GREEN OR RED APPLE?

An apple a day to keep the doctor away is a very well-known adage. Apples definitely are among the favorites of fruits when you go to the market.But what exactly is it about this much-lauded fruit that is good for your health? As it turns out, quite a lot – apples can positively impact the condition of your bones, your respiratory system and other crucial organs inside your body.

Here are a number of ways that apples benefit the body:

. Teeth: Since apple is a hard fruit and if eaten uncut, it stimulates saliva production in the mouth, which in turn reduce the chances of tooth decay be caries and lowers the level of bacteria. Also biting and chewing on apple makes teeth self cleansing.

  Cholesterol: Apple is again rich source of soluble fiber. This soluble fiber binds with the fat cells in the intestine and thus helps in reducing the cholesterol levels in the body. Since we all know how bad cholesterol can harm the cardio vascular system of the body. Thus eating apple is very good for cardio vascular health too.
Fighting Cancers: An  Apple is a very rich source of trierpenoids . This compound has natural anti cancer growth activity. This compound help fight the free cells in the liver, breast and colon which can turn cancerous. Thus eating apple does reduce the chances of cancers in colon, breasts and liver.

 Type 2 Diabetes : Though it helps in both sexes but the result in women are more. Those women who eat atleast one medium size apple a day have more than 25% less chances to develop type two diabetes.

Weight:  To control weight a high fiber diet is advised by most doctors and since the apple are one of the richest source of fibers, thus they are very good for keeping your weight down.

 Liver: What ever toxins a body consumes, it is excreted through the liver. So most doctors advise a rich fruit diet for the liver. And apple is the best fruit for the liver detoxification.
 Cataract: Since apples are rich source of anti oxidants and anti oxidants are suppose to fight cancers and studies have shown that people those who eat apples regularly have more than 10% less chances of developing cataract. Thus apple is very essential for the health of the eyes too.

 So the saying that an apple a day keeps the doctor away is not wrong since apple is so rich in nearly everything good for the body and has countless health beneficial ingredients.

But which is best? Red or green?

Green Apple:

 • less sugar, less glucose

 • less antioxidant

 • Eco-friendly looking 

Red Apple:

 • have varying amounts of poly-phenols

 • strong antioxidant

 • anti-cancer compound

So, if your having a per-diabetes or diabetes then green apples are the perfect choice to eat. With its less sugar and less anti-oxidant then this type of fruit will keep your tummy full and having no doubts in eating this.

While the red apple are the perfect one for those who are on diet. Since these apples can keep you on the go with lots of sugar content that can be used as a alternative as your regular unhealthy snacks.

 But the green as opposed to the red has the following extra benefits:

It is known to cure diarrhea, constipation especially in children and the fiber that it provides can help you to have a regular bowel movements. it also enhances memory and cures rheumatism an preventing gall stones.

SO YES! YOU GUESSED RIGHT, THE GREEN APPLE IS THE BEST TO CONSUME! THOUGH IT IS NOT ALSO WRONG TO EAT THE RED, BUT SPARINGLY!

 Make that choice!

For more guidelines keep emailing:ndutaniceness@gmail.com

Nduta

Nutrition counsellor

White or Brown Sugar?

Do you find yourself paying more for brown sugar than the “regular” white sugar? Have you ever wondered which is healthier for you?

In order to answer, let’s explain how sugar is manufactured. Yes, although it comes from sugar canes or beets, sugar does go through quite a bit of processing before we see it in its final form on supermarket shelves.


What you need to know:
The raw materials utilized are either sugar cane stalks or sugar beet (a root). Let’s talk sugar cane today:

1. After the sugar cane stalks are harvested, they are chopped into small pieces
2. The stalk pieces are pulverized in order to release the sugary cane juice.
3. the juice usually has some impurities in it such as mud, pieces of stalk and other stuff, so it is filtered using both mechanical and chemical processes (using  polyacrylamides).
4.  The purified liquid is boiled until the water evaporates.
5. The remaining “juice” is heated once again and the sugar begins to crystallize. A side product that is left over is called mother liquor (it is the source of molasses)
6. A centrifuge is used to separate individual sugar crystals.

 The result is raw sugar. The crystals are relatively large and have a brownish tinge to them. Stay tuned folks, this is NOT brown sugar.

Raw sugar is shipped to a refinery for further processing to create the white sugar that we know:

1. The raw sugar is heated and melts into a liquid again.
2. The coloration is removed by using chemicals such as phosphoric acid and calcium hydroxide or calcium dioxide.
3. The liquid is boiled one last time in order concentrate it into the fine white granulated crystals that make up white sugar, or refined sugar.

 White and brown sugar are similar in calorie content, with 1/4 cup of white sugar containing 194 calories and 1/4 cup of packed brown sugar containing 209 calories. All of the calories in white sugar come from carbohydrates, of which there is 50 g. There are three types of carbohydrates: fiber, starch and sugar. All 50 g of these carbohydrates is sugar, all of which is in the form of sucrose. Nearly all of the calories in brown sugar come from carbohydrates as well, although one serving does contain 0.07 g of protein. However, this protein accounts for less than 1 of the 209 calories per serving. One serving of brown sugar contains 54 g of carbohydrates, nearly all of which are sugar. Brown sugar is primarily sucrose, although the added molasses provides small amounts, less than 1 g, of glucose and fructose.

Okay so sugar ought not to be a paramount thing in our diet and yes insignificance of nutrients in both sugars is not something to dwell on...But look at these trait comparisons...

TRAITS	BROWN/ SUGAR	ORDINARY WHITE SUGAR
Physical Appearance	Yellowish-brown sugar in the rich aroma of tropical sugarcane.	No flavor, taste, or color from natural sources.
Production Process	Produced by a precise co-crystallization process to retain natural flavor & color components.	Ordinary sugar manufacture process employs several chemicals.
Chemical Additives	At no stage in the production process, are any chemical additives added. It is free from any harmful chemicals like phosphoric acid, formic acid, sulfur dioxide, preservatives/bleaching agents. This results in a health-friendly and chemical-free sugar.	Processing involves a potpourri of chemicals; all finally showing their impact on our health in the long run. Sulfur carryover puts health at stake.
Nutrition Content	Apart from a pure and natural sweetness, it contains 187 mg calcium, 56 mg phosphorous, 4.8mg iron, 757 mg potassium, and 97 mg sodium per cup of sugar-all from natural sources.	Does not contain natural minerals.

Now, this makes brown sugar the safest bet in Kenyan market!

LOOK OUT NEXT TIME!

Nduta 

Nutrition Counsellor

DIABETES IN INFANTS-NUTRITION INTERVENTION

In Kenya today, most of the women with children are clueless of the diabetic nature of their infants. Some of them realize when it is too late because they do not quite understand the symptoms.Normally, the symptoms that are degenerative for infants with the disease are:

Weight loss
 children and babies in unexpected and unexplained weight loss. Since glucose in diabetics is not taken by cells, fat is used a s a source of energy, which leads to weight loss. The child may be eating normally but still loses weight with diabetes.


Polyuria
Polyuria is some of the early signs that a baby may have diabetes. Polyuria is an increased amount of urine produced, which causes babies to urinate more frequently.. Since diabetic babies do not produce enough insulin to release the glucose from the blood, it goes to the kidneys. Kidneys have to flush this over abundance of glucose in their tissues. To do this more urine is produced. SO watch for an increase in the urinary frequency of a babies as an early sign of diabetes.


Breath odor
Another sign of babies having diabetes is an increase in the intensity of the smell of their breath. The smell is kind of a sweet smell. This smell is the result of a condition developed by diabetics known as ketoacidosis: an increase in the concentration of ketones in their bodies. Ketoacidosis also causes babies skin to dry excessively and to have a pale tone.

Increase in the frequency of skin rashes
Babies with diabetes seem to have a tendency to get skin rashes more frequently. Diaper rash seem to be more prominent in babies with diabetes. This may be the result of skin getting dry through the process of ketoacidosis.

If you realize your child has these symptoms then you need to rush them to the doctor for prognosis. But how do you get there? It all revolves around the food given to the infant!
 Today Kenya has over two million people and 25,000 children living with diabetes type 1, a trend experts blame on poor dieting, genetics and unhealthy lifestyle. Out of every 100 diabetics, ten of them are children. Type 1 diabetes, which is also referred to as childhood-onset diabetes, is caused by inability of the pancreas to produce insulin.
Normally, this happens after the child has been weaned into taking food components which confuses the parents. The children ought to be leveled to a habit of taking in healthy and unrefined foods. Restrain your child from taking foods in too much energy yet they do not exercise!
Let your child take more foods rich in fiber and low in carbohydrates right from the time weaning begins.

You know the way everyone thinks that mashed bananas and pumpkins are the food for the baby, it is important to let the baby eat what you are eating that is healthier. A dish of brown rice with legume protein like ndengu and spoinach blended into one makes a good meal for the infant!
As well, eating out creates the problem with children overgrowing their weight after engaging in habits that are unhealthy..
It is sad that once you get the diabetes, you have to live with it! for a child this is a struggle by itself.
A mother ought to therefore, insist on being tested for sugar levels especially during the second trimester of pregnancy to avoid the baby growing too big which causes diabetes in the life of the child.

I recommend these foods:
Fibre diet that can be taken for breakfast:
Weetabix
other preferred cereals with milk
Banana-ensure it is just one since it is a culprit of increase in energy levels
Vegetables
Bread-give bread occassionally since it increases calories which are lethargic especially for a child who is not active

Vegetables:
emphasize on cabbage intake in plenty to beat the fat and calories in the body.

proteins need a tone down to avoid their intake being converted into excess sugar in the blood.
There is a recommended porridge flour for diabetics that can be given to the child, and can be found in supermarkets by the name FaFA D.

for any questions email me on ndutaniceness@gmail.com

Nduta
Nutrition counselor