Foods that benefit their body part look-alikes
The age-long aphorism, which states that “You are
what you eat,” seems to hold true in all areas of life. Nutritionists would have
us believe, for instance, that you cannot eat like a horse and be as thin as a
snake. It’s a case of garbage in, garbage out. If you eat foods that are lacking
in fibre, you will soon discover the consequences as you groan in pain to pass
stool, in addition to other health implications of bad dietary habits.
Beyond this, however, experts note that certain
foods do look like human organs — whether internal or external — and that they
do have healing effects on such parts, especially when we make it a habit of
eating them regularly before we fall ill. They advise that foods from nature are
excellent for health and that we should eat more of such to stay fit and
maintain moderate weight. Such foods include:
Carrot and eyes
When a carrot is dissected, the interior
structure looks very much like the anatomy of the eye, what with the pupil, iris
and radiating lines that look just like the dissected carrot. Beyond its
resemblance to the human eyes, though, nutritionists say carrots are high in
vitamin A, a nutrient essential for good vision.
A nutritionist, Dr. Remi Omotunde, advises that
eating carrots will provide you with the small amount of vitamin A needed for
good vision. It can also be found in milk, cheese, egg yolk, and liver.
Again, scientists say carrot greatly enhances
blood flow to the eyes, while it also enhances their function. A senior lecturer
with Newcastle University’s School of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development,
Dr Kirsten Brandt, counsels, “Eat one small carrot every day, together with
other vegetables and fruits, to benefit from their health-giving
properties.”
Walnut and brain
Analytically, scientists say, some species of
walnuts look structurally like the human brain. According to the online portal,
diseaseproof.com, “walnuts look like a little brain, a left and right
hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds on
the nut are just like the neo-cortex.”
Researchers at Tufts University in Boston, United
States of America, did a research to examine the effects of walnuts on the
accumulation of polyubiquitinated proteins in the brain. This substance, they
note, is the hallmark of many age-related neurodegenerative diseases like
Alzheimer’s, and it accumulates in our brains as we age.
They concluded that the lab rats fed on the
walnut diets seemed to activate a process called autophagy, which the
researchers described as “a neuronal housekeeping function” in the striatum and
hippocampus areas of the brain.
“This process was more profound in the
hippocampus, though, which is the region of the brain involved in memory and
cognitive performance. The discovery of the autophagy in the walnut-eating
groups was particularly exciting because as we age, this process slows down,”
the scientists say.
Avocado and uterus
Strangely enough, apart from the fact that
avocado looks like the human uterus (womb), agriculturists say it takes nine
months for an avocado to grow and ripen for picking — very much akin to the nine
months it takes a healthy womb to carry a pregnancy to full term!
Better still, researchers say, the nutrients in
avocados are essential for the integrity of the reproductive system, while the
regular consumption of the fruit is said to prevent cervical cancer.
Cervical cancer is peculiar to women, and it
forms and spreads in the organ that connects to the uterus. Nutritionists
disclose that since avocado extract has oleic acid, it is good for the
prevention of breast cancer in women, while it also inhibits the growth of
prostate cancer in men. “The toxin of the avocado can control cancer cells,”
Omotunde enthuses.
He adds, “In addition to hormone balance, avocado
fruit contains phytochemicals, which have the potential to destroy precancerous
cells without damaging normal cells.”
Grapefruit and breast
Structurally, the grapefruit, just like other
citrus fruits such as lemon, is round –– like the human breasts. Grapefruits
contain many nutritional properties that not only nourish the body generally,
but some specifically target breast health, researchers say.
The Medical Director of Smart for Life Weight
Management Centres in Boca Raton, Florida, USA, Dr. Sasson Moulavi, reasons that
grapefruit contains substances called limonoids, which have been shown to
inhibit the development of cancer in laboratory animals and in human breast
cells.
In 2010, scientific studies demonstrated health
benefits and chemo-preventive action of limonoids against proliferation of
breast cancer cells. In a study published in the Journal of Animal and
Veterinary Advances, scientists Vahdettin Bayazit and Vahit Konar, who evaluated
the anti-carcinogen properties of limonoids and their biochemical structures,
concluded that “Limonoids found in citrus fruits have been able to stop the
progression of neuroblastomas — a form of cancer that starts in certain types of
very primitive nerve cells found in an embryo or foetus.”
Grape, tomato and the heart
Scientists say when grapes and tomatoes are
sliced lengthways, each half part looks like the heart. “Structurally, a tomato
has four chambers and is red. The heart is red and has four chambers,”
researchers say.
But beyond the semblance, Omotunde says, tomatoes
are, indeed, pure heart and blood food. “This is because the lycopene in tomato
is a powerful nutrient that not only helps the circulatory system but the heart
as well.”
Studies conclude that because of the lycopene in
tomatoes, there is a reduced risk for heart disease in men and women who eat
them. Omotunde adds, “Grapes also have many nutrients that contribute to heart
health, hence it’s advisable to feast on these fruits because there is
absolutely no known side effects to eating them in their raw or moderately
cooked form.”
Ginger and stomach
This fruit is versatile in many ways than one. It
can be used as food seasoning agent, especially in meat; and it can be blended
into a drinkable juice. Essentially, ginger contains gingerol — a bioactive
ingredient that has anti-nausea, anti-inflammatory, and anti-carcinogenic
properties.
Indeed, the United States Department of
Agriculture lists gingerol as a phytochemical that has the ability to prevent
nausea and vomiting.
In addition, researchers at the University of
Michigan Medical Centre note that a clinical trial of gingerol on human
volunteers indicates that this over 2000-year-old medicinal herb has promising
anti-cancer properties.
Culled from Punch
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