Benefits Of Bitter gourd (Karela)

Karela also known as the Bitter gourd is a tropical vegetable, largely cultivated in the African and Asian countries. The vegetable has a rough, warty, green colored skin and is bitter to taste. Although not very tasty but it has a great nutritional value. This is due to the presence of 32 active constituents, which include citrulline, beta-sitosterol-d-glucoside, lutein, lycopene, zeaxanthin and GABA. Bitter gourd is also rich in minerals like iron, potassium, calcium, beta-carotene, and vitamins B1, B2, B3 and C. Due to the presence of these nutrients better gourd has a great medicinal value and is used as an antipyretic, antidotal, tonic, appetizer, stomachic, anti-bilious and a laxative. There are many benefits of consuming bitter gourd in our daily diets. Some of these benefits are:

1. Beneficial for diabetics.
The bitter taste of bitter gourd makes it a perfect diet for people suffering from diabetes. It helps to lower their blood sugar levels and should be consumed by them regularly.

2. Benefits to the digestive tract.
Bitter gourd is extremely helpful for keeping the digestive tract healthy. It also improves the peristaltic movements, which are particularly important for the removal of waste and toxins out of the body. It stimulates digestive glands like pancreas and liver and thus helps in better absorption of food.

3. Beneficial for carbohydrate metabolism.
Bitter gourd contains essential minerals and vitamins, which help in curing defective carbohydrate metabolism.

4. Protection from worms and infections.
The bitter flavor of bitter gourd helps in suppressing the infestation of worms inside the body. It also helps to curb various kinds of infections in the body.

5. Boosts up the immune system.
The nutrients present in Karela makes it useful for boosting up the immune system of the body. Regular consumption of karela keeps a person away from common viral and bacterial infections.

6. Benefits to the blood circulatory system.
Intake of karela purifies the blood and improves the circulation of it through the entire body.

7. Beneficial for the eyes.
Apart from treating neuritis Karela also helps to prevent eye complications.

8. Aids in treating hypertension.
Regular intake of karela helps in the prevention and treatment hypertension.

9. Beneficial for the skin.
Karela acts as a blood purifier and improves circulation of blood. As a result toxins are removed from the blood as soon as they are formed. This prevents the skin from the negative effects of these toxins. Intake of karela also aids in the treatment of skin diseases like psoriasis.

There are various ways of consuming karela. It can be cooked as vegetable, pickle or squeezed to extract its juice. In whichever way it is consumed the high mineral and vitamin content will benefit you in some way or the other and keep you healthy.

Resource : Benefits Of Karela

Best Summer Foods for Weight Loss

Lighten up your diet this summer with these refreshing foods and drinks.

You don’t need to starve yourself on a wacky fad diet if you want to look better in your shorts or swimsuit this summer.

The secret to weight loss is to choose healthy foods and take in fewer calories than you burn. And it’s just easier to make better food choices in summertime, when heavy, high-calorie dishes seem less appealing. The best foods for weight loss in summer are light, refreshing and, most important, keep you out of the hot kitchen.

The single easiest way to trim calories from your summer diet, experts say, is to load up on nature’s bounty. Produce is at its peak in summer. Delicious fruits and vegetables abound at farmers’ markets and in your local grocery. Besides being low in calories, produce is loaded with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber.

“Enjoy fresh produce in season. You will be thrilled at how fresh, delicious, and satisfying it tastes,” says Susan Moores, RD, a St. Paul, Minn. nutrition consultant. “Save the oranges and apples for fall, and load up on fresh berries, melons, greens, tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, beets, pea pods, and all the super-nutritious and low-calorie fruits, greens and vegetables that grow in the garden this time of year.”

As a bonus, you can forget about portion control when it comes to fresh fruit and vegetables, Moores say.

“Go for it, because it is hard to do much damage to your waistline with these super-nutritious edibles,” says Moores

To keep your cool and cut your time in the kitchen, start with prepared produce, such as cut-up fruit and washed greens. Add rotisserie chicken, prepared soups, and pre-threaded kabobs when you need something a bit heartier. Pre-prepped foods may cost a little extra, but they save time in the kitchen.

Here are dietitian’s picks for some of the best foods to help with weight loss during the summer.

Best Summer Weight Loss Food No. 1: Chilled Soups

Moores loves all kind of produce but says cold soups are among her favorite low-calorie dishes.  Chilled soups like gazpacho or cucumber-dill that contain lots of chunky vegetables are a great way to start a meal.

“Research shows that a low-calorie, broth-based soup at the beginning of the meal will fill you so you eat less at the meal,” Moores says.

 2: Watermelon

Who doesn’t love diving into a crisp, juicy slice of watermelon when it’s hot outside?

“Half of the watermelon comes from water,” Moores says. “It’s a wonderful way to satisfy thirst and a yen for something sweet.”

3: Grilled Veggies

For Dawn Jackson Blatner, RD, a plate of grilled vegetables is a summertime must-have. She recommends keeping a plate of grilled onions, bell peppers, zucchini, carrots, eggplant, asparagus, and garlic in your fridge. You can use them to make dishes like:

1. Grilled vegetable and goat cheese salads
2. Grilled vegetable pitas
3. Grilled vegetable, ricotta, and fresh herb pasta and fritters.

4: Salads

Salads make for quick, healthy meals — with no recipes required.

“Just give the produce a quick rinse; slice, dice, toss fruits, vegetables, low-fat cheese, a handful of toasted nuts with some salad greens and a light raspberry or ginger vinaigrette, along with a whole-grain roll, and you have a meal in minutes,” Moores says.

Or try bean or whole-grain salads, such as wheatberry and tabouli.

Moore suggests flavoring your salads with herbs from the garden so you can go light on the dressing. And when adding meats or fish to your salad, she says, “think of them as an accessory to the greens, vegetables, and grains.”

5: Low- and No-Calorie Beverages

Smoothies, sweetened specialty coffee drinks, sweetened teas, and sodas — they all go down so easily, especially when it’s hot outside. But the calories add up just as easily.

“Beverages can be the Achilles heel during summertime because we need to drink lots of liquids to stay cool, but liquids quench thirst and don’t usually impact our hunger,” Blatner says.

She recommends these refreshing drinks and treats to enjoy this summer without blowing your diet:

• Root Beer or Orange Dream Float.  1/2 cup vanilla frozen yogurt in 12 ounces of diet root beer or orange soda (100 calories)
• Tart Lemon Pom Spritzer. 12 ounces of lemon sparkling water mixed with the juice of 1 lemon and 1/4 cup pomegranate juice, served over ice (35 calories)
• Large (24-oz.) Ice Skim Latte from Starbucks (110 calories)
• White Wine Spritzer. 5 ounces white wine mixed with 3 ounces lemon/lime seltzer water (120 calories)

6: Fruit-Based Desserts

“Cravings don’t take a summer vacation and your hot-weather sweet tooth can wreak havoc on your weight loss efforts,” Blatner says. “Ditch high-calorie desserts and opt for these naturally sweet treats that can tame the most ferocious sweet tooth.”

She suggests:

• Grilled banana sundaes made with low-fat ice cream
• Grilled pineapple with rum and pecans
• Grilled white peaches with blackberries and honey
• Frozen, dark, sweet cherries
• A chocolate-covered frozen banana
• Frozen grapes

Resource :Weight Loss & Diet Plans