Showing posts with label March 2009. Show all posts
Showing posts with label March 2009. Show all posts
Green Tea
by Davide Sá, 12º DEscola Secundária de Loulé
Chinese have known about the medicinal benefits of green tea since ancient times, using it to treat everything from headaches to depression. In her book Green Tea: The Natural Secret for a Healthier Life, Nadine Taylor states that green tea has been used as a medicine in China for at least 4,000 years.
Green tea is a type of tea, made solely with the leaves of Camellia sinensis, that has undergone minimal oxidation during processing. Green tea originates from China and has become associated with many cultures in Asia from Japan to the Middle East. Recently, it has become more widespread in the West, where black tea is traditionally consumed.
Today, scientific research in both Asia and the west is providing hard evidence for the health benefits long associated with drinking green tea. For example, in 1994 the Journal of the National Cancer Institute published the results of an epidemiological study indicating that drinking green tea reduced the risk of oesophageal cancer in Chinese men and women by nearly sixty percent. University of Purdue researchers recently concluded that a compound in green tea inhibits the growth of cancer cells. There is also research indicating that drinking green tea lowers total cholesterol levels, as well as improving the ratio of good (HDL) cholesterol to bad (LDL) cholesterol.
To sum up, here are just a few medical conditions in which drinking green tea is reputed to be helpful:
- cancer
- rheumatoid arthritis
- high cholesterol levels
- cariovascular disease
- infection
- impaired immune function
Fruits and vegetables
by Francisco Lemos, 12ºA
Escola Secundária de Loulé
Escola Secundária de Loulé
Some of the most important food components that must be consumed daily according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) are fruits and vegetables.
In its modern usage the word "vegetable" is strictly a culinary term, and is not a botanical or scientific term. The word "fruit" on the other hand can be a culinary term, or it can be a botanical term, and these two usages are quite different.
Botanically speaking, fruits are fleshy reproductive organs of plants, the ripened ovaries containing one or many seeds. Thus, many botanical fruits are not edible at all, and some are actually extremely poisonous.
In a culinary sense however, the word "fruit" is applied only to those botanical fruits or similar plant parts which are both edible and palatable, and which in addition are considered suitable to be a sweet or dessert food, such as strawberries, peaches, plums, etc.
In contrast to this, a number of edible botanical fruits, including the tomato, the eggplant, and the bell pepper, are not considered to be sweet or dessert foods, are not routinely used with sugar, but instead are almost always used as part of a savoury dish, and are salted. This is the reason that they are labelled as "vegetables". Thus in a scientific context, a plant part may correctly be termed a "fruit", even though it is used in cooking or food preparation as a vegetable: a good example of this is the tomato.
In its modern usage the word "vegetable" is strictly a culinary term, and is not a botanical or scientific term. The word "fruit" on the other hand can be a culinary term, or it can be a botanical term, and these two usages are quite different.
Botanically speaking, fruits are fleshy reproductive organs of plants, the ripened ovaries containing one or many seeds. Thus, many botanical fruits are not edible at all, and some are actually extremely poisonous.
In a culinary sense however, the word "fruit" is applied only to those botanical fruits or similar plant parts which are both edible and palatable, and which in addition are considered suitable to be a sweet or dessert food, such as strawberries, peaches, plums, etc.
In contrast to this, a number of edible botanical fruits, including the tomato, the eggplant, and the bell pepper, are not considered to be sweet or dessert foods, are not routinely used with sugar, but instead are almost always used as part of a savoury dish, and are salted. This is the reason that they are labelled as "vegetables". Thus in a scientific context, a plant part may correctly be termed a "fruit", even though it is used in cooking or food preparation as a vegetable: a good example of this is the tomato.
Watermelon
Nuno Oliveira, 12ºD
Escola Secundária de Loulé
The watermelon is the succulent fruit Citrullus lanatus (formerly called C. vulgaris), of the gourd family, native from tropical Africa and cultivated on every continent except Antarctica. It has been cultivated since ancient times in the Mediterranean region, Egypt and India. The vines are annual and spread across the ground with branched tendrils, deeply cut leaves, and light-yellow flowers. Each vine bears 2–15 large, reddish, white, or yellow, sweet, very juicy fruits with flat black seeds (external color is black).
Varieties differ in flesh color, shape, and rind thickness. The rind may be preserved as a pickle.
Watermelon. Scientific Name: Citrullus lanatus
Nutritional Information: One slice of watermelon (480 g) contains 152 calories, 3 g protein, 34.6 g carbohydrates, 2.4 g fiber, 560 mg potassium, 176 mg vitamin A (RE), 47 mg vitamin C, 0.3 mg thiamin, 0.1 mg riboflavin, and 0.96 mg niacin.
Pharmacological Activity: Watermelon is rich in lycopene, glutathione and vitamin C. It has great activity against cancers and some antibacterial, anticoagulant activity.
Eating Tips: Choose watermelon with a deep red color.
Escola Secundária de Loulé
The watermelon is the succulent fruit Citrullus lanatus (formerly called C. vulgaris), of the gourd family, native from tropical Africa and cultivated on every continent except Antarctica. It has been cultivated since ancient times in the Mediterranean region, Egypt and India. The vines are annual and spread across the ground with branched tendrils, deeply cut leaves, and light-yellow flowers. Each vine bears 2–15 large, reddish, white, or yellow, sweet, very juicy fruits with flat black seeds (external color is black).
Varieties differ in flesh color, shape, and rind thickness. The rind may be preserved as a pickle.
Watermelon. Scientific Name: Citrullus lanatus
Nutritional Information: One slice of watermelon (480 g) contains 152 calories, 3 g protein, 34.6 g carbohydrates, 2.4 g fiber, 560 mg potassium, 176 mg vitamin A (RE), 47 mg vitamin C, 0.3 mg thiamin, 0.1 mg riboflavin, and 0.96 mg niacin.
Pharmacological Activity: Watermelon is rich in lycopene, glutathione and vitamin C. It has great activity against cancers and some antibacterial, anticoagulant activity.
Eating Tips: Choose watermelon with a deep red color.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)