and improve circulation. Why wouldn’t you eat goji berries? Goji berries look more or less like dried red or orange colored raisons. You can purchase them at most health food stores. They are usually in the nut or raw food section of the store. Sometimes you can even get them covered in cocoa powder, which are really delicious! You can even find goji tea, but I prefer them dried as a snack. Some even say that goji berries help lower cholesterol and help reduce blood sugar in your body.
Goji berries are considered a complete food source because of their extremely high protein content and 19 amino acids that make up its content. Goji berries also contain a huge amount of minerals (21) with the main one being zinc, which is great for increasing your immune system. Goji berries have been known to have 4 times the amount of antioxidants as blueberries, so you don’t need to eat as many goji berries in order to keep your antioxidants up, especially during the cold months or if you live in a highly congested areas with high traffic. If you tend to live in cities with high traffic your body will have some form of damage to your DNA and the smog also breaks down our free radicals in our system. Antioxidants help ward off free radicals and radiation damage to our bodies so that we look younger, have a normal metabolism, and to also ward off toxins that are all over our environments. Antioxidants are extremely helpful to our eyes. Your eyes are exposed to so much sun damage and free radicals that you really need to boost your intake of goji berries or some other type of antioxidant in order to protect yourself.
When purchasing goji berries always remember to purchase organic. You really don’t want to eat something that has pesticides on them even if they are high in antioxidants. Make sure that the color has a red/orange look to it. You can also purchase goji liquid, goji powder (which can be used in smoothies), and goji juice. If you soak your goji berries for up to 4 hours you can also use the soak water for your smoothies.
Goji Super Antioxidant Snacks
Blend in a Vitamixer 2 cups of goji berries
Mix with ½ cup cocoa nibs
1 Cup chopped raw almonds
2 Tablespoons of Raw Almond Butter
1 Tablespoon of Agave nectar
Mix all ingredients with your hand into balls and put in the refrigerator until they are set (around 1-2 hours).
I personally like just eating them right out of the bag as a snack. They are easy to pack for picnics, hiking, or on a long drive and the kids will love them!
Benefits of Eating Spinach Everyday
Not many of us like the idea of eating spinach daily. But the fact is that this green leafy vegetable is a powerhouse of nutrients with very few calories. A cup full of this vegetable fulfills most of your daily nutrient needs and still has only forty calories to boot. So why wouldnt you eat it? Some people do not like the taste of it but I have a cure for you. I mix 3 handfuls in with my fruit smoothie every morning and you can’t even taste it. I bet your kids wouldn't even know they were eating it.
Eating Spinach daily has many health advantages and is a strong building block to a healthy body. It has a high fiber content and a cup full of spinach has enough vitamin A and K for your daily requirements and enough foliate and manganese to last you the whole day and if this is not enough, consider its calcium and protein content too. The high content of vitamin A is great for your eyesight and it strengthens the eye muscles as well.
Spinach has proven anti-aging properties as well as anti-carcinogenic properties due to the high concentration of flavonoid compounds. The anti ageing properties of eating spinach have been proven time and again. Researchers have confirmed that the vital compounds present in spinach are great to keep your brain young and active.
It is a great vegetable for those with high blood pressure as it helps to keep the pressure low. It works wonders for the heart as it has compounds, which prevent the hardening and thickening of arteries. A person who consumes spinach daily is protecting the body against the onslaught of diseases like colon cancer, osteoporosis, and arthritis. Also it is very useful to keep blood sugar levels stable in Diabetics.
It is great food for growing kids and also menstruating women due to its high iron and mineral content. Daily consumption of this nutritious leafy vegetable is a great healthy habit and is very beneficial to maintain good health. But please be sure to eat organic pesticide free spinach. Organic spinach has more nutritional value than non organic plus it is better for the environment.
You can use spinach in salads, toss with any type of nuts and pressed garlic to make it tastier. A little pressed garlic stirred into olive oil can also be tried. Spinach can be tossed into pasta dishes without even cooking it to give your dinner that extra nutrition that you and your family needs.
All in all Popeye really did know what he was doing! He was able to build strong lean muscles by eating a diet consisting of mainly spinach! Argh! Eat your spinach!
