Garlic and Corn Natural Weight-Loss Food !

Through the centuries, garlic has been both reviled and revered for its qualities. Today, the gossip about garlic and its apparent disease-preventing potential has reached a fevered pitch. For garlic lovers, that's good news; adding garlic to dishes can punch up the flavor.

When it comes to weight loss, garlic appears to be a miracle food. It contains the compound allicin which has anti-bacterial effects and helps reduce unhealthy fats and cholesterol.

Once you learn to appreciate its pungency, most anything tastes better with garlic. And once you learn its possible health benefits, you may learn to love it.

Health Benefits

The list of health benefits just seems to grow and grow. From preventing heart disease and cancer to fighting off infections, researchers are finding encouraging results with garlic. Behind all the grandiose claims are the compounds that give garlic its biting flavor. The chief health-promoting "ingredients" are allicin and diallyl sulfide, sulfur-containing compounds. Although allicin is destroyed in cooking, other helpful compounds are formed by heat or aren't destroyed by it. This lets cooked garlic give you a health boost. Garlic also contains the powerful antioxidants C and E, and the mineral selenium.

Garlic has been found to lower levels of LDL cholesterol, the "bad" cholesterol, and raise HDL cholesterol, the "good" cholesterol in the short term. Its effects last about three months when taken daily. It may also help to dissolve clots that can lead to heart attacks and strokes. Even when cooked, garlic helps keep cholesterol in your bloodstream from oxidizing and damaging the lining of your blood vessels, which helps prevent the formation of plaque.

Garlic has also been found to inhibit the growth of, or even kill, several kinds of bacteria, including Staphylococcus and Salmonella, as well as many fungi and yeast. Animal studies have found that garlic helps prevent colon, lung, and esophageal cancers. How much is enough? Researchers suggest you can enjoy the benefits of garlic every day by eating a typical clove weighing 3 grams.

Nutritional Values

Garlic Serving Size: 3 cloves
Calories: 13
Fat: <1 g
Saturated Fat: 0 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Carbohydrate: 3 g
Protein: <1 g
Dietary Fiber: <1 g
Sodium: 2 mg

Selection and Storage

Most varieties of garlic have the same characteristic pungent odor and bite. Pink-skinned garlic tastes a little sweeter and keeps longer than white garlic. Elephant garlic, a large-clove variety, is milder in flavor than regular garlic and should be used like a leek. But most varieties can be used interchangeably in recipes.

Choose loose garlic if you can find it. It's easier to check the quality of what you're getting than with those hiding behind cellophane. Its appearance can clue you in to its freshness; paper-white skins are your best bet. Then pick up the garlic; choose a head that is firm to the touch with no visible damp or brown spots.

Don't expect the flavor of garlic powder to mimic fresh garlic. Much of the flavor is processed out. Garlic powder, however, may retain some active components. Garlic salt, of course, contains large amounts of sodium -- as much as 900 milligrams per teaspoon, so avoid using it.

Store garlic in a cool, dark, dry spot. If you don't use it regularly, check it occasionally to be sure it's usable. Garlic may last only a few weeks or a few months. If one or two cloves have gone bad, remove them, but don't nick remaining cloves; any skin punctures will hasten the demise of what's left. If garlic begins to sprout, it's still okay to use, but it may have a milder flavor, just remove the tough, green sprout.


Natural Weight-Loss Food: Corn

Corn is a low-fat complex carbohydrate that deserves a regular place on any healthy table. Unfortunately, as with many other naturally low-fat foods, the American tendency is to smother corn-on-the-cob with butter.

But these high-fiber, fat-fighting kernels of goodness are better served with seasoning. Because corn is hearty and satisfying, it can curb your appetite.

Health Benefits

This popular food is high in fiber. In fact, it's notoriously hard to digest. But its insoluble fiber is tops at tackling common digestive ailments (like constipation and hemorrhoids) by absorbing water, which swells the stool and speeds its movement.

Nutritional Values

Corn, Yellow or White
Serving Size: 1 medium (7") ear
Calories: 77
Fat: 1 g
Saturated Fat: <1 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Carbohydrate: 19 g
Protein: 3 g
Dietary Fiber: 3 g
Sodium: 13 mg
Vitamin C: 5 mg
Folic Acid: 41 mcg
Niacin: 2 mg
Potassium: 243 mg

Corn is a surprising source of several vitamins, including folic acid, niacin, and vitamin C. The folic acid in corn is now known to be an important factor in preventing neural-tube birth defects. It's just as important in preventing heart disease, according to studies that show folic acid can prevent a buildup of homocysteine, an amino acid, in the body. Long-term elevation of homocysteine has been linked to higher rates of heart disease; folic acid helps break it down.

Selection and Storage

End-of-summer corn is by far the best ear in town. Although you can find good-tasting corn year-round, many out-of-season ears aren't worth eating. When buying fresh corn, be sure it was delivered in cold storage -- as temperatures rise, the natural sugar in corn turns to starch, and the corn loses some sweetness.

Corn is best eaten within a day or two of picking. Corn husks should be green and have visible kernels that are plump and tightly packed on the cob. To test freshness, pop a kernel with your fingernail. The liquid that spurts out should be milky colored. If not, the corn is either immature or overripe. Once home, refrigerate corn immediately.

Last Few Ayurvedic Herbs

Shilajita

Latin Name
Asphaltum puniabiunum

Sanskrit Name
Shilajit

Hindi Name
Shilajita

English Name
Mineral Pitch

Parts Used

The exudation of certain rocks in the Himalayas and other places of India.

Traditional Ayurvedic Uses

• Shilajit is a powerful source of all the minerals and trace minerals needed by the human body. It is more expensive than herbs, and takes over a month to process correctly for maximum health benefits. The white variety is considered most beneficial, but it is more rare and costly. It is purified by the sun and arid climate until it contains no living organisms. Its source is still a mystery, although it has been used for thousands of years. The mud is collected and further purified, then used as a mineral supplement.
• Shilajit supports all 13 metabolic processes (Agnis) which create all 7 categories of bodily tissues (Dhatus).

Triphal

Latin Name
None

Sanskrit Name
Triphala

Hindi Name
Triphal

English Name
Three Fruits formula

Parts Used

These are all fruits. Each plant has a different therapeutic value and must be prepared in its own way for maximum benefits.

This "herb" is actually a mixture of three Ayurvedic fruits in equal proportion: Amalaki (Emblica officinale), Bibhitaki (Terminalia belerica) and Haritaki (Terminalia chebula).

Traditional Ayurvedic Uses

• Triphala is very commonly used for digestion and regularity. It is often too strong for westerners, and should be used sparingly and with other herbs to balance its possible heating effects.

Kala Tulasi

Latin Name
Ocimum sanctum

Sanskrit Name
Tulasi

Hindi Name
Kala Tulasi

English Name
Holy Basil

Parts Used

These are all fruits. Each plant has a different therapeutic value and must be prepared in its own way for maximum benefits.

This "herb" is actually a mixture of three Ayurvedic fruits in equal proportion: Amalaki (Emblica officinale), Bibhitaki (Terminalia belerica) and Haritaki (Terminalia chebula).

Traditional Ayurvedic Uses

• Tulasi is one of the most sacred plants in India, and many worship this plant daily as a means of cultivating their own consciousness through the power of devotion.
• Tulasi gives Sattwa, or positivity and healing power. It is said to open the heart and mind, increase the sense of spiritual love, and to enhance devotion, faith, compassion and clarity. It also helps to develop pure awareness.
• Tulasi helps to enhance the quality of Rasa Dhatu (nutrient plasma), Rakta Dhatu (blood), Majja Dhatu (bone marrow and nerves) as well as Shukra Dhatu (reproductive fluids).