Bananas...that`s right, there`s more to it than being liked by monkeys

After reading this, you’ll never look at a banana in the same way again
By Sina Anvari | October 13, 2013
Karenstan.net

image credit: karenstan.net

This is interesting. After reading this, you’ll never look at a banana in the same way again.

Bananas contain three natural sugars – sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fiber. A banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy.

Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. No wonder the banana is the number one fruit with the world’s leading athletes.

But energy isn’t the only way a banana can help us keep fit. It can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions, making it a must to add to our daily diet.

DEPRESSION:
According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND amongst people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a banana. This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.

PMS:
Forget the pills – eat a banana. The vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood.

ANEMIA:
High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anemia.

BLOOD PRESSURE:
This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it perfect to beat blood pressure So much so, the US Food and Drug Administration has just allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit’s ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke.

BRAIN POWER:
200 students at a Twickenham school ( England ) were helped through their exams this year by eating bananas at breakfast, break, and lunch in a bid to boost their brain power. Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert.

CONSTIPATION:
High in fiber, including bananas in the diet can help restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without resorting to laxatives.

HANGOVERS:
One of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to make a banana milkshake, sweetened with honey. The banana calms the stomach and, with the help of the honey, builds up depleted blood sugar levels, while the milk soothes and re-hydrates your system.

HEARTBURN:
Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body, so if you suffer from heartburn, try eating a banana for soothing relief.

MORNING SICKNESS:
Snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep blood sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness.

MOSQUITO BITES:
Before reaching for the insect bite cream, try rubbing the affected area with the inside of a banana skin. Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation.

NERVES:
Bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the nervous system.

Overweight and at work? Studies at the Institute of Psychology in Austria found pressure at work leads to gorging on comfort food like chocolate and chips. Looking at 5,000 hospital patients, researchers found the most obese were more likely to be in high-pressure jobs. The report concluded that, to avoid panic-induced food cravings, we need to control our blood sugar levels by snacking on high carbohydrate foods every two hours to keep levels steady.

ULCERS:
The banana is used as the dietary food against intestinal disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness. It is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in over-chroniclercases. It also neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach.

TEMPERATURE CONTROL:
Many other cultures see bananas as a ‘cooling’ fruit that can lower both the physical and emotional temperature of expectant mothers. In Thailand , for example, pregnant women eat bananas to ensure their baby is born with a cool temperature.

So, a banana really is a natural remedy for many ills. When you compare it to an apple, it has FOUR TIMES the protein, TWICE the carbohydrate, THREE TIMES the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals.. It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around So maybe its time to change that well-known phrase so that we say, ‘A BANANA a day keeps the doctor away!’

Everyone loves a bigger cup-size(larger breasts) but now it may be harming women`s health

The downside of a DD-cup: Cancer risk on the rise as average woman's breasts are larger than ever before
By CHRIS MURPHY
DAILY MAIL
June 7, 2012

Breasts are getting bigger, and sadly that is a bad thing.

According to a new book, an author said the trend is damaging women’s health.

Breasts: A Natural and Unnatural History by Florence William, found breasts are developing in girls earlier than at any time in recorded history, revealing that the biology of breasts is changing - and not for the better.


Growth spurt: Florence William's book Breasts: A Natural and Unnatural History, reveals that the biology of breasts is changing - and not for the better. Image credit: Alamy

The author details a number of alarming trends that may be contributing to the high rate of breast cancer in the U.S. - today and in years to come.

Women’s breasts are expanding with their waistlines, Ms William told USA Today.

The average U.S. bra size has grown from a 34B to a 36C in just a generation. That’s troubling, given that weight gain has been associated with an increased risk of postmenopausal breast cancer.

Girls also are hitting puberty earlier than ever before - another trend that increases their long-term breast cancer risk.

About 15per cent of all American girls begin developing breasts at age seven, according to an influential 2010 study in pediatrics.

Breasts today are also under assault from pollutants, Ms William says.

Because chemicals such as PCBs and mercury are stored in fatty tissue, they tend to end up in breasts - and breast milk.

'Breast-feeding, it turns out, is a very efficient way to transfer our society’s industrial flotsam to the next generation,' she writes.

'Our breasts soak up pollution... Breasts carry the burden of the mistakes we have made.'

While nursing her second child, Ms Williams had a sample of her own milk analysed.
It contained perchlorate, an ingredient in jet fuel, as well as chemical flame retardants, at levels 10 to 100 times higher than in European women.

Ms William says she believes in breast-feeding, and spends considerable time in her book noting its benefits for a baby’s brain, body and immune system.

But she notes that many industrial toxins will persist in our bodies - and our children’s bodies - for years, long enough for today’s baby girls to pass them on to their own children.
'What happens in our environment is reflected in our breasts,' she says.

'If we really care about human health, we need to care about our planet.'

Though a science expert herself, the author can't say with confidence whether such contaminants are directly to blame for breast cancer or health issues relating to breasts, she told ABC that her personal experience was a 'great way to tell the story first-person'.

Cancer rates have doubled since the 1940s with one in eight women likely to have breast cancer in her lifetime, according to the author.

The fact that breasts develop and change right up to the last trimester of a pregnancy helps explain their constant vulnerability.

'Our bodies are intimately connected to the world around us,' she writes. 'If we live in an environment filled with pollution, these things will and do affect our health.'

Qatar named the FATTEST country on Earth...the rich always don`t lead healthy lives

Qatar named as the fattest nation on earth where HALF of all adults are obese
17 per cent of the population suffering from diabetes

DAILY MAIL
April 14, 2012

Qatar, the richest nation on earth, is also the fattest with half of all adults obese and 17 per cent of the population suffering from diabetes.

By comparison America, which is often assumed to be the fattest, looks positively slim with a third of adults obese and eight per cent diabetic.

Out of a population of 1.7million, just 250,000 are native Qataris, who, in the space of just two generations have switched from a tribal existence to living in air conditioned villas being waited on by armies of servants.

Recipe for disaster: Wealthy Qataris do very little exercise, are waited on by armies of servants and have developed a love of fast food. Photo credit: Daily Mail

Qataris are developing diabetes a decade younger than average, which, in turn, is pushing up rates of illnesses like hypertension, partial paralysis, heart disease, and blindness.

The tiny Arab state, with its vast supplies of oil and natural gas, became the richest nation in the world last year as measured by per capita gross domestic product.

(Left) Mr Big: Qatar's leader Sheik Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, photo credit: Daily Mail

In recent years Qataris have developed a love of fast food with branches of KFC and McDonald's springing up in the many air conditioned malls.
Hassan Tiaz, 19, told Atlantic magazine: It's because in Qatar we just sit, smoke and eat junk food.

'There's not too much work. Everything is automatic and most of us just sit in air-conditioned offices and cars. Everything is done for us.'

The nation also suffers from a high rate of birth defects and genetic disorders - which experts put down to the custom of inter-marriage between close family members and cousins.

Sharoud Al-Jundi Matthis, the program manager at the Qatar Diabetes Association, said: 'It's a very, very serious problem facing the future of Qatar.

'They're concentrating the gene pool, and at the same time, they're facing rapid affluence.

Adel Al-Sharshani, 39, who was diagnosed with diabetes several years ago, said: 'Everybody in Qatar knows about diabetes, but the problem is, it's talking only. No one is taking care of it.
'I ignored all the advice until it was too late, and that is what other people are doing too. It's dangerous

'I am afraid of losing my eyes, my foot. I am afraid of losing my life.'

The Qatari government is desperately trying to tackle the problem by launching campaigns to encourage healthy eating and exercise.

Maher Safi, marketing director at the Qatar Olympic Committee, explained: 'Our main focus is encouraging people to be active, getting them to lead healthy lifestyles -- that's our vision.'
'In the past few years, the committee has launched public programs administering free body-mass indexes and sugar level tests, disseminated material about healthy eating, and introduced initiatives to schools to help children learn about new sports, like handball, tennis, and bicycling.