Are you a BANANA man?

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 (Middlesex) school 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: Studies at the Institute of Psychology in Austria found pressure at wor k leads to gorging on comfort food like chocolate and crisps. 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-chronicler cases. 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.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): Bananas can help SAD sufferers because they contain the natural mood enhancer tryptophan.

Smoking &Tobacco Use: Bananas can also help people trying to give up smoking. The B6, B12 they contain, as well as the potassium and magnesium found in them, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal.

Stress: Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalize the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body's water balance. When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, thereby reducing our potassium levels. These can be rebalanced with the help of a high-potassium banana snack.

Strokes: According to research in The New England Journal of Medicine, eating bananas as part of a regular diet can cut the risk of death by strokes by as much as 40%!

Warts: Those keen on natural alternatives swear that if you want to kill off a wart, take a piece of banana skin and place it on the wart, with the yellow side out. Carefully hold the skin in place with a plaster or surgical tape!

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 it's time to change that well-known phrase so that we say, 'A banana a day keeps the doctor away!'

PS: Bananas must be the reason monkeys are so happy all the time! I will add one here; want a quick shine on our shoes?? Take the INSIDE of the banana skin, and rub directly on the shoe...polish with dry cloth. Amazing fruit !

OK, let's start taking bananas daily ;)

Beware: 吃杨梅当心

家住昆明市穿金路的杨女士打进本报热线电话反映：下午４时左右，她在一市 场内买了两公斤新鲜杨梅，到家后，迅速将部分杨梅泡在了盐水里，正准备食用时却发现新鲜杨梅 里居然泡出来很多小虫虫。

杨女士说，她把杨梅用水泡上后，就坐在沙发上看电视。过了一会儿，当她再次走进厨房时，眼 前的情景把她惊呆了：泡杨梅的盆子里爬满了像刚出生的小蚕一样颜色稍稍偏红的小虫虫，密密麻麻的， 看了让人心里发麻。

“这些虫是从哪里来的呢？莫非是杨梅里面的？” 满腹疑虑的她想出了一个办法———分别用几 个小盆盛上浓度不同的盐水，然后拿一个个大而鲜红并且没有泡过的杨梅放进了一个盐水浓度较 低的盆里，３分钟后，果然有七八条虫子先后从杨梅中爬出来，并拼命往水盆外面爬。随后，杨 女士又将这个杨梅放进了另一个浓度稍浓的盐水盆里，同样，过了３分钟后，仍然有四五条虫子 又从这颗杨梅中爬出来。杨女士再将这颗杨梅放进了盐度更浓的盆子中，这次，没有虫子从杨梅 里爬出来了。就这么一颗小小的杨梅里，竟然藏着１０多条小虫。

然而，先前鲜红的杨梅，在３次泡过后已经泛出了白色。此后，杨女士又进行了几次同样的实 验，结果都有许多小虫从杨梅中爬出来。她告诉记者：“怪不得，以前我吃杨梅时经常会坏肚子， 原来都是这些小虫在作怪啊！看来买了杨梅后不能只用清水简单清洗。”

怎么样蛮诱人的吧，中午买的，老板说才到的新鲜得很…………

于是我做了个试验！

有点反光，上个偏振试试……

好了，切入正题，拿回来洗完以后，老婆叫我用盐水泡泡，说没有皮的水果要用盐水泡泡，于是就泡……， 泡了一会发现不对！杨梅上面居然有一条条的小白虫从里面钻出来……………… 恶心啊！吓死俺了，于是拿 起小刀，一条一条的清除，最后，虫子除完了，杨梅换到另外一个装盐水的碗里，原来那个碗里就剩下了 如下图的东西…………………………

看不清？？知道看不清，这是那你看看数量，这次凑近点……

好，这次捞个上来，602的1cm超微距！！！看看，这是什么虫……

好！！！拿出看家的家当！！！反接标头！

这次够大了吧，以后还想不想吃杨梅啊！

反正我是怕了，想想从小到大二十几年，吃了那么多杨梅＝吃了那么多………………虫子啊！！！不行了，我要去吐了！

Fighting Cancer with Pineapple

According to the National Cancer Institute, cancer has now surpassed cardiac disease as the largest killer in the United States. The incidence of cancer increases with age, with approximately 80 percent of cancers occurring in people over the age of 55.

However, according to researchers at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research, preventing cancer may be as simple as eating pineapple.

Pineapple Fights Cancer Growth

While analyzing bromelain, an extract of crushed pineapple stems, researchers found that two molecules isolated from the extract showed promise in fighting cancer growth:

* One molecule, known as CCS, blocks a protein called Ras, which is defective in approximately 30 percent of all cancers.
* The other, called CCZ, stimulates the body's own immune system to target and destroy cancer cells.

Researchers discovered these two molecules work simultaneously to block the growth of a broad range of tumor cells including breast, lung, colon, ovarian and melanoma.

And while CCS and CCZ are protease enzymes (usually associated with breaking down proteins, as in the digestive process), the above findings distinguish the molecules as a new way of treating disease and potentially a whole new class of anti-cancer agents.

What's more, bromelain, a rich source of enzymes, has also been found to modulate immunological responses and has been proposed to be of clinical use.

So the next time you think of fruit, think of pineapple that's high in Vitamin C and anti-cancer agents - bromelain

A Little More About Grapefuit

Do you like grapefruit?

The interaction between grapefruit juice and some medications can cause negative effects, especially on kidney level, and sometimes it can be fatal. A woman that uses birth control pills and then suddenly drinks too much grapefruit juice can get pregnant because this juice makes the effects of the pills disappear.

Grapefruit juice is not indicated to drink while taking anti-depressing medication, antibiotics and medicine for cardio-vascular diseases. A person that takes anti-depressives and adds to that grapefruit in huge quantities can feel that he has all of a sudden too much or too little energy, depending on the pills taken. Combining it with antibiotic can cause stomach sickness or can extend the illness you are taking medication for because the antibiotics will diminuate their effect. Heart drugs don’t work anymore, the blood pressure stays up and the heart beat irregularly. For those that love grapefruit juice, witch is more concentrated than the fruit itself, a recommendation would be to restrain from drinking it while they are taking medication.

Doctors try to raise attention upon avoiding and combating the combination of grapefruit with medicine especially because in some diets grapefruit juice is recommended in huge quantities.

Grapefruit is benefic to organism if used properly. It belongs to that class of aliments that burn calories, because it takes more calories to digest them than they have. Eating the fruit is not a problem, nor is drinking a glass of juice once in a while. The problem appears where human reasoning disappears. Wanting to loose more weight faster, people weaken their bodies and eat only grapefruits. It is efficient for a diet, but it also loosens the imunitary system. They become more vulnerable, more tired and nervous and if taking any medications they are risking their health in this combination.

So use this aliment wisely, go ask a specialist of its precise effects in your case and don’t abuse drinking grapefruit juice. Abusing something has never brought anything good, and it won’t in this case either. If you want to go on with your diet and keep your health find an alternative solution or make sure this does not affect your organism.