littletineabgel

2009-07-12T04:48:00.000-07:00

Amino Acids in Food and body Tissue

2009-07-08T04:14:00.000-07:00

Classification Amino Acid

Natural occuring Amino Acids

Essential for all Human Beings

Lysine
Methionine
Phenylalanine
Threonine
Trypotophan
Valine
Isoleucine
Leucine
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Essential for infants
Histidine

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Nonessential

Glycine
Glutamic Acid
Arginine
Aspartic Acid
Proline
Alanine
Serine
Tyrosine
Cysteine
Asparagine
Glutamine
Hydroxyprollne
Citrulline

Banana

2009-07-06T04:22:00.000-07:00

By a high potassium to sodium content, bananas may prevent high blood pressure and its complications. High fiber content may also contribute to this effect. High potassium may also prevent renal calcium loss, in effect preventing bone breakdown. In diarrhea, it contributes with electrolyte replacement, as well as increased absorption of nutrients.Bananas also have some antacid effect, protecting from peptic ulcers. Pectin content, a hydrocolloid, can ease constipation by normalizing movement through the intestine. The low glycemic index in unripe bananas is of particular benefit to people with diabetes. High fructooligosaccharide content may work as a prebiotic, nourishing the intestinal flora to produce beneficial vitamins and enzymes. Carotenoid content has antioxidant effects, and protects against vitamin A deficiency, resulting in e.g. night blindness. Moderate consumption decreases risk of kidney cancer, possibly due to antioxidant phenolic compounds. In contrast, large consumption of highly processed fruit juice increases the risk of kidney cancer.
Fruit consumption in general decreases the risk of age-related macular degeneration.

Allergic reactions of a banana

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There are two forms of banana allergy. One is oral allergy syndrome which causes itching and swelling in the mouth or throat within one hour after ingestion and is related to birch tree and other pollen allergies. The other is related to latex allergies and causes urticaria and potentially serious upper gastrointestinal symptoms.

Textiles
The banana plant has long been a source of fibre for high quality textiles. In Japan, the cultivation of banana for clothing and household use dates back to at least the 13th century. In the Japanese system, leaves and shoots are cut from the plant periodically to ensure softness. The harvested shoots must first be boiled in lye to prepare the fibres for the making of the yarn. These banana shoots produce fibres of varying degrees of softness, yielding yarns and textiles with differing qualities for specific uses. For example, the outermost fibres of the shoots are the coarsest, and are suitable for tablecloths, whereas the softest innermost fibres are desirable for kimono and kamishimo. This traditional Japanese banana cloth making process requires many steps, all performed by hand.In another system employed in Nepal, the trunk of the banana plant is harvested instead, small pieces of which are subjected to a softening process, mechanical extraction of the fibres, bleaching, and drying. After that, the fibres are sent to the Kathmandu Valley for the making of high end rugs with a textural quality similar to silk. These banana fibre rugs are woven by the traditional Nepalese hand-knotted methods, and are sold RugMark certified.

more chemicals in meat?

2009-07-02T06:19:00.000-07:00

The chemical feast forced on the livestock you eat does not stop at the farm. The list of chemicals commonly used in curing and preserving cold meats is a long one. And all these added chemicals are poisons. sodium nitrate and sodium nitrite are common in luncheon meats. They have both recently been shown to be cancer-causing agents. One of the reasons these chemicals are used is because they accentuate the natural color of the food, making it more appealing and more expensive. both chemicals have been known to poison meat consumers. One example of the inability to controlthe amounts of nutrites in meats was the several cause of sickness to people.

VEGETARIANISM

2009-06-30T06:07:00.000-07:00

"More an more, in the next thirty years, we are going to be resorting to a vegetarian diet. The reasons for this, are not moral or humanitarian, but because plants remain our healthiest, largest, and most economical source of food. A commission of the National Academy of Science in the US has come to a similar conclusion. To survive in the future, the commission reported, we will all have to rely more on plant foods for sources of protien,instead of the traditional diet of meat. "The day when a man can wantoly prey upon the diminishing species with whom he shares this planet is nearly over. Let us hope the lengthening shadows are not specters of doom." Vegetarianism is not new. It has been long established in INDIA as an intergral part of hindu religion. Plato and Socrates were vegetarians, as were Hippocrates, Ovid, Aristotle, and Buddha. Vegetarianism has been misunderstood throughout most of history. Its practitioners have been called faddists, fanatics and mystics about a person who didn't eat meat. The reasons people give for being vegetarians are many. A few base it upon their religious beliefs, other claims health benifits. Most, however, came to vegetarianism out of rational judgment.

BIOLOGY

2009-06-30T04:49:00.000-07:00

For hundred of years,progress in the search for a much better life has been slow. The world we live in now was then dominated by a vast number of customs, beliefs, and traditions that held back scientific progress for centuries.

Take the early Greeks for example. They were more into supernatural powers, mythology, and reliance on the changes and movements of heavenly

bodies.

Even the Philippines has its own my myths and legends, too. One popular myth is the "Luzon Flood Story" which narrates that the great flood occured because of the abduction of Humitan, a sea maiden guard Tau-mariu, by Aponi-tulau, the lord of the sea. Also, another legend depicts two huge beings, Angalo and Angarab, who were so big that when they walked and shouted to each other, they shocked the regions where they were at the time, breaking the land into parts and bringing about the reasons why the Philippines has many islands.

Finally some enlightened people started asking questions about the hows and whys of many things. This inquiry was the beginning of a process that we call scientific method of asking questions and arriving at answers.

guyabano....

2009-06-22T05:55:00.000-07:00

The heart shaped guyabano fruit has a dark green, leathery and spike like skin that measures from 8 to 12 inches long and can weigh up to 2.5 kilos. Ripe fruits are light yellow and soft. The creamy and delectable flesh contains from 60 to 100 black-brown seeds that are indigestible and non-edible.
Comparisons of the flavor of guyabano range from strawberry and pineapple mixed together to sour citrus flavor notes contrasting with an underlying creamy roundness of flavor reminiscent of coconut or banana.
A native of tropical America, guyabano was introduced into the Philippines at an early date and is no cultivated in all parts of the Archipelago. The plant grows in any kind of soil, but a fairly deep, friable soil of volcanic origin is conducive to growth and fruiting. It thrives very well from sea level up to 500 meters above sea level.
Guyabano is one of the healthiest fruits known to man. The flesh of the fruit consist of a white edible pulp that is high in carbohydrates (particularly fructose) and considerable amounts of Vitamin C, Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, potassium and dietary fiber.
Guyabano is low in cholesterol, saturated fat and sodium. Not only is guyabano a good health food, it also taste delicious.
Aside from being eaten raw, the guyabano fruit is processed into candies, tarts, shakes, ice cream, and sherbets and other beverages. An assortment of punch and cocktail drinks can be made by mixing the nectar with wine rum or cola drinks or buko (fresh coconut) juice and ice.
In Indonesia, immature guyabano are cooked as vegetables or used in soup in Indonesia. In the northeastern part of Brazil, they are either roasted or fried.
The fruit, seeds, and leaves have a number of herbal medicinal uses in countries where the plant is common. The sap of the young leaves may be applied directly on pimples to induce suppuration. The sap is also considered parasitical.
An alcoholic extract of the leaves, when distilled with steam, yields a small amount of essential oil. The portion of alcoholic extract which is soluble in water contains a large amount of potassium chloride together with dextrose tannins, amorphous products, and a small amount of an alkaloid substance which could not be crystallized. The leaves and roots also cure colic and convulsions.
To reduce fever, a decoction of leaves can be taken internally. It has the same effect as when leaves are added to bathing water. In the Caribbean, it is believed that laying the leaves of the guyabano on a bed below a sleeping person with a fever will break the fever by the next morning.
The crushed fresh leaves are also applied on skin eruptions for faster healing. A poultice of young guyabano leaves is applied on the skin to alleviate rheumatism and other skin infections like eczema. Applied during the healing of wounds, this can result in less or no skin scars.
The decoction can also be used as a wet compress on swollen feet and other inflammations. Poultice of mashed leaves and sap of young leaves are used for eczema and skin eruptions.
The guyabano leaves are believed to have tranquilizing and sedative properties. In the Netherlands Antilles, the leaves are placed inside pillows or placed on top of the mattress to induce a good night's sleep. Boiling the leaves and drinking may help induce sleep.
Guyabano are also good in checking insect pests. Pulverizing the guyabano seeds and mixing it with soap and water can be used as an effective spray against caterpillars, armyworms and leafhoppers on plants. The petroleum ether and chloroform extracts of guyabano are toxic to black carpet beetle larvae. The seed oil kills head lice.
The bark of the guyabano tree has been used in tanning. The bark fiber is strong but, since fruiting trees are not expendable, is resorted to only in necessity. Bark, as well as seeds and roots, has been used as fish poison.
The wood is pale, aromatic, soft, light in weight and not durable. It has been used for ox yokes because it does not cause hair loss on the neck. Analyses of the wood in Brazil show cellulose content of 65 to 76 percent, high enough to be a potential source of paper pulp.
Here are some words of warning: Research carried out in the Caribbean has suggested a connection between consumption of guyabano and atypical forms of Parkinson's disease due to the very high concentration of annonacin. On the other hand, the seeds contain 45 percent of yellow non-drying oil which is an irritant poison, causing severe eye inflammation.
"Guyabano seeds are toxic, and care must be taken to assure that all are removed before the pulp is processed,"