TO-MA-TO

Wed, 17 Jan 2007 20:53:00 GMT

There's been a big fuss about raising vegetable prices in Jordan, it's getting crazy... Anyways, my mother was talking about that man on TV who said: "I'm an engineer, and I can no longer afford gallayet bandora" (a popular meal prepared with tomatoes). Well, don't panic you engineers out there, I'm pretty much sure that man meant: "I'm an engineer, I make a lot of money, still I can't afford gallayet bandora anymore" hmm, plausible!

Seriously, not tomato! You know it's the one thing that can be eaten with everything... it's legendary! I once heard that during some civil war, or one of those many crappy wars that we lost count of, they used to destinguish Palestinians by holding a piece of tomato and asking them what it was. If you say "banadoora" you're lebanese/syrian/whatever, if you say "bandora" you're dead! I wonder, if they were encountered by a morrocan guy, what will they make out of "mateeshah"

So, we can talk about the history of tomato-es till the cows get home, so let's get sort of scientific... I did soem search on the health benefits of tomatoes, and here's some of what I found:

Tomatoes are good for the eyes. Lycopene, the most abundant carotenoid in the blood serum, was found to be the key antioxidant that guards against ARMD ( Age-Related Macular Degeneration), a condition that may cause blindness.

Tomatoes are high in Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Calcium and Potassium

Eating tomatoes, ketchup, tomato sauce and tomato paste-topped pizza more than two times a week can reduce the risk of prostate cancer by 21 to 43 percent according to Dr. Edward Giovannucci of the Harvard University School of Public Health.

"The only nutrient that turned out to have significant preventative value (against prostate cancer) was lycopene," writes Dr. Giovannucci who also found that lycopene was most efficiently absorbed into the body when accompanied by dietary fats (limpids).

"Cooking tomatoes in oil encourages intestinal absorption and results in a two-to-threefold rise in plasma lycopene concentrations," said Dr. Giovannucci. "Tomato sauce is one of the best lycopene sources."

Men who eat two or more servings of tomato products average a 35 percent reduction in prostate cancer risk.

Tomato products are beneficial in aggressive cancers that have also spread to other parts of the body.

The best food sources of lycopene according to the Tomato Research Council in New York City: ( Amount of lycopene in one ounce) Tomato Sauce, Spaghetti Sauce, Ketchup (5 mg); Tomato Soup, Canned Tomatoes, Tomato Juice, Vegetable Juice (3 mg); Minestrone Soup, Vegetable Soup, Pink Grapefruit (1 mg)

Lycopene helps women guard against cervical intra-epithelial neoplasia, (CIN), tumorous tissue growth in the cervix according to research from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Lycopene is a powerful inhibitor of the growth of breast, endometrium (inner lining of the uterus) and lung cancer cells.

Lypocene is an inhibitor to heart disease.

Well, seriously you NEED to quit!

Fri, 02 Jun 2006 18:00:00 GMT

I found this on my desktop, someone seems to have received it by mail... It addresses woemn, but I htink it applies to everyone

Reasons to stop smoking

Smoking has become one of the unhealthiest habits men and women are undertaking these days. I have friends who fight the urge to smoke everyday and they are passing the strong-will test. On the other hand, I have other friends who are still trying to figure if it's worth quitting. If you are a woman, here are health benefits that start the day you stop smoking:

1- The first benefit lies within the reason why we go to work everyday, Money. Pick up your calculator and try to figure out how much you will be saving if you stop smoking today. Afterwards, you can think of things you can buy with this saved money. If you decide to quit, the best thing is to keep this money and reward yourself using it.

2- Beauty is one of every woman's biggest concerns no matter how old she is. It may sound irrelevant but studies have concluded that smokers have more facial wrinkles than non-smokers.

3- My family is the most important thing for me and for almost everyone I have come along in my life. You don't only need to think that stopping the smoke inhaling means you will live more with them but your family indirectly inhales the smoke as well. So if you think that you are the only one benefiting from quitting, think again because quitting means decreasing the risk of lung cancer and heart diseases for people around you.

4- Your heart is another reason and here I am not talking about the imaginary heart that you think falls in love. Women who smoke are, more than twice, as likely as other women to have a heart attack.

5- This tip was actually rather new for me because I didn't know that smoking can make you go blind. That’s rather a strong word for me but believe it or not, if you quit smoking, you are less likely to ever develop cataracts, a major cause of blindness. Not only that, but quitting may also decrease your risk of macular degeneration, another frequent cause of blindness.

6- We all know that smoking can cause lung cancer but did you know that lung cancer is the most popular of all and that nine to ten are linked to smoking?! That’s one disease no one wants, so the sooner you stop smoking the less likely you will ever come through it.

7- There is no way you can smoke while still being pregnant because you are risking getting your unborn child killed. Quitting cigarettes will increase the amount of oxygen your baby will get, therefore increase the chance your baby's lungs will work well. Don't quit and you are risking giving your child asthma and wheezing problems.

8- Most of us live with the myth that smoking relaxes your body. Actually I can't count the number of times I have come along friends and colleagues who run to a cigarette the minute they are depressed or down. As a matter of fact, researches showed that women who smoke are more depressed and more anxious.

9- All the previously mentioned reasons can be concluded in one thing do it for your life .Even if you have trouble quitting, reducing the number of cigarettes could save your life.

Cinnamon Zone: Health nd Science

TO-MA-TO

Well, seriously you NEED to quit!