Beetroots - red and ultrahealthy

 

A flamboyant energizer

The humble beetroot has long been somewhat neglected in European kitchens. Nowadays it is enjoying a revival in British as the center of colorful salads and other fashionable concoctions. I even observed on TV how a famous Indian chef in London stuffed his samosas with a beetroot mixture.
This revival is well deserved. Already the ancient Romans appreciated the health properties and the sweet flavor of this brilliantly colored root. This color comes from the high iron content making it an excellent blood tonic and purifier.
Beetroot also contains a lot of vitamin C, folic acid, potassium, and silica. It qualifies as a remedy for eating too much salt and lowering blood pressure. Silica aids the uptake of calcium. Large doses of this vegetable are used to treat cancer in Europe. Beetroot also increases the body’s absorption of oxygen by as much as 400 per cent.

Avocado

The healthy kind of fat

The name avocado has its origin in the Aztec word ahuacatl. The avocado tree has been cultivated in Central and South America since 8.000 BCE. In the mid-1800s it spread through the Asian tropical regions. Indian cultivation started at the beginning of the 20^th century with seeds from neighbouring Sri Lanka.

Although avocados have a lot of fat, they belong to the healthiest fruits of our planet. I own a book called 100 Best Health Foods, which features avocado on place 2. They should not miss in any healthy diet. 

Avocados contain oleic acid, a monounsaturated fat that helps reduce ‘bad’ cholesterol levels and lowers the risk of breast cancer. In addition, it offers a lot of lutein, a carotenoid which enables the body to absorb nutrition from other food sources. If you add some slices of avocados to your salad, your body can make greater use of the nutrients in the salad.

The large amount of vitamin E in avocados boosts the immune system, keeps the skin healthy and prevents heart disease. The list of nutrients in avocados includes magnesium, vitamin C and B6, folate, iron and potassium, a mineral that helps regulate blood pressure.