sugar content Archives - Amazing Health Advances

Homemade Strawberry Lemonade Recipe (Naturally Sweetened)

AHA Publisher — Thu, 01 Jul 2021 07:00:07 +0000

Dr. Josh Axe, DC, DNM, CN – There isn’t much better on a hot summer day than a fresh glass of lemonade. Unfortunately, many store-bought lemonades contain lots of added sugar and undesirable ingredients. That’s where my homemade strawberry lemonade recipe comes in. Made from local, fresh strawberries, it’s a healthy take on the classic beverage. Sit in the shade with this homemade concoction to help cool off on a hot day. Oh, and the best part? This strawberry lemonade recipe is a sugar-free and refreshing drink — perfect for the summer. Plus, it’s easy to make and requires only four ingredients. That’s right: four! Key Ingredients What is strawberry lemonade made of? As mentioned above, this strawberry lemonade recipe calls for just four simple ingredients: Strawberries: Strawberry nutrition is chock-full of antioxidants like vitamin C, manganese and folate, among several other vitamins and minerals. That’s why strawberries are beneficial for immunity and combating chronic diseases, such as cancer and heart disease. They also aid brain, skin and digestive health. Lemon juice: Made from nutrition lemons, lemon juice also supplies a decent amount of vitamin C and benefits the heart, kidneys and skin. Stevia: Instead of refined sugar or unhealthy sugar substitutes, stevia provides the sweetness to this strawberry lemonade without the adverse effects. In fact, high-quality stevia can actually support weight loss, along with healthy cholesterol and blood pressure levels. You can also use other healthy, natural sweeteners if stevia isn’t your preferred option. Water: When you really need to quench your thirst and stay hydrated, nothing quite beats a cold class of water, and the benefits of drinking water, especially during summertime, are vast — including helping with detoxification, digestion, calorie intake and more. How to Make Strawberry Lemonade How do you make strawberry lemonade from scratch? It couldn’t be easier! Take your ingredients, beginning with the three cups of water and ending with the stevia, dump them into your blender and — you guessed it — blend until your lemonade is smooth and liquified. That’s it — your blended strawberry lemonade is ready to drink and enjoy on those hot summer days and a recipe you can whip up anytime in a matter of minutes. Homemade Strawberry Lemonade Recipe (Naturally Sweetened) DESCRIPTION This strawberry lemonade recipe is a sugar-free and refreshing drink — perfect for summer! It’s easy to make and requires only 4 ingredients! INGREDIENTS 3 cups of spring or filtered water ½ cup organic lemon juice 2 cups organic strawberries, fresh or frozen stevia, to taste INSTRUCTIONS Combine all ingredients in a blender until smooth. To read the original article click here. For more articles from Dr. Axe click here.

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Can Eating Mangoes Reduce Women’s Facial Wrinkles?

AHA Publisher — Fri, 20 Nov 2020 08:00:04 +0000

University of California – Davis via EurekAlert – Mangoes, like other orange fruits and vegetables, are rich in beta-carotene and provide antioxidants that may delay cell damage. A new study from researchers at the University of California, Davis, finds eating Ataulfo mangoes, also known as honey or Champagne mangoes, may have another benefit — reducing facial wrinkles in older women with fairer skin. The study was published in the journal Nutrients. Postmenopausal women who ate a half cup of Ataulfo mangoes four times a week saw a 23 percent decrease in deep wrinkles after two months and a 20 percent decrease after four months. “That’s a significant improvement in wrinkles,” said lead author Vivien Fam, a doctoral student in the UC Davis Department of Nutrition. But the findings are very specific and come with a caveat. “Women who ate a cup and a half of mangoes for the same periods of time saw an increase in wrinkles. This shows that while some mango may be good for skin health, too much of it may not be,” Fam said. Researchers said it’s unclear why consuming more mango would increase the severity of wrinkles but speculate that it may be related to a robust amount of sugar in the larger portion of mangoes. QUANTIFIABLE RESULTS The randomized clinical pilot study involved 28 postmenopausal women with Fitzpatrick skin types II or III (skin that burns more easily than tans). Women were divided into two groups: one group consumed a half cup of mangoes four times a week for four months, and another consumed a cup and a half for the same period of time. Facial wrinkles were evaluated using a high-resolution camera system. “The system we used to analyze wrinkles allowed us to not just visualize wrinkles, but to quantify and measure wrinkles,” said Robert Hackman, professor in the Department of Nutrition and corresponding author of the study. “This is extremely accurate and allowed us to capture more than just the appearance of wrinkles or what the eye might see.” The study looked at the severity, length and width of fine, deep and emerging wrinkles. Fam said the group that consumed a half cup of mangoes saw improvements in all categories. Fam said further research is needed to learn the mechanisms behind the reduction in wrinkles. She said it may be due to the beneficial effects of carotenoids (orange or red plant pigments), and other phytonutrients that could help build collagen. To read the original article click here.

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Sugar Gets the Red Light From Consumers in New Study

AHA Publisher — Mon, 02 Mar 2020 08:00:56 +0000

University of Nottingham via EurekAlert – Researchers have found that sugar content is the most important factor for people when making healthy food choices – overriding fat and salt. A team from the University of Nottingham’s Division of Food, Nutrition and Dietetics carried out a choice-based survey with 858 participants using the traffic light labelling system (TLL) to select healthy foods. The results showed that when deciding on the healthiness of items sugar was significantly the most important macronutrient for participants. Dietician and PhD researcher Ola Anabtawi led the research published in the Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, she explains: “When using the TLL consumers often have to make trade-offs between undesirable attributes and decide which to use to guide them in making a choice. We wanted to find out whether it was fat, saturated fat, sugar or salt they most wanted to avoid and see whether the traffic light labelling was influencing this decision.” Traffic light labelling was introduced to aid the selection of healthier choices with a simple red, amber green colour coding system. Supermarkets and food manufacturers use this on packaging to highlight nutritional information. Participants in the study were shown three options of the same food item with different nutrition traffic light label combinations, this was repeated for three products- prepacked sandwiches, breakfast cereals and biscuits. They were asked to select which they thought was the healthiest product. Foods with a high sugar content were by far perceived to be the worst for health with participants avoiding these products, with excess fat, saturated fat and salt being less off-putting. Products flagged with a red label were also avoided much more and had a more significant impact on making a healthy choice than the green label. Ola continues: “Despite the lack of knowledge about the recommendations underpinning the TLL criteria participants’ decisions about the healthiness of food products were significantly influenced by TLL information on the items’ sugar content. TLL do, therefore, appear to be guide consumers beliefs in the absence of deep knowledge. The dominance of sugar in decision-making shows the labelling system is having an impact in the current public health climate. However, it is important to consider the effect of disregarding other nutrients (i.e. fat and salt) for people with different nutritional needs. We suggest raising awareness of all nutrients to help the public achieve the well- balanced diet.” To read the original article click here.

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